Chapter 268: The Second Prince

The banquet is over!

All four envoys accepted the crown prince's invitation and went to his estate for the second half.

Moreover, Marshal Mi Xiusi's magic fan was temporarily borrowed by the crown prince.

Mi Xiusi, however, didn't care.

He had just greatly boosted Gervas's fame—he absolutely had to get another one from him.

Even better, something more luxurious, made of brass or even silver.

"Hou Jue Mi Xiusi, please wait!"

As he thought this, a shout suddenly came from behind him.

He turned back and saw over a dozen nobles rushing toward him in a flurry.

"Gentlemen, what do you intend? This is the royal palace..."

"Hou Jue Mi Xiusi, please don't misunderstand—we mean no harm. The crown prince just entrusted you to order magic fans; we simply wish to ask if you could also help us order some!"

"That's right, Hou Jue Mi Xiusi, rest assured—if you help us, the rewards won't be lacking. Didn't you say you wanted some of my specially acquired northern orc caravan magic sheep milk wine? I'll send you a small half-jug tomorrow!"

"Is that so!" Mi Xiusi's face lit up with a cheerful smile. "My lords, your requests are all easily settled—as long as there's a reward, I'll gladly help. After all, ordering one is the same as ordering ten..."

Thus, Mi Xiusi immediately became the darling of the nobles, with gifts of fine wine and delicacies promised one after another.

Of course, where there was joy, there was also deep displeasure.

"Damn Mi Xiusi—how dare he oppose me? Last time he defeated Anthony in the contest, I didn't even hold him accountable—it was Anthony's incompetence!"

"This time, those western envoys were about to accept my demands, and he stepped forward and ruined my plan."

"My lord, should we find a way to deal with him secretly?" His subordinate spoke cautiously.

"No. The banquet just ended—if anything happens now, even fools would know it was me. Let him enjoy a few days of happiness; later, when the chance comes, I'll make sure he dies painfully." The second prince was no fool.

"By the way, what's this about the Stormhold?"

"This... My lord, it seems to have risen suddenly. Oh, I recently looked into it—I discovered Stormhold has a very peculiar past!"

"What past?"

"Within the past ten years, Stormhold has lost three lords—all died in accidents: monster attacks or bandit raids."

"And this Lord Gervas arrived at Stormhold only half a year ago—he earned his title through the triennial Second Son Challenge!"

"Huh? Three nobles dead in ten years? Yet he was promoted to viscount in less than half a year—what's his background?" The second prince froze. Stormhold and Gervas's origins had truly surprised him.

"My lord, Lord Gervas is merely from a baronial family, and his title was granted due to great merit in the western campaign!"

"A baronial family? Not from a great house or connected to the crown prince?" The second prince was even more astonished, as if hearing some extraordinary tale.

"Yes, my lord. These details were confirmed by the Royal Civil Affairs Bureau—they're almost certainly true!"

A gleam flashed in the second prince's eyes. "If he's not the crown prince's man, then he's a potential ally."

"Most importantly—that telescope and magic fan!"

"You know what to do, right?" The second prince looked at his subordinate.

"Yes, my lord. I'll arrange it immediately!"

…

【Ding! Daily intelligence has been refreshed!】

【Intelligence One: Your compassionate attitude toward refugees, amplified by their firsthand experiences and word-of-mouth, is gradually spreading across the Chaos Wastes.】

【People say the lord of Stormhold is a truly kind and generous ruler—he provides black bread for free, guarantees safety for refugees, and levies only a twenty percent tax.】

【It sounds almost like charity.】

【Your benevolence has attracted even more cautious refugees.】

【They are the adventurers among refugees.】

【Today, a group of refugees arrived—specialists who venture deep into the Wastes to collect medicinal herbs and seeds.】

【They brought many medicinal herb seeds and fruit to Stormhold today.】

【Their goods were priced extremely low—one-fifth of the normal market rate.】

【Of course, uncertain whether Stormhold was safe, they initially dared send only one man, offering just a few bundles of night-blooming jasmine seeds...】

【Intelligence Two: Besides these adventurer-refugees, another special group of refugees will arrive at the edge of your territory today.】

【They are the leader of the Mik Settlement and a few of his titled knight subordinates.】

【Seven or eight days ago, the Mik Settlement and the Hutton Settlement—two major forces each exceeding fifty thousand people—clashed.】

【Ultimately, the Mik Settlement lost due to betrayal by its second leader, who opened the gates from within.】

【The Mik Settlement's leader was severely wounded and barely escaped under the protection of loyal subordinates.】

【But the Hutton Settlement, determined to eliminate all threats, pursued them relentlessly.】

【Desperate to survive, the Mik refugees fled into the kingdom's territory—only there could they hope to shake off the Hutton pursuers.】

【Yet they will be cornered at Stormhold's border, surrounded and on the verge of annihilation by the Hutton forces.】

【Intelligence Three: The Crystal Lake, in the southwest of Stormhold, is named for its crystal-clear, bottom-visible waters.】

【In fact, a thousand meters beneath the lake lies a fire-elemental energy vein.】

【Though buried too deep for humans to easily sense, the plants above it have undergone subtle, long-term changes.】

【In the southern bay of Crystal Lake, the newly transformed fire-crystal grass has fully matured.】

【As a result, over a dozen first-rank fiery wool sheep from the Wastes have come here to feed.】

【Intelligence Four: Waga will arrive at Stormhold this afternoon with the caravan.】

【His purpose this time is to deliver a precious gift to you!】

【Intelligence Five: The Skull Gang pirates originally sailed south to the remote waters near Viscount Kenneth's domain and Stormhold's baronial territory because they were attacked by another powerful pirate crew.】

Intelligence Five: The Skull Gang pirates originally sailed south to the remote waters near the Baronies of Kenneth and Stormwind solely because they were attacked by another powerful band of pirates.

Only after being severely wounded by those pirates and having their stronghold seized were they forced to flee here.

The pirates who crushed them were called the One-Eyed Dragon Gang.

Back then, the One-Eyed Dragon Gang was too busy taking over new territory to chase down the few survivors.

But after several months of rest and consolidation, they have firmly secured control of the new territory.

At this point, they remembered those survivors from back then.

So they dispatched pirate ships to eliminate this final threat.

Among them were two single-masted warships, three single-masted merchant ships, and five hundred fierce pirate sailors.

This evening, they will arrive in the Storm Domain waters, discover Sugarcane Island and Black Goat Island, and launch an attack.