Chapter 204 The Last Obstacle to Securing the Misty Swamp
Halley was Blood Moon City's nominal Treasurer, but in reality, its ruler.
As a 15th-level pinnacle knight, he possessed one of the city's top combat capabilities, effectively acting as the lord's personal "caretaker."
Rubbing his thinning hair in frustration, Halley pondered over the financial shortfall and stroked his chin:
"We owe the Goddess of Wealth Bank 50,000 gold coins. I need to figure out a way to pay it off, or they'll start causing trouble again."
"Ugh, the lord's experiments are getting more expensive by the day, and now he's not listening to advice. What am I supposed to do?"
Just as Halley was deep in thought, there was a knock at the office door.
His worried expression vanished instantly, and his demeanor shifted to one of authority. After quickly fixing his "powerful" hairstyle, he said sternly:
"Come in!"
As the door opened, Halley saw a burly barbarian warrior who exuded a faint pressure.
Instinctively raising an eyebrow, Halley's gaze shifted from Beelzebub's large frame to the figure following him—Matthew.
Seeing Matthew's young face and the Arcanist insignia on his chest, Halley blinked in surprise and asked:
"Sir Matthew Ser? What brings you to the city hall?"
As the real power behind Blood Moon City, Halley was naturally aware of the recent significant events.
He also knew more about the feud between Matthew and the Carlisle family than most.
However, Halley typically didn't bother with noble affairs.
As long as they paid their taxes, he didn't want to get involved unless some idiot decided to challenge the lord's "affection for money."
Although Halley was familiar with him, Matthew pretended as if it was their first meeting, showing a surprised expression and cautiously replying:
"There's a land development rights transaction between me and the Carlisle family that needs to be registered, and I have to pay a processing fee."
Glancing at Matthew in surprise, Halley set down his ledger and took the documents Ralph handed him.
He didn't show any impatience, instead responding calmly:
"In fact, land transactions smaller than the size of a village don't need to be reported to the city hall…"
Knowing full well that both Halley and the lord were in desperate need of money, Matthew suppressed a smile and softly said:
"I know, but the Misty Swamp is quite large, so I plan to settle everything in one go."
"Of course, I'm also willing to pay a processing fee to quickly finalize the territory's boundaries and transaction contract."
Raising his head instinctively, Halley looked at the composed Matthew in shock and quickly skimmed through the documents in hand.
Recalling the information about the Misty Swamp, Halley thoughtfully advised Matthew:
"The Misty Swamp isn't ideal for development. It's overrun by murlocs, and dangerous swamp crocodiles make it a low-value area."
Matthew wasn't surprised by Halley's discreet warning.
That's just the kind of person Halley was—a diligent and responsible man, though with a love for money...
However, even Halley's greed was through proper channels, not for himself but for the troublesome lord!
"I'm aware. I just want to secure control over the Misty Swamp as a buffer for my territory."
"I also plan to run some experiments to see if the swamp can be utilized."
Hearing this, Halley didn't say much more. After signing the documents and stamping them with the city hall seal, he hesitated for a moment and said:
"The Misty Swamp spans 200,000 square kilometers. To avoid complications, you'd best pay the entire transfer fee at once."
"However, since it's hard to turn a profit from developing the swamp, you only need to pay 48,000 gold coins. If money's tight, you can opt for installment payments."
Butler Ralph looked at Matthew in surprise, but the latter shook his head lightly.
Although Ralph didn't understand why the lord insisted on this, he didn't argue.
He walked up to Halley and handed over a freshly issued check from the Goddess of Wealth Bank:
"Lord Matthew insists on paying 50,000 gold coins, but he hopes Lord Halley can help with one small favor—applying for city status for Bay Town."
Surprised by the string of zeros on the check, Halley was about to gauge how difficult the favor would be, wondering if he should decline.
But to his astonishment, Matthew's request was this simple, leaving him a bit shocked!
It wasn't that the task was difficult.
On the contrary, by helping Matthew apply for city status and getting it approved,
Blood Moon City could complete a rare territorial expansion task, gaining more precious resources approved by the Sevindon Council.
At the same time, the lord would have another taxpaying and conscription-supporting ally under his rule!
It was a win-win!
However, there was one issue—if Matthew's Bay Territory wasn't capable enough and still pushed for the application,
it could label Halley as "greedy," complicating his chances for future promotion.
Normally, this tactic was used by aging knights with no ambition to expand their territories.
They'd use it to raise their rank to baron before death, securing a better start for their descendants and families.
Given that Matthew was only 18 and an Arcanist, there was no need for such haste!
Butler Ralph, thinking about the lord's development plans, gave a faint, helpless smile and explained to Halley in a hesitant tone:
"For reasons that can't be disclosed to others, Lord Matthew needs to be promoted to baron as quickly as possible."
"Money won't be an issue, and we can handle conscription, but there's a huge population gap. We'll need Lord Halley's help with coordination…"
Raising an eyebrow, Halley realized that the previous explanations were just pretexts—this was the real request.
"No fear of you asking!"
"Only fear your request is too high!"
Halley's lips curled slightly as he recalled Bay Territory's recruitment and resettlement efforts for refugees.
He immediately understood that this was their way of boosting the population to meet the city application criteria and quickly secure Matthew's promotion.
This favor he could handle!
After reviewing the final documents, Halley pondered briefly before turning to Matthew and hesitantly asking:
"Your last request is to purchase a set of two large teleportation arrays. I can approve that."
"However, you'll need to help Blood Moon City resettle at least 50,000 refugees."
"And the money must be paid upfront. You must also guarantee that these teleportation arrays won't be shared elsewhere!"
Having successfully reached his goal, Matthew signaled to Ralph to pay, smiling as he replied:
"No problem, my territory is in dire need of people!"
The last obstacle to securing the Misty Swamp was cleared!
Though Halley found the whole situation a bit odd, he couldn't be bothered to think too much about it.
Let him be!