Chapter 349: The True Demon King Never Looks Back at the Explosion
h The morning after Prince Colin left, the entire Holy City was immersed in a subtle commotion composed of anticipation and uneasiness.
It’s not because of Prince Colin.
It is not entirely because of the Knights Templar.
It was because of a novel that suddenly became popular - "The Drifting of Baron Corsia"
The citizens of the Holy City had never seen such an interesting "farming novel", and it was also mixed with the love and hatred of nobles that they had no contact with at ordinary times. They are looking forward to the next chapter, but they are also afraid that this chapter will end at the most exciting point like the previous one.
When newsboys walking around the streets distributed the new issue of "New World", still exuding the fragrance of ink, to every corner of the Holy City, it was snatched up almost instantly by the eagerly awaited citizens.
Their fanatical appearance is like that of someone addicted to cigarettes.
Without any surprise, the sales of "New World News" once again hit a new high. And the content published in the newspaper was like a depth charge thrown into the lake, setting off huge waves!
In the latest chapter of the story, the protagonist of the story, Tich Kosia, after building a simple shelter, on a stormy night, began to fondly recall the land in his hometown of the empire where his family had lived for generations - the manor in Bailu District.
With delicate and emotional strokes, he painted details that only members of his family knew: such as the century-old oak tree on the east side of the manor that was split in half by lightning but still grew tenaciously; such as the three huge stones on the farm hill that were used as boundary markers by ancestors and were arranged in a strange triangle.
These words are superficially expressing a drifter's endless longing for his hometown. However, every member of Baron de Vol's party who reads these details and knows the inside story can't help but break out in a cold sweat.
That's not just lyrical.
Between the lines of Baron Cosia's words, he was clearly quietly declaring to the Holy City the Cosia family's unquestionable legal ownership of that land.
He is telling those who are ready to watch him, and he is telling those who are afraid of the power of Prince Colin and do not dare to stand against him easily.
He has not forgotten.
The reckoning has just begun.
This chapter, Baron Cosia ends with an impassioned awakening, and also formally declares his undeclared ambition since returning to the Holy City——
"...I do not hate the captain who tricked me into boarding the ship, That guy is undoubtedly a fool, a slave captured by money, and a poor man without faith. I can't scold him too much, but it will be Saint Sith who will judge him, not me. When I get back to the shore, I will smash the gold coin hard on his chest and tell him that we are clear."
"I don't hate the servant who encouraged me to cheer up. He took the money and it was true, but if he hadn't been so disappointed with the Coscia family, he would definitely not have chosen to betray his ancestors who had been working in the manor for generations."
"On the night when the storm came, I made a decision——"
"Since the supreme gods did not let me be buried in the sea, it must be because I have a mission that I have to complete. I will continue along my path, return to where I came from, and get back the honor and land that belongs to me, and let the person who really harmed me with malicious intent go to hell and stay with the devil he serves."
"In a trance, I heard Him whispering in front of me -"
h "'Every penny and every piece of land that the slaves of the devil have defrauded you from, the Holy Light will get it back for you.'"
∣ ‘ The “determination of vengeance” and “the god that the devout see in a trance” both tug at the heartstrings of the citizens of the Holy City.
However, what is infuriating is that this short and weak guy is missing again.
In addition to the novel serialized in the second edition, this issue of "New World News" also published a more explosive news.
It is like a time bomb, lying quietly in the third section of the newspaper——
"The Dilemma of One Million Gold Coins: Prince Colin's Goodwill and the Imperial Bank's Conservatism"
The article used a compassionate tone and "objectively" reported that the "Dantes Group" applied for a million gold coin loan from the Imperial Bank to develop the Bailu District, but was ultimately rejected.
It cleverly packaged the matter into a tragic story of "an enterprising reformer with a heart for his homeland" who was ruthlessly hindered by an "old financial system with rigid rules and conservative thinking."
At the end of the article, the author also raised "well-intentioned" concerns about the future investment prospects of Bailu District, implying that if even a distinguished and generous gentleman like Prince Colin cannot successfully complete financing, how can the confidence of other investors be maintained?
"——As we all know, the banks in the Holy City will only lend money to people who don't need the money at all, but they turn a blind eye to those who really need the cash flow. It is true that the borrower is not His Highness Colin himself, and the Imperial Royal Bank has reasons to refuse approval, but everyone knows who is standing behind Sir Dantès, and everyone knows how optimistic His Highness Colin is about the development of Bailu District."
Of course, not only one newspaper company is paying attention to such heavyweight news.
