Chapter 421 - 258 - 262

President Peterson's Conditions

Here's the first regular chapter of the week. For those interested in some of the terminology and style changes we made in recent chapters, don't forget to read the write-up by Prince once it's posted.

Everyone made merry during the extravagant banquet. After the festivities, Lorist invited the Peterson Merchant Guild's vice-president to his study for some tea. Charade was the only other individual present.

The vice president handed Lorist a personal letter, written by President Peterson. In the letter, he stated frankly that ever since word of the third prince's death had gotten out, voices of dissent had been surfacing among the Union's higher-ups. There was now constant arguments over whether they should continue their plan to take the northwestern area of the Redlis kingdom. After all, nobody was willing to stand against the 300 thousand troops of Second Highness Auguslo.

Peterson believed that, with the third prince now dead, the second highness would launch his attack against the Redlis kingdom by the 4th or 5th month of the year. The war would then quickly spread to the northwestern area.

If the Peterson Merchant Guild persisted and took a part of that area as their dominion there, they might be wiped out by the second highness' forces. All their efforts would be for naught.

The Peterson Merchant Guild couldn't easily afford to shift their focus elsewhere, however. They couldn't shift to the Lormo duchy. They had no intention to become its shield. They could, however, move instead to the Teribo kingdom. Although the situation there was still tense from the war, and the Mayflower- and Twinhead Dragon Merchant Guilds had declared their intent to take parts of the kingdom as their dominions, it was still a more viable option than all the alternatives. They, thus, decided that it would be the Teribo kingdom from which they would take a bite.

Given that three of the big-seven merchant guilds had changed their priorities, the Chikdor Merchant Guild had no choice but to give up on their plan to conquer Silowas. If they insisted on doing so, not only would they become eternal enemies with House Norton, they would also be a target for the second highness.

As Silowas was the dominion of the Nortons, it was considered to be part of the Andinaq kingdom. If the guild forcefully occupied it, they would be invading the kingdom. Second Highness Auguslo, who intended to rebuild the Krissen Empire, would consider it a slap in the face. Even if the guild could afford to take on a noble house, they could most assuredly not fight against an entire kingdom, especially not one that controlled an incredibly strong military.

Lorist almost laughed as he read through the letter. President Peterson had used a few beastskins for his long argument just to tell Lorist that the Union's focus had changed and that his dominion would no longer be a target, implying that he could do business with his guild without worries.

However, the president also made three conditions. First, his guild would be the sole party allowed access to the maritime trade route from Hidegold Bay to Silowas. After the sea blockade incident, there was no way the Chikdor Merchant Guild could seek to benefit from the Nortons anymore. Since the trade route was up for the taking, the Peterson Merchant Guild wasn't going to hold back.

Some issues had cropped up as a result of the war which meant that the guild couldn't gather the 2 million gold Fordes for their fur deal with the Nortons anymore, thus the second deal. The president hoped to barter for the equivalent of their shortage. The deal was very important to the guild, it would help to relieve their burden and ease their position.

The core of the letter was in the president's third condition. Even though the Union had only been at war with the Teribo kingdom for little more than a month, President Peterson had already begun to realize his guild was rather lacking. It wasn't that the guild lacked high-tier fighters, but that they lacked an organized force with which to defend themselves or mount attacks.

As one of the big-seven guilds, the guild controlled the fur trade and were also the leaders in long-distance land-based convoys. They even had their hands in construction, overseas exports and imports, food, entertainment, and other miscellaneous activities. The guild didn't lack any manpower either. For instance, they could very easily move people around to form a force against the Teribo kingdom and reinforce the front lines.

Doing so, however, had negative side effects on the guild's operations. While the guild's forces would be more than sufficient for defensive actions, it would be incredibly troublesome to mobilize them to engage offensively. The leadership of the nations neighboring the Teribo kingdom shared Peterson's opinion.

The nobility system was going to be implemented soon, and with it, the heads of all the merchant guilds would become dukes with their own duchies. It was a logical step for them to possess appropriate standing armies as well.

The Twinhead Dragon Merchant Guild was the fastest to make the change, and they didn't hold anything back. They had completely absorbed the entire Union's garrison forces as their own. President Cobleit had already decided to approve the proposal to disband the garrisons during the 10th month. As a result, the various cities would have to form their own garrisons, thus decreasing the military spending of the Union. On the other hand, he would take all the members of the garrisons to his own dominion and have them join his army.

The Mayflower Merchant Guild wasn't about to sit there and watch either. The patrol regiment stationed at the Callisto Hills had already become their target. Since the Callisto Hills would be divided into more than 50 territories and enfeoffed to others following the implementation of the nobility system, the patrol regiment's future was uncertain.

The Forde Merchant Guild, on the other hand, was rather calm. When it took over the Lormo duchy's Puljas Province, they also absorbed the duchy's 10 thousand troops into their army and were already in the process of reorganizing.

The Riwal Merchant Guild wasn't in a hurry either. They were busy convincing the Mobia duchy to join the Union and had taken an interest in the duchy's forces. Negotiations were already under way.

As for the Chikdor Merchant Guild, they were already incredibly influential at sea. Given that they were the hegemon of the seas, they were not the least bit interested in forming their own defense force. It might also have something to do with their current sore lack of a dominion or even just a prospective dominion.

The Wessia Merchant Guild also lacked their own dominion at present, in spite of that they had already formed their own defense forces. These were used mainly to protect the mines they now possessed in the Redlis kingdom. When they finally had a dominion of their own, they need only merge the new forces into a single, integrated army to be a force to be reckoned with.

This left the Peterson Merchant Guild in an awkward position, which was why President Peterson was so worried. While dealing with bandits during their convoys' journeys or joining forces with other merchant guilds in the current conflict was no problem, forming their own standing army was an issue. It was not something that could be solved solely with manpower. Forming an army required proper training and strict military regulations. They had to have a reliable force by the time they took over their duchy.

This was where Lorist came in. Peterson's third condition was that Lorist had to provide him with a robust plan for forming an army. He also wanted Lorist to let the vice-president observe the training routine used by his house's forces so the guild could gain the basic military know-how. In a chaotic time like this, Peterson's request could be considered incredibly excessive. After all, for many military-based noble houses, their training methodology and techniques were top secret, a matter of confidence that could never be shared with, or even just showed to, outsiders.

But, given the understanding Peterson had of Lorist's character, he made the request straightforwardly. The guild did not lack talented military officials, but they did lack officials well-versed in theoretical strategy. A force without a firm grounding in military theory was no more than a slightly organised rabble, they were an unreliable bunch at best. If the guild formed a standing army like that, they would be nothing more than a punching bag for others. If that were to be the case, there was no point to forming one in the first place and it would be better to abandon the endeavour now.

House Norton was a noble house with a long and star-studded military heritage. Their performance over the past two years, best exemplified by their defeat of the Duke of the Northlands as well as the extermination of Second Prince Iblia's 100 thousand strong force, was more than stellar. They had even conquered the Iblia kingdom's capital and forced Duke Fisablen's Frontier Legion to retreat.

It would be nothing but a strike of ultimate fortune if the guild could get help from Lorist in this regard. This was also why the president was trying to leverage their past dealings to get Lorist to do just that. He trusted that Lorist would give him a satisfactory answer.

Hmm, President Peterson does know his stuff... It seems that our forces' reputation has spread, thought Lorist gleefully.

After reading the letter, he passed it onto Charade.

Charade's expression as he read through the letter shifted from a hearty smile to a frown. As he finished reading the letter, he could only shake his head.

Lorist understood what the gesture meant. Initially, Charade was glad to read President Peterson's breakdown of the situation. Since Silowas would no longer be under threat, its development could continue as scheduled. He no longer had to leave.

His frown was naturally related to the requests the president had made. First was the matter of trade monopoly. Charade knew what the president was actually up to. The president was worried that Lorist would form his own fleet with which to do business. To prevent this from happening, he claimed that he didn't have enough money to do upfront purchases and asked to barter with resources instead. By trading in resources, and not handing over physical money, he could keep Lorist from having the money needed to purchase or commission the construction of ships. If he could indirectly make it too difficult for Lorist to get the ships he needed, he might give up on the idea altogether, in which case the Peterson Merchant Guild would control the trade route heading to the northlands, and could dictate the flow of resources there.

The third request was the bit that brought about the head-shaking. Charade had always been convinced that House Norton's forces far exceeded those of other nations. They were much smaller than their competitors, but the quality of their arms and armament, their discipline, and their strategy and tactics were in a different league altogether. There was no way he would agree to reveal how they trained their troops. Besides, just because the guild was on good terms with House Norton, it didn't mean that they couldn't become hostile in the future. They didn't even have to take action against House Norton, House Norton was a vassal of the Andinaq kingdom, so if the guild became hostile with the kingdom, the house and its subjects would get dragged into the conflict as well. Helping the Peterson Merchant Guild to form an army was helping a possible future enemy.

Lorist wasn't of the same mind, however. He agreed to all the conditions without hesitation. The decision was made so casually that even the vice-president was shocked.

