City of Desire: Chapter 1073 Norke (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

I opened my eyes and saw no text waiting above me.

I couldn’t help but laugh at myself before shaking my head and getting out of bed. Defeating the undead horde, making another horde retreat, wouldn’t be enough to cross the great chasm.

Victory in war would not be enough. Mine is not a warrior class; that is just one aspect of it.

For advancement, one aspect would not be enough, not to mention whether this victory is enough or I need something more. I don’t know.

Every day, I told myself not to think about it, but I ended up thinking about it anyway.

It will be a long time before I cross the great chasm; until then, I should focus on other things. Levels aren’t the only way to advance in strength; there are others.

Bell is a perfect example of that.

With that, I got up, freshened up, and showered before walking out of the suite.

“Any messages?” I asked Zela,

“A lot.” I smiled at that. “Most are congratulatory, but there are others as well.”

“Chief Robin has returned; you will have a call with him at nine, then with Architect Amellus. Count Summerfield also wants to talk to you, but I pushed that call to the evening.”

I wanted to laugh at that; I know what it's about. I will not lower the amount by a penny, nor will I give him a grace period.

That man dared to attack me; he should thank his stars that I am not marching my army to punish him.

That will spook Grimvale and others; they were already very close to uniting against me. I don’t want to force them and look like an expansionist.

Besides, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t; I simply don’t have enough of an army.

I need to send some to Bilgas, some back to Greltheaven, and return a substantial number of Fort Bram.

Then there is Norke.

So, conquering another city is out of the question for the time being.

“You have a call on Lord Rutto, Marchioness Arenthal in the afternoon, and Lord Taner of the Golem Foundation, and the last is a call for Governorships of Norke.”

This time, I laughed.

“How many have called?” I asked.

“A lot of them, including nobles who had been in the dominion for only a few months and had contributed nothing. Even some of the nobles from outside the Dominion  had called.”

You have to give it to the nobles; they really dare to dream big.

“Did anything happen while I was asleep?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Yes, three companies of the army arrived at dawn from Panar, and one more will be coming in the evening, led by General Vihra.”

“Also, many owners and representatives of construction companies from Greltheaven and Panar arrived. By tomorrow, those from Nakar and Gailhorn would arrive in the city.”

We didn’t even issue the contract, and the wolves have already arrived.

They already smell money.

Norke’s state isn’t as terrible as Panar’s when we had conquered it, but it is still bad, and we need to fix it. We'll need them for everything from infrastructure to citizen homes.

That is a significant amount of money.

This time, though, we're going to do things a little differently than we did in Panar.

We are going to fix infrastructure but not the homes. We did in Panar because we needed to attract people. We do not need to focus on that as much anymore; people will come here on their own.

The dominion is now a lot stronger, and people have much greater faith in it than they had when we captured Panar.

So, we are simply going to sell them land, with strict conditions to fix the houses to a certain standard within a certain time limit. This will save us money, which we could use on infrastructure.

“The call at eleven still on, right?” I asked, and she nodded.

That is a very important call. If it succeeds, it’s going to help me a lot politically here.

Soon, I walked out of the manor, stepped into the carriage, and looked at the widow.

“It is a really beautiful city,” said Zela, and I nodded. The most beautiful in the region, well, that was before Greltheaven and Lauryl. Its charm is only its white stone buildings.

This stone is abundant in the mines around the city, and I plan to start mining it as soon as possible.

Greltheaven and other cities are growing rapidly, and we desperately need this material. Before the empire conquered it, all of it used to go to the merchant state, but not anymore.

I believe we have enough appetite in dominion that we won’t be exporting any.

Still, transporting is going to be a bitch. It was the reason they used to sell it in merchant states. It is closer to it than any city, but we need that stone.

I have already asked my people to buy the special transport carriages.

In a few days, the mine experts will arrive. The mines have been dormant for years; we will need to refurbish them before we can mine.

They will begin work repairing each immediately after assessing it. I want the first quarry to be open within a month.

There are crystal mines too, but stone takes priority.

Soon, the carriage stopped, and I stepped out. I didn’t go straight into the city hall; I just looked at it. It was the most beautiful city hall in the region.

At least for another two weeks.

