Chapter 185: I Think It Works

A few days later, when Fatty heard that the Emperor had issued a special handwritten order allowing the Augustus Family to sell the hoarded materials directly to the Empire of Light, he was almost angered to death. In his heart, he cursed the Queen who had blown wind to the Emperor to death. You know, with the Emperor’s special handwritten order, it was equivalent to a special pass; all the cities along the way in the Griffin Kingdom could no longer collect taxes. This alone could save a huge sum of money for the Augustus Family. If they took the opportunity to transport some smuggled goods, they could obviously make another profit.

Of course, even so, those materials of theirs, which were two or three times higher than the normal price, would definitely lose money, but it was still much better than total annihilation. In short, although the Augustus Family would definitely be severely weakened this time, they ultimately did not reach the point of bankruptcy; they had survived a desperate situation.

Fatty regretted this for a while; he even thought about sending people disguised as Rogues to ambush and kill this batch of goods from the Augustus Family halfway, completely beating the other side to death. However, after a night of consideration, he still chose to give up helplessly. Because such a big thing could not be hidden from the Royal Secret Agent; even if the Emperor didn’t settle the score with him, Frank of the Augustus Family would definitely risk his life. In comparison, the various workshops of the Stephen Family were more fragile places. Fatty did not dare to push the other side to the point of crazy counterattack. You know, the Augustus Family had thousands of thugs; if they made a scene, Fatty did not dare to say he would win unscathed. After all, Fatty was the one wearing boots now, and he was really afraid of Frank, this barefoot pauper.

As for Frank, he was naturally ecstatic when he got the news, almost crying with emotion. He quickly called his subordinates to prepare, and also planned a small celebration for his narrow escape this time, which could also be an opportunity to thank his Younger Sister.

But just at this moment, a worse piece of news reached his ears. The person the Augustus Family had placed at the border, that Baron Difo, was actually completely wiped out during the expedition to Wuwei Castle. Even he himself became a headless corpse; only a small half of his well-preserved head and his military uniform insignia were sent back by the Dwarves.

The entire upper class of the Griffin Kingdom was shocked by this news. You know, since the Kingdom defeated a small country that dared to rebel a few years ago, there had been almost no large-scale wars for nearly ten years. To be more precise, no one had dared to challenge the majesty of the Griffin Kingdom for ten years. But now, a regular army of 2,000 men, plus a Viscount Noble, was annihilated in the Great Gobi. This was definitely a naked provocation! Whether soldiers, civilians, Nobles, or the Royal Family, all were angered by this news.

Under these circumstances, the Emperor almost immediately upon receiving the news, ordered a royal meeting to be held, summoning a group of civil and military officials to discuss how to respond.

…

In the conference hall of the Imperial Palace, the Emperor and a dozen powerful ministers sat around a large round table. He first announced the news from the Frontline again, and then asked angrily, “A 2,000-strong army, and a Noble, just sacrificed innocently like this! You tell me, what should we do?”

“Your Majesty, clearly, we must avenge them!” Frank immediately said passionately first.

“According to the intelligence from the Dwarves, this unit was wiped out because it was ambushed by the Mercenaries accompanying the army. To avenge them, we only need to issue a warrant for those Mercenaries!” Fatty said unhurriedly. He already knew from the Old Mage that Wuwei Castle was Old Xie’s Territory, so naturally he did not want to cause trouble for Old Xie, which was why he intentionally said it so lightly. But honestly, he was also very dissatisfied with Old Xie’s ruthless action this time; he didn’t know why he could be so cruel. After all, that was more than 2,000 people, and a Noble.

Frank had long found Fatty extremely unpleasant to look at. Hearing him say this, he immediately sneered, “Is issuing a warrant for those Mercenaries enough? Are we going to let the culprits of this incident, those Robbers entrenched in Wuwei Castle, go? You know, the army went to crusade against them at that time. Those Mercenaries obviously wouldn’t turn against us for no reason; they must have been bought by the Robbers in Wuwei Castle. So if we really want to avenge the dead soldiers, we must wipe out those bastards!”

“Ha, you talk nicely. The vast Great Gobi, do you think it’s your backyard?” Fatty immediately said disdainfully, “Last time, you insisted on sending people in to wipe out some Robbers, and look how that turned out? You sent in 2,000 people at once. Instead of learning your lesson this time, you still have the audacity to talk about revenge? Fine, if you have the guts, go yourself; don’t torment the poor border troops below!”

