War Clouds Gather

With the rise of the Duchy of Weissen, the idea that "the road to wealth starts with building roads" began to take root.

Besides roads, bridges had to be built as well. The boat Frederick had hired stopped at a small town where a bridge was under construction.

Perhaps they were rushing to finish it, but construction work had blocked off the entire river. Workers crowded every section, and anyone who wanted to continue by boat had to go ashore, walk several dozen meters, and find another boat.

Frederick asked the local boat operators, and was told that a suitable boat wouldn't be available for two or three days. So they settled in for a while.

At the time, Frederick had no idea that, before this, Rudolf had received a secret envoy in Hanma City.

Baron Trins had come from the Sverier Kingdom with a proposal.

He told Rudolf, "Your Majesty, the Danma Kingdom's main forces are now split in two. Their northernmost troops are trapped by the sea and surrounded by our army."

"Florensburg is all they have left in the south. The fact that their northern and southern territories can support each other is one of the reasons they still have the confidence to resist."

"Your country once occupied Florensburg, but later had to abandon it. We regretted that."

"If your country takes Florensburg again, we are willing to draw the border ten kilometers north of Florensburg. All the land south of that, on the Cimbric Peninsula, will belong to your country. The northern lands and the former Danma Kingdom's islands will belong to ours."

There were no elaborate pleasantries. The proposal was straightforward and sincere: let's divide the spoils.

Rudolf didn't reply at once. Instead, he said, "You've come a long way, and your journey must have