Chapter 155: The timing has thoroughly ripened (33)

Get out of the way~ get out of the way!

Don't block the road~ or you'll die!

Let me in~ let me in~ my money ah~~ my money~~~ waa waa waa~~

Ding ding ding ding~ closed for business~~ today we're closed~~

Open the door~ I'm the lieutenant general of the Dawn Third Legion! Open the door! I order you to open the door immediately!

Charge~~ charge ah~~ rush in, take back our gold!

Boom— rumble~~~

The main gate of a Dawn Bank outpost was burst open, and noble officers, big merchants, and the guards of two factions surged into the bank like a flood.

The bank staff could not resist at all, all being roughly shoved aside, and if anyone insisted on blocking the way, lightly they were shoved hard, heavily they were directly beaten by a crowd.

Bring out the vault key!

We don't have the key, the supervisor isn't here!

Pfft~~ ah~~

Someone pulled out a knife, a white blade went in and a red blade came out.

Killing! killing~~

Anyone who mentions the key again, this bastard will get what's coming!

In the chaos, the bank counters were knocked over, and everything of value was looted.

In the end, even the vault was forcibly pried open, and the gold and silver stored inside were completely swept away.

The terrifying part is, this chaos didn't happen at just one bank outpost, but at nearly all Dawn Bank outposts.

The news erupting from the Harbor District spread like a tsunami, rapidly transmitting in all directions.

Under an incomparable determination to protect their own property, no one could stop the spread of information.

In this chaos, the great nobles and wealthy tycoons who commanded strong private forces took great advantage, almost looting all of Dawn Bank's gold amid the turmoil.

Meanwhile, ordinary nobles and merchants could only get some scraps, or even nothing at all.

Their bank deposit slips in hand all became useless scraps of paper!

Right after, a new piece of news burst out from the alleys of Dawn City.

The fake slips of Dawn Bank were forged by the Levinde Royal Family!

The supposed first publisher of the rumor is said to be a certain Dawn Bank.

Some also say it was Prince Kao; anyway, the source can't be verified, but everyone says it.

Thus, the Levinde merchants of Dawn City instantly fell into terrible misfortune.

Their personal safety was threatened, their property looted, and even the cargo at the docks was seized by people of all kinds.

Except for a few swift Levinde merchants, the rest lost everything, and many unlucky souls even lost their lives.

The chaos in Dawn City continued and only intensified.

But strangely, no one ever stepped up to maintain order.

The Duke actually vanished without a trace.

On the third day, rioters began to storm Dawn Castle.

But Dawn Castle had the Adrian family's garrison, and the rioters failed.

On the fifth day, the chaos spread from Dawn City's Dawn County to the fifteen southern counties.

And the news of Dawn Bank's bankruptcy, like a storm, quickly spread throughout Weilan and then to the whole Natural Alliance.

At this moment, Dawn Duke Rade was no longer in Dawn City.

He was in the Lion Fortress of Aaron Rhine City.

More precisely, he was in King Dange's study.

Slap!

A document scroll was forcefully thrown by Dange onto Rade's face, and Rade stood straight, letting the scroll strike his cheek.

Dange let out a lion-like roar: "What are you doing running to me at this time, Duke?! Are you seeking death?!"

Rade's body twitched slightly: "Your Majesty, the situation is beyond my control; Prince Kao specifically came after me."

With his authority, whatever he says is taken as truth, while whatever I say nobody believes; the whole Dawn City instantly fell into chaos, even the army went haywire.

I have no way left to maintain order.

Dange calmed down a bit, but the anger in his chest still burned fiercely:

Kao! Again Kao! This bunch of playboy gardeners always ruin my affairs!

Before, his misdeeds could be overlooked, after all the two nations still had camaraderie in jointly resisting the Radiant Empire, but this time he went way overboard, practically cutting off Aaron's retreat! Dange drew a deep breath, his mind weighing various ideas.

The Radiant Empire gave him immense pressure, but this pressure isn't unsolvable; if he's willing to step back, he might yet gain some breathing time.

And he could use that time to muster all his strength to undertake a great deed.

Of course, this great deed must be accomplished! Otherwise, if he fails here and retreats there, under double pressure he, as king, couldn't bear it, and might even be deposed.

After all, Aaron isn't something he can decide alone.

