Chapter 222: The Aftermath of War
The first thing to do after occupying a territory was to secure the assets and talents.
Leobold ordered Catina, Elwin, and his troops not to do any unnecessary violence.
“This place will also become my territory soon, so think of it as your homeland and work accordingly. And you did very well in the air raid, which must have been your first time.”
It was easy to say nice words, but Leobold was generous in his rewards.
He gave 3 gold coins to each soldier who participated in the raid, and granted them a two-week vacation.
However, they could only use it after the war was completely over.
Leobold had occupied the Jazak territory, but there were still administrative procedures left, and more importantly, he needed to bribe and threaten some people.
That might be even harder than the war.
Prince Ruad would probably accommodate his convenience as much as possible, but Count Lantis would not.
The most important person, King Bagran III, was not in good health, so he would likely delegate the matter to Prince Ruad.
“I wonder if Duke Prozan will come soon.”
In fact, his will was the most crucial to end this war.
He was the grand duke of the Zaium Empire, which boasted a population of 100 million.
If he stepped back, Count Lantis’s situation would plummet.
But if he harbored a grudge, it would be very troublesome in the future.
From that perspective, Arma guessed that Duke Prozan would not expand his aggression.
“He has a very calculative personality. He must have calculated that he would not lose in this war. He will be shocked when he finds out that you captured his knight.”
“If he is that calculative, he would weigh me and Count Lantis rather than rushing in.”
“He will do that after Knight Emil returns and reports the situation.”
Emil would report every detail of how he and Leobold fought.
He might not know everything, but he would likely find out that Leobold was a high knight who could infuse ether into his weapon, that he used an airship for the raid, and that he applied a new material to Goliath.
Living metal was a highly classified metal even in Elvrande, and the intelligence agency was monitoring every step of the research.
If he found out that a rural lord used it, he would be curious.
Elvrande was the problem, but Zigarion took care of it.
Leobold heard that a dragon suddenly appeared and destroyed Denova, and tilted his head.
“I didn’t tell him to completely destroy it.”
“There’s not much a dragon with little patience can do when he hears someone trying to rip him off. He used his breath and a wide-area destruction magic, and most of the leaders died. Many assets, debts, and transactions also vanished.”
“The evidence must have disappeared cleanly.”
Elvrande would investigate Leobold’s use of living metal, but they would find nothing.
Denova was the main suspect, but they were all gone by Zigarion’s rampage.
The only thing left was how valuable the vault that Zigarion brought was.
Zigarion reported 1.4 million gold coins in the end, but it would be lucky if it was even one-tenth of that.
“Tell him to fly over here. I’ll take care of him properly.”
“Elvrande won’t track him down.”
Their ether tracking system was impressive, but this place was too far away and they also used blockers, so there was no risk of being exposed.
Arma shuffled through some documents and reported.
“And master, Knight Granden wants to return to his territory. He said he would leave his daughter with a reliable subordinate and ride a horned beast here.”
“He must have been in a hurry. Tell them both to come here. This will be the center of my territory from now on.”
The original territory had nothing but an iron mine near the sea.
The Ohamel viscounty surpassed it in almost every aspect, such as size and resources.
Especially the abundance of water resources was important.
The Ob River was a huge river that crossed the eastern part of Bagran.
It had plenty of water all year round and it was useful for many things.
Crops like cotton and various industrial technologies required a lot of water, which could not be satisfied by the water in the Vandus barony.
“What about the talents that Ohamel brought with him?”
“Recruit them. Those who have no skills or knowledge can be sent to Count Lantis.”
He originally intended to kill them, but Arma suggested sending them to Count Lantis.
He had no choice but to accept it from his perspective.
The relatives who went under the protection of Count Lantis would not stay still.
They would plot various things out of revenge for Leobold, and that would be a pretext.
“What about the dwarves in the workshop?”
“There were dwarves in this territory?”
“Yes. It seems they stayed here because of a contract they made with the previous lord. Now that Ohamel is dead, they want to go back.”
“Dwarves are quite useful talents…”
The elves were far ahead in the research of ether, but the dwarves were dominant in machinery, materials, and physics.
