"In less than ten days, the Commerce Union lost two cities to the Trymber Kingdom, and their army of fifty thousand collapsed. They reclaimed the entire territory, and even took over two prefectures of the Trymber Kingdom. Does that mean that the Trymber Kingdom should be destroyed after a month?" Ell asked.
Dorcas twisted his mouth. "What? I don't understand this war anymore. When I arrived, the army of the Commerce Union was in a standoff with the allied army of four kingdoms. The allied army was invited by King Trymber VII to come to their aid and drive the army of the Commerce Union out of their borders.
However, the allied army claimed that they were there to mediate. They were blocking the advance of the Commerce Union's army to separate the armies of the two kingdoms so that they would not fight each other again. Everyone knew that the army of the Trymber Kingdom was so weak that they couldn't even withstand a single blow. If King Trymber VII didn't offer a huge sum of money, who would be willing to offend the Commerce Union? "
"So there was no conflict between the two armies?" Josk interrupted. He had learned a lot. He had never heard of such a ridiculous war before.
"Is that even possible? The ragtag group from the Trade Federation was good at defense, but no one was willing to attack the enemy's heavily-guarded defense formation. They had come to the Tellimbo Kingdom to earn military merits, and at the same time, loot the rich Tellimbo nobles' estates, manors, and castles. No one is stupid. No one is willing to throw their lives away. Now, Chairman Cambert of the Twin Dragons Trading Company is in an emergency meeting with the commanders of the allied army of four kingdoms. They are trying to figure out what they can do to make them withdraw their army and ignore the war between the Trymber Kingdom and the Commerce Union … "
"Sir, you don't know this, but when I arrived, the army of the Commerce Union had already taken over seven prefectures of the Trymber Kingdom. That's almost half of the country, but they never fought a proper battle. Either the Trymber Kingdom's army scattered when they saw the flag of the Commerce Union, or the local nobles raised the white flag and surrendered. There was even a captain of the prefectures' garrison who told Chairman Cambert that he would open the city gates and let the army of the Commerce Union into the city as long as the leader's beautiful daughter was given to him. The chairman agreed … "
Dolus spoke until his mouth was dry. He picked up the large glass of water on the table and gulped it down.
Fatty Shi barged into the room. He had just returned from his inspection at the construction site. He had panicked when he heard about the war between the Trymber Kingdom and the Commerce Confederation. His father was a glass dealer in the Trymber Kingdom. Would he be able to protect his family if the war broke out?
How could Dolus not understand this? He didn't wait for Fatty Shi to open his mouth and said, "Don't worry, Brother Shi. Your whole family is fine. Your father is like a sly old fox. He escaped long ago and brought his family to live in Dawn College. He even used all his money to buy a few warehouses of glass. I asked him why he bought so much glass, and your father said that as long as it wasn't broken, it wouldn't rot. When the Peterson Merchant Group opens up a sea trade route to here, he is prepared to entrust the Peterson Merchant Group to transport all of this glass to the Northern Lands. Even if he doesn't increase the price by ten times, he will still make a profit if he increases it by three or four times. "
Fatty Shi heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that his family was fine. But when he heard that his father was going to make money in the family territory, he blushed and didn't know what to say.
Everyone in the room began to laugh.
Laurist patted Fatty Shi's shoulder and said, "It's fine. Uncle is an interesting person. I welcome him to open a shop in our family territory and make money. As long as he doesn't break the family rules and doesn't bully others, he can earn however much money he wants. If he does well, I can even let him sell our family's specialties to the outside world. "
"Alright, Dolus, continue with the war in the Kingdom of Trymber."
"Yes, my lord." Dolus thought for a moment and said, "The Trade Union's army that has invaded the Kingdom of Trymber has reached a hundred thousand. Because they found out that the Kingdom of Trymber is just an empty shell with a body full of fat and no bones, everyone wants to take a bite out of it. Almost all of the mercenaries in Moront City have run over there. Even old Galilando from the Red Raven Tavern didn't want to be left out. He formed a mercenary group with Ledos and rushed over to make a fortune. According to Sister Louise, they are going to raid the estates of the nobles in the countryside.
The one-track minded King Trymber VII finally realized that he had gone too far. Faced with the threat of the enemy's invasion, he finally came to his senses. He ordered Earl Edmund, the proud and famous general of the Kingdom of Trymber, to be hanged on the gallows. He also sent envoys to the neighboring countries to ask for reinforcements for the Kingdom of Trymber.
