Chapter 428 Peaceful Handover
Pearson Stanford is an elite agent with an IQ above standard.
He thought with his knees, knowing that if he just took Yang's words to the next level, others would either turn hostage or take him hostage...
Considering his own life, Agent Stanford proposed that he wish to be accompanied by Major Kirk, captain of the militia - the Port Guard is part of the National Garrison, and Major Kirk was the commander of the National Garrison of Dutata City before he "abandoned the dark and joined the light", so he could have more say with the Port Guard.
Yang Qiu readily agreed and asked Agent Stanford to use the intercom to call Major Kirk from the boat behind.
Ten minutes later, under the protection of Major Kirk, who led a team of militiamen, Agent Stanford took the initiative to report Yang's words to the port guard station.
Felimon Donald, the captain of the Lars Port Guard, a man in his early fifties with a big beard and holding the rank of captain of the Rhine National Garrison, was stunned for a full thirty seconds.
"The Talanla Undead have entered the territory of Tachia--?!" Captain Donald swallowed and looked at Major Kirk in surprise and doubt.
The entry of troops without permission can be regarded as an undeclared war.
The Tarantan Undead, which has successively overthrown the regular armies of two great noble lords and a principality, and even went to the battlefield of Middle-earth to provoke the Kenyan Empire’s army, is a greater threat than ordinary troops. This thing sneaked into the country, and you have the nerve to say it so openly? ?
Major Kirk expressed his assent by silence.
Captain Donald's eyes bulged and he gasped.
"Please remain calm, Captain." Agent Stanford had to speak out to put out the fire. "Our undead friends have no intention of starting a war. In fact, they are here to wipe out the cult. I think you should know that last year, there was a riot among the cultists of the Eternal Sleepers in Adler Territory—"
"Agent, you should talk to the Lord about this," Captain Donald interrupted Stanford and said stiffly, "Lars City is unable to host you. Please leave the port as soon as possible, otherwise we will regard it as an invasion by foreign enemies and take reasonable measures to defend against them ."
Lars City is a small city with a population of only a few hundred thousand, and the Lord's Palace of Tachia is not here.
Although the city is small and has few people, it has the advantage of geographical location after all - the ships brought by Adler are just ordinary inland shipping ships without cannons on board, while Lars' port has a battery built to defend against pirates.
The other party's attitude was so tough that Agent Stanford was at a loss and looked at the major helplessly.
Major Kirk took a half step forward and said, "Captain, our ship has been at the port for more than six hours. Has Lord Lars given any instructions?"
"This is none of your business, Major." Captain Donald's tone was still very tough. "The garrison commander of Adler has no right to inquire about the city defense affairs of Tachia."
"Okay, Captain, let me put it another way." Major Kirk said calmly, "Is the Lord of Lars City still in the city?"
Captain Donald, who had a tough attitude, froze in his tracks.
Agent Stanford's expression suddenly became subtle...
"If Lord Lars is not in the city, then who can approve the use of the port artillery?" Major Kirk pressed further, "If the captain activated the artillery without authorization to attack the Adler's ships, causing hostility between the two sides and even starting a war, causing the war to involve the residents of the city, can the captain be held fully responsible?"
"This, this is not something you have the right to ask about, Major." Captain Donald's forehead was covered with sweat and his eyes were wandering. Although he still spoke stubbornly, anyone could see that he was stern.
Major Kirk's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was still calm, as if he was chatting with someone: "I don't mean to offend you. As a colleague in the National Guard, I just want to express my concern."
After saying this, the major took a half step back and gave the right to speak back to Agent Stanford who was representing Yang.
Agent Stanford stepped forward confidently.
"Dear Captain, I hope you can believe that we are here for the long-term peace between Tachia, Adler, and Innadri..."
After a morning of difficult communication, the Lars Port Guard finally relented before noon.
As soon as Yang Qiu got off the boat, he led his men straight to the Lars city hall without saying a word.
