Wizard Farming Guide

Chapter 61 Border Turmoil

In Hekou Town, at a wooden table in a council hall.

Rhodes was seated at the head of the table, holding a scroll containing information about Mole Town.

As he read and learned, three knights from the territory arrived and sat on either side of him.

"Everyone's here. I called you all here to discuss the blacksmith issue in Mole Town." Rhodes put down the scroll in his hand and looked at them.

Tell them the plan proposed by the businessman Adlich, along with the specific methods involved.

Everyone knows that the territory is currently lacking blacksmiths, and they also know that Rhodes is worried about it.

Holmes and Noah remained expressionless after listening.

They didn't know much about the borders of the Northern Frost Duchy, but they thought it was a pretty good idea.

This method of stealing people is obviously not allowed within the kingdom, but in the northern border of the duchy, they don't consider it a big problem.

But Loren was different; he looked surprised.

Seeing Rhodes's gesture, Loren quickly said, "My lord, the situation in Mole Town is very special. It's not just a border town of the duchy; the forces behind it are mysterious."

"They also have slave-catching teams there. It's said that no matter where an escaped slave goes, their head will be cut off within a day and displayed bloodily on a wooden rack in Mole Town, without exception!"

Loren's tone was tense. Having grown up on the border of the duchy, he had heard the name of Mole Town countless times from the fearful mouths of the residents.

Fear spread among the inhabitants of the surrounding territories, and the place had become a dark, demonic abyss, a place where the sun never shone.

It is said that once anyone is arrested, they can never escape.

Rhodes wasn't surprised by Loren's exaggerated description.

Mole Town is incredibly mysterious to ordinary people, but within the aristocratic circle, there are no secrets.

The reason for this rumor is that three major forces are entrenched there: the Lord Baron, the Mole Society, and the Golden Lamp.

The lord is a baron of the duchy, in charge of the army, and responsible for the overall stability of the town.

The iron mine is managed by the Mole Society, backed by the Mole Tribe of the North, who are subordinate to the barbarians.

The town also has a slave-catching and smuggling team called the Golden Lamp, backed by a high-ranking nobleman from the Kingdom of Golden Sword.

The three forces converged there, dividing the town into three parts under their rule.

A strange balance was maintained amidst the interplay of smuggling and the slave trade, and the entanglement of interests.

Through various channels of the Sword Tomb Chamber of Commerce and the Round Table Council, Rod found out the details of Mole Town.

He found that Loren's description was quite accurate.

With the northern barbarians, duchies, and kingdoms vying for power, captured slaves had nowhere to run.

Mole Town is actually a microcosm, representing the situation of many special territories in the border region of the Duchy near the northern border.

Under normal circumstances, it would be inconvenient for Rhodes to swindle the blacksmith from there.

A duchy is part of a kingdom, and such behavior breaks the rules and is likely to attract the attention of various powers.

Today you abduct my people, tomorrow I can abduct people from your side, and then all the territories will be in chaos.

But the reason Adledge dared to offer him advice was because Moletown was in big trouble!

"The Earl Mark family of the Kingdom's Golden Sword Territory, pfft." Rhodes couldn't help but laugh after reading the intelligence.

If nothing unexpected happens, this count family is the mastermind behind the Golden Lamp in Mole Town.

Perhaps because of this, the count sent his youngest son, Sir Fuller, to explore the land in front of Mole Town.

It seems there's nothing wrong with it.

Rhodes could guess the count's thoughts: with the help of the subordinate forces in Mole Town behind him, his son could gain the upper hand.

They can also communicate with the mole tribes near the settlement through the town's mole association.

There's no need for the two sides to engage in a major fight like other Trail Blazers.

With this smuggling-related interest involved, it's entirely possible for them to coexist harmoniously!

The abacus was working perfectly, but Count Mark seemed to have overestimated the wisdom of the barbarians.

According to the frontline reports from the Round Table Council, the territory where Knight Fuler is located is under fierce attack from the Mole Tribe.

The latter seemed not to understand, and instead regarded it as a provocation.

What kind of win-win cooperation is this? You've sent troops to my doorstep! I think you clearly just want to attack me! Well then, I'll kill you first!

The resulting ripple effects caused a sudden change in the situation in Mole Town.

Due to the conflict between the two major bosses, two of the three parties that were originally cooperating and achieving mutual benefit have turned against each other.

The Golden Lamp and the Mole Society are constantly shrinking their influence.

If it weren't for Lord Baron Fast's desperate mediation, the Mole Town would have been turned into a combat zone long ago.

Their noisy argument gave Rod, who was standing nearby, an opportunity.

It's good that you're fighting. If you don't fight, there's no chaos and no one to benefit from it. Who will supplement my nutrition from the subway craftsman?

Rhodes explained the current situation in Mole Town, which made the three knights realize the truth.

"Adledge will use caravan routes to pick up the blacksmiths who have fled Mole Town and take them to Blackwood Forest, which is 20 kilometers away from Rivermouth Town."

Rhodes instructed, "Holmes, once you receive the notification, lead the Ironwall soldiers to take over and eliminate any trails of investigation."

Whether it's the Marigolds of the slave-catching team or the Mole Society of the barbarians, neither is something that can be put on the table.

This applies to both duchies and kingdoms.

No nobleman would want to be associated with them and risk tarnishing their family's reputation.

Given the current chaos in Mole Town, if he cleans up his tracks, even if others know he's taking advantage of the situation, they won't be able to do anything about it.

"Noah, you will lead the Royal Guard to take over the garrison at River Mouth and help Holmes ensure the safety of the transport. Loren, you will lead the Divine Arrow Battalion to be responsible for the security of Flattop Mountain."

The three knights left with their respective missions, leaving Rhodes alone in the conference room.

He picked up the map and moved his finger back and forth between Mole Town and the nearest principality city.

Mole Town itself is insignificant; its ability to remain unscathed on the border despite the barbarian threat is what truly sets it apart.

The balance is maintained by the three forces behind the scenes.

Now that the relationship between the Mole Tribe and the Earl Mark's family has broken down, Rhodes' intervention only requires resolving the relationship with the Duchy.

He recalled the female knight from Broken Dragon Fortress; it was she who had given him the territory documents for River Mouth Town.

Rhodes now knows her identity; she is his aunt, Elena.

He is also the Earl of Peak City in the Duchy of Northern Frost, and the Governor-General in charge of the Coldwater County of the Duchy.

Rivermouth Town is located within the territory of Coldwater County, and as the local lord, Rhodes is directly under her jurisdiction.

However, the binding force of a governor-general cannot be compared with that of a feudal lord.

The collusion between Mansaru and the barbarians, and the three-way governance of Mole Town, all point to one thing.

Governor Elena has very little influence in the border towns and may not care much about them.

(End of this chapter)