Western Fantasy Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 116 Local Nobles' Obstruction

Connors entered the training ground. The knights, dressed in silver knight armor, had been informed in advance and were already waiting there. Upon noticing the arrival of the two, they all stood up.

Connors reached down and said, "Gentlemen, I am Connors Jon, the Duke's nineteenth son. I believe I need not say more about my status. I am also deeply saddened by the passing of my brother Rex, but life must go on, and we should all look forward. If my brother Rex were still alive, he would not want to see everyone so despondent."

After he finished speaking, the knights whispered among themselves, discussing the matter animatedly.

"Yes, we really should look for a way out for the future."

"But what about Moonlight Castle?"

"I've been following Lord Rex since I left Lion Keep, and I don't know what to do next now that he's said this."

Connors didn't stop them, letting them talk freely. After a while, he coughed twice, drawing everyone's attention back to him. The chatter gradually subsided.

Connors took out a document from the levitating bracelet: "According to the law, when a lord dies, everything in the territory reverts to the Duke's castle. This is the application I received from the Duke's castle, which clearly states that from now on, you belong to my Mo."

The knights frowned slightly, and displeasure flashed in many of their eyes. Asoran, standing next to Connors, didn't look much better.

They were knights, not slaves or commoners. Although they had to obey the Duke's orders, they were naturally dissatisfied with such a forceful transfer of them without respect for their opinions.

"However..." Connors glanced around, taking in everyone's expressions, and smiled, appearing completely in control.

To everyone's astonishment, he tore up the document on the spot and declared loudly, "I don't want to do this. Among the knights present, if anyone is willing to come with me to Lily Town, you can come with me. If you don't want to go, I will give you a sum of money, and you can live as freely as fish in the sea and birds in the sky. One more thing: Lily Town is developing very well now, and there will be even greater changes in the future, changes that will overturn your imagination."

The knights were awestruck by Connors's courage. After a brief silence, one of them stepped forward from the crowd and knelt on one knee before Connors: "I choose to stay and go with you."

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

After the last person knelt down in front of Connors, very few people remained standing.

The Silver Knights had about three hundred members, and fifteen knights had decided to leave. Connors secretly breathed a sigh of relief; this outcome was still within his expectations.

"Get up," Connors said to the crowd. "Those who have decided to leave with me, go outside and wait for me."

"yes!"

After watching a large group of people leave, he turned his gaze to the few who remained behind; they were knights who had decided to go solo.

The knights looked at Connors, feeling a little nervous.

Connors took out a bag of gold coins from the suspending bracelet and said, "I'm giving each of you twenty gold coins as your capital for the future. Whether you want to buy property or start a business, this money will be more than enough."

Knights don't even earn ten gold coins a year, so he's doing his best to honor his deceased brother Rex.

After Asoran helped distribute the food, the knights thanked him and left.

Connors turned to Asoran, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said, "Everyone else has finished their arrangements. What about you? Are you going solo too?"

Asoran gave a wry smile, then knelt on one knee: "I also hope to find a job under your command."

"Get up." Connors shook his head and chuckled. "How much of Moonlight Castle's wealth is left?"

Asoran said, "Let me take you to see it. We don't have the specific statistics."

The two went down the stairs to the underground, where most of Moonlight Castle's wealth was stored.

As the first door opened, a room full of gold coins came into view. One treasure chest after another overflowed with gold coins, and in the middle of the room, a mound of gold coins was formed.

Connors froze, his mouth slowly opening wide.

"How come these gold coins have remained perfectly intact all this time?!"

After seeing the state of the castle, he had already given up hope of acquiring any of Moonlight Castle's treasures; he'd just pick up whatever he could. His main target wasn't the gold coins, but the secret techniques. After all, the servants had all run away, taking some things with them before they left, but those techniques were useless to them, and they had no way to convert them into cash.

Asoran laughed and said, "Ever since the news of Lord Rex's accident spread, panic has gripped the castle, and soon embezzlement began. Many people secretly took things out of the castle to sell. After the Knights realized this problem, they decided to send people to take turns guarding the underground entrance to prevent others from entering and squandering Moonlight Castle's wealth, so that when someone comes to succeed him in the future, he won't be left with nothing."

"Weren't you ever tempted?" Connors looked you up and down.

Asoran chuckled softly: "It would be a lie to say I'm not tempted, but we are knights. It would be a loss to taint our noble souls for a mere pittance."

The underground space is divided into two levels. Next, Connors inspected each room. There were fifteen rooms containing gold coins, nine rooms containing magical materials, three rooms containing armor, weapons, and magical treasures, one room containing various works of art, and one room containing secret techniques.

Connors sent Asoran to summon the knights, load the goods onto carts, and transport them to Lily Town.

Asolan didn't move, and asked hesitantly, "What about here?"

Connors thought for a moment: "I guess it will eventually become a ruin or a deserted city. But that's the fate of most cities in the Southern Territory."

"What do you mean?" Asoran didn't understand.

"Some time ago, Lion Keep implemented a plan called Southern Integration. The process was too complicated to explain in a few words. The final result was that almost all the cities in the Southern Territory were merged into one city." Connorston paused, then added, "Including Walled City."

Asolan's eyes widened, his heart filled with turmoil.

What kind of outrageous plan is this?! And it was actually executed by the Duke's Castle?! Has the Grand Duke lost his mind?!

Regardless of what Asoran thought, Connors returned to the top and went to the Four Yue Merchant Guild branch in the city, where he found Barrow in the office.

"How's the recent relocation plan going?" Connors asked, sitting in his chair.

After the initial plan was formulated, the Yoshikoshi Chamber of Commerce branches in each city became the implementers of the relocation plan.

