He knew Flora's situation better than anyone else. Stu did not dare to jump to conclusions about his father Charnak's intentions. After all, they were father and son. Stu knew Charnak's decisions and thoughts better than the average person.
His father seemed like a gentle spring breeze and did not feel pressured when interacting with others. His way of handling things was exemplary, but once someone was on his blacklist, that person would be doomed eternally!
Stu remembered the bloody purge years ago. A few famous Marquis Count had been beheaded without hesitation. Private soldiers rebelling?
Kill!
All the records of this incident had been completely destroyed, and the entire upper class of nobles had remained silent on this matter. The rumors among the commoners were also rarely mentioned due to the ban, and the occasional word or two didn't hit the nail on the head.
The prince had a natural fear of his father, but he was also very dissatisfied with his father's actions. Stu believed that as long as he became the king, many things would be easily solved. However, as long as his father was on the throne, he had to bury this thought deep in his heart.
"Your Highness."
"Come in."
Stu crumpled the letter in his hand. With a flash of golden fighting aura, the letter instantly turned into a puff of faint smoke. Stu casually tossed aside the pieces of the letter.
"Her Highness Flora has rejected your request for a banquet."
"Understood. You may leave."
Stu waved his hand as if he was not surprised at all. Indeed, the relationship between the two had always been icy. Ever since that incident, the two had not even made eye contact except for that one time in Sith's Court.
Did I fail?
Stu had been asking himself this recently. He felt as if he was being ignored by his father on purpose. His father had never mentioned him to participate in anything. This situation was the exact opposite of Flora's situation!
He had volunteered to go to Oditore to supervise the battle against the Trolls. This suggestion had been rejected by Charnak without hesitation. What his father had said was a heavy blow to Stu. "Compared to that baron, I think what you've done in Oditore these years is nothing."
Nothing good at all!
This sentence was a complete denial of all that he had done there!
Anyone who heard this would not be able to take it lying down!
But as a son, he endured it.
When Stu heard his father's words, his face turned pale. When he came back, he smashed three tables and went to the training ground to vent his anger for a whole day before he finally calmed down a little. It was hard for him to accept that his years of hard work was denied by his father. However, Stu had been through many years of training, so he wouldn't turn hostile immediately.
After he calmed down, the first thing he did was to send a letter to Count Garland to investigate what he had done during this period of time.
Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy was the key to victory in a hundred battles. Naturally, the prince knew this.
However, Count Garr's reply made him feel deeply frustrated. Yes, His Royal Highness was not a person who could not think objectively. He was definitely not someone who could change the entire Oditore from a castle and a village to a scale of nearly ten villages and a small town in just one winter. He also succeeded in reversing the relationship with the trolls. This was definitely not something that he could do.
What's more, there were two pure Troll villages in the territory, and they had the legal status of Oditori's citizens!
This was f * cking unbelievable!
How could those Trolls, who only knew how to climb the city walls and rush over the fences, become obedient citizens?
Stu couldn't think of anything that could be done!
What he couldn't understand was the speed of Oditori's development!
That place didn't produce gold. How could there suddenly be so many villages?
Where did his money come from?
He built new villages, paved several roads, and introduced a complete commercial system. It was said that it was directly from Sibor!
How f * cking much money did it cost?
Did he think he opened the national treasury himself?
Stu knew very well how poor Oditori was.
If it wasn't for Sith's support, they probably wouldn't have lasted for a few months!
Stu knew what Count Garland had done. In other words, if Stu didn't have enough troops and supplies to survive the winter, it would probably be very difficult. However, this baron changed his territory greatly in one winter and made it one of the territories with the most potential in the Empire!
What did potential mean?
The latest news told Stu that Oditori was selling large amounts of magic beast fur, herbs, and even extremely precious high-quality magic crystals!
High-quality magic crystals had always been a scarce resource in the Empire. Most of them were "imported" from the Elven Empire. Due to the scarcity of magic beasts in the Empire, the production was very low.
Magic crystals weren't just a special product for mages. For many places, magic crystals meant energy.
Take the city of Siliath as an example. Because it had the only magic school in the Empire, Dahlmann Magic Academy, many facilities in the city were closely related to magic or magic circles.
For example, the huge city gate of Sirius City was powered by magic crystals, and similar facilities could be found everywhere in the wealthy Sirius City.
The daily consumption of a city was astonishing. Although magic crystals were expensive, the wealth of the rich and powerful was also amazing. This created a serious imbalance between supply and demand.
After passing through Sibor and several major cities, the price of magic crystals from the Elven Empire doubled due to the transportation cost. Now, Oditori, which wasn't far from Siliath, suddenly became the new source of magic crystals. It was said that they would build a teleportation circle in the near future to speed up the transportation of goods. The transportation cost and safety were guaranteed perfectly!
This news caused quite a stir in Xiliath City. When Stu thought of this, he felt that the jealousy in his heart was driving him crazy!
How did he do it?!