"Treating others with sincerity has always been one of the traditions of House Norton. Since the guild has come as friends, you will be treated to a grand welcome and fine wine, and we will also do our best to help you however we can," said Lorist.

After agreeing to show the vice-president the training routine for Whitebird Town's defense force the next day, Lorist sent the thankful man away.

When he turned around, he saw Charade staring at him angrily.

Worried that the vice-president was still in earshot, Charade lowered his voice, "Are you crazy?! Why did you agree to let them see the defense force's training? That routine is a house secret that must never be revealed!"

Lorist snickered and patted on Charade's shoulder.

"Don't be so tense. There's no way that our training routine will be revealed so easily," said he.

"Then are you planning to mess with them?"

"It can't really be considered 'messing with them'. Right now the local defense force is still just training lining up and taking on different formations. This routine is hardly a secret to the other nations, now is it? This routine was developed by Potterfang using the Whitelion Legion's routine as its basis, so much of it should already be known by others. The routine is really just a hodge-podge of that and bits we added during the convoy days from various sources. Our house's own, unique training routine was only formulated after our engagements with the magic beast wave, and these troops aren't training in that yet.

House Norton's forces went through three stages during their training. The green recruits would be sent to the training camps where they would be taught military regulations and drilled until they obeyed orders almost as a reflex. Once they were satisfactorily reflexively obedient, they would move on to the second stage. Here they would train to awaken their battleforce. They couldn't officially join the military and march under the raging bear until they awakened their battleforce. Once their battleforce was awakened, they had to go through a three-month course that taught them basic military skills. Only once they completed this final course would they be drafted into standing units and officially be soldiers of the house.

The house treated its soldiers very well. They were all provided quality equipment, regardless of their rank, and never wanted for supplies. Lorist understood that good logistical support boosts the morale and loyalty of soldiers. The direct family of soldiers also benefited from having one of their own in military service. The house made sure to take good care of them and even gave them certain special benefits if the soldier died in battle.

All of this meant that being a member of the house's forces was just a source of great pride and elevated the soldier and their family's social status, but made the soldiers anticipate battles and even encouraged them to sacrifice themselves when the moment demanded it of them.

"In other words," Lorist continued, "the guild would have to implement all of this exactly in order to create a force capable of competing with ours. This will also require several years' investment on their part. It'll take time to train and temper their forces to an acceptable level. If they do this diligently they might have a decent force, but, if not, they'll simply be disguising a cat as a tiger - their forces will be for show only.

"Actually, I find the battles the northbound convoy were involved in brought lots of benefits to our forces. It was through actual battle that our forces grew to become elites, not normal training. The gruelling journey was a grindstone that slowly, if somewhat painfully, polished our forces. By the time it ended, we only needed to organise the fighters into proper units and structure them as a proper force to have a formidable army. They were only lacking equipment at the time, but now that they have it, their performance is unmatched."

Lorist had poured each of them a cup of fruit wine as he explained and the two now drank leisurely as he explained his plans. He planned to use this opportunity to aid the Peterson Merchant Guild and sell the equipment the house produced to the Union. The trade in arms and equipment had always produced staggering profits. The three allied houses in the Northlands had already armed their forces to the teeth, and Duke Fisablen had already signed the agreement to trade two years' livestock for equipment. There wasn't any other business in weaponry and equipment left to do in the area around the Nortons' dominion.

When Lorist had gone to the Andinaq kingdom's capital he had originally planned to do two things. He wanted to pass on the hot potato known as Second Prince Iblia to Second Highness Auguslo, but he'd also wanted to strike a deal with the latter for the sale of arms and equipment. He had not expected that the second highness had emptied his treasury just so he could feed his army. Once he knew, he didn't even bother to bring the deal up. He knew the second highness would try to purchase the equipment with empty promises, and he had no interest in provoking trouble where none was necessary.

The Union's arms and equipment need was technically supposed to be filled by the Wessia Merchant Guild, but it was patently obvious that they wouldn't be able to produce the volume the Union needed on short notice. It would be even worse with the implementation of the nobility system. The massive increase in landed nobles who needed to arm and supply their standing forces would create a massive demand for arms and equipment. Just like what had happened with the Kenmays family, the traditional nobles would no doubt view them as nothing but imposters, so they couldn't afford to lose in appearance, or, even worse, appear weak.

It was impossible that the guild would be able to satisfy such a demand and this created a golden opportunity for House Norton to enter the market, through the Peterson Merchant Guild, of course. As long as Lorist could corner a third of the market, he would no longer have to worry about the costs associated with the development of his dominion, nor about the increasing upkeep costs of the dominion's ever-expanding military.

Charade's mood changed from anger to elation instantly. He was determined to be put in charge of negotiating the arm and equipment deal, which Lorist gladly gave to him. Lorist had absolute faith that Charade would be able to get the most benefits for the house out of the deal.

At noon the next day, Lorist and Charade accompanied the Peterson Merchant Guild's men to check on Whitebird Town's forces as they trained. Despite Captain Victor, limp and all, and the rest of the force putting on their best performance, their lack of discipline and proper training was obvious. Even the men from the guild could pick up on it. They clicked their tongues in disappointment, some even mumbled that they were even worse than the troops the guild currently had.

Lorist didn't pay any mind to the comments. He treated them to a meal and let them take a short rest before they headed off to Farama Village to watch the third local defense brigade's training.

The low sound of a horn could be heard as the empty wheat fields filled up with guards wearing greyish-white uniforms. The soldiers arranged themselves neatly into three rectangular formations following a staccato of horn blasts. The men stood neatly together, not one of them made a sound. They had turned into statues, there weren't any detectable movements, only an intense killing intent radiated out from the groups.

This time, the guildsmen were shocked. The manner in which the soldiers got into formation alone was enough to show they were an elite unit. The three rectangular formations were right in front of them. While a unit of 3000 men wasn't considered large, they possessed an incredibly oppressive aura. It was as if the onlookers were standing in front of a huge mountain range. An intense feeling of despair crept into their hearts.

The vice president took a deep breath and asked with a smile, "So, this is the elite unit of House Norton?"

"Well, I guess they can be considered as such. This is the Third Local Defense Brigade. They were formed pretty recently," said Lorist as he nodded.

He wasn't satisfied with their performance, however.

I should go teach Patt a lesson later... For his troops to take so long to get into formation... I wonder if he's focusing too much of his attention on Martha? Lorist had forgotten that Martha and her mother had already moved to the Northlands.

The training proceeded normally after that. The guildsmen were incredibly impressed. They felt their horizons had been broadened greatly. Now, they knew how an elite unit trained.

It was time for Charade's debut. He made a list of what an elite unit like the house's own needed, what they had to do to make the troops loyal, raise their morale, and ensure their obedience. Had he not stressed the importance of excellent equipment at every one of his points, he would've sounded even more convincing.

Ten days passed in a flash. The men from the Peterson Merchant Guild had observed enough of the training of the third local defense brigade and were ready to head back. As Lorist was making his final preparations to return to the Northlands, a shocking piece of information arrived.

Second Highness Auguslo had mobilized his troops seven days earlier and attacked the Redlis kingdom's capital.

The Second Highness's Assault

Second regular chapter of the week, coming right up! Enjoy!

Lorist looked at the dark skies. Small fine snowflakes that floated to the ground ever so gently.

The second month's end had already arrived and it was rather cold, roughly around -70 to -80 degrees centigrade. The third local defense brigade continued to train twice a day despite the cold, which awed of the Peterson Merchant Guild's men.

The group sighed. Though the Teribo kingdom and the Union claimed their two armies were standing off against one another, they were actually waiting for winter to pass.

Apart from the Union's citizens, who had joined in the hope of earning some riches through raiding, not many were willing to leave their camps to work. Even the ones assigned patrol duties were cursing their luck. Only the bounty hunters didn't curse. They had been drawn into the conflict as a result of Teribo VII's astronomical rewards, as well as those who fought back against them. But it was a conflict among high-tiers which did not concern the rest of the soldiers.

With the coming of the 3rd month, winter was over. What came next was a month-long rainy season. As a result, wars rarely occurred between the 12th and 3rd month. It was only by the 4th to 5th month that the armies would have enough food, taken from the harvests of winter wheat, and enough free time to begin arming themselves against any potential foe.

The war between the Union and the Teribo kingdom was already considered an exception to the rule, mainly because of Teribo VII's simple-minded actions, which had greatly angered the Union. Had it not been for that, nobody would want to fight during the winter season.

Wait, the second highness picked a season like this to attack the Redlis kingdom's capital? Is he insane or did I hear wrong? wondered Lorist.

Charade, on the other hand, looked incredibly agitated. He grabbed the messenger, the same one Charade had brought to the southwestern provinces to recruit vagabonds as labor for the development on Silowas, by the collar. He had been left there to pay attention to the situation between the two kingdoms that were about to go to war.

