Chapter 131: Kings in the West Are Worth Dimes

"Lord Commander, this is..."

Upon stepping into the mercenary corps courtyard, the plump general noticed something he had been overlooking—four giant wolves lying lazily in the yard!

"These are my mounts!" Chu Tian said casually, before summoning one of the giant wolves and mounting it. "Lead the way, quickly!"

Despite Chu Tian's blunt discourtesy, the plump general became even more ingratiating. On the West Coast, because of Kevin, anyone capable of riding a giant wolf was unequivocally a person of great consequence! "Hehe, after you, Lord Commander. Just head straight north, and you'll reach the royal palace. By the way, my name is Vorton, and I am the Grand General of the Principality!"

"You're a Grand General? Haha." Chu Tian chuckled, eyeing Vorton's portly physique, and asked, "How is it that a Grand General like you personally came to cause trouble for our mercenary corps?"

"Hehe," Vorton flattered with a smile, "Our Principality of Rolle isn't very large, so we have rather fewer troops and generals. As you can see, I'm the only general here in the capital..."

Just a single general? Chu Tian was left speechless. Looking up at the troops led by Vorton, Chu Tian found himself entirely at a loss for words—could this ragtag bunch of five or six hundred undisciplined scoundrels possibly be considered a nation's elite force?

Amidst their conversation, under Vorton's guidance, Chu Tian arrived at the royal palace of the Principality of Rolle.

To call the royal palace a palace was a stretch; a communal tenement courtyard was a far more fitting description. It occupied no more than a few thousand square meters, and none of the buildings exceeded ten meters in height. The mottled walls and dilapidated eaves clearly indicated that this monarch was not exactly rolling in wealth.

"Please, go right in!" Vorton invited with an obsequious gesture.

"No need to announce ourselves?" Chu Tian asked, somewhat perplexed. Call it what you will, this was still a royal palace; could one simply wander in and out at will?

"Heh, of course others have to announce themselves." Vorton shrank his neck, pulling Chu Tian inward as he explained, "However, someone of your elevated status, Lord Commander, certainly doesn't need to."

"Oh. Your king is quite the hospitable sort!" Chu Tian grew increasingly contemptuous of this unseen monarch. In Caesar, let alone wandering in and out of the imperial palace at will, taking a single misstep or uttering a single wrong word within those walls meant certain death.

Stepping into the central hall of the palace, Chu Tian finally met the sovereign of the principality.

"Your Majesty, this is the new commander of the Storm Mercenary Corps. He has some matters he wishes to discuss with you." Vorton introduced Chu Tian to the king, then gestured toward another fat man in his forties seated upon the throne. "This is our ruler, Grand Duke Rolle."

"Greetings, Grand Duke Rolle!" Chu Tian looked from Grand Duke Rolle to Vorton, thinking to himself: Could it be that in this country, the fatter one is, the higher one's status? Indeed, Grand Duke Rolle was even fatter than Vorton!

Chu Tian's tone was flat, and his posture showed not a shred of respect; he faced Grand Duke Rolle entirely as an equal. Yet Grand Duke Rolle felt no anger, for an unwritten understanding existed between him and Vorton: anyone brought directly into the palace without prior announcement by Vorton was decidedly no ordinary person.

"Vorton, who is this guest?" Grand Duke Rolle asked his Grand General.

"Your Majesty, didn't you instruct me this morning to take over the Storm Mercenary Corps? Well, they now have a new commander." Vorton exchanged a series of winks and grimaces with Grand Duke Rolle. "This guest who arrived riding a Tier 4 giant wolf is none other than the new commander of Storm!" Vorton heavily emphasized the words "Tier 4 giant wolf."

"Riding a giant wolf?" Grand Duke Rolle instantly beamed at Chu Tian. "May I ask who you are..."

"Andy!" Chu Tian replied indifferently, thinking inwardly: This fellow doesn't look like a king by any stretch of the imagination!

"And what relation do you have with Boss Kevin? Hehe, just asking out of curiosity." Grand Duke Rolle appeared thoroughly cautious.

"Ask him yourself!" Chu Tian unclipped the communication stone from his waist and tossed it to Grand Duke Rolle.

"No need, no need!" Grand Duke Rolle handed the communication stone back to Chu Tian, then produced one of his own from his waist. "I have a communication stone to reach Boss Kevin right here."

Praise the Goddess of Life! Could this Grand Duke Rolle maintain a direct line with Kevin on a regular basis? With keen interest, Chu Tian watched as Grand Duke Rolle activated the communication stone.

"Hello, Boss Kevin, it's me, Rolle!" Despite the barrier of the communication stone, Grand Duke Rolle maintained an air of profound respect. "There is a Mr. Andy here just now..."

Grand Duke Rolle recounted the events that had transpired, only to be met with a furious torrent of abuse roaring from the communication stone: "Do you ******* want to keep being king or not? Andy is my brother, he's Lucina's uncle! You bloody fool actually dared to seize his mercenary corps? Let me tell you, Storm was a gift I gave to brother Andy! Figure it out yourself!" With that scathing reprimand, the communication stone was abruptly and violently disconnected.

"Oh dear! Mr. Andy, why didn't you mention earlier that you were Boss Kevin's brother?!" Grand Duke Rolle bounded up from his throne, hurried over to Chu Tian, and, grasping Chu Tian's hand, pulled him back to share the throne. "It truly was a case of family failing to recognize family right in our own backyard!"

"Grand Duke Rolle, what about my mercenary corps..." Having been promoted from a guest to a member of the family, Chu Tian curled his lip. It seemed Kevin's influence on the West Coast was indeed formidable.

"Of course it remains yours!" Grand Duke Rolle declared with absolute finality. Pausing to reflect for a moment, he added, "Starting today, all taxes for the Storm Mercenary Corps are completely waived!"

