Chapter 874 (2/2)
”You're right The fire was set under my command” Iron Axe nodded
Bearpaas startled by his boss's unreserved confession, was stunned for a while before he found his voice again, ”Why?”
”I think it's better that these kinds of things are left for me to handle The er chance for so”
”That's not what I mean” The lieutenant shook his head ”I mean didn't they already surrender?”
”I see” Iron Axe meditated for a moment and said, ”To be frank, I don't have the time to discern whether or not they were sincere in their surrender, nor does His Majesty has tiiven me full control over the Eastern Front before the army left Neverwinter”
”But”
”Are you going to tell me that a sentence without a trialthe his lieutenant a book on the desk ”Have a look”
”Is this a deraphic report?”
”Yes, we found it in the library” The chief nodded ”Five years ago, 220,000 people were living in Valencia and the surrounding lands It was the ion But by this year, the population has dropped to a ion are about 30,000 to 40,000 people in total If we round it up to 40,000, the deficit still stands at about around 120,000 even without considering the growth in population I believe you are aware of the cause for this”
Bearpaw gasped ”The farmlands that were ruined by floods”
”And they have also distorted Valencia beyond recognition” Iron Axe arose and walked up to the candlestick, his hands on his back ”Wilion apparently called up all the people who lived nearby to work for him They were sent to block the roads and reinforce the walls He alone should never have been entitled to this kind of authority This would never have been possible unless he was backed by someone more powerful or, even worse, assisted by the other nobles As a result, the massive dislocation of people had severely interrupted trade and left much of the crops unattended to In other words, all those nobles are accomplices of the Duke Now, do you still believe that His Majesty will accept their allegiance?”
Bearpaas dumbfounded for a moment
”But they did not lie about believing in their innocence,” Iron Axe continued, ”For all they care, what they've done was no big deal Even with half of the far devastated, their mansions were still crammed with food, and even huer than wheat when properly stored”
Bearpaw's pupils suddenly contracted
”To put the cherry on top, what they've done critically hinders the progress of His Majesty's plan Our king values the population more than any other resource, but they squandered their huine how the battle would have turned out if we didn't have the mortars with us? You kno difficult it is to move the field artillery in thethe city or prolonging the battle I don't think the nobles would have yielded before they used up all their people had we not have come prepared” Iron Axe turned around ”Any other questions?”
For a long lanced up ”You're right It would be too merciful to let theive this specific command, did he? What if he hears of”
”What do you mean 'what if'?” Iron Axe raised his eyebrow ”Do you think that I'll hide this fro that has happened in Valencia so far in the report for hiardless of the outcome”