Imperial Crown

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…

Viscount John was never an impulsive person, and every step he took was full of planning.

Such as accepting refugees when no one wants to.

After exchanging with Raven, his territory was located in the south-central part of Mansa County.

Since it was made up of several baronies and some viscountries, the previous names were not applicable, so Viscount John named it "New Snow Maple", which means "New Snow Maple".

Mansa County was originally destroyed by the Order of the Hand of Death, with less than half of the population of New Snowland remaining. Viscount John sent 20,000 serfs to Raven. He was old and had no ambitions, so he was not like other nobles in the county. Buy serfs in large numbers like that.

So much so that the population of New Snow Territory is only about 1/3 of the normal viscounty territory.

This provided considerable convenience to Viscount John's plan. As long as the collapsed and vacant houses were repaired, a large number of refugees could be resettled.

This step went well, but in other respects, Viscount John did not quite agree with him.

In order to deal with the locust plague, he made many preparations.

First of all, they organized manpower to cut down trees and burn weeds around the territory, actively creating a circular blank area, hoping that the locusts would take the initiative to take a detour when they saw that there was nothing to eat.

Secondly, in the territory, piles of firewood are stored close to the blank area. If the locusts have a tendency to fly over the blank area, they are set on fire to drive the locusts out as much as possible.

In addition, there is a third line of defense composed of a large number of chickens and ducks.

This method of almost arranging troops made Viscount John confident at first - even if he could not keep all the locusts out, he could still minimize the losses.

However, the development of things is often predictable.

This group of locusts was so powerful that they flew through the blank area. Only part of the firewood had time to ignite, and most of the rest became supplies for the locusts.

The raised chickens and ducks have also become the food for the locusts.

In the conference room of Neusnorburg, Viscount John frowned, his old features crowded together.

There was a layer of oil on his face, and the wrinkles between his eyebrows were so deep that they could kill a fly. He was obviously in a very bad mood.

It was obviously daytime, but the castle was completely dark. Lamps and candles were needed to maintain lighting. The walls were stained with black marks, and the air was filled with a stuffy smell of wax.

Curtains were drawn on every window.

It's not that Viscount John is afraid of light, but the windows of the castle are already densely covered with locusts, which are almost opaque. If you pay attention, you can clearly see the locusts' joints and bellies.

If you close the curtains, it will be a little cleaner.

"Master, take a rest." Steward Kent whispered: "You haven't slept for two days. The locust plague is a natural disaster and cannot be resisted by humans."

Viscount John said: "I know, but I can see swarms of locusts as soon as I close my eyes. How can I sleep?"

Hearing this, Kent sighed, feeling increasingly helpless.

He knew what his master was worried about.

The locusts cover the sky, but they can't eat the stones. There is food in the castle, and they themselves will not starve to death.

But the problem is that the residents don’t have that much food stored in their homes!

Now there are locusts everywhere outside, and the residents cannot get food without going out.

Soldiers wearing full armor can safely pass through the locust swarms to deliver food to the people.

But firstly, the manpower is limited, and secondly, there are not so many containers that can safely hold food. Not to mention the entire territory, even the city where the castle is located can only barely maintain supplies.

If this continues, many people will starve to death before the locusts leave.

But now that everything that should be done and shouldn't be done has been done, Kent really can't make any suggestions other than waiting for the locusts to leave on their own.

At this moment, the door opened, and Vongola, the knight and commander of the personal soldiers under Viscount John, walked into the conference room: "Sir Viscount!"

"Yes." Viscount John nodded: "How is the situation?"

Vongola frowned and said, "It's not good. According to the soldiers who went out to deliver food, locusts are becoming less and less afraid of people. They have to spend more energy than usual to deliver food."

"And...some soldiers discovered that some families on the edge of the city had not yet moved the food they had delivered last time."

Neusnoburg is located in the center of the city and delivers food to the edges about once every five days.

The food delivered last time has not been touched, which means that some people have begun to starve to death.

"This is not the way to go." Viscount John patted the table gently: "If we continue to wait for the insect swarm to leave, even if the territory does not turn into white land, more than half of the people will die."

"Kent, hand me that announcement from last time."

"Yes, sir." Kent quickly picked out the most gorgeous piece of parchment from a pile of parchment next to him and handed it to Viscount John.

John took it and looked at it quietly.

Above is Marquis Anthony's announcement on the division of warning areas.

On the back, there is added the opinion of Antony's staff and personal alchemist on this locust plague.

When Viscount John saw this announcement for the first time, he yelled at Anthony, because Anthony did this without the responsibility of a provincial governor.

