It felt so good to be close to the witch!

At this moment, the window sill was charred black by the flames from the explosion. If even solid rock was like this, one can only imagine how charred a human body would be.

This letter from the Second Prince of the Empire has an "automatic recognition" function. If an outsider attempts to open it without permission, it will cause an explosion. The explosion is extremely powerful, and even a Silver Knight would suffer severe head injuries at close range.

Looking at the charred windowsill, Roy's apprehension towards the second prince of the empire grew even stronger.

To be so cautious with just a letter shows how meticulous the person is; such a person is definitely not easy to deal with.

"call……"

Letting out a soft breath to calm his thoughts, Roy looked at Reid: "Uncle Reid, how's the takeover going?"

"That's about it." After confirming that Roy was alright, Red was relieved. He nodded and said, "The main force of Iron Mountain Territory has been detained in Blackstone Prison. There are only two or three official knights left behind, and quite a few trainee knights, but they are not a threat. They have all been stripped of their weapons and armor and imprisoned."

"As for the people of Tieshan Territory... they have no desire to resist, and some even seem quite happy."

As he finished speaking, Reid's expression became somewhat strange.

The behavior of the people reflected how unpopular Lord Denham was.

"By the way, Lord Roy, during the takeover, we found Lord Denham's treasure vault."

"Oh?"

Roy's eyes flickered slightly.

The fact that Iron Mountain Territory could support so many official knights shows how wealthy it was. I imagine its treasury must contain many valuable items.

Chapter 47 Lord Denham's Treasury, a Surprise!

Following Red, Roy soon arrived at Lord Denham's vault.

This is a secret underground chamber at the bottom of the Iron Mountain Fortress, in a very hidden location.

“Lord Roy, the door to this treasure vault is extremely sturdy. I’ve tried to break it open, but I couldn’t. Not only that, the walls of the vault are also thick metal walls that can’t be smashed open at all. I’ll probably have to get the key from Lord Denham to get inside.”

"Reid said."

Roy nodded, indicating that he understood.

As the place where a lord stores his wealth, a treasury must be well protected.

Normally, to enter this treasure vault, one would need to obtain the key from Lord Denham, but Roy's situation is clearly abnormal.

Shadow Witch Lilia, everyone who uses her says she's great (thumbs up).jpg

"Lord Roy, there are still some loose ends to take care of regarding the takeover, so I'll be leaving now."

After leading Roy to the treasure vault, Red took his leave.

Iron Mountain Territory is, after all, a territory, and it cannot be completely taken over simply by suppressing the remaining armed forces; there are many miscellaneous matters that need to be dealt with.

It's only because Reid has been the "steward" of Blackrock Territory all these years that he has been able to handle things with ease, big and small. If it were anyone else, they would have been in a complete mess long ago.

After Red left, Roy returned to the top floor of the fortress and summoned the Shadow Witch Lilia.

Physical locks are meaningless in the face of the power of shadow; with a simple insertion and twist, the sturdy metal door opens.

"Shall we go in and take a look?"

Roy extended an invitation to the Shadow Witch Lilia.

“I want to go with Vivian.” Lilia shook her head, then added, “If you want me to go in with you, I will.”

“No need for that. I thought you'd be curious about what’s inside.” Roy smiled and stepped into the treasure room.

The Shadow Witch Lilia watched Roy enter, then her body transformed into a fluid shadow and vanished without a trace.

Compared to the Blackstone Territory's treasure vault, the Iron Mountain Territory's treasure room is much larger, covering an area of ​​over a hundred square meters.

Roy stepped inside, carrying a kerosene lamp. What he saw were rows of black iron armor and weapons, as well as chests of currency, mainly copper coins, followed by silver coins, and the least amount of gold coins.

If these things were converted into grain, they would be enough to feed the people of both Blackstone Territory and Iron Mountain Territory for three whole years!

People eat for food.

As long as the people can be guaranteed not to go hungry, the situation in the territory can't get too bad.

Roy continued deeper, and soon a wooden frame appeared before him.

There was only one thing on the wooden frame.

A small box made of crystal.

Roy's eyes lit up.

This thing is kept in the deepest part of the vault; it's clearly one of Lord Denham's most prized possessions.

Regardless of what's inside the crystal box, the crystal box itself is quite valuable.

Picking up the crystal box, Roy could feel a faint, warm energy inside, but the crystal box perfectly locked this energy inside, preventing it from leaking out.

With anticipation, Roy opened the crystal box, and then he saw this scene:

The background is made of luxurious red silk fabric, upon which sits a regular, deep purple crystal.

High-purity magic crystals!

At a glance, Roy recognized what was inside the crystal box.

A look of surprise flashed across his eyes at first, then turned into understanding.

To his astonishment, he hadn't expected that Lord Denham actually possessed a high-purity magic crystal. He had assumed that the photos circulating on the black market were produced by Lord Denham using special techniques.

The realization came when he finally understood why Lord Denham was willing to serve the Second Prince.

As one of the nobles of the province of Fran, Lord Denham was naturally a member of the Border Dukes' faction. To get him to risk betraying the Border Dukes to seize Blackstone Territory, mere verbal promises were not enough.

It's not enough to just make empty promises; there must also be tangible "rewards."

This high-purity magic crystal was likely a "gift" that the Second Prince had given to Lord Denham in the early stages.

