I will be crowned king

"Uh...Miss Thalia, what's coming?"

Braving the fierce cold wind and holding on to the wall of Winter Torch City, Karin Jacques struggled to raise his head and cautiously asked the figure standing in the wind and snow.

The girl in a plain black empire-style dress faced the wind and snow, seemingly not caring about the skin exposed to the biting air; the chestnut hair exposed under the small hat danced in the wind, making her scarlet eyes and solemn expression slightly more serious. Some childlike charm that fits her appearance.

Thalia did not answer the trainee priest's question, and kept her eyes fixed on the direction of Beluga Harbor; it was a serious and nervous expression, and you could even read a hint of fear in it.

Karin Jacques, who was frightened by his own thoughts, shrank his neck and couldn't believe this extremely ridiculous idea.

The experiences of the past ten days have given him some misunderstandings about this current head of Rune's family; it seems that it is no longer a power that a blasphemous mage can possess, but is infinitely close to the legendary... apostle.

It is no exaggeration to say that without the girl in front of me, at least half of the people in Winter Torch City would not be alive until now; although the indigenous people swarming outside the city would not be able to break through the colonial walls and the remains left by the Storm Legion It's a fortification, but it can definitely cause a lot of casualties.

Although Winter torch is an extremely important colony, it can even occupy a place in the Free Confederacy; but its importance is reflected by its geographical location; as a bridgehead for the colonists to advance inland, it is not only a bridgehead for various pioneer teams. The base camp was also the frontline of the struggle between the colonists and the local indigenous people; without it, the coastal colonies would directly face threats from the power of the inland indigenous peoples.

In addition, the Winter Torch City standing on the top of the mountain is actually different from a medium-sized fortress; and it cannot even be completely self-sufficient in fuel and food, and has to rely on mutual help from caravans and colonists traveling from north to south.

Therefore, when a large number of indigenous people united with the beast slaves to besiege Winter Torch City and even blocked the trade routes for a time, even though they knew it was safest to defend the fortress, they still chose to take the initiative. Not only did they have to protect themselves, but they also shouldered the responsibility of preparing for settlement further north. It is the responsibility of transporting supplies and supporting pioneering.

The caravans that were blocked halfway and the looted supplies were the hope for Winter Torch City and many small settlements to survive the harsh winter safely.

Although most of the Winter Torch City militiamen are experienced pioneers, and the Storm Legion has left an infantry company in the area responsible for managing the fortress, they have sufficient weapons and equipment... but no matter how experienced they are, they are still far behind the indigenous people. People are more adaptable to the surrounding climate and terrain.

Coupled with the disparity in numbers between the two sides, facing nearly 10,000 rioting indigenous people, a pioneer force of only one or two thousand people was simply not enough. Moreover, due to the lack of population, any slight loss would be a serious injury.

Moreover, the threats they face are not only a group of barely armed indigenous people, but also the lunatics of the Faithless Knights who have just lost their jobs and are eager to seek revenge on their enemies.

In the New World Colony, the influence of the Cressy family is so pervasive that even Winter torch City is not immune; from the members of the Autonomous Assembly to the pioneers who have just arrived here, there are their collaborators, peripheral members and informant.

Such a rich foundation made their past actions unfavorable, and after they became crazy, they became the most dangerous weakness of the colony; destruction, riots, assassinations, robbery... the entire city completely lost order, and was in panic all day long.

At the most dangerous time, the remnants of the knights in the city took advantage of the indigenous people to besiege the city. The militia, looking for a chance to return, quietly opened the city gate and set fire to the parliament, which was already in ruins.

If it weren't for a little bit of luck and the girl in front of him, the black-robed priest could completely imagine what would happen to Winter Torch City.

But Thalia... here she comes.

When the ice fog and wind and snow that filled the mountains dissipated, the blood soaked in the soil left a long ravine outside the city. Corpses were like ants swept by the fire, densely covering the field of vision, everywhere .

But instead of being burned to death, they were frozen to death.

Thalia August Rune, who was wearing a long black dress, arrived at the Winter Torch City in an unmanned four-wheel carriage amid such a bloody scene.

