A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

4 – Completion of the Trade Route

“Randor. What the hell is this asshole thinking?”

Randor was a prick who couldn’t be adequately described with the term “thorn in the side.” Duke Fellings sighed irritably and tapped the table nervously with his finger.

Randor was like a slippery fish.

Even though Duke Fellings had diligently tracked him for nearly three years and succeeded in uncovering a significant portion of the embezzled funds, he knew very well that Randor had much more hidden illicit funds that he couldn’t capture.

Duke Fellings predicted that Randor’s next move would be to transfer the remaining funds, fearing that they would also be exposed. When the funds were quietly resting, it was difficult to reveal them, but once they started moving, there would be traces left behind.

Seeing an opportunity, he thought he would reveal all the remaining visa funds and deal a great blow to Rendor’s influence.

But nothing went as he had anticipated. This guy willingly took all the attacks he launched and, after that, disappeared with all of his remaining funds, as well as all of his power, as Elond, the Count of the Backwoods, whom even a normal noble would detest.

It was much more satisfying than wasting all the remaining funds, but Lord Fellings, feeling excessively advantaged, instead grew uneasy. Whenever this guy, Rendor, dealt with things smoothly, there was always some suspicious conspiracy behind it.

“When is this guy going to report?!”

A week ago, he had already sent a spy to closely monitor Elond’s movements and ordered for a report to be delivered. The guy who had said he would report by now was still remaining strangely silent, which was enough to make Lord Fellings furious.

At that moment, the crystal on his desk lit up. Realizing it was a long-range magic communication, Lord Fellings hastily grabbed the crystal.

“Report.”

From Noble mtl dot com

“Rendor is using all of his forces to dig tunnels in the Lako Mountains.”

And with that, the spy threw out one nonsensical and strange statement.

“What did you say?”

“He is digging tunnels in the Lako Mountains, my Lord.”

Lord Fellings’ expression turned bewildered.

“Digging tunnels in the Lako Mountains? Is he planning to create a trade route with the west?”

Rather than taking a whole month through the harbor, it would be much easier to have a tunnel through the Lako Mountains, which blocked the passage between the west and the east. There was not a single person in the Empire who had not thought of that idea.

However, they had all given up on the idea due to the impossible difficulty.

The Lako Mountains were famous for being treacherous. Even if one had the ability, equipment, and funds to make a hole in one of the mountains, it was by no means an easy task.

It was a place filled with extreme cold and countless monsters.

“Has this guy gone crazy?”

Although he spoke that way, Lord Fellings couldn’t help but think that the Iron Blood Legion, endowed with the spirit magic of the northern nomads, might be able to handle the monsters in the Lako Mountains. He thought that if they used the elemental magic of the northern nomads, they might truly be able to create a trade route.

But Lord Fellings quickly realized that the idea was absurd.

“Does he even know where to dig?”

Adventurers had spent years sacrificing their lives to create a precise map of the Lako Mountains, and countless merchants and nobles had given up on the dream of digging a trade route. The mountains were like a maze, and even if one had the ability to make holes in the mountains, it was impossible to know how long it would take to find the optimal spots to create passages.

Fellings could only see Rendor’s actions as nothing more than a fruitless endeavor.

“Is this guy insane?”

“And there’s one more thing. He is mobilizing the legion’s engineers to carry out major construction work for Count Elond.”

Lord Fellings became even more dumbfounded and questioned.

“Construction work?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of construction work?”

“A large-scale accommodation facility, shopping district, and they are also improving the roads that lead to other areas. And they are building something a bit strange too.”

“What is it?”

“A playground… park? They were definitely building some strange structures with that name.”

After receiving all the reports, Fellings became even more irritated.

“Is this bastard finally crazy?”

His doubts were not resolved, but rather deepened.

The territories near the Raco Mountains were mostly poor regions. Small villages. Nondescript rural towns where it only snowed and there was nothing much to do. Naturally, the lords of this place did not want to live here, so most of them abandoned their territories and moved to the capital.

I asked the emperor if I could give money to live in that area and incorporate it into the Elond Marquisate. Both the emperor and the lords of the territory agreed, and the scope of my territory greatly expanded.

And I offered gold to the gloomy, gloomy-faced residents there.

7.5 million gold was enough to bring laughter to the faces of the depressed residents.

“Work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lunch provided. Daily wage of 7 silver.”

After showing the residents the amount that made their eyes spin, I instructed them to help the construction of buildings and clean the roads with my Iron Blood Corps engineers. The ruins-like Elond territory gradually began to transform into a magnificent city with the pouring of a huge amount of gold.

The power of money was amazing.

Like all other nobles, the nobles who managed the neighboring territories of Elond also squeezed the residents with excessive taxes and left them with a deep resentment towards the empire’s nobles who were already taking away their money when they had none, gradually deteriorating their lives.

But suddenly, I, who became the new lord, surprised the residents by showing them an amount that made their eyes spin and neatly organizing and establishing infrastructure around them.

Before long, the neighboring residents began to respect me more than the empire’s emperor.

I poured money without hesitation.

In the capital, there were nobles who called me crazy for building buildings that could accommodate thousands of people in remote and uninhabited areas. But that was their opinion because they did not know what would happen in three months.

I continued with the foolishness that the capital nobles called nonsense.

No.

I was doing even more crazy things.

It was obvious that this place would soon become the region with the highest transient population in the entire western and eastern continents.

So, shouldn’t there be landmarks and places to enjoy?