While King Trymber VII was asking for reinforcements, he also ordered his envoys to spread the so-called threat of the Trade Union to the neighboring countries. He accused the Trade Union of shifting their attention to the surrounding countries after losing their powerful northern enemy, the Crimson Empire. The Kingdom of Trymber was the first victim, so the surrounding countries had to be vigilant and unite to stop the ambitions of the Trade Union. Otherwise, they would be the next to be invaded.
Truth be told, King Trymber VII was quite difficult to deal with when he was reliable. He had been a king for more than twenty years. After receiving the news that four countries had sent reinforcements to stop the advance of the Trade Union's army, King Trymber VII could finally breathe a sigh of relief and sleep in peace.
However, King Trymber VII still thought that the reinforcements weren't strong enough. He sent envoys all over the place to persuade more countries to send their armies to join the Allied Forces. He wanted to chase the Trade Union's army back to Moront City and force the Trade Union to sign a surrender agreement. He doesn't think that his demands are too high. He only wants the Trade Union to not get involved in the production of glass. He wants the Kingdom of Trymber to keep its tax exemption and preferential treatment … "
"Damn, that's not too high? This King Trymber VII is really one-track minded. Look at the situation now, and he still won't let go of the glass, "Ell commented.
"Who said it wasn't?" Dorais added. "This request has left the allied army dumbfounded. The Trade Union has clearly rejected King Trunbo VII's request. They proposed a truce between the two sides, but King Trymber VII must apologize for the attack on the Mayflower Merchant Guild and the invasion of the Trade Union. Most importantly, he must admit that the Trade Union has territorial rights over the seven counties of the Kingdom of Trymber. In other words, the Trade Union is not going to return the seven counties, but will bring them under their jurisdiction …
The commanders of the Allied Forces of the four countries were having a headache. They only had forty-seven thousand men, and the pressure they were facing against a hundred thousand strong army of the Trade Union was enormous. Although they had accepted a lot of benefits from King Trymber VII, it didn't mean they were willing to fight the Trade Union's army to the death, especially when King Trymber VII was still hoping that they could launch a counterattack on Moront City. They were negotiating with President Cambert of the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Guild to end the war as soon as possible, so they could return with a lot of benefits.
However, they didn't know that President Cambert was also troubled. He had a hundred thousand men under his command, but more than half of them didn't listen to him. They only knew how to cause trouble in the seven counties of the Kingdom of Trymber. The army of the Trade Union only consisted of the armed forces of the seven merchant guilds and the city defense force. The light cavalry patrol force was reliable, but there were less than thirty thousand of them. They were afraid of being ambushed by the Allied Forces of the four countries, so they had to take defensive measures …
The current situation in the Kingdom of Trymber was one of defense against defense, and negotiation against negotiation. Moront Daily is already ridiculing this war as a silent war, and I don't know how long it will drag on for. "
No one expected that this sit-in war would last for three months. When Dolais left Moronte City, this sit-in war had only been going on for a dozen days.
"Are you sure that the seven giants of the Trade Union have their eyes on the Kingdom of Trymber, and even the Chikert Merchant Guild? Are they planning to attack our family's territory on Silovas Island in the near future? "Loriste asked.
"Yes, my lord," Dorais replied. "When I boarded the ship, I saw the Double-Headed Dragon Merchant Guild, the Mayflower Merchant Guild, the Peterson Merchant Guild, and the Chikert Merchant Guild each send a large group of reinforcements to the Kingdom of Trymber. Of the remaining three giants, the Ford Merchant Guild is taking over the Prycath Province of the Duchy of Lulm, the Livord Merchant Guild is trying to convince the Duchy of Mobia to follow the Duchy of Lulm into the Trade Union, and the Visia Merchant Guild is hesitating. They've invested too much in the Kingdom of Rederis, and they're not willing to let it go just like that. "
"That's right, my lord. When I came here, Chairman Peterson secretly told me a piece of news. He said that the Chicant Merchant Association had originally wanted to invite eight great swordsmen of rank 2 and above to assassinate you. You displayed your might at sea and killed all of their experts, so they were afraid of you …" Dolles remembered something important.
