Chapter 240: Response

Unlike the typical taverns that appear in fantasy stories, the Spear and Shield Tavern in Fislate had no idlers loitering on the streets, no well-connected brokers looking for opportunities, and certainly no peripheral members of secret organizations.

All it had were ordinary citizens enjoying their leisure time after a tiring day.

Those ten Mertheim Deathsworn were among them, drinking mellow ale and chatting about their thrilling lives in the past.

Seeking a glorious end on the battlefield every day—how could that not be thrilling?

Allen found them quite easily, as their table was the liveliest; accustomed to roaring on the battlefield, their voices remained the loudest in the entire tavern even during casual conversation.

However, Allen's arrival caused the tavern to quiet down for a moment; some recognized the King and subconsciously became reserved, while others looked around in confusion, wondering why the surrounding noise had suddenly ceased.

With an extremely calm expression, Allen did not mind the change in the tavern and sat directly at the veterans' table.

The customers sitting nearby also realized one after another that their King was not here to drink and relax, so they tactfully did not call out Allen's identity on the spot.

What kind of people drink at a tavern near the castle? Aside from Allen's old subordinates, there were only young people working in the Cabinet; they had at least that much discernment.

The landlady, who had long since recognized Allen, quickly brought over a mug of Honey Mead; she knew her boss's taste, and it was served in Allen's personal mug.

As for the personal guards following Allen, er... they were not allowed to drink while on duty, and the shrewd and capable landlady would not dare to court such trouble.

Subsequently, the conversation between Allen and the veterans went very smoothly.

Perhaps it was because these veterans were accustomed to their current leisurely life and did not want to anger the King who provided it all.

Or perhaps it was because they had accepted Allen as their lord from the bottom of their hearts, which was why they were willing to teach their lifelong skills to people unrelated to them.

It also could not be ruled out that these veterans, who had spent years fighting on the battlefield, sensed the urgent, storm-like mood hidden beneath Allen's calm face.

In short, Allen simply described the predicament before him, and the ten veterans readily expressed that they could help.

They promised Allen that within half a year, they would teach the blacksmiths who already had some forging experience how to craft qualified metal armor plates, and would also teach them the riveting techniques for Plate Armor.

They would certainly fulfill Allen's plan for five hundred sets of Mountain Pattern Armor in the fastest time possible.

This unexpected smoothness made Allen's extremely irritable mood improve somewhat, so even though he had received a satisfactory answer, he did not leave the tavern immediately.

Instead, he spent a little more time with the veterans, chatting about topics related to daily life; he was not the type of person to cast people aside immediately after achieving a goal, nor did he want his subordinates to think of him as a mean and ungrateful lord.

Half an hour later, running out of topics, Allen instructed the veterans that if they had any needs, they could come to Winterburg to find him; after receiving an affirmative reply, he left the tavern and returned to his residence.

The tavern became lively again, seemingly even more so than before Allen arrived.

Setting aside the gossiping patrons in the tavern, Allen returned to the castle and dove into his treasury, beginning to rummage through it quickly until he found Tiehaer's gift box among the many others.

It was a Silver Necklace that flowed like a brilliant, dazzling waterfall; the White Gem set between the fine silver chains emitted a sparkling radiance under the light, as bright as the galaxy.

Located in the very center of the necklace was a large Black Gem, which, set off by the numerous other gems, bloomed with a captivating light.

Looking at such a beautiful piece of jewelry, Allen's mood was very heavy.

There was no need for much speculation; the piece of jewelry before him surely possessed Magic that could make people obsessed, and judging by the size of the gem, the power was likely even stronger than the Ring Allen had picked up.

And who would be the final owner of this necklace?

Without a doubt, it would be the bride at the wedding, the King's new Queen, Yamila; this was the first thing Allen thought of, and also the point that made him most irritable and angry.

He knew Sauron's methods were dirty and that he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, but knowing was one thing; when his own kin became the target of an enemy...

However, the current Allen was already able to control his emotions well; he had also realized that when facing any situation, calm thinking was always more useful than other emotions.

And most importantly, Yamila had worn the necklace Allen gave her, named "Vitality," for years.

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Most of the other jewelry spent the majority of its time gathering dust in the treasury or was given away as gifts to others.

This caused the mastermind's plan to control Yamila to fall through, and these pieces of jewelry inlaid with Black Gems seemed to have nowhere near the power of the One Ring.

They did not have their own thoughts like the One Ring, nor did they possess the ability to actively seduce others.

These pieces of jewelry could only exert influence on people when they came into contact with them, through the evil Magic hidden within their beauty.

Allen could imagine why the jewelry in the Dwarf shop was snapped up by people as soon as it hit the shelves.

One must know that human nature is just like that; some people, after obtaining a beloved object, will quietly hide it away.

Others are different; they will show it off to neighbors and relatives, and in the process of showing off, it is inevitable that someone will come into contact with these small, beautiful-looking objects.

This provided convenience for the Magic hidden on the jewelry, allowing that greedy desire to spread among the crowd like a contact-based infectious disease.

Allen could not estimate how large this snowball named desire had already become in his territory.

Currently, aside from having Manid and Cress monitor all the affected residents, there was not much action he could take.

Because Allen did not want to arouse the mastermind's vigilance and let the envoy sent by Mordor to execute this plan escape; in any case, he did not believe Sauron would leave Barad-dûr and run all the way to the North to deal with him—that was not very realistic.

As for Tiehaer, who was ostensibly in charge of the Dwarf shop, Allen really could not imagine this exceptionally enthusiastic and seemingly not-too-bright Dwarf being able to execute such a mission.

Compared to Humans, Dwarves had very strong resistance to abnormal states; Allen was more inclined to believe that Tiehaer, as a Dwarf, simply could not feel the peculiarity of the Bronze Jewelry and had sold them off as ordinary jewelry.

