Chapter 185: Who Lasts Longer

The meeting room of Duke Garcia was engulfed in chaos.

“Urgent report!”

“We have a problem!”

“It’s a disaster, Your Grace!”

The urgent news kept pouring in, and the subordinates were panicking, their faces pale.

Papers that had been hurriedly brought in flew through the air as the desk was overturned.

At that moment, Duke Garcia raised his eyebrows and slammed his hand down on the table.

Bang!

“You incompetent fools.”

A momentary silence fell over the room at the duke’s cold voice.

No one knew what to say.

Duke Garcia spoke in a low tone.

“Do you still consider yourselves members of the esteemed House of Garcia?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Garcia family spread across the continent, including the capital, Kaistein.

They were expected to maintain dignity and composure in any situation.

The duke pointed out a few individuals.

“The chief officer and the heads of each branch, report.”

Following his directive, the chief officer and the branch heads hurried over.

Their faces were pallid as they began to relay their information.

“Communications from the trading companies are being severed one after another.”

“Stores have been attacked by ruthless gangs and burned to the ground.”

“We are getting reports that members of the trading companies are disappearing one by one…”

Duke Garcia’s eyebrows shot up.

“Under attack? By whom?”

“It hasn’t been precisely identified yet, but… people wearing black masks are said to be burning the trading posts and driving away customers.”

“How dare they act in such a manner, even after witnessing the Garcia family crest.”

“We also…”

Something felt off.

Despite the trading companies being dispersed, they weren’t typically easy targets.

“Since they are spread across various regions, they should have had capable armed forces stationed at all times, right?”

Even independent mercenaries were hired by the trading companies. What happened to them?

“That is…”

The chief officer lowered his head, his expression one of despair.

“Many of them have been neutralized by the attackers, and the mercenaries under contract with us have terminated their agreements and are acting independently.”

“What?”

“They said that since we had fallen out of favor with the royal family of Kaistein, we were no longer worth doing business with…”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Even though the Garcia family was at odds with the royal family, this made no sense. Mercenaries were strictly driven by money.

How could those bound by contract simply break it for such a trivial reason?

“This is the most absurd excuse I’ve ever heard. You’re telling me that mercenaries, who are more greedy for money than merchants, actually said such nonsense?”

“Well… there’s someone recently referred to as the Mercenary King. They said that this was his command.”

“What? Mercenary King? And he gave a command?”

“To be precise, it’s more of a suggestion rather than an order. He seems to have quite a reputation, and many mercenaries are following his lead.”

As a consequence, the trading companies affiliated with the Garcia family could no longer secure contracts with mercenaries.

Some of the larger trading companies that had maintained strong partnerships still retained a few willing to offer aid, but…

“Even if that’s the case, safeguarding a handful of buildings and trading posts is the extent of it… And even those mercenaries are beginning to abandon us in the face of the enemy’s assaults.”

“Are the city guard soldiers and territorial troops simply going to stand by and watch? They should have requested support from their lords!”

“That…”

The chief officer hesitated, unable to speak for a moment. Then, he shut his eyes tightly before speaking up.

“The lords have expressed that while they can accommodate many requests, they cannot act against the royal family.”

It was a matter of justification.

While they could secretly help in attacking the Seventh Prince, they could not provide support in a fight against the royal family.

“At the very least, the enemy’s level is a problem.”

“While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, they say there are knights among them. This is certainly why the lords aren’t helping us…”

“Still, it appears that, according to the Duke’s wishes, no one is taking sides.”

At those words, the others in the meeting room scoffed.

“What a joke. Trying to rationalize their inaction? They’re only concerned about self-preservation. If the Garcia trading companies collapse, they’ll prioritize saving themselves.”

“Do you know how much money we’ve given them? What nonsense…”

Some were fuming.

“But knights? Knights aren’t readily available. Are they truly employing such forces solely to target a trading company?”

“Does that even make sense?”

“Are they jesting?”

It was only natural.

It didn’t make sense that such powerful forces had been lying low all this time.

If they had any knights, they could have easily sided with King Eloin and struck against Garcia long ago.

But then, Duke Garcia had stepped in.

“Enough. If the chief officer has identified them as knights, then it must be true.”

