Imperial Crown.

Chapter 285 Seven Deadly Sins

Additional update for the reward from Qidian Dad [Book Friend 20170610093211508]!

……

Viscount John has never been an impulsive person, and every step he takes is well planned.

For example, accepting refugees when no one is willing.

After the exchange with Raven, his territory was located in the south-central part of Mansa County.

Since it was composed of several baronies and some viscounties, the previous titles were not applicable, so Viscount John named it "Newsno Territory", which means "new snow maple".

Mansa County had already been destroyed by the Death Hand Cult, and less than half of the population of Newsno County remained. Viscount John sent 20000 serfs to Raven. He was old and had no ambitions, so he did not buy a large number of serfs like other nobles in the county.

As a result, the population of Neusno Territory is only about 1/3 of that of a normal viscountry.

This provided considerable convenience for Viscount John's plan. As long as the collapsed and vacant houses were repaired, a large number of refugees could be accommodated.

This step went well, but other aspects were not quite to Viscount John's liking.

He made many preparations to deal with the locust plague.

The first thing was to organize people to cut down trees and burn weeds around the territory, actively creating a circular blank area, hoping that the locusts would take a detour when they saw there was no food.

Secondly, they stored piles of firewood close to the blank area in the territory. If the locusts showed a tendency to fly over the blank area, they would set them on fire to drive the locusts out as much as possible.

In addition, there is a third line of defense consisting of a large number of chickens and ducks.

This method, which was almost like deploying troops, made Viscount John full of confidence at the beginning - even if he could not keep all the locusts out of the country, he could minimize the losses.

However, things tend to develop in a predictable way.

These locusts were so powerful that they flew over the blank area, and only a portion of the firewood was ignited, while most of the rest became food for the locusts.

The raised chickens and ducks also became food for the locusts.

In Neusnoburg, in the conference room, Viscount John had a gloomy brow, his old features squeezed together.

His face was greasy and the wrinkles between his brows were so deep that they could almost pinch a fly to death. It was obvious that he was in a very bad mood.

Although it was daytime, the castle was completely dark and needed candles for lighting. The walls were streaked with black smoke and the air was filled with a suffocating waxy smell.

There were curtains drawn at every window.

It’s not that Viscount John is afraid of light, but the windows of the castle are already densely covered with locusts, making it impossible to get any light through. If you look carefully, you can clearly see the locusts' limbs and stomachs.

Draw the curtains and it will be a little quieter.

"Master, take a rest." Butler Kent whispered, "You haven't slept for two days. The locust plague is a natural disaster that cannot be countered by human power."

Viscount John said, "I know, but I can see swarms of locusts as soon as I close my eyes. How can I sleep?"

Hearing this, Kent sighed, feeling more helpless.

He knew what his master was worried about.

The locusts blocked out the sky, but they could not chew up the stones. There was food in the castle, so they themselves would not starve to death.

But the problem is that the people don’t have that much food stored at home!
There are locusts everywhere outside now, and the people cannot go out and have no way to get food.

Soldiers wearing full armor could safely pass through the locust swarms to deliver food to the people.

But on the one hand, the manpower is limited, and secondly, there are not enough containers that can safely hold food. Not to mention the entire territory, even the city where the castle is located can only barely maintain its supply.

If this continues, many people will starve to death before the locusts leave.

But now everything that should and should not be done has been done. Kent really can't offer any suggestions except waiting for the locusts to leave on their own.

At this moment, the door opened and Vongola, the knight and personal guard commander under Viscount John, walked into the meeting room: "Viscount!"

"Yes." Viscount John nodded: "How is the situation?"

Vongola frowned and said, "Not so good. According to the soldiers who went out to deliver food, the locusts are becoming less and less afraid of people. We have to spend more energy than usual to deliver the food."

"Moreover...some soldiers discovered that some families on the outskirts of the city had not touched the food they had been sent to last time."

Neusnoburg is located in the center of the city and delivers food to the periphery approximately once every 5 days.

The food that was sent last time hasn’t been touched yet, which means some people have started to starve to death.

"This is not a solution." Viscount John tapped the table lightly. "If we continue to wait for the insect swarm to leave, even if the territory doesn't turn into a wasteland, I'm afraid more than half of the people will die."

"Kent, hand me the notice from last time."

"Yes, sir." Kent quickly picked out the most gorgeous piece of parchment from the pile of parchments next to him and handed it to Viscount John.

John took it and watched quietly.

Above is the announcement from Marquis Anthony on the division of the security zone.

On the back, there is the opinion of Anthony's aide and personal alchemist on the locust plague.

