After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Parents who love their children will plan far ahead for them.

Oswald: My parents loved me so much that even before they died, they wanted to drag the old king down with them, creating an opportunity for me to swallow up the Marquis's mansion...

After a quick wash and breakfast, Oswald began his workday.

Or rather, it's another day of worrying about finances and food.

The Marquis of the South purchased a large amount of grain within the kingdom, charging exorbitant prices, exceeding 20% ​​of the market price.

Faced with this blatant robbery, Oswald had no choice but to accept it.

A nation cannot be stable without grain. Last year's natural disasters and man-made calamities have depleted the reserves of the northern territories. It is only June now, and there is still a long time before the autumn harvest.

After calculating the expenses, the common people probably don't have much money left. A few days ago, Oswald issued a decree allowing them to work in mines and other places in exchange for wages to buy food.

In other words, Oswald bought grain at a high price, but ultimately had to sell it at a low price, gritting his teeth and completing this unprofitable deal.

There's no way around it; filling your stomach is always the most important thing.

Elena also focused on the financial expenditures, asking, "The golden golem weighs over 600 kilograms. Should we melt it down and sell it?"

Oswald, who was drinking tea, almost spat it out. Six hundred kilograms? Is that thing really that heavy?

Damn, I'm such a poor wretch, I have no knowledge whatsoever.

I recall the scene in the original game about the royal palace's treasure vault, where two rooms the size of basketball courts were piled high with gold coins, some five or six meters high...

There was also a dazzling array of jewelry and magical items. Gold coins? They were the cheapest items there.

Oswald remained silent. In the game, I scoffed at him; in reality, I was far beyond his reach. I knew they were rich, but who knew they were this rich?

However, thinking of the towering dwarven gold in Lord of the Rings, Oswald quickly relented. What good is money if dragons come? You'll just have to obediently go back to wandering. Ultimately, strength is the only standard for survival in this world.

"You handle this matter; invest any surplus funds into construction."

Oswald's fingers pounded heavily on the construction reports for the coal yard, steel plant, and cement plant. His attitude was clear: the output of these three things could only be increased, not decreased. Even if it resulted in losses, production could not be stopped; the scale had to be expanded.

"Yes, I'll go right away." Elena bowed and walked to the door. Just as she grasped the doorknob, a soldier rushed in. Upon seeing Elena, he immediately knelt on one knee and hurriedly reported, "My lady, the demon army is marching south!"

Starfall City, a lone eagle circles in the azure sky.

For thousands of years, countless demon soldiers have sworn an oath of blood before this fortified city, which acts as a watershed, firmly dividing the human and demon territories in two.

Almost every demon commander who stands before Starfall City wonders how to cross such a formidable pass.

Before Xingluo City lies a flat wilderness, flanked by steep mountains. The only pass is occupied by a tall city wall built of massive stones, with banners fluttering above it and soldiers armed to the teeth—elite troops that inspire awe.

The two sides had been locked in a tense standoff all night, showing no signs of letting up from night to dawn.

In the military tent in the wilderness, the demon army's two-headed dragon banner stood tall. General Colin, a demon with dark brown skin, who was no different from a human except for his vertical pupils and sharp ears, had already experienced the same mental journey as his predecessors.

Before setting out on the expedition, they were full of ambition. Humanity? Nothing but clay chickens and earthenware dogs!

When they arrived at the formidable Xingluo City, they immediately realized that even if they had another 20,000 troops, let alone their 15,000 men, they would likely struggle to breach the city's defenses.

Then I started to hesitate, to ponder, and even to complain about the injustice of nature. What exactly is this absurd difference in terrain? Answer me!

Nature: With just a slight intervention, I determined the division of power between humans and demons.

Once outside the tent, Colin snatched a soldier's spear and began digging into the ground. Not long after, a hard object was heard hitting the ground below.

……

Good, good, good, this has blocked all the roads.

The tactic of digging tunnels was no longer viable. Colin angrily threw down his spear, tossed his cloak aside, and re-entered the tent, staring intently at the terrain model in the center of the tent.

"General, His Majesty only instructed us to probe and weaken the Northern Territory; he had no intention of having you conquer the city."

Seeing that Colin's face was getting worse and worse, the accompanying civil official immediately stepped forward to comfort him.

Colin nodded, though he hadn't lost his composure. He calmly replied, "You don't understand. If we can't put pressure on the human army, how can we test and wear them down? Even a feint will make them pay the price."

After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, Colin gradually devised a battle plan.

"Pass on my order to send out servants to attack the city, with cavalry following behind, to harass the defenders on the city walls with mounted archery, but they must not approach the city walls without authorization."

"Prepare the ground star mushrooms. Once the ogre is in residence, await my orders!"

After a long standoff, the demon army finally made a move.

Count Camaro, with short, gray-black hair, stood on the city wall, his face etched with wrinkles by the cold wind, his thick eyebrows bunching together.

He was all too familiar with the demon army's marching formation. His servants served as cannon fodder, leading the attack, while the cavalry provided cover, hurling arrows to inflict casualties on the city wall guards.

