Chapter 79
Blood Robe's eyes flickered, and finally he lowered his head and said, "I'll go tell the captain."
"Go, and remember one thing: trust the Grand Duke."
After Blood Robe- Clad Leaves, Ryan rubs his temples. It's really a pain in the ass. He's starting to have a hard time understanding the situation in the Augustus Empire.
Is this also an effect of 'war'?
"No, the Grand Duke must not fall; she still has to help me ascend to heaven."
Heaven and earth are vast, but the greatest Grand Duke is the most important.
Grand Duke! My Grand Duke! (Pacing back and forth, crying, rolling on the ground. jpg)
Ryan sent a message to Jack, telling him to go with his father to find the Gilded Group, while he drove to Aideburg.
Upon arriving at the castle, Ryan found Caslathdi, who seemed to have also received the news.
"Ryan, I was just looking for you."
Ryan said, "Something has happened in the Western Territory."
Caslathdi nodded slightly. "The latest battle report from the Imperial Capital is that the Western Barbarian Army has broken through the Talma Defense Line, the Iron Blood Army has been defeated, and Magana's whereabouts are unknown."
News of the battle spread rapidly, and the Imperial Capital had already received the news.
"The people from Gruk just told me the same thing."
"They want to leave?"
"Yes, but I made them stay. I said a lot, but I don't know if they listened."
"It might be difficult." Caslathdi frowned slightly. "The Iron Blood Legion has always regarded Magana as a war goddess. Now that something has happened to her, these Iron Blood Army will probably rush back no matter what."
Even if their alliance were real, she felt it wouldn't make a difference, let alone if it were only temporary.
This is a huge problem; the chaos has only just begun.
Most importantly, the Western Territory defense line of the empire is at stake. Once the Iron Blood Legion is defeated, the entire Western Territory will fall, and if the Western Barbarian Army invades, the consequences will be unimaginable.
As for her side, needless to say, it's bound to be a complete mess.
At that time, let alone controlling the three cities in the Southern Territory, it would be a question whether he could even save his own life. Thinking of this, Caslathdi felt a pain in his chest.
"Doesn't Your Highness find it strange? The Iron Blood Army has been stationed in the Western Territory for so many years, how come those barbarians have the ability to defeat the Iron Blood Army without any resistance?" Ryan pondered. "If they really had that strength, the situation in the Western Territory of the Empire would not be like this at all."
Caslathdi was taken aback. "You suspect there's something wrong with this?"
"Yes, I have it," Ryan said confidently. "It just depends on how big the matter is. Your Highness, what connections do you have in the Imperial Capital? Can you confirm what exactly happened in the Western Territory? The news may not have come from a person, or it may not have been spread by a person at all."
"Really..."
For Supernatural Being in certain special professions, influencing the transmission of information is not difficult.
Caslathdi understood the reasoning, but...
"I don't have any connections in the Imperial Capital." Caslathdi smiled bitterly. "My mother didn't have any family influence, and after she died, I was basically all alone."
"Who says there isn't? Don't you still have your old... cough cough~ father, the Emperor? Your Majesty the Emperor will surely be able to find out the truth."
"Well... I'll give it a try."
Unless absolutely necessary, Caslathdi did not want to contact her father unless she gave up the competition for the crown prince position.
However, this matter will not only affect her. If something really happens to Magana, the empire will be in chaos, and how can her father be at ease?
After entrusting the investigation to Caslathdi, Ryan returned to his office, and not long after, Gruk arrived from outside the city.
The two chatted for a while longer.
Gruk wanted to go back, but he listened to what the Blood Robe had conveyed.
Ryan's reasoning was that the Iron Blood Legion's discipline was paramount; without his orders and without Magana's orders, the army could not be mobilized.
Although Gruk was worried, he was more composed than the cold-blooded killer Blood Robe, and there was indeed something strange about the matter. He would continue to contact Child to ask for more specific details.
He will only take his people back once he is certain that the situation is true.
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to keep the team in check. It wasn't that the Iron Blood Legion would die if they left; it was just that their presence was what kept the situation stable.
And what if there really is a trap? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?
Ryan considered it and realized he needed to act quickly to gain complete control of the three cities in the Western Territory.
