Blue skies, white clouds, a small town.
Several hundred people had gathered in the square once more, but this time their attention was fixed on Viscount Aslan, whose entire body was plastered with feathers.
The ground was paved with large slabs of mountain rock mixed with pebbles, all manner of shells, and clay. Though somewhat uneven, it was clean, with no piles of rubbish to be seen in any corner. The houses lining both sides of the alley had stone walls and pointed roofs, with green moss growing thick in every crevice. On several open patches, wooden frames for drying fish had been set up, and a faint smell of fish drifted on the breeze.
The alley was quiet and winding. After a short walk, they reached its end, where it connected to another road that circled Whitebird Town. This road was wider and could accommodate carriages. On its other side stretched a broad expanse of tidal flat, lush with green vegetation. It was low tide, and several dozen people were out on the flats, carrying baskets on their backs or in their hands, picking at something in the mud. The adults were tolerable — they had rolled up their trousers and gone barefoot, poking at the muck with small wooden sticks. But the children had stripped off every stitch of clothing and turned into little mud monkeys…
"Master, this place is completely different from the Northland. The scenery is really beautiful," Shward said.
Lorist gazed into the distance. "This is an island, of course it's different from the Northland. The Northland has vast skies and boundless wilderness — the sky hangs high, the clouds are pale, and there's a kind of desolate grandeur to it. But here, it's like a pearl set in the ocean. The sea and sky stretch to the horizon, the water is deep azure — it's a fine place too. It's a pity that the
Shward tilted his head in confusion. "Master, why do you say that? Hilovas Island has inconvenient transportation and not much arable land. The Second Prince's choice to abandon the island and return to the royal capital sounds like the right call to me."
"Perspectives, Shward — you need to change your perspective. The size of one's arable land isn't the most important foundation for a family's or a nation's strength. I told you before that winning a war comes down to attrition, resources, and manpower. This isn't a few centuries ago when a single knight with a few dozen retainers could decide the outcome of a battle. Battles involving tens of thousands are already commonplace in Galentea, which is exactly why I don't think much of the Second Prince's plan to unify the empire with three hundred thousand men.
"The Kingdom of Andinak currently has six provinces, and the Second Prince is essentially assigning one province to supply one legion. Relying solely on the land's output, he's barely keeping things afloat. You've probably heard that the tax rate in the royal family's direct territories has reached seventy percent — that's already tantamount to tyranny. If this goes on much longer, the common folk won't be able to keep food on the table. No matter how noble the Second Prince's excuses may sound, the truth is he's sitting on top of a volcano.
Look at the map and you'll see — Hilovas Island is actually the center of this entire sea region. Controlling Hilovas Island is equivalent to controlling nearly a thousand li of coastline. Offensively, we can land and launch attacks on several coastal provinces of the Kingdom of Andinak or even the Kingdom of Redlis at any time. Defensively, as long as we retreat to Hilovas Island, the enemy can have as many troops as they want — without ships, there's nothing they can do to us. Of course, the prerequisite is that our family must command a powerful fleet.
"That's just from a military perspective, Shward. Think about it — what if we used Hilovas Island as a commercial trade hub? What would that look like?" Lorist asked.
Shward thought for a moment and replied, "Just like with the offensive capability, our family could export the snow salt and other specialty products we produce to these coastal provinces in exchange for money or resources our family needs. Even if the island doesn't have much arable land, we could still trade for large quantities of grain for our use. Am I right, Master?"
"You're half right. Our family also needs to build a powerful armed fleet and turn the sea between here and the Northland into our family's maritime territory. With Hilovas Island as our base, we can send our merchant ships to any coastal city in Galentea that we can reach. As long as commercial trade keeps flowing, money will pour in endlessly, and our family's strength will only grow. That's why I say the Second Prince's decision to abandon this place was a foolish one. He's still stuck in old ways of thinking." Lorist said sarcastically.
"Master, I feel like you've been acting more and more confident lately. Just like Knight Josk said, you've become more imposing — more lordly." Shward flattered.
Lorist patted him on the head. "Oh, so you've learned to kiss up, have you? Shward, remember this — confidence comes from the family's strength. The stronger the family, the more backbone you'll have. Just like when we dealt with Viscount Yarslan — we didn't need to give face to the Second Prince. His three hundred thousand troops could intimidate other nobles, but they were useless against us, because we both knew that even if we fell out with the Second Prince, our family's armed forces meant he couldn't do a thing to us.
Think about it. If this were just a few years ago, when we led our convoy on the northward journey back to our family's territory, could we have imagined today? Back then, forget the Second Prince's three hundred thousand troops — that Count, what was his name again? His ten-thousand-strong family army had us shaking in our boots. For these past few years, we buried our heads in developing our family's territory like turtles hiding in their shells, so much so that the Grand Duke of the Northland and the Second Prince both saw our family as a soft target that anyone could squeeze. But now? The Grand Duke of the Northland is bedridden and nearly finished, and the Second Prince has become our prisoner.
