Imperial Crown.

Chapter 281 Little Peeling

This was the third day after Antony's decree was issued.

At first, the nobles thought it was just an ordinary locust plague until those fist-sized locusts flew to their territory following the governor's order.

Panic began to spread.

The nobles knew that if they cut people with a knife, they would die, and if they smashed the skulls of the dead, they would lie back in their graves.

But locusts, locusts that are everywhere, how can we kill them all?
Judra didn't know the answer to this question, and she had no time to think about it at the moment.

He was currently in his bedroom in Ironforge, taking care of his second wife.

Just two months ago, Judra celebrated her birthday and officially turned 40.

Time inevitably left its mark on his face.

Compared to before, there are more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, his hair has turned gray, and the skin on his cheeks has sagged slightly, making his face look somewhat sad.

But at this moment he had a smile on his face. He sat by the bed, holding the hand of his second wife who was lying on the bed.

His second wife was not a noble, but the daughter of a merchant in Tielu Town, and her name was also a very common "Lily".

Lily has black hair and an oval face, and looks 30% like Denise when she smiles.

Although her face was a little pale, Lily still smiled shyly. She knew what Judra liked: "Master, you don't have to accompany me like this."

"Now the entire Iron Furnace Territory needs your care."

Judea gently stroked the raised curve on the thin blanket: "Right now, the entire Iron Furnace Territory is not as important as you."

Losing a child in middle age is a tragic event, and Judra has not forgotten her son Barney who was killed by Cebron.

He admitted that he had some selfish motives in marrying Lily, but as a lord and the head of the Wharton family, he also had the obligation to reproduce offspring so that the Wharton family would not be extinct.

Lily was a little nervous: "I'm sorry, Master, I shouldn't have gone out without permission."

As she grew older and her baby was firmly planted, she felt bored staying in the castle, so she decided to go out and relax.

Unexpectedly, they encountered a sudden swarm of locusts. Although the number was not large, it still caused panic among the people.

In her panic, she was bumped by someone, but fortunately the baby in her belly was not affected.

"I'll get you a better group of guards." Jude smiled and rubbed his wife's hand. "Don't think about anything. Just rest and give birth to our child safely. That's the only thing you have to do."

There was a gentle knock on the door, and the voice of the new personal guard commander Tetu came: "Baron, there are some things that need your personal attention."

Judra frowned slightly, but Lily held his hand tightly and said, "It's okay, Baron, go ahead."

Standing up and kissing Lily gently on the forehead, Judra left the room and closed the door. After walking a long way, he asked, "What's going on?"

"Please take a look." Tetu winked at the attendant beside him.

A bloody smell came, and the attendant brought a wooden plate with two lumps of bloody flesh on it.

Judra showed disgust on her face and poked it twice with her finger: "…What is this?"

"These are the chickens and ducks that you ordered to be raised before." Tetu said.

Hearing this, Judra was startled, rubbed her eyes, and looked carefully again.

Not to mention, it does look somewhat similar, at least you can see the pointed mouth and the flat mouth.

But how did they become like this?

"It's locusts, sir." Tetu said with a bitter face: "This chicken pecked a locust to death, but the locust's remains bit its neck; this duck swallowed three locusts, and then the locusts ate from the inside..."

"Okay, that's enough. I know you used to be a veterinarian, but you don't have to show off your knowledge all the time." Judra waved her hand, signaling her attendant to take the plate away, then she let out a long sigh.

Judra, who has always disliked Raven, immediately kept her eyes on the Eagle Territory after learning about the locust plague.

Because in the past five years, he has never seen Raven suffer any loss.

He did whatever Raven did, not only buying a large number of chickens and ducks, but also building a fence on the edge of the territory.

But the chickens and ducks that he bought in large quantities like Raven were no match for the locusts, which was a bit beyond his expectations.

"Raven, you can make mistakes sometimes."

After a little gloating, Judra's brows furrowed again.

Because his losses were not small either.

If one considers the difference in financial strength between him and Raven, his loss would be even more serious.

I walked all the way to the study and looked out the window. I could see locusts everywhere, on the walls, in the woods, and in the fields. They were like cloves in the soup, not many, but extremely eye-catching.

Although it has not yet reached a large scale, it is probably a matter of time.