Therefore, Viscount John only glanced at the content on the back without reading it carefully.

This time he read it carefully, picked up the quill, and Viscount John circled the word "Insect King" on it.

In addition to basically deducing the existence of the King of Insects, the alchemist also said that the habits of insects are similar, and their behavior can be compared to the operating mode of a bee colony or an ant colony.

"Vongola, which direction has the highest density of locusts in the city currently?" Viscount John asked.

Vongola thought for a moment and then said after careful consideration: "The feedback from the comprehensive food delivery soldiers is basically that the farther west, the greater the density of locusts and the more aggressive they are."

"Very good." Viscount John slammed the table hard: "Vongola, you and I will fight to the west until we find the Insect King!"

Kent was the first to jump up and object: "Sir Viscount, let alone whether the Insect King really exists. Even if it does, it will be difficult for you to locate the Insect King with only such vague information."

"And even if we can locate and kill the insect king, we may not be able to drive away the locusts."

"The most important thing is that you are a viscount, you should not do such risky things!"

Viscount John smiled, but his tone was unquestionable: "Old man, don't forget, I am not only a viscount, but also a fourth-level ice knight! A mere locust can trap others, but it cannot trap me."

"And I'd rather make a mistake than do nothing."

As soon as this statement came out, even Vongola could not object, but secretly vowed in his heart to protect the safety of the Viscount.

Soon, Viscount John put on his own battle armor and left Neusnorburg with Vongola, who had just broken through to level 3.

The horse's vest was not enough to cover the whole body, so the two left the castle on foot.

Vongola's palms were filled with sweat. Even though he knew that the locusts could not break through his own armor, the overwhelming, dark shadow still made him feel uncomfortable.

There were so many locusts that every time he stepped down, he would trample one or two people who had no time to escape. The sound of exploding locusts made Vongola almost want to vomit.

There were also some locusts climbing back and forth on the armor, trying to find weaknesses. The sound caused by the friction between their claws and the armor made his heart tremble.

If Viscount John hadn't ordered to save his fighting spirit, he would have used flame fighting spirit to ignite his armor and drive away these damn bugs.

All the way west.

Just as the previous soldiers reported, the deeper they went, the more aggressive the locusts became, and they even began to actively collide with them.

Arriving at the edge of the city, Vongola's peripheral vision swept across a building, and his scalp suddenly exploded:

"Lord Viscount, look!"

It was a spire building, standing on the corner of the street. It was supposed to be a grain store, but now it was densely covered with locusts, covering it layer by layer, like a huge heart that was constantly twitching and beating.

Right at the top of the heart, a huge locust is squatting there, and under it is a bag of golden wheat.

Ordinary locusts are only about the size of a fist and are all yellow-brown, but this one is about half the size of a man, almost like a strong calf. Its body is pitch black, its two whiskers are like riding whips, and its pair of mouthparts are as big as pokers.

There is no doubt that that is the Insect King!

As soon as this idea emerged from Vongola's heart, he felt an extreme coldness.

It seems as if the twelfth lunar month of winter is walking naked in the north wind.

But the problem is that it's summer now, and Vongola, as a third-level flame knight, can actually feel the cold!

At this moment, Viscount John's body was filled with ice fighting energy, and traces of hexagonal ice flowers bloomed on his armor.

It was a battle pattern that was condensed to the extreme and showed through the body.

Vongola was stunned. This was the first time he had seen Lord Viscount attack with all his strength, but the aftermath made him stiff!

This is...the fourth level! ?

The insect king seemed to feel the threat, and instantly understood the situation. He flapped his wings and flew towards the sky.

Viscount John raised his spear, floated into the air, and then suddenly drew a crescent-like pale blue light mark.

Wherever he passed, the air seemed to be frozen, forming an ice-like texture.

The insect king was also wrapped in the icy air, and layers of thin ice began to grow on its wings, and it was about to be overtaken by the crescent moon.

At this moment, a buzzing sound sounded, as if the earth was shaking.

From all directions, endless locusts rushed towards the blue ice blade regardless of the consequences.

They were frozen and fell one after another, but before they landed, a large number of locusts followed.

For a moment, it seemed as if there was a hailstorm of locusts.

But under the protection of waves of locusts, the insect king flew farther and farther!

Vongola rushed to John and said excitedly: "Sir Viscount, there really is an Insect King, let's go after it now!"

"Forget it." John's fighting spirit gradually extinguished, and he looked at the locusts that kept coming from all directions and seemed to have never decreased, with a hint of bitterness in his tone:

"This unexpected encounter failed to keep it behind. Now it is on guard. No matter how hard it tries to catch up, it can't catch up."

