Chapter 27: Eliminate the Roots
The middle of the Harvest Moon (September), the Harvest Festival was held as scheduled.
This was the grandest festival in the Starry Principality, second only to the New Year.
Every year at this time, all the noble territories would hold festivals to celebrate the year's harvest and pray for a bountiful harvest in the coming year.
From the beginning of the month, caravans and foreign travelers had been entering Shining City.
By the time of the Harvest Festival, Shining City was bustling with people, everywhere filled with the festive atmosphere of the celebration.
In the Shining Castle, in the brightly decorated banquet hall, invited guests were enjoying themselves with wine and laughter, their voices filling the air.
In a corner of the hall, a group of young men and women gathered together, enjoying delicacies and chatting about gossip with enthusiasm.
"I heard that Baron Storm has been in a coma and hasn't woken up yet. His sons are fighting for the title, and they're almost fighting each other to death."
"It's normal, after all, it's the Baron's title. I'd fight for it too if I were them."
"I heard that Baron Storm's wife invited a wizard to treat Baron Storm. Tsk tsk, it turns out that the legendary wizards actually exist."
"Haha, they're just a bunch of charlatans, only able to do some tricks like juggling. They're no different from the magicians who perform acrobatics in the circus. I heard about this too. That so-called wizard couldn't cure Baron Storm's illness in the end, and he was later stabbed to death by Baron Storm's second son."
The legend of wizards had a considerable market in high society.
As the topic unfolded, many people showed interested expressions, joining the conversation with wine glasses in hand.
"Speaking of which, it seems that a wizard has emerged from Blackstone City too."
"You mean Su Nan, the second son of the former Baron Shining? I heard that Blackstone City has developed to its current state because of his efforts behind the scenes."
"Really?"
When Kei and Su Nan, the two brothers, were driven out of Shining City and exiled to Blackstone City, almost no one had any hope for the two brothers.
After all, Blackstone City was located on the border of the Golden Rock Province, with a poor geographical location and the troublesome Black Scale Lizards as a constant threat. Its development potential was pitifully low.
With such a bad hand, the two brothers were no match for the current Baron Shining.
It was only a matter of time before Owen consolidated his power in the territory and then dealt with them.
In everyone's eyes, the two brothers were almost as good as dead.
But subsequent developments took a turn for the better, exceeding many people's expectations.
Blackstone City not only restarted the Blackstone Mine, generating a steady stream of gold coins, but also successfully wiped out the Black Scale Lizards.
Anyone could see the thriving and promising development potential of Blackstone City today.
If Blackstone City was allowed to continue developing, it might become one of the top cities in the Golden Rock Province in a few years.
Many people were trying to figure out the reason behind the changes in Blackstone City.
Hearing that it might be related to Su Nan, many people present were skeptical.
After all, Su Nan's shy and introverted personality was no secret in the noble circles, and he was far inferior to his talented elder brother.
It was hard to imagine such a person being the mastermind behind the changes in Blackstone City.
"Wizards are all nonsense."
A young man snorted in disdain.
"Su Nan is just a waste who can't even cultivate breathing techniques. How could such a person achieve anything great?"
"Blackstone City just got lucky. It's nothing special. My father could easily deal with them, even without Owen's intervention."
Someone recognized the young man who spoke as the son of Lord Zolf, who was the first to side with Owen, and he smiled without refuting him.
The conversation quickly shifted to other topics.
Although Blackstone City had been in the limelight recently, as Lord Zolf's son said, no one believed that Blackstone City could contend with Baron Owen, who almost controlled the entire Shining Territory.
It wouldn't even require Owen's elite cavalry regiment to be deployed. Any of the three lords could easily deal with Blackstone City.
Meanwhile, in the council chamber, Owen and the three lords were sitting opposite each other.
"My two nephews really surprised me. They've made such a big fuss without making a sound. It seems I underestimated them before."
Owen gently swirled the wine glass in his hand, the crimson wine liquid shimmering with an alluring glow under the light.
"Restarting the Blackstone Mine, wiping out the Black Scale Lizards, forming a cavalry regiment, if we let them continue to grow, they might become strong enough to challenge me."
"Your Lordship is joking. Forming a cavalry regiment is not something that can be done easily. Even if Blackstone City has enough gold coins, they don't have the channels to buy enough warhorses. Forming a cavalry regiment is just a fantasy."
Zolf, who was tall and broad-shouldered, muttered in a gruff voice.
He cultivated breathing techniques that focused on physique, so his physique was particularly sturdy and strong, nearly two meters tall.
When the former Baron Shining was still in power, Zolf was a famous warrior, and his reputation became even greater after he recently broke through to become a peak knight.
"That's right. Training cavalry is a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. In such a short time, even if Blackstone City can raise a cavalry regiment, its combat effectiveness will be very limited, nothing to fear."
Davin smiled, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
If forming a cavalry regiment was so easy, he would have done it himself long ago.
Two young brats with some money, they're getting ahead of themselves, they don't know anything.
Seeing his two colleagues speak, Norwood couldn't be outdone and chimed in with a few words.
Owen narrowed his eyes and took a sip of wine.
Unlike Zolf and the other three, who were only speculating based on rumors, Owen had concrete intelligence proving that Blackstone City had bred a new type of mount, which seemed to possess a certain degree of combat effectiveness.
Blackstone City had formed a cavalry regiment with this new type of mount as its core.
According to reports from his spies, Blackstone City suffered minimal losses in the battle to wipe out the Black Scale Lizards.
It was highly likely due to this cavalry regiment.
From this perspective, this cavalry regiment couldn't be underestimated.
Given time, it might really develop into an elite army.
Thinking of this, Owen couldn't help but feel a surge of anxiety in his heart.
He couldn't delay any longer!
It was time to eliminate the roots and deal with the last hidden threat!
As long as those two brothers died, the Shining Territory would completely become his, and he would no longer have to worry about any unforeseen circumstances!
"What do you think of Blackstone City?" Owen asked calmly.
The three lords present were all cunning and scheming individuals, and they immediately understood Owen's intentions upon hearing his words.
Zolf was the first to speak: "As long as Your Lordship gives the order, I'm willing to lead the troops to attack Blackstone City."
Davin and Norwood were a step slower, secretly cursing in their hearts. This big guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes was quick to flatter, and he was thick-skinned like a city wall.
While cursing internally, they didn't hesitate to volunteer.
Witnessing their 'loyalty', Owen smiled in satisfaction and waved his hand: "Forget about attacking. It's too obvious, and although Blackstone City's military strength isn't strong, it would still cost us a lot of manpower to take it down."
The three of them looked at each other.
Davin hesitated: "Then what does Your Lordship mean"
Owen smiled mysteriously and said, "As long as Kei and Su Nan are dead, Blackstone City will naturally return to my hands."
The three of them understood immediately and showed looks of enlightenment.
Assassination!
This was almost a universal skill among nobles.
It was just that such things were generally not entrusted to their own subordinates, lest they be caught and exposed.
But if they didn't send their subordinates, how did L
ord Owen intend to hire someone?
It was said that Kei had already advanced to become a great knight.
Assassinating a great knight wouldn't be easy!