"The Grand Duke of Fisablen has authorized Princess Silvia as his representative to purchase 70,000 sets of Model 103 cavalry standard equipment and 50,000 sets of Inlaid Warrior standard equipment from the
An old steward-like man with a goatee finished reading the list in his hand, then respectfully presented the supply catalog to Sward, who in turn passed it to
Lorist studied the supply catalog on the parchment for a long while, then looked at Princess Silvia seated to his left with an amused expression: "Your Highness, the Fisablen Family's previous order of 100,000 sets of Model 103 cavalry standard equipment from our family still has 20,000 sets to be delivered next year before the agreement is fulfilled. You personally signed that agreement — I'm sure you haven't forgotten so quickly, have you?"
Even with a discount applied to your family, each set of Model 103 cavalry standard equipment still costs sixty-five gold Fordes. Seventy thousand sets would come to nearly 4.8 million gold Fordes. Add to that the Inlaid Warrior standard equipment at thirty-five gold Fordes per set — fifty thousand sets would cost roughly 1.8 million. Combined with the 1.2-odd million in daily necessities, the total comes to nearly 8 million gold Fordes. "Your Highness, can you tell me how the Fisablen Family plans to settle this bill?"
Princess Silvia beamed like a flower: "Brother Locke, this time our family will pay for all the standard equipment and daily necessities in cash. We'll be using horseshoe gold for the transaction."
Horseshoe gold? Lorist was taken aback. That was a currency unit used among the grassland barbarian tribes. Generally, the barbarian tribes preferred barter, but for large-scale transactions or when dealing with goods brought by foreign merchants, they would use gold ingots cast in the shape of a horse's hoof as currency. The standard exchange rate was one horseshoe gold worth one hundred gold Fordes.
Hmm, even if the Fisablen Family had wiped out nearly a hundred barbarian tribes in the northeastern grasslands, they couldn't have possibly captured that much horseshoe gold — we're talking about nearly 8 million gold Fordes. If nearly a hundred barbarian tribes had eighty thousand horseshoe gold pieces between them, they would have already been wiped off the face of the northeastern grasslands long ago.
But the Fisablen Family had been entrenched in the northeastern grasslands for decades. Perhaps they had indeed emptied their vaults and managed to scrape together that much horseshoe gold. The real question was: why was the Fisablen Family requesting such a massive purchase of supplies and military equipment at this particular time? What scheme was that old fox Grand Duke of Fisablen hatching?
Lorist stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then asked Princess Silvia again:
"I hear the Grand Duke of Fisablen has already reorganized his two legions. With a strength of 92,000 men, the standard equipment our family provided hasn't delayed their reorganization in the slightest. Moreover, given the quality of our family's standard equipment, I find it hard to believe that the wear and tear in battles against the barbarian raider cavalry was so severe that the Fisablen Family needs to purchase another 70,000 sets. Can you tell me the real reason?"
"Forgive my bluntness, Your Highness. It's not that the Norton Family is unwilling to make this deal — it's that this procurement by the Grand Duke of Fisablen is clearly aimed at expanding military strength. Your family already has two regular field cavalry legions. Purchasing another 70,000 sets of Model 103 cavalry standard equipment makes it obvious that you're planning to form yet another legion. As your neighbor in the Northland, this gives us reason for concern. To be honest, we have no desire to meet you on the battlefield. Until we know where the Grand Duke of Fisablen is pointing his sword, we cannot agree to this procurement request."
Princess Silvia giggled: "My grandfather was right. He said that if we didn't tell you the real reason for our military expansion, you wouldn't agree to this arms deal. My grandfather asked me to tell you that the Fisablen Family has no intention of altering the current status or future of the Iblia Kingdom. Ten years ago, perhaps he might have still harbored thoughts of pushing my little brother Horikes onto the throne, but ever since poor Horikes was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect by the apothecary, my grandfather lost that desire..."
Horikes — the legitimate heir to the Iblia Kingdom. In order to borrow his father-in-law Grand Duke of Fisablen's support for his campaign against the Madras Duchy, the second prince of the former Krisen Empire secured the throne for the Iblia Kingdom. The result was that the Grand Duke locked him and his own daughter — the kingdom's queen — in a room together and supplied aphrodisiacs to make the queen conceive, after which she gave birth to little Prince Horikes.
In truth, everyone knew that the second prince's marriage to Grand Duke of Fisablen's daughter was merely a political arrangement. The second prince had been notoriously infamous in the former Krisen Empire, and the Grand Duke's daughter was likewise a wanton woman, renowned throughout the northeastern grasslands for her debauchery. After their marriage, the second prince established the Iblia Kingdom with Grand Duke of Fisablen's backing. The marriage between the king and queen existed only on paper — both led their own private lives without interfering with each other. The queen bore two children for another man, and the second prince was no less prolific, with three illegitimate children outside the marriage.
