The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 83

The Si-on Duchy was vast.

In the past, Si-on spent almost three years driving out monsters alongside the knightly order (which, after a year, was renamed the Beggar Brigade) throughout the entire duchy.

Though not perfectly accurate, Si-on’s estimate was that the duchy was about three to four times the size of Jeju Island, or more than half the size of a large province like Gyeongsangnam-do or Jeollanam-do.

In comparison to the metropolitan area, it would be like including not only Seoul but also nearby cities like Incheon, Goyang, and Seongnam, as well as regions a bit farther south, like Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, and Yeoju.

Moreover, the Si-on Duchy was located on a prominent peninsula.

From the northernmost point, the Forest Without Echoes, to the southernmost point, Belgoth Cape, the distance exceeded 100 kilometers.

While things had improved now, when Si-on first arrived, there weren’t proper roads, so traveling from one end to the other took over ten days.

After stabilizing the northern and central parts of the duchy by driving the monsters toward the mountains and securing the region around Sionia, Si-on entrusted the internal affairs to his wife and eldest son, Jang Theo, and personally led his second and third sons to develop the southern region.

On the day Si-on planted the Three-headed Eagle flag at Belgoth Cape with a view of the sea, declaring the duchy fully pacified, he decided to entrust the newly developed southern territories to his second and third sons (as traveling back and forth was too far and bothersome for him).

Thus, the cities of Rozin and Fland were born, now the third and fourth largest cities in the duchy.

* * *

Fland and Rozin were the central hubs of their respective counties, and when including their surrounding areas, each had a population of tens of thousands.

Specifically, Fland County had a population of around 20,000, and Rozin County about 27,000.

These two cities had taken a step back during the recent rebellion, maintaining a (popcorn-eating) spectator’s stance.

In Si-on’s view, this was both a wise and foolish choice.

It was wise because they remained neutral, not siding with either Gede or Blint’s factions.

If they had, the duchy would have turned into a complete battleground.

However, it was also foolish.

If they intended to remain neutral, they should have done so to the end.

Instead, the two cities used the conflict between Gede and Blint as an excuse to withhold their quarterly tax payments to the Three-headed Eagle Castle.

At first, the deputies at the castle overlooked it.

But when it happened twice, then thrice (clearly intentionally), it became a problem.

In Si-on’s eyes, this wasn’t neutrality, but a subtle expression of “independence.”

Eventually, as soon as news arrived that Gede’s rebellion had been crushed and the situation in Sionia, Paloma, and Pamel County had stabilized, the two cities hastily changed their stance, as if nothing had happened.

“Dear Elder Brother, I trust you have been well. I must apologize for my negligence, as I have been quite busy with various affairs.”

“Aaah! It has been a year since I last saw your noble face! Your youngest brother will soon come to pay his respects!”

Unlike the two cities, the duchy’s military, which had remained truly neutral under the sole loyalty to the Duke’s family, rallied under the Three-headed Eagle banner raised by Yonas and the deputies, delivering the final blow.

The cities had assumed that if either Gede or Blint gained control of the duchy, the military would remain discontent regardless, as both were problematic.

But they had miscalculated.

Neither of them succeeded, and both were erased from the Duke’s family records.

Thus, afraid of facing the same fate as the traitors and the Pamel Count’s family, the two rebellious cities immediately sought to grovel before their elder brother.

Or at least they tried to.

“We were just watching the big house across the way, thinking it might collapse!”

“But while watching, our own house almost fell apart! Boo-hoo!”

The geography of the Si-on Duchy was such that it narrowed as you moved southward on the peninsula.

The Brandin Mountains, which stretched the length of the duchy, extended all the way to Belgoth Cape at the southern end.

So, when Si-on returned to the duchy to drive out the traitors, where would the monsters—pushed into the highlands of the Brandin Mountains—go first once they began multiplying?

The answer was obvious: Fland and Rozin, located at the southern tip of the Si-on Duchy, just 10 kilometers from the mountain’s end and with a width of only 20 to 30 kilometers.

“Kyahhh! Save us! Help us, elder brother!”

“Goblins and kobold packs are regularly invading villages near the city! A family of rock trolls recently came down to our farmland for a picnic with boar lunches!”

“With the increase in monsters, even wild animals are coming down from the mountains! They’re not mountain lions anymore, they’re field lions!”

The tax collectors, who had been sent to Fland and Rozin confident they’d finally collect overdue taxes, returned with only half of what was owed, and their reports sent Yonas and the deputies into shock.

Naturally.

“These bastards ignored five quarters of taxes and only sent two!?”

“And now they want help? They want to be saved?”

