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Chapter 200 - Chasing Tails (1)

“Wh-what did you just say?”

“Father, Ronan has abandoned the Foram name.”

“How... How could that adopted brat forget everything we’ve done for him...?!”

Hamilton had returned to the Highlander region with the shattered Poseira in his hands after losing to Ronan and Iselan. He was currently telling Kington what had happened with his head sagged down, still embarrassed at how he had been made a fool.

Kington flushed with anger and embarrassment as he listened to Hamilton. His face was so red that it seemed like it was going to explode any second. However, Kington soon realized that bursting in anger wouldn’t solve anything, so he sat down and brought his palms together, trying his best to calm himself down.

‘Aghh, I did suspect something, but I never thought it would really happen...!’

The continent was currently in a state of absolute chaos.

Even though Arthus had taken control of most of the Eurasian Empire without shedding a single drop of blood, he only controlled most of the continent, not the entire continent. Because of that, at first, it would seem that the current empire had successfully continued the legacy of the former empire, but in reality, the internal situation of the empire was still chaotic.

For example, soldiers constantly deserted the Aenia Empire because they couldn\'t fathom having to serve a new empire.

‘Well, that’s why the emperor is trying to fasten the unification of the continent.’

When the internal situation was unfavorable, it was common to do something even bigger externally so that the outside world would pay attention to that instead of the internal conflict.

On top of that, things were bound to get worse if the Aenian Empire did not gain control of the former allies of the Eurasian Empire. At the moment, nobody controlled those allies.

If Arthus didn’t get the former allies on his side, it was likely that the empire’s budget would decrease because it would no longer receive tributes like it had used to. There was also a chance that Arthus would have to spend more resources to reinforce the defense against the former allies. On top of that, Arthus had lowered the tax rate of the empire by twenty percent in order to sway public opinion amid the rapid changes that the empire was going through.

Of course, they had secured some of the national treasures of the previous empire, but because the imperial palace had been reduced to rubbles, they hadn’t been able to get their hands on things that were truly valuable.

However, despite the internal problems, Kington was absolutely certain that the empire would get through this. In spite of everything, the Aenia Empire had succeeded in becoming an empire of its own, absorbing a majority of the territory of the previous empire, sixty percent to be more precise.

‘But apart from this... What should I do now? The emperor probably has high expectations...’

Aside from trying to place one of his people in a position of power within the empire, Kington’s biggest worry was that he would be disappointing the emperor.

Kington frowned as his head was throbbing. Before him stood an incompetent son, trembling in fear. He could tell that Hamilton was shaking in his boots because he dreaded the scolding he would get from him.

‘Sigh... Why are you so pathetic...’

Looking at his pitiful son only intensified his headache.

Even among the adoptees of the Foram family, Ronan had always stood out. He genuinely seemed like he was a gifted boy. He had been born with a good physique and good physical prowess, and he also had a fighter’s intuition that had made him stand out. He was also a quick learner, and his blond hair and golden eyes were rather unique traits that set him apart from other commoners.

All in all, Ronan seemed more noble than most of the actual nobles. On top of that, he even had a knack for swordsmanship, making it hard not to want him.

Nevertheless, a parent never thinks their child is ugly. Because of that, no matter how good Ronan was, Kington had always shown Hamilton more affection. During the era of the Eurasian Empire, Kington thought that Ronan wouldn’t accomplish much because there was peace.

However, all of that changed when the Eurasian Empire collapsed and Arthus became the new emperor. After those changes, Kington realized that Hamilton was a useless, incompetent child who just went around town thinking that his bloodline would grant him everything on a silver platter. Apart from the fact that he was Kington’s real son, there was nothing special about Hamilton.

The fact that Ronan, a mere expendable soldier who operated on noblesse oblige, had defeated him stripped him of the little worth he had still had.

‘Damn it!’

Part of Kington wanted to attack Caliburn right away and drag Ronan back to the Highlander region, but Hamilton had already said that Ronan had turned into one of Iselan\'s men.

That was a serious problem.

Just thinking about Iselan’s name made Kington grit his teeth, but if he had already made Ronan one of his people, Kington knew that it would be difficult even for him to bring his adopted son back. However, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘Wait a second... If Caliburn Fortress refused to convert to the Aenia, wouldn’t their supplies get cut off?’