When Viscount John saw the announcement for the first time, he cursed Anthony because Anthony did not behave like a governor of a province.

Therefore, Viscount John just glanced at the contents on the back without reading it carefully.

This time, after reading it carefully, Viscount John picked up the quill and circled the word "Insect King" on it.

In addition to basically presuming the existence of the Insect King, the alchemist also stated that the habits of insects are similar, and their behavior can be referenced to the operating modes of bee colonies or ant colonies.

"Vongola, in which direction of the city is the most densely populated by locusts right now?" asked Viscount John.

Vongola thought for a moment, then said, "Based on the feedback from the soldiers delivering food, basically the further west you go, the denser the locusts are, and the more aggressive they are."

"Very good." Viscount John slammed the table hard: "Vongola, you and I will fight to the west until we find the Insect King!"

Kent was the first to jump up and object: "My Lord, let's not talk about whether this insect king really exists. Even if it does, it would be difficult for you to locate the insect king with such vague information."

"And even if we can locate and kill the insect king, it may not drive away the locusts."

"The most important thing is that you are a viscount. You shouldn't take such a risky action!"

Viscount John smiled, but his tone was unquestionable: "Old buddy, don't forget that I am not only a viscount, but also a fourth-level ice knight! A mere locust can trap others, but not me."

“Besides, I’d rather make a mistake than do nothing.”

After these words were spoken, even the Vongola could not object. They only swore secretly in their hearts that they must protect the safety of the Viscount.

Soon, Viscount John put on his armor and left Neusnoburg with the Vongola who had just broken through to the third level.

The warhorse's vest was not large enough to cover the entire body, so the two men left the castle on foot.

Vongola's palms were filled with sweat. Even though he knew that the locusts could not break through his armor, the overwhelming, dark shadow still made him very uncomfortable.

There were so many locusts that every time they stepped on them, they would step on one or two that didn't have time to escape. The sound of the exploding locusts made the Vongola almost vomit.

Some locusts were climbing back and forth on the armor, trying to find weaknesses. The sound of their claws rubbing against the armor made him feel creepy.

If Viscount John had not ordered to save his fighting spirit, he would have used his fire fighting spirit to burn his armor and drive away these damn bugs.

All the way to the west. Just as the soldiers had reported before, the deeper they went, the more aggressive the locusts became, and they even began to actively ram them.

Arriving at the edge of the city, Vongola glanced at a building and his scalp suddenly throbbed:
"My Lord Viscount, look!"

It was a pointed-roof building standing on the corner of the street. It was supposed to be a grain store, but now it was crawling with locusts, one layer upon another, like a huge heart that was constantly twitching and beating.

Right at the top of the heart, a huge locust was squatting there, and under it was a bag of golden wheat.

Ordinary locusts are only the size of a fist and are yellowish-brown all over, but this one is half the size of a human, just like a sturdy calf, pitch black all over, with two whiskers like horse whips, and a pair of mouthparts as big as fire tongs.

There is no doubt that it is the Insect King!

As soon as this thought arose in the Vongola's mind, he felt an extreme chill.

It feels like walking naked in the north wind in the coldest months of winter.

But the problem is, it's summer now, and Vongola, who is a third-level Flame Knight, can actually feel cold!

At this moment, Viscount John's body was filled with icy fighting spirit, and hexagonal ice flower marks appeared on his armor.

It was a battle pattern that was condensed to the extreme and penetrated the body.

Vongola was stunned. This was the first time he saw the Viscount use his full strength. The aftermath alone made his body stiff!
This is... the fourth level! ?

The insect king seemed to feel threatened and instantly understood the situation. He flapped his wings and flew towards the horizon.

Viscount John raised his spear, his body floated into the air, and then suddenly drew a crescent-shaped pale blue light mark.

Wherever it passed, the air seemed to be frozen, forming a texture like solid ice.

The Insect King was also wrapped in the cold air, and thin layers of ice began to form on his wings. He was about to be caught up by the Crescent Moon.

Just then, a buzzing sound was heard, as if the earth was shaking.

From all directions, endless locusts swarmed in, rushing towards the pale blue ice blade without regard for the consequences.

They were frozen and fell one after another, but before they hit the ground, a large number of locusts followed.

For a moment, it seemed as if a hail of locusts had fallen.

But the Insect King, protected by wave after wave of locusts, flew farther and farther!
Vongola rushed to John and said excitedly, "My Lord Viscount, there really is a Bug King. Let's go after him now!"

"Forget it." John's fighting spirit gradually died down. He looked at the locusts that kept pouring in from all directions, seemingly never decreasing, and spoke with a hint of bitterness in his tone:
"This unexpected encounter didn't stop it. Now it's on guard. Even if we try to chase it, we can't catch up with it."