As for the investigation into this matter, Allen believed it would begin soon; if he had guessed wrong, he could only lament that in these turbulent times, even a Dwarf's acting skills could be this good.

In fact, there was one more thing that surprised Allen, which was that no bloodshed caused by the jewelry had broken out in the city; this was somewhat abnormal.

One must know that he had personally experienced the power of that Magic. An ordinary person could never walk away from it by their own willpower.

Thinking it over, Allen could only guess that Sauron's strength had not recovered much, or that the influence of the Magic was relatively weak.

Think about it: hundreds of years ago, the One Ring only needed a glance to make Gollum commit murder and kill his best friend.

These pieces of jewelry clearly did not have such power, and after Allen put that Ring back into its box, he immediately could no longer feel the Ring's influence on him.

On the other hand, Allen felt it might also have to do with the citizens' wallets; these brass pieces of jewelry were not expensive, most people could afford them, and the cost was not even enough to hurt their finances.

To obtain them, one only needed to wait until the time the goods hit the shelves; there was no need to fight over them.

One must know that openly robbing in the city meant risking being hanged by the officials.

It was just that Allen did not believe Sauron's ultimate goal was merely to incite people's greed; that did not fit his nature.

Control and destruction were what he wanted, just like the fate of Númenor; after things fermented for a period of time, the end for Rhovanion would certainly not be any better.

Thinking of this, Allen looked far into the southeast from the high tower of the castle; his war with Sauron had begun once again, and it was a battle that did not require much use of weapons.

In the early morning, the somewhat lazy sunlight crossed the dense, lush Mirkwood, awakening the sleeping Fislate, and the residents in the city began another busy day.

Only, some sharp-minded residents suddenly discovered that there seemed to be more small animals in the city than before, and the birds circling in the sky kept landing on the eaves, observing the pedestrians walking on the roads.

Soon, two or three messengers riding fast horses galloped out of the castle, rushing along the main road toward the north gate, drawing the gaze of many residents and their grumbling complaints.

"Riding so fast inside the city, what kind of urgent business is this?" "Indeed, it wouldn't be another war, would it? It's only been quiet for a few days."

The citizens' confusion was soon cleared up, as the news spread throughout the city within a single morning.

It turned out the messengers' task was to go to Horse Pasture Village to summon the five hundred herdsmen preparing to migrate, because their restless King was planning to arrange for twenty of his own Griffin Knights to train the herdsmen and begin preparations for the migration.

Most citizens, while suddenly enlightened, returned to their own work, as this matter did not have much to do with them, and there had been rumors in the city for a long time about the pastures continuing to migrate north; some young people who did not want to farm had already signed up at the Cabinet.

It is said that there are traces of Orcish there, and there might very well be sporadic fighting, and those young people who have some confidence in themselves feel this is an opportunity to show off and prove their abilities.

The salary for being a professional soldier in Rhovanion is very good, but joining is not as easy as it was a few years ago; even if one pulls strings or finds a back door to become a reservist, one must have some achievements, because when war breaks out, these paid soldiers are the ones charging on the front lines.

If one's will is not firm enough and combat skills are not proficient, it is truly not worth leaving one's life on the battlefield just to scrape by for a few months' pay, and the consequences for being a deserter are also extremely severe.

Middle-earth has never lacked for fighting; these soldiers, who have only had a few days of peace, are always ready to step onto the battlefield, and they will not accept those without ability, while Allen's castle is right there and has never refused an audience with soldiers.

Any officer with even a bit of power would not risk being sent to mine to make the army a mess, because although there are not many cautionary tales, they do exist, and the screams from being whipped still ring in their ears.

Moreover, their King is always able to find evidence; it is merely a matter of time.

When the Cavalry from Horse Pasture Village arrived on the outskirts of Fislate, a caravan that had come from Eriador to Rhovanion also arrived at the market outside the city, led by a burly young man in gorgeous clothing, speaking a common tongue with a regional accent.

It is said he is a member of the "Butterbur" merchant family from Bree, and the Prancing Pony there is one of their family businesses.

After this caravan arrived at the market, they began spending money lavishly to sweep up goods within a few days, especially showing great interest in items like Jewelry.

And when that burly young man came to Tiehaer's shop, he not only swept away his remaining cheap Jewelry, but even the expensive and exquisite ornaments marked with high prices were taken as well, looking every bit like someone who was not short on money.

Furthermore, this caravan leader also discussed with Tiehaer, hoping to obtain a significant quantity of Dwarf goods before leaving, whether they were high-quality items or those bronze ornaments.

Because according to his own account, his caravan's clients in other places include both the noble and commoner classes, and whether it is cheap goods or expensive treasures, he can find suitable buyers; in short, he is not short on money.

And he will leave Rhovanion in a week, so there is not much time left for Tiehaer.

In fact, this caravan leader is of course not a member of the Butterbur family; he is bait sent out by Manid for a sting operation, because Allen wants to know where Tiehaer's brass ornaments are actually coming from.

With an order in place, Tiehaer should contact his supplier, and there are as many as four Animal Friend agents deployed near the Dwarf's shop, while Allen is also always ready to use his own ability to track Tiehaer's movements; now it just depends on whether this Dwarf takes the bait.

Of course, there is indeed a "Butterbur" family in Bree, but their family does not have any caravan, and the Prancing Pony is their only family business.

As for the five hundred trainee Cavalry from Horse Pasture Village, on one hand, they do indeed need to undergo training, and on the other hand, Allen also wants to have a mobile force at his side that he can command in case an accident occurs.

After discovering the enemy's conspiracy, Allen provided a response in a very short time, and everything else must be left to time.