Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 718: Ambition Towards the South
TL: Rui88
While the north of Ordo was already covered in ice and snow, its southern border remained lush and green.
This was especially true for Fivehsheep Fortress. It was warm and pleasant, showing no signs of winter at all. The Pearl River, with its abundant water, flowed west from the inland, passing by the south side of Fivehsheep Fortress before emptying into the sea. The alluvial plain it formed had extremely fertile soil, the best in the south.
Such uniquely advantageous conditions made it the natural ruling centre of Ordo’s southern border and the greatest asset for the Jars family’s dominance in the south.
In a luxurious castle to the east of the city, a grand birthday banquet had been going on for two days and was still continuing into the night.
Jars, the Lord of the South, the Grand Duke known as the Greedy Wolf, had reached his forty-sixth birthday on this spring-like winter day.
Countless vassals had been summoned to Fivehsheep Fortress, indulging freely in an ocean of fine wine and delicacies.
The Grand Duke Jars, seated high in the main seat, had somewhat drowsy eyes. The copious amounts of wine had flushed his cheeks, but his posture remained ramrod straight. A long-standing habit made the Grand Duke maintain his dignity at all times.
“Hah!” He exhaled heavily, stood up steadily, walked through the crowd of feasting and conversing people, and slowly made his way out of the great hall.
Stepping through the towering doorway, a wide-open terrace, about a hundred feet square, appeared before his eyes.
The Grand Duke puffed out his chest and strolled proudly on the terrace. His magnificent robe, made of silk, billowed in the wind, and the ornaments on it made a series of crisp clinking sounds.
The castle stood on the highest point in the city, and from the terrace, one could see the land for several kilometres around without obstruction.
The densely packed buildings stretched into the distance as he gazed out.
“My kingdom! This is my kingdom!”
He looked down at the city district below, and for a moment, he was filled with heroic spirit. Even the neatly trimmed beard on his face trembled slightly.
The Grand Duke’s sharp gaze passed over the city walls, over the checkerboard-like fields outside the city, and then over the lush jungle, stretching far to the distant north.
The distant land, concealed by the night, seemed to hold a great temptation, making Jars stop and gaze for a long time.
“Your Highness, what brought you here?”
Hearing the voice behind him, Jars turned around to see his two most trusted subordinates walking over.
“Samar, Wendel, you’ve come too? I came out for some fresh air. Alas, I’m getting old after all. Just a little wine has made me a bit dizzy.”
“A little wine?” Samar said with a smile. “The empty wine jars next to your table are enough to build a wall.”
“Hmph, if I were a few years younger… Wendel, what are you holding in your hand?”
Sir Wendel stepped forward and handed over the envelope in his hand.
“This is why we came to find you. Just now, someone from the Church gave this to me and asked that it be passed on to you.”
“Oh?”
Jars took it with a puzzled look, gently tore open the envelope, took out the letter inside, and quickly read it.
“Heh heh… heh heh heh…”
He let out a deep, low laugh.
“I never thought the mighty Holy See would have a time when they needed to ask me for help.”
Wendel and Samar exchanged a glance and asked in confusion, “The Holy See?”
“That’s right, the Holy See!” Jars put the letter away. “They are requesting that I dispatch troops to coordinate with their attack on the northern part of Horn Bay.”
“This…” The two vassals were very surprised.
The southern border of Ordo was adjacent to the northern part of Horn Bay, making it very convenient to attack Horn Bay from here. And as everyone knew, the Holy See’s army had suffered a major defeat in the north of Horn Bay.
Samar’s expression was cautious. “Then what is your intention?”
“It is worth considering…” Jars smiled faintly. “The things they’ve promised are quite substantial.”
After speaking, he handed the letter to the two men. The contents made Wendel and Samar’s eyes light up.
“But, what about Crystal Shine?” Wendel voiced his concern. After all, in name, they were still lords of Ordo.
“Hmph! Why bother considering that bunch of trash!” Jars said dismissively. “The previous war made me think the royal family still had some strength left. But I didn’t expect them to just hand over the north of the kingdom to the orcs. What a huge joke.”
“Do you know what I was thinking just now? I was thinking, could it have been the war with us that exhausted the last of the royal family’s strength, making them so weak in the face of the orcs? If I had known, I should have insisted on fighting on, fighting until the royal family couldn’t hold on and collapsed. We would have marched north all the way. Perhaps today’s banquet would have been held in the Crystal Shine Palace.”
His face was filled with mockery. “Our new king is also a good-for-nothing. He sent Catherine away so his own power wouldn’t be threatened. Haha, that suits me just fine. I swear to the Lord of Light, I will have the Bountiful Plains in my hands and be crowned king before I turn fifty. At that time, you will all be founding heroes!”
It was the wine getting to his head. Jars made a grand promise to his vassals.
“Oh, by the way, is there any news from Crystal Shine recently?” He looked at Wendel.
Wendel thought for a moment. “There is one thing. Grayman has been driven back to the Northwest Bay!”
“Grayman? Our little marquis?”
A peculiar, thought-provoking expression flashed across Jars’s face.
Although he was a Grand Duke, with a status equal to a prince and only slightly inferior to the king.
Although he was already de facto independent and paid no heed to any orders from Crystal Shine.
Although his ambition was to wear the crown…
But when he thought of the title of marquis, a title that had long since vanished and even carried a certain legendary quality, ripples still stirred in his heart.
“Nonsense, to grant such an important title so easily to someone else, and a young whelp who hasn’t even grown his feathers!”
Jars’s contempt for Rodney XVIII, who sat on the throne in Crystal Shine, grew even stronger.
“Why?” he asked.
“It is said that the various reform proposals he put forward were met with resistance from many people.”
“Reforms? Heh heh!” The Grand Duke was pleased. “With that bunch of trash in Crystal Shine, the more they reform, the more chaotic it gets. Of course, the more chaotic, the better for us.”
Jars asked again, “Before our little marquis left, did you not have someone contact him again?”
Even though they were in the south and north, Jars knew a thing or two. This fellow named Paul Grayman was quite good at economics. His own territory was flooded with a large quantity of goods from the Northwest Bay, which were both cheap and of good quality. That boy must have made a lot of money.
Wendel nodded. “We contacted him a few times, but his attitude was always lukewarm.”
The Grand Duke snorted heavily. “Since that’s the case, don’t go trying to curry favour anymore! I only hope he’s sensible enough not to become my enemy on his own initiative!”
At this moment, Samar interjected, “Regarding Horn Bay, it seems there are traces of wizards on the side of the Sacrilege Alliance. If we agree to the Holy See’s request, will it affect our relationship with them?”
Jars’s brow furrowed. “Our relationship with the Arcane Society is merely one of mutual exploitation. Besides, in the final stage of our last war with the royal family, their support suddenly and sharply decreased, which is why we ended up in a stalemate. I’ve been thinking about how to repay that ‘friendship’!”
He cast his gaze to the south.
“If we can latch onto the great ship of the Holy See, what use is the Arcane Society? I have decided…”