Almost as soon as the latest issue of "New World" revealed the matter, "Quds Daily", which has a larger circulation, quickly completed the interview with the person involved and urgently printed a batch of extra issues, providing the citizens watching the excitement with the other side of the story.
In the interview, Hogan Nora, the president of Imperial Bank, said in strong words that the Dantes Group has never provided any valuable collateral, and it is impossible for him to lend "His Majesty the Emperor's money" to a "guy trying to get away with nothing."
…"Unless His Royal Highness Prince Colin uses his personal name and uses his income in Janna as a guarantee, the bank will never approve this loan!" President Hogan said in the report, and the headline was also accompanied by a photo of his magic, which vividly portrayed his righteous words.
As soon as this report came out, public opinion in the Holy City suddenly became more confusing, and each side seemed to have its own reasons.
In the early morning of the next day, "Quds Daily" went on to report the response of the Dantes Group.
Mr. Edmond Dantès expressed his great disappointment and indignation at President Hogan calling him a "white wolf guy".
He publicly declared that he was "seriously considering" moving the entire investment plan to other provinces in the empire that were more interested in it.
Even a vassal state of the empire.
This news was like a huge stone, breaking the hearts of all the speculators who had invested heavily in Bailu District, and also made the citizens who were watching the excitement excited.
Good fellows——
Sir Dantès and the Imperial Bank are scolding each other in the newspapers!
In addition to those who eat melons and watch the excitement, there are also those who try to take advantage of the situation.
For example, the president of Minaret Bank, another powerful private bank in the Holy City, lost no time in offering an olive branch to Dantes Group during an interview.
This gentleman smiled and hinted that Minaret Bank was very happy to provide full financial support for "a plan that will bring great prosperity to the Holy City."
However, as of press time, Mr. Edmond Dantès has not made any response on this matter.
An "informed person" who did not want to be named told reporters that Mr. Dantès may have been heartbroken by the cold business environment in the Holy City.
He may really be leaving.
But this time His Highness Colin left the Holy City, in fact, he was not going to learn any magic at all, but to go to the vassal countries of the empire to find more investment opportunities...
In the new manor of Baron Devore, the sunshine at three o'clock in the afternoon was warm and genial, dyeing the vast lawn into a dazzling golden green.
This place is more than fifty kilometers away from the Holy City. In the era when newspapers were still transported by horse-drawn carriages, the storms there could not blow here for the time being.
At this moment, Baron Ralph Devore and his neighbor Baron Wilson Ludd are playing the same historic sport on this wide lawn.
It's name is "goalball". Simply put, it involves swinging a long pole vigorously to hit an egg-sized wooden ball into a small door that is as wide as a shoe.
This sport is quite popular among the nobles of the Austro Empire. It is not only a pastime, but also a way for the owner to quietly show off his vast land to his neighbors.
At this moment, Ralph was enjoying this pride.
He looked at the unhappy Baron Wilson Ludd next to him, and deliberately slowed down his movements, enjoying the undisguised envy in his eyes.
"It seems that you were not slow this time and got a lot of good land." There was a hint of sourness in Wilson's tone. He just missed the swing and the wooden ball rolled far away.
If he hadn’t asked for help from others, he would never have come here to suffer this evil!
"To each other."
Ralph smiled and swung the golf club gracefully. The light wooden ball drew a perfect arc and scraped into the door with a "dong" sound.
He straightened up with satisfaction and said in a victor's tone.
"For the Devore family, taking over the land in the Bailu District is as easy as hitting this ball into a hole... You know my method."
Wilson's face turned even more ugly.
Since taking over the land of the Kosia family, the Bailu District has become dominated by the Devore family, and he and another baron have almost lost their sense of existence.
He was silent for a moment, then seemed to finally make up his mind, stepped forward and said.
"Ralph, we have recovered almost all the scattered land in the hands of farmers. But the real bulk, and the most valuable one, is still in the hands of the townspeople in Bailu Town."
"The citizens of the Holy City have nothing to fear. The most they can do is pick up some leftover scraps from our hands. You and I both know that the only competitors in this game are you, me and Baron Tecumseh. If we fight among ourselves, we will only dilute the profits in vain. I I have already contacted Tecumseh... What I mean is, how about the three of us simply draw a clear boundary, each eating his own food, and not reaching out to each other's territory? "
After hearing the proposal of cooperation, Ralph did not answer immediately.
He squinted his eyes and looked at his own lush forest land in the distance, with an old fox-like smile on his face.
