Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

"Did I hear that right?" "Isn't this different from what you said before?" "Change it, change it to hell! I've been wanting to get rid of his curly hair for a long time!"

“I thought we were going to talk about the Cold Iron Guard today,” Cliff scoffed. “If it’s not related to that, then I’m not interested.”

"The Cold Iron Guard was created by the current city lord and those council members, wasn't it?" Duncan said calmly. "To solve a problem, we can't just solve the problem itself. A better way is to solve the people who caused the problem—Reslaufer has already set a good example for us."

"A good start? I think it's more like a harbinger of destruction. This is pushing those wavering nobles to the other side, making them completely stand with those northerners against us! My Shattered Bone Legion may not be afraid, but everyone here is a fellow warrior. I came here because I didn't want you to lose your jobs, but now!"

Cliff pounded on the table: "Dubler and Shuangchou, to put it bluntly, they're just not afraid of death. Even death row inmates and slaves could do this kind of work! The barbarians of Ampiri are notoriously fearless, and they're cheaper than you! What advantages do you have? The city lord? The city lord is just a title. Anyone could take that position. In my opinion, they're just following the trend! What we should do is negotiate with them, define our respective responsibilities and territories, and achieve a win-win future. That's a more reasonable future."

"You think Leslaufer did a great job today? Ha, ridiculous! Let me ask you, how many of you don't plan to retire and die on the battlefield? Now that you've pulled this stunt, which lord will dare to give us a way out? Yes, we fought them before, but that was all justified. They owed us wages and breached their contracts, so we had a reason to fight them. But what about now? Look at that woman on the ground. Tell me, what did she die from?"

"What, you're really planning to go to war with Ironforge? I, Cliff, am the first to disagree!"

Chapter 583 Each side presents their advantages and disadvantages

Cliff blurted out his thoughts in one breath, then stared intently at Duncan, waiting for his reaction.

The Bonebreaker Legion is small in number and never expands even when hired, because as a heavy cavalry unit, each member has limited resources and is carefully selected. In the Empire, even cavalrymen in the East receive forty gold coins each, and as the heavy cavalry legion of Eastern Inassus, their pay far surpasses that of even the captains of the Imperial cavalry.

Therefore, Cliff looked down on the guards and patrols in Ironforge, and the Bonebreaker Chapter never bothered to take on such tasks. As for what happened to his other colleagues, it was none of his business.

So when Lovisa Richter approached him with a host of promised benefits, Cliff agreed to all the terms without the slightest hesitation. All he needed to do was persuade the offended mercenaries to relinquish some of their work.

Mercenaries should prove their worth on the battlefield. This has always been Cliff's belief—what kind of mercenary are they if they're just guarding other people's homes?

On the battlefield, who can withstand the charge of heavy cavalry?

Not to mention that Lovisa, that woman, promised to provide them with healing potions and equipment repair and maintenance on a regular basis!

"You seem to think that this compromise is acceptable?"

Cliff spoke, and the mercenary leaders all shut their mouths. Duncan looked at them with some disappointment; not one of them had stood up to refute him.

Was it because they also found it acceptable? Or did they, like Cliff, receive benefits?

Lovisa was no easy opponent; she had her eye on Duncan's awkward position. Although as the leader, Duncan commanded respect from various mercenaries and wielded considerable influence, he couldn't actually control many people when it came to interests. Even knowing that Cliff and Lovisa had become allies, there was nothing he could do.

Otherwise, there would be no need for today's meeting.

"Why can't we accept it?" Cliff Hu Qing's lips curled into a smirk. "In the end, it's just a bunch of petty gains. I don't understand why you guys are being so radical! Watchdog jobs are short-term and low-paying. Only third-rate people would even look at them—would any of you take on such a job? It would ruin your reputation! If they want it, then give it to them!"

“But if that happens, many of the brothers might not have anything to eat…” A man at the back of the long table spoke in a low voice, but his voice was quickly drowned out by Cliff’s loud voice.