"That's impossible! How was the second highness able to breach the defensive line at Kanbona province? The first prince has already fortified it so heavily! How did Auguslo make his way to the kingdom's capital?" roared Charade, spitting lots of saliva in the process.

Charade almost choked the poor messenger to death.

After struggling to reply for a while, he managed to mutter, "The se-second highness di-didn't go through Kanbona... He... he took a huge detour through Greatsnow Mountain at the Cloudsnap mountain range and arrived at th-the Bodolger province before attacking the Frederika, the royal capital... He managed to occupy the city b-by taking advantage of its lacking defenses, but the fi-first prince managed to escape..."

The messenger hesitated before he continued, "I... I heard that the second highness left with m-more than 30 thousand men, but only had around 8000 remaining when he arrived at the city..."

Good Sol! How ruthless! Lorist felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

It seemed the second highness had picked an incredibly dangerous route for the sake of attacking the city.

"Go fetch me a map in the house," instructed Lorist.

Five years earlier, the second highness had exterminated the first prince's force of 30 thousand elite troops at Flowater Creek and had continued his assault on the kingdom. After encircling Frederika with his troops, he forced the first prince to sign an agreement to cede two provinces to the Andinaq kingdom. The new border was drawn along the Northern Province and the Kanbona.

The Northwestern Province was the hilly coastal area Lorist and the convoy had passed through all those years ago. Neither the second highness nor the first prince paid any attention to it, to go to the Redlis kingdom's capital from there one would have to first cross the wide Morrison river, one would also have to pass through Kanbona. The ideal route for an attack on Frederika was through this very province, which was why the second highness had managed to capture it during his previous invasion.

He could not do the same thing this town around. By the time the second highness had gathered his 300 thousand soldiers, the king of the Redlis kingdom, first prince Krissen Redlis, hadn't just sat by idly, he had gathered up large sums of money and a lot of resources to reinforce the forces stationed in Kanbona. All over the province, there were well-defended citadels with wide moats and tall walls. If the second highness wanted to reach Frederika, he would have to conquer one citadel after another to clear his path to the capital.

"Auguslo will sustain at least 200 thousand losses in Kanbona, and the remaining 100 thousand soldiers will be exhausted. They will never be able to conquer the capital. After this battle, I can promise you the punk will not dare to attack our kingdom for at least 20 years," the first prince had once said to his officials proudly.

The prince understood the importance of wearing down the 300-thousand-strong army well. He had gathered all the family members of military officials above the rank of Squad Leader in Frederika under the ruse of keeping them safe for that very reason. Everyone knows it was just a ruse, however. If they didn't do enough damage to the second highness' forces, and the city fell, their families would fall with it.

It was the prince's plan that this knowledge would motivate the forces defending Kanbona to fight to the death. The prince felt that, even though his move was incredibly cruel, this was the only way his soldiers would be desperate enough to take down three soldiers before falling. In essence, the first prince was prepared to sacrifice 70 thousand soldiers to grind away at the second highness's forces as much as possible.

Nobody had expected that the second highness would be even more savage than the first prince, savage to himself and his own forces no less! He actually personally led his soldiers through Greatsnow Mountain in such horrible weather. Despite losing three-quarters of his troops, he managed to take Frederika in one fell swoop, forcing the first prince to flee the capital.

Lorist looked at the map in awe. It was worth noting that the second highness had delivered an impassioned speech just a month earlier at the capital of his own kingdom, pledging to restore the Krissen Empire to its former state. It was also said that he would be busy with the funeral of the third prince, patrolling the front lines and making preparations for war. It caused others to think that he would only attack the Redlis kingdom during the 4th or 5th month, as was military convention. Nobody had dared to imagine that the second highness would conquer Frederike just one month later. Such speed shocked and awed many.

Charade pointed at the map and exclaimed, "Good heavens! The second highness actually made his way across the Cloudsnap mountain range and scaled Greatsnow Mountain... It is completely suicidal... It's far too risky."

There was a natural barrier in the Bodolger province, between the capital and the northwestern area of Kanbona. The barrier was known as the Cloudsnap mountain range. It was a densely packed collection of tall mountains and dense forests. Additionally, Greatsnow Mountain, situated in the middle of the mountain range, was easily taller than 10 normal mountains combined. Snow piled up on the mountain and didn't melt easily. The terrain was also incredibly hard to scale. It was difficult, if not outright impossible, to cross over. Despite that, the second highness cut through like a dagger flung at a snake.

Lorist laughed, pointing at the map.

"The second highness actually did something smart for once. He only managed to cross the Cloudsnap mountain range thanks to his timing."

"What do you mean?" Charade asked as everyone wondered.

"Look here. The Cloudmist Swamp stretches for around 50 kilometers along the bottom of the range. It is said that the swamp is formed from the melted snow that gathers up in the area. If the second highness attempted to cross during summer or fall, it would take him at least two or three months. But during winter, most of Cloudmist Swamp is frozen, allowing the troops to travel into the deeper parts of the mountain range without restraint. After that, they only have to make their way over Greatsnow Mountain to arrive at Bodolger," explained Lorist.

"Ah, is that so... No wonder he's hailed as one of the greatest military strategists of the new generation. To think that he actually grasped an opportunity that hidden, his fame is completely deserved!" exclaimed the vice-president of the Peterson Merchant Guild.

Lorist sighed and said, "It's a shame that his losses are not small. Only 8000 of the 30 thousand troops survived the journey. It seems that he didn't make sufficient preparations."

Lorist could already infer that the second highness had only mobilized his so-called elite troops, but didn't have enough knowledge of the troubles of winter. Had he been better prepared, he wouldn't have had to attack the city with so few soldiers.

Lorist's guess was actually correct. Only around 4000 soldiers died from the hike across the mountain range. But more than 20 thousand of them perished due to the extreme cold. Less than 8000, able to resist the cold with battleforce, survived. It was still more than enough to defeat the unprepared troops defending the city.

"Even so, it's still better than attacking Kanbona's citadels one after another. Had he done so, he would have lost more than 100 thousand troops easily. Considering this, his choice was the wiser, despite the losses he suffered," argued one of the military officials of the Peterson Merchant Guild.

Lorist lightly shook his head, If war was merely mathematics, it would be much simpler.

He didn't bother to argue, however.

"How do you think the war will progress now that the second highness has the Redlis kingdom's capital, Lord Count? Does first prince stand a chance to make a victorious comeback?" asked the vice-president, who cleverly changed the subject.

"The current situation has already mostly stabilized. Unless some sort of miracle happens, the first prince will not be able to escape defeat," commented Lorist.

"That's hard to say. The second highness only managed to conquer Frederika thanks to the element of surprise. The 8000 soldiers he has at hand now is far too little. If the first prince manages to form an army a few ten thousand strong, the second highness might just lose," said the very same military official, still taking the other side of Lorist's argument.

"Hahaha..." Lorist laughed, before he continued, "It would be great if things were that simple. How would the First Prince be able to gather more troops, now that Frederika has already fallen? Who would bother to aid him now that he's on the run, powerless and poor? And who would be willing to fight to their deaths for him just to retake a city that isn't their home?"

"But he's still the king! His righteous cause is reason enough!" The military official was still not convinced.

This time, it was Charade's turn to speak.

"Righteous my ass! The first prince is nothing but a traitor, one of those who raised the flag of rebellion and caused the empire to split. While he was definitely worth reckoning with when he had troops, the loss of Frederika means that he no longer has any riches left with which form an army. Who, then, would bother with a beggar like him? It's already incredibly merciful not to outright kill him on and present his head to the second highness."

"Well," Lorist interjected, "I doubt anybody would go so far as to kill him. 'King Slayer' is not a name any noble wants to have. Traitor or not, he's still a king. But the title will do him no good. The nobles will help him superficially at most. Even if he did get a couple of soldiers, there's no way he'll be able to take the city back, which is his own fault given how heavily he fortified the city's walls. Also, all the valuable resources and equipment are kept within the city.

"The second highness is no idiot. After conquering Frederika, he will definitely use his spoils to recruit more troops. Even though he only has around 8000 right now, his force will definitely grow three to four times in less than a fortnight. When the first prince arrives at the capital, he'll realize that the second highness already has tens of thousands of troops waiting for him."

Lorist thought deeply for a while before he continued, "If the First Prince is smart, he will begin gathering as many troops and resources as he can and retreat to the Majik province for now. If he does so, he can draw out the conflict at the very least and wait for opportunities to turn the tide."

"Will the second highness actually afford him that kind of time?" asked Charade.

"He will. Right now, the second highness only has 8000 soldiers with him and can't do much apart from defending the capital. Pursuing the first prince is out of the question. Even if he does manage to gather more troops, he'll deal with the 70 thousand soldiers defending Kanbona first. Fortunately for him, the first prince had moved the family members of officers to Frederika as hostages. He can use them as bargaining chips to force surrender.

"And by the time the 70 thousand troops switch allegiances to the second highness, the 100 plus thousand soldiers he stationed at the two southwestern provinces will begin their march towards Frederika. With that, the second highness won't need to break a sweat to destroy the Redlis kingdom and to eliminate all nobles that refuse to yield.

