An hour later, in Monte Town’s city hall.
Gerant and a group of people sat around a round table. Among them were Ron, Anna, the other members of the Mage Guild, and the three brothers, Zeke, Zenoah, and Peter. The city hall’s other officials were also there.
Many of the officials were covered in blood, and they looked as if they had just survived a disaster.
More than ten hundred-meter-tall giant rock golems had appeared in all directions of Monte Town about an hour before that. They guarded the town, and any magical beasts that came near were crushed into meat paste. None of the beasts would withstand a single blow from the platinum-tier summoned creature.
In addition, the giant rock golems were more than a hundred meters tall, and their intimidating bodies caused the magical beasts from the Misty Forest to circle the town before they turned around and ran off to other places on the border.
At that moment, the town was littered with corpses of men and magical beasts alike. The land had been dyed red, but the continuous snowfall soon covered that. The dead’s family cried as they walked on the street sparsely to search for the bodies of their loved ones.
It was the same scene every winter. People died, and eventually, they were forgotten.
Gerant sighed inwardly as he allowed the medical staff to help him bandage the wound on his head; he looked like a mummy. Then, he turned around to look at the people in the room. “Ron, and everyone from the Mage Guild, thank you for getting here in time to save Monte Town. I thank you on behalf of everyone in Monte Town! I would also like to thank these three young men for helping us.”
Since Ron, Anna, and the others were there, the mercenary groups and the Mage Guild members who had left the town gradually returned. They helped to suppress the remaining magical beasts.
Gerant was fine with Ron and Anna; they were from Monte Town too. He had to thank those men too—Zeke, Zenoah, and Peter. He heard that they were the ones who brought the giant rock golems, and they also had more than ten manor owners with them. At that moment, they were arranged to rest outside the city hall.
An ordinary manor owner would not be able to control a platinum-tier summoned creature even though they were rich and powerful. Gerant did not know the origin of those people.
“No need to thank us. We did not do anything.” Ron crossed his legs and rested his feet on the long table. He was no longer in Blackmoon Castle. He had returned to his usual domineering manner.
Hmph.
A disgruntled snort echoed from the side when he said that. A city hall official said unhappily, “Yes, you guys did not do much. If you guys didn’t leave, how could Monte Town end up like this?”
As one of the four towns on the border, Monte Town could easily survive the winter in the past. The city walls that surrounded the town were more than ten meters tall, and they were made of bronze-tier stone. They could withstand the attacks of bronze-tier magical beasts easily.
Most of the magical beasts from the Misty Forest were at the iron and bronze tier level; they had not been able to breach the walls. They would only see a few silver and gold-tier beasts at the end of the winter. The Mage Guild and the mercenary group could deal with those beasts easily. However, that year, the elites from those two forces were not around, and the magical beasts had been particularly powerful.
The city hall officials could not vent their anger at the magical beasts, so they could only shift the blame to Ron.
One could not say they shifted the blame onto them. If they had not gone to Blackmoon Castle for their own selfish desire, would they have lost so many people that day? It was clearly their fault.
“Who do you think you’re talking to? I’ll give you a chance to say it again.”
Ron’s eyes narrowed as a terrifying gold-tier aura erupted from his body; the city hall official, who had spoken, paled, and his body trembled.
Ron’s arrogant words immediately caused dissatisfaction amongst those officials.
“Ron, I’m warning you. This is the city hall; don’t be too arrogant! Let’s talk about you instead. How much time did you waste in attacking Blackmoon Castle? You even took the astrologer with you. If he were here, he could have dealt with those magical beasts easily. Do you admit you’re guilty of this crime?”
“These three strangers must be people from Blackmoon Castle. They led thousands of magical beasts into the town. Even though they managed to restrain the other beasts, they also destroyed the town. Plus, they did not even kill those beasts; they only controlled them. What if they’re planning something bad? It’s dangerous to leave so many magical beasts around the town. How do you think you should compensate us?”
Gerant did not stop his subordinates when they jumped out to speak their mind. Perhaps he had the same concern too. The Mage Guild and the North Wind mercenary group were the town’s strongest forces. He and a few city hall leaders only had silver-tier strength, and the City Defense Force only had mostly iron and bronze-tier warriors. They only had minimal silver-tier elites.