Barrow poured Connors a glass of water, shook his head and sighed, "It's not easy. Lakeside City is severely affected by Lily Town, and it's close by. Plus, the Chamber of Commerce is providing free transportation, so those who could leave have already left. The remaining people are stubborn elements who stayed for one reason or another, so the plan is progressing very slowly."

Connors took a sip of water and asked, "What are the main reasons?"

Barrow recalled, "Actually, most of the die-hards are nobles. These guys are descendants of countless generations, and their noble qualities have long been lost. They lack the knowledge and refinement that nobles should have, and they are extremely spoiled because of the legacy left by their ancestors. Most commoners have worked under them for a long time, and blindly obeying their orders is almost ingrained in their blood, which is why the progress is stuck here."

Barrow looked quite troubled as he spoke.

"Lord Connors, are you really going to bring this group of people back to Lily Town? Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch," he said with some concern.

During the routine meetings at headquarters every now and then, he went to Lily Town. To be honest, after staying there for a few days, he developed a strong longing for it and hoped that the project would end soon so that he could move to Lily Town.

Compared to Lily Town, Moonlight City, with its mature infrastructure, large scale, and beautiful scenery, seemed ignorant and backward to him. Even though he had been there for a long time, he couldn't help but have this thought when comparing the two.

Connors glanced at Barrow without speaking, tapping his fingers on the table, making a soft tapping sound. After a moment's thought, he said, "Since you've come all this way, take me to see this place."

The two arrived at a mansion on 1st Street. It was a two-story building in the Baroque style, exquisite and elegant.

There was a garden in front of the gate, filled with many beautiful plants, which a pretty maid was tending to at the moment.

"Hi, Miss Maid," Connors greeted her.

The maid looked over at the noise and was startled. A blush then appeared on her face, her eyes darting away, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

She saw a man dressed in black leaning against the fence, smiling and waving at her.

The man was handsome and strong. Sunlight shone on his face, and his warm smile was captivating.

Nobles are usually good-looking, and Connors is a knight. The confidence that comes with strength and the change in the essence of life all contribute to enhancing his appearance and charm.

"Um, sir, how can I help you?" The maid looked away shyly.

Strange, this maid wasn't like this when we sent people before... Barrow wondered, wondering where the problem lay.

Connors smiled warmly, his voice soft, as if caressing a thin veil: "I've come to discuss some matters with your master."

The maid's expression changed slightly, as if she remembered something. She leaned closer and lowered her voice, "Are you from the Siyue Merchant Guild?"

"How did you know?" Connors glanced back at Barrow, then turned back to ask, his tone surprised.

"Several groups from the Yoshinobu Trading Company have visited my master recently. Apparently, it's because of some kind of relocation, but I don't know the specifics." The maid answered all her questions, acting like a completely obedient girl.

"Could you please inform your master that I'm here on behalf of the Four Yue Merchant Guild to discuss matters with him?" Connors stepped forward and leaned closer to speak.

Feeling the hot breath on her face, the maid's eyes welled up with tears, and her cheeks flushed even more.

She twisted her waist and said hesitantly, "No, Master just instructed me yesterday to refuse any more people from the Four Yue Merchants Association and not to let them in."

Connors laughed and said, "Just say the visitor's name is Connors Jon, and he'll come out when he hears that."

The maid was somewhat surprised and skeptical of his words, but good looks are justice, and under Connors's dazzling face, the maid obediently went into the house.

A moment later, the sound of bowls and chopsticks falling came from inside the room. A slightly fat figure rushed out, looked around, and then quickly came to Connors. His greasy face squeezed his eyes into slits.

"Lord Jon, I apologize for not greeting you sooner, please forgive me." Pig Dom rubbed his hands together, his smile obsequious.

Connors glanced at him sideways; this was the first time he had ever seen such a fat person since arriving in this world. How to describe him? The words "short, ugly, and fat" seemed tailor-made for him.

Connors asked, "I'm here for the relocation plan, and I've heard you've been obstructing it. What are your conditions?"

"This word 'obstruction' is a bit of an overstatement. I have never hindered your plans. Those are just the honest thoughts of the common people. I was just helping to summarize them." Pig laughed.

Connors didn't want to argue with him, so he simply waved his hand and said, "Just state your terms. We'll try our best to meet them, but in return, we hope you can work with the residents to get them to cooperate with the relocation."

Piglet was a little uncomfortable with such a direct approach, so he coughed twice and said, "Intime, go and get the drafted contract from my room."

"Yes, sir." The maid ran back into the house, and a moment later, she ran back again, holding a piece of paper in her hand.

"Give it to Lord Connors," Pigg said, pointing.

Connors took it and quickly glanced at the contents.

"Lord Connors, what does it say? Do you need my advice?" Barrow leaned closer and whispered, afraid that Connors might be tricked.

Connors handed him the contract with a cold smile: "Take a look for yourself."

After reading it, Barrow frowned; this was blatant extortion.

The contract actually required Connors to pay him 100,000 gold coins to make up for the losses incurred after the relocation.

"Sir, this is nothing short of banditry! Even robbery wouldn't be this fast!" Barrow protested in a low voice.

Connors laughed and said nonchalantly, "No problem, but I have one condition: this money must be paid after the relocation is completed."

What an idiot! Agreeing to such outrageous terms! It was supposed to leave room for the other party to lower the price, but it backfired. I should have raised it a bit more... Piglet said with a smile, "Of course, no problem."

The group went inside and drafted a new contract, adding the clause Connors had mentioned.

After signing, Connors handed the contract to the maid next to him.

The moment the two touched, the maid suddenly felt an itch in her palm and realized that Connors had secretly tickled her palm with his index finger while looking at her with an ambiguous gaze.

The maid blushed instantly, then glanced at Pige in a panic. Seeing that he was focused on the contract and hadn't noticed what was happening, she breathed a sigh of relief.