"Haha, I hardly know how to thank you!" Chu Tian accepted Grand Duke Rolle's goodwill with a smile. "Grand Duke, I have one more matter..."

"Call me Grand Duke no longer! What need is there for formalities among our own? Just call me big brother Rolle!" Grand Duke Rolle waved a magnanimous hand and instructed Vorton, "Go down and prepare a banquet; I must properly entertain brother Andy."

Before long, a lavish banquet was laid out in the palace hall.

"Brother Andy, what was that other matter you mentioned?" Rolle inquired.

"Do you happen to have any Zeppelin airships here?" Chu Tian poured a toast first, then asked, "I wish to travel to the eastern part of the continent, but walking is far too slow. I need an airship."

"This..." Grand Duke Rolle looked rather embarrassed. "Brother, this is merely a small principality; I can't afford a Zeppelin airship."

"Then where might one be found nearby?" Chu Tian refused to give up quite yet. He was well aware of the difficulty in acquiring an airship; it was said the goblins had long since ceased production, and all previously manufactured airships were strictly controlled by various factions as military supplies. Consequently, even with Kevin's immense influence, securing one would be an uphill battle.

"There isn't a single one in the entire West Coast!" Grand Duke Rolle shattered any remaining hope Chu Tian harbored.

"Very well, then." Chu Tian narrowed his eyes. Since returning home was out of the question for the time being, he would first settle matters concerning the mercenary corps. With an air of casual indifference, he remarked, "By the way, during the few days I was away, a fellow named Gairt repeatedly caused trouble for our corps."

"Gairt?" Grand Duke Rolle's expression twisted into one of deep distress. "Brother Andy, this... I'm afraid I cannot help you there."

"Oh?" Chu Tian frowned, staring intently at Grand Duke Rolle. How could a king possibly be powerless against a mere mercenary corps?

"Please don't misunderstand! It's not that I don't want to help!" Seeing Chu Tian's displeasure, Grand Duke Rolle hastily explained, "The principality's tax revenues depend heavily on these major mercenary corps. Besides, brother, you know as well as I that I'm merely a petty king with only a few hundred thousand subjects. My standing army is even scarcer—barely ten thousand men at most. Yet Gairt's mercenary corps alone boasts over two thousand combatants..."

A king reduced to such a plight might as well abdicate! Chu Tian cursed inwardly. The number of mercenaries under Gairt amounted to a full fifth of the principality's entire military force, and that didn't even account for high-level elites! To expect Grand Duke Rolle to move against Gairt under such circumstances was truly asking the impossible.

"Brother Andy! About that... might I trouble you to mention something to Boss Kevin?" Grand Duke Rolle stammered hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"The harvest in the principality hasn't been favorable this year, and quite a few commoners are on the brink of starvation..." Grand Duke Rolle abruptly stood up, looking utterly wretched as he bowed deeply to Chu Tian. "Could you ask Boss Kevin to show some leniency, allowing the principality to delay its protection payment for this year?"

Praise the Goddess of Life! Chu Tian was utterly flabbergasted. Could it be that Kevin was collecting protection money straight from the monarch? Yet judging by Grand Duke Rolle's demeanor, there was an eighty percent chance it was true!

To force even a king to pay protection fees—for a mafia boss like Kevin to reach such heights compelled even Master Chu to tip his hat in admiration. "I'll mention it to Big Brother Kevin when I have the chance, but I can't guarantee anything!" Chu Tian promised perfunctorily.

"Haha, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of commoners in the principality, I thank you, brother." Grand Duke Rolle offered another low bow, then stealthily slipped a purple crystal card with a limit of ten thousand gold coins straight into Chu Tian's sleeve.

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When Chu Tian emerged from the quarters of that pitiful monarch, evening had already fallen.

"Commander Andy, you're finally out! I've been waiting quite a long time for you!" The moment Chu Tian stepped out of the palace gates, a crowd swarmed around him.

"Gairt, what do you think you're doing?!" Vorton, tasked with escorting Chu Tian back to the mercenary headquarters, bellowed at the newcomers, though his plump frame prudently cowered behind his soldiers.

The arrivals were none other than Gairt and his mercenary subordinates. Yet the instant Gairt laid eyes on Chu Tian, his face instantly bloomed into a broad, ingratiating smile. "Haha, Brother Andy, I've come to offer my apologies!"

Upon seeing Gairt appear, Chu Tian instantly tensed. After all, Chu Tian had personally slain a gold-rank swordsman from the Gairt Mercenary Corps; by any reckoning, the two of them were sworn enemies.

"There's no need for Commander Gairt to apologize to me!" Chu Tian narrowed his eyes, greeting him with a cheerful smile. "If anyone should be offering apologies, it's me, brother!"

"No, no, I am the one who should apologize!" Disregarding the ashen complexion of one of his resident mages, Gairt laughed heartily. "Previously, I was unaware that you were Boss Kevin's brother, and I committed grave offenses. Please forgive me, haha, and please accept this!" With those words, a purple crystal card was presented right before Chu Tian's eyes.

"Praise the God of Death!" Chu Tian grinned brightly. Kevin's influence was truly formidable indeed. Taking the crystal card, Chu Tian chuckled, "Well, I won't stand on ceremony! From here on, our two mercenary corps must help one another!"

"Haha, mutual assistance!" Chu Tian and Gairt exchanged glances, smiling with a tacit understanding of mutual manipulation.

"Holy mother of mine! I remember now! You're that peerless master!" A robust and muscular figure suddenly lunged out from behind Gairt, dropping to his knees and tightly wrapping his arms around Chu Tian's thigh. "Master, please take me as your disciple!"