"Go back."

Viscount John returned to Newcastle, full of grievances.

As soon as he entered the door, Kent, who was waiting at the door, greeted him: "Thank you ancestors, sir, you finally came back safely!"

"It's just a swarm of locusts. They can't kill me." He casually slapped a locust that came to the door to death. Viscount John took off his helmet and said, "Have someone clean the armor carefully. Don't be impatient and be careful."

Hearing this, Kent was relieved immediately - at least the Viscount would not fight the locusts in the short term.

"Also, prepare paper and pen for me immediately."

Kent nodded immediately: "Yes, sir, who do you want to write to? I will help you draft it immediately!"

Viscount John's expression became serious: "Only I can write this letter, you can't handle it."

Kent's heart jumped, and he felt something was wrong, but he still prepared according to Viscount John's instructions.

In the study, Viscount John picked up the pen and wrote two lines of text, which almost scared Kent to jump up.

"The noble King of the Keynes Empire, the guardian of human civilization, the lord of the Middle-earth, the inheritor of the bloody reign, the most honorable king of kings on the Middles continent, Habsburg Mann Keynes, and His Majesty Keynes XVI."

My master actually wanted to write a letter to His Majesty the King!

And the following content made Kent even more shocked.

"I, John Ota Luke, Viscount of the Empire, hereby solemnly make serious accusations against Marquis Anthony Vanya Edwards, the Governor of Nord Province appointed by you personally."

"This person has low character, more selfishness than public spirit, more political fighting power than governance ability, I hereby list his seven major crimes!"

"First, arrogance!"

"As an imperial marquis, he is not humble or grateful, and abuses his power at will. Before he took office as governor, he drove the nobles in the province like cattle and horses, and regarded the earl's family as slaves. If they were not satisfied, he would suppress them with the royal authority."

"Second, luxury!"

"After becoming the governor of the Empire, Anthony He issued a clear order not to allow the whole province to have feasts and happy parties, but he himself was extravagant and held large-scale cocktail parties, wasting so much wine that the fish in the river were drunk to death. "

"Third, vanity!"

"Previously, Baron Raven of the Griffith family got married and held a competition. He was the one who manipulated the matter, so that the wedding banquet was spoiled and made a big fuss. However, Anthony left the table in anger after his contestant lost. He had no grace and no responsibility!"

"Fourth, lust!"

"This Marquis has been enjoying himself since he came to the Nord Province. There are countless rumors about his affairs with beautiful women. He even wrote an article to publicly rank the dancers. His debauchery and vulgarity are unworthy of his noble status !”

“Fifth, laziness!”

“Earl Jonah had warned of the locust plague long ago, but Anthony ignored it and only issued an insignificant decree; when the locust plague broke out, he did not think about how to deal with it, but divided the power in his hands into three parts and set up three warning areas. He not only betrayed the trust of His Majesty the King, but also evaded his duties as the governor!”

“Sixth, greed!”

“Seventh, rage!”

“Greed and rage filled the soul of this governor. In order to gain more power and wealth, he did not hesitate to assassinate the Fox family, plotted to destroy the Fox family, occupied the Fox family's territory, and plundered the Fox family's property!”

“ A century-old family only seized 600,000 gold coins to fill the treasury, and the hidden wealth is probably more than 10 times. This kind of greed is unprecedented! Disrespect and disloyalty are obvious! "

"Seven major sins, privately, are unworthy of the noble character; publicly, he has failed the trust of His Majesty, failed to reconcile the nobles in the province, and failed to protect the territory and the people. Not only is he not qualified to be the governor of the Nord Province, but he should be stripped of his title to make him repent!"

"And Your Majesty, you should also open your eyes and see the true face of this seemingly loyal but actually treacherous villain."

"Don't let him become an indelible stain on your glorious achievements!"

This letter is eloquent and almost completed in one go.

Just as John put down the feather pen, Kent brought a candlestick over.

"What are you going to do?" John asked.

"Master, you can just write this letter and vent your grievances, but don't dare to send it out." Kent urged bitterly.

John said earnestly: "Indeed, the territory suffered heavy losses, which made me quite dissatisfied with Anthony."

"But this is not just a complaint."

"Look at how he dealt with this locust plague! There was no prior preparation, and he began to shirk responsibility when the time came. With such a bug leading the Nord Province, how can the future be good?"

Kent wanted to say something else, but Anthony had already folded the letter and put it in the envelope:

"No need to say more, I must present this letter to His Majesty the King!"

...