"What did you say?" Aire, Josk, and the others jumped in shock. "You should have told me something so important earlier …"
"Haha, it's fine." Dorais waved his hand and smiled. "The Chikert Merchant Guild's plan won't come to fruition. That's because the Trade Union's top forces are all heading to the Telemark Kingdom, and even the great swordsmen of the Chikert Merchant Guild are no exception. "
"Are you sure?" Fatty Shi frowned. "What does the war in the Telemark Kingdom have to do with those great swordsmen? Besides, President Cumbert of the Double-Headed Dragon Merchant Guild has brought a lot of top forces with him. Could it be that the Chikert Merchant Guild is trying to create a diversion? My lord, you have to pay attention to your own safety in the future. One great swordsmen is easy to deal with, but the scary part is if they swarm you together. Even a tiger is afraid of a pack of wolves … "
"Yes." Dorais nodded. "Speaking of which, this is all Telemark VII's doing. With the allied forces of the four kingdoms standing in the way of the Trade Union's army, he's prepared to reorganize the Telemark Kingdom's military. But the problem is that the Telemark Kingdom has been peaceful for almost two hundred years, and its army is extremely weak and vulnerable. Moreover, the kingdom's Golden Knights, which were the backbone of the military, were gathered by him and lost almost all of them when he attacked the Mayflower Merchant Guild.
Without these daring military nobles, the kingdom's soldiers would have no qualified commanders. Even a group of lions would be led by those cowardly nobles like a flock of sheep. After realizing his mistake, Telimbo VII changed his strategy and came up with a strange plan. Since my army can't match the enemy's combat power, why don't I just drag the enemy's combat power to the same level as my army?
That was why Telimbo the Seventh had hired people to recruit high-level combatants from all over the country. He did not want them to join the Telimbo Kingdom's army, but to assassinate the Gold-tier Swordsmen and Grandmaster Swordsmen in the Trade Federation's army. He offered a sky-high reward. The reward for killing a Gold Knight is 10,000 Gold Merit Points, 100,000 Gold Merit Points for killing a Level One Great Swordsman, 200,000 Gold Merit Points for killing a Level Two Great Swordsman, and 500,000 Gold Merit Points for killing a Level Three Great Swordsman … "
Holy sh * t, this bounty is really scary. Even Laurist was a little tempted. He wondered if he should go to the Telimbo Kingdom and earn a few million gold coins …
"Is there any effect?" Aire asked doubtfully.
"Yes!" Dolus answered without hesitation. "In the short seven or eight days since Telimbo VII announced the bounty, nine Gold-tier Swordsmen in the Trade Federation have been killed. However, these nine Gold-tier Swordsmen were either the leaders of a mercenary group or the captains of a self-organized militia in Morent City. They were targeted when they went to plunder the estates of the Telimbo Kingdom's nobles in the countryside. Not only did they die, they also implicated the people they brought with them. Aside from a few lucky ones who managed to escape, the rest were all killed.
Apart from that, there was also the assassination of a level-1 Grandmaster Swordsman from the Lillward Merchant Guild. According to the Telimbo Kingdom's announcement, it was the work of two Grandmaster Swordsmen from the Duchy of Delia. They had already received a bounty of a hundred thousand gold coins.
The leader of the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Guild, Cambert, was furious. He sent someone to the camp of the four-nation alliance to question the leader of the Duchy of Delia. The leader smiled bitterly and said that even he didn't know that the two Grandmaster Swordsmen from the Duchy of Delia were here. He couldn't be blamed for this. The only person to blame was King Telimbo VII. After all, a level-1 Grandmaster Swordsman wouldn't even earn more than five or six thousand gold coins in a year. It was no wonder that they were tempted by the bounty offered by King Telimbo VII.
The day before I returned, the Morent Daily reported that Cambert was the victim of an assassination attempt. Fortunately, he wasn't injured and killed the three Grandmaster Swordsmen who tried to assassinate him. King Telimbo VII had offered a bounty of a million gold coins to the Seven Magnates. Because Cambert was the commander of the Trade Federation's army, his bounty was the highest at one and a half million gold coins. The identities of the three assassins have been investigated. They were also Grandmaster Swordsmen from several nations … "
"I'm worried about that old man of mine …" Aire said.
Dolus laughed. "Don't worry. Old Gard isn't stupid. He's smarter than anyone else. He knew things were bad the moment King Telimbo VII offered a bounty. He brought Ledos and the others back to Morent City. This time, they raided two manors and brought back a large amount of fine wine. They made a huge sum of ill-gotten money and are happily continuing to be the owners of the Red Raven Tavern. "
"Did the Trade Federation do anything to counter King Telimbo VII's actions?" Fatty Shi asked.
