“Very well,” Leon nodded slightly and continued.
“Next, war between the empire and Nightmare is imminent. Once the mermen in the Dusk Sea catch wind of this, they certainly won't stay quietly in the water anymore.”
“Therefore, they must be taught a lesson—a lesson in blood that they will never forget.”
“This lesson will begin with... the Sardine, the ship operated by the mermen.”
The Sardine was a merchant ship with a notorious reputation within the Heron Empire.
Its owner was one of the five Pirate Kings of the Dusk Sea—the “Mad Shark King,” Gareth O'Connell.
As a peak Gold rank shark merman, Gareth was primarily involved in the slave trade, hallucinogenic tobacco, and the buying and selling of Abyss materials in the Dusk Sea.
He would plunder any ships passing through the Dusk Sea, sparing neither the cargo nor the crew.
The plundered goods were sold on the Sardine, the merchant ship he operated at sea.
As for the crews, some were resold to the vampires of the Nightmare empire as blood sources, while others were sold as slaves to certain human nobles.
The first baron Leon had executed in Eldenborg had purchased his human slaves from this very Mad Shark King.
Hearing that Leon intended to target a peak Gold rank merman, the nobles below didn't dare speak, but they exchanged glances, seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.
“What? Do you have a problem?” Leon asked, noting the movement below.
One baron gave Leon a respectful bow before he couldn't help but say, “The Sardine... Master Leon, the owner of the Sardine is a peak Gold rank merman. Starting with him... wouldn't that be too risky?”
With that baron being the first to speak, others joined in.
“Indeed, Master Leon. Now that the empire's war is about to begin, shouldn't we stay within the city and towns to stabilize the situation? Why take the initiative to go after the Sardine?”
“Master Leon, the owner of that ship is the Mad Shark King, Gareth. We would be fine defending with the city walls and magic circles, but to take the initiative and seek out Gareth... it’s not that we can’t win, it’s just that... we would be throwing away our home-field advantage.”
“Exactly, Master Leon. Lord Viscount Finn is injured and cannot exert his full strength. If we abandon our defensive advantage to head out to sea and find the Mad Shark King, I fear... the victory would be incredibly difficult.”
These people padded their words heavily before speaking, using very diplomatic phrasing, but their meaning was invariably that the Mad Shark King was too strong and they weren't sure they could win.
Leon simply raised a hand, silencing everyone.
He said, “With the empire on the verge of war with Nightmare, the Southern Border must remain stable. And the best way to stabilize the situation is to take the initiative—to end war through war.”
“As the saying goes: strike one blow now to prevent a hundred later.”
“As long as we can fully demonstrate our strength in the operation to wipe out the Sardine, even other restless mermen will be struck with fear by the example we set. They won't dare to infringe upon the Heron Empire's coast so easily again.”
As he spoke, Leon shot a look at Viscount Finn.
Viscount Finn took the hint and said, “Master Leon is right...”
However, as soon as those words left his mouth, Leon immediately gave him a sharp, stern look.
Viscount Finn was stunned for a moment, unable to guess Leon's meaning.
Leon gave him a look, he agreed with Leon, then Leon gave him a stern look. So what did the look mean...?
Viscount Finn paused for a beat and then said, “Strike one blow now to prevent a hundred later... As expected of Master Leon, to be able to come up with such philosophical words.”
“However...”
Viscount Finn changed his tone and glanced at Leon. Seeing no reaction, he continued, “However, Master Leon, that Mad Shark King is, after all, a peak Gold rank mage. We... might have a hard time dealing with him.”
Viscount Finn's words made the crowd below nod in agreement.
It wasn't that they didn't dare to fight, but that they were afraid they couldn't win!
The empire was going to war, and the high-end combat power was being mobilized by His Majesty to the front lines.
Relying solely on this group to deal with the Mad Shark King—especially in Gareth's home territory at sea—would be extremely difficult.
“What is there to worry about?” Leon waved his hand again, his tone carrying a hint of impatience.
“Even if your injuries haven't healed and it's inconvenient for you to fight, isn't Bishop Miles, a Gold rank priest, still in the city? He is more than enough to contend with that Mad Shark King.”
