Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Roland knocked on the table and everybody in the hall instantly quieted down.
He rose from this chair and paced over to stand behind the officials.
When the Months of Demons end, we’ll welcome the new year as the most important year for Graycastle. I’ll unify the entire kingdom and hold the coronation ceremony to officially become the king and you’ll all become my ministers to help me govern this country.
Two years ago, everyone would have considered Roland’s promises to be the crazy ravings of an arrogant prince.
One year ago, they would have thought that his plans were long-term goals.
However, today, no one doubted what he said.
All officials rose and placed their right hands on their chest almost simultaneously. They lowered their heads and said,
Your Majesty, it’s our honor!
Suddenly, all their complaints and doubts disappeared. They looked excited as they understood the power of Neverwinter after working these two years in City Hall.
They knew, for sure, that once His Majesty made up his mind to unify the whole kingdom, he would definitely bring all the regions and areas of the kingdom into his control.
When that happened, they would rise from the officials of a city to the most powerful ministers of a kingdom.
Roland made a gesture, indicating them to sit down and said,
It’s more than that. My Graycastle will become unprecedentedly large. My kingdom will include the Hermes Plateau in the north, reach the Endless Cape in the south, expand westward to the Barbarian Land, and eastward to the Fjord Islands.
He further explained,
To make that happen, the First Army will become the busiest department and thus leave fewer soldiers to guard Neverwinter. Given this, I’ve got to explore the snow mountain now to eliminate hidden threats to the city. I don’t want my king’s city to be attacked by some unknown enemies from the mountains when the main force of the First Army isn’t here.
Carter suggested to the king in a low voice,
Your Majesty, maybe the First Army and the Witch Union will be enough to explore the snow mountain…
Roland interrupted,
No, in a dark underground cave where the landscape is extremely complex, guns and cannons have only a limited effect. We don’t have any maps of the cave or any preset firing position there. If they happen to meet some demonic hybrids, how much do you think it will cost the First Army to defeat them?
The Chief Knight fell into silence at once.
This is why we must work together with the Taquila survivors. Their God’s Punishment Witches and the Witch Union have complementary advantages in this exploration. The First Army will set sentry posts along the way and cover their retreat if need be. This is the most prudent arrangement.
Roland paused and then suddenly raised his voice.
You all listen to me carefully. Don’t tell me it’s difficult to implement this plan. You’re sitting here to solve problems for me! If you can’t, my City Hall doesn’t need you anymore!
He paused and looked at the City Hall Director.
Barov Mons?
Barov shuddered, answering,
Yes, Your Majesty!
Is there any problem with the final accounts and logistics for the exploration?
No… I believe.
The old man wiped the sweat from his face.
I’ll give you a plan five days later.
Three days,
Roland corrected him with an air of authority. After that, he turned to look at Minister of Agriculture.
Sirius Daly?
Yes, Your Majesty.
If Border Area’s food stocks are low, you can get some from the Longsong Area. We’ve got enough concrete boats for this. Do I make myself clear?
Ye-Yes, Your Majesty!
Karl Van Bate!
The Minister of Construction answered immediately,
Your Majesty, I’ll carefully check the geological condition of both the mining and furnace areas.
Good…
Roland smiled.
Then the next one.
…
This time, all the problems could be readily solved since all the officials saw the king’s determination and accepted the tasks without any hesitation.
After assigning the tasks to the officials, it was time to decide who would go for the exploration.
Pasha’s voice resounded in everyone’s head again. Most of the officials got scared again, but as soon as they saw Roland calmly talking to the tentacle monster, they calmed down a little and did not flee the hall in panic.
Since they had already promised His Majesty to work with the Taquilla witches, they thought that all they needed to do at this moment was force themselves to remain seated and listen to the voice. To avoid seeing the tentacle monster, they all closed their eyes and lowered their heads, pretending that they were engrossed in their thoughts. They acted as if the sound was some evil spell from the hell instead of a female voice.
Seeing them, Roland did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Edith was the only official who dared to look at the light curtain.
Sometimes, she even tried to talk with the Senior Witches of Taquila like Roland did.
Not wanting to be upstaged by his opponent, Barov managed to lift up his head several times but failed to say anything in the end.
Roland had expected this and had planned to not get the City Hall officials heavily involved in the conversation.
At last, the Taquila witches agreed to send 50 God’s Punishment Witches to team with the Witch Union and these witches were the main force for the exploration. The First Army would send a group of 500 soldiers with Brian as their commander to join this exploration as well.
The remaining troops in the city would be temporarily handed over to Carter and continue to fight against the demonic beasts at the border.
When both parties agreed on these arrangements and Roland was about to end this meeting, Edith suddenly raised her hand.
Your Majesty, I wish to apply to join the Snow Mountain Exploration Team and go to the Western Region snow mountains together with the First Army soldiers.
Barov’s mouth corner twisted, saying,
Come on, you’re not a witch or a soldier. Don’t mess up His Majesty’s plan.
She insisted,
I used to serve as a fencing coach in a knight battalion and defeated each of my opponents including demonic beasts within five rounds. I can protect myself.
Roland asked curiously,
What’s the reason for this request?
Edith explained,
The Battle of Divine Will is getting closer to us, but none of the officials sitting here know what the demons or the underground creatures look like. As we know nothing about our opponents in the upcoming war, I’m afraid that the City Hall won’t be able to reach Your Majesty’s expectations. I know that someone may think that since the First Army will fight against the demons, his own department won’t get involved into the war-related stuff. However, once the battle begins, all the departments such as the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Agriculture will have to satisfy the needs of the war effort. This is inevitable and so to do a great job in City Hall, we also have to know our enemies well.
You…
The City Hall Director wanted to retort but did not know what to say at this moment.
Roland could not help smiling, thinking that what she said might sound a little belligerent but was quite interesting. He also derived an inspiration from her statement and thought it might make a great new rule that only allowed promotion of the officials who had worked in the cities located on or near the front line during the battle. In this way, he could guarantee that the officials of the City Hall would never underestimate the importance of this fatal war or make some unrealistic government decrees during wartime.
Besides, he believed that it would be alright to let Edith join the First Army’s action as she indeed had battle experience.
He nodded to the Pearl of the Northern Region.
Well, please go get ready for the exploration.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Edith smoothed back her hair that was hanging beside her ears and bowed with a smile.
