Chapter 50 - Volume 3 (1/2)
At the end of the day, the conflict between Marquis Duberon and Isaac was a battle of pride. From Marquis Duberon’s point of view, Isaac was the talentless successor to an obscure baron family. As the Great n.o.ble of the South with a time-honored ancestry, negotiating with a man such as Isaac on the back foot was considered ‘lowering their standards.’
Isaac, on the other hand, didn’t appreciate the fact that Marquis Duberon negotiated with the government directly to solve the issue while ignoring him, the one holding direct authority over the incident.
Being exiled to a rural province was perhaps the greatest punishment for any official of the empire, but to Isaac, it was the greatest reward possible. Therefore, there was no reason for Isaac to submit to pressure from above. In fact, Marquis Duberon’s blatant act of ignoring Isaac had strengthened Isaac’s resolve to see the Marquis Duberon’s men submit before him no matter what. This was the reason Isaac placed that unbelievable debt on them while acting like he was releasing Dogman scot-free. It was a taunt, but Isaac’s goal was never to receive all of the money. The reason why Isaac made such impossible demand was to bring the Marquis down from his high horse and onto the negotiation table to meet him face to face.
With Dogman’s signature on the unbelievable I.O.U, the Marquis has no choice but to pay back the debt after negotiating or abandon Dogman.
However, to Isaac’s surprise, the Marquis pulled out a completely different, unexpected card out of his sleeve.
“… What?”
Isaac asked Cordnell to repeat, his mind going blank from the news. Cordnell repeated the first thing he shouted after hurriedly rus.h.i.+ng up the stairs with a pale face.
“Marquis Duberon has made a formal application for provincial conflict to the Capital’s Department of Administration!”
“Provincial conflict? Do you mean war?”
“Yes!”
“… Is that even possible?”
Isaac may have the t.i.tle of Lord’s Representative to his name, but New Port City was not a fiefdom but a city. Cities could never be a target for war in the first place.
“Giving out the t.i.tle of Lord’s Representative was a move that was never seen before in the first place. That’s why the Department of Law and all of the legal professions are debating whether to recognize the city as fiefdom with respect to the t.i.tle, and if so, to accept the application for provincial conflict.”
Isaac’s stiff face relaxed with Cordnell’s explanation and smirked.
“What the. I thought a war really did break out. There’s nothing to worry about over something that hasn’t even been approved yet. I’m sure it’s just simple blackmail.”
“But…”
Cordnell still looked worried, but Isaac didn’t consider it as a significant threat.
Wars don’t break out so easily. It takes money to move, feed, shelter, and arm troops. It takes money to start a battle, to heal the wounded and even to negotiate the peace terms, which determined the reward and payment after a war is resolved.
Considering that an army devours money from step one to the end, its greatest use is as a show of force when everything else fails. Sure, wars do happen when there more to gain from it than to lose, but it’s much more profitable to simply negotiate with Isaac than starting a war to save the family’s heir.
The greatest factor was that even if the war would break out, Isaac held the heir of the Marquis as a hostage. Therefore, Isaac determined that Marquis Duberon only sent the application to maintain an advantageous position for the negotiation that was to come.
“I’m sure Mazelan-sunbae will clue me in if things get serious. But just to make sure, send a message to the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds to watch out for me. I’d be even more grateful if they pulled in some favors too.”
Cordnell still seemed to have doubts on his face after receiving Isaac’s orders, but he reluctantly stepped back. Isaac’s belief that it would never come to war would quickly bite him for letting his guard down.
“The Capital’s Department of Law has announced that although it is just a city, if it is ruled by someone representing a Lord, it will be recognized as fiefdom. Therefore, it has the responsibility of engaging in provincial conflict if necessary. The Department of Administration has accepted Marquis Duberon’s request and announced the official start of conflict to be one month from now!”
“…”
Cordnell visited Isaac first thing in the morning and screamed out the news as his face turned as white as paper. Isaac frowned and started lighting a cigarette, leaving the panicking Cordnell to his own. It seemed everyone had heard the news already, and more and more of the city’s employees gathered on the roof as the cigarette burned away in Isaac’s mouth.
