Troop Surge

Actually, he hoped those people would come sooner. It was summer now, after all, and marching and setting up camp were no easy matters. Besides, the food supply would clearly be better suited to a major war after the autumn harvest.

"Forget it. No matter what, I hold the advantage. Even if they launch their attack after the autumn harvest, I can recruit more soldiers and acquire more equipment."

After some more time passed, Mel noticed that fewer and fewer traveling merchants were coming to Edge City. Basically, only merchants from the grasslands remained; merchants from every other direction had vanished. Those nobles must have begun applying pressure.

In fact, it was not far from what Mel had anticipated.

After the war ended, the fleeing count immediately lobbied the lords of several nearby regions. They all prohibited merchants from traveling to Edge Territory, directly imposing a resource blockade.

As for whether people would starve to death, that was not something those nobles needed to worry about. They only needed to wait for the rebels to collapse, then strike a fatal blow.

Mel was somewhat troubled by this as well. There were only so many food-producing areas, and the main crops would not be ready until after the autumn harvest. In the end, he made a decision, even if it meant giving up this city.

"Take out two years' worth of stored grain and put it directly on the market. If there are nearby villages on the verge of starvation, help them in an emergency as well. At least let them hold on until the autumn harvest, and encourage them to farm."

That way, at least everyone in the territory could survive, and no one would starve to death. If those people chose this moment to launch an attack, though, it