"They didn't …" Dolus shook his head. "I thought about it for a few days on the ship back. I also felt that it would be very difficult to counter. If they were to offer a bounty as well, Telimbo Kingdom didn't have many high-level combatants apart from the level-3 Grandmaster Swordsmen and level-2 Grandmaster Swordsmen. They wouldn't even know who to offer a bounty on. As for King Telimbo VII, he was a simple-minded fellow. The Trade Federation felt that it would be too embarrassing to argue with him. If they offered him a bounty of one and a half million gold coins, he would definitely become a laughingstock. Moreover, in the eyes of the Trade Federation, King Telimbo VII was already crazy and worthless. No one was willing to pay the bounty …
As for the people who came to assassinate the Trade Federation's high-level combatants, they were all from neighboring countries. The Trade Federation couldn't possibly offer a bounty on them without any evidence. Wouldn't that just be making more enemies for themselves? Even if they had evidence, it would be useless. All they had to do was say that the Grandmaster Swordsmen had done it on their own. Therefore, King Telimbo VII's move had hit the nail on the head. The Trade Federation had no choice but to deploy their high-level combatants to the frontlines and increase their vigilance.
It was said that a duke from a neighboring country who came to mediate accused King Telimbo VII of aggravating the conflict. The Trade Federation had already declared that they would not rest until the Telimbo Kingdom was destroyed. However, King Telimbo VII proudly claimed that he only needed to spend twenty million gold coins to wipe out the Trade Federation's high-level combatants in one fell swoop. When that happens, the Trade Federation would be the one asking for peace. How would they be able to destroy the Telimbo Kingdom then … "
"F * ck me! This is just throwing money at people! " Aire sighed regretfully. "Too bad I'm not a Grandmaster Swordsmen. Otherwise, I would have to go to the Telimbo Kingdom to earn money too …"
Later on, the military historians who wrote the history of the war on the Galinthea Continent criticized the Ford Trade Federation and the Telimbo Kingdom's performance in the eight-month-long War of Glass was like a village brawl. There was not a single formal attack or defense battle. Field battles and large-scale battles were very unfair.
They neglected to mention that the number of high-level combatants was very small. There were assassinations, ambushes, baits, and killings. By the time the Telimbo Kingdom was destroyed, the number of high-level combatants who died in the War of Glass was seventy-six. It was more than ten times the number of high-level combatants who died in a normal large-scale battle. Among them, fifty-two Gold-tier swordsmen died. Most of them belonged to the Trade Federation. Twenty-four Grandmaster Swordsmen died. The Trade Federation had the upper hand. They only lost seven.
In fact, during the War of Glass, the high-level combatants had become the mainstream of the war due to King Telimbo VII's unintentional actions. The two sides were the Trade Federation, the Telimbo Kingdom, and the high-level combatants of the neighboring countries. It was a battle that lasted more than half a year. In the end, the Trade Federation emerged victorious.
After losing these high-level combatants, the Telimbo Kingdom and the seven neighboring countries were like a dam that had been eaten away by termites. Under the attacks of the Trade Federation's army of more than a hundred thousand soldiers, they collapsed and fell apart, heading towards destruction.
"It's normal for you and those who joined your family to come back on the ship of the Peterson Trade Federation. But why did the trade federation send a vice president and some people over? What are they plotting? Did you talk to each other on the ship? "
After discussing the war between the Commerce Confederation and the Trimbo Kingdom, Laurist asked Dolles about it. He had already ordered his men to arrange for the people from the Peterson Merchant's Association to rest in the guest rooms of Ocean View Manor. He would hold a banquet for them in the evening.
"I don't know." Dolles thought for a moment. "On the ship, the president was most concerned about the specialties of the North and what products we needed. Since he did not ask about our family's military, I only talked about the Beast Tide and the Ironback Bay Crocodiles in the Black Clay Swamp. I think he wants to monopolize the sea trade route with our family. "
"That's strange. Isn't the Peterson Trade Federation planning to make the northwestern region of the Redelis Kingdom their territory? That's why they told me that they could not trade with our family directly because we are nobles of the Andinac Kingdom. They were secretly boycotting and blocking the trade with the Andinac Kingdom. It seems like they have changed their mind. Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. I'll talk to the vice president after the banquet tonight. Then I'll know what's going on. "Laurist shook his head, as though he could throw all the questions he could not understand out of his mind.
…
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