"That's why I believe the first prince will have the time he needs to gather troops and resources. Majik's terrain will make sure the second highness' troops are stalled for a period of time. There is no doubt, however, what will happen after the second highness' main force arrives in a month or two.

"The Northern Province won't be a threat to Second Highness Auguslo. Once he obtains final victory over the prince he can just send an ambassador there. There's no need to mobilize his troops. As for the 70 thousand troops stationed in Kanbona, they're sandwiched between the second highness' main force and Frederika. Their supply chain is completely cut off. They have no choice but to surrender."

The fates of Kanbona and Bodolger were indeed set in stone. What came next were the Anderwoff and Majik provinces. Anderwoff was the main military center for the Redlis kingdom's nobles. The joint forces of around 30 noble houses were nothing to scoff at. Together, they had the same standing as the first prince himself. They had always been at odds with him, much to his misfortune. When he asked for aid, he received only mockery.

If Anderwoff's nobles thought they could treat the second highness the same way, they were in great trouble, however. The second highness, with his army of more than 100 thousand soldiers, definitely didn't mind letting his men win some military contributions by fighting the soldiers of the noble houses.

Majik was close to the Handra and Farkel duchies. It had served as the springboard for the first prince's invasion into the four central duchies. It had been reduced to a collection of ruins by the latter's counterattack. Even after five years, it had yet to be repopulated.

"Lord Count, where do you think the second highness will turn his attention to after destroying the Redlis kingdom?" asked the vice-president.

"Well, there are many options. It's most probable for the second highness to use the troops he's gathered to attack the four central duchies and force them to relinquish their independence. After that, he will likely bring his troops through the four duchies and gather them the Melein duchy before starting an invasion of the Iblia kingdom. After defeating Duke Fisablen's Frontier Legion he could launch a pincer attack on the Madras duchy, which would end Duke Madras.

"He'll only turn to the Lormy duchy after all of this has been achieved. If the Union doesn't want the Lormo duchy to rejoin the empire, the 100-year conflict between the Union and the empire will restart again. However, the second highness would have reunited much of the territory of the former empire. He'll likely declare himself Emperor after he takes back the Lormo duchy. He'll be immortalized as the one who reunited the Krissen Empire, as Auguslo I," speculated Lorist.

The vice-president looked rather pale, Lorist's guesses were well within the realm of possibility.

He half-bowed to Lorist and said, "Lord Count, I thank you for your kind hospitality over the last couple of days, but I believe the time has come for us to leave. We will handle the deal between you and the guild, so please rest assured."

Lorist stood up and said, "You're welcome to visit anytime you like. As our friends, you will receive the warmest welcome House Norton can give. Also, this here is my letter to the president. I'll have to trouble you to hand it to him on my behalf."

The 5th Day of the 4th Month

Here's the first bonus chapter of the week, also brought to you by an anonymous donor. Looks like the plot is getting rolling again!

Drops fell from the sky. With them fell the smell of the sea.

"Milord, you should return to the cabin and rest. We know this route well enough to complete the rest of our journey with our eyes closed. We need not travel so slow, nor need we anchor for the night. We'll travel at full sail for as long as the winds allow. It only takes us 11 to 12 days to travel between the island and the Northlands. We'll reach Bullhorn Bay in another two days," advised Freiyar.

Clad in a black raincoat, Lorist stood amidst the raindrops.

"I'm fine," he said, "I only came to take a look and breathe some fresh air. You should go back to work. You don't have to worry about me."

The ship Lorist was on was a large-class three-masted merchant vessel. It was the commander of the Oceanic Legion's personal vessel, Freiyar's vessel. Freiyar had brought 28 merchant vessels and armed middle-class ships with him to the Northlands this time. They would take the stockpiled magic-beast furs to Soliwas to trade with the Peterson Merchant Guild as per their agreement.

Lorist was accompanied by Els and Dulles - Josk and Jim had been left with Charade. Lorist felt it prudent, since Freiyar and Senbaud were both constantly absent from the island with their fleets, to leave a gold-ranked knight on the island.

After Freiyar had been sent away, Lorist stood on the frontmost part of the deck. He watched the waves splash against the ship, and the rain fall gently. It was pleasant and relaxing. The news of the War of Glass and the second highness' ambush on Frederika finally let Lorist be at peace. There was no one left unoccupied to lust after Silowas island. Its development could finally proceed as planned.

Lorist hoped the two wars would drag on for as long as possible. Ideally, the Union and the second highness would exterminate the Teribo and Redlis kingdoms respectively. Once done with that they would hopefully turn on one another and fight over the Lormo duchy. The longer there was war occupying others elsewhere, the longer Lorist could spend developing his dominion in peace.

When I finish my research on cannons, I'll make sure to install them on my warships. Once my warships are fitted properly, even if a force like the Chikdor Merchant Guild once again turns its sights to Silowas, they will pose me no threat. My ships will turn theirs into floating debris, no two logs will still be lashed to one another once I'm done with them. No one will doubt who is the true ruler of the seas ever again...

As he finished the thought, a realization dawned on him; he would be incredibly busy once he reached the Northlands.There would be many things requiring his attention. It soured his mood to think of this.

Clad in a similar raincoat, Else emerged on the deck and leaned against a mast to Lorist's side.

"Locke, I've been feeling rather troubled these past few days. Do you remember sending me to deliver 1000 gold Fordes and a bunch of other gifts to Baron Dina's dominion? I just find it a little weird. When did you get to know the sisters from that barony? Not to mention their beautiful aunt. They also seemed to be on rather familiar terms with you. The elder sister, Dina, even cursed you for being ruthless.

"I really can't fathom how that happened. As the leader of your guards, I am by your side almost all the time, yet I can't recall a single moment you were free enough to become intimate with the sisters and it seems their aunt also has some relationship with you. She seemed quite concerned and interested when we were talking about you. Once they heard of your identity, however, they became quite wistful and sent us away after just the usual pleasantries. What's going on?

Lorist knew by now that when Els addressed him as 'Locke', he had the intention to converse as friends, not as lord and retainer. He seemed quite curious about the matter they were discussing.

Lorist smiled slightly when he heard about their change in behavior. Had he been a mere knight of the house, he would have been in the same social class as the two sisters, and they could marry him without issue, but Lorist was the patriarch of the family and the head of the house, on top of that he was no longer a minor noble, but a count. The two sisters could not become his wives without being nobility themselves, and they were nothing more than the siblings of a minor noble, a baron.

"It's nothing important. Didn't I go out with Dulles and Karitok when we were last in the capital? We attended a party and I met the two sisters and their aunt there. The girl thought me a knight and hoped I would ask her hand in marriage."

"Tsk tsk tsk, milord, you have quite a bit of fortune with females... In a single night, you managed to get the elder sister and her aunt to fall head over heels for you," said Els, once more addressing Lorist as his superior.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about me. What about you? You're not exactly young anymore. Weren't you getting along well with Master Mancheny's daughter? Should I bring up marriage on your behalf and have him wed his daughter to you?

"Ugh..."

Els had not expected to become the topic of discussion. He was stunned for a few moments.

"Well, Locke, I think it's better to wait for another year or two. I'll propose to her after I've broken through to the gold rank. Her marriage can be more glorious that way and I'll have my own manor. I can only be certain that she'll live well should misfortune befall me if things are that way."

Lorist patted on Els's shoulder.

He said angrily, "Don't be ridiculous. What misfortune are you talking about? With me by your side, you're guaranteed to live to your hundreds and experience the joys of family life."

Els looked annoyed and troubled.

"If you put it that way, Milord, I really can't decide who is actually guarding who..."

...

On the 11th day of the 3rd month, Lorist arrived at the Northlands. Freiyar had been correct, only eleven days had passed since their departure from Silowas.

Howard could be seen with red, swollen eyes, patiently awaiting Lorist's arrival. Lorist had sent Howard to the Northlands forcefully back then. It would have been too dangerous for Howard to be at Lorist's side if the Chikdor Merchant Guild attacked. Lorist would be on the front lines, he might even have to face blademasters. He felt it would be best for Howard to return to the Northlands.

Once on the pier, Lorist ruffled Howard's head.

"What's this? You're crying even though you're this old already? Sheesh, let's go to see the port city first. Have the carriage take a trip there."

The foundations for the city had already been completed in the highlands near Blackmud March. There were already two completed sectors, already populated. The people living there were mostly from Senbaud's fishing village and those who had moved over from Silowas. They were the lucky few who had the privilege of settling down in the city early.

The one responsible for the city-building project was none other than Grandmaster Ciroba. He had designed the city as grandiosely as he could. After making a few rounds in the area, Lorist realized there were around ten sectors still under construction. By the time the whole project was completed, the city would be able to sustain up to 60 thousand people and still have enough land for further expansion.

A massive residence for the dominion lord and a large garden square was to be built in the center of the city, as was the convention for most cities on the continent. It would take a few years at least to finish it. Most of the work was still being done on the foundations.