Usually, those two forces rely on their strength to seek personal benefits discreetly. He had always turned a blind eye to it. However, it looked like he would need to deal with those people. He was the mayor; he was the one with the most power there.
“I think you’ve misunderstood us. We don’t have any sinister plans.”
Zeke tapped his finger on the table. “We brought those magical beasts from Blackmoon Castle. They listen to our commands completely. They’re not dangerous at all, including the magical beasts that we control. We will send them back to Blackmoon Castle for training, and they’ll be a fighting force in the future. From now onward, winter will no longer bring disasters to the border. On the contrary, those three months would be a golden period for the border’s development.”
Pooh!
A few city hall officials looked disdainful as they discussed it.
“What nonsense! You say that those magical beasts will listen to you; how are we supposed to believe you? Even if those domesticated magical beasts listen to you, how would you make those magical beasts in Monte Town listen to your command? Are you able to communicate with them? Do you have some special abilities?”
“That’s right. If something goes wrong, will you take responsibility for that? You should calculate our losses in Monte Town. More than 2000 magical beasts had come to Monte Town, and more than 10,000 people had been killed, including more than 2000 guards. Countless people lost their family members. What about those damaged houses and streets? As compensation, you can leave those giant rock golems here.”
One of the officials who spoke was an old man with white hair and a beard. He was the Minister of Finance; there was a calculating glint in his eyes.
If they could keep the giant rock giants, they would profit from that battle.
The rest of the officials also agreed. “Not only the giant rock giants, but the magical beasts they brought must stay too. If it weren’t for their battle with Blackmoon Castle, Monte Town wouldn’t have become like this. You have to take full responsibility.”
“Sorry, those giant rock giants are properties of Blackmoon Castle. If you want them to stay, then you’ll have to pay a thousand gold coins for each of them! If you don’t want to pay and still want to keep them, forgive me for being blunt; that’s not going to happen.” Zenoah, who sat beside Zeke, laughed.
“Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to us like that? You speak as if you can make the decision. There’s no place for you to speak here. We will only talk to Ron and the people from the Mage Guild.”
They thought that Ron and the Mage Guild had brought the newcomers, and they believed Blackmoon Castle had been conquered. What right did those people have to speak there?
Pa!
Ron got up from his chair and reached out to hit the table in front of him hard—the long table broke into two. “How dare you speak to Young Master Zenoah like that? Are you seeking death?”
“Ron, What’s wrong with you?”
The city hall officials stared at the broken table on the ground; their eyes twitched. Ron must have already defeated the Blackmoon Castle; why would he speak up for them?
“The Mage Guild also stands with Young Master Zenoah. If you disrespect him, I will relocate the Mage Guild. It’s up to you.” Anna was the second person to get up.
“You, you…”
The officials in the city hall panicked. They had no problem with Ron leaving, but how would Monte Town withstand the magical beasts’ attack if the mages left too?
“Everyone, stop arguing and listen to me.” Gerant’s eyes flashed, and he waved his hand. “Anna, you are only an elder with the Mage Guild. You don’t call the shots. Get Audrey here; I want to talk to her.”
He had a good relationship with Audrey; she would definitely listen to him.
He had the same thoughts as his subordinates. Audrey had brought the astrologer with her when she went to attack Blackmoon Castle to guarantee her victory. They must have fought a long time because their opponent had powerful summoned creatures like the giant rock golems. Geralt thought it was reasonable speculation.
He was angry when Audrey took the astrologer with her. When he found out that the astrologer was in Monte Town, he had planned for a banquet fit for a king, but Audrey did not give him a chance to do that. It was obvious she did not think much of him.
She must have occupied Blackmoon Castle; she was not in Monte Town because she had to consolidate her opponent’s forces. It seemed like the Mage Guild had become stronger with that new force. Geralt needed a way to balance it out.
“Mayor Gerant, you have misunderstood. I am now the Mage Guild President. President Audrey died in the battle with Blackmoon Castle. All of us, including Ron, are part of Blackmoon Castle now.”
Anna looked at Gerant with a strange expression. Her words were like a bomb that stirred the waves on the water’s surface.
“You want to talk to the subordinates, and even a dead person, instead of our master? Aren’t you putting the cart before the horse? There’s no room for the rest of us to speak when people from Blackmoon Castle are here. We are nothing compared to them.”