City of Desire: Chapter 881 (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

Marquess Grimvale

The atmosphere in the office became sombre as the time to the call neared.

Silver’s people contacted us earlier, stating he wants to talk to me.

In a few minutes, I will receive his call; it’s not something I look forward to, but refusing it would seem like a weakness. That is something I absolutely do not want to do.

“He must be calling to goad you,” said Jorand, while glaring at Dasir, who was responsible for the attack on northern baronies.

“Whatever it may be. I need to talk to him,” I replied.

The attack was an absolute failure. We were not able to capture even a single barony; they stopped us at every front. I looked at the man responsible for the failure, and he looked down in shame.

He is to blame; that is undeniable, but he isn’t the only one. Dane and Lockridge also share just as much blame, as they retreated first.

The other colonels fail as well. It stings especially since they are my people, but even they were not able to capture a single barony; they were stopped at each.

“The news from the north isn’t good either, my Lord. Silver is stronger than we had thought,” said Imerla, my general.

Our people had sent the report not long ago. It’s not a complete report, since the battle happened just a few hours ago, and they have to be careful.

Still, what I had read did not make me feel good.

“Aside from General Imerla, I don’t think any of our people could kill the Voltwing,” said Jorand.

“You overestimate my abilities, my lord. If I read it right, I don’t think I can kill it. Only the Marquess could,” she replied, looking at me.

Indeed, she is powerful enough that she would be able to fight and even injure it, but killing it is another matter.

It’s a monster of a powerful bloodline, and Silver fought it alone. It was only for a short while, but the abilities he had shown made me very serious.

“There is also the news about his monster advancing. Do you think there is any truth in it?” asked Talmire.

“Our people were not able to get close to know for sure,” replied Dasir softly, before looking down once more.

That’s another worrying news; he tamed the wild monster, and now it is advancing to Grade V. It is not good news for us, and I had already asked my people to find a way to sabotage it.

“Lord Marquess, the call is ready,” said Mirdo, my mage, finally. I nodded, and a string of my aura connected to him.

A few seconds later, the call connected.

‘Marquess Grimvale, you attacked me without provocation. I hope there is a good reason for it.’ said Silver with his voice hard. He is as angry as I had expected him to be.

I laughed, not loudly, but enough to tell him that I consider his sentence a joke.

“That is my territory, that you are occupying illegally, Lord Silver. I have the majority of barons; it is mine,” I replied. By the rule of the majority, his occupation of the barony is illegal.

I am the legitimate lord of Nakar.

“Attack again then, but let me tell. The next time you do, I will not limit my men to defending only. They will breach through the baronies that you illegally control, and take them back,” he said.

“Oh, I like to see how they could do that,” I challenged.

Yes, his army only defended because they had fewer numbers. Though I did not forget how well they have defended against our attack.

I thought my army, which had experienced countless bloody battles in the empire, would crush through the Silvers, who only fought undead and monsters, but I had underestimated them gravely.

It is a mistake. I will not make it again.

“I am sure you had not called me just for that, Lord Silver,” I said. I believe I know Silver. He is not the kind of person who calls to vent his anger; if he is calling, it means he wants something.

‘You are absolutely right, Marquess,’ he replied, and I waited.

‘I want a non-aggression treaty,’ he stated, and I laughed instantly. “Of course, as long as you hand over the baronies. I will sign the treaty,” I agreed a moment later.

‘We both have other problems to deal with, Lord Marques. I am sure you have to develop your territory, settle the new nobles, and bring more people into your territory.’

‘Not to mention, Tabes,’

‘The same is for me. As you know, I have a legacy to rebuild, a city to expand, and a few other things to do. I would rather not watch my back and the front in the baronies.’

‘I believe both of us need quite some time to get our affairs in order before we go for each other’s throat again,’ he said.