But why are the cannibals, who are the main force of the attack, standing so far away?

It's important to know that ogres are a tall demon race, with adults reaching a full three meters in height. Once they don heavy armor, they become invincible weapons on the battlefield, and the elite among them are even known as the demon army's aces and the Ironclad Butchers.

The general on the other side wouldn't really intend to break through the city gate with the meager strength of the goblins in his army, would he?

"Order that the three thousand elite archers need not participate in the battle this time; all other defensive arrangements remain unchanged!"

Count Camaro reacted quickly, realizing that the demon army had a backup plan and he could not reveal his full strength immediately.

As the demon army sounded the war drums of attack, melodious horn sounds echoed from the city walls.

Gradually, the dark figures rushing towards them from afar became clearer; they were densely packed, small, agile goblins with green skin, numbering no less than four thousand.

If the demon army were to reach the city walls and erect siege ladders, allowing these agile goblins, like monkeys, to climb the walls, Camaro might find it troublesome.

But the scene before them had confirmed that the demons were using goblins as cannon fodder, perhaps with the sole purpose of depleting the human army's arrows.

"Volley fire, 100 paces, fire!"

At Camaro's command, a dense rain of arrows fell from the city walls. The goblins, who had neither strong physiques nor armor for protection, were killed or wounded in large numbers before they even reached the city.

"Watch out for demon cavalry!"

Count Camaro continued to roar, and enemy cavalry galloped back and forth on the plain in front of the city, with arrows raining down upon them.

Soon, guards were shot dead, and the Northern Army began to retaliate against the cavalry.

The two sides exchanged blows, and a rain of arrows whistled through the sky.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the goblins swarmed to the city gate and began hacking at it with their broken weapons.

Without the count's order, the mages raised their staffs and unleashed a series of dazzling attacks composed of pure magic.

The spells were chanted at high speed, and the attack magic formed a barrage that surged forth, sweeping away the goblins in front of the city gate in the blink of an eye.

Blood splattered, and the wails of goblins became the main theme of the battlefield. But these demon servants had no choice. They had no way out and continued to rush towards the city gate like madmen, hoping for a glimmer of hope after breaking through the city gate.

However, inside the city gate, just eighty meters away, stood five thousand elite veterans, poised and silent for a long time.

"Lisa!"

"Understood, Father!"

At Camaro's command, a petite girl with brown bun hair, dressed in a mage's robe and wielding a dark staff, rushed out of the knights' protective circle.

"Bombardment Technique, activate!"

Lisa waved her staff, and several one-meter-long magic circles suddenly appeared in mid-air. Then, the magic circles flashed wildly, and a surge of energy erupted, sending out huge energy balls that caused violent explosions in the goblin horde.

Pieces of shattered flesh were hurled into view by the shockwave, but Lisa did not stop casting spells. Her unstoppable bombardment spells were unleashed, reaping the lives of goblins one after another.

With the city gates temporarily out of danger, Camaro continued to focus his attention on the rear of the demon army.

Overall, the Northern Army had the upper hand in the exchange of fire, so the Demon Clan's attack could be considered meaningless. However, even though the goblins were on the verge of being wiped out, the Demon Clan's cavalry still showed no intention of stopping.

Just as Camaro was racking his brains trying to figure it out, the demon army finally made its next move.

"Ogre! Prepare your heavy crossbows!"

The large crossbows on the city wall began to turn, and the well-trained soldiers kicked open the wooden box and took out the steel crossbow bolts that were almost as long as spears.

The earth trembled, and the ogres charged toward the battlefield. However, before the heavy crossbows could be ready, they suddenly stopped and threw the objects in their hands into the air like cannonballs, finally slamming them hard in front of the city gate.

"Enemy attack!"

The soldiers remained calm and composed, forming ranks and raising their shields to protect the count behind them.

However, the expected commotion did not occur. After throwing the items, the ogres quickly retreated, giving the heavy crossbowmen no time to aim.

"Father, it seems like they've thrown some kind of liquid, it smells like mushroom soup." Lisa peeked out from behind the knight's shield and carefully examined the city gate for a while.

Camaro's brows furrowed even more. It is said that there must be something fishy going on when things are not normal, but at this moment he had no idea what the demons' purpose was.

The great battle thus came to an abrupt end. The demon army retreated, leaving only a few dozen cavalry units to launch continuous harassing attacks on Starfall City.

They didn't approach; they rode up at breakneck speed, fired a few arrows, and then rode away.

Back at the city lord's mansion, Camaro, without even removing his armor, held his wine bowl and pondered deeply. Suspicious, highly suspicious; the enemy must have a scheme.

Although the Duke sent him five thousand elite veterans and three thousand elite archers, in terms of direct combat, these troops were in no way inferior to the demon army.

But now the Northern Territory is in decline, and the Demon Army is eager to wear down the Northern Territory's army so that they can take over the entire northern part of the kingdom in one fell swoop.

Therefore, Starfall City must avoid a major battle and rely on defense to preserve the strength of the Northern Army.