Chapter 101

Anas Kingdom

Former Queen Minina, now Queen Laurie, sat gracefully in her study chair, dressed in a magnificent gown, opposite Archibald and Darnell.

Her fingers, stained with red nail polish, were holding a report and reading it. After a while, she put it down and smiled at Archibald, saying, "The main road in the royal city has been repaired. This concrete road leads all the way to the port and even other cities, making travel not only convenient but also greatly improving the city's sanitation..."

"Archie, the Lord of Desinia truly deserves to be hailed as an alchemical genius."

Minina Laurie remarked with a touch of sarcasm, "Fortunately, you have a good relationship with the Lord of Desinia."

Archibald responded.

He sat by the window, the sunlight streaming in and illuminating his golden hair, making it seem to glow. His green eyes were incredibly deep, like the finest jade, yet even more like a deep pool that light could not reach.

Since his true identity was revealed and he successfully avenged himself, Archibald seems to have shed his disguise, his temperament changing repeatedly, revealing his true personality layer by layer.

He was of legitimate blood and should have been a highly respected member of the royal family. The managers of the Nagabi Merchant Guild changed their initial respect to awe and dared not disobey any orders.

The Anas Kingdom is outwardly ruled by Queen Laurie.

However, Archibald's influence should not be underestimated. After all, he still carried Cavendish blood, and those who followed him hoped to re-establish the Cavendish Royal House, not...

Minina waved for the maidservant beside her to leave.

Once only she, Archibald, Darnell remained in the study, she spoke, "Archie, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. Before, you were so focused on revenge that you couldn't think about anything else, but now that everything is in the past... Archie, many noble ladies in the kingdom would be honored to marry you."

Darnell received a look from his aunt, then looked at Archibald, coughed lightly, and said, "Yes, look, my son is already eight years old."

Archibald turned his gaze away from the window and back to his head.

Mentioning the child, Minina's expression darkened, and she stroked her upper abdomen. "Archie, you know your aunt, your aunt... will never have a child of her own again in this lifetime."

She had been pregnant before.

But Puli was still attached to his mistress. She didn't give up; she fought back, even desperately... but in the end, Puli pushed her away forcefully, and she tumbled down the stairs...

The child is gone just like that.

Although she was fortunate enough to survive, she forever lost the right to be a mother.

Archie's reluctance to become king and her suppression of all dissenting voices was a temporary measure, but not a permanent solution. Therefore, the Anas Kingdom must be inherited by a child named Cavendish after her.

Darnell couldn't help but feel apologetic. "Aunt, I'm sorry, I..."

Minina waved her hand dismissively. "I've already come to terms with it, Darnell. Now I only live for myself."

Queen Laury's upright posture was perfectly straight, just like her soul, emerging from its cocoon like a butterfly, reborn.

She then looked at Archibald and said earnestly, "Archie, you should think about your own affairs and your responsibility to this country."

"The Duke Rens's daughter is quite good; she's beautiful, intelligent, and knows how to conduct herself. Your aunt would like to arrange for you to meet her. If you're not satisfied, the Marquis Snell has two other daughters..."

[Honestly, I've been using this app to follow my favorite books lately. It has multiple reading sources, various voice options, and works on both Android Apple.]

As Minina spoke, she somehow thought of Cyrus and said, "The Lord of Desinia is almost of age. Perhaps we can arrange a marriage between us to strengthen our alliance."

Archibald, who had been listening patiently, suddenly frowned, then said in a deep voice, "Aunt, the consolidation of the alliance does not require this method."

"I will go and meet the Duke Rens's daughter... but if she doesn't satisfy me, Aunt doesn't need to find me any other women."

Duke Rens's daughter was known as a lady in the Anas Kingdom. She was fair-skinned and beautiful, like a beautiful pearl, and was highly sought after by the nobility.

Minina sighed at the obvious perfunctoriness in Archibald's words, but it was already quite an achievement to have persuaded him to meet the Duke's daughter.

Minina nodded and said, "As you wish, Archie."

Compared to the recent concrete road construction projects in the Achiyoli Territory and the Anas Kingdom, the concrete road construction in the Desinia Territory is progressing in multiple directions and has already reached the border areas of the territory.

Today, the Artisans' Guild within the territory are mainly composed of the Artisan Guild of Komoy Fort, whose president is Conrad Brown, a genius engineer who was ostracized and bullied in Niramo. He only had the opportunity to showcase his talents because of Cyrus's five-year plan to rebuild the city.

His two sons, Darren and Dief, inherited Conrad's talent for engineering research and, after years of working alongside their father, were able to work independently.

In particular, the eldest son, Darren, often leads a construction team and travels around all year round.

This time, I came to the border city of the Desinia Territory because of problems with the construction of cement concrete roads.