The effect of high-purity magic crystals is to help knights accelerate their training, and it is said that witches can further enhance their strength after consuming them.

For Lord Denham, a commoner who missed the "golden age" of martial arts training, high-purity magic crystals can help him adapt to martial arts faster and better, giving him the possibility of breaking through from the Silver rank, which he had no hope of ever reaching.

Lord Denham probably didn't carry such a precious item with him because he was afraid that the Shadow Witch Lilia would notice and steal it.

The world seen through the eyes of a dirty person is equally dirty and ugly.

In Lord Denham's mind, the Shadow Witch Lilia would care more about high-purity magic crystals, treasures that could enhance her own strength, than her sister.

Looking at the high-purity magic crystal in the crystal box in his hand, Roy smiled with satisfaction.

For him, high-purity magic crystals were also extremely precious.

Compared to low-purity magic crystals, high-purity magic crystals have an energy capacity limit that is more than ten times higher.

Of course, the natural magic power inside this high-purity magic crystal is currently about 80% remaining. If we want to use it as an "energy storage device," we need to use up the natural magic power inside first.

Natural magic is the best "resource" for witches to increase their own magic power limit.

How to use it and to whom it should be used still needs careful consideration.

Roy carefully closed the crystal box and placed it into the storage space of the [Original Sin Cube]. After searching the treasure vault for a while and finding nothing of value, he turned and left.

……

Glowing Empire, Royal Capital, Saint Foye.

On the top floor of the magnificent palace, a handsome young man with long, brilliant golden hair stood by the window, looking down at the capital.

He opened his arms as if embracing something, and took a deep breath: "Marquis Hermann, tell me, when will this vast empire be in my hands?"

The midday sun shone on him, reflecting a dazzling golden light. His pale green eyes, with their narrow corners, gave off an indescribable sense of oppression when he stared at them.

Despite being a prince, his skin was not delicate; it appeared rough, a result of his years of knightly training.

A tall figure stood in the shadows of a corner of the palace behind the young man: "In private, I prefer you to call me Uncle, my dear nephew, Your Highness the Second Prince."

After emphasizing this point, he spoke in a low voice: "His Majesty's health is deteriorating day by day, and he has not been involved in state affairs for a long time. Among the many princes of the empire, only the eldest prince is your biggest competitor."

"As long as you bring him down, the throne will naturally be yours."

"Take him down..." the Second Prince sighed. "It won't be easy... The border duke is a royalist who supports primogeniture. With him around, it won't be a simple matter. But I like doing challenging things."

"How's the situation in Blackrock Territory going? Denham may not be very strong, but he's quite shrewd. Taking over Blackrock Territory shouldn't be a problem."

“I have come here to report this matter to you.” Marquis Hermann paused, then said, “Denham has failed.”

"He failed?" The Second Prince was somewhat surprised. "He could fail under these circumstances? Is he a good-for-nothing? Tell me, how did he lose?"

After Marquis Hermann recounted the complete intelligence report, a strange light flashed in the Second Prince's eyes, and he chuckled, "Roy Tulumbel, huh? Interesting, truly, incredibly interesting..."

Chapter 48 Matters of the Territory

Taking over Iron Mountain Territory was far more complicated than expected. By the time Red had sorted things out and reported to Roy in the lord's study, the setting sun in the west was already casting its last rays.

"Lord Roy, the population of Iron Mountain Territory, including Lord Denham and others imprisoned in Blackrock Prison, totals 1348 people. Among them are two Bronze Knights, 45 official knights, 153 apprentice knights, and 1150 ordinary citizens."

"Of these 1150 ordinary citizens, fewer than 30 are engaged in farming. They mainly live on both banks of a small tributary of a river that flows through Tieshan Territory, relying on barren land for farming, resulting in extremely low grain yields."

"The rest of the ordinary people are mostly engaged in mining and its related forging industry."

"Lord Denham levies very heavy taxes on the people of Iron Mountain, requiring them to hand over 90% of all their income. However, taxes can be waived by service. For every able-bodied person in a household who is involved in mining, the tax rate can be reduced by 20%, down to a minimum of 50%."

"Under such a policy, each family basically needs two workers to work in the mining industry in order to barely have enough to eat."

Roy listened quietly to Red's report.

Although he disliked getting involved in such trivial matters, as a lord, he had to be aware of them.

In this era, mining, to put it nicely, was done by miners; to put it bluntly, it was "illegal mining." It was not only extremely arduous but also ridiculously dangerous.

Mine collapses are not uncommon, but they happen once or twice a year, and many people lose their lives as a result.

Lord Denham's policy, in essence, was to force the people of Iron Mountain Territory to mine in order to support the 200 knights in Iron Mountain Territory.

This is a deformed structure.

Normally, the healthiest and most sustainable ratio is 5 people supporting one apprentice knight, 20 people supporting one full knight, and 100 people supporting one bronze knight.

A knight's strength doesn't come from nowhere. The stronger the physique, the more energy it needs to consume, and the higher the requirements for the quality and quantity of food.

To properly support the knights in Iron Mountain Territory, 1865 residents would be needed. However, Iron Mountain Territory only has 1150 residents. Supporting such a number of knights would inevitably lead to an extremely difficult life for many residents.