Chapter 328: Territory Exchange

"Would you like to monopolize an entire province?" Lorist asked Count Kemace, who was rummaging through the liquor cabinet for fine wine.

Count Kemace was the fastest to arrive among the three allied lords. Baron Filim and Baron Shaxin would likely need another day to make it.

"You want to make a move?" Count Kemace raised his head, holding two bottles of wine.

Lorist nodded.

"Which province? I don't want anything subpar," Count Kemace said.

"See for yourself..." Lorist gestured toward a dark purple curtain hanging on the wall.

Count Kemace set down the wine, walked to the curtain, and pulled it aside, revealing an enormous map pinned to the wall. Two red arrows were drawn on it — one pointing at Muye Plains Province, the other at Draelmk Province.

"You want to move against the Madras Duchy and the Fisablen Family?" Count Kemace asked in astonishment. "Can we really sustain an offensive on both fronts?"

Lorist shook his head with regret. "A simultaneous two-pronged attack is out of the question. What I intend to do is strike the Madras Duchy first. Once we've taken it, we'll set up several pontoon bridges on the lower reaches of the Mitobro River — the stretch that's been blockaded — linking Draelmk Province to Northland. That way, we expand the sphere of influence of our four northern families. After that, I'll turn my spear toward the Iblia Kingdom and look for an opportunity to swallow Winston Province and the Southern Province.

But before all that, I need to arrange a proper swap of family territories for you. Your family's legion is built for defense — it can't pose much of a threat to the Fisablen Family. So I intend to reclaim the eastern part of Northland, which is your current family territory. Only by stationing the Flying Tiger Corps there will Duke Fisablen feel genuinely nervous. At the very least, he'll have to deploy a Roving Cavalry Corps in Muye Plains Province before he can sleep soundly."

Count Kemace walked up to Lorist and pressed his right hand against Lorist's forehead, then held up three fingers and wiggled them. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Lorist stared wide-eyed, fuming. "What are you doing?"

Count Kemace said, "Checking whether you've got a fever and are babbling nonsense. Is the Madras Duchy something you can just march into? That old tortoise of a duke hasn't done anything these past few years except build castles, fortresses, and defensive works across his territory. The lower Mitobro River may look calm, but the opposite bank is covered with arrow towers and walls. The riverside is lined with chevaux de frise, and trenches are dug everywhere. Forget about landing — even boats can't get close. That fellow Henned once wanted some fresh river fish, so he had a few boats built to fish that stretch. He drifted a bit too close to the far bank, had two boats sunk and seven or eight men killed, and was so furious he almost wanted to fly over there and fight them to the death.

Now look at the border between the Iblia Kingdom and the Madras Duchy — where Winston Province meets Draelmk Province. Back when Duke Madras defeated the Second Prince at the Battle of Kebor City, he barely managed to reclaim the southeastern part of Draelmk Province. To guard against another southern invasion by the Second Prince, the duke spent three years building seven castle fortresses along the Hinderson Minor Mountains — two in front, three behind — turning that border region into an iron wall. On top of that, he assembled the forty-thousand-strong Hinderson Garrison Corps to defend it. Our Snow Salt Trading Company has to route all our arms deals through there. I know full well just how tight their defenses are, even if you don't. Do you plan to grind your entire family military down against those fortresses?"

Lorist rolled his eyes. "Are you done? Don't worry about how I'll attack. If I'm going to take the Madras Duchy, I naturally have my own confidence."

"Confidence? Hmph." Count Kemace said with genuine concern, "Locke, I really don't understand. Even if Duke Fisablen refused to give Princess Silvia's hand in marriage to you, you should stay calm. You shouldn't be acting all wound up like this. You can't just impulsively launch a war—"

Lorist didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "This has nothing to do with Silvia."

"Then why are you in such a hurry?" Count Kemace certainly didn't believe him. "Right now our Snow Salt Trading Company has basically monopolized the salt and daily necessities trade across the Fisablen Family's territory. As long as you show a bit more patience, we can use control over the supply of salt and other goods — or reduce trade volumes — to force Duke Fisablen to bend the knee to us. If he doesn't want his territory descending into chaos, he'll have no choice but to accept our terms. And then you can just wait to become a groom. That's warfare too — commercial warfare. Far better than resorting to swords and spears, don't you think?"