“Furthermore, we can simply release news to the outside world claiming that after special treatment, your injuries have fully recovered and you will be joining the expedition.”
“Faced with two Gold rank combatants, would the Mad Shark King dare to accept the challenge lightly?”
“In addition, I hold a Royal Decree in my hand. I can use it to create an illusion, saying that I have already requested aid from the capital and a Diamond rank general will be coming to assist.”
“By the time these reports spread one by one, the Mad Shark King will likely be trembling with fear. He wouldn't dare to cross blades with us!”
Hearing this, some of the less bright barons had a sudden realization, nodding along and thinking this 'Empty Fort Strategy' had some merit.
However, after seeing the helplessness on the faces of the others, these enlightened barons immediately adopted a solemn expression.
From the secondary seat, Viscount Finn gave a bitter smile. “Master Leon, the injuries on my body have been there for over ten years. How could they be so easily cured? Even if the news spreads, the Mad Shark King might not necessarily...”
“Enough!” Leon suddenly turned toward Viscount Finn, his gaze cold. “You repeatedly obstruct my plan to march against the Mad Shark King. What exactly are your intentions? Could it be... that you have secretly taken bribes from him and are intentionally trying to protect him?”
With such a heavy accusation leveled against him, Viscount Finn immediately fell silent.
Leon's gaze swept over the assembled barons and mayors, and they quickly shut their mouths as well.
“Since no one has any objections, then it is decided!”
Leon slapped the table, finalizing the matter.
“Next is the third agenda item...”
...
When the meeting ended, the barons and mayors walked out of the council hall.
Each of them looked worried, their hearts full of words they had suppressed. It wasn't until they were far from the hall that they finally began to vent to those around them.
“To think it was decided so recklessly! If the Mad Shark King doesn't fall for it and is just that stubborn, what are we supposed to do?!” Zachary, the Mayor of Jellyfish Town, clutched his hair and spoke irritably.
He had originally come to Stormveil City to seek help. Who would have thought that instead of getting reinforcements, he would have the members of his own guard taken away by that Master Leon for some nonsense “expedition against the Mad Shark King”!
Against a peak Gold rank Mad Shark King, what could the guards possibly do?
They wouldn't even qualify as cannon fodder.
And as long as someone didn't follow Leon's wishes, he would immediately slap them with the label of “colluding with the Mad Shark King.”
Who would dare to speak up now?!
If they said anything more, Leon might just have people throw them directly into prison!
“Sigh! There's no other way! We can only hope this illusion we've created can fool Gareth!”
The mayor of another small town patted Zachary on the shoulder, sighed, and departed for his own town.
Zachary was also completely out of options, worrying about how he would discuss this matter with the townsfolk who trusted him...
Inside the council hall.
The others had dispersed, leaving only Leon and Viscount Finn.
Viscount Finn looked at Leon, who sat in the head seat and pulled a lollipop from his pocket, and asked, “Master Leon, do you believe there are merman spies among them?”
Leon countered with a question: “Do you think there aren't?”
“Uh...” Viscount Finn pondered for less than half a second before suddenly realizing his question was quite foolish.
Although the empire was flourishing under His Majesty's rule, to completely eradicate the empire's corruption... forget His Majesty alone, even if the God of Sacred Light himself descended, it would be impossible.
Viscount Finn asked again, “Then... Master Leon, have you really sent word to the capital for reinforcements?”
Leon stood up and glanced at him. “What do you think?”
Wait, you're even keeping me in the dark?
Viscount Finn opened his mouth. Weren't he and Leon on the same side?
“I'm not keeping you in the dark. You're a good person; Alicia certified that.”
“Then...”
“I'm guarding against the 'just in case.' Anyway, when the time comes, you just need to act like you're both injured and not injured at the same time.”
“But...”
“Don't worry. You and Bishop Miles working together, plus me, will definitely be enough to kill that Mad Shark King.”
“But...”
“No need to worry. Even if we can't kill him, I can guarantee we can retreat safely.”
“...”
Viscount Finn fell silent.
No! He hadn't even finished speaking! How did Leon finish everything for him?
“This isn't mind-reading. There is no Divine Art in this world that can directly peer into the ever-changing thoughts of a living being.”
Leon turned and smiled. “It's just some simple observation and deduction.”
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