"Grandmaster Ciroba did a pretty good job. I must remember to give him and the other people in charge a reward."

Lorist turned to Howard.

"It the city named yet?" asked he.

"No, Milord. It's been decided to leave it up to you," said Howard.

"In that case, tell Grandmaster Ciroba he will have the honor of naming the city as a reward for his magnificent work. When the work is done, I'll have someone erect bronze statues of all those involved in the project. Also, remind him that he already has an embankment named after him, I don't want the city named as such as well. Have him think of a better name," instructed Lorist.

At the end of the previous year, the 50-kilometer long embankment, which stretches from Tortoise Hill to the mouth of the Azure River was finally completed. It had taken three long years and 200 thousand laborers to build. The embankment would not only prevent the river's flooding from interfering with the harvests from the new farmland at Blackmud Marsh but also served as a protective barrier between the land and the ironspine crocodiles that lurked on the far bank of the river.

The house spent over 500 thousand gold Fordes on the 50-kilometer long embankment. The main labor force had been the 50 thousand indentured servants that would finally complete their term of service at the end of the year. The house had also recruited an additional 70 thousand vagabonds to supplement the indentured servants. They brought their families with them and settled near the embankment. Blackmud Marsh had thus been turned into yet another center of food production.

Besides these two, the house's soldiers and garrison forces had to offer up three months of labor annually. The residents of Salus and Felicitas also joined the workforce for some extra money. Together, they managed to complete the embankment in just three years.

Grandmaster Ciroba had asked Lorist in his final report what the embankment should be named, and even offered to name it himself.

At the time Lorist couldn't be bothered to come up with a name, so he passed the privilege on to the grandmaster, who didn't hesitate to name it after himself. He even commissioned a large stone table to be placed on the embankment with its name. Many wished to object to the name, but when the grandmaster paraded Lorist's letter round, no one could oppose him.

Lorist had learned his lesson and forbade the man from naming things after himself. He couldn't afford to set a precedent and have every other narcissist name everything after themselves. As a form of compensation and motivation, Lorist was willing, however, to have a statue of the man erected in commemoration of his efforts.

During the remaining 20-odd days of the 3rd month, Lorist checked on the various military camps and the people within his dominion. He spent a day each at the Maplewoods bastide and Telesti's Nico Academy office before rushing to Firmrock castle to attend the annual general meeting of the house.

...

On the 5th day of the 4th month, Lorist arrived at Firmrock castle and the annual general meeting commenced.

The flow of the meeting was not unlike the previous year's. The only change was the absence of those who had remained on the island, most notable among whom was Charade, and a proposal to commend and entitle those with contributions.

After a briefing on the year's outcomes came the discussion of promotions and entitlement. Lorist announced that Potterfang, Fiercetiger Loze, Josk, Freiyar, Belnick, Malek, Terman, and Yuriy would each receive their own hereditary manor. The manor and its surrounding lands were to remain in the family even if their descendants didn't become household knights.

Lorist instructed Shadekampf to plan for eight new farm towns and eight manors to be built in the red-river valley. It was the land that had originally belonged to the Kenmays. He named the place Redriver. His proclamation caused many to wonder how House Kenmays would react to the, now official, occupation of their original dominion.

Lorist merely laughed it off.

"House Kenmays is now preoccupied with their dominion in the eastern Northlands. Practically speaking, they've abandoned the red-river valley for several years now. They won't develop land so close to our dominion. In fact, this move will make them feel more at ease. It will reassure them that we've truly buried the hatchet."

The final item on the agenda concerned the expansion of the house's military through the recruitment of the 50 thousand captives, those who had previously worked on the embankment and were about to complete their term as indentured servants. Despite comments to the contrary Lorist had made int he past, the second highness' 300 thousand strong army had unsettled him. It was anyone's guess whether the second highness would leave the north in peace, or return to wipe it clean after he finished with the Iblia kingdom. It was better to be prepared than not.

Potterfang's heavy-armored troops and Loze's pike cavalry troops were expanded to two divisions each. Dulles was also put in charge of forming another carroballista division. He needn't prepare any horses, however. Lorist wished to try out an idea. It if succeeded, Dulles's unit would be able to travel on foot.

After the meeting, Lorist had Grandmaster Sid, the person in charge of the refinery at Ironforge Castle, and Supervisor Camorra, who mainly dealt with the production of military equipment, arms, and armor at Windstorm City, stay back for two additional assignments.

The first regarded the idea Lorist had. He drew a design similar to a wheelbarrow and wanted Grandmaster Sid to test whether a steel ballista could be fitted to it. That way, there would no longer be a need for carriages and horses for the ballistae. They would still have the same levels of mobility and agility, however. Additionally, the wheelbarrow design allowed for the ballista to be dragged up hilly terrain to higher vantage points, which was much easier than moving a whole carriage uphill.

The other assignment was for a set of glamorous armor that was slightly weaker than Whitelion Legion armor in terms of defense. The armor was to be sold to the Union. Given the disposition of merchants, the better the armor looked, the more they would be hooked.

...

That same afternoon, on the frontlines of the Teribo kingdom, President Cobleit, commander-in-chief of the Union's army, saw that his force had already grown to the 150 thousand mark. With the passing of winter, he could finally stop arguing with other officers in his tent all day. He was finally about to release his ultimatum to the four nations' army. Should they not leave within three days to allow the Union passage, they would be attacked without mercy. The consequences after that would be borne by the allied army alone.

Given that the allied army had been able to stop the Union's forces in their tracks for three whole months, they could already be considered to have answered Teribo VII's expectations. Additionally, nobody wanted to antagonize the Union. Thus, the allied army promised they would retreat within three days, ending the stalemate that had lasted for three whole months.

...

At the same time in the occupied capital of the Iblia kingdom, the first group of soldiers belonging to the main body of the Andinaq kingdom's royal local defense army appeared outside the city.

Second Highness Auguslo, who watched their arrival from the walls, finally breathed a sigh of relief. For the past month, after his ambush on the city, he had not had a single night of good sleep. He seemed to have slimmed greatly and a thick beard could be seen on his face. The negotiations with the 70 thousand troops defending Kanbona Province had taxed him greatly, but he had managed to make them surrender. Now that his main army had finally arrived, what remained would be the capture of the first prince.

"Heed my orders, send an ambassador to Anderwoff's nobles. Order them to bend the knee and pledge allegiance to me, or face extermination."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Your will is my command. But what should we do if the nobles have other demands?"

"Are they in a position to make demands? It was they who joined the first prince in rebellion and forever disturbed the empire's peace. I'm already being incredibly merciful by sparing their lives and those of their family. Is that not enough? Tell them that if their behavior is to my satisfaction, the most they would face is a decrease in their peerage and relocation. I trust that this will be enough."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will leave right away to pass on your decree."

Furybear

This is the second bonus release of the week, also by an anonymous donor. These recent chapters are soooo long ><

Clang-clang-clang-clang! The clashing of swords sliced the air.

Lorist returned his sword to its scabbard and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, you've improved quite a bit. Given your current swordsmanship, You should be able to take on a one-star-gold-ranked knight. You have to try harder, got it?"

Reidy held his hand in front of his chest respectfully and said, "Yes, master."

Lorist noticed that Reidy had improved at an incredible speed of the past year. After he began his training in the hall at the back of Firmrock castle's mountain, Reidy did nothing else for a long time. Not only had he broken through the third stage of the dan ocean ki-refining technique, thus reaching the bright stage, his swordsmanship had also improved by leaps and bounds.

"You should start stabilizing your power at the third stage before traveling to get some experience. Breaking through to the fourth rank in the dan ocean ki-refining technique requires actual insight, not just mindless training. Perhaps, you might even have to experience a few a life-threatening situations first. During normal combat situations, you need to be far more clear-headed and maintain a calm demeanor - you must not be enraged easily, understood?"

"I understand. Thank you for your teachings, Master."

Lorist was just preparing to return to the central castle with Howard after he left the training grounds when Else showed up.

"Milord, Knight Tarkel and Supervisor Camorra are both waiting for you in the guest lounge."

Nodding, Lorist said, "Have them enter my study. You should come along too."

Time had really flown by. When they had last met, Lorist was just a person in charge of a convoy heading north to return to the house's dominion. They had even been attacked by Count Cobry's spear cavalry on the way. It had ultimately ended with the defeat of Count Cobry and with Lorist occupying the Northwestern Province's city, Geldos.

Back then Tarkel had merely been a guard for one of the prison camps in the city. He was a two-star-iron-rank and cowardly as a mouse. Lorist was convinced that he had his talents and dragged him to the northlands forcefully. On their arrival, however, Lorist was swamped with urgent matters and forgot to tend to Tarkel. The latter was forced to join Yuriy's light cavalry scouts just to make a living and look after his family.

The time he had spent with the unit had changed him completely. There wasn't a trace of his previous cowardice left, and in its place was a rare bravery. The many life-threatening battles he had experienced had also pushed him to the peak of the iron rank. He was now courteous and respectful towards others. When Lorist finally got round to Tarkel, he immediately made him his personal attendant. A year later, having broken through to the silver rank, he was taken in as a household knight.

