"Your Highness, we need to be prepared. I don't think the peace talks with the Commercial Alliance will go smoothly..." Fatty reminded him after they returned to the inner city district.
No one can stay long in a city filled with hostility and hatred — not until we can't take it anymore and start a massacre, or are forced to leave. That's very likely the Alliance's plan. With barely any effort, they could effortlessly retake Morant City, and as for the million-plus residents who might die or get hurt because of it, that's not something they need to worry about. They can just pin all the blame on us, the Norton Family, and wash their hands of it entirely..."
Lorist was genuinely furious. If the Commercial Alliance could play dirty, then he could play dirty right back. What he was mulling over now was whether he should pick a batch of captured Commercial Alliance merchant guild executives and hang them as a warning to others. For instance, that vice president of the Livord Merchant Guild, and that first-grade Sword Saint who had been garrisoning the city — they would be excellent candidates. He was sure that hanging them above the city gates would certainly draw a lot of attention.
Fatty coughed a few times beside him, successfully catching Lorist's attention. "What's wrong with you? Caught a cold?"
"No..." Fatty didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I was talking to you, but you didn't seem to hear a word I said..."
Lorist's face reddened slightly. "Sorry, old friend. My mind wandered. Could you say that again?"
"Right. What I mean is that maybe we should be a bit more patient. The Viscount Penelope and his party that you mentioned — according to their itinerary, they should have only just arrived in Mawefulin Province. If the Commercial Alliance is willing to respond to our peace overtures, it'll still be another ten days or so before we get a definite reply. As for the 'gift' Lados sent us, I suspect it was almost certainly arranged by the Commercial Alliance's forces during their retreat. They infiltrated Morant City partly to gather intelligence and partly to carry out sabotage — they had no idea we were about to negotiate peace with the Commercial Alliance to end this war..." Fatty analyzed.
"That makes a lot of sense. I'll order Tager to interrogate those two thoroughly — squeeze out every last detail down to what they did as naked little boys. Until we receive an official reply from the Commercial Alliance, I'll mercifully spare these scum's lives. But if the Alliance tries to play games and scheme behind our backs while simultaneously pushing for peace talks, I'll teach them a lesson they'll regret for the rest of their lives. Whatever merchant guild sent people to Morant City for sabotage, I'll string up every captured executive from that guild on the city walls and let them dry into jerky in the sun! At the same time, I'll order Tager to catch every single spy the Commercial Alliance sends in — not one will slip through!" Lorist said with a vicious edge to his voice.
Lorist was quite interested in Fatty Shi's idea, but the man had run off too quickly. The very next day, he took a group of the family's civil officials and vanished to conduct some kind of investigation. Two days later, when Lorist tried to track him down for answers, Fatty Shi was unavailable again — because the
The Second Prince came this time with righteous indignation, leading the nobles to demand that Lorist share the spoils. After all, every landed noble in the Kingdom of Andinaq had united under his banner and fought the Commercial Alliance's forces in bloody battle on the Mana Hill Plains for two years. Never mind that every family had suffered devastating casualties — even setting merit aside, they had put in backbreaking labor. The Norton Family's forces had launched a surprise attack and seized Morant City, the continent's most renowned commercial metropolis. Now that they were gorging themselves on meat until their lips glistened, they should at least toss everyone a few bones to gnaw on. After all, eating alone was the fastest way to make enemies.
The Second Prince certainly wouldn't say outright that Lorist should give everyone a share — he worried that doing so would put Lorist in an impossible position. After all, Lorist was now the Kingdom of Andinaq's Guardian Sword Saint, second only to the king and above ten thousand others, with the power to even veto his governance policies. So the Second Prince and those nobles staged a little sympathy performance at the welcome banquet Lorist held for them.
First, the Second Prince lamented the hardships of two years of bloody warfare against the Commercial Alliance's forces. Then, one by one, the nobles sang their tales of poverty before Lorist, each recounting their families' devastating casualties, staggering losses, and dire inability to carry on. Between the lines, the message was unmistakable: they hoped Lorist would show mercy and part with something from his overflowing coffers to help everyone out. After all, Morant City was practically oozing with wealth, and the Norton Family should share some of the spoils.