Berman City alone is truly isolated and helpless; it would collapse if even the slightest accident occurred.
Kosotoya is currently suffering from a massive fire, which has been extinguished, but the damage is severe and it will be difficult to recover to its previous state in the short term.
Therefore, the remaining Nade City must quickly reclaim power.
However, after what happened in Kosotoya, Caslathdi cannot leave rashly; perhaps the people behind the scenes are waiting for her to leave.
After much deliberation, Ryan made a decision—to have 'Shally' lead the troops over first, and then seize control of the army in the name of the Princess.
Although the Old Emperor granted the three Southern Territory cities to the territory of Caslathdi, there were already lords there, so the local nobles were to be retained. The only difference was the addition of a Grand Lord of Caslathdi, and according to imperial regulations, the three cities would pay taxes to Caslathdi regularly.
This is the same model used for managing villages and towns in cities.
It was only because Bill brought this upon himself and lost Berman City that Ryan had the opportunity to take over.
That being said, Caslathdi couldn't directly strip those nobles of their titles, but he could mobilize the army in the name of the Great Lord.
If Nade City does not relinquish control of the military, then there is no question; it will be treated as a rebellion.
If we hand it over, then I don't care what happens to Nade City, since Ryan's goal is to expand the army.
As for the issue of city administration, that's a matter for the future, and he has already come up with a plan that will ensure everything goes smoothly.
It just so happens that the Ground Fire Gang has just absorbed the Ground Dragon Gang's territory and needs to reorganize its businesses. They are not in a hurry to continue expanding, so 'Shally' has time to go to Nade City.
In fact, the Ground Fire Gang is now the biggest dark force in Berman City. Hundreds of core members of the Ground Dragon Gang were wiped out, but the Bureau of Governance just closed the case. Why?
Anyone in the underworld with eyes can see that the Ground Fire Gang has clearly colluded with the Bureau of Governance. With the underworld and the legitimate world joining forces, what's the point of fighting?
Anyway, Ryan has already had the Ground Fire Gang announce that there can only be one gang in Berman City from now on. Jonathan will also secretly help the Ground Fire Gang control the situation. It has to be said that this old leader is really insightful. If it were someone with a more stubborn temper, this matter would be really difficult to handle.
With the support of the Bureau of Governance, Shally no longer needs to worry about the expansion of the fire, so she can now focus all her energy on the military.
Ryan told Caslathdi about taking control of Nade City, and the latter expressed her full support and sent a letter to Nade City in advance in the name of the Princess.
However, the Princess had one concern.
"Wouldn't it be too dangerous to send Miss Shally? What if those people were colluding with Nade City..."
Ryan thought to himself, "You're more concerned about my Second Wife than I am..." He shook his head. "What's not dangerous now? This possibility exists, so we need to strike while the iron is hot. Kosotoya was just burned, and that deterrent effect is still there. Besides, I don't think Nade City has sided with them. If they really wanted to, they would have done so long ago. They should have acted with Kosotoya back then. Since they didn't agree then, what reason do they have to agree now?"
"Too."
Caslathdi nodded.
More importantly, news of Magana's affair has not yet spread widely. Currently, only the Imperial Capital has received the news, and they know about it because the Iron Blood Legion was already there. It will take at least another day for the news to spread completely throughout the country.
Riding this wave of momentum, Ryan felt that the success rate of taking over Nade City was at least 70%.
Let's get right to it.
However, 'Shally' couldn't go alone. Originally, Ryan planned to gather the remnants of the city's army and see if he could recruit some people from the Earthfire to make up the numbers, but Caslathdi waved his hand and said, "There are still a thousand Royal Guards. Let Miss Shally take them with her."
Ryan agreed without even thinking.
The Royal Guards's deterrent power is far greater than that of the Berman City's defense forces.
However, he also admired Caslathdi. These thousand guards were her greatest asset. If the Iron Blood Legion left, leaving Berman City as an empty shell, who would protect her?
This demonstrates Caslathdi's boldness. Of course, besides that, she genuinely trusts Ryan, which puts a lot of pressure on Ryan.
Please, don't just throw favors at me like that. I have to repay both the Grand Duke and the Princess; I can't possibly do both!