Kington was right about this.

The previous empire had established the Caliburn Fortress as a force to suppress the Demonic Beast Forest. Without the support of the empire, it would only be a matter of time before it collapsed from the inside out. Moreover, Kington knew that Iselan had a very strong sense of responsibility. In other words, he knew that Iselan wouldn’t stop fulfilling his responsibilities just because the empire he had been serving was gone.

Realizing this, Kington couldn’t help but smile.

‘I feel like it’s a waste of resources, but to bring back Ronan, the best thing to do is to provide them with supplies for a little bit.’

This was the best method Kington could think of at the moment. He quite frankly thought it was a good plan. He would first make them sign an agreement so that he could bring Ronan back and then use the war as an excuse to stop providing them with supplies. And if Caliburn Fortress fought back, all he had to do was mobilize an army and burn them to the ground.

On top of that, if Kington went there himself to negotiate in person, he would have enough justification to persuade Ronan as his adoptive father despite the fact that he had abandoned the Foram name.

Having made up his mind, Kington got up from his seat and said, “Hamilton! You go to Monsieur right now to get the Poseira fixed.”

"Yes...? Then father, what will you...?”

“We can’t let Ronan rot in Caliburn like this. What are you waiting for?! Get moving already! Don’t even think about setting foot in the Highlander region until you’ve gotten the Poseira fixed!”

“Yes! Yes, father!”

The Grand Master of the Aenian Empire, the Knight King, began his journey to Caliburn Fortress.

* * *

After forming the Allied Powers, Henry decided to first bring the Ten Swords to Salgaera and then stop by Vivaldi to take a look at what he had ordered Ten to do before returning to the Magical Spire.

“Archmage, when did you get here?”

“Just now. Did something happen while I was gone?

“Just as you told us, we sold most of our assets and focused on buying food, weapons, and household items.”

“Anything in particular with the prices? Any changes?”

“Prices are skyrocketing, of course. Even the cheapest items are now five times more expensive than they used to be.”

“It’s only going to get more expensive as time goes on. If you have any problems in buying, let me know at any time. I’ll get it fixed.”

“Yes, Archmage.”

“How is the expansion of the castle wall going?”

“Thanks to the wizards you sent us, the city is turning into a fortress.”

“What about the gladiator arena?”

“Just like you’ve instructed us, we’re now taking food or other resources instead of gold for the entrance fees and other expenses.”

"Good job."

Everything was going as planned. Vivaldi had used to be one of the free cities that paid the most taxes in the former empire, which in turn meant that a lot of people had moved over here, resulting in more trade, eventually making it a more efficient city for gathering resources than Enkelmann.

Henry saw the supplies piled up on one side of Ten\'s mansion. They had purchased those supplies for war by selling the enormous amount of assets that the merchants and the Million Gold Organization possessed.

In front of the supplies, there was Hagler, sitting on a chair. As he noticed Henry and Ten, he said, “Ah, Sir Henry, it’s nice to see you.”

“Hagler, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m standing guard myself as we’ve been seeing a significant increase in petty thieves recently.”

"Petty thieves?”

“Yes, it seems like word is out that we’ve been gathering all the supplies in the entire city.”

“Okay... How much have we lost?”

“Nothing big, but we’re having trouble preventing small losses here and there.”

“Ten, what does this mean?”

“It’s exactly what Hagler’s saying. Even if we hire guards, most of them are accomplices of the thieves, so there’s really no one we can trust the supplies with.”

“Ha, those bastards, they’re trying to outsmart us, aren’t they?”

Problems always arose in the most unexpected places. The richest man in Vivaldi was having trouble dealing with some petty thieves. The fact that this was happening made it clear that the general order had declined as times were difficult and chaotic.

Henry looked at the pile of supplies with eyes full of worry.

Although he wanted to put them in the subspace and carry them around, Ten had to keep them at all times because they also had to use them as currency, depending on what situation they found themselves in.

‘Hmm, I’m not sure what to do.’

Henry was trying to think of the best way to prevent the petty thieves from getting their hands on the supplies.

