"Damn the weather," Baron Jean Bate said in a low voice as he stood by the window and looked at the cloudy sky. "It's going to rain again."
The Sedimentation Bay, which was close to the sea, had no shortage of rainwater, especially in the summer and autumn. It was common for the sky to be blue one moment and stormy the next. Therefore, the city had prepared everything from flagstone roads to underground drainage facilities. Unlike Broken Tooth Castle or Graystone City, where a rainstorm could turn the lowlands into puddles, the place was muddy. One or two heavy rains would at most delay the unloading of merchant ships, but the impact on the city was almost negligible.
It was more about his mood than the weather.
Unfortunately, the dark clouds would dissipate after the heavy rain, but his mood would not.
"My lord, have you thought about what to say to them?" Zom, the clerk, asked cautiously.
"Answer?" Baron sneered. "You have to choose between being hanged or burned to death. What will you say?"
"Uh …" The clerk was speechless.
"You don't have a choice? Keep delaying it. "
"But …" He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he could not say anything.
In fact, even if he did not say anything, Jean Bate knew that it would be difficult to delay the matter forever. Just like the clouds and rain in the sky, no matter how much the merchants did not want to see it, they would fall eventually.
The reason for all this was the war with the church.
After the destruction of the Kingdom of Wolfheart, a large number of illegitimate children of the Wolf King emerged overnight. The lords formed factions and fought against each other, as if they were the rightful rulers. After a series of battles, three major forces gradually formed — the Token Family in the northwest, the Redstone Gate Family in the south, and the Tusk Family in the east.
The former did not cause any trouble to the Sedimentation Bay due to their distance, but the latter two were different. Both dukes wanted to draw the Sedimentation Bay to their side and further expand their power.
In the early stage of the war, Baron insisted on maintaining a neutral position in the port and did not offend any party. This not only helped the city recover its prosperity quickly, but also brought him a lot of income. To ensure that the goods could be exchanged for food or the Golden Dragon in time, the two dukes did not force him too much.
But after a new round of annexation and expansion, the Tusk and Red Stone Gate gradually stood out and became the strongest competitors for the new alpha. Moreover, the Toxken Family suddenly closed the Cage Mountain, so the two families set their sights on the Sedimentation Bay again.
Baron could guess what they were up to even if he used his knees.
Taking over the Sedimentation Bay and stopping the enemy's trade would give them a great advantage in this competition. Thus, this time, not only did they send an emissary, but they also brought along a few dozen Knight and hundreds of mercenaries. Their attitude was self-evident.
The harbor only had a patrol team to maintain order, as well as a group of personal guards to protect the suzerain's safety. They could deal with the pirates who were not wearing any clothes, but against a fully armed Knight, they had no ability to protect themselves. Jean Bate did not plan to resist. If the three great powers had already determined the winner and the Wolf King had been decided, he would pledge his loyalty without hesitation. As for whether the new Wolf King came from the old Wolf King's bloodline, he didn't care.
However, Red Stone Gate and Fang were evenly matched.
Defecting to either of them was a dead end.
No matter which side he chose to side with, the other side would never sit back and watch as they lost the sea trade. That meant that they had to rely on their own production of food, ironware, and other resources, while the other side would have an endless supply of supplies.
Therefore, if he defected to either side, he would definitely be attacked by the other side.
The Sedimentation Bay did not have an indestructible city wall or a deep moat. To defend itself, he could only rely on the full support of the side that defected to him.
But would the two families really support him?
Baron dared not take the risk.
If he were the Duke of Red Stone Gate or the Tusk Gate, he would naturally think of using the people of the Sedimentation Bay to weaken the attackers and then launching a pincer attack. This would effectively reduce the casualties of the elite Knight. He could even let the enemies enter the city and block the way out, slowly exhausting them. After all, the other side wanted the Sedimentation Bay, not the people.
In other words, the Sedimentation Bay would be better without Jean Bate.
As mentioned before, it was a matter of choosing to be hanged or burned to death.
By placing the two emissary groups in the same camp, he hoped to make use of their hostility to buy time. It would be even better if they started fighting. He even provided them with liquor and women several times and deliberately let them choose together. Unfortunately, they never drew their swords against each other even though they fought fiercely.
"Drip, drip …"
The rain finally fell, and the garden of the governor's mansion became hazy as if it was covered by a thin layer of gauze.
Staring at the gently swaying petals in the rain, Baron remained silent. Waiting like this was not the solution, but he could not think of a way to remain neutral. His grandfather often said that the nobles often wavered between interests and power. As long as he made good use of this, he would be able to benefit from both sides. Perhaps he should calm down, give up those petty tricks, and think about how to get out of this predicament from a strategic perspective.
At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
"Sir, sir, bad news!"
"What are you panicking for? Let's talk this out!" Jean Bate glared at the person who came. "What's wrong?" Did the Knight finally start fighting? If that was the case, it would be good news! He stared at the guard's mouth, hoping to read the word "camp" or "knights" from the movement of his lips.
"The fleet of the King of Graycastle, Graycastle has occupied the harbor!" However, the guard's words were completely beyond his imagination, and he could not react for a moment. "Not only that, they also blocked the dock area and forbade anyone from approaching!"
"What did you say? Graycastle? "Baron repeated subconsciously." Do they want to buy or sell something? Wait … did you just say blocked? "
"Yes!" The guard said anxiously. "They drove away the ships that were docked by the pier and only allowed their own ships to dock. They also said that this was a temporary requisition and that order would be restored soon. The patrol tried to stop them, but they were disarmed in the blink of an eye! According to the report, there are hundreds of Graycastle ships outside the harbor! "
Jean Bate could not believe it. "Are you sure it's the fleet of the King of Graycastle? Not the family emblem of a certain lord? "
"Yes, I saw it with the telescope." The guard nodded with difficulty. "It's indeed the flag of the Royal Family of Graycastle with a tower and a spear."
"Dear God, is Graycastle planning to invade the Kingdom of Wolfheart?
Why would Wimbledon give up the rich neighboring country and make a detour to me?
Even if the King of Graycastle wanted to expand his territory, he did not have to launch an attack from the sea, did he? Could the Duncan Family really resist the Graycastle army that defeated the church?
No, it did not make sense at all...
For a moment, Baron's mind was in a mess, and he could not make sense of it at all.
Until Zum, the clerk, walked up to him and whispered something in his ear.
Baron's eyes suddenly lit up!
Yes, this might be the opportunity he had been waiting for!
There was no doubt that Graycastle was powerful enough to break the stalemate between the two powers. Assuming that this fleet was really here to expand the territory of the King of Graycastle, no matter how strong they were, they would need the help of the local nobles when they first arrived in this strange land. With a little guidance, they might be able to drive the wolves to devour the tigers. Anyway, it did not matter who he was loyal to. If he expressed his loyalty to the King of Graycastle, he might be able to gain more power and become a guardian!
Even if Wimbledon failed, he would not lose anything.
At this moment, another guard ran in and said, "Your Excellency, the Graycastle fleet has sent a messenger. He said that he has come bearing the decree of His Majesty Roland Wimbledon. He hopes to discuss it with you."
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