"Next... let's recruit new soldiers."
After seeing 'Shally' and the Royal Guards off, Ryan began to work on building the city's defense forces. Waiting for news was one thing, but he also had to manage two other things... no, including 'Shally', it was three things at once. 'Vainay' also needed to recruit soldiers. He transferred two thousand gold coins to 'Vainay's' personal account. As long as there's money, there will naturally be men.
It was eight o'clock at night, in Jack's mansion.
"Mayor Ryan, this is Mr. Keou, who is also the person in charge of this Gilded Group."
Looking at the smiling blue-haired man standing next to Larkin, Ryan couldn't help but think how small the world is.
He remembered that the person he traded Gilded Group in the game was Keou. Although his appearance had changed slightly after jumping from the two-dimensional world to the three-dimensional world, Ryan could still recognize him at a glance.
Keou is also one of the most popular NPCs among players because he has a lot of good stuff. However, because his appearance time and location are not fixed, players both love and hate him, and even feel the urge to rob him.
However, since he's an NPC, you can't rob him at all... Apparently, someone mentioned on the forum, "Never rob Keou, he's super strong!" Apparently, someone found some special method to successfully become a robber once, but ended up getting wiped out along with their entire group.
As for what method he used, nobody knows. Anyway, a lot of people asked in the comments, but that guy just wouldn't say, only saying "Don't hit me, trust me," which eventually made him infamous and got him permanently banned from the forum by the administrators.
Keou came as a representative of the Gilded Group, and Larkin had already told him about purchasing firearms beforehand.
Fortunately, the Gilded Group had a batch of about two thousand weapons on hand, including pistols, rifles, and other high-powered firearms such as cannons.
Ryan was envious, but because the items in the Gilded Group were of high quality, they were also expensive, and the money he had was simply not enough.
However, when he took out the Soul Jade, Keou's eyes lit up.
"Mayor Ryan, if you are willing to exchange Soul Jade for some other things, I can introduce you to some other things."
Ryan cursed under his breath, "You bastard, you're hiding the good stuff, aren't you?"
"Of course, I have quite a few Soul Jade. Mr. Keou, do you have any good stuff?"
"Shall we talk in private?"
"No need for that."
Ryan immediately told Larkin to go out first.
The other party is not Supernatural Being, so it's better not to know some things.
"What exactly does Mr. Ryan want?" Keou asked.
"Magic Staff, a good Magic Staff."
'Vainay' is still using a pistol to fight. Although 'Lin Qi' has farmed a lot of items recently, she doesn't have Magic Staff. The drop rate for weapons is really low.
"Magic Staff, huh? I happen to have a pretty good one."
Keou pulled out a black and white patterned Magic Staff from who-knows-where.
Seeing Ryan's surprised expression, Keou smiled and said, "This is a storage bag, Janus's belongings. Hasn't Mayor seen it before?"
Is this what you mean?
Ryan took the Magic Staff and then vanished in a flash.
Keou was taken aback. "You have one too?"
"I was lucky enough to find one before."
Ryan certainly didn't have one, but he had the system inventory.
The Staff of Withering
[Quality: Tier 2 - Excellent]
[Effect 1: Spirit +5, Magic Power +4]
[Effect 2: Targets hit have a 10% chance to be cursed, losing 1% of their health per minute.]
[Equipment Requirements: Limited to use by Spirit-based classes]
This is good stuff.
Weapons are not only judged by their attribute values; their tier itself is a fundamental basis for their value.
For example, a Tier 2 Dagger is sharper and has higher base damage than a Tier 1 Dagger, even if it has no additional effects.
"Good stuff. How many Soul Jade are you planning to sell, Mr. Keou?"
Keou smiled and said, "Thirty thousand Soul Jade."
"..."
Ryan's lips twitched. "Mr. Keou, you seem like an honest man. I trusted you so much, and you just betrayed me like this?"
"No, no, no, Mayor, this weapon is absolutely worth the price. Our Gilded Group fully adheres to the spirit of contracts under the established order, pursues fairness and justice, and would never arbitrarily set a price."
"Even if you say that, the value of a product still lies in market demand, doesn't it? Are you sure this thing can be sold? Most people can't even use it."