“A playground… park, you say?”

When I told the engineers to build a playground, even Karia, who would throw her life away for my words, looked astonished.

“What in the world is that?”

“Just wait and see, Karia. Soon you will understand what I meant.”

The engineers and residents were bewildered, wondering what they were building, but they worked without question due to the heavenly command of Karia and me. The daily wage would be generous. There was no reason not to do it.

The hills suitable for a ski resort and the nearby ice lake slowly transformed into a beautiful play area with fancy accommodations. The surrounding buildings also began to transform into a large-scale shopping district and inn facilities that could accommodate hundreds of thousands.

After that incident, I began to pave the road.

“Neatly. It must be paved to the level of the Emperor’s road in the capital!”

The spirit masters smoothed the road and the residents and soldiers calmly paved it with refined stones. Cement was poured and dried in the cold wind from the north, turning it into a solid road.

Since the project was so big, I had to contact Karl Hanson, who was in the capital.

“Send about twenty thousand skilled workers.”

“What?! Where are we going to find that many people all of a sudden?”

“Recruit the farmers in the provinces, not in the capital, and send them to our side.”

“What on earth are you doing? Are you really serious about building a trade route?”

“Yes.”

There was no response from Karl for a long time through the communication crystal. It was a silence filled with a sigh, meaning that this stupid idiot was causing trouble, but I laughed confidently.

“Forget it and send them quickly.”

Although he probably wanted to tear me apart, Karl, who was under a mental spell and couldn’t refuse my orders, had no choice but to obey me. A week later, he sent hundreds of carriages carrying people looking for work to my side.

“Are you really…really offering wages under these conditions?”

Most of the farmers who came here as half-dead from the pillaging and tyranny of the nobles were willing to work for the same wage conditions as the farmers considered it a drastic high profit to make a living.

“Hey, Karl. Send some people from the Merchant Guild. People who are skilled in accounting and handling ledgers.”

I requested support from Karl again, and without even yelling at why he was wasting money and people on such unreasonable tasks, Karl sent me people who seemed resigned.

As time went on, rumors naturally spread that there were plenty of good job opportunities, and farmers from all over the continent flocked to Count Elond. The nobles did not even attempt to stop such a phenomenon. It was because they thought I wouldn’t last long.

“What the hell are you doing, wasting money like that? How much is it going to cost? It’s like pouring money without a source of income!”

The nobles’ disregard and mockery, the support of the Emperor and the Merchant Guild, and the strong support of the Iron Blood Legion, I continued to expand my work.

And as time passed, more buildings were erected, and the roads extended even further.

And one by one, tunnels were being dug in the Laco Mountains.

“It’s a monster!”

The nomads in the north who melted frozen soil with the fire spirits Salamanders and dug the earth with the earth spirits Gnomes to make the tunnels screamed like screams. Monsters were pouring in from both the ground and the sky.

The monsters living in the valleys had never seen such a large number of humans entering their territory. They, who had no intention of missing such a delicious buffet, rushed at the humans without hesitation, but it didn’t take long for them to regret it just like countless other monsters.

“Kill them!”

Beings who ignored common sense and beings who used common sense appeared and began to block the monsters.

The wind spirits summoned spirits and intercepted the flying monsters, and the soldiers of the Iron Blood Legion armed with magical equipment began to deal with the monsters pouring in from the ground.

“Cast Aura!”

When the troops armed with magic armor, shields, and spears pressed the button on the handle of the spear, mana poured out from the mana battery equipped in the back part of the armor. Mana poured out from the spearhead, forming a chilling and frightening form of red aura.

The shield also began to create defensive magic. In that state, the troops that created a phalanx easily turned the pouring monsters into beehives and pushed them away.

“Alright! What are you all doing? Clear the passage again!”

The monsters that had swarmed in were all taken care of in an instant. After confirming this, Tamir Khan commanded the tribesmen to continue clearing the passage. He moved the massive rocks to the superior earth spirits and then molded them into the desired shape. Afterwards, he placed them on both sides of the road, transforming them into magnificent walls.

“Bring the soil here!”

The soil, frozen solid, was brought from the mountains and used to make bridges or level the road. If the soil was simply laid on the ground or used to create a bridge without compacting it like clay, the chilling cold of the Raco Mountains would quickly harden the soil even harder than steel.

It had already been three months since they started working. Just as they had overcome all sorts of dangers from the north, there had not been a single casualty so far. Moreover, everyone who had been here for the past few days could clearly feel it.

“The temperature is different.”

The temperature and scent gradually changed. The cold was diminishing little by little, and the air that had only carried the scent of snow and rocks now emitted a faint pleasantness. Everyone realized that they had almost completely cleared the path.

“Khan! There’s a huge rock blocking the way, it’s impossible to dig any further!”

“Noas!”

Tamir Khan immediately summoned the top-grade earth spirit he had contracted. Then, he asked it to clear the massive rock blocking the end of the passage.

“It’s not difficult. Contractor.”

Noas’ giant hand began to exert its force on the rock. The rock trembled and soon made a creaking sound before finally falling from the mountain.

“It’s open!!…”

Tamir Khan finally stopped himself from shouting with joy upon seeing the last, now open, 9th tunnel. All the soldiers of the Iron Blood Legion and tribesmen who had worked together until now also stood still with him. Under the brilliant sun, a vast, colorful meadow spread out with a different scent.

They realized.

They had created a trade route connecting the Eastern and Western Continents, which had been believed to be impossible for a long time.