“Ha… but Your Grace, aside from you and Duke Lavaltor, who in this country possesses such forces…”

“That’s absurd.”

The maintenance of knights required a vast amount of resources.

Very few held the means to support such expenses in this country.

Nevertheless, Duke Garcia remained calm.

‘Clever bastard. It seems he’s found a way around it.’

The duke’s eyes grew cold.

In his mind, two figures emerged: the Seventh Prince and the Third Prince.

It seemed they had formed an alliance.

However, this was not a major issue.

“No matter how many knights they have, they can’t strike all trading companies at once.”

“Then…”

“Split the trading companies into smaller groups. No matter how fast they are, they won’t be able to eliminate all of them.”

“However, if we do that, the losses will be immense…”

“Losses are just temporary. Regardless, when the First Prince becomes the Crown Prince, the power dynamics in this country will inevitably shift.”

No matter how formidable the Third Prince and his knights were, there were laws against defying royal authority.

“When the time arrives, even the mercenaries won’t dare to raise objections.”

“That’s… definitely true.”

“In that case, I will do my utmost to mitigate the losses for now.”

A sigh escaped from the mouths of Garcia’s mid-level officials.

Just when they believed the situation had been resolved…

“Th-this is serious.”

“What’s the matter now?”

A newly arrived subordinate closed his eyes tightly and shouted.

“We’ve just been informed that Bahara has ceased all trade… Our trading companies are now completely prohibited from entry.”

“What?”

To have trade cut off with an entire nation was a severe blow, even for the Duke of Garcia. However, that wasn’t the extent of the issue.

“Additionally, all ties with the royal family have been severed. Not only our main company but also the shadow trading companies are affected.”

“!”

As time went on, the situation grew increasingly dire.

The head of the trading companies wiped a somber expression from his face.

“It seems our territory is under siege. All communication with the outside world has been cut off.”

“Not just communication. The flow of all goods has ceased!”

Panic spread through the room.

Completely blockading a vast territory like Garcia’s was unprecedented.

“Even King Eloin wouldn’t be able to pull off such a feat.”

“But for some reason, all the lords near our borders have turned against us.”

“What are we supposed to do now, Your Grace?”

All eyes in the conference room turned anxiously towards the Duke of Garcia.

His gaze only grew colder.

***

Caw caw!

A hawk gliding through the skies suddenly dove downwards and landed swiftly on a man’s outstretched hand. It was Ian.

He swiftly checked the note attached to the hawk’s leg.

[Attack Completed]

The message was short but impactful.

Ian smiled at the note.

“As expected of Countess Aria.”

Aria Reese, the survivor of the once-great Adria family, who was now the contact of the current head of the family.

A gentle smile graced Ian’s lips as Nathan approached him, teasingly.

“Is that a love letter? Delivered by a hawk of all things. I never knew our prince had such romantic inclinations.”

“Romantic?”

“Isn’t it? A secret love letter delivered by a hawk. As your senior, I should lend you some advice on romance…”

“You don’t need to give me any advice.”

“Oh, come now, don’t be like that. Let me, Nathan, guide you through the nuances of love step by step…

“If you keep talking, I’ll tell the First Princess that Sir Nathan would appreciate such communication.”

“What! I never said that!”

Nathan stepped back in surprise.

Ian smiled at his reaction.

But at that moment, what mattered most to him was the note in his hand.

‘How well will the Duke of Garcia fare against Adria the Intellect’s planned attack?’

He had felt it when he first met Aria Reese.

The Adria family had a deep-rooted grudge against the Garcia family.

And Ian also had a grudge against Garcia.

They had much in common, and an attack on Garcia had long been in the works.

Nathan glanced around for a moment before speaking in a serious tone.

“Are you really going to attack? Against Garcia? It won’t be easy.”

“Of course. And… the attack has already begun.”

“What? Really?”

Ian smirked.

His words were no joke.

“I’ll attack using what Garcia does best.”

“What do you mean by what he does best? Isn’t Garcia all about money?”

“Exactly.”

It was about wealth.

They planned to dry up the financial resources of the Garcia family, who were raking in enormous amounts of money through their widespread trading companies.

