Jean Bate absolutely did not want to become the King of Graycastle’s enemy.
Although he had never met the King of Graycastle, he had heard a lot about him. The God’s Punishment Army of the Kingdom of Everwinter and the Kingdom of Wolfheart had experienced an utter defeat in the battle against Graycastle; the alliance army of the nobles of the Kingdom of Dawn had been flattened within one day; Roland Wimbledon had united his kingdom within half a year; it was rumored that Graycastle had even interfered with the coup on the Archduke Island.
However, these rumors were incomparable to the news that the First Army had been fighting the demons over the past one year. He would have been skeptical had he heard the news from other lords, but he found it hard to refute the commander of the First Army.
Nonetheless, whether Jean believed it or not, he had no way to confirm its validity.
The plan of the King of Graycastle was actually a little too unrealistic and even preposterous in Jean’s opinion. Jean Bate would pledge his alliance to Roland immediately if the latter took the throne of the Kingdom of Wolfheart, but the fact was that his true intention was to relocate the people in the two kingdoms! According to Iron Axe, King Roland was planning to ship civilians of the two countries by sea and by land until every single civilian left their native land. Most nobles did not really care about their subjects as long as the movement would bring them profits. However, it would be a different story to evacuate the whole city. A vacated city meant a huge drop in food, taxes and industrial growth. The nobles would not agree to this plan so easily unless it was abosolutely necessary.
Even though the First Army was invulnerable, it could not possibly declare war against all the nobles in the Kingdom of Wolfheart. Without the support of the locals, their military logistics support would be in limbo. Furthermore, it appeared that Graycastle also intended to disperse their forces to attack the two countries at the same time, which was a surpassingly conceited and vainglorious act, as far as Jean could see.
After what seemed to be a long silence, Jean Bate said in a hushed voice,
I don’t quite understand the rationale behind all this. If the demons are not coming from the Impassable Mountain Range, and we still continue to support the King of Graycastle, we would lose men, farmlands, cities and mines. I’m afraid we can’t bear such a huge loss.
I can’t explain the reason to you. As the commander of the First Army, my duty here is to carry out the mission His Majesty entrusted to me. Yet…
Iron Axe broke off and then went on,
If you come visit Neverwinter, you’ll know the answer.
Fine then. Now, one last question…
the baron said as he moisted his lips.
You said nobles can make their own choices. What if I decide to come with you?
Iron Axe nodded comprehensively, pointed at a clerk next to him and said,
This is Remy, the immigration officer of the Administrative Office of Neverwinter. He’ll explain to you the next step.
Hello, Mr. Baron, in that case, you’ll become a member of the Kingdom of Graycastle,
the immigration officer said as he leafed through the a stack of documents.
The first thing that I can tell you is that King Roland Wimbledon is a benevolent king. He’ll never ill-treat anyone who has made a contribution to the kingdom. As Graycastle is governed by a series of laws, nobles in the kingdom are stripped of feudal power. Lands cannot be inherited. The same will also apply to you. As you have rich experience in city management, you could join the Administrative Office and assume the post of local governor or help His Majesty to expand his territory, for instance, the Fertile Plains. Of course, if the demons don’t invade the Four Kingdoms, you’re free to continue to rule the Sedimentation Bay if you want.
If you’re lucky, you could rule a land much bigger than this city, considering not every noble would come with us.
It took almost a quarter of an hour for Remy to read all the documents, which indeed detailed all the prospective aspect of the policy that seemed to be the offspring of a long deliberation. Jean Bate believed the person who had drafted these documents must be an extraordinary minister. for he himself did not have the capability to produce such marvelous work.
In short, the main content of this proposal was an interchange between short-term and long-term interests. He could possibly become more than a lord of a bay depending on his performance. Whether it was a good deal solely depended on himself.
Jean should have settled down to the contemplation of this proposal thoroughly. However, the current condition forced him to make a quick decision.
This was at least better than being killed by one of the two families.
Jean was indebted to a belief that it would take more than one or two years to evacuate two countries. During the relocation, he could still rule the Sedimentation Bay without worrying about the threat of the two families.
He thus took a sharp intake of breath and answered,
I would like to pledge alliance to the King of Graycastle.
A wise choice,
Iron Axe commented with the same stony look as though he had foreseen the result.
Now, you could issue an administrative order to start the evacuation. We have a team of professionals to assist you in this matter.
That fast?
the baron asked in surprise.
Yes, we won’t be here long. The First Army will leave the Kingdom of Wolfheart for the interior within three days.
But —
Jean Bate pursued after a moment of hesitation.
The knights from the Tusk and the Redstone Gate won’t let you do so. They probably won’t openly resist Graycastle, but they could interfere with your operation by attacking the patrol team of the Sedimentation Bay.
He felt a little embarrassed to reveal this truth, for just an hour ago, he had told Iron Axe that he was the only ruler of the Sedimentation Bay. However, he must raise this problem now to prevent the two families from stirring up trouble in the event they knew that he had colluded with Graycastle and offered the land. It was also a test to see whether Iron Axe really intended to fulfill his promise.
But Iron Axe’s answer again surprised him.
The Sedimentation Bay is the key to this immigration plan, and I don’t allow anyone to thwart it. There will be around 100 people stationed here after the First Army departs,
Iron Axe said as he nodded to one of his assistants, who immediately left the parlor.
I’ve done some research on the Kingdom of Wolfheart before I headed here. Like I said, I won’t allow any interference. Nobody could blatantly resist us or play stealthy games behind us. To this end, we’ll take some measures to remove these potential obstacles.
You mean…
Seeing is believing,
Iron Axe said as he rose.
Don’t worry. Those threats they you’re worried about will soon be gone.
It’s still raining so heavily,
Smarty remarked as he stretched out his hand, feeling the rain drops.
So?
White asked while hammering his sore leg with his hands.
Why are you still here?
I don’t want to get soaked. Plus, this shed is for everyone. I can stay here as long as I like,
he retorted, grimacing.
You —
White said, looking utterly affronted. He was about to give Smarty a lesson, teaching him to have some respect toward the elder when suddenly, a group of Graycastle men who left their tents caught his attention.
Water splattered over the pavement as these people trooped out in two columns.
He was very curious about the reflective metal tubes they carried on their backs, They were as ominous as those black facilities they had set up in the sentry boxes.
As the group of soldiers disappeared in the rain, White suddenly understood why he felt so fidgeted. These metal tubes did not look like being made by humans. Regular blacksmiths could by no means forge them.
Some other people who took shelter from the rain also noticed that and started to murmur.
Yet Smarty was surprisingly quiet.
White thus turned around. However, to his dismay, Smarty was gone.
