Badge in Azure Chapter 358

Chapter 358: Mayhem in Phoenix (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
During all that commotion between the nobles in Phoenix, the Qin army stationed in Goodrid City had been able to invade Phoenix without any hindrance. Such an event had never before happened in the history of Qin.
Besides managing the territory belonging to the imperial family and Holy Rock City’s army, the Qin imperial family also commanded the armies who occupied the strategic towns along the border. In other words, the army in Goodrid City was under the direct purview of the Qin imperial family. After this army had invaded Phoenix, the empire was in an uproar. The local nobles had even begun questioning the legitimacy of Holy Rock City.
Everyone knew that the current emperor had been fraught with sickness since he was young, and before the emperor reached adulthood, he had lived in a magic tower all along, relying on the magic of the sorcerers to prolong his life. After a long period of reading, the emperor would experience syncope, never having a chance to even practice martial arts. Obviously, an emperor like this would never win the respect of his people.
At this moment, the nobles believed that Holy Rock City had been dominated by Prince Safilos. Prince Safilos did not dare ascend the throne, yet he tried to contrive against the land belonging to the Grand Duke of Phoenix.
The nobles in Phoenix put up very strong resistance, because if Phoenix was nullified, they would be left with nothing. Safilos would definitely give Phoenix to his offspring and confidantes.
Even though the centuries of peace had caused the defense in Phoenix to slacken, Phoenix was still a part of Qin at the end of the day, and the culture of martial arts still lingered. Nobles across the land had cooperated with one another, impeding the offensive by Goodrid City for the time being.
In all, the Qin army in Goodrid City consisted of four swordsmen’s camps and one mage platoon, and the soldiers were split into two teams. On one side, one team would advance two hundred miles north to capture Grant City, while the other team would seize the renowned Solar Castle. Doing so would effectively destroy all contact between Phoenix and Loulan.
Even though Phoenix was a duchy situated in the northern region, it relied on food for livelihood as its soil was fertile. The only flaw in this duchy was that it did not have metal mineral reserves, hence most weapons had to be procured from other places. As a result, when the army from the Goodrid City disrupted Phoenix’s route to the external world, the nobles in Phoenix grew flustered.
As it was winter currently, troop movements were made difficult, so the nobles in Phoenix could still hold the fort. But once springtime came, the empire’s army would definitely launch a large-scale offensive. Since the route to the external world was cut off, the supply of weapons would crumble. Thus the empire’s army could take their sweet time and encroach the land slowly.
But what caused the nobles in Phoenix to be most terrified was that they had heard rumors of war puppets being produced by Holy Rock City. These puppets would be delivered to the northern region to be used to assault the duchy’s city.
The moment Piac learned of this news, he did not dare stay in Deep Forest Town anymore. He immediately took his assets, followed the map which Saleen had given him, and escaped to the northeastern direction. Piac had also formed a backup plan. By abandoning his town and going straight to meet Saleen, it was possible that Saleen would kill him in a fit of rage. Hence, during his escape, he had specially gone to meet two of his friends, Suha and Peter.
These two viscounts had already received confirmation that the war puppets from Holy Rock City had been delivered to Goodrid City, and not by springtime as stated before. If they still did not escape, they could possibly be obliterated by the Qin’s army since they only had about one thousand soldiers in all.
After listening to Piac’s narrative, Saleen analyzed the aforementioned events and sighed in his heart. These nobles are too cowardly. They chose to abandon their land before the war puppets from Holy Rock City evn arrived. Wouldn’t it be better throwing these people out? There is no use keeping them by my side.
Saleen did not bother concealing his disappointed expression. The two viscounts noticed Saleen’s expression, and their hearts beat wildly, feeling extremely pressured.
“Great Mage,” Suha mustered his courage and called out.
“Yes?”
“It’s not that we did not want to resist, but our lands do not even have a single mage. Once the war puppets descend upon us, there is no means of stopping them!”
“Without a mage, you can’t defend yourselves against war puppets?” Saleen replied in a hostile tone.
Jola, who was standing behind Saleen, then said, “Sir, it’s true. Unless there is a grand mage, the war puppets can easily tear down the defenses of a fortress.”
Saleen pondered, and felt that Jola’s words made sense. Ever since the demise of Emperor Chanake, Safilos has been busy manufacturing war puppets. It’s already been two years, right? Given the capabilities of the empire and the fact that two years were spent building the war puppets, the war puppets should be extremely powerful. But wasn’t Holy Rock City planning to use the war puppets to deal with the Holy See? Why were they deployed to Phoenix instead?
What went wrong in Holy Rock City? Sending the empire’s troops to attack the land belonging to the nobles is an act which will destabilize the empire’s foundation. Surely Safilos isn’t that dumb, right?
Seeing that Saleen remained silent, Suha became a little nervous. He wiped away some sweat, then said obsequiously, “Great Mage, we are willing to serve County King Lex loyally. We have specially brought along the elite troops from the family and the deeds to the land.”
“Oh? That’s pretty good,” Saleen smiled. These two fellows had put in a lot of effort. By having the deeds to the land, Lex would enjoy a legal advantage should she amass enough power to vie for Phoenix in the future. However, it was impossible for the Bitter Water County to have infighting with Holy Rock City now. After all, the situation in Loulan was deteriorating.
