Chapter 1487 - 950: Defection, Neutrality, Opposition_2

Chapter 1487: Chapter 950: Defection, Neutrality, Opposition_2

It is said that, to guard against a prolonged siege, Alfred’s ancestors even spent a vast fortune to carve out an extremely secret escape tunnel within the solid mass of the mountain.

It leads to a hidden gorge on the far side of the mountain where few ever tread, ensuring that even in utter despair there remains one reliable path to survival.

Horseshoes struck the slate-paved slope with a crisp clatter that echoed back and forth between the valley walls.

They passed through the oak city gate, thick and banded with iron, and entered the spacious inner bailey.

The Guards stood like statues as they saluted; Alfred merely inclined his head slightly, then guided Carroll down from his horse.

Just then, a steward hurried forward and respectfully reported in a lowered voice:

"My Lord, Count Raymond of the Golden Bird Family has already arrived and is waiting in the receiving room."

"Golden Bird?" Alfred and Carroll both showed a trace of mild surprise.

The Golden Bird Family is a mighty southern noble house in the Kingdom, rich beyond measure and of great weight, famed for its astonishing wealth and extremely shrewd commercial acumen.

Their family crest is a golden bird with spread wings perched upon the blooming branches of a golden broom.

This Count Raymond is moreover the family’s principal representative figure upon the Kingdom’s political stage.

His sudden, uninvited visit seemed rather unexpected.

What made it more unexpected was that, though he enjoyed good relations with many, he did not deeply entangle himself in political factions.

Coupled with a certain connection to the Royal Family, he had long maintained strict neutrality.

Years of maintaining neutrality, together with his own genuinely solid strength, also made others reluctant to press him.

The two of them hastened to the elegantly appointed receiving room.

There they saw a middle-aged noble in a dark green velvet coat, the collar and cuffs embroidered with intricate Golden Bird crests, sitting at ease and leisurely sipping tea.

He was slightly plump but well kept, his face wearing that Merchant’s particular, keen smile that seemed able to see through everything.

"Lord Alfred! Captain Carroll! What a pleasant coincidence!"

Count Raymond set down his delicate teacup, rose warmly, and opened his arms.

"Upon hearing that a Void Rift had stirred along the border, and finding myself nearby inspecting my family’s trade routes, I thought I should come and see whether old friends were in need of assistance.

"I did not expect Captain Carroll to have arrived with such speed as well."

His words were as smooth and rounded as polished jade, while his gaze swept like a searchlight over Alfred’s slightly disheveled Armor and Carroll’s spotless Silver Armor.

"You are too kind, Lord Raymond, to have us in your thoughts."

Alfred bowed slightly in return, his tone carrying sincere and heartfelt gratitude.

"The crisis has already been resolved smoothly, thanks to the Night Watcher Warriors, who came down upon us like Thunderbolts with timely support. Captain Carroll has only just arrived to assist with the aftermath. Your presence here is an honor to me."

Carroll forced himself to nod in greeting, yet inwardly he was quietly wondering what purpose this fox-like, shrewd Merchant Count had in appearing at the border at this very moment.

In an age when the Night Watcher organization grows ever more dominant, the nobles and officials across the land are anything but united, which is endlessly vexing.

After a round of necessary courtesies, Alfred excused himself to change and wash, while Carroll and Raymond were each shown to a comfortable guest chamber to rest briefly.

Before long, the three of them had changed into sumptuous, comfortable everyday attire and gathered in the castle’s main building, in a magnificent dining hall with a great hearth and lofty vaulted ceiling.

A long table was spread with a snow-white linen cloth, its center adorned with gleaming Silver candelabra and vases of fresh blossoms.

Now the dazzling array of dishes upon the table truly revealed a shocking and astonishing abundance.

A whole suckling pig, roasted to a golden crisp, its rich aroma enough to make one’s mouth water.

A dragon-lizard tail, painstakingly roasted with costly southern spices, the meat incomparably tender.

Steamed trout from northern glacial rivers, its scales shimmering with a chill Silver Light.

Braised venison piled upon a great Silver platter, drenched in thick Amber-colored gravy.

Towers of seasonal fruit, a riot of colors.

And baskets of freshly baked white bread and soft pastries, exuding a tempting scent of wheat.

