chapter_0054

54 – Northern Air Defense

54 – Northern Air Defense

Two days after Crone invaded Klaus, Calix led his troops away from Klaus as promised.

As agreed, Calix only took the wheat he had contracted and the compensation amounting to three times the deposit.

He did not engage in any looting.

Instead, as he left, he acted according to Noah’s strategy and did the following:

“I will give part of the compensation to the vassals of Klaus.”

Calix distributed part of the compensation to the vassals of Klaus.

The pretext was that it was compensation for the anxiety they had caused.

Noah had three main reasons for suggesting that the compensation be given to the vassals of Klaus.

The first was to win the hearts of the people of Klaus.

He believed that if the army, which they thought was an invader, came in and gave them money, and they realized it was Crone, the people’s sentiment would surely turn towards Crone.

The second was to prevent the identification of traitors.

There were many traitors in Klaus who cooperated with Crone for money.

If one or two people received money, it would be noticeable, but if hundreds or thousands received it, identifying the traitors would become practically impossible.

Finally, the most important issue was the cost of transportation.

There were too few people to carry both the wheat and the money.

Recruiting additional workers to take with them would actually be a loss, and Noah thought it would be more profitable to distribute it in Klaus.

“Oh my…”

“They’re giving us money…?”

The vassals of Klaus were astonished at the sight of the enemy they thought was an invader coming in, doing nothing, and instead giving them money as they left.

They had heard stories about the Silver Dragon of Crone.

However, many thought it was just a rumor.

But the vassals of Klaus could not help but be moved by the grace shown to them.

The distribution was different from their lord, who hoarded the wheat they could eat and locked it away in the storeroom.

“Long live Lord Crone!”

“The Silver Dragon of Crone is the best!”

Roan and Royce were watching this scene from the mansion.

Roan could not hide his mixed feelings.

“Crone’s name is resonating in our territory like that…”

“Father! We should rip out their tongues!”

With a sharp sound, Roan glared at Royce’s foolish remark.

Royce, intimidated by his father’s murderous glare, stepped back.

Seeing his son’s demeanor, Roan sighed.

“Royce, watch and learn; that is how to govern the people’s sentiment.”

Roan was impressed by Calix’s ability to buy the hearts of the enemy’s citizens with the compensation taken from them.

It could be someone else’s strategy rather than Calix’s, but that was not what mattered.

What was important was that Calix was a lord who could suppress his greed and choose that strategy.

No matter how kind a lord is, when money is in front of them, they tend to become greedy.

How could he cast aside his greed like that?

Roan became curious about Calix in various ways.

With this incident, Roan thought that their family had effectively been demoted from the lord of Klaus to a lord’s representative.

Now, to survive, he had to pay attention not only to Crone but also to the people’s sentiment.

Roan knew better than anyone that once a person has tasted honey, they can never give it up.

As he thought about educating his son Royce to become a proper lord who understood this, Roan sighed.

At that moment, news from Klaus was shared with the leaders of each faction.

“Klaus attempted to launch a food attack on Dreyhart and was occupied overnight. And Crone took only the food and left.”

Upon receiving this news, the leaders fell into their own thoughts.

Princess Selenia was pleased with the news.

“Just as I thought, Calix! This will keep my uncle quiet for a while.”

Selenia was very pleased with the news.

The North had monsters and rare resources that only existed in the north, but it was relatively lacking in food.

Because of this, her uncle, the Duke of the North, had been gradually moving south towards the food-rich East.

The actions of the Duke of the North, who was nibbling away at the eastern territories that were neither aligned with the Prince Faction nor the Princess Faction, were like a thorn in Selenia’s side.

However, Calix’s actions had somewhat put the brakes on that behavior.

Now, for the Duke of the North to move south, the only territory that did not belong to any remaining faction was Klaus.

But Klaus had been partially occupied by Crone.

Crone had not done anything to Klaus, and although Klaus sent a letter to the Platinum Council saying it was their fault that this happened, who would believe that?

It would be more accurate to assume that Klaus had secured its position through some deal with Crone.

This made it burdensome for the Duke of the North to attack Klaus.

If Crone had massacred the Klaus family, they could have used that as a justification to invade.

But Crone had done nothing and left.

If the Duke of the North were to invade now, it would only serve to benefit Crone under the pretext of protecting their alliance.

