Episode 328 All-out war with Devon, the start (1)
Ray’s reaction when he stepped into the office of the upper house of the so prestigious halfman upper class was extremely cold.
He strokes his tongue while stroking office items that can be said to be outdated beyond antiquated.
“Is collecting antiques your hobby?”
Halfman shyly scratched the back of his head.
“If you have money to decorate your office, you should spend every penny on it.”
As a merchant, there could be no more sincere attitude than this.
If Ray had worn a top coat, he might have clapped and cheered.
Looking at the faded office table to see if it had been picked up, even if it was abandoned, I shook my head.
Did I tell you to earn like a dog and spend like a king?
Hafmann was no slouch when it came to writing on bandit-like subjects.
Halfman, who was seated, asked with a serious expression on his face like never before.
“It is not normal to see someone who has not been heard from for several years. What are you doing?”
He takes a sip of the steaming tea and speaks.
“You must know that the kingdom of Celia and the kingdom of Devon are at war.”
“It is difficult to run a business these days because the situation is dire.”
During the war, there were probably not one or two kingdoms that lacked supplies, but there was no way they wouldn’t be able to do business.
It was a part that could be known even by looking at the corners of Harpman’s mouth hanging from his ear.
Ray opened his mouth briefly.
“The military funds of the Kingdom of Celia are insufficient.”
I have come to ask you for it.
Even though he didn’t say anything behind his back, Hafman seemed to have noticed.
“Danju-nim, do you intend to stand on the side of the Kingdom of Celia?”
“It’s not like I’m trying to split sides. It may be hard to believe right now, but there is a dark curtain where the war took place.”
Halfman tilted his head.
“Are you saying that the current war was all planned by someone?”
“As expected, it’s nice that he’s more eloquent than the others.”
Ray took a sheet of parchment from a leather pouch tied around his waist and straightened it on the table.
On the parchment, there were long lines of locations and questions of kingdoms.
Halfman stared blankly at the map.
“Could it be that you have connected the kingdoms where a war will break out in the future?”
At those words, Ray’s eyes lit up.
“that’s right. If you look this way, there are numbers written on the line drawn between Celia and Devon, right? This is what I inferred the order of war in my own way.”
Halfman, who listened and counted, fell silent.
Silian and Devon, where the first war took place, and where the second number was written after.
Its location was none other than the Holy Kingdom.
Hafman’s complexion hardened.
“When will the second war break out?”
“When the war between Celia and Devon was over. If you start a war, then is the right time.”
Halfman, who was examining the map, moved his gaze along the line that connected Seongguk.
“The other person… is Devon again.”
“If this continues, Celia’s defeat is certain. We can’t even buy food to feed the soldiers, let alone military funds.”
“Um…”
He didn’t even have the slightest suspicion of Ray.
To Hafman, the existence of Ray was a god himself who could read and move the future.
It is because he has previously experienced predicting the future and grabbing countless profits and public sentiment at once.
After listening to the words, Hafman, who had been thinking for a while, asked in a strange tone.
“Since it is Dan Lord’s word, our half-man will provide military funding to Celia. But there are a lot of guilds around Celia. Even so, may I ask why you came to visit me?”
Ray answered his question.
“After the war between Celia and Devon, the top tier’s O’Hal disappears.”
Harpman was startled at his words with his fingers spread out.
Given the current situation at the upper level, it is an indescribably booming period.
Even overnight, innumerable new merchants are created and prosper repeatedly.
But among them, O’Hal disappears?
However, what surprised Harpman more than that fact was Ray’s attitude, as if it were not a big deal, and said it for granted.
Even if you really know the future, you won’t be able to be so calm.
At this point, even as Halfman, doubts rose.
“Even though this may be the time of war for the continent, it is a booming time for the upper ranks. But how can you say that half of the upper ranks will disappear?”
Boom times don’t go away so easily.
If it is originally an ascending phase, it will slowly fade away.
This is even more so when it is at the peak of the period of abundance.
It’s to the point where there’s not enough warehouses to stock up on the money you’re earning, but now five of the upper ranks are perishing!
No matter how much it was Ray’s opinion that it was finished as long as he could seek apotheosis within Harpman, it was easily unbelievable.
Ray elaborated to help him understand.
“Hafman, what is the biggest source of money for your company?”
Hafman answered his question without any hesitation.
“There are many things, but basically it can be called trade.”
It is more profitable for a large group like the Hafman Company to trade with a group than to sell their feet in a single village.
Among them, in the case of trading against the kingdom, it was making overwhelming profits.
He, no one else, wouldn’t have asked the question because he didn’t know that.
As expected by Hafman, Ray asked dryly without a change in expression.