He thought again of the chickens and ducks on the tray - what would it look like when the locust plague really broke out?
Judra began to understand why Anthony divided up the powers instead of taking charge of the overall situation himself.

Glancing at the Governor's decree on the desk, Judra rolled her eyes and sighed.

He had read the above content. Raven became the temporary manager of the No. 3 Security Zone, which is the five northwestern counties.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, Judra knew that there was no better candidate than Raven in the entire five northwestern counties.

And he must also keep up with Raven's footsteps.

The two territories were adjacent to each other. He didn't ask Raven to help him, but at least he asked him not to add insult to injury.

Taking out a pen and paper, Judra leaned over the table and wrote:

Respected Lords of Eagle Territory, Snow Maple Territory and Holo Territory, Lord Sheriff of Snow Maple County, Baron Raven Ota Griffith, Director of Security Zone No. 3 appointed by His Excellency the Governor.

Yours faithfully and humbly
"Uh..." Having written this, Judra frowned in disgust at herself, but she had to continue writing.

But some people write much more cheerfully than Judra.

"Dear, come and help me take a look." Mrs. Doreen picked up the letter she had just written and called her clerk.

While the clerk was taking a closer look at the letter, Doreen picked up her 5-year-old son Roman and wiped his tears: "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"

Roman inherited his father's green pupils. He wiped his lips with his tender little hands and said aggrievedly: "My Gaq Knight was eaten by locusts!"

"Gark Knight" is a goblin dummy woven from straw and wood, produced by the Eagle Town Arena and Roman's favorite playmate.

"Oh, my poor little guy." Doreen patted her son on the back. "Knight Gark will be back, and soon we won't have to worry about locusts anymore."

"Really?" Roman's eyes sparkled.

"of course it's true."

After rubbing her son's head, Doreen looked at her female clerk and asked, "How is it?"

The female clerk opened and closed her mouth for a while before she said, "Are you really going to write it like this?"

In fact, from the clerk's perspective, Doreen's writing is quite excellent, and her choice of words and sentences is extremely delicate. She not only expresses her desire to seek refuge in Eagle Territory, but also subtly buries her passionate love and admiration between the lines.

But the problem is that this should be an official document, not a love letter.

Doreen asked back, "What's the problem?"

The female clerk looked at Doreen's determined gaze and shook her head: "Uh, this... no!"

"Then send it out, now, immediately, and right away." Doreen ordered, "And then immediately assemble the troops and have Knight Dio stay behind to guard the castle. We will set out the day after tomorrow morning at the latest."

This locust plague has just begun, and sporadic locusts have already caused considerable damage. If their numbers swell again, to the point where people cannot even leave their homes, the Gravel Territory’s communications with the outside world may be completely cut off.

Her son was not yet an adult, and Doreen herself was a woman.

Once the Stonebreak becomes an isolated island, Doreen will not be able to subdue her knights.

That's why she wrote this frivolous letter, just to arouse Raven's desire to protect her and let her in by opening the door.

At least there, Doreen didn't have to worry about safety.

The spread of news always varies, and not all nobles can receive the governor's decree in the first place.

For example, the current Viscount of Hippocrates and Binziman is only 21 years old.

The air was hot under the cloudless sky.

The Taile Street in Binziman City was crowded with people. Outside was a circle of city defense soldiers holding weapons, in the middle were several layers of residents, and the innermost layer was the personal soldiers responsible for protecting the Viscount.

The bodyguards formed a circle, and in the middle of the circle was an execution platform made of logs. It was covered with dirt, blood, and new and old stains, and flies were circling around it.

The Viscount was sitting next to the execution platform.

His light yellow hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and even when he tied it into a single ponytail at the back of his head, it still looked extremely disorganized.

A pair of eyes, one white and one red. The white one looked like a prosthetic eye, while the red one looked like it had been punched hard by someone and was filled with blood.

The young viscount slapped a flying locust and yawned in boredom.

A tall, bearded man walked through the crowd and stood in front of the Viscount, bowing his head and saying, "Your Excellency the Viscount..."

"Um……?"

"Uh, Master Little Flay."

Hearing the words "Little Peeler", the Viscount smiled and said, "Tell me, Dalton, what's the matter?"

Dalton's mouth twitched: "The death row inmate was found to have committed suicide in prison this morning."