If Aria had prepared well as they had discussed beforehand…

‘Duke Garcia’s blood will run cold.’

There was no doubt about it.

They had not prepared just one or two methods.

The Adria family, after all, had been laying the groundwork behind the scenes.

‘We’ve identified all the Garcia family’s trading companies, as well as their underground supporters.’

But that wasn’t all.

They had also recruited those who were hostile to Garcia to completely ruin him.

As befitting the ‘Adria of Intellect,’ their preparations were flawless.

‘Even the artists and scholars that the Adria family supported in the past are lending a hand.’

Even Gerard, now a mercenary king, stood with them.

The reason they had been waiting all this time was simple: to completely bring down Garcia and to find someone capable of revealing their truth.

And finally, the time had come.

It was Ian—the one successor who could help them.

There was no longer a need to wait.

Ian smiled.

“From now on, something quite interesting is going to unfold.”

“What trick do you have up your sleeve this time, Your Highness?”

“Well, let’s see.”

Moreover, the place Ian had sent a message to wasn’t just Aria Reese.

Soon, new messages began to arrive for Ian, who had just released the hawk.

Coo coo coo.

This time, it wasn’t a messenger hawk but a carrier pigeon.

The first messenger he dispatched was the last to return.

[Will you now recognize me as your chancellor?]

It was a message from the Second Princess in Bahara.

She had effectively severed Garcia’s ties to Bahara, restructured the distribution network to shield against his influence, coordinated with the Kaistein royal family to expel the Garcia trading company, and rallied the neighboring lords.

‘It appears she has exceeded my expectations…’

But that was sufficient. Ian could no longer delay.

Swiftly gathering the notes, he made his way indoors.

“Where are you off to, Your Highness? Allow me to accompany you!”

“I don’t have the time for leisure. Hurry and join me.”

Messages had arrived from the two most important people.

Now, it was time to mobilize others.

Ignoring Nathan, who was trailing behind him, Ian entered the heart of Helgaia—the lord’s castle.

There, many people were already waiting for him.

“You’ve arrived, Your Highness.”

“We are prepared.”

More than a dozen people were waiting for him in the conference room, including the butler of the Crystal Palace, the village chief of Labadom, the leaders of the mercenary groups, and several nobles.

These people, whom he had gathered until now, were his vassals and loyal subjects.

They were people who had been influenced by his actions until now.

Ian stood before them.

“I’ve received a message. There’s no need to wait any longer.”

“Are we moving right away?”

“We must.”

Ian called over the butler standing at the front.

“What is the strength of our enemies?”

“It is estimated to be around fifty thousand. They have completely surrounded Helgaia.”

“And our forces?”

“We have around twenty thousand.”

Defending might be sustainable, but their military strength was clearly insufficient for an offensive.

Nevertheless, Ian smiled.

“That’s more than sufficient. We merely need to stall.”

“But… our food supplies are running low. Even with our reserves, we can only last a month at most.”

If this continued, the citizens of Helgaia and the mercenaries might revolt.

No one could fight without food. But Ian replied calmly,

“Food is not a concern. We have ample reserves and a discreet way to transport them. The Dragon Carriage is also prepared.”

The focus was on diverting the enemy’s focus and consuming their time.

Each passing day would exponentially increase their losses.

“Garcia may possess vast wealth, but let’s observe how long he can sustain his forces. Additionally, ready the troops for a siege. We must be primed for an offensive at any moment.”

“As you command.”

In reality, the enemy was in the same predicament.

Like Ian, they were also completely surrounded in their territory.

But their situation was far worse.

‘With the population of the Garcia Dukedom to feed, the food they produce won’t be nearly enough.’

It was a territory that had originally focused on commerce rather than agriculture.

Now, with trade halted, each passing day would make it harder for them to survive.

“Will they truly have the luxury to attack us?”

“As a duke, Garcia will risk all to try and best me. That’s his nature.”

Unlike others, Ian was certain of this.

Even in such a crisis, Garcia would maintain his cool demeanor and aim directly for the heart of his enemies.

But Ian was someone who understood the duke’s mindset better than anyone else.

“Let’s see who can hold out longer.”

With Ian’s command, dozens of people bowed their heads.

It was finally time to lead Duke Garcia into true despair.