And on the night she arrived, there were more than a dozen complete corpses on the dilapidated city wall; there was no damage from head to toe, but they were indeed dead.

No one knew what happened, not even Karin Jacques himself, but the remnants of the Faithless Knights in the city disappeared, and the security of Winter Torch City instantly returned to a good level.

In the next ten days, the pioneer militia that was sweeping around outside the city began to perform extraordinary feats. They constantly "accidentally" ambushed the camps of the indigenous people, and "beheaded hundreds of people" at every turn, without any casualties of their own.

Everything looks so good... except for the vigilante soldiers who have actually seen the truth.

According to the information obtained by Karin Jacques, they just went to the predetermined location again and again to dig out the frozen soil and fill the corpses; sometimes even this step was omitted, and the "corpsees" had already dug the pits for themselves in advance. All they needed to do was cover the site with soil.

But of course the black-robed priest responsible for delivering the information understood that all of this had something to do with the girl in front of him.

The roaring snowstorm in his ears dragged him back to reality from his memories. He was surprised to find that Thalia, who had been looking into the distance just now, had turned her gaze towards him at some point.

"Your Excellency Karin Jacques, I need your help."

"Ah...ah?!"

The black-robed priest opened his mouth wide and was so nervous that he couldn't even speak clearly: "I, I..."

"If I remember correctly, there should be a special communication channel between your 'Truth Society' and the Cressy family, right?"

Although she was asking, the frosty-faced girl said in a tone that left no room for doubt: "Don't try to deny it. The reason why I invite you to come to the colony is not just because of your ability to cause trouble."

"I...yes, we do."

Facing the coercion revealed on the young girl's face, Karin Jacques swallowed his saliva and did not even dare to dodge his eyes: "But we and the Cressy family are complete enemies, even if it is true Once the news is spread, it’s hard to say whether they will accept it.”

"Oh, you don't have to worry about this, they will accept it." The girl raised her eyebrows slightly: "Because I want to give them an extremely precious opportunity."

"An extremely precious... chance to live."

……………………

Beluga Harbor, the Council of Five Hundred.

Just as the bitterly cold wind and snow gradually enveloped the entire new world in December, Beluga Harbor ushered in the most lively New Year's party in more than fifty years.

In order to pre-unify the forces of the entire New World and prevent the empire from counterattacking in the coming year, and also to allow the newly established New World Company (Bank) to truly enter the entire New World, Anson sent an invitation to the entire Free Confederacy, inviting comrades to "fight side by side" They participate in local New Year celebrations and participate in grand events.

Although the tone of "invitation" was used and the exact time of the celebration and banquet was not even specified, it still received a positive response from the members of the Free Confederation. They sent their respective delegations as soon as possible, and some even even went to the parliament. The Speaker personally led the team to show his importance.

It is now mid-December, when the weather in the New World is at its worst. Delegations from all parties have tried their best to arrive at Beluga Port on time.

Some directly risked tentacles and shipwrecks and set off from the sea directly to the port of Beluga; some broke into pieces and multiple teams set off from different roads; some simply pulled up an army and trekked long distances fully armed; It is more direct, euphemistically expressing that our capabilities are limited and we hope that Beluga Port can provide some assistance...

No matter what, all the delegations finally arrived successfully before the celebration started.

Of course, the reason why they are so active is not because they are really united on a "common front", but because they have a more practical reason: money.

To be more precise, what they need is a way to make money - the trade routes controlled by Beluga Port and important investment channels.

Freedom and independence sound like the sounds of nature, but they also mean that they are completely disconnected from the past suzerain country. They cannot rely on the ruling machinery, violent institutions and various side benefits. Everything must start again.

This includes the establishment of political power, the establishment of mutual recognition, the redistribution of the pie of power and interests, as well as the repositioning of the self and the long process of rediscovering the source of wealth that sustains its existence.

To put it more bluntly, in the past, these people could work as colonial compradors and suck the blood of the empire and colonies by selling resources to make a profit. Now they have to find ways to get money from outside to maintain their power.