Stu knew very well that the sales of Oditori hadn't started yet. Even so, it had caused unprecedented interest in this territory in Siliath. There must be a team promoting it!
Oditori's consular office in Siliath was as lively as a vegetable market. Countless rich and powerful people sent people to inquire about the trade route that Oditori was about to open. Even though the threat of the undead still existed, these people were still more interested in the extravagant lifestyle.
Of course, as a member of the royal family, Stu also knew that the logistics department of the Royal Guards was also actively discussing the cooperation with Oditori. It seemed that this territory had become famous overnight.
"Hmph!" Stu took a deep breath and snorted coldly. He turned around and walked out of the house.
※ ※ ※
At the same time, outside the silent and quiet Sisyphean Palace, which was also the bustling "Oditori consular office in Siliath," carriages and people surrounded the place.
Servants and attendants in all kinds of gorgeous clothes lined up to inquire about Oditori. Speaking of which, this was thanks to the support and assistance of the Quel 'tos Trading Company and the planning of Elena's father, Big Beard Carl.
How big was the Quel 'tos Trading Company?
This question needed to be answered separately, but his influence was known to the world.
With the permission of the mysterious boss of the Quel 'tos Trading Company, Carl was granted full authority to handle all business matters related to Oditori. This was a huge business opportunity. Although Oditori didn't reveal a lot of things at the moment, other than magic crystals, most of them were "by-products" of magical beasts such as beast teeth and beast skin. But experienced businessmen could immediately smell that Oditori's business opportunity was just the tip of the iceberg!
The news that there was a Troll Village in the territory of Oditori had become well-known. What did this mean?
It meant that the resources of the Azura Forest might open a door to the Empire of Saint Reims!
Forest resources were especially important to the Empire of Saint Reims. Although the Empire had the Khrim Forest, which was famous for its danger, the area was like a drop in the ocean compared to the Azura Forest. The so-called magical beasts were even scarcer in comparison. Due to the excessive exploitation over the years, the magical beasts in the Khrim Forest were in an extreme state. There were more high-level magical beasts and fewer low-level magical beasts.
The mercenaries who came to hunt the magical beasts weren't strong enough. At most, they could kill magical beasts below level six. The large-scale hunting led to an imbalance in the levels of the magical beasts in the forest. In the end, when the mercenaries encountered magical beasts, they realized that they were almost all high-level magical beasts that they couldn't handle. So, in the end, Charnak had no choice but to stop the hunting of magical beasts in the Khrim Forest.
Due to the large decrease in low-level magical beasts, high-level magical beasts had to look for food everywhere. As a result, the death rate of the human teams passing through the Khrim Forest increased by several times!
Anything that went too far would result in bad consequences. In contrast, the easily satisfied Trolls knew better than humans how to make use of the forest environment that they relied on for survival.
The "Oditori Consular Office in Xiliath City" was currently taken over by Carl's people. They were in charge of dealing with external affairs. At the same time, there was also an inconspicuous professional here.
Needless to say, he was a member of the intelligence system established by Henry, "Roland Thorns." He was in charge of collecting relevant information.
As for Henry's actions, he didn't interfere or question him. After all, he was once a sniper and hadn't worked in the intelligence department before. On the other hand, Henry's previous profession had determined that this job was his.
Efficiency was the most important. This was the principle that many believed in. It was absolutely impossible for a layman to lead an expert.
After one winter, Henry's intelligence agency had begun to take shape. Information from Xiliath City could be transmitted to Fort Oditori within two days. The teleportation circle had been delayed because Madam Vasaki had yet to appear from the underground city. However, the entire agency was operating normally and had begun to cover the entire Empire from Xiliath City.
This wasn't an easy task. But who was Henry?
With his intelligence, it was very easy for him to set up an intelligence network. No one could imagine that after the Empire of Saint Reims went through hardships, overthrew the rule of the Rondor Empire, and defeated the undead army, the task of setting up the first intelligence network in the barren land was also undertaken by the "Duke of Shadows."
In Xiliath City, Henry's masked figure had been walking in the shadows of the buildings. No one could see his face clearly. This inconspicuous image made him go unnoticed in the complicated streets.
Pushing open the wooden door of a bar, Henry walked into the house at noon. No one responded to him because it wasn't business hours.
The door of this bar didn't face the main street. Instead, it was built in a low and damp building complex. The color of the wooden door was similar to the color of the wall, and it gave off a rotten smell.
The decorations in the bar were rotten, and the pungent smell of poor quality ale lingered in the air all year round. The stairs were covered in a thick layer of grease, and the wooden handrails had long changed color. The ground felt strange when stepping on it, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the accumulated dust over the years. The original stone floor had long since disappeared!
Because the bar was half-underground, the roof was a little low. Henry lowered his head slightly and walked straight to the bar counter. There was a chubby guy who was napping. He was wearing greasy clothes and holding a glass of ale in his arms like a treasure. He was lying on the bar counter with his eyes closed and head snoring.
Henry didn't make any sound when he walked. His pair of scimitars in the scabbards dimmed, and his dark leather armor made him look more mysterious in the dim candlelight in the bar.