"Oh, that's such a tragedy." Little Peeler sighed, "He should have been punished fairly."

"But the execution platform can't be left empty, can it?"

As he spoke, Little Peeler's eyes wandered among the onlookers, like a butcher selecting lambs to be slaughtered.

Drawing a circle in the air with his wrist, Xiaopi pointed at a girl who looked about 16 or 7 years old and said, "That's her."

With a scream, the personal soldiers immediately rushed forward, controlled the girl and brought her over.

Dalton swallowed, "But, sir, this man has committed no crime."

"No?" Little Peeler blinked: "Oh, I remember now."

He took off a gold ring from his left hand, stuffed it into the girl's pocket, and then took it out and shook it in front of Dalton:

"She stole my ring!"

Xiao Peeler waved his hand and said calmly but unquestionably, "Put the man up there."

"No, Master Little Peeler, please let me go. My mother is still waiting for me..."

But Little Flayed seemed not to have heard anything, and his personal soldiers showed no mercy, dragging the girl onto the stage, tearing her clothes off, exposing her body to the sun.

Little Peeler jumped onto the execution platform with a thud and took a rustling iron bucket from his bodyguard.

There was a half bucket of locusts with their wings plucked, which were now trying to climb up the smooth edge of the bucket.

The girl trembled on the cross. She no longer cared about shame. All she had in her heart was the fear of death.

Two lines of bitter tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

"Be good, don't cry." Little Peeler licked her cheek with his scarlet tongue: "It will be over soon."

He lifted the iron bucket and pressed it against the girl's belly. The executioner skillfully secured the bucket with chains.

"No...No!" The girl's face turned pale, and she began to feel the locusts crawling on her belly.

"You'll like it." Little Peeler smiled slightly, picked up the torch next to him, and placed it at the end of the iron barrel.

嘭

Under the scorching flames, the locusts in the barrel were completely blown away, causing the entire iron barrel to vibrate, but they had no way to escape and could only drill into the softest place they could find.

“No, no, ah——”

The girl's eyes widened and she let out a fierce scream. Teeth-grinding biting and cutting sounds continued to come from the barrel, and blood oozed from the edge of the iron barrel.

Her limbs began to twitch wildly. Even though her skin was torn and the chains rattled, she was still unable to escape the restraints.

Xiaopi's breathing began to speed up, and his eyes were filled with excitement. The rustling sound in the barrel suddenly became less, and the barrel, which had been falling slightly, began to rise slowly.

The screams gradually became weaker, and dark red sticky blood flowed out from the corners of the girl's mouth and dripped onto the ground.

The flesh between her chest and abdomen suddenly began to swell up in strips, and one could even see the outline of a locust.

"what……"

The girl's chest suddenly rose up, and she opened her mouth, letting out a frightening hissing sound.

The next moment, with a "puff" sound, her swollen throat suddenly exploded, and a swarm of locusts poured out, taking away her last chance of life.

Locusts crawled all over her head and began to gnaw on her tender lips and tongue. Some even crawled onto her face, clawed out her eyes that were open only to death, and then bit them into pieces.

"Hahahaha——" Little Peeler threw down the torch, laughed and clapped his hands, as if he had seen the most beautiful scenery in the world.

At this moment, a messenger squeezed through the crowd and said, "Master Little Peeler, the governor's order."

"Read." Without even turning his head, the little skinner took out a dagger from his waist, cut the most plump and soft piece of flesh on the girl's body, and placed it on the silver plate handed over by his personal soldier.

He ate with gusto at first, but when the messenger read out "Alert Zone No. 3", his expression became serious. He put down the plate, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and stretched out his hand and said, "Give it to me."

Taking the document from his personal soldier, Little Peeler jumped down from the execution platform, walked to his desk, and began to read it word by word.

"Raven... heh." Little Peeler stretched out his fingers and rubbed his temples, his two eyes, one red and one white, revealing clear dissatisfaction.

Indeed, Xiao Peeler could understand that since this position was to be established, Raven was the most suitable person in the entire five northwestern counties.

Understanding is one thing, acceptance is another.

To him, Raven was like a monkey in heat, always showing off his charm and abilities at inappropriate times.

What "a role model for the younger generation of nobles in Nord Province", "the youngest third-level magician in Nord Province", "a talented politician and business wizard."

It's really ear-splitting.

