Frozen City Council

--- Red Keep (Frozen City Castle) ---

After coming out of isolated training, Drake relentlessly hunted for one whole month. As a result, he had allocated too little time in comparison to the mountain of work he had to complete in order to single-handedly run the city like he was doing.

Drake had found a solution. Since he had taken control of the city, he didn't have to do as much as he did in the beginning. He could delegate part of his work, especially when it came to the city development.

Drake thus decided to create a City Council. It was quite interesting, because there were a lot of power-hungry merchants in the city, and giving them status instantly increased the relationships Drake had with them.

[Fang Zheng - Beginner rank acolyte, Head of the Wooden Merchant Union]

[Gael Hurt - Itinerary Knight and Master Jeweller]

[Frank Tyling - Head of the Medecine Hall]

[Emma Woody - Head of the Black Eagle Blacksmith Union]

These four influential individuals had been gifted status. They could run measures, strike deals with neighbour cities and even ask for additional protection from the Frozen Knight Order.

The population in Frozen City had grown exponentially since the beginning of Drake's actions. At first, there were only about 2000 men and women. Now, there were at least 3500 inhabitants.

Everyone possessed work, and the city was bursting with activity. The Market Place had expanded greatly, and many artisans had come here under the promise of fortune. Frozen City didn't fail them.

Emma Woody, head of the Black Eagle Blacksmith Union, was quite the woman. Despite being a woman in a world full of men, she had gathered all 24 blacksmiths of Frozen City and created a monopoly over those artisans. This way, all the weapons, armours and tools that were produced in the city could only be bought through her Blackmith Union.

Drake found it very ingenious, except that it was quite annoying to be forced to pay for transporting fee and having to wait for foreign tools to come in. Importation was fine, if you could afford to wait. Drake wanted fast development, so he was forced to negotiate with the woman.

It was the first time since he had taken over Frozen City when he didn't have the upper hand in negotiations.

As a result, Drake made a deal with her. In exchange for her seat in the City Council, he would receive exclusive privileges in her shops, including personalized orders and reductions. Drake wasn't stingy with his money either.

However, he wasn't planning on talking business this time.

"I have called you today, because I am planning on slaying the Giant Python in the Nyagaru Forest", Drake said

Emma's eyes remained unfazed, but Fang Zheng sighed. As for Gael and Frank, who had grown up in the region, were fearful: "The King of the Forest? The previous Frozen City Mayors tried to do so in the past. After all, the reason why the city suffers from wild beast tides is because they try to run away from the Giant Python. However, the beast is said to be dozens of meters long. Even with siege weapons, slaying it is impossible!"

Fang Zheng explained: "I personally supervised the construction of five ballistae of the highest quality. The amunition has been tested and it can easily pierce through rock, so it should be efficient against the Giant Python. As for our forces, we possess two beginner rank acolytes as well as three knights from the Frozen Knight Order. In addition, Drake is planning on using the Infantry Division of the Frozen Knight Order. With 200 men under his command, even if the Giant Python is strong, he is unlikely to survive an attack of this scale"

Drake continued: "We only have one shot. It has never suffered an attack capable of threatening its survival. If we fail to kill it, it might go underground, and everything would have been for naught. I invested more than ten thousand gold coins of gear, poison and weapons in this expedition. I expect your full support when it comes to it"

Emma nodded.

Seeing the Head of the Black Eagle Blacksmith Union, known as the Steel Lady, obey, Frank and Gael were forced to follow suit.

"I will dispatch my best healers", Gael promised

Frank said: "I...I won't participate in this expedition, but I can lend you the notes of the previous lords who tried to attack the beast"

Drake laughed inwardly. Frank was a coward. Even as a knight, he was fearing his life might be taken in such an expedition. However, it wasn't bad to have notes. Frank wasn't even that strong as a knight.