Even the Zaium Empire relied on the Imir Republic, the nation of dwarves, for the parts for Goliath.
It was surprising that the dwarves were in this territory, considering their closed nature.
“They are basically the ones who lead the industrial technology of this territory. The problem is that Ohamel was timid and had no money to support them properly.”
“Then we should… no.”
There was no need to rush to recruit them.
Dwarves were a proud race who would shun elves.
It was impossible to suppress them with a moderate amount of money, and threats would not work either.
It would be better to leak some of their technology to them.
“Show me how you handle living metal with the disassembler while pretending to fix Goliath. He’ll beg to sit here himself.”
“Understood.”
Zion arrived at the occupied area shortly after.
He lied that he had destroyed Denova in anger and apologized that there was nothing left.
“My breath is so powerful, you know? There was nothing left of gold coins or money.”
“Then you couldn’t even steal any gold bars or something.”
“Tha…t’s right?”
Zion was very nervous.
He was afraid of how much this monstrous lord knew.
It seemed like he had noticed something from his mention of gold bars, but he couldn’t have known unless he looked closely at the scene.
‘He can’t use magic in such a chaotic ether! He’s testing me!’
True Eye and other long-range magic depended on how much ether was used, but they were also greatly affected by the environment.
True Eye and other magic that required precision would not work properly in a yard that was chaotic with breath and all kinds of lethal magic.
Zion decided to bluff after making that judgment.
“I also looked for gold bars or something, but there was nothing. It was a shame. I lost 10,000 gold in investment money.”
“We need to get that back, but who would be good?”
“I don’t know. Denova is ruined and I can’t reveal my identity, so it would be hard to get it from anyone.”
“I have a good idea.”
As Leobold snapped his fingers, Zion unknowingly brought his ear to his mouth.
“What is it?”
“It’s to half-kill the cheeky dragon who hid my gold bars and acted like he didn’t know. Then ask him why he did that.”
“…Tha…”
“Give it up now and I’ll spare your life. Give it all up.”
“Damn, if someone heard that, they’d think you’re a bandit.”
“You shouldn’t have hidden it if you didn’t want to hear that.”
“I just wanted to get my share. It’s not my job to go to Denova.”
“Who packed up everything in a hurry? And did you think I wouldn’t take care of you? You don’t seem to have much faith in me.”
Zion flinched.
Come to think of it, Leobold had always tried to accommodate him.
The promised ether stones were thoroughly paid and the funds and materials needed for research were always abundantly provided.
When he said he needed an assistant mage, he brought him Steffina and there was no shortage of convenience.
Leobold turned his head and said bitterly.
“I trusted you, but you didn’t. I’m disappointed.”
At this point, Zion felt a fire on his feet.
Even if he left the domain now, he had nowhere to go and it was not easy to return to the floating continent.
The forces called Elvrande, Zaium and others were eyeing the floating land, and even at this moment dozens of airships were flying around.
‘As soon as landing becomes possible, my lair will be exposed.’
That would end his peace.
Sticking to Leobold was not a choice but a necessity.
Having judged this far, Zion changed his expression in an instant.
“What are you talking about? It was just a joke. Why would I hide anything from the lord?”
“Well, I don’t trust you.”
“Oh come on, it’s not a big deal. Do you think I’ll swallow this whole? Here, I brought this for the lord.”
Zion took out several safes from his pocket space.
He wanted to keep the last one, but when Leobold gave him a look of ‘is there more?’, he shed tears and took out the last safe as well.
“Four… The contents of the others are vaguely visible, but this one seems to be sealed with magic. Can you open it?”
“When it comes to magic, it’s dragon again.”
Zion confidently stepped forward, but failed because the sealing magic circle was no joke.
“Damn, why won’t this open?”
“Sometimes primitive methods are better.”
Leobold boarded Goliath standing in the corner of the mansion and transformed his weapon into a hammer and hit the safe.
A small explosion broke the safe and a map came out.
They put their heads together and analyzed the map.