Raven received so much praise only because the Fox family helped him to praise him.

What's even more annoying is that Slater also inexplicably fell in love with him.

The resurgence of the Griffith family began when Hyde went to Eagle Territory.

God knows whether Raven sold the ditch to Hyde and obtained the first start-up capital.

"What an annoying guy." Little Flay slammed the decree on the table.

The name "Little Flayed" comes from Cunningham, the famous "Flayed Duke" in the history of the empire. This lord executed at least 4300 dissidents in his lifetime and imposed cruel punishment of flaying.

The reason why people call him that is because Little Flay regards this Grand Duke as his idol, and he is also implementing the philosophy of Grand Duke Cunningham - the strong do not need friends, they only need to use fear and violence to make people submit.

That's why Little Flay hates Raven.

Raven's methods were too soft, his body too frail, and coupled with that handsome appearance, he was simply a sissy.

In Little Flay's opinion, if he could flatter the nobles as unconditionally as Raven, he would achieve even greater success, but he just didn't want to do that.

"Dalton!"

The knight stepped forward through the crowd and said, "Master Little Flay."

"Let the crowd disperse." Pointing to the body of the girl on the execution platform, Little Peeler said, "Tell them that this is the fate of those who secretly talked about me."

"Then go to my warehouse and get one, no, two 1th-level fire magic cores. I will personally write a letter and give them together with these two magic cores as a gift to Baron Raven."

Dalton was stunned.

Little Peeler urged, "Baron Raven has always been my idol. He is like a brother to me. Go quickly and don't delay."

Even though Little Flay said so, Dalton still didn't believe it.

The excitement-loving Little Flay once followed Raven's example and built an arena, investing more than 2 gold coins. However, it only operated for three months before closing down due to insufficient income.

Xiao Peeling has always blamed Raven for the failure of this business venture.

However, if Dalton had learned anything in the past few years, it was to never guess what the Viscount was thinking, so he immediately nodded in agreement.

Little Peeler did what he said and immediately began writing a letter to Raven.

The words were written in the square and elegant Galenic script, and the content was humble and respectful, showing infinite admiration for Raven.

As Xiao Peeling wrote, a smile gradually formed on the corners of his mouth.

This wasn't surrender, it was just a ploy, he wanted Raven to think he was completely harmless.

In this way, when the opportunity comes, he can stab Raven hard when he is off guard.

"A dagger from behind is the hardest to defend against."

……

On the same afternoon, in Eagle City, conference room.

Lei Wen's civil servants gathered together.

Old Gordon sat on Raven's left, followed by Kuman and Philip.

There was another unfamiliar face, Koru - he was the political officer of Holo Territory, 44 years old this year, with a square face, dignified posture, and a very aristocratic temperament.

The red bow tie on the chest is particularly eye-catching
He was the former ruler of Holo Territory and steward of the Vernon family, and had received an extremely good education.

There is also an old man with a white beard named Junasheng in the corner.

The former refugee leader, now the clerk of Eagle City, is in charge of recording the meeting.

"My Lord Baron, this is a great event." Philip licked his lips. "The military power, financial power, and command power of the entire Northwest Five Counties! Oh my God, I can't even imagine how huge this power is."

"Mr. Fili, as a subordinate of the Baron, I must remind you." Koulu straightened his tie: "The Baron called us here to discuss countermeasures, not to listen to our empty words and flattery."

Fili blushed, looking a little embarrassed: "I am congratulating the Baron, not bragging! Do you think showing your loyalty is a mistake, Mr. Koulu?"

"I think that sharing the Baron's worries is true loyalty." Koru retorted.

Before Fili could retort, Raven raised his hand and said, "Well, loyalty can be shown in many ways, but what I want now is your ability."

"Tell me, what should we do next?"

The conference room suddenly became quiet.

Fili thought for a moment and said, "My Lord Baron, I think you should take advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate your authority in this locust plague."

"I don't agree with Mr. Philip's opinion." Kolu said immediately.

Faced with frequent interruptions, Philip was a little annoyed: "Then I guess Mr. Kolu already has an idea?"

"Yes." Koru said without any hesitation.

He was the last person among all the people present to enter Raven's core circle, so he had to say something shocking and leave a deep impression on Baron Raven.