"No way to make a living? Who? You? Or me?" The leader of the Shattered Bone Battle Group sneered. "Those kinds of trash can just starve to death. If they can't do this job, they should go home and farm. It's good that we don't have to share money with these good-for-nothings."

Without these cheaper small gangs, employers will only have the option of large or well-known warbands like theirs, which will be more expensive, but they will have no other choice. This was also one of the visions that Lovisa had previously promised Cliff.

Cliff then began to tell the others about the benefits of doing so, following the rhetoric Lovisa had taught him. Perhaps he was just a shrewd but rough man, but Lovisa was not. The various favorable conditions were enough to tempt these mercenary leaders.

Ultimately, those who are able to sit here will not have their jobs taken by the Cold Iron Guard, and those whose jobs are taken away are simply because they did nothing.

“If that’s the outcome, you won’t need to look for rats in Ironforge anymore,” Kalista’s voice rang out leisurely. “Go beg for food from the gentlemen. From now on, we’ll handle things officially.”

Since she was also a mercenary, and these mercenaries had previously been able to solve many problems in Ironforge using rat swarms, her current stance immediately caused some people in the back seats to waver again.

Previously, the rats provided convenience to the mercenaries, and the mercenaries would also make things easy for the rats when managing the security of Ironforge. It was because of this relationship that Kalista was sitting here today. However, if these matters are handled by those noble sons in the future, the mutual benefit between her and the mercenaries will no longer exist.

Cliff may not care, but unlike the patrol work itself, Calistra's departure will affect the interests of those present.

“You’re just being emotional, Callistra,” Cliff said immediately, seeing the situation might escalate. “Don’t bring your personal grudges with the Cold Iron Guard into the open! Raslaufer killed one of their officers, and that alone is enough to give us a headache—you don’t think settling with them is going to be easy, do you?”

“You sound like you’re in a difficult position, Cliff,” Duncan interjected casually. “You’re caught in the middle now, aren’t you?”

“I’m sitting here, I’m on our side,” Cliff scoffed. “I’m here so that we can all have a better life!”

"But your strategy seems more like making yourself better off."

Mary slowly raised her hand, indicating that she was the one who should speak. She looked at the chapter commander, whose eyes were wide open and who looked like he was about to devour her, but she was not afraid—Leslaufer was sitting there, and he had not yet spoken.

"I apologize, but I come from a minor noble family in Qingzun City. My father obtained his noble status through business, so if you gentlemen are talking about 'interests,' I might have some say in the matter."

Mary ignored Cliff, stood up and bowed to Duncan: "However, I am an outsider and may not be qualified to speak, so I think I need your permission."

Duncan nodded, indicating that Mary should continue.

“Well then, thank you very much—Uncle Raslaw has told me many of your legendary stories,” Mary smiled, seeing a satisfied blush rise on Duncan’s pale face, and draped her braid over her shoulder. “I can give you examples to prove that when the living conditions for newcomers or those who are not skilled are harsh in a profession, no matter how prosperous the position may seem, the profession is actually declining. Just as a house cannot exist without a foundation, an industry cannot exist without its core. You might recall, in the beginning, wasn’t the mercenary profession established to protect the property and lives of the wealthy?”

"If we lose the higher-level industries, we still have a chance to climb back to the top; but if we lose even our initial position, we may not even have a way out if we face changes in the future. I don't need to remind you all how old you can work as soldiers on the battlefield?"

Chapter 584 Parting Ways

Most mercenaries' glory days are at this moment, as if everyone in this line of work has tacitly agreed that their lives will end in their forties or fifties.

But that's not actually the case. Mercenaries who live to that age will still live, even if they are just walking corpses. They are still considered "alive." Even the mercenaries who like to spend their money on pink houses, alcohol, and grass will subconsciously save some money for themselves.

This money was obviously not enough. If they didn't intend to end their own lives, they would have to find other jobs, and working as patrol officers, sheriffs, or even bodyguards was their only option.

What if these positions were filled by younger, more capable people who were better than they were back then?

“But as far as I know, the upper district of Qingzun City doesn’t have a foundation, right? So we should be able to too…” Compared to these abstract logics, some mercenaries thought it would be easier to start with the specific examples Mary gave.