Lorist watched with a dark expression as the nobles finished their little tragedy performance, then slammed his golden goblet down on the table with a resounding crack. "Follow me, all of you!"
The list of spoils and account books seized after the capture of Morant City were brought over and thrown before the Second Prince and the nobles. "See for yourselves. Whoever just said Morant City was oozing wealth with Gold Fordes scattered everywhere — go outside and pick some up for me. All the spoils are right here. I guarantee on behalf of the Norton Family that these account books and lists are entirely truthful and accurate. If you spot anything you want, speak up!"
The Second Prince and the nobles were all dumbstruck. No one had expected that the Norton Family, which had captured Morant City, had gained so little.
A huge sum? Lorist slammed his fist on the table and erupted in a furious tirade. "My family's fleet nearly lost every last warship defeating the Commercial Alliance's supposedly invincible fleet — that loss alone was no less than ten million! And I still don't know where I'm going to scrape together the death benefits for our fallen soldiers! You think Morant City is wealthy? Here, take a look at this — my family's forces captured Morant City and now we're saddled with the responsibility of feeding over 1.3 million residents! I've been utterly robbed by this war!"
Lorist threw a thick stack of investigation reports about the Commercial Alliance's rationing system for food and daily necessities imposed on Morant City's million-plus residents at the Second Prince and the nobles. Duke Kemas flipped through a few pages and exclaimed, "Brilliant! This is virtually creating something from nothing — using IOUs to replace the function of gold coins. Not only does it save on the wear and loss of gold coins in market circulation and prevent hoarding, it also allows effective regulation and monopolization of every aspect of the market..."
"Brilliant, my ass!" Lorist said bitterly. "I've seized Morant City, and now every last commercial guild in the city is gone. That damn rationing distribution system is dead in the water too. The livelihoods of over a million residents now all fall squarely on our Norton Family's shoulders. I feel like I'm sitting on the rim of a volcano about to blow its top."
Fortunately, Your Majesty and you've all arrived. I can hand over Morant City and all five fortress cities currently under our family's armed forces on the Mana Hill Plains to the King and to everyone present. All matters shall be decided entirely at His Majesty's discretion.
Our Norton Family entered this war to put a stop to the bloody conflict between the Commercial Alliance and our Kingdom. Now that we've destroyed their supposedly invincible fleet, captured Morant City and the Mana Hill Plains, our objective has been achieved. As for the remaining peace negotiations with the Commercial Alliance, those are naturally for His Majesty to handle. The soldiers and officers of our Norton Family's forces are very much hoping to return to the family's territory and be with their loved ones..."
Lorist was so desperate to dump the burden that he'd abandoned all dignity, completely forgetting that just over ten days ago he had written a letter telling the Second Prince to behave himself and not cause unnecessary trouble that would disrupt his plans for peace negotiations with the Commercial Alliance. If the Second Prince were willing to take Morant City, this hot potato, off his hands right now, Lorist would thank the heavens. As for how the Second Prince chose to run things in Morant City, that would no longer be his concern. Returning to the Northland to keep his wife company would be the wisest course.
But the Second Prince was no pushover either. He immediately smiled and said that Lorist was the Kingdom's Sword Saint, the Norton Family's armed forces were the most powerful fighting force in the Kingdom, and there could be no one more suitable than Lorist and the Norton Family's forces to hold Morant City and the Mana Hill Plains. As the King of the Andinake Kingdom, he had always regarded Lorist as his own brother, and believed that everything Lorist had done was born of loyalty to the Kingdom and to him as King...
So the Second Prince immediately appointed Lorist as the Andinake Kingdom's supreme frontline commander on the Mana Hill Plains, responsible for all military operations against the Commercial Alliance. At the same time, Lorist would also serve as the Kingdom's plenipotentiary ambassador for peace negotiations with the Commercial Alliance, with every term to be decided by Lorist himself. The Second Prince's trust and support for Lorist were unconditional.
To demonstrate his sincerity, the Second Prince also decided to yield the fortress city of Bruvik that his forces had captured. Though he had no gold coins to spare, the military provisions stored in Bruvik could all be transferred to the Norton Family's armed forces...