Lorist had sent Tarkel all over the place on one task after another over the next two years. The tasks themselves were thought eccentric by most, one of the longer trips lasted a full three months. Tarkel was required to write a report on every location he visited, including any personal thoughts or opinions he might have on it for that particular trip.

Tarkel and Supervisor Camorra both gave a knight's solute as they entered the study on the second floor of the castle.

"Good day, milord," greeted they in unison.

"Good day to you too," Lorist answered.

His gaze settled on Tarkel first.

"You've done rather well for the past two years. I see that you've been rather industrious with your battleforce training as well. You're already at the two-star silver-rank?" asked Lorist surprised.

"That's right, Milord. After receiving the battleforce manual from you, my training progressed even faster than when I was using the manual given to me in the military," replied Tarkel gratefully.

"That's because your battleforce is fitting for the technical manual I gave you," said Lorist as he smiled.

His gaze shifted to the silent Camorra.

"Camorra, if you want to awaken your battleforce, I can give you a hand."

The supervisor made a bitter smile.

"Milord, please stop joking around. I'm already in my mid-forties. I was informed that people over 35 can no longer awaken their battleforce."

"That's a common misconception," Lorist retorted, "Ten years ago when I was studying at Morante, I heard that someone managed to awaken their battleforce at the age of 48. Naturally, it was also rumored that the man used lots of precious medicinal supplements to help him out. It no doubt cost a fortune, but if you desire to awaken your battleforce, I can definitely be of help. It'll take a while, however, at least three months and possibly even a whole year. It won't be easy, you'll have to change your habits and daily routine according to my instructions if you want to succeed. Do you wish to give it a try?" asked Lorist out of nowhere.

Camorra's expression turned glum. He was silent for a time before lowering his head

"Please show me the way."

"Very well," Lorist said as he took Camorra's pulse, "You've lived quite a harsh life in your childhood and that has caused the growth of your bone structure to be slightly stunted. In your youth, you toiled hard for most of your life, resulting in a rather weak foundation. However, your life improved markedly when you reached your middle years. Despite that, you did not slip and managed to keep healthy habits resolutely, though you do seem to be experiencing some anxiety and stress that has accelerated the loss of your hair, as well as a lack of good sleep. You wake up in the middle of the night and find it hard to go back to sleep, right?"

Camorra looked at Lorist like he was a ghost.

"Mi-milord... Y-you were able to diagnose my sleep condition j-just by taking my pulse?!" stammered he.

"Of course," Lorist said with a smile, "Actually, that part was a lie. I got to know about your sleeplessness simply by asking your guards. They saw the lights in your room lit every night as they did their rounds.

"Despite this, your physical condition is still passable, save for your anxiety that deprives you of good sleep. How about this, hand most of your tasks to your aide and take half a year off. During that time, attend the training camp with the new recruits so you can receive some military training. Make sure you only do half of each of the exercises, though. I'll also give you a set of prescriptions. Work and rest as the routine of the camp dictates. If you can do that, I am confident that you will have an 80 percent chance of awakening your battleforce. Now, go."

Camorra spent a while in deep thought before replying.

"Alright, Milord. I will do as you say."

Clapping his hands, Lorist said, "Alright. I've called you guys here today because I have something I need your help with. Els, don't just stand in the corner, come over here."

"Our house is growing more prosperous by the day, but we still have a major shortcoming: our intelligence network. When we stay in the northlands, we won't be informed about what happens in the outside world. But now that we have the route to Silowas, we have a window to the outside world. We can gather a lot of information now. Just recently we learned of the War of Glass and the second highness' attack on Frederika.

"Our news is still too out of date, however. The slow speed at which news travels to us puts the house at a serious disadvantage. I intend to remedy this situation. I'm going to set up a department with the sole purpose of gathering intelligence. I want to speed up the rate at which we receive news about the happening on the continent enough so that we will always have enough time to prepare and react to anything that concerns us. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The three of them stayed quiet.

Camorra finally broke the silence after a while.

"Milord, are you saying you want to send spies to various regions to gather intelligence?"

Lorist nodded.

Tarkel smiled bitterly.

"Milord, that is difficult to do. Putting other things aside, just hiring and training the spies will cost us an incredible amount of money. The old empire had 29 provinces, each had a unit of spies infiltrated into the province's higher tiers of society. It requires a lot of money to do something like this."

Els gave it some thought.

"Milord, if it's just the house's dominion, I can promise you that nothing will escape our ears, just like how it was at Morante, but it's a whole different story outside the dominion. The chaos outside the dominion makes it hard for us to ensure the safety of our spies. It won't be worth it for them to lose their lives just for some reports.

Lorist shook his head and stood up.

"You are mistaken. The kind of spies I want is not the kind you're imagining. Currently, almost all spies on Grindia have to infiltrate high society as nobles and attend their parties and functions, hoping that they'll chance upon some valuable intelligence. Or, they would simply be free travelers who spend most of their time in taverns to gather information and report the presence of suspicious persons. That is not what I want."

"Tarkel, do you know why I was so interested in your skills when I met you that year in Geldos?" asked Lorist.

Shaking his head, Tarkel said, "Unfortunately not, Milord. That year, I didn't even think that I would ever break through to the silver rank. I was merely working for food and spending my life doing nothing but lazing around. I thought that the rest of my life would be the same. I didn't think that you would fancy me talented. Naturally, I am now very thankful for what you did back then. If you didn't force me to come along, I wouldn't be the knight I am today."

Lorist chuckled and said, "Did you know that it was your gossip that convinced me of your resourcefulness? I totally didn't expect that a normal guard like you would know Geldos like the back of your hand and answer any question I had for you. You told me everything. From who had a grudge against whom to what resources had arrived in the past two days and where they were stored, you knew it all! You were just a normal guard for a prison camp, not Count Cobry's chief supervisor! It was then that I realized that you're naturally talented as a spy. It was because of that realization that I forced you to follow me to the dominion.

"Surely you won't deny that you're naturally more curious than most, right? Tarkel, during the past two years, I have assigned you to work on more than ten different occasions. You had to do something different every time, yet you still adapted flawlessly and integrated into your new working environment without fail... You even build up quite the list of new friends and contacts. You would be swimming like a fish in water in your new environment in less than a month, not to mention your friendly relations with your colleagues. If I didn't know otherwise, I might have thought that you had been working each job for several years...

"This is the talent of which I speak. You are a natural spy, and you don't have a loose mouth either. Every time you move to a new workplace you start as a blank slate. Not a word of your previous job escapes your mouth. This is a quality I greatly admire.

"The department I am thinking of forming isn't one that will spy, but one that will simply gather intelligence. You can even call it the investigations department if you want. They will require some form of spies, yes, but they will be designated as 'intelligence operatives'.

"I believe there will be people at every place that know their base very well, just like you when you were working at Geldos. Tarkel, your mission is to scout them out and hire them. Make them into our intelligence operatives that will send us important information about the area.

"As for information from the noble circles, we don't have to get a person to mix with them. We can just bribe their servants and attendants. The information we get from them is sure to be more reliable and detailed. It's just like how Camorra paid off one of Count Kenmays's personal attendant that one time.

"I believe someone who qualifies to be an intelligence operative should have some sort of influence in their area. Look at tailors, inn owners, fishmongers, or even the commanders of garrisons. No one will suspect them of being informants, so they won't take note when they see them contacting our people. They'll be interacting as friends or acquaintances would.

"If nobody meets those criteria, we can train some ourselves. There are many of our house's soldiers who have retired because of some injury or other. If they are still willing to serve the family, we can train them to gather intelligence. Have them master a trade and move them back to their hometown where they can set up some kind of shop. Just like that, we'll have another source of information."

Lorist paused as he opened his drawer and took out a thick stack of beastskin documents.

"These are some thoughts I have concerning the intelligence and investigation department. Read this when you get back and tell me your opinions the next time we meet.

"My wish is for the three of you to be in joint command of this new department. Tarkel, you'll be responsible for the management and placement of our informants, Camorra, you will work on sorting and analyzing the reports, and Els, you'll be heading the operations department. You'll do 'fieldwork' and cooperate with Tarkel and do anything he requires."

"Operations department?" Els questioned, "What's that?"

Lorist made a cut-throat gesture and said, "During the selection process for informants, Tarkel might run into some deep trouble. Some local crime syndicates might try to interfere, some local hooligans might get int he way, or people our informants bear grudges against.

"Tarkel will compile a list of those that are obstacles to our operations and you will eliminate them. You can pick people to fill the positions from your guard brigade. For now, keep it small and have at most three squads of men."

"Understood, Milord," acknowledged Els.

"I'll be skipping out on the training camp, in that case, Milord. I must first finish the protocols for the organization of the reports for the department," said Camorra.