“So it collapsed,” Mary replied, shrugging her shoulders. “Otherwise, why would I be here?”

“But how long has the City of Tranquil Wine existed!” Cliff immediately retorted. “Is there anyone among us who can outlive a city? When the time comes, we’ll kick the bucket and close our eyes, and who cares about the deluge behind us!”

The rise and fall of an industry—although Cliff himself just used this to convince others, in reality, who cares?

Mary shrugged and sat down, but Leslaufer tapped the table, silencing the crowd.

He turned to Cliff and said, "You really don't have to worry about it, Cliff. You really won't live to see the day 'Bottle City' collapses, because you probably won't even live to see its upper city take flight—want to verify?"

“Is all you do is threaten others, Raslaufer!” Cliff glared at Doppler and reached for his sword. But his legs were much more honest than his hands and mouth, immediately pulling him away from the table.

He was a cavalryman, and his high value was tied to his warhorse, his armor, and the comrades who charged alongside him, but here he was all alone.

However, he was no pushover either. He didn't believe that Raslaufer could kill him unharmed, just as he didn't believe that he could walk out of the house alive if the other party made a move.

“I’m not threatening you, I’m just stating the facts,” Leslaufer pushed back his chair and plopped down on the table. “Miss Mary is an intellectual; she probably knows more words than I’ve killed, so I don’t have any of that ‘city of wine’ stuff. I only have one question for you, and for everyone here:”

"What Cliff meant by delineating responsibilities and divisions should be that we take some and they take some. But the work that the Cold Iron Guard is now preparing to take over is the task that we mercenaries have always been undertaking, so..."

"Why are we giving away our own things to those young masters and ladies? What gives us the right?"

“We’re actually holding this meeting now, pretending to be serious about whether this is reasonable or not?! How the hell is this reasonable? Cliff, if you insist on talking to them, fine! Take out your money, put it here, and let everyone share it with you, how about that!”

As soon as Raslaufer said this, he received an immediate response. Several people who had already supported going to war with the Cold Iron Guard immediately stood up: "Lord Raslaufer is right! It's our stuff to begin with, why should we share it with those young ladies and gentlemen? Who do they think they are? They're even more of a robber than us!"

Cliff slammed his hand on the back of the chair, interrupting their argument: "Then tell me, why should I use my men to fight for the interests of you good-for-nothings? If you want to fight, let whoever wants this job fight it out themselves! Don't drag me into it!"

After saying that, he ignored everyone else, turned around and left the union in a huff.

“Um… Boss Duncan,” seeing the situation had escalated to this point, the two men who were afraid of offending Cliff quickly stood up, but they also dared not offend Duncan, so they could only nod and bow with smiles on their faces, “We suddenly remembered that we have some things to do, so we have to… say goodbye in advance.”

Duncan looked at them, but there was nothing he could do: "Anyone else who wants to leave, just go together. No need to see me off."

The two men left, expressing their gratitude profusely. After a while, several more people left, including some who had just agreed with Raslaufer's point of view. For them, Raslaufer and Cliff's views did not conflict at all, and it would not affect them which one they ultimately adopted.

“A complete mess,” Angelita sighed, rolling her eyes as she watched the people leave. “If they were in the Imperial Guard, they would all be hanged as deserters.”

“From that perspective, maybe we really should just give it all away,” Duncan chuckled, but his attendant offered him a cigarette to calm his pain. “But unfortunately, I’m a mercenary, and I love this line of work. I can’t accept the way the garrison operates, no matter how right they may be.”

“Those who were supposed to leave have left, and I think those who are left are all on our side, right? Let’s talk about the next important matter: without Cliff’s mediation, we’ve completely broken ties with them. So I’d rather strike first than wait for them to make a move on us.”

“Perhaps we can use the same methods that Leslaufer used before?” Callistra suggested. “Give me some time, and I can give this woman lying on the ground some characteristics of a cultist or even a demon. It doesn’t need to be too realistic; just continue to portray them as demons.”

