They Were All Cunning Bastards

"The newly appointed Minister of the Diplomatic Department of the Steel Duchy, Augustine, pays his respects to the Lord of Dawn City!" The speaker was a handsome young man with long golden hair, wearing a magnificent light purple robe with no markings on the cuffs or collar.

It was obvious that he dressed and behaved like Nobles, but he did not have the status of Nobles.

After bowing, Augustine gave a charming smile; to many, he appeared harmless.

He was polite, impeccably groomed, and possessed an elegance that even Nobles rarely had, which he displayed to the fullest extent.

But for William, this harmless Augustine performed far better than Goethe Narcissus in version 1.0.

Not only because he possesses Legendary Bloodline and is incredibly powerful, but also because he is a schemer!

If Goethe Narcissus, the illegitimate son of the Steel Country, founded the Freedom Alliance, he only briefly displayed his Faith and influence during his short life.

Or perhaps, like other ordinary King, Goethe fought for his own power, never imagining the profound impact the Freedom Alliance system he created would have on the Legendary Continent.

In summary

Goethe's vision was too narrow...

But Augustine was not only the true successor, but also carried forward the Freedom Alliance after the fall of the Steel Duchy, and even shone brightly in the Legendary Continent.

This kind of person?

Why shouldn't William take it seriously?

"Please sit down," William gestured.

"Thank you." Augustine chose a chair on the left side of the meeting hall. He looked around at the murals and statues with admiration, then turned to the side and smiled, "It is truly a pleasure to meet you, Lord. I have heard so much about you, but seeing you in person is much better."

His Majesty the King also sent me many local specialties and gifts. Shall we bring them up first so that the lord may take a look?

William shook his head. "Just let it go. I've heard that most of the officials and Nobles in the Steel Duchy are conservative old men. Now you're considered a young and promising type?"

"Lord, you really know the Steel Duchy well. King Majesty the King has recently been striving for development and progress, and many conservative Nobles who were corrupt and even dared to seize the country's mineral resources have been brought down."

Newly promoted officials like us often do not have Nobles status because King Majesty the King seems to want to make some reforms to the Nobles system.

"Now the King prefers the lord model of development, and even said that I should learn more from the lords." After Augustine finished speaking, he did not see any change in William's expression.

However, he still smiled and said, "His Majesty also instructed that the Steel Duchy, as a nation that yearns for freedom and equality, hopes to establish friendly relations with the Dawn City. I wonder if the Lord has any thoughts on this?"

"Establish diplomatic relations?" William chuckled softly as he slowly stood up and stepped down from his lord's throne.

"Why don't we talk about the conditions for establishing diplomatic relations first?"

Augustine sighed inwardly. It was indeed not that simple. In addition, seeing so many migrating Elf outside the city, he knew that the originally agreed-upon strategy had now turned into a provocation.

But plans cannot be changed, so he could only say in a roundabout way, "Establishing diplomatic relations would naturally be beneficial to both sides."

His Majesty the King knows that Your Lord is short of manpower for development and is willing to give Your Lord 30,000 slaves for free.

In addition, commercial channels were opened, and commercial taxes were reduced by 8%.

It could even provide the food burden for the 30,000 people in Dawn City for the next six months."

"Go on, tell me your demands, don't just talk about the benefits." William stood at the door with his hands behind his back, nodding without turning his head.

"And another thing... the Iron Kingdom intends to build a Military Castle 30 kilometers east of Dawn City. Please rest assured, Lord, we are allies and have absolutely no designs on Dawn City." Augustine didn't even know how he managed to say those words.

Change always happens faster than planned. Who could have imagined that in just six months, this once- Border Town would transform into a neutral city that cannot be underestimated?

"With the migration of tens of thousands of Elf, it will soon become a Heavy City, easy to defend and difficult to attack..."

"Oh? It's not aimed at Dawn City, but rather so that we can launch a surprise attack on the Blackrock Duchy when the war begins?" William said this, but he knew perfectly well that the Freedom Alliance was leaving itself a way out.

