Rooting Out the Problem

Rooting Out the Problem

In mid-Harvest Month (September), the Harvest Festival was held as scheduled.

This was the Starry Sky Principality's grandest celebration after the New Year.

Whenever this time came around, every noble territory held festivities to celebrate the year's harvest and pray for abundance in the coming year.

From the beginning of the month, merchant caravans and travelers from elsewhere had gradually begun entering Shining City.

By the day of the Harvest Festival, Shining City was overflowing with people, and a lively festive atmosphere filled every corner.

At Shining Castle, the brightly decorated banquet hall was filled with invited guests drinking and making merry, their laughter endless.

In a corner of the hall, a group of young men and women gathered together, eating delicacies as they excitedly exchanged gossip.

"I heard Storm Earl is still unconscious. His sons are practically beating each other's brains out over the title."

"That's normal. It's an earl's title, after all. If it were me, I'd fight for it with my life too."

"I heard Storm Earl's wife even hired a wizard to treat him. Tsk, tsk. Who would've thought the wizards from legend really existed?"

"Heh, they're just a bunch of charlatans putting on an act. They only know a few circus tricks, no different from the magicians who perform acrobatics in traveling shows. I heard about it too—the so-called wizard failed to cure Storm Earl at all and was later stabbed to death by Storm Earl's second son."

Stories of wizards had a considerable market among high society.

As the discussion unfolded, many people showed interest and joined the conversation with wineglasses in hand.

"Speaking of which, it seems Blackstone City has produced a wizard as well."

"You mean Sunan, the second son of the previous Shining Baron? I heard Blackstone City became what it is today because of his efforts behind the scenes."

"Really?"

Back when brothers Kei and Sunan had been driven from Shining City and effectively exiled to Blackstone City, almost no one had thought highly of the pair of unfortunate brothers.

After all, Blackstone City lay on the border of Golden Rock Province, in a poor location, with the Blackscale Lizardmen as a major threat nearby. Its potential for development was pitifully low.

Holding such a terrible hand, the brothers could never have been a match for the current Shining Baron.

Once Owen had finished consolidating the territory's forces, he would free up his hands to deal with them.

In everyone's eyes, the brothers had been little different from dead men.

Yet what followed took an unexpected turn and surpassed many people's expectations.

Not only had Blackstone City reopened the Blackstone Mining Area and gained a steady income of Gold Coins, it had also wiped out the Blackscale Lizardmen in one stroke.

Now, anyone could see that Blackstone City was flourishing and possessed immense potential for continued growth.

If Blackstone City were allowed to keep developing, it might well become one of Golden Rock Province's foremost cities in a few years.

Many people had been investigating the reason behind Blackstone City's transformation.

Hearing that it might be connected to Sunan, many present were skeptical.

After all, Sunan's shy and introverted nature was no secret among the nobility. Compared to his gifted and intelligent Big Brother, he was lacking in every way.

No matter how they looked at it, someone like him could not possibly have been the mastermind behind Blackstone City's changes.

"Wizards are nothing but nonsense."

A young man snorted disdainfully.

"Sunan is just trash who can't even cultivate a Breathing Technique. What great things could someone like him possibly accomplish?"

"Blackstone City merely got a little lucky. It won't amount to anything. Lord Owen doesn't even need to act—my father could easily deal with them."

Someone recognized the speaker as the son of Knight Zolv, who had been the first to pledge allegiance to Owen. They merely smiled and did not argue.

The conversation soon shifted to other subjects.

Although Blackstone City had recently been drawing plenty of attention, as Knight Zolv's son had said, no one believed it could contend with Baron Owen, who had nearly the entirety of Shining Territory in his grasp.

Baron Owen would not even need to deploy his elite Cavalry Regiment. Any one of the three knights had the strength to deal with Blackstone City.

Meanwhile.

Inside the Council Hall, Owen sat facing the three knights.

"My two nephews really are surprising. They made such a huge stir without a sound. It seems I truly underestimated them before."

Owen gently swirled the wineglass in his hand, the crimson wine gleaming enchantingly beneath the lights.

"Reopening the Blackstone Mining Area, wiping out the Blackscale Lizardmen, forming a Cavalry Regiment... If they're allowed to continue growing, they may truly become strong enough to contend with me."

"My lord, you jest. Forming a Cavalry Regiment isn't so easy. Even if Blackstone City has enough Gold Coins, they have no way to purchase enough warhorses. Building a Cavalry Regiment is ultimately just wishful thinking."

Zolv said in a muffled voice. He was tall and powerfully built, with the frame of a tiger and the waist of a bear.

The Breathing Technique he cultivated focused on physical strength, making his body especially broad and muscular. He stood nearly two meters tall.

While the previous Shining Baron was still alive, Zolv had already been a famed fierce general. After breaking through to become a Peak Knight not long ago, his reputation had grown even greater.

"Exactly. Training cavalry takes both time and effort. Even if Blackstone City manages to put together a Cavalry Regiment in such a short time, its combat power will be extremely limited. There's nothing to fear."

Devon said with a smile, a trace of contempt flashing through his eyes.

If a Cavalry Regiment were so easy to establish, he would have done it himself long ago.

Those two wet-behind-the-ears brats had gotten a little money and started entertaining wild fantasies. They truly did not know their place.

Seeing his two colleagues speak, Norwood was unwilling to fall behind and chimed in with a few words of agreement.

Owen narrowed his eyes and took a sip of wine.

Unlike Zolv and the other two, who were merely making guesses based on rumors, he had solid intelligence proving that Blackstone City had tamed a new kind of mount that seemed to possess a certain degree of combat ability.

Blackstone City had formed its Cavalry Regiment around those new mounts.

According to the scouts' reports, Blackstone City had suffered minimal losses in its campaign to eliminate the Blackscale Lizardmen.

That was very likely because of this Cavalry Regiment.

In that case, he could not underestimate it.

Given time, it might truly grow into an elite force.

At that thought, a thread of anxiety rose uncontrollably from the depths of Owen's heart.

He could not delay any longer!

It was time to root out the problem and eliminate the last hidden danger!

As long as those brothers died, Shining Territory would become completely his. He would never need to worry about unexpected changes again!

"What are your thoughts on Blackstone City?" Owen asked calmly.

The three knights present were all crafty men. The moment they heard this, they immediately understood Owen's intentions.

Zolv was the first to speak. "As long as you give the order, my lord, I am willing to lead troops against Blackstone City."

Devon and Norwood were a step too late. They could not help cursing inwardly. This big fellow looked honest and straightforward, yet he was remarkably slick when it came to flattering others. His skin was as thick as a city wall.

Though they cursed inwardly, neither was slow to act. Both spoke up at once to request the chance to fight.

Seeing their "loyalty," Owen smiled in satisfaction and waved a hand. "There's no need to send troops. It would look too ugly, and though Blackstone City's military strength isn't great, taking it down would still cost us many men."

Zolv and the other two exchanged looks.

Devon hesitated. "Then what does my lord mean?"

Owen smiled inscrutably. "As long as Kei and Sunan die, Blackstone City will naturally return to my hands."

The three immediately understood and revealed looks of realization.

Assassination!

This was practically a universal skill among nobles.

It was simply not advisable to send one's own men for such a task, lest someone seize evidence against them.

But if he did not send his subordinates, what channel did Lord Owen intend to use to hire men?

Rumor had it that Kei had already advanced to Grand Knight.

Assassinating a Grand Knight would be no easy task!