"Knock, knock."
His fingers wearing leather gloves gently knocked on the old and heavy bar counter. Because of the protruding joints, the sound was unusually crisp.
The bartender didn't respond at all. He was still hugging the ale and snoring, and his saliva flowed down the corner of his mouth onto the bar counter.
Henry didn't do anything else. He still reached out and knocked on the bar counter twice.
The entire bar was empty except for the two of them. The sound was slightly echoing, and it sounded very strange.
The fat man still didn't respond.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Henry's fingers suddenly changed the frequency of the knocking.
The fat man suddenly woke up as if he had never slept. He didn't even raise his eyes to look at Henry. He hurriedly wiped the corner of his mouth, took out a folded piece of parchment from the inside of the bar counter, and put it on the table. He then lowered his head and didn't say a word.
Henry, who was wearing leather gloves, turned around and picked up the parchment on the bar counter. He walked out of the bar silently, and the bartender immediately resumed his sleeping posture as if nothing had happened.
This was one of Henry's daily intelligence-gathering tasks. This bar was a gathering place for information, and he personally collected it every day. At the same time, the same information would be duplicated in three copies and distributed to nearly fifty similar places in Xiliath City, and the other two members would obtain it.
The information was encrypted.
After processing the encrypted information, Henry filtered the contents and sent them to Oditore in batches. In order to ensure the safety of the letters, in addition to the usual carrier pigeons, there were also specialized messengers. These people disguised themselves as inconspicuous merchants, professionals, wandering beggars, or farmers. They followed the caravan to Klimt through the Khlim Forest, and then passed the information to Oditore to ensure that nothing was missed or intercepted.
Henry slowly walked back to his residence. For an intelligence department like the 'Roland Thorns', the so-called 'headquarters' didn't exist. In addition, Henry almost never slept, so almost no one in Xiliath City could find any pattern in his movements.
Henry was old. Even if one ignored the hundreds of years that his soul was imprisoned, he was already an old man who was almost a hundred years old.
Could it be that the reason why this old nobleman was so dutiful and devoted himself to Many and Becky? Was it really because Many and Becky had freed him from the shackles?
It was undeniable that the nobleman was grateful for their kindness. But the reason why Henry worked so hard to build such a huge intelligence network wasn't just to collect and report factual information. He wanted to know more about why his soul was imprisoned, and what he had done for the past hundreds of years.
Noblemen at that time represented responsibility. A responsible noble was a good noble. No matter if you had a territory or how many people you ruled, noblemen had a heavy responsibility that exceeded that of ordinary people. Henry was the same. Even if he did a lot of things unbeknownst to others, it couldn't be a reason for him to shirk his crimes.
Why was he imprisoned?
Who was the one who imprisoned him?
Whose blood had these hands been stained with?
Sometimes, Henry's mind was in a mess because all kinds of images kept appearing in front of him. Every scene was bloody and extremely cruel. When he tried to recall it carefully, he found that the images were like drifting fog, suddenly disappearing from his mind without a trace.
This painful experience made him force himself to focus on intelligence work every night. He would never sit somewhere and do nothing. Because that would make his mind a mess until he collapsed.
Through the information he collected these days, Henry only vaguely found out what the undead had done in the past 300 years. Most of them were eyewitness reports or sporadic attacks. Overall, there was no clue about what Henry had done.
But there was another piece of information that made him frown for a long time. Of course, 'frown' was just an expression he wanted to make. Whether he could make it was another matter. It was a report about the current Royal Family of Saint-Rames.
Myers.
This was Henry's surname. It also appeared on the members of the Royal Family of Saint-Rames, including the current Monarch, Bodinar The Great!
Myers was not an ordinary surname. After reading about the background of the entire Royal Family, Henry increasingly felt that he seemed to have some kind of relationship with them.
This matter made Henry a little depressed. After all, it was hard to accept that he had woken up hundreds of years later. What made him even more helpless was that he had become an undead that was hated by everyone. Now, he found out that he seemed to have a close relationship with the current Royal Family. This was definitely a very difficult thing to deal with.
With his current identity, Henry felt that if he foolishly looked for this so-called 'relative' and said that he was their ancestor from hundreds of years ago, not to mention what the Royal Family of Sisfel Palace would say, he would probably think that he was a lunatic.
Putting all these things together, Harry felt like his thoughts were in a mess. In the end, he simply chose to forget about this matter. Even a gentleman's virtue should be severed for three generations. Although he had the surname of the royal family, after all, a new emperor would have a new court. In terms of status, he was still an outdated "duke". Perhaps the Empire had already forgotten about him!
Henry didn't want to think too much. He just wanted to do his own things well and carefully investigate the traces of his previous life. This was what he needed to do now.
'Roland's Thorns' did a good job. Within three months, they had established a perfect intelligence system. Although they were slightly lacking in manpower and equipment, because Henry directly applied his former management method, everything was carried out in an orderly manner.