It was made entirely of the highest-quality white marble. I might have used it instead of importing the marble from the empire.

A few seconds later, I stepped into the city hall.

People greeted me and bowed; I nodded at them. All of them came from different cities of the dominion. They were experienced and did their jobs well.

The governor will need an effective staff to get Norke back on its feet as soon as possible.

Thankfully, we have some experience with that.

“Lord Silver,” the blond woman greeted, her face expressionless.

“Lorle,”  I greeted.

She came with me to Norke from Panar, despite knowing the risk. She is a highly intelligent woman, very ambitious, and has a scary ability to switch off personalities.

“This is information you had asked for; the staff had worked late till night, but finished it,” she said, putting a stack of files in front of me.

It isn’t just the staff; it's her as well.

I don’t usually push them to work until late, but I am leaving tonight before I do. I want to sort a few things.

I would have stayed, but Legacy is opening in two weeks, and there is a lot of work.

She will stay here until the Governor comes in a few days, then leave for Bilgas. She is not going back to Panar; I am sending her to Bilgas.

Rutto is still there, dealing with things, but he will not be there forever. I need someone to mediate between those four and keep an eye on things.

She will be perfect.

Other experienced people exist, but she has the potential to become better than any of them and, most importantly, she is loyal. I trust her more than others.

I activated the skill and started reading. The more I read, the more of a headache I got.

“There are some good things there, but most of it is bad,” she said. She is absolutely right. Most of it is bad news. Given the state of the city, I thought things would be better, but they are not.

“We are going to need to spend a lot of money here,” I said.

“It will still be less than what we did on Gailhorn and Panar,” she replied. That is true, but the expenses ahead are huge as well.

All my hopes are on the Legacy.

I hope it works; without its direct and indirect revenue, it will be hard to finance everything I am planning. Including recruiting more men for the army, which will cost me even more than this city.

It already takes the largest bite out of Dominion’s finances. Increasing it further will put even more strain on the Dominion.

It is why I will take it slow. The Army won't like it, but they will have to bear it.

Time passed; I made a call and worked until it was finally eleven, time for the consequential call. It’s going to make things easier for me in the region,

Zela nodded, and I extended my aura. A moment later, the call connected.

“Lady Baelian, I hope you have been well,” I greeted.

Maras Baelian, Lady of Artilas Salon, a Grade V legacy. She is one of the most influential people in Edruin because of her legacy's nature.

It is a place where wealthy, intellectual artists and nobles gather. It was like that before it became a legacy all those centuries ago, and it still is now.

“I am well, thank you for asking, Lord Silver,” replied a graceful voice.

“And also thank you for the order. It was on short notice, but you did it,” she added. She wanted things, from dresses to crockery to furniture.

It’s a massive order, of which we finished the first part and sent it to her.

I shouldn’t even be doing it; the Empire had forbidden trade with Edruin, but I am. I am doing it with all the legacies, whether they are from Navr or Tabes.

Their order always gets priority.

“You have already thanked me once; it is more than enough.” She laughed at that.

“So, what can I do for you, Lord Silver? You set up a call instead of calling directly.” She asked inquisitively. I have enough clout to call the master of a Grade V legacy directly.

I am already more powerful than most Grade IV legacy masters, and once it opens, I will be as powerful as the most powerful among them.

I am not talking about Zenid's Grade IV legacies, but the entire world.

“I am in need of a favor,” I stated.

If anyone could accomplish it, then it would be her. She has enough power to make it happen, and I hope so, because it will help me tremendously in the region.

“Let’s hear it,” she said, her voice becoming serious.

A few minutes later, the call ended.

“Will she be able to do it?” asked Zela. “If anyone could, then it is her, and also, she is the only influential person we know in Edruin.”

“It would not be cheap,” said Lorle, and I laughed, because that is an understatement.

Those bastards will try to squeeze every last bit out of me.

“Is it really worth it given the cost?” I asked Lorle, and I nodded without hesitation. “Everyone in the region is our enemy or considers us the biggest threat; that is a good thing for us.”

“We need allies, partners, or people, at least, who are considered a threat,” I said.

I know how close they had come to gathering against me. I don’t want that to ever happen again and will use everything I have to make sure it does not.