While everyone was in a state of panic over the unexpected outcome, Isaac muttered to himself after extinguis.h.i.+ng his cigarette in the ashtray.
“Our intel is too slow.”
“What?”
“Was that the official announcement?”
“We have both the official announcement and the message from the Seven Grand Merchant Guild about the results too.”
“So they contacted us after the decision was made.”
The most important thing for a merchant guild was information. With the power of the Seven Grand Merchant Guild, it would have been simple for them to get a hold of the information before it was publicly announced. There could only have been two reasons for them to contact Isaac after the decision was made. It was either done so secretly that the Seven Grand Merchant Guild couldn’t pry, or they remained silent even after learning of the information.
Isaac suspected the latter. From the Seven Grand Merchant Guild’s point of view, Isaac no longer held any value. In fact, the disappearance of Isaac would allow the guilds to monopolize the market in both Port City and New Port City. The criteria for betrayal that Isaac had identified were already fulfilled in this case.
<blockquote>
PR Note: The above sentence is a reference to Rizzly and Isaac’s conversation in chapter 45, where Isaac explained why he knew that the syndicate bosses would not betray him in the grand scheme of bankrupting Port City. To quote Isaac from Chapter 45, “You see, betrayal only happens when there’s more to gain from it.”
</blockquote>
“I’ve let my guard down.”
Isaac admitted wholeheartedly. He himself boasted that money was truth and justice, but it was his mistake to overlook the fact that the merchants could betray him. After all, merchants were the creatures most sensitive to profit.
“I understand the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds, but why didn’t Mazelan-sunbae say anything to me?”
As if answering Isaac’s question, Kalden rushed to the roof as he shouted.
“Sunbaenim, I’ve received news from one of my colleagues who work in the Department of Administration!”
“What is it?”
“Mazelan-sunbae has been exiled!”
Tap!
The cigarette slipped out of Isaac’s hand, and his head went blank.
<blockquote>
PR Note: Earlier, it was described that the cigarette was extinguished in the ashtray, but he is currently smoking one. Perhaps it was the author’s oversight, or we can a.s.sume that Isaac lit another cigarette.
</blockquote>
Was the Marquis so great that they had the power to eliminate the Vice Commissioner of the Department of Administration? No, how did they manage such a feat against a royal such as Mazelan?
Isaac spoke back in frustration as his head began to ache.
“Why was he exiled?”
“… n.o.body knows the reason.”
“What bulls.h.i.+t is that! How can the Vice Commissioner of the Department of Administration be exiled without reason!”
“Well… according to what my colleague told me, even the Commissioner is in a panic and is looking everywhere to find where Mazelan-sunbae went.”
Isaac clicked his tongue and furiously bit down on a new cigarette. With his only connection and support gone, Isaac no longer had a backdoor into the government.
“Sigh…. There’s not enough information.”
“W-what should we do?”
Cordnell asked in a state of panic, and Isaac replied aggressively.
“What else can we do? We should just bow down like dogs.”
“What?”
“Send the message to the Marquis. We surrender, so they can take that a.s.shole Dogman with them. No, that’s not enough. Let them know that I am also willing to reimburse them.”
“Surrendering without even fighting is a disgrace!”
The North Bears and Rizzly shouted out for war, as expected of a warrior tribe.
Isaac looked at them with a serious look and asked a question.
“If we were to fight a war, can you guarantee me that you can win the war without a single casualty among the North Bears?”
“That’s difficult. Casualties are inevitable no matter how much preparation you make when it comes down to war…”
Rizzly spoke back with a troubled look, and Isaac cut off him immediately.
“Then don’t bother. I’ve hired you lot to work for me, not to die for me. If we just surrender and reimburse them, it will all be over.”
As soon as the announcement for war was made, Isaac released Dogman and sent a declaration of surrender to the Marquis. Isaac’s offer to release Dogman and reimburse them for the losses the Marquis made was declined almost immediately, however, and they only received reply telling them to prepare for war.
And as if it was all coordinated, fingers began to point toward Isaac.
“The Department of Administration has approved the Marquis’s request for a beachhead in preparation for a siege battle and ordered us evacuate the citizens from Meta District.”
