In the Chaotic Lands, within the royal palace in the capital of the Maner Principality.
Makro was currently reviewing government affairs. Parchment scrolls were spread across his desk, and his brows were deeply furrowed, an expression of distress on his face.
The autumn harvest was rapidly approaching, and traces of many bandits had appeared in the surrounding areas. It was obvious they were here to plunder the wheat and rice.
Every year, there were many bandits, requiring the dispatch of a massive number of knights to encircle and suppress them. However, many bandits had scouted their retreat routes well in advance. Oftentimes, they could only eliminate some disorganized, straggling bandits, while the organized ones were incredibly difficult to catch.
In reality, the disorganized bandits were the real bandits. The organized ones were people from the other two principalities—their knights disguised as bandits to pillage the Maner Principality's wheat.
Yet, every autumn harvest, it was unavoidable that a portion of the wheat would be stolen.
"Damn the Mulin Principality and the Chama Principality! Damn you all!" Makro said furiously, his face dark.
Tap, tap, tap…
Just then, a knight walked in from outside, bowed to Makro, and said, "Your Majesty, Madam Mandesi requests an audience."
"Let her in." Hearing that Mandesi had arrived, Makro's gloomy face instantly brightened up significantly.
"Your Majesty, you have to seek justice for my brother!" Mandesi barged right in, threw herself onto Makro, and sobbed loudly.
Mandesi was a slightly plump woman, and she was the most favored among Makro's two dozen wives in the harem. Who told him to prefer women on the 'voluptuous' side?
"What happened? Stand up and tell me," Makro was startled. He took Mandesi's hand, trying to pull her up.
However, because Mandesi was too heavy, Makro nearly threw out his back. Panting with exhaustion, he slumped back into his seat.
"Weber City has been captured by beastkin! My brother was imprisoned by those beastkin and even sent to the mines! You have to save him!" Mandesi cried, tears and snot running down her face.
"Weber City was captured?" Makro frowned. He rummaged through the parchment scrolls in front of him until he found the one detailing the occupation of Weber City by beastkin at the very bottom.
A flash of embarrassment crossed Makro's face. So this parchment scroll had been delivered a long time ago, but he hadn't bothered to read it at the time. Only now did he remember that the City Lord of Weber City seemed to be Mandesi's younger brother.
"Captured by beastkin," Makro's brow remained deeply furrowed. He was aware there was beastkin activity in that area, but he had never paid it much attention.
After all, he had to deal with the harassment and provocations from the other two principalities. He simply didn't have the energy to spare troops to wipe out those beastkin. He never expected them to actually grow into a formidable threat.
In truth, across the entire Chaotic Lands, the kings lacked the energy to govern the vast majority of the cities belonging to the three principalities. Their sole current objective was to swallow each other up and establish a brand new kingdom.
"Your Majesty, you must save my brother! Capture all those lowly beastkin and turn them into slaves!" Mandesi wiped her nose and said viciously.
"But... you step down for now. I will think of a way," Makro rubbed his temples in distress and waved his hand.
"Your Majesty, please save him! Dema can't endure the hardships of mining; he'll die in there!" Mandesi pleaded.
"The autumn harvest season is upon us. I do not have any spare knights to dispatch," Makro said helplessly. He originally hadn't wanted to tell her, but right now, nothing was more important than securing the wheat.
"Your Majesty, is my brother's life worth less than some wheat?!" Mandesi began acting unreasonably, tugging at Makro's clothes with both hands.
"..." A flash of disgust crossed Makro's eyes, and his affection for Mandesi instantly dropped a notch.
The life or death of one person compared to the wheat that fed the entire principality—it was far too insignificant. There was no comparison.
"Only after the wheat harvest is complete might there be a possibility of rescuing him. If you continue being unreasonable, then you can prepare to collect your brother's corpse," Makro said coldly, violently shaking off Mandesi's hands.
"..." Mandesi's expression changed. She opened her mouth but didn't dare speak another word. She knew Makro was a man of his word; she never doubted that.
"Yes..." Mandesi replied through her sobs. She slowly climbed up from the floor and left.
Tap, tap, tap...
Watching Mandesi leave, Makro's complexion improved slightly, though he still wore a grim expression. "Those damn beastkin. Once I finish harvesting the wheat, I will deal with you."
He shouted toward the outside, "Have the Head Knight come see me."
"Yes, sir," The knight outside replied, then left to summon the Head Knight.
Half an hour later, the Head Knight appeared before Makro.
"Your Majesty," The Head Knight saluted.
"The wheat is almost ready for harvest. Just like previous years, even if we cannot protect all of it, we must secure at least eighty percent," Makro stated deeply.
"Yes, sir," The Head Knight responded immediately with a stern face.
"Are there any results from the matter I asked you to investigate last time?" Makro suddenly remembered something, flipping through the parchment scrolls on his desk with both hands.
After leaving the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, so he had the Head Knight dispatch people to investigate.
"Your Majesty, we have results. I learned from the underground Bounty Guild that during the time Your Majesty traveled to the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom, a group of people claiming to be merchants from Sedona City in the Siacan Kingdom entered the royal palace at exactly the same time," The Head Knight said solemnly.
"Sedona City of the Siacan Kingdom," Makro's face darkened.
"Yes. According to Your Majesty's description, that group of merchants did indeed bring fine wine and even set up a stall in the market," The Head Knight continued.
"It's them, alright. It was this Sedona City that ruined my plans," Makro said coldly, anger burning in his eyes.
"When they left, they carried a ship fully loaded with iron ore, and that ship was fifty meters long," The Head Knight added deeply.
"What? The dwarves have actually started exporting iron ore?" Makro slammed the table and stood up, an expression of sheer shock on his face.
"Yes," The Head Knight nodded. "Many people witnessed this scene at the port back then. That is the truth."
"Damn the dwarves! Damn Sedona City!" Makro raged.
"..." The Head Knight remained silent. Remaining quiet at a time like this was the correct course of action.
"Dispatch someone to eliminate the City Lord of that Sedona City. He ruined my plans; it's impossible for him not to pay the price," Makro said coldly, murderous intent in his eyes.
If the principality's current situation didn't prevent him from dispatching a large number of knights, he would have loved to send an entire knight order to intercept and kill him. For now, he could only consider assassination methods.
"Yes, sir," The Head Knight nodded and then withdrew. He needed to find someone to head to Sedona City, and he already had a candidate in mind.
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