That is why we fear no enemy. Development is the absolute truth. Understand?"
"'Development is the absolute truth'? Master, that sounds a bit odd. But it does make some sense. When I heard the Second Prince had three hundred thousand troops, I was actually unmoved. You're right — it's our family's real strength that makes me feel three hundred thousand men aren't all that scary." Shward nodded, then heard his stomach let out a loud rumble.
Lorist burst out laughing. "You brat — you should've said you were hungry earlier. Come on, let's find somewhere to grab a bite. From getting off the boat until now, I forgot all about eating."
At the next corner stood a brown wooden signboard, depicting a white bird in flight, with the words "White Bird Restaurant" written upon it.
"Didn't expect this little town to have a restaurant. I thought we'd have to go to a sailor's bar or the local tavern for food. Come on, let's take a look," Lorist said.
The small restaurant's interior was not large. It was clear that the wall separating the living room from the dining area had been removed, just barely fitting six small square tables. Each table was covered with a linen tablecloth with a blue checkered border, and on top sat a small basket overflowing with wildflowers. Though the setup was a bit simple, the place appeared remarkably tidy and clean.
It was around three in the afternoon. Only two tables by the wall held customers. A red-nosed, plump old man saw Lorist and Shward push open the door and come in. He froze for a moment, then bellowed, "Hey, look who it is! Isn't this the lord who just arrived on our Shirovas Island? Fancy the lord coming to a little restaurant like this…"
The old man's flushed face suggested he'd had a bit too much to drink. Lorist didn't mind his brusque rudeness. Instead, he nodded to the other guests and smiled. "I may be the lord, but I still need to eat and sleep. What's wrong with coming to a restaurant when you're hungry?"
After speaking, he found an empty table and sat down. He gestured for Shward to sit across from him and asked, "Excuse me, how do we order here?"
The red-nosed old man stared at Lorist for a long moment before turning and shouting up the stairs, "Natai! You have a guest! You'd never guess—the lord himself is here to eat at your place! Oh, and tell little Marsha not to come down. Lords are all lecherous. If he sees Marsha, he'll surely take her away with him…"
Shward was furious and was about to slam the table and leap up to berate the old man, but he saw Lorist shaking his head with a grin. "Don't you find this old fellow rather endearing? With a shout like that, he's basically told us there's a beauty here…"
A woman with a waist as wide as a barrel hurried over and bowed respectfully to Lorist. "My lord, what would you like to eat?"
"What do you have that can be served right away?"
"My lord, we have oat bread, small meatballs, sausages, roasted herring, and fried herring too, as well as kelp soup, large sea snails, sea crabs, deep-fried breaded stone crabs, and small loaches. We also have mashed potatoes, stewed apples, and seafood pie…"
"I'll have the seafood pie, and bring some meatballs and oat bread too. Two servings each of fried herring and kelp soup. What are those deep-fried breaded stone crabs? Bring some of those to try as well. Oh, what do you have to drink here?" Lorist asked.
"My lord, we only have our own homemade mountain fruit wine. It tastes quite nice."
"Bring some of that too, and if you have any fresh fruit, bring some of that as well."
"Very good, my lord. Please wait just a moment, and I'll bring your food right out." The barrel-waisted woman bustled away once more.
Soon enough, Lorist and Shward got to see the beautiful Martha. The girl was perhaps seventeen or eighteen, with long chestnut hair, large gray eyes, and a few small freckles across the bridge of her nose — she looked exceptionally lively and mischievous. Combined with her fair skin and slender figure, Lorist gave her a score of eighty.
Martha came to deliver the dishes, and she made a point of introducing each one as she set it down. Lorist hadn't expected the small restaurant's cooking to be this good. He barely had time to admire the beauty before diving into the food before him. His favorite turned out to be the deep-fried breaded stone crabs — those little crabs found on the tidal flats, cleaned, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried to a golden crisp. Even the shells crunched deliciously when you bit into them. Paired with the sweet-and-sour mountain fruit wine, it was truly delightful. After finishing one plate, Lorist ordered two more in succession before finally satisfying his appetite.
"The food here is excellent. Please tally it up for me — how much do I owe?" Lorist wiped his mouth contentedly with a white linen napkin and spoke to the lovely Martha.
"My lord, it is our honor to have you here. Consider this meal a welcome from us to you…" The barrel-waisted woman emerged from behind Martha and bowed respectfully.
"Heh heh, I'll have to decline that. I'm a lord, not the sort to dine and dash." Lorist pulled out a large silver coin and set it on the table. "Is that enough?"
"Oh, no, my lord, that's far too much — you only spent a little over three small silver coins…"
One gold fordy was worth twenty large silver coins, and one large silver coin was worth five small silver coins.