The port guards who were mobilized in full force and nervously ran to the dock to keep an eye on the "outsiders" were all stunned.
Wearing a conspicuous spellcaster robe, with a face that has been on the front pages of newspapers countless times, and leading a large number of operators and clerks, the black magician Yang walked out of the dock area in a hurry. A group of port guards wanted to stop him very much, but they didn't dare to...
"Is this what you call 'long-term peace'?" Captain Donald looked at Agent Stanford, who was acting as a lobbyist, with bloodshot eyes.
Agent Stanford silently raised his hand and patted the captain on the shoulder.
"Look at the bright side, man, your choice did bring peace to Lars," Agent Stanford said earnestly.
Captain Donald: “…”
The captain felt miserable, but he couldn't say it.
As soon as the four large ships with skulls printed on them entered the port, the guards on duty at the port sent the news to the City Lord's Mansion.
The Lord Mayor of Lars City also reacted very quickly - he immediately packed up his belongings, took his family's private soldiers and the garrison outside the city, and quickly left the city and fled north without waiting for daybreak.
While the port guards were trying to negotiate with Agent Stanford, the nobles who could escape from the city were also fleeing in batches...
The only thing to be thankful for is that, because the skeleton ships were blocking the port, those who wanted to escape could only take carriages and could not take too many people with them. Otherwise, most of the inner city area of Lars would have been empty.
It is impossible for the port guard to stop the ferocious undead army, and Captain Donald himself is well aware of this.
He tried his best to waste time with Stanford, but he was just hoping that the Adler fleet would not waste time in Lars City and go directly to attack the northern capital. Most of the troops of Tachia were concentrated in the capital. If the lord could luckily repel the enemy, this hurdle of Tachia would be passed.
I just didn't expect that the other party was not in a hurry at all. They were determined to take over the city of Lars first. The Tarantan Undead had already quietly entered the country and the army (militia) had been deployed to the city. Only a fool would believe the nonsense about eradicating the cult!
Sure enough, the mastermind behind the Undead Army, the Nightmare Butcher, was on the boat. He got off the boat and headed straight for the city... Who would believe him if he said he wasn't here to grab territory?
By the time the militia got off the ship and, led by Major Kirk, openly lined up on the dock in armor, preparing to enter the city, Captain Donald was already numb.
Major Kirk reorganized the militia, but did not rush to lead his troops into the city. Instead, he strode towards Captain Donald who was guarding the entrance and exit of the dock.
"Captain, we need to go to the mountains around Baboba Town to pick up the civilians rescued by the undead. Can you arrange for soldiers familiar with the local environment to lead the way?" Major Kirk said politely.
Captain Donald was stunned for a moment before responding: "...Huh?"
"I mean, we need a guide who is familiar with the environment around Baboba Town," Major Kirk repeated calmly. "The Tarantan Undead wiped out a cult entrenched in the nearby mountains and rescued a lot of civilians. We need to take over and resettle the civilians so that the Undead can free up their hands to capture the cultists who escaped."
Captain Donald fell into a daze again.
So... you guys are not using the cult as a cover? ?
Captain Donald thought he had seen through these guys' tactics, but found out that he still hadn't. He numbly called out two soldiers from the port guards who were born in the town of Baboba and handed them over to Major Kirk.
Major Kirk politely thanked the port guard for their cooperation, dispatched a hundred militiamen, lifted a large box taken from the ship, and left with the guide.
When the militiamen carrying the box passed by him, Captain Donald instinctively felt a little uncomfortable, as if there was something uncomfortable inside.
"What is that?" Donald frowned.
"Zombies from the Undead Chamber of Commerce." said Agent Stanford, who stayed at the dock to coordinate negotiations with the Port Guard.
Captain Donald: “???”
"Don't worry, they are fellow Tarantan Undead." Agent Stanford knew that it would be difficult for most people to adapt to the appearance of zombies in human settlements, so he explained kindly, "Those zombies only deal with Tarantan Undead and will not show up in front of strangers."