There were also crystal-clear, Gemstone-like rare crystal grapes from the Elf forests, and potent, fiery Dwarven Strong Alcohol scattered among the dishes.

The rich fragrances of the food mingled with the heady bouquet of fine wine, suffusing the brightly lit hall.

Looking at this feast whose extravagance was in no way inferior to a Royal Palace banquet, Count Raymond’s eyes flashed with a barely discernible glint of appraisal, then he broke into a sincerely admiring smile and raised his goblet filled with deep red wine.

"Lord Alfred, the lavishness of this banquet of yours would make even the great halls of the Royal Capital pale somewhat in comparison. To see such rare delicacies from every corner of the realm gathered here is truly eye-opening."

Alfred also raised his cup, his face bearing a calm and unruffled smile as he replied.

"You flatter me, Lord Raymond. To speak honestly, this is thanks to the Night Watcher. Were it not for the sprawling yet efficient logistics network they established,

"and the unprecedented abundance of resources brought by opening up the Tariel Continent, together with those wondrous boons that have driven technical advances, drastically increasing the yield of staple crops and lowering transport costs—how could a minor border Lord like myself in a remote and barren region afford such frequent and sumptuous banquets?

"At the very least, the prices of many ingredients that used to be rare luxuries have now dropped to levels that ordinary households can accept."

His words were frank and direct, pointing out the fundamental and immense impact the Night Watcher system had brought to the circulation of goods and the improvement of common livelihoods.

These remarks made Count Raymond smile and nod in deep agreement; clearly, he too was among the beneficiaries, his family business all the more prosperous because of it.

Yet the hand with which Captain Carroll held his cup tightened slightly without his noticing, and his expression grew visibly overcast, like clouds massing before a storm.

His family’s roots lay in the Kingdom’s "granary" province, where in former days they had amassed enviable wealth by monopolizing grain trade and land rents.

The efficient agricultural techniques and unimpeded trade network brought by the Night Watcher had driven the prices of grain and other basic supplies over a Broken Cliff, plummeting sharply, dealing a direct heavy blow to old nobles like him whose houses had for generations relied on traditional land income and trade barriers.

Alfred’s words had, without doubt, struck squarely at his sorest spot.

The three took their seats, while the attendants, well trained, served the dishes and poured wine with respectful care.

At first, their conversation stayed upon harmless trifles such as the weather, amusing tales from the Royal Capital, and the sights from Count Raymond’s trade routes—the surface mood remained cordial enough.

But as the wine circled the table again and again, the topic inevitably slid, like water drawn into a whirlpool, toward more sensitive ground.

Carroll set down his knife and fork and dabbed his mouth with the napkin in a merely symbolic gesture.

His gaze, sharp as a sword, turned toward Alfred at the head of the table, and his tone carried a faint, almost imperceptible undertone of challenge:

"Lord Alfred, on the battlefield today I noticed that your Guards were coordinating with the Night Watcher forces... almost excessively closely.

"Your command and deployment seemed almost as one. Forgive my bluntness, but have you already... become inclined to fully embrace the Night Watcher system?"

He left out the word "defect," yet his meaning could not have been clearer.

Alfred leisurely cut into the tender venison on his plate, then looked up at Carroll with calm eyes:

"Captain Carroll, ingratitude is no Knightly virtue. Had the Night Watcher Warriors not reacted with such speed today, and struck like Thunderbolts to subdue those two Legendary-rank Devourers capable of annihilating everything, my lands would likely already lie in ruins. My soldiers and my common folk would have paid an immeasurable price, their corpses strewn everywhere.

"They saved my domain, my people, and even my life. Faced with such aid, to give something in return and show goodwill—surely that is the most basic instinct of any decent person?"

He paused, and a subtle, biting hint of satire entered his tone.

"Moreover, compared to certain reinforcements that, after a ’forced march through the night’ and ’unexpected obstacles,’ only manage to arrive ’in time’ once the dust has settled, is it not natural that I place my trust and reliance in the Night Watcher’s efficiency?

"The Kingdom’s administrative efficiency... heh, at times it truly makes one sigh."

Carroll’s face flushed a dark, liverish red in an instant; Alfred’s counterblow had struck right at the wound of his late arrival and those feeble, clumsy excuses.