Allen and Roger were taken to a cubicle in White Castle. The cubicle was next to the conference room, separated only by a wall. There was a peephole in the cubicle, and one could see the entire conference room. The location of the peephole was a self-portrait of Earl Oban on the wall of the high-hanging meeting room. No one would look at the portrait of the count, because it was disrespectful in itself. Even if there was, it would be impossible to see through the peeper behind him because of the angle and some arrangements.
As for the meaning of the count's design of this compartment, perhaps only he himself knew. However, suspicion and distrust of their subordinates had always been one of the qualities that nobles possessed, so Allen was not surprised to see a room with other uses.
Very quickly, footsteps sounded in the conference room. Roger pressed his face against the peephole and saw someone walk in through the door.
It was a fat man, over a hundred years old. He was bald, and his clothes were extremely exaggerated. He wore a golden necklace around his neck, and his fingers were covered with gemstone rings of various colors. The fatty's entire body was filled with jewels, like a nouveau riche. Roger said, "This is Baron Eni, one of the shareholders of the Emerald Pearl. He is timid, but his territory is rich. However, due to the lack of strength in the army, he can only choose to rely on the Count for protection. "
Baron Eni seemed to be very hot, and his forehead was covered in sweat. He held a silk handkerchief in his hand and kept wiping it. Someone behind him snorted, "Hurry up, Eni. Damn it, I can smell your sweat from afar. "
The baron awkwardly turned to the side and said to the man behind him, "I'm sorry, Viscount Grayer."
The man who passed by the baron was tall and thin, and his clothes were decorated with exaggerated patterns of flowers. He wore a fluffy golden wig and even had eyeliner on his fair face. He snorted and sat down on a seat on the left side of the table without looking at the fat baron.
That represented his power second only to Earl Oban.
The fat man looked at him and lowered his head to conceal the dense resentment in his eyes.
"This is?" Allen retreated a little from the peephole and gave Roger space.
Roger took a look and said, "This is Viscount Grayer, who is inextricably linked to the Ridley family. The two families had been connected by marriage for several generations, so their power was only below that of the Count. This viscount was also one of the major shareholders of Jadeite Pearl. He loved literary salons and appeared more on stage than on the battlefield. Hmm, I also heard that he likes men. I don't know if it's true. "
Following that, more people entered the meeting room, and Roger introduced them one by one. Allen remembered them in his heart and had a preliminary understanding of the Count's team and power structure. Simply put, Earl Oban's relationship with these subordinates was different from that of other upper nobles. As far as Allen knew, most of the nobles used their own strength to firmly control their subordinates, but Earl Oban's relationship with these people was more like a partner.
This brought about many problems. The loose structure of power meant that the count's orders could not be completely carried out. The Count's importance to them lay more in their business dealings and financial relationships than in personal strength and a powerful army. In other words, this loose structure could easily collapse. After all, there were no eternal interests in this world.
From this structure, it was not difficult to see the predicament Earl Oban faced. His personal strength was mediocre, and even the title of Earl relied on huge taxes and generations of contributions from his family to obtain it. As for the army, it was even more worrying. The main composition of the army in a dignified Earl's territory was actually a mercenary group. Perhaps the Ridley family's wealth could afford to hire three or even more large mercenary groups.
However, such an army was bound to lack loyalty. An army without loyalty could betray, and in the face of despair, it would definitely not risk its life for the Count. Thus, from the structure of power alone, Allen saw that Earl Oban's pyramid of power was on the verge of collapse. The reason was still the Count's own martial strength. With his personal strength, he was more than enough to be a viscount, but he was unable to run an Earl's territory.
After everyone had arrived, Earl Oban walked in through a side door. He glanced at the crowd and sat down in his seat. "Everyone, I'm sure you all know why I've invited you here today. Yes, our territory is being spied on by the shameful Daniel. Although this situation has been going on for a long time, recently, Daniel's actions have become more and more rude, and his ambitions are growing. And as his neighbors, we are under real threat. "
The count looked at the butler, and Butler Mace bowed to the crowd and said, "My lords, just three days ago, Sir Daniel's subordinate, Duruf, the powerful baron known as the Hungry Wolf, suddenly attacked and occupied the three villages in our territory adjacent to Sir Daniel's territory. This is a blatant act of aggression, and the Count is very angry about it. "
"That's why I want to hear your opinions." Earl Oban spread out his hands and said, "You can speak freely."
Everyone at the table looked at me, but they couldn't say a word for a long time. Viscount Grayer, who was sitting on the left, frowned and said, "Count, I think we should inform the imperial group that such a thing has happened."
Hearing this, Allen almost laughed, and even Roger shook his head. The two of them exchanged glances and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes. The imperial group was indeed stationed everywhere, but their responsibility was to guard against the invasion of foreign races, not to resolve the grudges between the nobles. If the empire wanted to interfere in such a matter, then the imperial group, which was known as the Million Heroes Army, would not have any free time.
Every day, there were countless private battles between nobles within the empire's borders. The empire simply could not care less about them. The Bailey Empire was strong in martial arts, and the royal family did not care about this kind of war between nobles. At the beginning of the establishment of this human empire, the law of the jungle was advocated by the law of the jungle to ensure that the empire would constantly have fresh blood. At the same time, it would ensure that the empire would have a strong military force. This was also the cornerstone of the empire's continuation for a thousand years.
Unless the war between the nobles affected the foundation of the country, the royal family would only open their eyes and close their eyes. Therefore, as a viscount, Grar said such words that were undoubtedly a sign of weakness. If it wasn't naivety, it was ignorance that made people laugh in vain.
Of course, Earl Oban could not laugh. On the contrary, anger surged in his eyes as he glared at Glar.
