Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 347 Compromise and Concession

The Arcane Empire ultimately accepted the peace talks of the Elton Parliament, and the two sides reached an agreement to become wartime allies.

Currently, this news is only known to high-ranking members of Congress and a few generals; it has not been widely publicized.

There was a lot of maneuvering involved, with the peace faction represented by the Congress, the hardliners represented by the Knight Commander, and many fence-sitters who wanted to take advantage of the situation. The biggest group was the mortar workers who patched things up for another three years.

Unfortunately, the kingdom cannot sustain two wars simultaneously, and the main enemy is still Isildur. The parliament wants to find a ally, and the Arcane Empire becomes the best choice.

Even though they were treacherous and covetous, the Congress, after receiving a certain price, still ceded large swathes of the North to the Arcane Empire.

Of course, nominally Duke Rhodes was returning to his homeland to continue ruling the North, but the actual controller had changed.

This was also because the Knight Commander led a large cavalry legion to fight the Arcane Empire head-on on the northern front; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to recover even the slightest cost.

Conrad was still somewhat unwilling to relinquish the territory, even though it was done under immediate pressure to resolve the crisis. It would be difficult to take it back later.

The knights could not tolerate the humiliation and loss of territory that befell Elton, who was born in the White Feathers.

However, the parliament had already finished its deliberations, and not only had the speaker signed the resolution, but the royal family had also signed it, so there was no way to back out.

The council has issued three orders in succession, demanding that the Knight Commander relinquish Winterhold. Even the court ministers have come in person to persuade him to make concessions for the sake of the country.

Given the current situation, Conrad, with his personality, would naturally not openly confront Congress. However, he suggested defending the northern lands and waiting for the Arcane Empire to deliver its supplies before handing over the lands.

Court Minister Gwen arrived in Winterfell and circled around Conrad: "My Lord Knight, since the Arcane Empire has agreed to the alliance, there's no need to make things so tense. Although we won the Battle of Sunset, we suffered heavy losses. Isildur has even occupied Fal Forest. When they return, they will be even more difficult to deal with."

Although not explicitly stated, the Congress was quite dissatisfied with the Knight Commander's leniency towards Su Mu. The subtext was that since your general had broken the alliance with the Emerald Kingdom, you can't afford to be an enemy of the Arcane Empire anymore.

Conrad remained unmoved: "The Arcane Empire is a wolf in sheep's clothing. You can tell from their decision to sit back and watch the tigers fight. They are not reliable."

The North is indeed indefensible right now, we can give it to them, but I still maintain the same stance: we must remain extremely vigilant, and we must reclaim some resources.

This was essentially a one-off deal; Conrad didn't expect the other party to provide support in future alliances, and he was content with just taking what he had now.

Gwen nodded: "The compensation has been agreed upon by Congress and will be sent to the plains soon. We also know your thoughts. Faced with this pack of wolves and tigers, someone must take a firm stance, demonstrate the strength of the Kingdom's army, and deter them in order to obtain the corresponding benefits."

But there was really no other way; the Witcher Marshal was training troops at the front lines, and logistical resources were slow to arrive.

The second prince personally went to the trading city to oversee the operation, killing several wealthy merchants, but this did little to resolve the situation; instead, it exacerbated the conflict, and the supply of gold coins and resources was completely cut off. The hinterland, devastated by the last plunder, is in dire need of reconstruction; if war breaks out again in the north, it truly cannot withstand the onslaught.

Upon hearing this news, Conrad fell silent.

I thought the Witcher was the Speaker's choice and would receive the most support, but I never expected to encounter such difficulties.

Generally speaking, the Speaker is believed to be behind the scenes in trade cities, and everyone thinks he's the mastermind. But now it seems it's not that simple; there's a lot of infighting within. Even if the trade city is destroyed by force, the amount of gold coins obtained in the end won't be much.

The continuous wars caused widespread suffering, and the nobles increased taxes on their territories. While this prevented starvation, ordinary people earned little. Most of the gold coins flowed to the nobles, and their wealth flowed upwards.

If we target a trading city, shouldn't we also target its princes and ministers? They are the main rulers of the parliament; if we dare to confiscate their property, we should find considerable resources.

But if they did that, Elton would probably be doomed. Ultimately, the corruption had seeped into the very core of the kingdom; only destruction could bring about its true rise.

Conrad felt a wave of exhaustion, but after a while, he rallied. Regardless of what might happen next, the big battle was imminent, and he couldn't afford to be discouraged.

"Very well, I will withdraw my troops in three days. Let the Arcane Empire prepare its resources. If they betray us again, we will punish them even if we have to gather all our cavalry!"

Seeing that the knight commander had finally given in, Gwen breathed a sigh of relief, but the next words were even more difficult to say, and he hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"With the Northern Territory being handed over, and the United Merchants Association acting as guarantor, we don't need to resist the Arcane Empire for the time being, and our defenses don't need to be too strict."

"Marshal Kenway's army is newly formed and lacks fast-moving units. We'd like to borrow over 1000 cavalry from your side. What do you think?"

The fact that it involved the deployment of troops, especially the cavalry regiment that had just won a great victory, suggested a lack of trust in the knight commander.

However, this time Conrad did not refuse: "I didn't have this many people before, just a few hundred legions under my command and the core Iron Knights."

Lord Karen entrusted all the cavalry to me to return to the capital.

Since the new marshal has a need, the knights should go where they are most needed.

These words were spoken with conviction and without any feigned emotion. It was clear that the Knight Commander felt a trace of remorse for Karen's death, but everything he did was for the sake of the kingdom, and every decision he made was out of public interest.

"Ah! You've worked so hard, all for the sake of the kingdom!"

Gwen sighed, patted Conrad on the shoulder, and offered a word of comfort.

It is only because of figures like Conrad that the kingdom can be maintained, working tirelessly and without complaint.

Unfortunately, the kingdom was indeed spending more than it earned, and solving the problem would only exacerbate the conflict. Those who had vested interests were unwilling to relinquish their power, and everything could only be maintained.

“A group of border merchants recently crossed the border. Instruct the guards to let them pass. This is a convoy exchanging goods with the trading city and also part of the Continental Federation.”

Conrad was initially wary, but upon hearing that it was a car belonging to the Chamber of Commerce and that it was part of the Continental Federation, he relaxed somewhat.

On the continent of Aether, there is an unwritten rule that even in the midst of fierce battles, merchants from the Federation must be allowed to transport supplies or provide aid. The Federation is essentially a loose coordinating body established by the various kingdoms of Aether, comprising more than ten factions. Although the Arcane Empire and Isildur are behemoths, they cannot rule unilaterally.

Congress had previously lodged several protests, arguing that Isildur's failure to declare war was a despicable sneak attack. This was one of the factors that allowed Elton to continue receiving support from multiple factions; after all, in the civilized nations of the hero world, a powerful declaration was usually required to wage war.

Isildur's attack on the border city was a sneak attack, which aroused the dissatisfaction of all the countries on the continent.

"I will have the Northern Defense Commander Brody allow the merchants to pass, but we still need to closely monitor the Arcane Empire's movements to prevent them from playing any tricks!"

This time, Gwen did not refute it.

"Alright, you can prepare to withdraw your troops. Leave the rest to me. I'll go to the front lines and hand over the reins to the Arcane Empire later."

(End of this chapter)