The air was filled with desolation and melancholy.
Baron Hailos, leaving Count Roka's manor, looked as if he had aged several years. The retainers waiting outside the manor exchanged uneasy glances upon seeing him.
No one knew what had happened during Hailos's meeting inside the manor.
Accompanied by Hailos's heavy sigh, a retainer brought forward his mount, while other retainers followed closely, their backs stiff.
The street was dusty, and figures vanished into the night.
"Father, we've hit the jackpot this time." Roma's face was creased with a broad smile, his mouth splitting almost to his ears. "Hailos is willing to give us that resource city. His subordinate city is an entire mining area."
"It's alright."
Unexpectedly, Roka did not appear particularly excited. He sat back down in his previous seat, and Roma, standing beside him, quickly poured him a cup of fine wine.
"The mineral resources have always been sufficient for our Kingdom of Tatu."
"Especially within the entire territory of our Hurricane City, there are countless mining spots, large and small. Not to mention the mining spots within the city's territories, there are also many unclaimed mining areas outside that are occupied and ruled by monsters."
"What I wanted most was his plains city."
"If we could take that city, the surrounding fertile land would provide us with a continuous supply of food, and the city would never have to worry about grain in the future. The city's population could also be expanded a bit. But that city is his lifeline; taking it would be no different from taking his life. It's better to just take a mining area."
For the underground world, basic resource veins were not scarce.
Or rather, at least for the Kingdom of Tatu, mineral resources were absolutely abundant. What was truly rare were the fertile land areas capable of growing food.
Throughout the entire Hurricane City, there were not many areas of fertile land.
Even Roka's own territory did not have any fertile land.
He had always coveted the few nearby areas, the foremost being Hailos's plains city. The land outside the city was fertile, yielding several times the grain production of other regions, and its growth efficiency was also astonishing.
Roka had always wanted to seize it but couldn't find a reason.
"The mining area is profitable enough," Roma murmured with narrowed eyes. "Besides, Hailos's subordinate territory is located on the frontier, and his strength is the weakest among the surrounding city lords. If you truly want it, Father, we can just send troops to snatch it."
"Snatch it?"
Roka sneered and shook his head.
"You think it's that easy. If it were as simple as snatching, why would I have spent so much effort to get a mining city from him? The lords within Hurricane City's territory are all very watchful. If I dared to make a move, Yarrow would definitely react as well."
"Miyi, didn't she..."
"She's special. You'll learn the details of this in the future, so don't ask too much now." Roka raised his hand to interrupt his son's words, his face showing a smile as he looked up at Cai Bao, who had been standing silently. "Cai Bao, I haven't forgotten your name, have I?"
Cai Bao's expression was cold, and he nodded slightly without speaking.
"Since you are a sworn brother of Roma, you can call me Uncle Roka from now on if you don't mind. It's getting late, I'll arrange for someone to find you lodging and host a banquet for you tomorrow."
"Come, take my nephew Cai Bao to rest."
Without allowing Cai Bao to decide, Roka had already called for people to escort him away.
Cai Bao silently nodded and left with the escort. Roka quietly gazed at his departing back, and after a few minutes, he turned his head and murmured.
"Where did you meet him?"
"Father, Cai Bao is absolutely trustworthy." Roma's eyes were full of confidence, but Roka squinted. "I heard that he is the sworn brother of Yabo from Hurricane... no, it should be Fengqi City now. How did you get in contact with him?"
"It's like this..."
Roma took a full ten minutes to explain his relationship with Cai Bao. During this time, Roka listened silently without interruption.
After Roma finished speaking, Roka raised his eyebrows slightly.
"According to you, Cai Bao has great ambitions. Keeping someone like that around is a disaster. Can you guarantee that he won't betray you in the future?"
"At least for now, in his eyes, I can give him what he wants."
Looking at his son's expression, Roka couldn't help but show a hint of satisfaction.
"It seems you've grown quite a bit during your time away from home. Since you think so highly of Cai Bao, and Hailos has promised us a mining city, we'll let him manage that city then." Roka's expression was relaxed, then he lowered his voice. "What are the specific circumstances in Fengqi City? Who exactly is this new city lord, and what is their background? Have you figured out the city's strength?"
"Father, don't worry, Fengqi City is not worth mentioning."
Mentioning Fengqi City, Roma's eyes were full of mockery. He flicked his hand, sat down next to Roka, poured himself a cup of fine wine, and drank it in one gulp.
"The new city lord is just a nouveau riche."
"With money!"
"He used money and grain to forcibly steer the city's chaos towards order. The entire city has almost no defensive strength. He's been recruiting troops lately, less than two thousand recruits a week. Can you believe how laughable that is? In my opinion, Fengqi City poses no threat to us."