"The memory of the last time the city was ravaged by demons is still in everyone's mind. Even if they've forgotten, I can have the rat cubs help them remember—they'll fall for it."

The lord of Ironforge is not some absolute ruler. When the time comes, he will pull out the radish and bring out the mud, and none of them will be able to escape. The so-called "official certification" of the Cold Iron Guard will naturally become a piece of waste paper and will no longer be of any use.

“Yes, in fact, these little tricks are secondary,” Duncan nodded. “The important thing is that Cliff and the others have weakened our strength considerably, and once we start fighting, the outcome may not be very certain.”

Raslaufer placed the blood-stained black flame greatsword across his lap: "Then let's make our move tonight. Draw your sword first, then ask questions. As long as the person is dead, whatever they say is our business. There's no need to wait for evidence—it's all fake anyway."

Just as everyone was arguing, suddenly, a mercenary guarding the gate came tumbling in, stumbling and crawling all the way to Duncan's desk, where he fell face-first to the ground: "Duncan, Boss Duncan, something bad has happened! The Cold Iron Guard is coming this way, and those Northmen who were outside the fourth floor before—the gatekeeper just let them all in!"

“Cliff!” Callistra jumped to her feet. “That traitor who betrayed his own side, it must be him! I knew it! No wonder he kept saying nice things about those guys!”

The mercenary who came in to deliver the message looked like he was about to cry: "How did you know he was still around? His Bonecrusher Legion entered the city sometime ago, and their heavy cavalry is already only two streets away from us!"

They had been planning to use force all along!

Chapter 585 Each with Their Own Justification

"Maintain order at Ironforge!"

"Strictly enforce discipline within the mercenary force!"

"Give me back my fiancée's life!"

On the streets, three groups of people surged toward the Mercenary Guild, quickly merging along the way as if they had been rehearsed beforehand.

At the very front of the procession were the pirates who had come from afar, now calling themselves "Ampiri." They wore horned helmets, their beards were tied in knots like dwarves, and they mostly carried cork shields and battle axes. Their animal skin armor still carried the chill of the far north.

The leader of these men was a Goliath, who looked like a giant from ancient times, but he wore exquisite iron armor and dragged a giant hammer made of cold iron behind him. The craftsmanship was completely unlike that of Ampiri.

Behind this group were members of the Cold Iron Guard, mainly infantry with only a small number of cavalry, and their mounts were merely hunting horses. Perhaps Raslaufer had already dealt with the vast majority of them.

But the most important and dangerous force was the heavy cavalry bringing up the rear of the entire column. Cliff had completely lost the caution he displayed when facing Raslaufer. He leaned back slightly, one hand holding the reins, the other carrying a long halberd, forming a formidable wall of troops alongside his own. Around them were more scattered mercenaries, seemingly recruited or coerced by Cliff.

Skadi also liked to use a halberd, but the sense of oppression she and Cliff exuded while riding horses and wielding halberds was worlds apart—one underground, the other in the heavens.

Raslaw pushed Duncan out the door. The "human stick" watched silently as the massive procession slowly approached, his eyes rolling back. He turned his neck and saw even more on the city wall not far away.

The Cold Iron Guard does not represent their own will, but the collective will of Ironforge, its lord, and a group of nobles. If the situation is not handled well, they will be surrounded and killed in their current positions.

“Since the guests have come, we can’t be without gifts,” Duncan said, still sounding like he was sighing. It was unclear whether he was regretting that the normal conflict could only be resolved this way or lamenting the people who were about to lose their lives. “Come on, bring out our stuff too.”

The rumble of machinery pushed the street, already trembling from the hooves and boots, into a trembling like ocean waves. Behind the mercenary guild, doors disguised as walls were pushed open one after another, and in the shadows of the buildings, siege weapons that had been assembled long ago pointed their bloodthirsty fangs at the street ahead.

These behemoths only need to be disassembled when they need to be moved, and one of them was disassembled last time at Reslaufer's request. As for the rest, they were secretly manufactured specifically to deal with today's situation.