“You?” Frank heard this and was so angry his face turned green. He was about to speak, but unexpectedly was immediately stopped by the Emperor waving his hand.

“Alright, stop arguing!” The Emperor said with a frown, “What Duke Frank said is not wrong. We must avenge the death of these 2,000-plus soldiers; otherwise, how can our Griffin Kingdom establish itself on the Continent? But what Duke Stephen said is also right. That broken place in the Great Gobi is really not suitable for large-scale military operations. Not only is supply difficult, but the key is we can’t be too high-profile, which would stimulate the surrounding Kingdom of Orcs and Kingdom of Dwarves. Everyone, can you think of a way to use a small elite unit to pull out this nail of Wuwei Castle?”

“Your Majesty, we can dispatch the Kingdom’s most elite Champion Knights!” Frank immediately suggested.

“What? Ask me to go where? No way!” The Perfect Sword Saint Kalia heard this and jumped up directly, saying angrily, “My unit is the Empire’s most elite, most noble unit; it is the model and symbol of all troops in the Griffin Kingdom. You actually have the nerve to ask this legendary Knights to go to the Great Gobi to suppress bandits? Are you kidding? This is simply a blasphemy against the reputation of the great Knights! I firmly object!”

You know, the Champion Knights of the Griffin Kingdom was a glorious unit even older than the history of the Griffin Kingdom; its predecessor could even be traced back more than 2,000 years. The number of this unit never exceeded 3,000. To enter, one had to have the strength of at least a level 3 Warrior, and also be handsome in appearance, noble in character, proficient in horsemanship, and undergo a series of Knight training before finally becoming a formal member.

Everyone in the Champion Knights behaved elegantly and possessed powerful strength, without any moral deficiencies, worthy of being Knight models. Therefore, this unit was very famous in the Griffin Kingdom and even the entire Continent. It could be said to be a banner of the Griffin Kingdom’s military. That was why the Perfect Sword Saint Kalia, as the head of the Champion Knights, dared to say those arrogant words just now.

And in fact, what the Perfect Sword Saint Kalia said was also absolutely correct. For matters like suppressing bandits, even ordinary regular troops shouldn’t be dispatched; it was originally the job of local garrison troops. Why should he be asked to send such a glorious unit? You know, even when the Kingdom was waging war externally, they would not be mobilized unless it was a critical moment. Moreover, this time they were going to the Great Gobi, a place where birds didn’t shit; who would want to go?

Hearing Kalia’s complaints, both Frank and the Emperor could not help but smile bitterly. Frank could only say helplessly, “Respected Duke Kalia, you must understand that except for your unit, other units would need to dispatch a huge number of troops to wipe out the opponent. But marching in the Great Gobi, the cost for every 2,000 people to make a trip is close to 10,000 Gold Coins. The Empire can’t afford it!”

“Yes!” The Emperor also couldn’t help but persuade, “For the sake of the 2,000 dead soldiers and the honor of the Kingdom, can’t you just compromise this once?”

“Your Majesty!” The Perfect Sword Saint Kalia almost said with a crying tone, “The Champion Knights have been established for more than 2,000 years. We have fought bloody battles with the Undead’s Terror Knights, and wrestled with the Abyssal Demons of the Burning Legion. Under the leadership of successive heads, we have fought against almost all powerful armies on the Continent. Even if all members died in battle, we have never given up the pursuit of honor! But, Your Majesty, you are asking us to suppress bandits this time? Heavens, is this the kind of work we do? If this gets out, how will I have the face to see the previous heads after I die?”

“This~” When the Emperor heard this, he also immediately felt that his request was a bit excessive. After all, the Champion Knights were already considered the strongest unit of the Griffin Kingdom. Such an honorable army was really not suitable for small tasks like suppressing bandits. How should I put it, it was simply using a sledgehammer to crack a nut! No wonder the Perfect Sword Saint Kalia felt wronged.

“How about this!” Frank suddenly said from the side, “You can have your subordinates dress up in other appearances and do this thing as another unit. In this way, wouldn’t it have nothing to do with the Champion Knights?”

“You?” When the Perfect Sword Saint Kalia heard this, he was so angry he almost vomited blood. He immediately stood up, planning to scold Frank severely. But just at this moment, the Emperor immediately followed up with a sentence, “Good idea! I think it works!”

“…” The Perfect Sword Saint Kalia didn’t expect the Emperor to say the same thing. He was speechless directly, almost angry to death!