It was clear that it was the east sea of Vandus’s barony by looking at the coastline.
“There’s nothing in that sea except for Shadow Elf’s island nation.”
“That’s because the island nation was created during the Great War 200 years ago. Just like the floating continent.”
“Then this is a map made at that time, but why was it in Denova?”
Zion muttered indifferently.
“It could have been taken as debt instead. It’s not strange what those elves do.”
“Well…”
Judging by the fact that it was stored in a safe sealed with magic, it seemed to be a very important map.
Leobold called Arma and handed over all the safes, including the map.
“Analyze the map carefully and find the location. And how much do you think it is?”
“About 85,000 gold. For the jewels, I calculated according to this month’s price, but you’ll have to pay a lot of commission to sell them.”
“You calculated that already…?”
Zion, who thought of Arma as a mere maid, couldn’t help but be surprised.
No matter how standardized gold bars were, there were five types of gold coins with different gold content and silver coins as well!
“They still owe 1.41 million gold, so we’ll have to get it from Elvrande even with this. I don’t know what’s on the map, but it won’t be enough.”
The debt was made by Denova, but Elvrande was the one who backed them up.
Denova would eventually be rebuilt and a new market would take office, but they would not admit a deal without evidence.
Therefore, his logic was that the elves were ultimately responsible for repayment.
“How? Elvrande is a nation of elves, but they are quite powerful. The lord knows that well.”
“Just wait and see. I can’t stand being in debt.”
“Hmm…”
Zion was doubtful, but he shrugged it off.
He started a war and smashed Denova, so he had to deal with the aftermath himself.
****
Granden, who was in the royal road, returned to the domain.
He was so in a hurry that he didn’t even sleep properly and rode a horned bird.
Leobold pushed him into a clean bedroom instead of giving him a mission.
“Sleeping soundly is especially important for knights. You won’t be late for your mission even after a good nap.”
“I’m sorry, my lord.”
From Granden’s point of view, it must have been hard to accept himself for not being able to participate in the domain war because of his daughter.
Even if it was the lord’s intention.
Anyway, he slept for 10 hours and shaved his beard and appeared in front of Leobold in a neat appearance.
“You look much better. I want you to take charge of recruiting the mercenaries. Ohamel’s mercenaries are camping halfway between here and Vandus’s domain.”
“They don’t know what to do since their employer is dead.”
“Then go and talk to them. You can even threaten them. They don’t have many places to go anyway.”
Even though they were a mercenary group with 16 Goliaths, there were hardly any places that would dare to take them in with the Bagran royal family watching.
At best, there were only two nobles who cooperated with Ohamel and Count Lantis, but the former was economically and the latter was politically strained.
“I’ll leave right away.”
“By the way, how is Eily?”
A fatherly smile appeared on Granden’s lips at the question.
“She’s having fun at the palace. It’s all thanks to your care, my lord.”
“Let’s have a meal together later. I also want to meet Eily.”
“It would be an honor.”
Granden came back later with the surrender of the mercenaries.
“Fortunately, the mercenary leader was a reasonable person.”
“You mean a quick-witted person. Without any supply of ether stones, they have limited options in Bagran’s east.”
“You considered that too.”
Granden couldn’t help but admire the lord who knew even the inside of a mere mercenary group.
It was information that he had learned after talking and persuading them.
Anyway, the mercenary group with 16 Goliaths agreed to entrust their troops to Leobold.
Count Lantis, who should have stopped them, was too busy being grilled by Prince Ruad and Duke Prozan in the royal road.
As a result, Vandus’s domain had a total of 21 Goliaths.
It was a great force, even if half of them were Raums and the most powerful Bephar was badly damaged and needed repair.
It was second only to Count Lantis in Bagran’s east, and it put a lot of pressure on the surrounding domains.
But surprisingly, it didn’t become a big issue because there was news that a blue dragon had appeared in Denova and destroyed it.
Denova, which had a reputation as the best commercial city in the continent despite its small territory, was literally smashed.
This news reached the neighboring countries, but there were hardly any places that regretted it.
From their point of view, Denova was nothing but a nest of detestable elves.