"Wilson, my friend, you have to know that opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared... Of course, the same is true for land."
Having a relationship with Huck Alton, the president of the Bailu District Branch, he has plenty of confidence.
How could he be stupid enough to agree to Wilson's proposal and let this hungry wolf snatch even a small piece of meat from his dinner plate, knowing that the value of the land in his hands would soon double again?
Of course he wants them all!
As long as he can build up a relationship with His Highness Colin through this profitable business, he would not dare to even think about Wilson's share!
Wilson immediately understood the arrogance and rejection in his words, and finally understood the real intention of this guy inviting him to come to this lawn to talk about things.
This is a shameless humiliation!
His face turned from red to green, and finally he cursed under his breath, threw the club in his hand to the ground, and walked towards his carriage without looking back.
"Hahahaha!"
Looking at the angry back of the "good neighbor", Ralph finally couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh.
He has been holding back for a long time to see the expression on that guy's face, and now he finally doesn't have to continue acting.
"It seems that our Mr. Wilson stepped on cow dung today and is not in a good mood. May Saint Seth bless him haha!"
Finally laughed enough, Ralph joked to himself and threw the club in his hand casually to the servant on the side.
However, his pride did not last long, and the rapid shouting almost followed Wilson's back as he left angrily.
"Master! Master!"
Ralph turned around and saw his wife, Mira, holding up her skirt and running quickly from the direction of the mansion with a trace of panic on her face.
Her breathing was rapid, and she was holding a newspaper that had just arrived tightly in her hand. Judging from the cover, it seemed to be "Quds Daily".
"What's the matter, dear? It's not like you to be so flustered." Ralph frowned and took the newspaper, with a hint of reproach in his tone.
However, when his eyes fell on the newspaper page and saw the report about the Imperial Bank's refusal to provide loans to the "Dantes Group", the smile on his face instantly solidified.
Especially when he read President Hogan Nora’s tough and even merciless rejection, Ralph’s face turned pale.
Saint Sith, above...
He dared to call Sir Dantès a wolf with empty gloves!
How dare a small bank president!
Forcing himself to calm down, Ralph patted his wife's cold hand and comforted her.
"Don't panic, my dear. This... may be just some misunderstanding between Mr. Hogan and Sir Dantès. We can't mess up the situation ourselves."
He paused, trying to make his voice sound calmer, and continued cautiously.
"However, there is something fishy about this matter. As soon as His Royal Highness Prince Colin left, President Hogan dared to fall out with his people... I think we should take it slow for the land in Bailu Town, and don't rush to get it all."
The Imperial Royal Bank is the emperor's money bag. Unlike other private banks, there is no specific nobleman standing behind it in name.
However, in an empire where the will to power determines everything, another meaning of "no background" is "anyone can control it." In other words, anyone can exert influence on this powerless bank president.
With his many years of experience in the Holy City, Ralph figured out the context behind the whole thing almost instantly.
Without a doubt——
His Highness Colin had a little unpleasantness with a certain big shot in the Holy City, and the big shot didn't want to have a complete falling out with His Highness Colin, so he used this just-right method to hit His Highness who was too eager for the limelight.
But...
Who is that person?
Could it be the Castellon family?
I heard that Andrei had always wanted to introduce his daughter to His Highness Colin, but Colin refused in every possible way without being polite. This time he even left the Holy City in a hurry, maybe just to avoid the overly enthusiastic young lady.
If the Castellon family understands this as a shame, it is not impossible to use their power to retaliate.
However——
If this reason is true, based on the prince's recent romantic performance in the Holy City, Castellon is not the only family that has reason to do this?
A thin layer of sweat climbed up on Ralph's forehead. He once thought he was a vulture soaring in the sky...until he faced the real invisible hand of power.
The Senate of the Holy City is like a huge black box, and even he can only rely on guessing to judge the turmoil behind it.
But no matter what, there is nothing wrong with being careful.
Stop the acquisition and wait and see what happens. This is the most prudent and correct judgment he can make.
If it were just the current loans, the most he could do was tighten his belt and live a hard life for a while, and then add some mortgage assets to the Bailu District Branch of the Royal Bank of the Empire when he was exhausted, which would not put the Devore family on the verge of bankruptcy.
However, Mira's next words were like a cold hammer, hitting his heart hard.
Her face was pale, her lips were trembling, and she was mumbling in an almost desperate voice.
"It's late... My dear, it's too late."