In the end, Crone’s move had ended the Duke of the North’s pillaging of the eastern territories.

Now, for the Duke of the North to expand his influence, he would have to be prepared to clash with the prince, the princess, or Crone.

Selenia was very pleased that she had been given what she wanted so easily.

“But Selenia, is it really okay to let Crone grow this much?”

“It’s fine! Calix is on our side.”

Selenia considered Calix to be essentially on her side.

Not now, but someday, when the opportunity arose, she planned to proceed with a marriage proposal that had not yet been concluded.

Naturally, it would be a marriage between her and Calix.

Once Calix became her husband, everything would be sorted out.

Lumiel felt a bit worried, but remembering Calix’s devoted actions to save Selenia, he nodded.

And the prince, who was looking at the map of the empire, was having similar thoughts to the princess.

“With this, we can consider my uncle’s expansion to the east to be over.”

“That’s a relief, Your Highness.”

While looking at the map, the prince and Duran were thinking almost the same thing as Selenia.

He was a burdening force from the perspective of the prince, leading the strong of the North.

It was not yet time for a direct confrontation, but he wanted to prevent any expansion.

That was what Crone had done for him.

However, the prince could not view this situation positively.

“The problem is ultimately whose side Crone is on…”

“That’s right, Your Highness.”

The prince had received information that the princess had contacted Crone.

To hide his awakening, he had manipulated information, so he did not know about the princess’s awakening or the large-scale attack by the Blood Clan, but he could roughly guess that something had happened.

“Still, when I heard Azel’s words, Crone was still said to be neutral.”

Through Azel, the prince’s side was gathering information about Crone.

However, due to Azel not being an information source and Crone’s actions to request information, there were doubts about the truth of that information.

It could be an attempt to create confusion by releasing false information.

“Duran, have you still not figured out what Calix wants?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but Calix is not showing any openings at all.”

After receiving the prince’s command, Duran had thoroughly investigated to find out what Calix desired.

What he discovered was truly the ideal image of a lord straight out of a fairy tale.

Calix Crone did not covet any luxuries, instead using his wealth for the people and did not seek after women.

Nor did he show any actions that sought honor or power by entering the system.

Duran could not understand what Calix wanted, and the prince said.

“That’s fine. Our difficulties mean that other factions are also struggling. We just need to figure it out before they do.”

“Yes, understood, Your Highness.”

While the prince and princess were organizing their thoughts, discussions were also taking place in the cold northern part of the empire.

The cold northern castle was always covered in frost, and this was no exception even in the office of the highest authority.

In the center of that office was a massive chessboard-like map of the empire, with each faction and territory represented by chess pieces.

And he was continuously gazing at that chessboard.

His forehead was deeply lined with thick wrinkles, and the sharp gaze below it contained the majesty of his victory in the battle against the Blood Clan.

His sun-faded blonde hair, now tinged with silver from the northern blizzards,

and even his neatly trimmed beard added to his dignity.

The cloak made of the fur of the northern wind bears, which only the greatest warriors of the North could wear, quietly displayed his authority on his shoulders.

He was the Duke of the North, known as the “Guardian of the North,” and the brother of the emperor, Ark Nos Novarens.

“My lord, you seem to have many worries.”

Pelagon, the Duke’s right-hand man and the captain of the northern defense, spoke to Duke Ark.

In response to Pelagon’s words, the duke smiled and replied.

“Worries are for Sword or Lily to have.”

Duke Ark thought of his two nephews, the prince and princess.

He lit a large cigar made from northern tobacco leaves.

“Pelagon, I actually find this situation enjoyable.”

Duke Ark had lost to his brother, the current emperor, in the past “Game of Thrones.”

As a consequence, he had become the head of the North under his brother’s orders and had been protecting the North and building his strength ever since.

For him, the Game of Thrones was a festival.

A festival where the strong could wield their power,

the moment when the world returned to its most rightful form, and in the past, Ark enjoyed that festival more than anyone else.

And now that festival was about to begin again.

With lords going mad,

strongmen preparing for war,

and even the emergence of hidden powers like Crone, which now stood in his way,

all of this was signaling that the festival was about to start.

And this time, he would be the victor of that festival.

The cold winds of the North were approaching the empire.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you for reading today as well!!!

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