Chapter 232
Duncan sighed and came out of his trance as he thought of the old days .
****
At this time,
Amber, Emena and others reached North-frontier city"s borders .
Binz was quite shocked after looking at the aftermath of the current battle . There were numerous caravans coming inside the town and there was quite a happy atmosphere among the soldier of Sky Kingdom .
He thought, "It seems they have gained quite a lot from invading Dolores and the nearby towns . The morale of the soldiers too is quite high . It seems they had a field day and an easy victory . I would like to see their General who is able to pull off such a battle . No Wonder Irwin is using Black Death . "
Amber asked one of the guys who was in charge of the southern castle, "Where is General Anak? I need to report him something important . The matter is very urgent . "
The guy shook his head and answered, "Captain, he is not at the borders, He is currently at capital preparing the changes with Milord . If you want, you can meet minister Jay . "
He shook his head and thought, "Jay probably won"t be able to take a decision on this disease, I need to meet Milord, Immediately and warn him of the situation . "
He spoke after some thinking, "No need, I will head straight to Headquarters . Give this letter to Jay and Milord so they can learn about the situation . "
Amber sighed and prepared to head towards North-frontier city .
As they were preparing to go towards North-frontier city, Emena asked Amber as she looked at something peculiar, "Hey, what is that magic device giving out water? That seems quite a costly device . "
Amber smiled and answered, "Princess, it is not a magic device but a Water Pump which was developed just recently by his majesty to reduce labor . It is used to acquire water from wells and other underground sources . This was made to reduce labor and increase productivity of our people . "
At first, a lot of people always thought of it as a magical device and hence the initial confusion when they saw something this good, The other guards smiled and understood but didn"t speak as they too felt the same when they saw the water pump initially .
Emena was quite shocked that the water pump wasn"t working on magic but simple mechanics, "Such a strange city . I see a lot of new and good things happening around here . Maybe this journey would be quite fruitful . Anyways, Let"s hurry and report about the disease Black death to your Lord or it would be too late to save your men . "
Binz thought, "Interesting, I don"t think even the dwarves have such capability in mechanics . It seems we can benefit greatly by allying with Count John . "
Amber nodded and headed towards the headquarters immediately .
****
It was the second day at Laguna city and Fjord"s fleet had already left for the north with the Royal family and were going to attack Winter city with the Dwarves . Dwarves too had given their signal that they would attack winter city since it was open land recognized by none .
Fjord read a report which shocked him to the core . It was about the northern battle and John"s decision to secede .
"How is this possible? They were able to defeat General Irwin and his men in 1 day? And that count has decided to secede? What happened at North? Explain to me everything in detail . General Irwin retreated, Is this a joke?"
One of the young ministers whispered as he heard the report and asked others, "Didn"t war usually takes months and years to finish? How did this happen . "
One of the bureaucrats spoke wryly, "Yes, from the looks of it they were hiding something more sinister than the Balistas which forces General Irwin to retreat . It usually takes quite some time after a war starts, not mere 1-2 days . I guess this is the effect of Templar Johnson"s Death . "
Slowly Jonas came towards Fjord"s side and explained, "Milord, It seems his decision to secede is because of the Food and trade blockade . I think this war was the last straw which forced them to take a decision as they were blatantly being invaded by the Royal family and other lords . Meanwhile, at the same time, they were hiding a lot of their battle capabilities . Even I am quite confused at this scenario but from the looks of it, they have used their ultimate card to push the Royal family . However, if they had such capabilities, then they shouldn"t have hidden them until now . "
He thought, "Was their aim secession from the start with a moral victory? It seems this Count is more sinister than what we thought previously . No wonder he decided to free all the slaves before the war and his blatant offense towards the Aristocrats . "
Fjord asked Jonas, "What is the message from Dwarves about their invasion? Is there any news from King Ludwin?"
