Hanga Town
"My Lord, you don't have to check things yourself. Please don't endanger your life" the Anza Family's Head Butler pleaded to his Master - Baron Ram
Currently, they are inside Hanga Town. The territory that the Anza Family supervised. They are like the lord of this land
Particularly, they were in the area where the sudden plague appeared
Just 5 days after Baron Kar's visit to the Anza Family Manor, this plague suddenly appeared
Baron Ram can't possibly not link this incident to Baron Kar. As a member of the Dark Heart Sect that is well versed in poison, it wouldn't be surprising if Baron Kar was the one that started this plague
"Don't worry about me. Such a plague that can affect a lot of people can't possibly harm me" Ram replied calmly but inside him, he was already seething with anger
It was very despicable of Baron Kar to use such an underhanded means. This plague makes his citizen's life harder than before
Not everyone can rest for days and still have a lot of food on their table. The normal civilians have to work hard every day so that they can put food into their stomach
Most of them were earning food on a daily basis and if they don't work for a day, they wouldn't be able to eat
However, with the plague tormenting their bodies, how can they even go to work? Not to mention work, they might not even be able to lift a single finger of their body
This plague not only affected the infected citizens. Even the whole economy of Hanga Town was affected
With the threat of plague, who would want to visit such a town? Travelers would be afraid of being affected
This might only be a plague but it has several impacts. Lesser number of merchants are entering the Hanga Town and the supplies were getting lesser and lesser
With the drop of the supplies of daily essentials, the sellers started raising the price of commodities
Not only were the citizens suffering from the plague but the prices were even raised. If this goes on, how many of them will die?
The plague only appeared for a few days but it has already spread in a wide area. About 40% of the town's total population were already affected in just a few days
If this was a normal plague, the transmission rate should be lower. But what if someone was deliberately spreading the plague?
With a town that only has a few thousand people population, it wasn't that hard to infect the majority of its citizens
This was Baron Kar's way of showing how Ram should just bow down at him. As long as the Baron doesn't leave any evidence, what can Ram do?
Due to the severity of this plague, Ram decided to check things himself. As a 5th circle mage, he doesn't believe that he would be affected by the plague
High ranking mages might not gain higher poison immunity but they can still use their magic powers to some extent, helping them purge out the poison that will infect them
Ram and the Butler were currently wearing a cloth that covered their mouth and nose for extra protection
Originally, this was already a small town but there were even fewer people in the street. They were either already infected or they were afraid to be infected
There were also homeless people in the street that were coughing out blood from time to time. If Ram and the Butler didn't come wearing a disguise, the citizens might rush at them and beg for help
As this is his town and territory, Ram's heart aches at seeing its current state. He badly wants to kill Baron Kar with his own hands but sadly, he doesn't have the qualifications to do that. He can only store his anger inside him
The more Ram sees the state of his Town, the angrier he becomes. With his almost empty wealth, Ram can't even hire an expert Healer to help all the citizens
There was his brother Lance that has potion knowledge but it's not like his specialty is healing potions
There were a lot of potion types in the world and Lance specializes in those that have attack power. Thus, when Ram was poisoned, he was just really trying his luck in finding the antidote
As this is not Lance's expertise, he needs some more time to study and develop a cure for the plague
But even if Lance makes the cure, he is just one person. Mages that can make potions are too few in number. They would need precise magical control
Aside from Lance, there were no other people that can make potions in this small territory
Besides even if Lance can create a cure, how much would it cost to cure so many people? The more time that pass, the more citizens were being infected
Just how many gold coins it would take? Hence the reason why Ram can't also simply buy cure already available in the market
Due to the low number of people that can make potions, the prices were on a high end. Ram can't afford to buy the quantity he needed
Thus, Ram's face continues to darken the more he sees the state of his territory. He felt so helpless, he can't even do anything for his own citizens
If this goes on, the Anza Family would further decline. With no abled citizens, where will the Anza Family get their tax?
Not to mention, a part of the tax money must also be given to the Royal Family. If Ram showed too much incompetency to the point that the majority of his citizens died in a plague, even his Nobility Title might get taken away from him
If that happens, how would Ram face his ancestors?
After seeing enough, Ram returned to his Manor with his mood being as gloomy as possible
His jaws and fists were clenched too tightly. The veins in his arms were even showing while his whole body was trembling from so much suppressed anger and that is when a Devil like voice entered his ears
"Would you rather let your citizens die or would you choose to indirectly kill the citizens of your enemy?"
Reif's question was just like the question that came from a devil. When Ram looks at him, his face still has a stoic look on it. There were no ripples that could be seen in his eyes as if it was not human lives that he was talking about
While gulping a mouthful of saliva, Ram asked. "W-what do you mean?" In which Reif gladly gave his answer
"I originally have the same plan as Baron Kar. If you had agreed to my proposal a week ago, it would be Baron Kar's people that will suffer from plague, not yours"
"This is the consequences of your conscience. In this world, if you don't have enough strength, you cannot save everyone"
"The best that you can do is to change the knife of death's target instead of letting it kill what's important to you"
Each and every word of Reif was filled with cruelty but it is also filled with pure truth
If at the start, Ram agreed to Reif's proposal, his citizens wouldn't be suffering from this plague
His people wouldn't be harmed and put on the brink of death. It would be the people of his enemies that will endure these things, not his
The citizen's sufferings can be said to be Ram's fault. After all, the target of this plague was him
Since Baron Kar wants his cooperation that he refuses, the Baron was forced to use underhanded means
If Ram submitted from the start, his people wouldn't be in this state. Ram was also given a second chance which was in the form of Reif
If he listened to Reif from the start, this crisis could be avoided
Ram's refusal to submission and cold feet in Reif's plan makes things the way it currently is
Bitterness. Ram can feel bitterness flowing into every inch of his body. He felt like a complete crap
Fortunately, things still aren't late. The air of confidence that Reif has was affecting him
"C-Can I still agree with your proposal?" Ram asked unsurely. It felt humiliating and weird to rely on a kid that is much younger that also has a cultivation base 3 realms lower than him. However, Ram felt like if he relies on Reif, things would be solved
Finally, an expression finally appeared on Reif's face. But it was a creepy smirk as if someone will taste what hell is
"Although Baron Kar made the same move as I planned, it's not like I can't do the same now"
"If you support me, I'll also spread a deadly plague on your enemy's territory. It would come to the point that Baron Kar wouldn't have the energy to deal with you"
"When that time comes, it would be Baron Kar that might lose his Nobility Title. If all the people in his Territory died, wouldn't that make his image as extremely incompetent Baron anger other Nobles and commoners?"