Volume 2: Empire Chapter 88: Information about the Ancient People's Grassland
In the slightly dim basement, there was a long table covered with a velvet carpet, and torches stuck on the stone wall illuminated the different faces of the nobles. They waved their hands covered with gemstone rings and loudly vented their dissatisfaction.
Some people even made no secret of their greed for the Sun Oasis. After all, the nobles in the Western Territory were all related to each other through marriage, so they had reason to find excuses to take advantage of it when necessary.
Earl Urd, who was sitting at the head of the table, looked at the nobles at the table quietly. He knew very well what kind of people the nobles in the Western Territory were. When there was interest, they talked about family affection, but when there was no interest, they stabbed each other in the back.
Those who can defend their own territory in the West are all ruthless and greedy. The West is such an environment, with limited resources. The more others take, the less you have.
After waiting for a while, the conference room finally quieted down.
Each noble expressed his or her attitude, and everyone was waiting for Earl Urd to give a reply.
If prices remain this high during the Harvest Festival, all the noble territories will have a hard time for the entire year.
"Everyone knows that the eldest princess Agatha and the governor of Fury City, Meteor, led the imperial delegation to Sun City a long time ago." Earl Urd's words made all the nobles concentrate, and those who were whispering in private also looked over. Urd continued: "I greeted Her Royal Highness the eldest princess on the first day the delegation entered the city, and then I never received an audience with her again. You are all nobles with status in the Western Territory. You came to Sun City and lived in Sun Manor, and you probably didn't accept the summons of Her Royal Highness the eldest princess."
The nobles thought in silence.
This is abnormal!
The empire has never paid much attention to the Western Territory. This time it suddenly sent the eldest princess as the chief envoy to visit. Such a high standard was obviously because of the war in the Tedega Hills.
The nobles of the West, who were also part of the Blade Brotherhood, needed to be appeased. But how could it be appeased if one noble disappeared?
One noble asked, "What does this have to do with what we are discussing?"
Earl Urd replied: "Of course it is related. The abnormal prices in Sun City are caused by the Princess and Meteorite..."
Then, Earl Urd explained to the nobles who had no idea what had happened in Sun City recently, the process of the skyrocketing prices in the city.
"...You all should have heard about the wealth of Raging Waves City. I have seen how generously they spend money these days, and I can only sigh that money really allows you to do whatever you want.
Boxes of gold and silver certificates were scattered in the market of Sun City. How could the prices in Sun City not rise? To be honest... even I sold all the halfling wine I had stored."
After hearing Earl Urd's explanation, the nobles were collectively furious.
They heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess was leading an envoy to visit the Western Territory, and that the Governor of Nutao City was also accompanying them, so they all thought that the Empire would definitely come to give them money. When they heard that the Duke of Celtic's envoy was also in Sun City, they felt that they could wait for the price to rise and watch the two families compete to raise the price.
But who would have thought that although the princess did raise the price, the increase in the price of goods in Sun City was tantamount to stabbing the nobles of the Western Territory in the sore spot.
This is going to make the Western Territory nobles bleed heavily!
This is absolutely intolerable!
The nobles denounced: This is the Empire's betrayal; it is a serious damage to the interests of the Western Territory nobles; it is a violation of the ancestral agreement; it chills the hearts of the families who guard the borders of the Empire...
When Count Urd saw that the criticism against him had been diverted, he invited Erguya out.
He introduced: "This is the Duke of Celtic's special envoy, Viscount Erguya."
The barbarian's size is very oppressive in the basement.
Erguya bowed to the nobles at the table and said, "The Duke of Celtic greets the brothers in the West."
The nobles from the Western Territory stood up together and returned the greeting to Erguya.
“Greetings to the Celtic Duke!”
Earl Urd asked Erguya to sit next to him, and after all the nobles were seated, he brought the meeting to the right track: "In addition to participating in the Harvest Festival, another important reason for everyone to come to Sun City is to accept the invitation of the Duke of Celtic.
Now the Duke's barbarian army is under attack from the Empire in the Tedega Hills. Please ask Viscount Erguya to describe the details to you."
The critical moment has arrived.
Erguya expressed her gratitude from the bottom of her heart for what the Princess and Meteorite had done in recent days. If they had not raised the prices in Sun City and shaken the foundation of the rule of the Western Territory nobles, she would never have been able to convince the Western Territory nobles to break with the empire.
I really don't know how those two people came up with such a stupid idea. If you use your money to directly attack these greedy nobles, Your Excellency the Duke will really have no way to compete with the empire in terms of financial strength.