In the end, the Grand Duke of Fisablen could no longer tolerate the situation. He forced the royal couple into a locked room and provided aphrodisiacs, compelling them to consummate their marriage. But when the resulting child — little Horikes — was born, neither the second prince nor the queen loved this product of the aphrodisiacs. They treated him as though he didn't exist, turning a deaf ear. He was simply left with the Fisablen Family, and more often than not, it was Princess Silvia who raised Horikes.
"Eh? What happened to little Prince Horikes?" Lorist asked with surprise.
"The aphrodisiacs caused his heart to develop incompletely. The apothecary says Horikes is unlikely to live past twenty. The older he grows, the greater the burden on his heart. He cannot cultivate combat force — even reading and writing for extended periods poses a danger to him. It's a congenital and incurable condition. There is simply no way to treat it."
As she spoke, tears welled up in Princess Silvia's eyes, on the verge of falling. After all, she had raised Horikes, and this diagnosis was a devastating blow to her as well.
"Your Highness, I'm deeply sorry," Lorist expressed his sympathy.
"It's fine, I'm already used to it." Princess Silvia accepted a white silk handkerchief from Great Swordmaster Cinty and dabbed at her reddened eyes. "Steward Pro, please bring the family's map."
Pro was the goatee-wearing old man who had read the supply catalog — the steward of Princess Silvia's retinue for this trip. Hearing her call, he hurried forward carrying the map with a maidservant in tow. The two of them unfurled the full map between them.
It was a complete map of the northeastern grasslands — the most comprehensive and clearest map Lorist had ever seen. Every single spring on the grasslands was marked on it.
The northeastern grasslands, as described in certain geography texts, began at the Demon Dragon Mountains, located to the northeast of the human settlements on the Galentea Continent. The terrain rose and fell gently, like a vast green carpet spread at the foot of the Demon Dragon Mountains. Its area was estimated to be roughly five times the size of the Northland — immense and boundless. It was said that riding at full gallop from the southern end to the northern end of the northeastern grasslands would take a full month.
Just as the mountain barbarian tribes roamed the Demon Dragon Mountains, the greatest scourge of the northeastern grasslands was the grassland barbarian tribes. They were said to be offshoots of the mountain barbarians who had transformed into nomadic tribes, living on horseback from childhood — herding, hunting, and constantly sweeping across the surrounding human settlements, plundering everything they needed. These mounted grassland barbarians were known by a specific name: barbarian raider cavalry. They were the most elite warriors of the grassland barbarian tribes.
Before the founding of the former Krisen Empire, the raider cavalry had been the bane of Winston Province and the Southern Province. Their largest invasion had seen over a hundred thousand riders assemble and push deep into the Antarlio Great Plain, watering their horses at Egret Lake. The nobles of all territories along their path could do nothing but huddle in their castles and desperately resist. They were utterly powerless against the barbarian raiders' advance and could only watch as the cavalry rampaged across the countryside unchecked. That was the greatest damage the barbarian raiders had ever inflicted on human settlements — and their last great triumph.
After the establishment of the former Krisen Empire, its founding emperor Krisen I marshaled the nation's full military might to conquer the northeastern grasslands. After half a year of fierce battles against the barbarian raider cavalry, suffering devastating casualties, they annihilated nearly 100,000 barbarian raiders, expanded the territory by a thousand li, and established Muye Province. This single stroke cut off the barbarian raiders' invasion routes into human settlements, severing the northeastern grasslands from the rest of the empire. A heavy garrison was stationed in Muye Province, standing ready — ensuring the barbarian raiders could never cross that line again.
When Grand Duke of Fisablen later expanded the empire's territory by another thousand li and established the Eastern Wasteland Province, the barbarian tribes of the northeastern grasslands had already lost much of their menace. Apart from occasional gatherings of ten to twenty thousand barbarian raiders to plunder Eastern Wasteland Province and Muye Province, for most of the time they were being thoroughly thrashed by the two field ranger regiments under the Fisablen Family's command. Even during the imperial civil war, when flames of conflict raged across the empire, the barbarian tribes could not seize the opportunity to invade the interior — the Fisablen Family's ranger regiments stood as an insurmountable barrier before them.
Princess Silvia rose and walked to the opened map of the northeastern grasslands. She pointed with a flourish, declaring with pride: "On June 21st of this year, 70,000 elite troops of the Fisablen Family launched a surprise raid on Greater and Lesser Gold Creek, sweeping aside the Hubert barbarian tribe of over 200,000 people. With only 18,000 casualties, we captured the Greater and Lesser Gold Creek regions in one fell swoop. My grandfather has declared the establishment of Gold Creek Province, bringing Greater and Lesser Gold Creek under the Fisablen Family's jurisdiction..."