Yonas and the deputies were enraged by the brazen behavior of the two cities that had toyed with them for so long.

The situation was understandable.

The only forces the cities had were a few hundred guards responsible for maintaining public order.

Together, their forces amounted to maybe 600 or 700 at most.

From the start, these cities had only been given administrative power, not military authority.

In normal circumstances, even the slightest hint of a crisis would have prompted the duchy’s regular army to be deployed.

But because they had been playing games, they ignored what was happening in the southern Brandin Mountains, and now they were paying the price.

“Tch! It’s infuriating, but we have no choice but to help. After all, Fland and Rozin are still part of our duchy, no matter what they’ve done.”

“Indeed. If those cities become unstable, merchants returning by ship to Belgoth Bay will also be affected.”

“Huh? Wait… Are they trying to threaten us by only sending two quarters’ worth of taxes, implying that if we don’t help, they won’t pay the rest or any future taxes?”

“What?”

“Ah! Oh no…”

The thought that these sly cities might be holding their taxes hostage to force the duchy’s hand quickly spread.

After all, their actions over the past year certainly supported such a suspicion.

“These conniving bastards…”

Yonas, furious, glared sharply, while the deputies couldn’t help but entertain the idea of letting the cities suffer a little more.

But their anger had to be put on hold.

Clunk!

“Ah! Your Grace, the Duke!”

As Si-on entered the meeting room without even knocking, the deputies immediately rose to their feet.

The face of the Alpha and Omega of the duchy, the undying ancient monster, was as hard as stone.

* * *

“So, not only did they play games this whole time, but they even withheld part of the overdue taxes?”

“Yes!”

“And you think that if we don’t help, merchants will bypass them and go directly to Paloma or use a different route? Then they’ll use that as an excuse to delay taxes again?”

“Yes!”

Crack!

With a cold expression, Si-on cracked his knuckles.

He placed his clenched fist on the stone table in the meeting room, the one he had damaged and never bothered to repair.

Gulp!

The oppressive atmosphere made even Yonas and the deputies, often seen as the bosses of the Demon King’s Castle, swallow nervously.

“Tell them.”

“Yes!”

“That I’m going to bring the army… I mean, lead the troops down there and cut off the monsters’ heads.”

“Yes!”

“And after that, it’ll be their heads, so they better prepare and stick their necks out.”

“Yes! Y-yes?”

Yonas and the deputies stammered, bewildered. Si-on gave them a cold smile.

“Fland and Rozin. They’re my children’s descendants, but they’ve been in power long enough, haven’t they?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

It had been about 60 years since Fland and Rozin were founded.

Fland was in its third generation, and Rozin in its fourth, with the descendants of Si-on’s second and third sons continuing the line of mayors and governors.

Out of respect for the Founding Monarch’s direct descendants, Si-on had tolerated their governance up to a point, but no one knew exactly how much was too much.

“I had intended to let them be, as long as they didn’t do anything too foolish. But…”

Back when he first founded the cities, traveling to and from Sionia took too long, and there were many other tasks to attend to (in other words, it was too bothersome), so he had left the cities to his second and third sons. But that was no longer the case—hadn’t been for decades.

A proper road had been built, and over ten counties and villages had sprung up along the route, serving as relay stations.

Now, even walking during the day and resting at villages overnight, a round trip from Sionia to the two cities only took about ten days.

If they sent a message by courier, it would take just one day, just as the tax collector who had recently returned in a hurry had done.

Compared to the time it used to take, it was a massive improvement.

There was no need to treat those two cities as if they were distant lands any longer.

“We can’t let this go on. Let’s consider replacing their leadership this time.”

“Y-you mean…?”

“I mean, we should consider cutting off their heads and replacing them with people of our choosing.”

“……!”

“Well, it’s not all bad. I was planning to send the Monster Hunting Division on their first hunt soon anyway. I was thinking of clearing out the Sionia and central regions first before heading south, but we might as well start there.”

“First, we’ll deal with the monsters, and then, we’ll deal with those two cities’ leadership. What do you think?”

“Yes, yes! It’s a most wise decision!”

The deputies weren’t entirely sure whether Si-on meant that literally (physically beheading the leadership) or if he was referring to simply replacing them.

Either way, the conniving cities would face justice, and so they answered with enthusiasm.

Two days later, about 60 members of the Great Monster Hunting Division, riding horses and gaws, began their journey south.

The division’s official name was the Peregrine Division.

They used a flag and emblem depicting a fierce hawk wielding long swords at the tips of its wings, but most of the division members had come to understand it as “Peregrine Discipline,” believing that the hawk referred to the “disciplinary beatings” they would deliver to monsters.

It was a well-known secret among the ranks.