At that moment, someone said, “Young master.”

"Hmm?”

One of the guards at the gate quickly came in because some beggars they had never seen before were looking for Henry. They normally would have kicked them out, but they decided to report them to Henry this time because ordinary beggars without a noble background weren’t even aware of Henry’s existence.

\'Beggars?’

Henry couldn’t help but get curious as to who these beggars were. According to the guard, the beggars were from the north, and apparently, they also knew Hagler and Vant.

“Let’s go see who they are.”

Henry couldn’t think of any beggars that would know about him and the others. However, the moment he had a hunch as to who they could be, he found himself at the gate with the guard, and in front of him stood someone unexpected.

“Chief Vhant?”

“Ooh, Sir Henry!”

The beggar was none other than Vhant, the checkpoint chief of the Slan Gorge, also known as the shield gatekeeper.

“Sir Henry!”

Behind Vhant, there were two other soldiers who looked familiar, happily shouting Henry’s name. All three of them looked extremely exhausted. It seemed like they had marched all the way to Vivaldi with the little supplies they had without getting on horses or using teleportation scrolls.

“Please come inside first.”

Henry couldn’t help but wonder why they had come to Ten’s mansion when they were supposed to protect the Slan Gorge. However, Henry knew better than to hammer them with questions right away. He decided to first take them inside and help them recover from the arduous journey.

A while later, after showering with clean water and treating their blistered feet, they sat in front of a table stacked with food and ate ravenously.

“Mmm, mmm! This is it, this is it! Not some rock-hard, nasty food! Mmm!”

“This bread... doesn’t break your teeth! Mmm!”

“This corn soup! It’s absolutely divine...!”

Even though they had washed up with clean water, the exhaustion from their long journey was still visible on their faces. Henry waited patiently as they filled up their bellies. After a while, most of the food on the table was gone. Only then did Vhant clear his throat, still trembling slightly.

“Hmm, my apologies for just digging in. I was so hungry I forgot my manners.”

"No, not a problem. What brings you all the way here, Sir Vhant?”

“Oh, didn’t you tell us to come here if something happened to us?”

“I did say that... Does that mean something happened in Salgaera?” replied Henry, his face riddled with apprehension. He had yet to tell them that the Eurasian Empire had fallen.

The reason he hadn’t informed them of the news was simple.

Henry had the duty to regularly provide supplies to Salgaera. So, if Henry kept up with his responsibility of supplying the people at the checkpoint, he could use them as gatekeepers in Salgaera until the end of the war, regardless of whether the empire had fallen or not. However, the fact that they had come all the way here meant that something must have happened in Salgaera.

“Sir Henry, did you happen to know that the Eurasian Empire had collapsed?” asked Vhant.

"Of course."

“Then why didn’t you tell us?”

"My apologies. After the fall of the imperial palace, I was so busy for a while that it was impossible to deliver the news to you in time.”

"I see... I understand. You are indeed a busy person in many ways," replied Vhant. He took a sip from his cold tea before continuing. “Sir Henry.”

“Yes?”

“There are a lot of things I don’t know about Salgaera, right?”

"Um... Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?”

“I believe I should apologize first before I tell you anything.”

"No, that won’t be necessary. I know how much you’re going through over there. There’s a reason why I told you to come here if anything happened out there.”

"I see...”

The two darted their eyes around, as if they were deliberately avoiding eye contact so as not to let each other know that they had different things on their minds. Vhant sipped again on his tea and tried really hard to continue the conversation after clearing his throat.

“My apologies, Sir Henry.”

"Apologies for what? What’s on your mind?”

“In order to protect myself and my men, I have no choice but to abandon the mission you gave me and leave Slan Gorge.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Balak came to Salgaera.”

“Did you say... Balak?”

The name Balak seemed awfully familiar to Henry, but he just couldn\'t quite remember who that was.

But at that moment...

“Surely you’re not talking about the Punishment King of Killive?”

“I’m afraid that’s exactly who I’m talking about.”

“God damn it!”

Balak, the leader of Killieve, the Punishment King, had been in Salgarea. The moment Henry realized why Vhant was here, he stood up from the table, his face contorted with panic.