―They were disgusting enough with their elves and slaves. I’m glad they’re all dead.
―All Denova did was lend money forcibly and charge high interest. It’s a good thing they’re gone.
―I wish that blue dragon would destroy Elvrande too while he’s at it.
But they were still afraid of the dragon, so they were busy preparing for defense.
And another information reached the ears of the furious council in Elvrande.
The judge Tirendel sent to Bagran reported the leakage of living metal.
The council was so angry that they ordered to find the dragon right away.
―Who leaked the living metal! Find the culprit!
Fortunately, there was only one mine where living metal could be mined in Elvrande, and it was under strict surveillance, so it seemed that the leaker would be revealed soon.
But surprisingly, the leaker didn’t show up.
The council staff gathered all the workers in one place and searched every corner of the mine, but they couldn’t find any evidence.
―The amount of metal exported according to the refinery documents matches the amount imported according to the military specifications.
―No suspicion points were found among the workers. All workers have not left the workplace for nearly six months and are under surveillance by at least two people.
It was natural considering the danger and importance of living metal.
This rare metal was so strong that it could not be destroyed by ordinary means.
Unlike ordinary metals, it could be easily deformed, but only by people with high ether sensitivity.
Only skilled elven knights could barely handle this metal.
In Elvrande, they concluded that the armor plate of Goliath that they boarded on an airship was living metal.
The problem was why that rare metal was found in Vandus’s domain.
There was no sign of leakage here either.
―I suspect that living metal mines have been discovered in Bagran.
―Or maybe they brought it from the floating continent. That cunning baron might have hidden it…
―He’s a mere baron, but he’s causing a lot of trouble in many ways. The domain war was one thing, but we need to keep an eye on him for a while.
Meanwhile, Prince Ruad was busy moving around in Bagran.
He was secretly pleased that Baron Vandus had subdued Ohamel’s domain without much damage, but he didn’t show it.
And he proposed a meeting for the smooth settlement of the war.
The attendees were the prince, Duke Prozan, Count Lantis, and Baron Vandus.
The two high nobles agreed to the proposal right away, but Leobold’s answer was not satisfactory.
“Well, I should follow your suggestion, but I can’t help but worry.”
“What are you worried about?”
“That you two might pressure me economically. As you know, Count Lantis’s domain is not comparable to mine in size. Mine barely exceeds 20,000 now.”
‘He considers Ohamel’s domain as his own, even though he occupied it only a few days ago.’
That must have been an expression of his unwillingness to give it up, but it was uncertain whether the two nobles would accept it.
The problem was what he would offer in return, and Leobold made an unexpected remark.
“I’ll return Knight Emil to you. He wasn’t badly injured, so I’ll send him back as soon as we sign the agreement.”
“I’m glad he’s alive. But Count Lantis won’t agree.”
“I’ll entrust the new troops of Sigil and Gashin to Count Lantis. That should be enough.”
“They… that’s amazing.”
It was impossible to spare Sigil in a domain war where the lord died.
Unless it was a war between nations, it was hard to make money by taking them hostage, and most of them were killed or sent to hard work places like mines if they were lucky.
Why would they spare the enemy’s lifeline?
Of course, this was something that happened decades ago, and there had been no domain wars lately.
Everyone was too busy making a living to have the strength to fight, and Baron Vandus lit a fire there.
‘He must have no choice but to accept this offer.’
He would have gone on the offensive thinking that he had been executed, but it would be interesting to see his expression when he saw Sigil.
There was nothing more disgusting than a lord who didn’t take care of his Sigil.
Prince Ruad felt a bit of fear at Baron Vandus who proceeded everything as if it had been prepared.
Did he plan this war?
‘That can’t be. How could he know the intentions of Eolin and Prozan while he was stuck in his domain?’
From Leobold’s point of view, it was enough that someone who coveted his silver mine joined hands with Count Lantis.
It didn’t matter who it was.
Anyway, Prince Ruad wanted to ask him one thing when he came to the royal road this time.
Did he really pledge allegiance to the Bagran royal family?
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