Jonas sighed and answered, "After hearing about the continuous sinking of their scouts at those settlements . After sending back one of dwarven s.h.i.+ps with a message, They have said that Count John has sent a diplomat at the Dwarven kingdom of Bryndyll to resolve the matter and same is the case for them as they want to keep an eye on that count . It seems King Ludwin wants an amicable relations.h.i.+p with that count since he has dared to defy the Kingdom . However, they will certainly to invade for the previous actions of Count John . I guess they are going to put all the blame on their general if he fails . However, it seems they are unaware of the northern war and casualties which took place recently . "
Fjord nodded and spoke with a smile, "Hmm . . . Don"t reveal to them about the results of this war . Let them think that it is still going on . I am guessing, King Ludwin would want to pressurize that diplomat sent by Count John and extract benefits from them . Hmph . . . let them sink . It is beneficial for us anyway . That count will take our position and eat up our share . A bad relations.h.i.+p between them is better for us . It is ok even if we lose some troops who have gone with the Royal family . They anyway can escape with their faster s.h.i.+ps . Both the Royal family and the Bryndyll kingdom would order from us to make their destroyed s.h.i.+ps . "
Jonas nodded and thought, "True, Even the Royal family would stop paying attention to our threats if the King Ludwin allies with Count . And it would be better for us if both the Royal family and the Dwarven kingdom lost their s.h.i.+ps as it would anyway generate ma.s.sive income for us . "
Jonas nodded and spoke, "Okay, Milord . We won"t tell them about the casualties . "
****
Lukavv and his men were seriously trying to find Prince Felix as they patrolled the borders continuously .
One of the soldiers spoke angrily as they patrolled in the western domain, "G.o.dd.a.m.nit, that slimy snake surely escaped carefully . "
Currently, Duke Blackwolf"s man, Fen was carefully observing the place where the battle between Lukavv and Felix took place .
He murmured, "It seems it has finally calmed down . However, those soldiers would have a very bad fate . Even I hate the thought of fighting that man . Let"s go . "
"Yes, Sir . "
In a nearby town,
The knight spoke to Felix as they tried to escape in rugged commoner clothes, "It is good that we escaped early or it would have been disastrous for you my Lord . "
Felix nodded and spoke, "However, I still wonder, how did Lukavv manage to get Liam on his side . Didn"t we make sure that there were no connections between him and Lukavv? It was good that we escaped in fear of mutiny or else I would be in the hands of that lunatic, Lukavv . Let"s try getting in touch with the local Radiant Church . They might have an answer . "
The knight shook his head and spoke, "I would suggest otherwise Milord . There are a lot of spies of Prince Lukavv near the Radiant church in this town . We would be exposed unnecessarily . And Prince Lukavv wouldn"t mind ma.s.sacring the Radiant church to catch you . We have already seen the numerous attempts they have tried to catch you alive . "
Felix clenched his teeth and murmured, "I will pay back for this humiliation just like I did in past . "
He thought as he clenched his fists, "Sullying his name didn"t work previously, maybe I should try killing Duncan, f.u.c.k he doesn"t have any weaknesses . How long will I hide from him? This needs a conclusion, Maybe I should ask General Leo, he will certainly help me . "
The knight sighed and thought, "Lord has been like this ever since the Red Lake city Incident . I guess everyone saw Prince Lukavv"s ruthlessness over there for the first time . "
****
At this time Emena and Amber met with Minister Mist and Alison who were casually enjoying their days at North-frontier city .
Emena smiled and asked Alison who was enjoying a game of Chess with Mist, "You guys seem quite relaxed after watching your engagement in that new game, what is it called?"
After suddenly hearing Emena, Alison got up and greeted Emena, "Ohh, My princess, I am sorry for not noticing your arrival . Actually, the game is called Chess, these new tactical games are quite good at honing your mind strategically . There is this another game called Go . Aah, it seems Mr . Binz is also sent by her Majesty to protect you . "
Mist too nodded and greeted Emena and Binz, "Well the thing is we can"t do anything since we are locked here and we thought about doing something entertaining . Currently, we were focusing on growing various types of herbs and experimenting at the Medical Research center . "
Emena nodded and spoke in a grave manner, "Well, this time, things are serious . Apparently, Black Death disease has been found at Dolores . From the looks, both the Royal family and the Radiant Church are involved in this operation . "
With an Alarmed expression, Mist spoke, "Had things reached such a situation they started employing such a method? It seems they were always in possession of this disease and always used in a controlled manner . "
Binz sighed and spoke, "Yes, Apparently, the Royal family and The Radiant Church faced a complete wipeout when they tried to invade North-frontier City . We need to delay the effects of this disease and then find a cure . "
Alison sighed and spoke grumpily, "Finally I would have to work . Such a ha.s.sle . Okay, I will need more these new sort of wines . "
Taylor who attended them spoke, "Of course, Milord . There won"t be any problems regarding that . I hope you can help us with that . "
Taylor"s secretary came in and reported him something .