"The rest is a tip. Shrade, give them three more gold fordies. Tonight, I want seventy meals delivered to us. There's a Flying Fish ship called the Dawn docked at the harbor — send twenty-one meals there. Send the rest to the town hall. If there's anything left over, use it to buy your locally brewed mountain fruit wine. Oh, and once the meals are ready, come to the town hall to let us know. I'll send some garrison soldiers to help you with the deliveries," Lorist instructed.
"We'll do as you command, my lord."
With their bellies full, the two took another stroll around White Bird Town. Along the way, residents who recognized Lorist as the new lord would bow to the pair, and Lorist returned each gesture with a warm, amiable smile.
By the time his cheeks ached from smiling, Lorist finally made his way back to the town hall. By then, it was nearly dark, and Farea, Jostik, and the others had already led their squads back. However, the area in front of the town hall was in complete disarray — like a vegetable market. Besides a large crowd of onlookers, there were three to four hundred people standing, squatting, or sitting on the ground with their hands bound — men and women alike.
"My lord, we've returned. We've brought back everyone from the Wanghai Estate. We left a squad of ten sailors there to keep guard." Right at the town hall entrance, Farea reported to Lorist.
"Any casualties?" Lorist asked.
"My lord, we suffered no casualties. However, the estate guards initially put up resistance. After we killed some of them, the rest tried to slip out through the back gate, but El and Pat had it blocked. In the end, a total of twenty-seven estate guards were killed. All eight noble sons occupying the estate were caught — not a single one escaped."
"Who are these bound people?"
"My lord, these are all the servants and maids from the Sea Gaze Estate. Didn't you say to bring everyone back? We did as you ordered." Fareia replied.
"Uh..." Lorist slapped his forehead. He hadn't expected these young nobles to have truly treated the Sea Gaze Estate as their own territory, staffing it with so many attendants to wait on them.
"Why are all their guards our sailors and bodyguards? Where are the garrison troops?" Lorist found it strange that not a single garrison soldier was in sight. Could it be that those hundred men had retreated as soon as the fighting started?
"Oh, they went back to eat dinner. They said they'd send another squad over after eating." It was El who explained.
That's more like it, Lorist thought, stroking his chin.
"My lord, we've been at it all day and only grabbed some random food at the Sea Gaze Estate to fill our stomachs. What about dinner?" Pat walked over, his armor still stained with blood. Rumor had it that he'd been the one to cleave the last resisting guard in two.
"Relax, I've already placed an order at the little restaurant in town for everyone. Judging by the time, it should be arriving soon." Lorist glanced up at the sky.
"My lord, a woman came by saying the food is ready and we should come pick it up." Speak of the devil — a guard walked over to report.
"I'll go, I'll go. I'm starving." Pat turned to leave as soon as he finished speaking.
Then a piercing scream startled everyone.
When Lorist went over to investigate the scream, he saw the beautiful Martha crouching on the ground crying, while Pat stood there at a loss, wearing a bewildered expression.
"What happened?"
Only when Martha saw Lorist arrive did she sheepishly stop her sobbing and haltingly explain the cause — she had been frightened by all the blood on Pat, and on top of that, Pat had come charging toward her with a ferocious look on his face, which had reduced her to tears on the spot.
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Lorist told Pat to take a few guards with Martha to pick up the food. While at it, Pat was to wash the blood off his armor at the well behind her little tavern. Only then did they return to the town hall. The moment they stepped through the door, they heard a hoarse voice screaming: "How dare you attack us! Our Redd family will never let this go — this is a declaration of war against our family…"
Lorist entered with a grim expression. "What are all of you doing — listening to them brag about how great their family is? Guards! Drag this loudest one outside and give him a hundred lashes, then hang him up for the night. The rest get fifty lashes each, also hung up overnight. Lay it on thick — if he dies, it doesn't matter."
Several guards came in, seized the loudest shouter by the hair, and dragged him outside. Screams of agony echoed without end.
"Sir Shrade, have you gone soft from staying in the family's territory for a few years? It doesn't match your former title as the Demon of the Andinac Kingdom at all!" Lorist's voice was severe.
"My lord, I only wanted to find out who ordered them to occupy the manor on our territory." Fatty Shrade spread his hands helplessly.
"Is there even any need to ask? Just look at how many attendants they've been equipped with — it's obvious their family head is pulling the strings behind the scenes. They're counting on the fact that our two territories are so far apart that we can't watch over them, hoping to create a fait accompli. Knowing which family it is is enough. Once our family's thousand soldiers arrive, we'll set out for the Imperial Capital and settle the score with their family."
"Oh, and Sir Shrade, tonight take some men and sort through those servants outside. Tomorrow we'll move over to the Wanghai Manor to stay, and while we're at it, send some people to have a look around that Falama village. A boil needs to be lanced early to heal quickly," Lorist said.
…(To be continued.)