Glar hurriedly turned his face away and pretended to be confused. Then, the Sir below began to discuss and put forward some strange suggestions, including a suggestion to bribe Duruf to withdraw his troops. The Sir who made the suggestion added, "We don't lack money anyway. It would be best if we could use money to settle it later."
In this way, the Sir could not come up with a truly useful suggestion. Oban closed his eyes, as if he was allowing the Sir to speak boldly. Only the butler who was familiar with him saw the count tapping the table with his knuckles. That was the Count's sign of anger, and Steward Mace couldn't help but take two steps back.
Without the Count's interference, the Sir below began to talk further and further, beginning to talk from Duruf's invasion to each other's grudges and interests. When it came to the intensity, two of the Sir were ready to rise from a quarrel to a fight. At this moment, the atmosphere in the meeting room froze, and Earl Oban finally opened his eyes. He let out a muffled snort, and the Sir below sensed that the atmosphere was not right, so they shut their mouths tactfully.
"I've given you enough time to discuss. Now, what's your suggestion?"
A baron stood up and was about to speak when Oban shouted, "Shut up. If we're reduced to using money to buy Duruf off, what's the difference between using money to redeem our land?"
"Gentlemen, if you can't come up with a feasible suggestion, then let me do it." Earl Oban stood up and shouted, "What we need is not a bribe, let alone a fight. It's to repel Duruf head-on and warn that bastard Daniel not to act recklessly. If we back down this time, let Daniel see our weakness. Trust me, he won't stop. His appetite will only get bigger and bigger! "
"So, everyone here, who can fight Duruf for us? Drive that hungry wolf back to his den! "The Count waved his hand vigorously, then looked at everyone at the table.
Without a doubt, his words were filled with incitement. However, the Sir below all lowered their heads. Viscount Grayer coughed softly and said, "Honorable Count, you should know. Sir Duruf's title had the word 'strength' in front of it. With all due respect, of all the people here, only your strength can defeat him. So, in your opinion, wouldn't it be better for the Count to handle this matter personally? "
When the other barons heard this, they also nodded in agreement. Earl Oban looked at them, his eyes filled with disappointment. He shook his head, as if he had lost the strength to support himself, and the count sat back down. A moment later, he sighed, "I'll think about it carefully. You … can leave now."
Glar was the first to stand up, bow to the count, and leave. The other Sir followed suit, and after a while, they left. In such a large conference room, only Earl Oban and Butler Mace were left. The count shook his head helplessly and said, "Sir Allen, you can come out now."
Walking in from the side door of the meeting room, Allen and Roger looked at each other when they saw the silent expression on the count's face. They both felt the danger of this territory.
Earl Oban laughed self-deprecatingly, "I think my family has taken root in this land for hundreds of years. But now, there was a feeling that a tree was about to collapse. We have earned enough wealth in the world, but we can't even protect our own territory. "
"These trash only know how to enjoy themselves. Whenever I encounter something, I want to use money to fight, but I don't know that sometimes, there are things that money can't buy. Just like this time, even if I can use money to beat Duruf away and buy back my territory, I can't buy back the dignity of an Earl! "
As he spoke of his anger, the count slammed his palm on the table with hatred, causing a muffled sound.
Allen took a step forward and said, "Is the Count going to fight personally?"
Ou Ban smiled bitterly, "Do I have any other choice? Could it be that I rely on those trash? "
"Perhaps …" Allen smiled faintly and said, "For example, me."
"What do you mean?"
"I am willing to fight for you, but I need an identity, an identity that has the right to fight in your territory, Count."
Steward Mace thought of Allen's bag of gold coins and whispered in the count's ear, "This is not difficult. As long as Sir Allen officially joins your camp, it will be considered legitimate."
Earl Oban nodded and said, "That's not difficult. So, what do you want from me?"
"A territory." Allen said.
"Territory …" Oban thought for a moment and said, "Alright, if you repel Duruf, then the village he occupies will be your territory in the future." Of course, they are too small to match your status as a baron. However, that territory is adjacent to Viscount Daniel's territory. Since Duruf has started, I can naturally fight back with color. "At that time, I will assign you to be in charge of attacking. As long as you can eat Daniel's territory, then I will recognize its legitimacy as belonging to you."
"Thank you, Sir Count, this could not be better."
Ou Ban smiled and said, "I also hope that a person like Sir Allen who is good at fighting will join me. You see, I'm not stingy. So as long as you have enough strength, I will give you everything you want. "
"In that case, I hope the Count can provide some information. For example, information about Viscount Daniel, maps, and other relevant information. "
"I'll have Steward Mace hand over the information to you later." The count smiled and said, "By the way, I heard that your territory was attacked by several allied forces not long ago." Coincidentally, the City Lord of Bauhinia and Dawn Castle were both subordinates of Sir Daniel. As for the unicorn army, it was directly subordinate to the viscount of strength. "Perhaps this will give Sir Allen more motivation."
Allen smiled sincerely and said, "If that's the case, that would be for the best. It just so happens that they still owe me a debt, so I can take this opportunity to let them pay it off. All of this starts with repelling Sir Hungry Wolf. "
So Oban ordered Mace to prepare the information for Allen, while Allen and Roger took their leave first. After they left, another man came in from the side door of the meeting room. He had a rare Oriental face, black pupils, and a handsome appearance. Earl Oban said indifferently, "Mr. Long, what do you think of this young Sir?"
"He is very ambitious, Count." The man said in a deep voice, "He will be your powerful arm, but when you can't satisfy his ambitions, be careful that he will bite you back."
"It's good to be ambitious. I like such a young man. What do you think, Mr. Long? "Earl Oban smiled sincerely.
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