After hearing him out, Taylor spoke immediately, "Sorry for the wait, Milord just came after hearing your arrival and the situation about Black Death . If you want you can have a meeting with our Lord, John . "
Mist and Alison looked towards Princess Emena for decision .
Emena nodded and spoke, "Okay, we will meet immediately . Start the preparations . The situation is already serious . "
****
At the Dwarven Kingdom, Bryndyll, Joseph"s Butler, Phillip had landed at their port as John"s official Diplomat . After multiple discussions, it was decided that Phillip will be official diplomat after his successful work at the Trade a.s.sociation and increasing the market via legal and illegal means .
After Landing at the Dwarven Port, Phillip sighed and spoke, "It seems I will miss North-frontier city and their lifestyle . I hope this mission can help Master Joseph to increase his standing . "
After looking at the surroundings, he ordered his men, "Ok, guys lets prepare for our mission and prepare those wines for his majesty and other ministers at Capital . Milord said that Wines would work wonders on Dwarves and we shouldn"t miss our chance with these high-quality wines . "
As they were traveling to Capital, The Dwarven driver of the cart had a certain type of arrogance which normally wasn"t seen elsewhere .
"This is one of the best brand of carriages in our kingdom . I am sure you have seen this for the first time, right?"
Phillip thought as he looked at the Carriage, "Better than the ones which are made in Aelius but still lacking compared to the Sky Kingdom . These carriages don"t even have springs for shock absorbing . "
As Phillip"s men were about to rebuke, Phillip stopped them and asked the driver, "Are there any better carriages in your kingdom than this one?"
The driver nodded and asked, "Yes, there are 3 more . But they are quite expensive . If you want to impress the guys over here, then you would need to make good quality wines . That"s the way towards a dwarf"s heart . A lot of times they won"t even sell those high-end carriages without a recommendation . "
Likewise the Dwarven Diplomat, Anin landed at Eastern Port City with his men and started traveling for North-frontier city via their own ways .
With a proud look, he looked at the commoners and murmured, "As always, these guys are still as backward as they were 30 years ago . "
He had a big red beard which was hanging . Wearing luxurious clothes and with grumpy mood, he spoke, "Why the does his Majesty, Ludwin want me to travel to that Upstart"s domain . He would be crushed sooner or later because of his arrogance . "
Anin"s Secretary nodded and spoke, "True Milord, I recently heard that he had decided to secede from the Aelius Kingdom . I guess, King Ludwin wants to entertain him because of his weapons . "
Anin smiled and spoke, "Well, there is another thing which the king is interested in and that is Tornwall . From our predictions, it was Tornwall who made those Ballistas and his Majesty hopes to appease him and bring back the talent of Bryndyll . "
He thought, "Well it doesn"t matter if we use force or we don"t use it . And then there are our spies which can"t contact this easily . Anyway"s we can get some concessions from this Count since he is at war with the Royal Family . According to our calculations, this count won"t fall because of his Ballistas which have a higher grade tech . Additionally, it would be nice to have a colony near Aelius which can hara.s.s them on a frequent basis . "
The driver thought asked one of the men, "Who is this guy . He gives off an imposing feel . "
He thought, "This guy seems quite arrogant and gives off a feeling of superiority . "
One of the dwarven guards smiled and warned the newbie, "Shh . . . He is one of the lord of Dwarven Kingdom, Bryndyll . So speak carefully if you don"t want to lose your head . "
He thought, "Aah so that was the reason why I felt this way . No wonder, we were paid quite well today . "