This kingdom, lasting a thousand years, has its major powers intertwined like tangled roots. Although he's striving to centralize power, the results are always unsatisfactory, and he has consequently faced countless protests.

In short, countering Kao isn't something that can be done quickly, but the storm in Weilan is already raging wildly.

What should he do then?

For a moment, he actually had no solution, only able to watch helplessly as southern Weilan descended into a chaotic whirlpool.

Looking again at this pitiful wretch before him, as delicate as a dainty maiden, Dange truly wanted to slash him with a blade, but reason told him this fleeing duke must stay alive.

As long as he lives, when an opportunity arises in the future, he can help him return to Weilan and continue serving as his watchdog.

Thinking thus, he suppressed his disgust and showed a hint of gentleness on his face: "You've come all this way; you must be utterly exhausted."

"A Lei, take the duke to Red Fort to rest."

"Red Fort is specially for receiving foreign dignitaries, especially someone like Lai De who came for political asylum."

"Steward A Lei immediately entered and took the duke away."

"Attendants, issue the Lion's Seal, summon all lord representatives of Rhine City, convene an emergency noble council, and jointly discuss the situation in Weilan."

"Given the current situation in Weilan, if Aaron wishes to intervene, he must mobilize legions and fleets to conduct a transoceanic suppression."

"This matter is huge, involving countless interests."

"Even if he is the king, his word alone doesn't count; we must unify the opinions of all major nobles domestically before making a decision."

"At the same time."

"White Sturgeon Island."

"Luosen was also in his own government study, examining various information sent by the Island Intelligence Bureau."

"Dawn City Bank has gone bankrupt, Lai De has fled, the major noble families are holding their troops and standing pat, and taking advantage of the chaos, they are massively plundering civilian wealth."

"In southern Weilan, a situation of warlord fiefdoms is rapidly emerging."

"Countless merchants among the populace have gone bankrupt, factories have halted work, workers are unemployed, only the villages remain relatively peaceful."

"The northern count also holds a large number of bank certificates, which have now become worthless paper, suffering enormous losses. Among them, Shire County suffered the most, and Count Robert's wealth was reduced by thirty percent."

"Luosen grinned and hehehed: 'The time is ripe.'"

"He immediately handed a document to Mage Stonard, titled 'Notice of Civilian Debt Transfer in Weilan'."

"Alright, send this document to the business and industrial circles in southern Dawn City."

"Remember, we only accept bank certificates held by civilians; we do not recognize those held by nobles at all. If a noble wants us to accept their certificates, they must first swear to renounce their noble status."

"Stonard's face showed a deep excitement: 'Yes, sir!'"

"But this is still not enough."

"Because the southern noble lords are quickly turning into regional warlords; if we wait for them to solidify their foothold, we will have to eliminate them one by one."

"This would not only consume vast manpower and material resources, but also cause massive destruction in the south."

"So, while the turmoil continues, we will catalyze the germination of the seeds previously buried among the populace."

"How to catalyze?"

"The debt transfer notice is the first catalyst."

"The second is to demonstrate White Sturgeon Island's military deterrence, which must be clearly visible and utterly extinguish any thought of resistance."

"So, when the notice is issued, in the secret aircraft research base hidden in the island's mountains, two specially enhanced Roarers are preparing for takeoff."

"One is piloted by Luosen himself and Altelis."

"The other is piloted by Nefeloniya and Merqilina."

"These two Roarers greatly increased fuel reserves, greatly increased the airframe's resistance to various spells, and were equipped with maximum-power psychic weapons."

"Especially the psychic weapons, their power is an order of magnitude higher than the weapons displayed by Queen Kao."

"After everything was ready, Luosen took the lead in piloting a Roarer onto the runway, with Nefenilo following about thirty meters behind."

"Niya~ are you ready?"

"Ready."

"Great, then let's joyfully fly a full circle around Weilan Giant Island!"

"An ordinary high-tier mage can fly for one hour, covering 350 kilometers."

"But with the mana of four high-circle mages and a specially modified aircraft, they can fly nonstop for 5,000 kilometers, enough to complete a circuit around the island."

"Wooo—"

"Wooo—"

"The two Roarers took off one after another and soon disappeared into the blue sky."

"(End of chapter)"