Because of the strength of the Black-and-White Cavalry, Desinia rarely suffered from invasions or offenses by other small countries, but minor skirmishes and conflicts did occur from time to time.

For example, because border areas are where small countries meet, there are always places that are neglected, leading to a proliferation of bandits and highway robbers who rob and kill innocent civilian villages or slaves.

Therefore, Cyrus deliberately set up multiple checkpoints along the border, where cavalry units were stationed.

The cavalry now has a very well-established system, and the number of soldiers has grown from nothing to a considerable number... from squads to regiments, divisions, and the highest level being the corps commander rank of Ferdinand and Walker.

Daina and Mike, Taylor and Bana served as commanders under the two men, and the four of them took turns stationed in the border city every three months. Mike was stationed there for the three months in the fall.

Before Darren arrived with his engineering team, Mike and a squad of soldiers had just finished dealing with a robbery of a caravan on the Aibuting River.

This caravan came from Helgoda.

Helgoda has now become a vassal state of the Achiyoli Territory, which is allied with the Desinia Territory Achiyoli Territory, so the merchants' exchanges have become more frequent.

Furthermore, Helgoda is adjacent to the Desinia Territory, and can be reached by boat, which is very convenient, so there are more cargo ships on the Aibuting River.

This led some bandits to also start plotting to plunder goods.

All the bandits need is a ship.

There were no cavalry troops stationed on the Aibuting River. They intercepted a passing ship, killed and robbed it, and escaped before the cavalry ships arrived without any problems.

This gang of robbers has committed three crimes by plundering the river. Because the time interval between each crime was long, the clues disappeared. In addition, the river area is vast and the tracks are hard to find, making it difficult to arrive in time to arrest and execute them.

After several deployments, Mike determined the bandits' usual route on the Aibuting River. He then ordered his soldiers to disguise themselves as merchants and board a cargo ship, finally setting a trap and capturing them.

The surface of the Aibuting River is calm and beautiful, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds.

Mike cleanly and efficiently beheaded the bandit leader on the ship. The bandit's terrified eyes lost their light, and bright red blood slowly flowed onto the deck. The bandit ship, connected to the gunwale, was littered with corpses...

The cargo ship's owner exclaimed to the soldier disguised as one of his men, "This commander is truly remarkable. His wisdom and martial prowess are unparalleled. I thought I was going to have to endure a long period of fear. You know, encountering bandits hijacking a ship on the Aibuting River is truly bad luck, like being watched by the devil..."

"Thank Creator God has blessed us; we can finally rest easy."

The merchant ship owner held a wooden plaque depicting the boundary between a radiant sun and a bright moon, gestured towards the sky for a moment, and then muttered to himself, "I wonder which noble family this captain comes from..."

The soldier disguised as a waiter beside him replied, "Our lord is not of noble birth. He has achieved what he has today entirely through his own hard work, and also through the lord's benevolence!"

Respect and admiration for Mike were evident on the soldiers' faces.

The merchant ship owner was stunned for a moment, then reacted and exclaimed in a low voice, "Is it... is it that slave captain? No, I didn't mean to insult... uh... look down on this captain, it's just that out of the four captains, only one rose through the ranks from slavery..."

At this point, the merchant ship owner clutched his chest to catch his breath; speaking so much in one go had left him somewhat out of breath.

After pausing for a moment, he continued, with the soldiers nodding in affirmation, "The Desinia Territory is renowned for having the fewest slaves, and it is the place that all slaves yearn for most."

"This captain is really famous among the slaves!"

He truly hadn't expected that the commander in front of him was none other than Mike Andrew, who was so revered and admired by slaves.

Because of the difference in their social status, the merchant ship owner was not entitled to ask the other party's name and addressed him as "Commander." Moreover, judging from the other party's demeanor and skills, he certainly didn't seem to be of slave origin.

The merchant ship owner sighed again.

After dealing with the bandits, Mike rushed back to the city and met Darren, who had been personally sent by Cyrus. Darren looked travel-worn, with a long convoy of heavy goods and soldiers accompanying him for protection.

"Hey, Mike." A man stepped out of the convoy, took off his helmet, and smiled at Mike, "Haha, didn't expect me to come, did you?"

Mike was genuinely surprised, but after the initial surprise, he laughed and went to hug his friend, "Bana, it hasn't even been three months yet, why are you here already?"

Bana raised an eyebrow at him. "The lord will depart from the Aibuting River for the Saint Airo Empire."

They will make preparations in advance for the lord's safety.

The Aibuting River, as an inland river, flows through the Saint Airo Empire, and traveling by water is much faster than traveling by land.

As late autumn draws to a close and the cold winter approaches, it will be time for Cyrus Zoe to set off for the Saint Airo Empire.