Lorist shrugged. "The Meleine Duchy has fallen."

"What did you say?" Count Kemace hadn't heard clearly. "What fell?"

"The four central duchies joined forces with the Fisablen Family and invaded the Meleine Duchy. Duke Meleine died in battle, and the duchy has been destroyed. The full battle report is in that blue folder on my desk." Lorist pointed to the folder on his desk.

Count Kemace lunged for it, flipped open the blue folder, and after a few glances jumped to his feet. "We must mobilize! We have to take the Southern Province immediately to cut off the trade route between the four central duchies and East Wasteland Province! We can't let years of effort by the Snow Salt Trading Company go to waste! Even if we cut off snow salt supplies, they can get plenty of rock salt from the four central duchies. If the Fisablen Family gains control of that trade route, the Snow Salt Trading Company's commercial monopoly across the Fisablen Family's three provinces is finished..."

Now Count Kemace had suddenly transformed into a warmonger.

Lorist handed him a glass of wine. "Calm down. Now you see why I want to make a move? Duke Fisablen is clearly growing closer and closer to the four central duchies. There's a very real chance he'll become an enemy of our four northern families in the future. If we don't take the Madras Duchy, Northland's overland connections will rely on just two iron-chain bridges. The Fisablen Family could end up strangling us completely.

So I've decided to strike the Madras Duchy. Once we've taken it, I'll swap your family territory with a new holding, deploy the Flying Tiger Corps there, increase military pressure on Muye Plains Province, and force the Fisablen Family into a military standoff with us — leaving them no leisure to position themselves freely in the Iblia Kingdom. Then we can seize Winston Province when the moment is right. Once that's done, we'll hold the advantage — able to advance if we wish, and well-positioned to defend."

Count Kemace drained his glass in one gulp, then walked over to the map on the wall. "Which province are you planning to give my family as swapped territory?"

"Here." Lorist pointed a finger at Sidegl Province. "This is the Madras duke's home base. I intend to hand this province over to your family as the exchange territory. You should know the advantages — easy to defend, hard to attack, and the only land route to the outside world is guarded by the Sis Castle fortress. The coast has Silver Sand Beach, and there are no other noble territories within the province. Once taken, there's no haggling over jurisdiction. It's far better than your current eastern Northland holdings."

Count Kemace stared at the map for a long while, then gritted his teeth. "Not enough. Sidegl Province alone will be hard for me to justify to my family. If only you could give us Draelmk Province instead."

Lorist shook his head. "No. I plan to use Draelmk Province for grants and enfeoffments. It can't go to your family."

"Grants? Are you planning to establish a kingdom?"

"No, but there are still seventeen noble families from Northland being supported in Rock Fortress. Their territories were seized by us, and they're all former Krisen Empire lords with connections to our family. I have no intention of returning their Northland holdings, so I plan to relocate them to Draelmk Province as well. The land there is fertile and ideal for farming — I'm sure they'll be happy to move. In the future, when family knights earn great merit and receive titles, fiefs, and vassal households, I also intend to arrange those in Draelmk Province," Lorist explained.

"In that case, our family is also supporting five northern lords. Put them in Draelmk Province too, and hand over Fandenas City to my family. Then I'll agree to the territory swap," Count Kemace conceded a step.

Lorist still shook his head. "Relocating the five lords your family supports to Draelmk Province is fine, but Fandenas City can't be given to your family. It's the Madras Duchy's largest commercial city and the biggest trading hub in the northwest. In the future it will become a commercial nexus connecting all directions — it can't be under your family's control. However, I can appoint you as the city's governor for a term of five years, with the possibility of renewal if you perform well. On top of that, I can compensate your family by building a dock on the coast for you. That way your family can establish a maritime trading fleet."

Count Kemace's eyes went wide. "Are you serious? You can build a dock on the Cursed Coast? You're not pulling my leg?"