Captain Donald: “…”
"Of course, if you encounter an unexpected danger, if you can find the secret base of the Undead Chamber of Commerce, it is also a good choice to seek help from the Tarantan zombies." Agent Stanford continued, "These zombies can understand the common language and will use the unique communication method of undead creatures to find the Tarantan undead to help the person seeking help. You only need to pay a slightly lower reward than hiring mercenaries."
Captain Donald: “…”
Major Kirk divided the remaining militia into several teams and personally led them into the city for patrol to ensure that order in the city was not affected by the change of regime.
After these militiamen entered the city to take over public security, Agent Stanford kindly invited Captain Donald to come into the city and register the personnel establishment of the Port Guard at the City Hall.
Captain Donald struggled internally, but still honestly...accepted the invitation.
There is no way around it. The Port Guard is part of the National Garrison. Promotions depend on transfer orders from the capital, and salaries are paid by local governors.
Lars's mayor has fled, and the city hall has been taken over by others. If he doesn't want to starve the hundreds of port guards under his command, he will have to bend his back...
Agent Stanford, who had also experienced this, consoled the captain on the way: "It will take the civil servants who take over the City Hall about a week to sort out Lars's political affairs. It will not affect the payment of next month's salary."
"The Undead Archon is not on board, but don't worry. The Undead don't need to take a long time to take a boat like us. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to take office within the next few days. Although Ms. Zhao will not come to Tachia Territory, I heard that she will send a wise Undead with rich experience in governing..."
Captain Donald: “…”
He really couldn't understand Stanford's tone of "everything is assured as long as we have the Undead Archon".
Lars City is only one-fourth the size of Duta City. It only takes twenty minutes to walk from the port area to the inner city city hall.
The city hall of Lars City is also quite "miniature" compared to the city hall ... The Night Watch Headquarters in Port Moses is more spacious than this place.
When Agent Stanford and Captain Donald walked over, the Lars City Hall had been completely taken over by the Adler people; capable officers and clerks in uniform were quickly collecting documents and files that the city lord and officials had not had time to destroy or take away when they fled.
Under the guidance of Agent Stanford, Captain Donald registered himself first, and then received a registration list unique to the Port Guard, in which he was told to add himself to the list of guards , which would be reviewed by the Secretary's Office later.
After leaving the Secretary's Office, Agent Stanford kindly reminded Captain Donald: "It is best to enter the list truthfully when registering. The Secretary's Office will conduct random checks from time to time. Once the City Hall has sorted out the local government affairs, it will reorganize the organization of various departments, and perhaps reorganize the Port Guard into the Public Security Department."
Captain Donald was both surprised and conflicted.
The National Garrison was stamped with the royal seal, and its treatment in various places was often lower than that of the "direct descendants" of the local actual rulers.
The Adler garrison, once commanded by Major Kirk, was paid much less than Ezekiel's legion.
Re-adjusting the organization and being accepted as a "direct line" means that the treatment will be on par with that of other departments, which is definitely a good thing for the port guards.
But it also means that the port guards surrendered to the enemy unconditionally without any resistance - this is really too complicated!
"...The city lord has run away with his army, the mayor, the sheriff, and the consul have also run away. What else can we do?" After struggling for a while, Captain Donald could only comfort himself in this way.
The leader of the only remaining armed force in Lars City was quietly mediating on his own when Agent Stanford's walkie-talkie rang.
Captain Mays' voice came from the other end of the intercom: "Agent, please let the captain of the guard speak to me."
Captain Donald, who had seen Agent Stanford use this new gadget to talk to people several times, curiously took the intercom. Just as he awkwardly introduced himself, Captain Mace's anxious voice came over the other end of the intercom: "Sir, Captain of the Guard, what on earth happened in Lars City? Why are there no night watchmen in the city?!"