"Those mercenaries! Are they crazy?!" Seeing the crossbows, chariots, and even catapults being erected around the mercenary guild, the citizens who had come to watch the spectacle screamed and scattered in all directions, wishing they had more legs.

Among these people are spellcasters or skilled warriors, but... those are weapons used for sieges! Could they be more resilient than city walls?

Leaving aside these idlers, even those who came with ill intentions and aggression changed color after witnessing all this. Many of them immediately began to look for cover, fearing that the other party might open fire at the slightest provocation.

That woman named Lovisa deceived them—or perhaps even she herself didn't realize—that the Mercenary Guild had more than just that one piece of equipment!

Some people had the same thought: perhaps, just as they had planned to launch an attack today, these mercenaries had also been thinking the same thing all along?!

But they're just mercenaries! How did they manage to do all this? It's incredibly secretive!

Wearing a cat-face mask, Tieflin stood gracefully behind Duncan, casually waving his hand to the side as an answer to the question: As a Rat King launched a specially made firework into the sky, and the cat-shaped pattern exploded brilliantly in the air, everyone in Iron Keep, no matter where they were, was surprised to find that one after another, previously little-known figures began to move. They were ragged, but carried sharp blades. Their eyes were calm, and their goal was clear: they surged against the flow of people towards the Mercenary Guild. In no time, Cliff and his men were astonished to find that the situation, which should have been one of numerical superiority, had turned into one where they were the ones being surrounded, as one head after another peeked out from the streets and windows!

But... these people have almost no equipment, and many of them look like ordinary people, ordinary children! What kind of effect can such a team have? Are they planning to exhaust them to death by sheer numbers? What a joke!

“It seems it’s time for everything to come to a showdown,” Callistra smiled slightly behind her mask, looking at her somewhat bewildered rivals. “Come on, show your weapons. When these children’s bodies lie strewn across the streets, let’s see if you’ll still be as righteous as you claim.”

"This is Iron Fortress, a city surrounded by seven layers of iron. Here, we always have more people."

"You think this will scare us?" Goliath, the leader of the Amprii, scoffed. "In the Amprii, they are already old enough to be called warriors! We will show absolutely no mercy!"

Cliff spurred his horse forward, saying, "Besides, it's you who are sending them to their deaths; such petty tricks are completely useless!"

"Yeah?!"

Callistra didn't speak, but a boy rushed out from a nearby alley, pulling up his only clothes to reveal a bulge of smoke bombs: "This is our city! Northerners, get out!"

"Get out of here, you traitors!" "We will defend our city to the death!"

“Outsiders shouldn’t be here, let alone on the third floor,” Duncan said calmly. “See? This city doesn’t welcome you Ampiri.”

“If someone wants to give up the land we’ve lived on for generations, then you shouldn’t stay here either—what do you think?”

For a time, one side claimed to be protecting their homeland, while the other claimed to be maintaining order. It seemed that both sides had their own reasons, and both were quite righteous. But in reality, both sides knew perfectly well that if not a single penny had been involved, this conflict would never have occurred.

"Enough!" Goliath remained completely uninvolved in the heated argument; to him, it was all utterly ridiculous. If it weren't for Lovisa insisting he shout that slogan, he wouldn't have bothered to even speak—fiancée? What kind of woman had become his fiancée?

Just because she's a minor noblewoman? He, Nior, is the chieftain of his tribe! He's had enough of all this formality!

On his right arm, muscles began to taut. Nior aimed at the weak, wiry man in the center, who was sitting in a wheelchair. The next moment, the massive hammer, weighing nearly a hundred pounds, soared into the air like a fierce griffin and slammed down on Duncan!

Chapter 586 Old Friends

The whistling sound of the heavy hammer cutting through the air immediately drowned out all verbal claims, heading straight for Duncan, as if it wouldn't stop until it had smashed him and his vehicle to dust. A series of exclamations and angry shouts erupted from the surrounding rats and mercenaries.

No one had time, nor dared to, to intercept the overwhelming attack, but even so, Duncan, the target, sat there motionless, not because he lacked the necessary limbs.

He didn't even blink.