Chapter 19

Next, Luca had no reason to hesitate.

Having been lost about his future, receiving the protection of a noble was more than he could hope for.

Moreover, the other party had offered such generous terms without any coercive demands—this alone was enough for Luca to feel profound gratitude.

As for his offspring, Luca decided to make him a squire.

He had come to terms with it.

Becoming a blacksmith was not as good as becoming a noble.

Lord Gervas's knight captain is a titled knight, possessing battle aura.

If my son can one day learn battle aura, then the Hammer family will truly bring glory to our name.

…

After settling the blacksmiths in the castle forge, Gervas planned to let them rest for two days.

But Sai En, being impulsive, declared he wanted to follow Lei Meng immediately.

Clearly, in this medieval era, every boy dreamed of becoming a knight.

And for commoners, such a dream was truly unattainable—so Sai En was desperate.

Gervas naturally had no objection and went to finish his uneaten lunch.

Just as he finished lunch, trouble arrived again.

It was Old John and Magistrate Thomas returning.

After a morning of hard work, the two had driven off the locusts from the wealthy families' orchards and grain fields with chickens and ducks.

The remaining locusts, even if caught by hand, would pose no problem.

But now that the crisis had passed, several wealthy families began causing trouble.

They planned to shut down the town's only black bread bakery.

And that bakery belonged to the wealthy man Codo.

Although black bread was not cheap, it saved serfs the time of traveling to neighboring lands to buy food.

Moreover, most of the Storm Lord's farmland was held by these wealthy families; the serfs' own grain was insufficient to last until the next harvest, so in past years they had always needed to buy black bread to make ends meet.

Now Codo shutting down the bakery was retaliation for Gervas's earlier threats.

He had an excuse—that he feared this year's wheat harvest would be poor and his grain reserves were low, so he chose to close it.

But could such an excuse hold water?

Gervas had cleared the locusts for them this very morning; even if there was any impact, it was negligible.

In contrast, other noble territories, having suffered disasters, would likely restrict wheat sales this year.

At that point, feeding the people of Storm Lord's territory would become a major problem.

And right now, the people of the territory were already beginning to panic!

"My lord, Codo has an uncle who works as a magistrate's clerk in Iron Wolf City's civil office—he just deliberately let slip that he had sent word about the locust plague to his uncle!"

"!" Thomas said.

Damn, Gervas exclaimed inwardly.

What "word about the locust plague"? This was clearly a threat using his uncle to intimidate him.

Originally, Alan might have let him stay a few more days, but now that he was acting so brazenly, he could no longer be spared.

"My lord, perhaps I should immediately lead men to Iron Wolf City to buy wheat? It's troublesome, but it will ensure our people don't starve!" Old John worried Gervas was too young and might act rashly.

"No, Old John. With the locust plague occurring, grain prices will skyrocket this year—even if we go to Iron Wolf City now, it's probably too late!" Alan directly rejected Old John's suggestion.

Buying wheat now would be pure money handed to merchants.

"Thomas, go to the town and announce that I'm expanding the guard force—recruit at least seventy more guards! Also, during this time, casually let slip that I'm expanding the guard force to deal with the wealthy families, because they've challenged my authority as lord!"

Thomas froze. "My lord, if this news spreads, Codo and the others will certainly…"

"Certainly feel uneasy, right? That's exactly what I want—to force them to act against me!" Alan sneered.

"Also, tell all the people that I will send Knight Lei Meng to Iron Wolf City to buy wheat—so they need not fear famine. Understood?"

Seeing his lord's serious expression, Thomas no longer questioned.

"My lord, I will carry out your orders without fail!"

"Good, go then!"

"Old John!" Alan turned to Old John. "Go prepare a batch of spears and baskets—get as many as you can!"

"Yes, my lord!"

After Old John left, Gervas turned to Lei Meng.

"My lord, you're forcing the wealthy families to act against you, so you can find an excuse to eliminate them all?" Lei Meng had seen through Alan's scheme.

But as a knight from a viscount's family, it was no surprise a knight could see it.

"Correct. So I need to 'remove' you, the knight captain, so they'll truly move. Later, Lei Meng, pack up and put on a good show for them!"

"Yes, my lord!"

…

"Codo, doing this might anger the new lord. What if he vents his fury on us—what will we do?"

"What are you afraid of? Didn't I already let it be known that I sent word to my uncle in Iron Wolf City's civil office? I'm sure the lord understands the meaning!"

"Besides, aren't you furious that the damned lord took half your farmland?"

In a stone courtyard on the town's edge, since his residence outside the eastern castle was seized, Codo had moved here.

Though the courtyard was narrower than before, it was still four or five times larger than a common serf's.

At this moment, the wealthy families had secretly gathered, discussing Codo's deliberate closure of the bakery.

"Master Codo, something's wrong!"

At that moment, a startled cry rushed in from outside the courtyard.

Kedo frowned and stepped out of the stone house. "What's the matter? Why so frantic?"

"Master Kedo, just now Thomas announced that he will send Knight Captain Lei Meng to Iron Wolf City to purchase grain!"

"Also, the new lord plans to expand the guard force and recruit at least seventy more men!"

"Recruit seventy more? That'll make a hundred men total! Can he afford that?" Kedo frowned.

"Master Kedo, that's not the most important part. The crucial thing is—I secretly asked Dori, who's been following Thomas—he told me the lord is recruiting so many men likely to target you all!"

"What? Target us?"

"What are we going to do now?"

The wealthy landowners panicked instantly.

"Shut up, none of you panic!" Kedo snapped at the group, then turned to the messenger. "Are you certain? Could this be false information?"

"Master Kedo, I later slipped Dori over twenty copper coins and pressed him—he told me Thomas revealed this secretly after returning from the castle, and ordered him to keep it quiet!"

"He said you shut down your bread bakery, which offended the lord, and that other domains have suffered disasters this year—so the serfs will surely starve!"

"So the lord intends to kill you and seize your grain!"

Kedo's face darkened; he no longer doubted.

"Kedo, what should we do now?"

"Yeah, maybe we should go beg the lord's forgiveness?"

"Beg forgiveness? What do you take nobles for? Do you think he'll forgive you? You're ridiculous!" Kedo sneered.