Now...victory has been handed into their hands by them.
"Augustine's invasion of the Tedega Hills fully reveals his evil intention to destroy the Brotherhood of the Blades. The Celtic Duke and his barbarian legion are the Brotherhood of the Blades' strongest and last wall. If we lose, the Brotherhood of the Blades will be slaughtered by Augustine's army.
This time I came to the West, hoping that all the lords can recognize the crisis you are facing. Agatha and Meteor have already shown their butcher knives to you..."
Erguya was giving an impassioned and inspiring speech when a servant from the Sunny Manor quietly walked in and whispered something in Earl Urd's ear.
Count Urd's expression changed and then immediately returned to normal. Seeing that no one in the meeting room paid attention to him, he temporarily left the venue on the pretext that there were barbarian soldiers causing trouble.
Erguya felt that Earl Urd was the most direct victim of the price increase in Sun City and would definitely stand on his side, so he didn't take it seriously.
Earl Urd brought his attendants to another room, activated all the defensive magic facilities, and then asked sternly: "Are you telling the truth? Do you know what consequences this news will bring to the West?"
The servant was so frightened that he knelt down and replied, "Master, this is what the scouts saw with their own eyes. In the ruins of the World Tree Master, a new World Tree revived. It grew out of the center of the Moon Lake, inherited all the power of the previous World Tree, was called the Moonlight Tree King, and formed the Moonlight King Court with the Moonlight Queen.
Now the Moonlight Court is sending information about the revival of the World Tree to the entire western barbarian tribes, requiring the barbarian tribes to submit to the Moonlight Court.
The news of the revival of the World Tree and the establishment of the Moonlight Royal Court will soon reach Sun City."
The news of the World Tree's revival was a heavy blow to Count Urd.
He knew what the World Tree meant to the barbarians of the Western Territory. Although thousands of years had passed, most of the barbarians of the Western Territory believed that their ancestors came from the Prairie of the Ancients and had once been protected by the World Tree.
This time, the World Tree not only revived, but also established the Moonlight Court. This faith will definitely attract a large number of barbarians from the western border to the grasslands of the ancestors.
However, the Moonlight Court alone is not enough to worry Earl Urd. After all, the strength and internal conflicts of the barbarians are there. It is not something that the Moonlight Court can accomplish in a few years if it wants to integrate the power of the barbarians in the west to threaten the nobles in the west.
But the words he said while drinking tea with Meteorite left Earl Urd with a thorn in his throat.
He asked his attendant, "How did the Moonlight Queen appear after the World Tree was revived and the Moonlight Court was established? Who is she?"
The attendant replied, "I don't know. The barbarians on the grasslands of the ancestors dare not call the queen by her real name. The scouts only learned that the Moonlight Queen was a fierce war song who traveled abroad. She found a way to revive the World Tree and inherited the authority and responsibilities of the previous generation of the World Tree together with the new Moonlight Tree King.
Now everything in the Moonlight Court is presided over by the Queen.
The scout was also received by the Queen and received a lot of Moon Lake spring water from the Queen as a reward."
What!
Count Urd knew very well that he sent scouts to the Aldmeri Prairie to investigate possible abnormalities and did not mention anything about the source of Moon Lake.
He frowned and asked the attendant: "Did the queen say anything?"
The attendant replied: "The Queen said: Earl Urd used to be a friend of the Ancient Grasslands, and now he is a friend of the Moonlight Court. Although Moon Lake is now the private property of the Moonlight Court, the water you want to make tea is still available..."
Count Urd thought again of what Meteorite had said to him.
Damn it!
This Moonlight Queen is from the Meteorite!
What does he want to do? What will he do?
Count Urd warned his attendants: "Don't tell anyone about this."
"Yes, Master." The attendant hurriedly agreed. He remembered something and said to Count Urd, "Master, a while ago, someone from Slave Corner came to see Governor Meteorite and said that the slaves the Governor wanted had arrived and asked him to inspect them."
Slave Corner!
Count Urd knew the backgrounds of the people in Slave Corner. The jackal Howl behind Slave Corner not only ran the slave business, but was also responsible for selling stolen goods for the Sand Bandits.
Earl Urd didn't think that Meteorite would care about the small profits from the slave trade when he was playing such a big game in the Western Territory. Combined with his arrangements in the Sun City Market and the First People's Grassland, he must have poisoned the Western Territory nobles in the Slave Corner.
It's a pity that we are still here discussing whether to respond to the Celtic Duke, but we don't know that we have already been put on the guillotine.