Lorist pulled a rolled-up blueprint from a standing paper holder. "See for yourself. This is the design for a portable wooden-box dock that can operate at sea. Our family has already built two such docks along the Blade Ridge Mountains, and they're working wonderfully. Your family can use these portable docks for maritime transport and trade. But if you want to build a permanent dock that can shelter from wind and waves, you'll need to survey the terrain and carry out land reclamation yourselves."

Count Kemace couldn't take his eyes off the portable dock blueprints. "Fine, I'm in. So when can we do the swap?"

For Count Kemace, who came from a commercial family, gaining access to a maritime trade route and establishing a seaborne trading fleet was no less than injecting an endless stream of wealth into the family's veins — incomparably better than languishing in eastern Northland, mining gold that grew scarcer by the year. Now he couldn't wait to swap territories.

"No rush — it'll still take some time. But I guarantee that by next year, you'll need to mobilize your family for relocation," Lorist said.

"What do you need me to do in the meantime? If you need our family legion on the field, give me advance notice." Count Kemace was now volunteering with enthusiasm.

Lorist smiled. "That won't be necessary. My forces will take Sidegl Province and hand it over to you in good condition. What you need to do is, while carrying out your family's relocation, secure the safety of the new family territory, then deploy your family legion in Fandenas City — both to deter the Andinak Kingdom's forces in Yungheshandra Province to the south and to guard against sneak attacks from Fakel Duchy and Sabaji Duchy to the east. Although the road between the two kingdoms runs through a thousand-li trail along the Egret Lake swamps, you can't afford to be careless."

Count Kemace nodded. "Rest assured. Our family's military forces may not excel at offense, but they're more than capable for defense. But how do you plan to handle Henned and Baron Filim?"

Lorist tapped the southeastern part of Draelmk Province on the map. "After taking this area, I'll hand it over to Henned. He and Baron Filim both come from military noble backgrounds — unlike you, their family forces have real combat power. The Hinderson Minor Mountains form the border between the two provinces. If we give this to Henned, he can pincer Winston Province from both sides. Should Fandenas City come under attack, he can reinforce it immediately.

As for Baron Filim — his dream is to reclaim the Southern Province as his family's territory. It was the Pegasus Family's ancestral land from a century ago, and we'll help him make that dream a reality.

The Southern Province is nothing but ruins now. If Baron Filim wants to restore the Pegasus Family's former glory, he'll need to put in the effort — and our support. If we can take the Southern Province, we'll have effectively caged the Fisablen Family's steppe lion in a cage. Then we won't have to worry about that old fox causing trouble behind our backs. Just cut off all trade with the Fisablen Family's territory, and the old fox will have no choice but to submit."

Count Kemace studied the map and pointed to Winston Province and Windbury, the royal capital. "After you take these two places, what then?"

"Everything going well, the Southern Province goes to Baron Filim. I plan to use Winston Province to resettle the noble families who've sworn allegiance to us. An assault on the Madras Duchy will surely bring some lords to our side — I intend to transfer all of them to Winston Province. As for Windbury, I want to make it a commercial center for the southeastern region, much like Fandenas City, to drive development across the area," Lorist said.

Count Kemace's eyes sparkled. "Locke, I suggest you proclaim yourself king and found a kingdom once you've taken the Madras Duchy and the Iblia Kingdom. The Norton Kingdom — I think that's a fine name. I'd gladly become a noble of the Norton Kingdom."

Lorist burst out laughing. "We'll see about that. It's too early to worry about such things — let's wait until Duke Fisablen bends the knee first. Right now, the priority is taking the Madras Duchy and letting our first strategic move succeed. Once Henned and Baron Filim arrive, we'll need to sit down and work out the details. I'll need the cooperation of both their families."

"Locke, I'm curious — are you truly confident about taking the Madras Duchy? That place isn't just a tortoise; it's a hedgehog too. If we get dragged into a drawn-out war, even a victory won't be worth the cost. And dealing with the Fisablen Family afterward will only become harder," Count Kemace pressed once more.

"Relax. I'm genuinely confident. Once Henned and Baron Filim get here, I'll take you all to see our family's secret weapon," Lorist said with another firm nod.

"What secret weapon?"

"You'll find out when the time comes."

"You're so stingy, Locke. Can't you at least tell me now?"

"No."

...(To be continued.)