“Even if there are no kingdoms that want to trade with your guild anymore?”
As he looked at him with a puzzled look, Ray nodded slowly.
“There is a huge money line behind the emerging elites. Perhaps they were taking money from someone unknown without even knowing it. But what if that money line suddenly disappears one day? Can the upstarts, who are just beginning to establish themselves, survive?”
“…”
Hafman’s mouth, which was about to say something, was closed like a mute who had eaten honey.
It was impossible.
In that case, even if it is not a new top, but a top of a tolerable size, it will be urgent to endure the immediate financial crisis.
And when the money runs out, it will suddenly disappear.
If Ray’s words were really followed, not five percent, but six percent might disappear.
Also, if so many top tiers disappeared in an instant, they wouldn’t be safe either.
Ray grinned at Hafman, who had a complicated expression on his face.
“Heh heh. So it came. In a situation where the upper ranks are dying, I want to save them once.”
It was a sinister smile, but in Hafman’s eyes it couldn’t have looked so beautiful.
I feel like my eyes light up with a smile that even the bandits can take a step back from.
Within Harfman, Ray’s apotheosis was completed more than 12 times perfectly.
Contrary to his bear-like body, the half-man, who was rich enough to slap the cheek of an artist with tolerable sensitivity, howled with tears in his eyes.
“Ughhh! As expected, there is only one Lord for me!”
“Just trust me and follow me. I will show you hell on the continent.”
“Hell good! What’s the point of hell if you have money?”
In the few years I hadn’t seen him, Hafman had become a money madman.
* * *
The Hafman Chamber of Commerce did not spare full support for the kingdom of Celia.
As one of the few grand corps on the continent made up their mind and poured money into it, the Kingdom of Celia, which was suffering from financial difficulties, was greeted with a sweet rain.
They bought necessary weapons and food and used the remaining money to attract mercenaries and adventurers.
Then 12,000 more soldiers were added.
Thanks to the lack of troops during the war, the current army is a number that is not pushed back even compared to Devon.
It could be said that they were ready for an all-out war.
In the current situation where the light is not visible, Ray returned the war situation to the starting point by subsuming the upper half.
Although the Northern Crian Castle was still occupied by the Devon Kingdom, if the castle had not been surrendered, the soldiers would have been consumed considerably.
“Kill as little as possible and win as fast as possible.”
He predicted the Seongguk as the location of the second war, but it was an established fact that a war would break out somewhere, even if it wasn’t the Seongguk.
The Devon Kingdom, which had won the war against Celia, would voluntarily declare war.
Devon’s gains from the war are enormous.
As a victorious country, it can raise its status on the continent, and the kingdom is so powerful that the number of upper tiers willing to trade will increase.
In reality, the benefits of winning a war are greater than the benefits of war.
In addition, what if the darkness instigates a war?
Perhaps the bloody winds would not cease in the Devon Kingdom.
To prevent that, Celia needed to win the war against Devon.
Last night, Ray had an audience with Deogard, King of Celia.
It is to tell you to prepare for a large-scale battle.
At first, King Celia, who was going to push forward to Mercury, heard his story and readily agreed.
In order to command the soldiers according to his will, he was given the position of a man-in-jang in Baek-in-jang.
Of course, there was no objection from the nobles.
It was because, like Hafman, no one wanted to be seen outside the eyes of the king who had a saint image drawn in his heart.
There is a castle on the way down from Northern Crian.
Even if it’s just the size, it’s a castle prion that can be twice as much as Crian castle.
All troops in Northern Crian were sent to Prion Castle.
The leaders sat at a long table and held a meeting.
“It’s an all-out war… I don’t know if it’s not too much.”
“All of Devon’s soldiers are well trained. If it’s not Mercury, it’s going to be hard to even hold on.”
It’s natural to sound weak.
Of course, they couldn’t even resist and the Crian Castle was taken away, and their soldiers who went to the front were not even elite.
The hall was filled with the sighs of the millennials and centurions.
In the middle of the meeting around the table, a well-dressed person entered.
Even at a glance, he is wearing plate armor that gives off a sense of dignity.
The white hair comes down soft enough to look good, and the beautiful neckline shines underneath.
All the atmosphere in the audience was sucked into the dizzy eyes.
A centurion speaks to the blue cloak that symbolizes the ten thousand chiefs.
“You can’t stand it… Are you Ray, the centurion?”
Ray grinned.
It splendidly reveals the hidden presence.
The head of the celestial commanders bowed their heads at the tremendous momentum that only the absolute could have.
“There are only faces that everyone knows. Nice to meet you. I’m Ray, who has been appointed as Prion’s general manager.”
