Alien world

Chapter 1841, Section 474: Three Nobles
"How could this be? I remember they hired a bunch of legendary defenders?"

"But merchants are risk-averse. Once war broke out, they rushed to flee the Duchy of Keating. Even the twin ministers' offer of titles and tax breaks for those who stayed could not stop them."

After all, life is more important than money. And as a "trading nation," if all the merchants have fled, who will the Principality of Keating trade with?
Are you here as a mediator?

Annan guessed the Earl of Collins's purpose and shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, I can't do that."

The conflict between Free City and the Principality of Keating can be set aside; the Principality of Keating is different from those minor lords. It's located on the border of Middle-earth, and the distance alone makes it difficult to reach.

“You should be asking the Empire for help, not me.”

Count Collins' smile grew increasingly bitter: "The Empire has presented a scenario that the twin ministers find unacceptable."

“Then it’s obvious…” Annan spread his hands, “Even the Empire finds it troublesome and is making exorbitant demands, so we can’t help at all.”

The Principality of Keating faces not only a rat infestation but also a demonic tide.

Magical firearms are adept at dealing with flesh and blood. Against magical beings like demons, even hundreds of bullets wouldn't be of much use—they had previously tried focusing fire on a demon, increasing its weight by fifty pounds, but still failed to kill it.

"I know."

Count Collins was only acting on behalf of an old friend, and he understood why Annan was unwilling to help, even feeling relieved that Annan had not become ambitious because of their allegiance.

"Frowning asked me to ask, if you're unwilling to lend a helping hand, then how about providing weapons?"

Annan immediately changed his tone: "What else is there to say? Minister Frannin and I are old acquaintances. Don't worry, it is the responsibility of all Middle-earth people to fight against the forces of Chaos. Liberty City will ensure that weapons are delivered to every warrior!"

Count Collins returned with this neither good nor bad news.

Annan knocked on Olmedo's office door to tell her the good news that he had closed a big deal.

"I got it."

Olmedo already knew when the Earl of Collins was going to meet Annan. She said the situation in the Duchy of Keating was more complicated.

The cause was the arrival of the ratmen. The Principality of Keating spent a lot of money lobbying, hiring, and offering noble status to recruit a large number of mercenaries and shady forces in the gray area.

As a result, the surrounding countries were devoured by the ratmen, but the Principality of Keating remained unscathed. It even absorbed a large number of nobles and commoners who came to seek refuge, causing a reversal in population and wealth.

The downsides were also apparent: First, the Duchy of Keating issued a large number of titles that year, so much so that splashing a bucket of water on the street could result in five barons, three viscounts, and one marquis, making nobility less valuable.

If the new aristocracy were to simply make life harder for the common people, the old aristocracy could tolerate it. But the new aristocracy, who don't follow the rules, have crossed their bottom line.

The new aristocracy is not the real aristocracy—although aristocrats are not good people, at least they put on a show. Some are willing to enact benevolent policies and reduce taxes in exchange for a good reputation. Even if they bully men and women, they dare not do so openly.

The new nobility don't care about these things. The better ones, who were once noble guards or mercenaries, at least follow some rules. But those who had who-knows-what identities before, maybe even bandits, operate on the principle: your output is mine, your taxes are mine, and you are mine too.

In addition, the old aristocracy looked down on the new aristocracy, the new aristocracy looked down on the nobles from other countries who had fled, and the nobles from other countries complained that the old aristocracy had bestowed a bunch of worthless and worthless rewards upon them...

In short, the Principality of Keating is now rife with the absurdity and extravagance of the old aristocracy, the new aristocracy's lust for power, the heretics' blasphemy against doctrine, and heretics who engage in unclean and indecent behavior but hypocritically claim to be believers in God.

Its continued existence without automatic disintegration is entirely due to external pressure—the invasion of the chaotic forces in the north.

Therefore, the Principality of Keating is now caught in a dilemma: either it will be overrun by the forces of Chaos, or it will explode on the day of victory.

As the finance minister of the Kingdom of Dimon, and having worked with several ministers of internal affairs, the half-elf Frannin could not possibly have failed to foresee the future.

His chosen solution was to continue seeking aid from various regions and requesting troops. Either the duchy would have enough internal factions to maintain a delicate balance, or a powerful figure whom no one dared to offend would emerge to suppress all dissent.

Liberty City is the former, and the Empire is the latter. However, it is also possible to achieve the goal by first attracting Liberty City and then attracting the Empire behind it.

Annan listened quietly and then said he had no interest in jumping into the cesspool: "The fate of the Principality of Keating is none of our business. Whether they use the weapons to fight the ratmen or to fight amongst themselves is their own business."

Liberty City is just a merchant that sells things.

However, selling weapons might achieve a certain balance: since everyone has a gun, you can kill me, and I can kill you, and nobles can't withstand two more shots than commoners—perhaps when everyone is armed, a delicate peace is maintained.

"By the way, what topic did Earl Collins choose?"

"Mosquito Repellent Halo, also known as Magic Mosquito Repellent Device."

The principle is roughly to imbue magical energy with a slight negative magical power. Because it is so negligible, it has little effect on humans, but it creates an area that acts as a natural enemy for mosquitoes.

Such an obscure spell was obviously found in the library. Although it was just a minor trick, because at least an apprentice was required to cast it, even ordinary nobles couldn't afford it.

"We will also invest some money in this project."

Annan trusted the judgment of the half-elf who had served as finance minister for centuries.

Mosquitoes...are they suitable for sale in the south?

……

A week has passed since the war envoys returned, and the Hellfire Legion has also withdrawn from its allies.

At this moment, countless eyes were fixed on Old Val Town, but the Empire remained silent, as still as a hermit.

"Do you six-armed serpent demons have the custom of wearing rings when you get married?"

"No."

"Oh, that's alright, otherwise wearing six rings would be quite an expense, haha..."

In the guest room, Annan sat on the sofa across the room, telling what he thought were lame jokes.

Fortunately, the six-armed snake demon opposite him was even colder: "I mean, I don't have the habit of getting married."

"Hmm, so how do you determine your spouse?"

Biros explained that when the six-armed serpent demons reach mating season, they return to their territory, seek out strong mates in the ancient hatchery, mate, and wait for the eggs to hatch before leaving. The eggs are then left to be hatched by the guardians of the territory.

When is the six-armed serpent demon's mating season?

Biluos's serpentine eyes fell on Annan, her breathing gradually becoming heavier: "Three hundred to five hundred years old and beyond."

How old are you now?

“Three hundred and fifty years old.” Her snake tail quietly peeked out from under the table toward Annan.

Annan had a vague feeling that if he continued asking, something bad would happen, but he couldn't help but ask, "Then doesn't that mean you..."

(End of this chapter)