Not only that, in order to maintain their status in the Confederacy, colonies such as Black Reef Port and Gray Pigeon Castle, which had just gone through the war, had to rely on strong enough foreign aid to provide military support; while Long Lake Town and Red Hand Bay They also hope to receive large amounts of investment to stabilize the normal growth of the internal economy.

And the only one that can provide these two things at the same time is the Beluga Port in Ice Dragon Fjord.

For the various colonies under the Star Circle, although the benefits provided by the Beluga Port are not free, to a certain extent, they have even bound their development, transforming towards another kind of relationship between the sovereign state and the vassal state; but it has brought The benefits are real, and at least on the surface, the relationship between the two parties is equal.

Between the independence of enduring cold and hunger and borrowing money from Anson Bach first and paying it back later, they decisively chose the latter.

"It's surprising that you came in person."

Holding a glass of Tirpitz Rum, Anson stood in front of the door and took the initiative to greet the young knight who was walking towards him: "I thought you would never set foot on the land of the Clovis people unless it was absolutely necessary. "

"So you guessed it right, now is the last resort." Louis Bernard had a faint smile on his lips, but he still couldn't hide the sadness on his brow:

"The reconstruction of the destroyed city, the resettlement of the victims, the shipyard... the burden on Sail City is too heavy, and it cannot be solved by itself. It requires support from other colonies and greater investment."

"In terms of the shipyard alone, we have a gap of at least 200,000 gold coins; but if the shipyard is not expanded, many civilians will not be able to make a living. The farms and mines outside the city simply cannot provide enough jobs. Even if there are , they also feel that it is something that the beast slaves...the indigenous people did, and they would rather starve to death than do it..."

Louis, who frowned, stopped suddenly, as if he suddenly realized: "Ah! I'm sorry, I shouldn't tell you this."

"No need to mind, I understand your difficulty." Anson comforted:

"Facing alone a colony with an area three times that of Beluga Port and a population four to five times that of Port Beluga, you will definitely have many more difficulties than I did at the beginning. What's more, you are also a... knight, and you are more difficult than someone like me. Take responsibility.”

He originally wanted to say "good guy", but he always felt that the irony was too strong, so he changed his words temporarily.

To be honest, the situation in Sailing City is much better than that of Moby Dick Port - facing the liberals who had been purged, and the army that survived because of him, Bernard's heir, there was no doubt about their loyalty; The neighboring colonies are very weak externally. Whether it is Gray Pigeon Castle or Black Reef Port, they can be manipulated at will.

As for the resource conditions...the fields are fertile, the city is open, the port is excellent, and the infrastructure is in excellent condition. The damaged urban areas can actually be repaired and inhabited.

As for the livelihood of residents...it's not a problem in Anson's eyes.

While maintaining the minimum living standard and ensuring that the population does not die on a large scale, it is enough to arrange work and stabilize production and labor positions.

What, you think the job is too bad and you don’t want to do it? Do it or not! You just can't tolerate these naughty...picky guys. Colonies don't breed lazy people!

But facing Louis Bernard, Anson certainly couldn't say that - he also expected the other party's shipyard to provide supporting equipment for his New World Company.

"If the shipyard can take a stake, a low-interest loan of 200,000 gold coins is not a problem." Anson's eyes moved and he glanced at Reinhard Roland, who was chatting with several colonial representatives not far away:

"But just lack of money shouldn't be enough for you to come here, right?"

"My dear Anson, the loan of 200,000 gold coins you promised has already made my trip worthwhile." The young knight smiled bitterly:

"Only after trying it yourself can you understand how complicated and difficult it is to manage a colony; I still overestimate my abilities; compared to politics, the army is more suitable for me."

"But you guessed it right, the reason why I came here is not only for the loan, but also because of Freya's request."

Freya, the Elf Queen of Iser... Anson was stunned for a moment:

"Why?"

"Because we are in great danger right now."

Louis Bernard's expression suddenly became serious, and he said word by word in a slightly heavy tone:

"The Gravekeepers of the Resting Land...they have already begun to take action."