“Didn’t I tell you to wait and see last night?! What did you do behind my back?” Mila’s face was as pale as paper, her lips were trembling, and she couldn’t even hold the copy of Holy City Daily in her hand, which fell to the ground.
She did not answer, but with trembling fingertips she took out a contract that had just been signed from her handbag, and the ink seemed to still have residual warmth on it.
"I, I didn't carry you... we discussed it!" Her voice was broken, with a cry, "Just half an hour ago, before Baron Wilson came to visit... I followed the plan we discussed, in order to rob Completely sealing our victory in the Bailu District before him and Baron Tecumseh..."
Halph grabbed the contract, his eyes quickly glanced at the terms above, and his pupils shrank to the size of a pinhead in an instant.
Mira's voice continued to linger in his ears like a dream, and seemed to be thousands of kilometers away, making his spirit wander on the edge of trance.
"I...I paid all our working capital, a total of 30,000 gold coins, as a deposit, and took over the most critical shops and residences at the end of the commercial street in the center of the town. And...in order to collect the remaining funds, I put them The land that was previously mortgaged to the Bailu District Branch was mortgaged again to Minaret Bank, and a short-term loan was borrowed for three months..."
"Minaret Bank?!"
Ralph let out a roar of disbelief.
Of course he knew that bank, it was the most greedy moneylender in the Holy City, famous for its efficiency, audacity and equally astonishingly high interest rates.
He is a noble, so he is not afraid of the vultures' debt collection methods. But the problem is that she actually made a second mortgage on the land that has been mortgaged to the Imperial Royal Bank!
Ralph's face turned pale and he could no longer pretend to be calm.
In the empire, anyone can embezzle the emperor's money, but the emperor has no need for it for the time being anyway. However, there is a premise here - it cannot be too blatant.
Second mortgage is blatant robbery.
Even if he wanted to repay the debts of the Imperial Bank first, it was impossible, because according to the laws of the empire, the debt repayment order of the Imperial Bank was lower than that of private banks.
Even if he returns the money to the Imperial Bank, Minaret Bank can use the court procedures to take away the money he has returned to the Imperial Bank.
The original intention of designing this law was to prevent these lawless nobles from mortgaging their land to the emperor's bank and private bank at the same time, and then only recognizing the former's IOU but not the latter's, or simply declaring bankruptcy and letting the emperor's bank and private bank fight for the shit in their pockets.
Furthermore, if Minaret Bank knew that their land had been mortgaged to the Imperial Royal Bank, but the land deed was not placed at the Bailu District branch, I'm afraid even Huck, who approved the loan to them, would be in trouble!
Although nobles throughout the empire kept land deeds in their own safes and would never give them to banks, this was illegal after all.
Ralph felt like he was going crazy and couldn't help shouting.
"Why... why did you find them? Haven't we already established a relationship with branch manager Huck? Why didn't you just go to him!"
"I wanted to, but he didn't agree!" Mira cried, "He insisted on telling me that His Highness Colin might have offended a big shot, and the project might not be approved. He also said... he wanted me to put the land deed with him!"
"This idiot! At this juncture, he still wants to jump out of the car!" Ralph yelled, but for a moment he didn't know who to scold.
Perhaps, if her wife had really given the land deed to Huck, maybe things would not be so bad.
At least they will not add another lever to the already heavy levers.
"...I can only find other banks, and only they promise to lend money within a day, so that we can complete the acquisition before everyone reacts..." Mira's voice was full of endless regret and helplessness, and she continued with a crying voice, "I signed the contract and sent someone to send Minaret Silver away. The representative of the bank just received this newspaper... Who could have imagined that things would suddenly turn out like this? "Click."
The contract that symbolized their "brilliant victory" slipped from Ralph's stiff hands and fell on the green lawn.
He suddenly realized something.
That spire bank did not appear suddenly. When they were staring at Prince Colin, others were also staring at that highness.
Naturally, they noticed this smart-aleck prairie dog.
Ralph staggered back two steps, feeling like the world was spinning, and he had to reach out to support the servant beside him before he could barely stand still.
It's over...
It's all over.
The sunshine at three o'clock in the afternoon was still warm and warm. The croquet balls and cues scattered on the lawn shone in the sun, as if they were silently mocking his hearty laughter just now.
That laughter sounded so harsh and stupid right now.
Baron Ralph Devore opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His vision went black for a while, his body swayed, and he fell straight backwards.
「Master!」
Mira's scream sounded so shrill and desperate over the empty and gorgeous manor.
It feels like the sky is falling...