I opened my mouth to decline immediately, but stopped. He is not wrong.  ‘Sure, give me a few baronies. I will even be satisfied with a few hundred bottles of Grade IV emotion essence and mist plants,’ I replied.

‘Only non-aggression and nothing else.’ He stated matter-of-factly. He will not be giving me anything else.

‘Think about it, Marquess Grimvale,’ he added before cutting the call. I pulled back my aura and turned to the people, looking at me.

“What does he want?” asked Jorand. “Non-aggression treaty,” I replied. I expected him to laugh, but his expression became serious.

“It’s not a bad idea, Father; I wouldn’t have said before yesterday, but he proved he would defend against our attack, and besides, we need time with the things that are happening, not to mention troubling news from Tabes,” he said.

“I disagree, my lord. We should push into baronies; the sooner we conquer them, the better it will be for us. Given how fast Silver’s strength is rising,” disagreed Dasir.

I turned to my General.

“Our priority should be Tabes. If we lose the fortress, they will gain direct access into the region, and our dominion will be their first target,” she stated.

Hearing that, I turned to Talmire. “I would like to say, we go after Silver, seeing how fast he is rising, but the thing is, we do not have enough forces or powerhouses to go against him effectively.”

“We could increase our forces, but we have seen that he could do that as well and already has enough powerhouses under him.”

“There is also Mirador Hold, which he could use to block our path at the right moment,” he added.

I sighed, hearing their opinion. Everyone is right, but a choice must be made. We could continue as it is and keep our forces locked up in the baronies.

So, when the opportunity comes, we will be able to attack, but the thing is, Silver and his men had proved themselves capable.

Doing this means always keeping the focus on the baronies and spending considerable resources, even stationing more powerhouses.

If we sign a non-aggression treaty, we will still be focused, as there is always a way out, but by signing it, we use many of our resources elsewhere.

Here, exactly, as there is a whisper that Tabes might allocate more forces.

Most importantly. If we signed it, I could focus on developing the baronies and nobles here. I need that, seeing the amount of money I am bleeding every month.

It will also mean letting Silver grow.

Though I am not the only problem he has, there are undead monsters and even Deerpond and Port Midlet. Still, it’s a big decision that will have enormous consequences, no matter the options I choose.

…

“Do you think he will agree?” asked Zela. She rarely asked such questions, but this is a critical matter.

It made even her curious.

“I don’t know,” I replied. These are the things that will affect both of us. Non-aggression for half a year will be beneficial for both him and me.

I know very well that we are foes and we will not stop fighting until one of us controls the whole baronies or even the region.

That doesn’t mean we can’t have a time of peace. Especially when we both desperately need it.

He just sold the territories; he will need time to manage them. Provide them with people, as they will need a lot of people. Nearly all of them have mines; it is the only thing the wasteland has.

Though other opportunities could be created, and looking at people, he gave the baronies, he wants that.

It is why I had called him. I genuinely felt that we had a chance for a short peace. This is also why I asked my men to defend only against the attack.

In one of the fronts, there was a chance that we could move to conquer a barony.

That wouldn’t have been wise, as it would have entangled us in a long war, which I don’t want to fight right now. I would rather focus on developing my territory.

I took a few more calls; I had been doing that since I left the fortress.

Another hour passed, and the carriage stopped. We have not reached the city; it is still half an hour away.

“Will it be safe enough?” I said. Looking at a single-story square building made of thick walls. “It is the safest building near the city; we had built it to keep Lv. 30 monsters,” replied a middle-aged man.

He is from the lauryl’s beast affair department.

“It’s not like there is much choice,” I said and sighed, before nodding at Zela, who is standing beside Tempest’s crate.

A few minutes later, Tempest is inside the building, within thick enchanted walls.

There are better places than this, but I needed a place that is close to Lauryl. So, it will be within the monster mark's range, which not only gives me the location but also a faint sense of the monsters' condition.

“I will be close,” I said to Tempest and petted him gently one last time before walking out of the building.