Dumbfounded. Lorist had never expected that instead of shedding the burden, he'd sink even deeper into the mire. But the Second Prince's reasoning was perfectly sound. As the Kingdom's Sword Saint, when the Commercial Alliance also possessed a Sword Saint of their own, if he didn't hold the front line, then who would? No one other than Lorist could withstand the Storm Sword Saint's raids.
Only a Sword Saint could stand against a Sword Saint — or one could do as the Commercial Alliance had done in the past, throwing dozens of Sword Saints and over a hundred Golden Swordsmen into the fray to pile up enough bodies to kill the former Krisen Empire's Sword Saint. But the price paid that way was far too steep for anyone to bear ever again. This was also the duty and obligation that Lorist owed the Kingdom as its Sword Saint. He had to hold the front line and guard against the enemy's Sword Saint.
As long as Lorist held the front line, the Commercial Alliance's Storm Sword Saint would have no way to penetrate deep into the Andinake Kingdom's territory to raid other nobles or even the King himself. Because if he did so, Lorist would retaliate in kind against the Alliance's high-ranking officials, and the Commercial Alliance's leadership would never be willing to exchange their own lives for that of some Andinake Kingdom noble — not even the Second Prince as King.
"If Your Majesty is giving up Bruvik City, where do you plan to station the troops?" Lorist asked.
"With Lord Lorist holding the front line, I can finally rest easy. After two years of grinding warfare against the Commercial Alliance on the Mana Hill Plains, the Kingdom's noble coalition forces are completely exhausted — utterly devoid of fighting strength. So I plan to disband the coalition and let everyone take their family forces back to their respective territories to recuperate. As for myself, I'll lead my troops back to the Imperial Capital. It's been three years since I've been back — it's about time I paid a visit." The Second Prince spoke with deep emotion.
Lorist was dumbfounded!
!
Just as Lorist was about to express that he didn't want the job either and wanted to go home, the Second Prince grabbed both his hands and pleaded: "Please, Lord Lorist, everything depends on you. The situation is extremely favorable to our Kingdom right now. The Commercial Alliance has not only lost their invincible fleet, but over half of their four hundred thousand-strong armed forces have surrendered. They've even abandoned Morant City and the Mana Hill Plains. The earth-shattering merit you and the Norton Family forces have achieved will be praised and revered by generations to come.
I believe this series of battles has made the Commercial Alliance's rulers realize the military gap between them and our Kingdom. There is a very high likelihood that major conflicts and wars between our two nations will cease. I believe the Commercial Alliance will enter peace negotiations with us as we hope, and if that happens, peace won't be far off.
Lord Lorist, please wait here a while longer. Once we've finalized a ceasefire agreement with the Commercial Alliance and restored peace, you can return to the Northland. After I reach the Imperial Capital, I'll immediately arrange for a shipment of grain to be sent to Morant City. I absolutely won't let your family bear the burden of supporting over a million residents of Morant City alone..."
The Second Prince and the Andinake Kingdom's nobles stayed in Morant City for only half a day and one night before departing in a hurry, leaving even faster than they had arrived. Of course, Lorist didn't let them leave empty-handed — a batch of luxury goods seized from the inner city became personal souvenirs of their visit to Morant City. It was a considerate gesture on Lorist's part.
But after the Second Prince and the others left, Lorist found himself plunged into deep frustration. Why couldn't he be decisive and ruthless like the protagonists of those web novels from his previous life? A few flattering words from the Second Prince, a bit of fawning from the nobles, and he couldn't bring himself to refuse — in the end, he'd accepted this thankless job. It seemed he truly didn't have the fate of a protagonist. Even becoming one of the Galentea Continent's top Sword Saints, he was still just a commoner at heart!
After wallowing in self-pity for a long while, Lorist finally looked up and realized that Fatty Shi had at some point entered the study and settled onto the sofa, a bottle of fruit wine in hand.
"Oh, when did you come in? Where have you run off to these past few days?" Lorist asked.
Fatty took another couple swigs before answering, "Just now, when you were slumped over the desk, I thought you were asleep, so I didn't wake you."
He handed a document from beside him to Lorist. "Here, take a look. This is the idea I had a few days ago..."
Lorist flipped open the folder, read two pages, and jumped up in surprise. "What? You want to build another trade alliance?"
...