Of course, they also have plans to annex Dawn City.

Most importantly, the Steel Duchy is preparing for the Dragon-Slaying War a few months from now.

It could even be argued that if the Steel Duchy were to establish a Military Fortress here, and make it as impregnable as a fortress, the chances of Dragon-Slaying War would be greater, an invasion of the Blackrock Duchy would be easier, and they could even take over Dawn City, which had lost its natural barrier.

But this plan to kill three birds with one stone depends on whether William will give him the opportunity to build Military Castle.

Seeing William's words, Augustine knew that the war between the two Duchy was practically common knowledge. He continued, "We do have that intention, but the possibility of war is slim. After all, our Steel Duchy yearns for peace and freedom."

If the Blackrock Duchy really goes too far, once the war begins, the Steel Duchy is willing to offer equal treasures to the lord of all the territories conquered by this Military Castle.

After all, I can tell that you, sir, have no intention of coveting human territory."

Augustine spoke well, but he had little expectation in his heart, because Lord William was able to continuously develop and expand Dawn City. As long as he wasn't stupid, he wouldn't listen to slander and let them actually build Military Castle. That would be no different from Shepherd letting a wolf's den be next to his sheepfold.

Their Freedom Alliance is not yet strong enough; it only completely seized control of the King a month ago. The domestic situation is very complicated, and some Nobles do not want to be exploited by the ' King,' so things are not so easy to resolve.

Even a single misstep could lead to complete failure, so the previously planned backup plan was immediately put on the agenda.

However, the current power of Dawn City has clearly cut off their escape route.

But to his utter surprise, William's next words rekindled his hope!

"A military base can be established!"

This moment.

William turned his head, his eyes filled with a desire for wealth. His expression was conflicted, yet there was a resolute determination in his voice. He said in a hoarse voice, "I want 50,000 slaves, not old men, half young men and half young women, preferably Professional. Give them all to me."

"100,000 Gold Coin, 1.2 million catties of grain, 1,000 cattle, 3,000 sheep, and 10,000 chickens, ducks, geese, and other poultry. If none of these are available, then forget it!"

Augustine stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

He wielded considerable power, and even though William's demands were extremely unreasonable, he believed that Dawn City didn't yet have the audacity to deceive the Steel Duchy, given the vast disparity in military strength between the two sides, and... this was a rare opportunity!

He immediately stood up and said in a deep voice, "I can promise you Lord, and I hope you won't go back on your word!"

"You agreed?" William looked shocked, seemingly incredulous yet relieved, with a hint of regret on his face, as if he hadn't asked for enough...

But Augustine, witnessing this, smiled slightly. So, he was just greedy...

That makes things easier to discuss.

He is not afraid of having a strong opponent.

My only fear is that my opponent has no hobbies.

"Heh heh, wanting so many slaves, you really have guts." Augustine laughed heartily.

"Hehe, you big yellow name, if you weren't unarmored and not dropping anything good, I'd be ready to chop you up." William laughed just as happily.

Up to now.

Dawn City found only one spy.

That is, the one William tortured.

Everyone else thought they had hidden it well.

But.

If you send an Insight, and it's not green (indicating a positive status), then regardless of whether it's yellow or red, it's considered a spy!

What's the big deal about having a lot of spies? Even if many soldiers are mixed in among those 50,000 slaves, waiting for an opportunity to coordinate an attack from within and without, it would just mean losing a few hundred or a thousand more Insight.

Eliminate all those who have no loyalty!

Thanks to: book friend 15081409, book friend 15040905, the black and white reward in the world, Crab.

Because the name of the "Extra Building" was too funny, I used some of it, but not too many.

I have a problem choosing foreign names, so I sometimes steal names from historical figures and mythological figures, but I'll stay calm for now.

After all, no one said you can't use the word "dig" to describe the names of these historical figures.