<blockquote>
PR Note: As a refresher, the Meta District is the southernmost district in New Port City, not to be confused with the Ceta District, which sits at the center of New Port City. Prior to Isaac’s radical changes in New Port City, Meta District was run solely by Soland.
</blockquote>
Dumbfounded, Isaac replied to Cordnell.
“A siege battle? How can they possibly have a siege battle with a city that doesn’t even have walls? Just what did they do to receive such favoritism?”
The scary thing about the power of authority is that it has the strength to change and reshape the rules of society as it wishes. The Meta District consisted of a port which connected to the lake. All s.h.i.+ps which come from the east, west, and south must dock here to unload their goods and sailors. Therefore, it was the only place an army could pa.s.s through to reach New Port City with ease; a good defense could prevent the army from even setting foot on the city, but only if done exceptionally well.
The announcement to give up on the Meta District basically meant that they were going to minimize the number of civilian casualties in the war.
This wasn’t the end of the despairing news. Soland came up with a pale face and began to speak with a slight quiver in his voice.
“The Marquis has listed himself in the war gambling and provided all information regarding his army.”
“Sigh… they’re really determined aren’t they.”
Isaac weakly waved his hand at Soland to continue, too exhausted to even react.
“The Marquis himself will only send his Order of Heavy Combat Knights to fight in the war.”
“The Marquis himself? What do you mean by that? Isn’t that alone enough to end the war?”
“They’ve also hired mercenaries, and rumor has it that the money came from Port City.”
“Tsk! This is why you shouldn’t leave loose ends.”
Isaac clicked his tongue in regret.
‘What’s the name of the mercenaries?”
“It isn’t known yet, but after using some of our connections, we have heard that the Full Hammer mercenary band that is situated in the east is currently moving toward here on s.h.i.+p.”
“Those war hounds!”
Rizzly shouted out in surprise at Soland’s answer.
“Do you know them?”
Isaac sent a look to Rizzly, whose face was crumpled with disgust.
“They are well-known filths in the mercenary world. Looting the dead bodies is their most basic atrocity. They are notorious for all sorts of things, from being suspected of betraying their employers to ma.s.sacring prisoners and civilians and even raiding the countryside.”
Isaac frowned after hearing Rizzly’s words.
“Suspected? They are only suspected of doing such things?”
“Yes. They’ve been accused of such actions many times over, but they’re always released because of a lack of evidence.”
“Hm…”
Isaac lit the cigarette in his mouth. If a mere band of mercenaries escaped with a non-guilty verdict after so many suspicious incidents, it meant that they had a supporter behind them. Isaac could picture it now. War could make money, quite amazingly so. That would mean there would be a weapons merchant specializing in weapons of war, and mercenary groups such as the Full Hammer were excellent partners. Considering that Port City would be the supplier of those armaments due to their status as a trade city, it almost seemed natural that the Full Hammer mercenary band would be chosen for the job.
“And…”
“Is there more?”
Soland hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“The odds of victory in the war between the Marquis and New Port City are 1.001 to 372.”
“It’s sad but obvious. And?”
“Each of the remaining three in Port City has bet a million Giga on New Port City’s victory.”
“…”
All Isaac could think of when he heard Soland was, ‘they got me!’ Eye for an eye, blood for blood, and gamble for gamble. With a situation turning out like this, winning this war even at the odds of 10 million to 1 was going to become a problem for Isaac.
“Wait! That’s a bet of 3 million Giga in total! That should even up the odds!”
Kalden pointed out that fact, but Soland shook his head with a bitter smile.
“They’ve each bet 2 million Giga on Marquis’s victory.”
“Did they bet their entire fortune for this?”
Before the rights of the waterways were transferred, the investigation in the wealth of each of the four rulers of Port City concluded that each had a net worth of more than 4 million Giga, astounding even the investigators. Not even the Guild Masters of the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds had such wealth, showing the prowess of the richest men in the Empire. And they used all of it on the bet.
“They did say that they’d use everything they have to get their revenge, and now they’ve backed up their words. This is what happens when you don’t finish the job properly. I guess the squabbles they had in public was just a ruse to let my guard down.”
While Isaac wondered how to solve the situation, Trentor came up the roof.
“And where have you been to come here now?”
“… There’s been an important announcement in Gabelin.”