"Immediately send people to Slave Corner, and also send more people to the Central Island Castle. If there is an emergency, protect the safety of Governor Meteorite and Her Royal Highness the Princess at all costs.
Notify me immediately when Governor Meteorite returns. There can be no delay."
"Yes, Master."
After letting the servant leave, Earl Urd took some time to adjust his emotions, and returned to the meeting room only after he felt that no one would discover his flaws.
At the Slave Corner in the West Market of Sunday City, Luke, who had received the invitation, was personally greeted by the werewolf Scream.
The negotiation took place not in the office, but in a formal reception room.
Howl even invited Luke to sit in the main seat.
The chairs covered with thick plush carpets were soft and comfortable, and the pure white conference table was made of rare white pomelo trees, with a natural oily feel that felt like jade. On the table were fruits from the Western Territory and peeled nuts, and the crystal glasses were filled with bright red wine.
Howl sat respectfully opposite Luke. The poisonous scorpion Maeve Siman, whom he had met last time, stood behind Howl with a very complicated expression.
Luke came to Slave Corner this time with the intention of revealing some information, so it was a semi-public visit. He did not bring Fast Legs and Red Falcon, but brought Shelley and Pisco, who looked good, and Kaileena, who was carrying a briefcase.
"Mr. Howl, this reception is so grand. It seems that you have received the news from the Prairie of the Ancients."
Howl nodded slightly to Luke and said, "I have received the news from the Prairie of the Ancients. May I ask... Is Her Majesty the Moonlight Queen who revived the World Tree and inherited the authority of the previous generation of the World Tree and established the Moonlight Royal Court the Elf Magician Qingkong?"
Luke replied, "It's Qingkong. During this harvest festival, Qingkong will bring a delegation from the Moonlight Royal Court to Sun City to discuss the establishment of diplomatic relations with Her Royal Highness the Princess.
There should be people in the Scorched Wood Camp who have seen the Elf Clear Sky. You can ask them to identify it."
Although Howl did not get the name of the new Moonlight Queen, her appearance matched the description of the people in the Scorched Wood Camp. Seeing that Meteorite answered so confidently this time, he confirmed that the queen who established the Moonlight Court was the elven magician Clear Sky.
Then Howl asked the second question: "The establishment of the Moonlight Royal Court and Her Majesty the Queen's inheritance of the authority of the previous World Tree should not be within your expectations, Governor-General.
Now her and your positions have been reversed, how can you ensure that the Moonlight Court will be at your service?"
Luke smiled and said, “Indeed, some things were beyond my expectations, but the status of me and the Elf Clear Sky has not changed at all.
Now that the Moonlight Royal Court has been established, my leverage has increased, and you should be under a lot of pressure."
In the past few days, Scream Howl has not only been collecting news from the direction of the Ancient Grassland, but also collecting intelligence on Meteorite and the Fairy Clear Sky through all channels. Although due to the distance, the West Territory can't find much information related to the City of Raging Waves, but the limited information shows that the Fairy Clear Sky is very powerful and firmly stands on the side of Meteorite.
Scream Howl couldn't judge how strong the relationship between Meteorite and Clear Sky was, or how much truth there was in Meteorite's words, but at least now the relationship between Moonlight Court and Meteorite was closer than his own.
Governor Meteorite has been frantically raising prices in Sun City recently, obviously giving concessions to the barbarians and suppressing the nobles in the Western Territory. The relationship between the elf Qingkong and Governor Meteorite is equivalent to making the initial establishment of the Moonlight Royal Court rely on the cash machine of Fury City. It is unknown whether the nobles in the Western Territory can survive in the future, and there is no room for large-scale sand bandits to survive.
Transformation is the only way for the sand bandits to survive.
If you still want to expand, it will be a dead end.
"Thank you, Governor, for lighting the way forward for those of us who have lost our way. I am willing to accept your guidance, register a logistics company in Raging Waves City, and do my best to persuade the sand bandits to accept the way forward you have given me."
With its retreat cut off, the Jackal Howl gave up all attempts to struggle.
“Hahaha, don’t make such a good thing that benefits everyone sound so tragic.” The entire Western Territory Raiders closed loop here, and Luke was in a good mood. He asked Kylena to hand over the Western Territory Logistics Company plan to Howl, and said, “When you start running this trade route, you will find that robbing is not as fast as making money in business.
Especially after the railway is built from Crescent Oasis to Moonlight Palace, you will find that the world outside is beyond your imagination.
It’s time for the Western Territory to change!”