The power to manage the people's livelihood in Holo Territory is indeed considerable, but what he wants is a title that can be passed down from generation to generation.

"It is true that the Baron has gained enormous power this time, but power also carries responsibility."

"Everyone here has enjoyed the taste of power, and everyone knows that no one will divide their power for no reason."

"Governor Anthony's actions are enough to show that the scale of the locust plague is beyond control, and he wants to shirk some of the responsibility."

Having said that, Kolu bowed to Raven and said, "My Lord Baron, please forgive me for speaking frankly."

"The locust plague is so severe that even the governor cannot resist it. No matter how much you do, it will be useless. The more you do, the more mistakes you will make. So it is better not to exercise this authority."

Raven nodded slightly. What Koru said was what he was thinking.

Seeing that Raven agreed with Kolu, Fili became a little anxious.

Among all the people present, except old Gordon, he is the one with the most seniority. Now he is suppressed by a newcomer, and he can't help feeling a little aggrieved.

After a little thought, Fili said, "Baron, I think Mr. Koulu's words make sense, but they are not entirely correct."

"Now that the division of the warning zone is a foregone conclusion, you can't just ignore the order if you don't exercise your authority. If you do nothing, not only will you be suspected of disobeying orders, but people will also laugh at your cowardice."

"Besides, power is something that expires. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity must be seized."

"So, you might as well give some orders that will benefit you without costing you anything."

Hearing what Fili said, Raven chuckled: "You two both said it well."

"But there is a question: what kind of policy is beneficial without costing money?"

Philip was stunned for a moment, he hadn't thought of that step yet.

And Kolu didn't tease Philip again.

He came here to show himself, not to make enemies. Now that he has won the Baron's praise, there is no need to go too far.

Raven continued, "If you can't figure it out, just wait and think about it."

"Today I called you here, not only to discuss countermeasures, but also to give you an order to execute."

"It now appears that the locust plague is much more serious than we previously expected."

"So when you return, you must immediately organize people to harvest the food in the territory. This must be completed before the locust plague officially arrives."

Fili, Kuman, and Kolu all looked gloomy, but they all nodded.

It is now early July, and the main crop in Raven's territory is spring wheat, which is about 7 days away from maturity.

If harvesting at this time, at least 3% to 5% of the yield will be lost.

But even so, it is much better than a locust plague that eats up all the fields.

At this moment, Kuman's eyes lit up: "That's right, Baron, this is a benefit without cost."

"There will definitely be nobles who are short-sighted and hesitate about whether to harvest the grain in advance, or simply cannot think of this. If you issue this order, it can not only show your far-sightedness, but also reflect your responsibility, and it will not affect the interests of too many people!"

Hearing this, Raven and Old Gordon smiled at each other.

It seems that the officials under him are still quite capable.

The abilities of Fili and Kuman are gradually revealed, and the newcomer Koru also has excellent vision. Although he is not a genius, he is also a good choice at the moment.

Clearing his throat, Raven said, "Gordon, draft a statement for me and release it simultaneously through the Mercenary Guild and the Sky Eagle Platform."

"Issue an order for all nobles in the five northwestern counties to immediately begin harvesting grain."

"The armies of each noble family will still be under their own command, and I will not interfere; but all nobles must constantly announce and share the situation and trends of the locust plague through the Sky Eagle platform and other means."

Old Gordon wrote down these key points one by one, and finally pushed his monocle and said, "Then I will go and draft this statement first."

In fact, there are many details that Lei Wen did not mention, such as being as humble and low-key as possible in writing, but not making it seem like Lei Wen is really giving in; showing responsibility, but not letting others find fault with him and force him to take responsibility.

But after years of master and servant, they have developed a tacit understanding.

After discussing some details, Raven adjourned the meeting and began to communicate with Denise on the Skyhawk platform.

"Dear Aunt Denise, is your journey smooth?"

A few seconds later, Denise's response came: "Enter Saveryshire immediately."

Raven smiled. Now that he was in Savery County, he was only a short distance away from Xuefeng County...

and many more!

The smile froze on his face and Raven's brows were tightly furrowed.

According to the established route, Denise should start from Hodges County, head west, and return to Snow Maple County via Wiltshire and Hippok Counties.

But how did she end up in Saveryshire in the north?
After that, all of Raven’s messages fell on deaf ears.

……

(End of this chapter)