"Really?" Roka's eyes held some doubt.
The intelligence he had received made him feel that Fengqi City was definitely not to be underestimated, yet his son had completely disparaged it.
Roka certainly understood his own son to some extent.
Arrogance!
There was definitely an element of self-conceit in the disparagement, but even after removing the self-conceit, Fengqi City still didn't seem like much of a threat.
"He's relying purely on throwing money around, without any other means?"
"None!"
"If that's the case, then our focus indeed doesn't need to be too much on Fengqi City." Count Roka narrowed his eyes slightly and pondered for a moment. "You've worked hard outside these past few months, hurry back. Your mother has been missing you quite a bit lately, go see her."
The frivolous figure disappeared into the night.
Unbeknownst to them, at that very moment, a pair of faintly glowing eyes on a tree trunk in the mansion were staring fixedly at the mansion. As Roma left, the figure on the tree trunk instantly vanished without a trace.
Ding—
In the pitch-black room, the wristwatch's notification sound was crisp and loud. A figure slumped in a chair clicked open the wristwatch's chat window.
"It looks like everything went smoothly."
"Continue to probe deeper."
"Be careful, and if anything feels wrong, withdraw immediately."
After sending the message, the figure in the chair closed the wristwatch chat window, leaned back, and whispered to the empty room.
"Are you there?"
Instantly, a gust of wind blew in through the window.
It rustled the person's clothes in the chair.
"You know I am everywhere."
From an unknown source, a genderless whisper appeared in the room. Even more unnerving was the teacup in the room levitating into the air without warning. The teapot was then lifted, filling the teacup, and the water in the cup then disappeared.
"You summoned me here because you have something to tell me, have you made a decision?"
"How did you do it?" the person in the chair asked, looking at the seat opposite. "To erase memories seen by others and have them remain completely unaware, is that something a human can do?"
"I never said I was human!"
The whisper in the room came again, slowly.
"The task you asked me to perform, I have completed it. Now it's time for you to reciprocate. Have you been able to provide me with the answer to the question I left you?"
"I really don't understand, I'm just a nobody."
"Hush!"
"Don't hush me. If I have questions, you have to let me ask them." The person in the chair's voice deepened. "Ever since you appeared, you've been playing mysterious games with me. I still haven't seen your face, and I don't even know if you're male or female. The questions you left me are also very strange. You don't tell me what you want me to do, only that when you ask, I cannot refuse. Let's be honest, who would agree to something like that?"
The ethereal voice was silent for a moment, seemingly in thought.
"What you said... also makes sense."
"Of course, I'm the most reasonable person." The person in the chair snorted. "If you want me to make a decision, at least explain things clearly to me. You're always beating around the bush, and I don't have a clear idea. If you suddenly decide one day to ask me to die, should I really throw my life away?"
"According to your thoughts..."
"Tell me the truth!"
The person in the chair grinned, and even in the dark room, his pearly white teeth were faintly visible.
"Let's not hide anything from each other. Tell me clearly what you want me to do. Even if you don't explain it clearly, at least give me a general direction. If I were to cooperate with you, what kind of convenience would you be able to provide me? Can I obtain this convenience at any time, or do I need to make some kind of sacrifice? To put it plainly, we're doing business now. You're interested in me, so I must see what price you can offer."
"Is it really okay to describe yourself as merchandise?" the ethereal whisper came.
"Who isn't merchandise?"
Suddenly, the voice in the chair became much lower.
"You speak so eloquently, but as long as the price is right, who in this world isn't merchandise? Those refugees, if you give them 10 gold coins for their entire lives, would they agree? If not, I'll give them 100, and I don't think anyone would refuse. So, are they merchandise?"
"The children of royalty and nobility, marrying for profit, are they merchandise?"
"Whether one is merchandise or not is not decided by the individual, but by external conditions that you cannot resist. I don't want to be merchandise myself, but with you, I have no conditions to resist. What I can do is accept that I am merchandise with a clear conscience and try to get more benefits from you."
In the dark room, crisp applause suddenly sounded.
"Interesting."
"Although these are all twisted arguments, they make it impossible to refute them in an instant. I acknowledge these statements of yours."
"Twisted arguments? The world is actually like this."
The person in the chair snorted. "It's precisely because those righteous arguments are so hypocritical that twisted arguments seem more acceptable. If everyone adhered to righteousness and justice, twisted arguments would self-destruct and completely disappear from this world, but very few people can do that."
With that, the person in the chair stretched lazily and slowly stood up.
"Let's talk. We have one more hour."
"That should be enough!"