110: Kidnapping

“My territory—” The end of his sentence trailed off under the rough dome, a subtle pause as his gaze swept over the nobles on both sides, nearly fifty people, including their children. “Aside from a dozen small villages where chimneys still smoke, even the cellar rats are too thin to stand straight.”

As Old Hather unfolded the parchment map beside me, I noticed many young nobles leaning forward at a fifteen-degree angle.

“I need to open up sales channels for refined salt. To the south there is Amn, and to the north there is Baldur’s Gate. Both can sell my salt to even more distant places.” My fingertip traced along the Wan'an Highway to a certain ink stain, then suddenly flicked the map. “But Gorebest is closest to my territory.”

I activated the energy of the Qiankun Ring, gathering all the salt from the salt cellars in front of everyone into the air.

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

“Mom, look! It’s magic! It’s magic!”

A little girl was shouting excitedly.

As my hands rotated, a huge map of Gorebest, formed entirely from salt grains, materialized above the dining table. A dot in the lower left corner, with salt crystals forming the letters of Eileen Village next to it.

“However, at this moment, bandits and Gnolls are wreaking havoc on the Wan'an Highway and the wilderness,” I said, raising the white map higher. Simultaneously, dense white dots appeared on the Wan'an Highway to the north and south of Gorebest. “These represent the bandits.”

The map made of salt grains continued to rise, nearing the dome. I marked the location of Quagmire Fortress in the southwest. “According to the intelligence I’ve received, a rift leading to the abyss has appeared within Quagmire Fortress!”

I began to use salt grains to mark a large number of dense small dots spreading northeast from Quagmire Fortress. “An endless stream of Gnolls are advancing towards Eileen Village and Gorebest.”

I surmised that the Kedas city lord had already communicated my intelligence and proposal with the city’s high-ranking officials today, but judging from people’s attitudes towards me just now, it seemed no one in the city truly took my words seriously.

So, I decided to add more fuel to the fire.

Many of those present now showed expressions of fear.

“For my territory to survive, my idea is to form a joint army with Gorebest to defend our two homes.” I once again scanned everyone’s expressions.

“When the Gnolls in the wilderness gnaw on bones—” My left hand formed a phantom claw hovering above the map beside me. “—they don’t care which territory is richer. Perhaps Gorebest’s large population will be their preferred target.”

The clatter of several silver spoons falling from the table echoed. As the attendants picked them up, I noticed the Kedas city lord’s left index finger pressing against the soft flesh under his chin.

“Therefore, what I am giving today is not taxes.” My right hand suddenly pointed towards the door. Six of my Inferno Fist Guards, leading sixteen attendants, carried twelve oak chests filled with gold coins. The dull thud of the opening lids made the city lord and the three councilors blink simultaneously. “It is a deposit for the joint army’s arrows.”

“The prosperous future I can bring to Gorebest is the hope that our two territories can live in harmony, support each other, and jointly resist foreign enemies!” I shouted loudly. “This is also a gift from me, Lion Black, representing my territory, to Gorebest!”

I saw the Kedas city lord’s Adam’s apple complete its seventh swallow.

Among the three councilors, the one in the grey robe began to lightly tap the parchment with a quill, the ink blurring into three parallel dots.

The fact that the nobles of Gorebest had money did not mean the city hall had money.

According to the information Old Hather had gathered, Gorebest barely collected any taxes from its nobles each year, and the city hall’s operations were already stretched thin.

After my impassioned speech and gold coin offensive, some of the numerous nobles showed fear, but more were agitated, seemingly believing that war was someone else’s problem and they were more concerned with the profits they could gain from it.

However, the Kedas city lord and the three councilors did not accept my gold coins and still did not explicitly state their position on the joint army and the development of the south city.

When I parted ways with Kedas at the entrance of the market, the priest said, “I will carefully consider your suggestion. The scout team will depart within three days.”

I nodded and watched them leave.

I thought to myself: Bureaucracy kills people! Can’t they be a little more efficient?

My subordinates and hired workers were still busy. I greeted Randall and the others, then went alone to my Wizard's Cottage.

Currently, this cabin was just a cabin; it couldn't be called a Wizard's Cottage yet.

What I needed to do next was to draw magic runes on the floor and walls of the cabin.

As I entered the backyard through the back door of the market, suddenly, a person leaped out of the shadows. Before I could react, they delivered a chop to the back of my neck, and then I knew nothing more.

...

When I regained consciousness, a salty, earthy smell mixed with mildew filled my nostrils.

It was the dampness seeping from low-quality salt sacks, entwined in the air with the metallic scent of rusty chains.

Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself in what appeared to be a cellar.

My neck still hurt a little and felt stiff, somewhat like a combination of pain and a stiff neck.

There was no one else around, and my hands and feet were bound.

I quickly sensed that my Sub-Dimensional skill was still usable, and my tense heart immediately relaxed.

This meant I could teleport back to the Wizard's Hut in Black Panther Fortress at any time.

However, if I were to just teleport back like this, I would immediately lose contact with all my subjects.

I looked at myself; my luxurious coat, along with the few magic brooches, were gone. My shirt, along with the magic Ioun Stones on the sleeves, and even the magic ear cuffs were also gone.

In addition, all my other ordinary jewelry, and even my outer pants, were gone.

They had left me with only a pair of underwear and socks, and I was covered by a filthy blanket. I could even feel fleas jumping and biting me.

Fortunately, everything in the Qiankun Ring and system space was still there.

“Have I been kidnapped?” Given the situation, it was almost certainly the case.

I summoned the Dragon King from the Qiankun Ring and had it bite through the ropes binding my hands and feet.

At the same time, I carefully observed the cellar.

Around me were some wooden crates, barrels, and various baskets. By the smell, it seemed to be a food storage area.

A few meters away, there was a staircase against the wall, covered by a wooden lid, with a very thin crack of light coming through from one direction.

The Dragon King bit through the ropes and affectionately rubbed against my ear.

I sat up, stroked its horns, and then massaged my hands and feet, which had gone numb from being bound.

The skin on my wrists was chafed by the rope, leaving a circular burning sensation. I instinctively scratched the injured area with my fingers.

The gritty sensation from the residual salt grains entered the wound, and a stinging pain climbed segment by segment along the nerves of my forearm.

There were some messy footprints on the dirt floor. I stood up and tried to take two steps. Sure enough, my footprints were clearly visible on the ground.

I took out a clean blanket from the Qiankun Ring and spread it on the ground, then took out leather armor, leather boots, and a cloak, putting them on one by one.

Finally, I used the energy of the Qiankun Ring to change my appearance to that of a blonde Ron Weasley, and then cast Stealth and Energy Invisibility.

As the blanket on the ground and the bitten ropes disappeared, and the Dragon King hid within the range of the Energy Invisibility, the cellar became empty once more.

My footprints were now faint circular dots and did not show the clear shape of actual footprints.

Slowly approaching the staircase, I did not find any traces of traps on these few meters of ground or in the surrounding environment.

Upon reaching the wall, I could vaguely hear voices speaking above.

A very high-pitched voice said, “Should we feed that little brat something?”

Another gruff voice replied, “No need. He won’t starve to death from missing one meal.”

“These noble brats are very delicate; they can’t handle rough treatment like ordinary kids. If he starves to death, we’ll have no way to explain it to the higher-ups,” the very high-pitched voice said.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

There seemed to be a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”