"Let's go back."

Viscount John returned to Neusnoburg with a feeling of grievance.

As soon as he entered the door, Kent, who was waiting at the door, came to greet him: "Thank you, sir, you are finally back safely!"

"It's just a group of locusts. They can't kill me." Viscount John killed a locust that followed him in and took off his helmet. "Have someone clean my armor. Don't be impatient. Be careful."

Hearing this, Kent immediately felt relieved - at least the Viscount would not fight the locusts again in the short term.

"Also, get me paper and pen immediately."

Kent nodded immediately: "Yes, sir, who do you want to write to? I will help you draft it right away!"

Viscount John's expression became serious: "Only I can write this letter. You can't handle it."

Kent's heart skipped a beat, feeling something was wrong, but he still made preparations according to Viscount John's instructions.

In the study, Viscount John picked up a pen and wrote two lines, which almost scared Kent to jump.

"Your Majesty, the King of the noble Keynes Empire, the guardian of human civilization, the Lord of Middle-earth, the inheritor of the bloody reign, the most honorable King of Kings on the Middles Continent, Habsburg Mann Keynes, and His Majesty the Sixteenth Keynes."

My own master actually wants to write a letter to His Majesty the King!
What followed was even more shocking to Kent.

"I, John Ota Luke, Viscount of the Empire, hereby solemnly make serious accusations against Marquis Anthony Vanya Edwards, the Governor of Nord Province appointed by you personally."

"This person has low moral character, is more selfish than public-spirited, has more energy for political struggle, but lacks the ability to govern. I would like to list his seven major crimes here!"

"First, arrogance!"

"As an imperial marquis, he has no humility or gratitude, and he abuses his power wantonly. Even before he took office as governor, he treated the nobles in the province like cattle and horses, and the earl's family like slaves. He would use the royal authority to suppress them if they did not obey him."

“Second, luxury!”

"After becoming the governor of the empire, Anthony issued a clear order not to allow the whole province to have feasts and merrymaking, but he himself was extravagant and held large-scale drinking parties, wasting so much wine that the fish in the river were drunk to death."

"Third, vanity!"

"Earlier, Baron Raven of the Griffith family was getting married and a competition was held. He was the one who manipulated the matter, which led to the wedding banquet being ruined and causing a huge uproar. However, Anthony left the banquet in anger after his contestant lost. He had no manners and no responsibility!"

"Fourth, lust!"

"This Marquis has been enjoying himself since he came to Nord Province. There are countless rumors about him having sex with many beautiful girls. He even wrote an article publicly ranking the dancers. He is so licentious and vulgar that he is unworthy of his noble status!"

“Fifth, laziness!”

"Earl Jonah had warned of the locust plague long ago, but Anthony ignored it and only issued an insignificant decree. When the locust plague broke out, he did not think about how to deal with it, but instead divided the power in his hands into three parts and set up three warning zones. He not only betrayed the trust of His Majesty the King, but also evaded his duties as the governor!"

"Sixth, greed!"

"Seventh, fury!"

"Greed and rage filled the soul of this Governor. In order to gain more power and wealth, he did not hesitate to resort to assassination. He plotted to destroy the Fox family, occupied the Fox family's territory, and plundered the Fox family's property!"

"A century-old family only seized 60 gold coins to fill the treasury. The hidden wealth is probably more than 10 times. This kind of greed is unprecedented! The disrespect and disloyalty are obvious!"

"Seven major sins like these are personally unworthy of a noble character. Publicly, he has failed to live up to the trust of His Majesty, failed to reconcile the nobles in the province, and failed to protect the people. Not only is he unqualified to be the governor of Nord Province, but he should be stripped of his title to make him repent!"

"And your Majesty, you should also open your eyes and see the true face of this seemingly loyal but actually treacherous villain."

"Don't let him become an indelible stain on your glorious achievements!"

This letter is written in a fluent and flowing style, almost in one breath.

As soon as John put down his quill, Kent brought over a candlestick.

"What are you going to do?" John asked.

"Master, you can just write this letter to vent your grievances, but don't ever send it out," Kent advised.

John said earnestly, "Indeed, the loss of the territory was so great that I have some complaints about Anthony."

“But it’s more than just a complaint.”

"Look at how he dealt with this locust plague! He didn't make any preparations in advance, and when the time came, he started to shirk responsibility. How can the future of Nord Province be good with such a bug leading it?"

Kent wanted to say something else, but Anthony had already folded the letter and put it in the envelope:

"No need to say more, I must present this letter to His Majesty the King!"

……

(End of this chapter)