I Pioneered Scientific Magic

"But it can still fetch a bit... Let's set the price at one copper coin for twenty kilograms!" Stanford said with a smile. "You have a total of two hundred thousand tons of grain. According to the current market price, that's one thousand imperial gold coins!"

The guards behind him took out money bags and threw them on the ground.

"Here they all are!"

What a load of nonsense...

Mortan was almost furious on the spot. With just a casual remark from Stanford, he wanted to purchase millions worth of wheat for only one thousand gold coins.

One copper coin for twenty kilograms is simply absurd. Even if no one in the market buys grain, he could still turn it into wheat beer, use it as livestock feed, or even sell some of it to the empire to cover the losses!

But making enough money from the first two options obviously couldn't be done in a month. There were certainly others with similar ideas as him, and there might even be instances of mutual undercutting.

As for selling to the empire, he had to do it in secret. Mortan wasn't stupid enough to mention it openly; otherwise, he would once again be accused of treason!

"Unfortunately, I can't give you those one thousand gold coins, Your Lordship!" Stanford shook his head, then had the guards take back the ten money bags, sighing. "You've borrowed five million imperial gold coins from various merchant caravans, but even if you sell off all the mortgaged assets, you can only repay seventy percent. You still owe a lot."

Mortan's face turned crimson. He realized that his situation today was grim.

The only thing he was grateful for was that although Stanford brought many guards, they didn't seem to carry those alchemical devices called firearms. With his strength, he might be able to keep them all here!

With this in mind, Mortan suddenly made a gesture, and the guards who had been confronting Stanford and the others immediately rushed forward like wolves.

They were all guards raised by the Mortan family since childhood, and they had long placed life and death beyond consideration. They wouldn't question the Duke's orders.

But faster than their swordplay was the art of drawing guns!

The guards behind Stanford, to the shock of the knights and guards present, drew short-barreled firearms from their waists!

These more sophisticated and portable firearms had been invented by Lydia a year ago, but usually, only the covert scouts on special missions were qualified to carry them!

After all, during infiltration and reconnaissance missions, short-barreled firearms were easy to carry, with excellent concealment and suddenness. Many scouts had honed excellent gun-drawing skills!

Among them, the best could complete the actions of drawing the gun, aiming, and firing in 0.1 seconds!

The next moment, sharp gunshots echoed in the hall of the fortress.

Although more than ten guards were all wearing fine armor, how could they withstand the penetration of armor-piercing bullets? They didn't even have a chance to resist effectively before they were riddled with holes!

Mortan was terrified. Even though he was a bloodline knight, he didn't have the confidence to withstand the attacks of so many firearms with his flesh alone. He was soon hit in the arm and thigh by several bullets and collapsed into a pool of blood.

"Treat his wounds, don't let him die. I suspect he has betrayed the kingdom. Let's interrogate him when we get back!" Stanford put away the firearm in his hand. It was his exquisite marksmanship that had disabled Mortan's limbs.

The skilled covert scouts immediately began to clean up the scene, disposing of the bodies. Stanford took out a magic radio and transmitted the message.

Count Bell dead, Viscount Sk imprisoned, Duke Mortan captured alive...

A large amount of information was transmitted via electromagnetic signals to Lorde's hands. Due to the sudden collapse of grain prices, these nobles and merchants they captured were often still immersed in fantasies of their immense wealth one moment and then had their homes raided the next, with no chance to react.

This meant that the vast majority of the arrests went smoothly, with one exception: Duke Gade had escaped!

Regarding this, Lorde was also very helpless. Over the past month, they had needed to monitor hundreds of targets and strike at the same time, but manpower was simply not enough.

Moreover, most of the people they were dealing with were wealthy merchants and nobles with a certain amount of power. It was not easy to capture them without a hitch.

Fortunately, the one who escaped was just a duke who had lost his territory and wealth and couldn't stir up much trouble. Their most important targets were always those who couldn't escape!

"Let's go, let's go to the palace!" Lorde put away the intelligence he had on hand, then led a large group of gunmen straight to the capital.

Along the way, they encountered no obstacles. Although the palace guards surrounded them, none dared to make a move, allowing Lorde to pass through most of the capital and enter the main hall.

At this moment, King Hatar was sitting on the throne, discussing with a group of ministers the sudden surge and subsequent plunge in grain prices within the kingdom.

And then Lorde suddenly burst in with a large group of gunmen!

The vast palace fell silent instantly. Several ministers who had been talking loudly just now all fell silent at once, as if their vocal cords had been cut.

Lorde didn't speak either. Instead, he respectfully took out the unique Magic Ring from his hand and placed it in the palm of his hand.

A blue light kept flashing on the ring, and then a familiar figure appeared in front of everyone.

"Long time no see, Your Majesty Hatar!"

Hatar looked a bit dazed. This scene seemed to be a replay of the war in the capital more than a year ago. The male wizard in front of him hadn't changed at all and was still so courteous!

The only difference was that the one sitting on the throne was no longer the old King Bazeel but himself...

Hatar held the hand of the throne next to him, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, but he still forced himself to remain calm and said, "Long time no see, Master Lynn. Are you here to inform me of something?"

"You could say that!" Lynn nodded, then clapped his hands. Each of the bound attendants was brought over.

Hatar's face turned pale. He recognized these attendants. They were his trusted subordinates responsible for secretly contacting Duke Gade, instructing him to control the actions of those nobles.

But he remembered that these people had already been dealt with...