Then again, the army from Goodrid City had cut off Phoenix from the external world, thus it would be kind of impossible for Saleen to enter Sikeqinya via land. If he wanted to get there by sea, the northern ocean would be frozen for almost half a year, even a warship could sail for only eight months at best, and the journey would be fraught with perils. In that case, to access Lianyun City from Saleen’s city, the only method was the port.
This did not bode well for a newly constructed city. However, Saleen did not have the power to revolt against Holy Rock City. The strength of Holy Rock City’s army was clearly imprinted in Saleen’s memory. Saleen could only rely on the three spirit kings, but their powers were severely restrained. Holy Rock City simply needed to send a grade-9 mage and the three kings would be fleeing.
Saleen was not sure if Holy Rock City still had other mages who were as powerful as Joey. At this point in time, Saleen realized that his promise to return to Holy Rock City to meet Joey had not been fulfilled.
Saleen had no intention of repudiating this promise. If Joey was provoked, even Sregl Island would not be able to resist this expert who had already exceeded the standard of grade-9.
Seeing that Saleen was not talking again, the two viscounts rubbed their hands together anxiously. Saleen lifted his eyelids and glanced at the two of them. These two middle-aged nobles were a little plump, but they were not as fat as Baron Piac. Also, the calluses on their palms had not faded. They must have still been practicing martial arts.
Perhaps these two fellows aren’t that cowardly. It is just that they do not have the help of a mage. That’s why they had no choice but to flee.
“If…” Saleen dragged his voice, causing Suha and Peter to perk up their ears. Then, he said, “If you devote yourselves to the county king, what do you hope to get in return?”
“Sir, we hope to leave our sons here, and hope that you will guarantee their safety. Whether or not the county king agrees to help us recapture the land, our swordsmen will always serve the county king loyally.”
After hearing their sincere requests, Saleen’s heart softened. If it was any other request, he would not have cared in the slightest, but… this was a request from a father. If Saleen’s father was still alive, he would surely have protected Saleen at all costs.
Furthermore, these two people were very tactful. They had not requested for Saleen to deploy troops. They had simply said that they would wait for the future. In the future, if Lex had the ambition to conquer the world, then they would have a chance of recapturing their territory. If this day never came, they simply hoped that their sons would be able to live on safely.
“Okay, I can make the decision on this matter. But you have to hand your soldiers to me. Tomorrow, bring you sons to see me. I will take a look and get a teacher for them. As long as they do not leave this city, I will be able to guarantee their safety.”
“Great Mage, many thanks to you.” Suha and Peter bowed at the same time. At this moment, they were abjected nobles, and in the face of a grade-5 mage, they only possessed humility. Since Saleen wanted to seize the authority over their troops, they could only hand them over obediently. Before arriving, the two of them had already crafted a plan. If Saleen did not possess sufficient power, they would act like bandits for once and occupy the new city.
However, Daniel, who had gone to receive them, had given them too much of a shock. A death mage with an army of spirits. It was obviously an unwise move to rival a mage with such powers. Hence, the two of them believed Piac’s words and chose to submit to Saleen.
“As for your money, keep it. If you want to live in this city, you will have to purchase land.” Noticing that the two nobles grew anxious, Saleen finally smiled and said, “Relax. Since you two have come early, I will charge a cheaper price.”
“Jola, you will be in charge of the viscounts’ soldiers from now on. Settle their accommodations, and go receive the soldiers tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Piac, stay behind.” Saleen pointed at the fatty, and Piac remained in the room uneasily. Only after Jola led the two viscounts out did Saleen open his mouth and said, “You accepted their money, right?”
Piac was dumbfounded and his face turned pale.
“Did you also say that as long you were the one making the request, I would surely accept them?”
With a thump, Piac knelt on the ground. Had Phoenix not been in mayhem, he would not have been able to come here openly and wait for Saleen to fulfill the promise. But with mayhem in Phoenix right now, Piac had lost his usefulness. It was certain he could not defend Deep Forest Town, and if he lost Saleen too, he could only sit and wait for the soldiers from Goodrid City to capture him.
“Sir, please show me mercy.” At the same time, tears began streaming down his face. There was no way he could have faked that.
“Mercy? Since you have asked them to defect to me, then why did you still deploy your scouts? Are you planning to launch a sneak attack?”
“Sir, it’s not my business. I only have ten soldiers, but each of them have hundreds of soldiers.” Piac was kneeling on the floor. He crawled two steps forward and hugged Saleen’s thigh, stopping short of kissing Saleen’s leg.
Saleen kicked him away, then said, “There is no one around now. If Jola had been present and you tried to get close to me, he would have amputated your limbs and handed you over to the death mage.”
Noticing that Piac stopped blabbering, Saleen then said, “Hand over all the money you have taken from them. I will spare your life this time around.”
“Thank you, sir.” Finally, Piac had managed to salvage his life.
“Why are you thanking me? I am not done yet.” Saleen stared coldly at Piac, causing Piac to lower his head again.
“I will give you one hundred soldiers later on. Once the county king returns and confers a new title upon you, you will lead these one hundred soldiers back to Deep Forest Town. That place belongs to the county already. If the people from Holy Rock City want it, you shall tell them everything.”
“Ah?” Upon hearing Saleen’s instructions, Piac was aghast.