Enlightened Empire

Chapter 329: Felian Northdale, Victim of Workplace Abuse

Once again, Felian Northdale had been forced to take on a thankless task against his will. Ever since Duke Herak had enlisted him as part of his entourage, things hadnʼt gone right for him even once. That had only worsened after he had been dragged across the ocean into these foreign lands.

First, he had been tasked with the protection of the merchant caravans across Medala, while the duke traveled further south, to deal with his old enemy, the merchant Corco Fastgrade, who had somehow become a king in the meantime.

ʼNot to worry, this will not take longʼ Was that how the duke said it?

Even back then, Felian had been suspicious. After all, the duke had already been outfought and out thought by the merchant king in Arcavia, in the dukeʼs own home. What chance did they have here, in a foreign land that was the home of their enemy? As expected, the dukeʼs plan failed in a spectacular fashion, as his allied armies fell to the southern kingdom, despite their superior numbers and the dukeʼs leadership.

Although Felian had been spared from the embarrassment of being part of that debacle, his own mission hadnʼt been much more successful. While the caravans almost always reached their goals, they were regular victims of robbers.

In fact, the regularity and intensity of their attacks convinced Felian that some of the local lords were cooperating with the robbers and took a cut of the plunder. Of course, all the local lords were playing dumb every time he hinted at their involvement. Instead, the locals would just use their fake outrage at the accusations as an excuse to drive up the tariffs again.

Over the years, they had invented more and more ʼspecialʼ taxes to bleed dry the caravans. And all that was before they had even reached the Verduic Sea, where an army of pirates was waiting for them to grab whatever was left. The fact that their trips remained profitable despite all of their losses showed just how valuable the route to Chutwa was, and it also gave Herak the false impression that Felian had been doing a good job.

With their discovery of the southern passage, they had caught a break and at least gotten a handle on their route tothe Verduic Sea. With new allies on the Verdant Isles and a powerful fleet ready to support them, Herak gave him a new mission, one that seemed easier to handle.

This time, his task had been to secure their naval superiority in the Verduic Sea and to cut off the Green Kingdom from outside support. After long negotiationswith the locals, The Green Island remained the only kingdom in the sea that wasnʼt willing to work with them. With everyone else on their side, suppressing them should have been easy enough.

Even so, he never underestimated his enemies, even less sincethe Green Island’sstrongest allywas the merchant king who had been a thorn in Herak’sside so many times. As expected, the first joint battle Felian’s fleet had fought together with their new verdant allies had beena giant failure. Their enemies had proven surprisingly powerful, and their allies surprisingly useless, so he had become even more conservative in his strategy.

In his opinion, his plans on Yua Island had been a real stroke of genius, cutting off the enemy supply lines from an unassailable position. For once, things looked like they would work out. Yet now, as he stared at the bloody mud of the battlefield, everything began to feel eerily familiar. Once again, he felt like he was one step behind, and once again, no one was listening to him when it mattered the most. Just like the mad captain in front of him, who was foaming at the mouth as he screamed in his face.

“What did you say, Oriental!?”

“I said: Itʼs over.” Felian stepped back and to the side to get away from the captainʼs red face hidden behind his long, unkempt beard.

For one, he wasnʼt eager on the other manʼs looks, or his smell. Even more, he wanted to take another glance at the battlefield, to see if there were any other options. However, nothing had improved since his last look. The battlefield was still a mess, and right within firing range, there was still a mysterious fortress that had grown out of the ground over night.

“Nothingʼs over! You coward, all this time weʼve run rings around them, and we can do the same again! Just watch my men crush their little fort!”

The captainʼs voice was as powerful as his words, but Felian only got a headache from it.