"Hiss..." Everyone present involuntarily gasped. Count
The northeastern grasslands might have been flat, but that didn't mean there were no mountains or hills. From the map, Eastern Wasteland Province and Greater and Lesser Gold Creek were within striking distance of each other, separated only by an endless primeval forest and continuous ridges of hills and cliffs. Those who strayed in easily lost their way and found it nearly impossible to escape. Both the Fisablen Family's rangers and the barbarian raiders regarded the Lost Forest and Ghost Crying Cliff as a dead end, to be avoided at all costs. Both sides saw them as a natural defensive barrier.
The Greater and Lesser Gold Creek region — a gold-producing area renowned across the Galentea Continent. As far back as the age of magical civilization over two thousand years ago, mages had surveyed it and recorded their findings in the book "Explorations of Galentean Geography," which still circulated to this day. However, during the age of magical civilization, gold was not a particularly valuable resource to mages — its worth was far below that of magical metals. And by the late magical civilization period and the Dark Millennium, even though people knew Greater and Lesser Gold Creek were rich in gold, no one had the means to go and mine it.
A powerful barbarian tribe with 30,000 armored warriors and no fewer than 150,000 to 160,000 riders — men and women, old and young, all capable of fighting on horseback — yet they were annihilated in a single stroke by the Fisablen Family's elite cavalry...
Now Lorist understood where Princess Silvia's confidence for this grand military procurement came from. Clearly, the horseshoe gold she was using to pay for this transaction must have been captured in the Greater and Lesser Gold Creek regions. Who would have thought that while the Norton Family had destroyed the Hanea Bada Kingdom, the Fisablen Family in the northeastern grasslands was not to be outdone — launching a surprise assault on Greater and Lesser Gold Creek, wiping out over 200,000 barbarians. Truly impressive.
Count Kemes was excited: "Brother Locke, it seems the Fisablen Family has money now. Our Snow Salt Trading Company can expand its dealings with them. Did you know? Greater and Lesser Gold Creek are rich in gold mines. By the most conservative estimate, the gold dust produced there annually is worth at least 1.5 million gold Fordes — far better than our family's gold mine that barely produces 300,000 despite all the effort. And our family's little gold mine is facing depletion — the gold dust output keeps declining and mining costs keep rising..."
Lorist studied the map. If Eastern Wasteland Province sat in the center, then Gold Creek Province and Muye Province were like two tentacles extending outward. Muye Province was already firmly established, so the massive amount of military equipment the Fisablen Family was purchasing was clearly intended for the new ranger legion in Gold Creek Province. In truth, the hilly terrain of Greater and Lesser Gold Creek was actually more suited to human habitation than to the barbarian tribes. As long as fortresses and strongholds were built in the strategically vital locations, the Greater and Lesser Gold Creek region would be impregnable, and the barbarian tribes would never again be able to lay claim to this land of gold.
"Congratulations to the Fisablen Family, Your Highness." Lorist offered his congratulations to Princess Silvia. "I agree to this arms transaction and will urge the production department to deliver this batch of standard equipment with both speed and quality to the Fisablen Family, as a token of my respect for the Grand Duke. Please convey my personal regards to the Grand Duke of Fisablen. I deeply admire that he did not turn the family's elite forces toward the war-torn interior, but instead honored his pledge to guard the empire's frontiers, once again expanding our territory..."
"As a gesture of my respect, and to express my condolences to the Fisablen Family and the soldiers who captured Greater and Lesser Gold Creek, I will donate daily necessities worth one million gold Fordes to the Fisablen Family. I hope the Grand Duke will distribute these supplies to the warriors who fought bravely and the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, as a testament to the Norton Family's admiration and friendship."
This was an extraordinary gesture — a donation of one million gold Fordes' worth of daily necessities. Even Princess Silvia was stunned: "Thank you, Brother Locke..."
The agreement was signed smoothly. Lorist pledged to complete all the procurement and daily necessities deliveries within two years, along with the donation worth one million. The Fisablen Family was equally decisive — with Princess Silvia as their representative, they signed this grand procurement order valued at 8 million gold Fordes and made an advance payment of 20,000 horseshoe gold pieces.
Having completed this transaction and secured Lorist's promise to attend the knight tournament at Windbury in May of next year, Princess Silvia finally set her mind at ease and spent her time touring the Norton Family's territory — sightseeing, hunting, picnicking, attending balls, deep-sea fishing — playing until the end of November before reluctantly departing. Before she left, she couldn't stop reminding Lorist again and again not to forget the May knight tournament...
... (To be continued.)