"No, your tasks are not that urgent. Just go to the training camp to prepare for your battleforce awakening. Take note of quick-witted recruits that are potential intelligence operative candidates as well. After you make sure they are of the reliable sort, have them transfer to the new department for training to form its foundations. We will send them out in the future as required. After all, Tarkel alone can't go everywhere to set up our intelligence-gathering facilities, can he?" said Lorist.

"This matter is not that urgent, we should take it step by step. I will be satisfied if we can have a preliminary intelligence network covering the former empire's territory set up within three years. The house will provide all the funds and resources you require. But before that, we still face one huge problem. How will the informants send their reports? Given the chaotic state of the lands, messengers traveling on horseback aren't that reliable, as Els has mentioned, they're relatively slow as well. By the time the news reaches us, it will already be out of date. Tell me, do you have any thoughts or suggestions?" asked Lorist.

"Milord, can we breed sea swallows on a large scale and use them to pass letters just like how ships at sea communicate?" asked Els.

"That won't do," Lorist said, shaking his head, "I've already asked Senbaud about this and according to him, sea swallows have too many limitations. Firstly, a sea swallow will have to be hatched and raised on the ship for it to treat it as its home. If we want it to travel to another ship, we must bring it there in a cage and release it so it can fly back to the ship it was hatched on. Also, the distance can't be too great. They'll be useless for trips greater than 35 kilometers."

"Milord, I've read in the books that the magi used owls and crows of some sort to transport letters. Perhaps we could experiment with them?" suggested Tarkel.

Rolling his eyes, Lorist said, "It's not like you're a magus. Do you know how to train them? Perhaps, there's some relic that contains information about it?"

Tarkel didn't say anything else.

"Milord, perhaps, we can use hen harriers to deliver letters," said Camorra.

"Hen harriers?"

"Yes, milord. I know an old hunter who happens to be know how to train hen harriers. I've seen him tie several types of medicinal ingredients to the claws of the birds and have them deliver it to his son's shop in a city 50-odd kilometers away," explained Camorra.

"Very well, have somebody ask around. If hen harriers can indeed be used for communication, we will begin breeding and training them en masse. The house is willing to invest a lot of money in this endeavor. Perhaps when we do have hen harriers that can deliver letters, the forces of the house can react more swiftly to sudden changes on the battlefield."

Lorist hoped sincerely that hen harriers proved useful. If they did, he had no qualms investing unlimited amounts of money.

"Milord, I have another question," Tarkel said, "What will this intelligence investigation department of ours be called?"

"A name? The KGB? The CIA? The NSA? How about the Stasi or the Gestapo? Maybe MI6?" Lorist mumbled the names of the intelligence agencies of Earth that were known to him as they flashed in his mind. None of them felt adequate, however, so he settled on an alternate phrase for 'Raging Bear' as pronounced in English.

"Furybear. We'll call it Furybear then."

The First and Third Young Masters

Hey guys, here's the third bonus chapter of the week, finishing up all the releases for this week.

But wait, don't start reading just yet! Prince and I have some important announcement's we'd like to make along with the chapter release, so do hold off on the chapter reading for a bit (or, promise to come back to read the annoucements below after finishing the chapter!).

First, for those of you who haven't checked the main site announcement, LiberSpark's public Discord server is now live! On it, you'll be able to chat with other readers as well as translators, editors, and other staff from LiberSpark. Also, we have novel-specific chat channels where you can discuss stuff related to the plots with more fluidity and flexibility. Just click on this link here to join our server: Discord Invite Link

Additionally, I would like to make it known that we are going to raise the sponsored chapter amount by $10, making it $30 each. Please read the main announcement here as the author's note section is too full for any more: Main Announcement Link

On the 3rd day of the 5th month at the Union camp located at the frontline of the Teribo kingdom, President Cobleit freaked out and went on a rampage. Without caring about the onlookers, he began cursing loudly in his tent.

He wasn't cursing at the people in the tent, however, nor the troops that wouldn't listen to his orders, not even the enemy who defended the citadel opposite his camp. Teribo VII was not the target of any of his insults. He was actually cursing at his distant uncle, the famed and stubborn rank 3 blademaster, Duke Urubaha IV.

He's basically slapping me squarely in the face! All I wanted was the use of his forces to conquer the Teribo kingdom. I even offered him such a good deal, not only would I pay for the forces, he'd even receive a lot of benefits! But instead, he goes and pulls this!

It was no wonder that the president was bathed in such extreme fury. Two months earlier he had written a letter to the duke asking to employ the duchy's army. The Union was willing to pay handsomely for their use. The president considered the benefits and promised business with the Twinhead Dragon Merchant Guild offered to the Urubaha duchy reason enough for the latter to stand on the Union's side, even without the familial ties they shared.

In Urubaha IV's reply, he expressed his support for the Union's actions and emphasizes how he loathed Teribo VII's actions. He noted with regret, however, that one of his armies had already been rented and could, thus, only be given to the Union when they returned.

At the time, President Cobleit was incredibly happy with the response and even showed the letter off to the masses. The duchy's support lent further credence to the justice of their cause against the Teribo kingdom.

After forcing the four allied nations' army to leave, the president prepared to attack two more of the kingdom's commanderies. Their defenders retreated or surrendered without resistance, so the Union took the two commanderies over with ease.

However, just as the president was about to strike once more, to capture Teribo VII and conquer the rest of the kingdom in one go, his army - a ragtag bunch of nitwits - stopped following his orders and instead went raiding and looting for more riches.

Before he even had the chance to punish them for their insubordination, he received several distress calls. Some gold ranked swordsmen and some mercenaries had been captured or assassinated while they were out raiding. In barely any time at all, 14 more gold-ranked swordsmen and mercenaries became headless corpses. Their heads popped up in the Teribo kingdom shortly after in exchange for the rewards promised by its king.

With no other choice, President Cobleit launched another anti-assassination initiative and gathered up all the soldiers in the two commanderies. They all moved to the army's camp. It took him a month of hard work to reorganize the troops and implement new regulations. Only thereafter did he set out once more. The army hadn't even marched for two days, however, before they came upon a citadel blocking their path.

The president could have dealt with them using temptations or threat, had they been the kingdom's troops, but Teribo VII knew very well how unreliable his forces were and had hired another army to man the citadel. This army was none other than the one promised to the Union by the Urubaha duchy, the Crimson Legion.

The legion was rather small, at just 24 thousand men, but it was very well known, especially amongst the neighboring nations. They had been used to suppress many uprisings, had swept entire provinces clean of bandits, and had even helped the successor of a small kingdom regain his throne. They were famous for their loyalty, reliability, hardiness, and determination.

President Cobleit had wanted to hire one of the duchy's armies exactly because of this reputation. Other than that, they followed orders strictly and didn't charge much to employ: the legion only cost 100 thousand gold Fordes to rent each month. With a rented army that would obey all his orders, the president felt that he could keep the ragtag bunch in check while simultaneously showing them how a real army should behave.

Little did he know that the army he had wanted to hire had become his enemy's reinforcements and even stood right in his path. The surprise almost caused the president to spit out blood in anger.

Two days later, the truth of the matter was presented to President Cobleit. As he had expected, Teribo VII had offered Urubaha IV over three times the normal rate, he had paid 1 million gold Fordes for just three months of service. The offer was so irresistible that Urubaha IV didn't care for his promise to the president and the Union, and gladly took Teribo VII's side in the conflict.

The Crimson Legion had been ordered to defend the citadel to their last breath. Should the citadel fall, their men would perish too. In fact, the duke even hoped that this would be exactly what happens. His deal with Teribo VII stated that if he lost the legion, the king would pay an additional 5 million gold Fordes as reparations and he would replace all the lost military equipment. Human life was the least valuable thing in the duchy to the duke. It didn't matter how many soldiers he lost, he could always just recruit others to replace them.

The president cursed his uncle for being so unfaithful and greedy. If it was for money, the duke would ignore his family's pleas for help without reservation. The care the Twinhead Dragon Merchant Guild had shown to the duchy had also been conveniently forgotten.

No one in the tent tried to interfere, they all understood the president's troubles. Even though the Union had around 150 thousand troops that also had experience fighting defensive battles, it would be a long stretch to ask them to mount an assault. Asking them to conquer the citadel was akin to asking them to jump off a cliff. It was especially true given the Crimson Legion's reputation for being incredibly tenacious defenders.

Perhaps, the saying that 'the battlefield is the best place to learn' made sense. Should he actually force his men to attack the citadel? Even if he succeeded, he would suffer huge casualties. How many of his men would each of the Crimson Legion's soldiers kill before falling? They would definitely not surrender. They followed orders to the letter, and they had been ordered to hold the citadel or fall with it. Three per soldier? Four? Maybe even more? Would incurring such a huge loss just from attacking a citadel be worth it? The president knew that if he lost half his troops, he would lose the whole army. The rest would have no courage left and scatter.

