Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon-Chapter 279 - 278 Earl Lanqi Brindon

Chapter 279: Chapter 278 Earl Lanqi Brindon

Chapter 279 -278 Earl Lanqi Brindon

After Qianyuan Mingzi and the others left with the Earl’s wife and two children, only Chaoyang and Lanqi were left in the room. Even without an introduction, Lanqi was clear that the uninvited fellow before him must be the leader of the power capable of breaking the current deadlock.

Even if he wasn’t the supreme commander, he was certainly someone with a say in matters.

“How may I address you?” The Earl asked in a respectful tone, putting away his previous emotions.

“They all call me Mr. Zhao.” Chaoyang stepped forward, pulled out a key, and unlocked the lock hanging beside the bed, “This might make our conversation a bit more comfortable.”

“Judging by your accent, you’re not from the Old Continent, are you?” Lanqi probed carefully, “If I didn’t hear wrong earlier, you want Thistlefort… But I must remind you, the governance of the city is determined by the King’s appointment, even… even if His Majesty William is currently in an unfavorable position, let’s say, even if the Longjiu Family rises to power, the Duke/Duchess would certainly arrange their own people to lead the city.”

“What you’re saying is common knowledge.” Chaoyang nodded.

“Right, so can I interpret your request for Thistlefort to mean something else?” Lanqi licked his somewhat dry lips, “Look, you defeated the illegally usurping Airco troop and rescued me from the hands of that traitor, for which I am eternally grateful. Whether it’s money or power, I am willing to share. However, in the eyes of the rulers of the Royal City, I am still the Earl of Thistlefort, naturally, they wouldn’t mind whom I share my resources with.”

Chaoyang raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

Regardless of how genuine the other party’s words were, they seemed unexpectedly sensible. He couldn’t help but chuckle, “If Duke Longjiu comes to power, and you swear allegiance to him at the first opportunity, he might also keep you as the Earl of Thistlefort for stability, right? But if it were someone as unknown as me, the Duke definitely wouldn’t accept it, and sending troops to quell the rebellion would be a matter of time.”

“Exactly, you really understand the big picture.”

Lanqi forced a smile, albeit a somewhat bitter one.

Chaoyang asked with interest, “You’ve said this to those occupying troops who usurped power, haven’t you? Like General Airco, for instance?”

“Pah, he counts as nothing!” The Earl said angrily, “As a leader of the Kingdom Army, instead of reinforcing the Royal Capital, he detained me. When I get the chance, I’ll have him shaved into a flagpole and erected at the city gates!”

“I asked you whether you said it or not.”

Lanqi hesitated for a moment, “…I did.”

But the fact that the other party didn’t accept it was quite interesting. Chaoyang thought to himself, dealing with the nobility, especially the high-ranking nobles with feudal lands, was definitely a sin punishable by extermination. Airco, as a senior officer of the Kingdom Army, would certainly be aware of this. Yet their unit didn’t seem like it had entirely defected to the Longjiu Family, for otherwise, there would have been no need to spare the life of the Earl’s family, as they continued to act under the guise of the “Kingdom’s border army” to this day.

They had betrayed the Laurel Family and hadn’t surrendered to the Longjiu Family, nor had they accepted the “compromise offer” of Earl Lanqi Brindon. What exactly did the Airco troop want? Their actions had clearly disrupted the original order of Thistlefort, and their unsustainable over-exploitation could hardly be counted. Essentially, they were acting utterly nonsensically.

Chaoyang had originally thought this was just a common military coup, but now he was smelling a hint of conspiracy.

“Do you know what the rebellious Kingdom Army did in the city?”

“Err… raided my treasury? Exploited the citizens? They surely wouldn’t be conscripting soldiers in preparation to support the King.”

“It’s even more thorough than what you described.”

Chaoyang briefly recounted the various incidents he had witnessed.

“Mad… they’re all mad! How could Airco do such a thing!” Lanqi showed a look of despair, pressing his hands against his head and shouting loudly, “I have many sawmills here, but this isn’t some slaughterhouse! The commerce just started to look up in recent years, and after this, who would dare come here!”

It must be said, in this regard, he was quite like a noble, Chaoyang thought. What he lamented most wasn’t the death of the merchants and civilians, but the commercial reputation of Thistlefort.

“Tell me about this Airco camp. When did they betray you? Do you know what their purpose is in doing this?”

The Earl slumped down on the bed with a sigh, “Airco has been here for more than a year or two. When General Fales Ben led the war to eradicate the Heretical Cult, Thistlefort was also purged. At that time, it wasn’t a bloodbath, but at least more than a thousand heads were chopped off. Later, to prevent the resurgence of the Heretical Cult, General Ben ordered troops to be stationed here permanently. Airco is the latest in rotation, arriving about five years ago, I suppose?”

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“He was normal at first, no different from the previous commanders. The army wouldn’t be stationed inside the city. Aside from their daily field training, the city folk rarely met them. Of course… at night it was different. After all, soldiers also seek pleasures, and brawls after drinking would occasionally occur…” He coughed twice, “I digress, back to Airco. He betrayed me right after Duke Longjiu announced the uprising, within a week. That bastard… he used the excuse of inviting me to a military meeting, intercepted me halfway, and even threatened me with the lives of my servants to follow his orders.”

As he spoke of this experience, Lanqi’s expression turned extremely angry.

For the Earl, it was definitely the most shameful moment of his life.

“In order to stabilize Airco, I had no choice but to hand over the keys to the storeroom and the control of the castle, then he locked me up in here. Besides providing food and drink, everything else was cut off. They even chained me up with iron shackles, there was no treatment befitting an Earl!”

“As for your question about his purpose, aren’t traitors all after the same things? Money, power, or at most, women,” Lanqi ground his teeth, “He just shouldn’t have plundered Thistlefort so recklessly. The reputation that the Blinton family built over generations is at stake here! Now, once word gets out, who would dare come to this remote place to do business?”

A week after the uprising?

Chaoyang estimated the timeline; at that time, Duke Longjiu should not have reached the Royal City yet. Even now, the Laurel Family might not necessarily be doomed to lose, as many lords on the eastern side of the Old Continent remain loyal to the King. Had Airco chosen to betray so quickly because he knew in advance that Duke Longjiu would be the final victor of this battle?

But he hasn’t surrendered to that Duke either.

The actions of this garrison seemed like an attempt to drain a city of its lifeblood as quickly as possible.

“How much do you know about Airco, the person?”

“To be honest… not much,” Lanqi shook his head, “He should also be a graduate of the Royal Military Academy, and his hometown seems to be in the north. I do remember his surname, Steven, he’s from a minor nobility.”

Minor nobility, eh… Chaoyang recalled what Dane had mentioned about the Old Continent, that there were particularly many nobles here, some newly risen through commerce, others fallen into obscurity; and since the King had acknowledged those nobles from before the unification, there were as many as a thousand with titles, making it very hard for non-specialists to clarify the relationships between these families.

“I’ve said so much already, and I’ve answered all that you’ve asked truthfully, so what about my suggestion?” Lanqi, seeing his prolonged silence, couldn’t help asking. “I’m deeply moved that you wish to save those merchants and women tormented by the soldiers. I don’t know which family or faction you belong to, but you certainly are much more reasonable than Airco!”