Blackwater City's Current Situation

Alex bid farewell to his father and left Count Colt's barracks. He had brought no guards and walked alone through the military camp.

By now, the sun had set. Most of the soldiers had finished dinner and returned to their barracks to rest. Only the patrolling guards remained in the camp, which was very quiet.

Suddenly, a cool breeze swept past, jolting Alex's spirits. Father, I understand your thoughts and concerns, but Victor will never be our enemy. Without Victor's help, if we had followed our original plan, we might already have been defeated by now!

As Victor's friend and the member of the Iron Birch Family who had interacted with him the most, Alex understood all too well how much Victor had helped the Iron Birch Family and the Northern Alliance Army.

For one thing, the reason he had been able to establish an intelligence network covering the entire kingdom through the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce was that Victor had contributed the most.

It was precisely through the exclusive businesses in White Sugar and flour that the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce had been able to find so many partners throughout the Grand Duchy, allowing the Iron Birch Family's intelligence network to grow unchecked.

Before Victor appeared, the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce had mainly expanded its business across the kingdom by trading horses. Although that was also an exclusive business, its costs were too high. Coupled with the inland nobles' united efforts to drive down prices, the profits available for distribution could not satisfy the appetites of the Iron Birch Family and the Northern Frontier nobles. Naturally, there had been no way to share profits with inland partners.

But after White Sugar and flour appeared, especially the White Sugar business, it could practically be called a license