But what would happen if he didn't attack? If he turned back, he would be the laughing stock of the entire continent, the general of 150 thousand soldiers defeated by 24 thousand in a citadel, and without a fight to boot. Rumors would spread quickly that he had chickened out in front of the legion, his reputation would be ruined. And yet he couldn't attack. The citadel's defenses had almost no flaws. The moment he launched an attack would be the moment the land would be submerged in a sea of blood and a field of corpses. If that happened, some would no doubt criticize the Union's war as nothing more than a millstone used to grind away at the smaller merchant guilds to keep the big-seven in power. There was no good way to deal with this!

President Cobleit's hatred for his uncle seeped into his bones. It was as if all past favors and their familial relation didn't matter in the face of money.

After a long sigh, he slumped back into his chair. Shortly after he realized there was still someone in the tent. It was the third young master of the Chikdor Merchant Guild, Serihanem.

"Oh? Why are you still here?" asked President Cobleit curiously.

Serihanem bowed respectfully and said, "President, I have an idea that might not require us to attack this citadel."

"Oh, what is it then?" asked the president, reinvigorated.

"Well, can we confirm that the only orders the Crimson Legion received were to defend the citadel itself?" asked Serihanem.

President Cobleit nodded.

"They have no orders to take offensive actions, right?" asked Serihanem in another effort to confirm the facts.

"None whatsoever," replied the president.

"Then it'll be simple. President, I would like to be sent to the citadel as an ambassador and meet with the legion's commander. Please give me permission to do so," requested Serihanem.

"What are your intentions?"

"Perhaps, we can help them reinterpret the definition of 'defending the place to their deaths'," said Serihanem, before he revealed a sly smile.

Two days later, the Union's 150-thousand-strong force bypassed the citadel and continued their assault. First young master Serihanem and the commander of the Crimson Legion stood at the citadel's gates and observed the Union's forces march westward.

"Thank you, Commander Seria. I must tell you once more how grateful the Chikdor Merchant Guild is to you. Perhaps, we will be able to have another chance for cooperation," said Serihanem sincerely.

Commander Seria of the Crimson Legion was a rather bulky man in his forties. He was also a two-star-gold-ranked knight.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "There's no need for you to be that thankful. We're only acting with our own interests in mind. Just like you said, nobody actually wants to die, and neither do I want to see the young lads in my legion sacrificed for no good reason. Also, we didn't disobey any orders by doing this. We did in keep the citadel secure and didn't let it fall into your hands. As for your circling around the citadel, that has nothing to do with me. It's not that I received an order that required me to prohibit your troops from doing so."

On the 11th day of the 5th month, the Union's forces successfully passed around the citadel defended by the Crimson Legion to continue their invasion. Teribo VII lost his cool the moment he received the news. He hurriedly offered more money to the neighboring nations to send reinforcements and sent some men to find out what the heck the Crimson Legion was up to.

All Commander Seria did, was bring up the orders he had received. He responded proudly that he had managed to keep the citadel from falling into the hands of the enemy, and that he didn't violate any orders he received at all. As for where the troops of the Union had gone, they were none of his concern and not what he was responsible for.

Teribo VII was infuriated when he heard received the commander's response. He wrote a letter to Urubaha IV. As a result, Urubaha IV mobilized his other army-for-rent, the Tricolor Sword Legion, to the kingdom to stand with the four allied nations' army, officially taking the kingdom's side. And so began yet another stalemate that lasted for three more months. As for what transpired after that, that's a topic for another time.

...

On the 14th day of the 5th month at the Hanayabarta kingdom's port city of Nupite, more than 30 vessels belonging to the Chikdor Merchant Guild anchored. Countless badly-dressed slave youths could be seen busy moving cargo around like trails of ants.

One of the aged slaves slipped and fell. The cubic parcel he had been carried smashed into the ground. The crisp sound of something breaking rang out. The slaves around him looked at the scene with terror and quickly left the area, lest they be involved in the trouble that was to come.

The slave who'd slipped sat on the ground and revealed a cathartic smile on his face. Quickly, a few angry-looking men rushed over and pinned him to the ground. One of them tugged on his hair while another swung with his sword. Head and body separated. Blood fountained from the slave's bare neck.

"What a merciful end for an animal like him. What a clean and painless death!" the leader of the group said before he spun the parcel around and saw the marking on it.

He cursed, "This is something that belongs to Master Wazk! Dammit! We'll be reprimanded for this again... He might even force us to reimburse him, this is going to be expensive! Cursed slave, have a few of them come over and impale the head on a stake! And toss that filthy corpse into the ocean!"

It was a common site for the Chikdor Merchant Guild's men. This kind of thing happened quite often in this country built on slaves and was nothing to marvel at.

Within a luxurious building in Nupite, the third young master of the Chikdor Merchant Guild, Moribak, was receiving the local lord's hospitality. He was accompanied by more than ten other slave owners and traders ranked at the top of the port's hierarchy.

The fleet had started their journey on the 12th day of the 4th month. They had first stopped at the Shyarsia kingdom to purchase half a year's worth of spice and sell some of their own goods, before heading to Nupite. They had already been traveling for about a month and Moribak felt incredibly worn out. He had no choice but to stay energized the best he could to deal with these influential slave owners and traders.

The slave traders, their mouths loosened by the alcohol, complained about the difficulties of their business over the last year and how their 'stock' had been than satisfactory.

Moribak asked curiously, "What's causing such a huge change in the slave trading business?"

There were many different responses from the different traders but they all had one thing in common - the sudden rise to power of Second Highness Auguslo.

One of the slave traders began to tell his story of the better days of the past.

"During the years when the empire was embroiled in civil war, the nobles of the former empire were extremely welcoming to us and treated us like princes. Those nobles were more than happy to sell their captives, disobedient folk, and refugees to us. Back then, a young captive only cost one small silver. If we put ourselves through a little trouble, we could even hire mercenaries to capture the refugees to be traded for one gold coin after another..."

"That's right. It's a shame that the war ended too soon. It only lasted seven years! Sigh." another trader complained, "But even so, business was still good back then. There were many nobles who wanted to deal with us. We easily transported the goods from the Redlis kingdom to the Lormo duchy and each trip would net us a few thousand gold Fordes.

"To think that the Redlis kingdom's king, the first prince of the former empire, would actually be defeated by his nephew, the second highness of the Andinaq kingdom, and be forced to cede two provinces to his nephew. Our trade route through the two provinces has been cut off."

"Do the first prince and the second highness not want to deal with slaves?" asked Moribak.

"Third young master, you don't understand. The three princes have different attitudes towards the slave trade. The second prince, the king of the Iblia kingdom, for example, doesn't support slavery on the surface but allows it to continue in secret. He's the one that was the easiest with whom to strike a deal. Naturally, we didn't forget to give him some benefits for his cooperation. Back then, we could sell slaves in broad daylight within the borders of his kingdom.

"The first prince, on the other hand, is different. He would simply play dumb. Occasionally though, he would send his soldiers to demand a generous donation from us. Every time we pass through his territory, it's as if our skins are being scraped clean. Even though we did profit, the margin was very low.

"The worst one is the second highness. Back then, he was still rather amiable after the third prince became bedridden. There was once an occasion where we docked at Jillin Harbor of the Andinaq kingdom with the slaves we got from the Iblia kingdom. We were only fined a small amount of money after we were discovered. But after the second highness came to power, we were in deep trouble the moment we were captured by the kingdom's troops. Offenders would be beheaded without question. The second highness even claimed that his people weren't goods to be traded.

"I think that there's something wrong with his head. His people are starving and barely surviving. At least they would be able to continue living as slaves. People don't want to deal with Second Highness Auguslo only because of his 300 thousand soldiers. He'd rather have the three to four hundred thousand refugees at the two provinces near the southwest starve to death than allow them to sell themselves into slavery. If we had gotten our hands on those slaves, we'd have profited greatly!

"Wasn't Durik going to head to the southwestern provinces and trick the refugees there to come with us? He pretended to be a merchant from Morante and managed to gather around 1000 people, only to be exposed as a slave trader and hanged along with his attendants."

"Oh, third young master, has the second highness begun fighting with the first prince? I hope that we'll be able to reap some profit when they enter a stalemate," said another slave trader.

"Sigh, stop dreaming. When I left Morante, I heard that the second highness had successfully crossed the Cloudsnap Mountain Range to ambush Frederika. The first prince was forced to escape haggardly. I suspect that by the time I make it back, I will receive word of the Redlis kingdom's extermination. With the second highness having so much power, it's best if you don't get your slaves there," said Moribak.

At the same time, he told the slave traders and owners of his original northern strategy.

"It's a shame that the plans won't be executed now. My guild's higher-ups are terrified of the count just because of the loss of one rank 2 blademaster and 3000 other soldiers... Now that the whole political climate has shifted, there's no more hope left."

Most of what Moribak said flew in one ear of the slave traders and out the other, however.

One of them asked, "Third young master, you mentioned that this House Norton is undertaking huge development efforts and even brought more than 50 thousand refugees to their island?"

"That's right. That bastard no longer has to fear my clan's attack on Silowas. So, he gathered up around 60 thousand refugees from the two southwestern provinces and began developing the island," mumbled Moribak before he passed out from the alcohol's influence.