Empire of Shadows

In the morning, Madore returned from the dock with some people, and Lance received them in the open space behind the office.

He went into the office with two of them.

"These are all my former comrades-in-arms. Luigi was killed by them."

He handed several photos to Lance, including a newspaper.

For a small country like the Republic of Aldra, the death of a foreigner is definitely not a big deal.

There are always people in this world who don't believe in evil. You tell them that it is very dangerous there and that they must not travel there, but some people just have to go there to see if it is really dangerous.

Yalan has been included in the "dangerous travel list" in many wealthy countries because it is too poor.

In this era, it is very troublesome to withdraw money from the same bank across regions, let alone across countries and banks, so most people carry money with them.

For tourists from wealthy countries, this money may only be a small amount, but for the people of Yalan, it is a large sum of money!

They think it is worth it to risk a large sum of money, even money that can realize their financial freedom.

Every year, many tourists disappear in Yalan. The local government can't do anything about it. They can only say, "Don't fucking go to dangerous places." It's not a question of staying or not, it's a question of not going at all.

They will not report whether these foreigners were robbed and killed, or raped and killed. They will not report it. Who the hell would take the initiative to report this?

But Luigi is different. He is a relatively well-known foreign businessman in the Republic of Aldra. His death will definitely cause some changes in the local area.

The newspaper reported his death, as well as some close-up photos of his death taken by reporters.

Half of his face was blown off, and his cerebellum was penetrated. This was the real cause of his death.

Lance glanced at the photos and curled his lips, throwing them into the trash can, along with the newspaper.

"That's terrible, the security in Aldra. Fortunately, the Federation is safe."

He curled his lips, felt sorry for his experience, and then smiled.

"What are your names?"

Madore introduced, "The one on the left is Abel, a former second lieutenant in the Imperial Army's Second Army Corps."

"The one on the right is..."

The taller guy took a step forward, "Griggs, also a lieutenant in the Army's Second Army Corps."

Lance raised his eyebrows and glanced at Madore.

The latter explained, "Actually, many of us came from the Imperial Army."

If the rebel army wants to quickly form combat effectiveness, it is impossible to rely solely on farmers who have just put down their hoes!

This is not ancient times, where finding some farmers and giving each of them a spear can be called military strength.

This is a more developed world, with rifles, artillery, and even some simple mechanized units. Farmers who have not received training may not even know how to fire a gun. How can you let them fight against the regular army?

And still make the regular army collapse?

That's not realistic!

Farmers who have not been trained will never be a match for the regular army. If someone tells you that a group of farmers who have just received weapons and don't even know how to pull the bolt can make professional soldiers collapse, then they are definitely lying!

In fact, many of the early rebel armies were supported by nobles behind the scenes. They gave money, supplies, and even officers and troops.

Then, during the battle, they even let the troops release water, resulting in the phenomenon of three to five hundred rebel soldiers chasing thousands of Imperial soldiers.

It is precisely because of this that the Imperial situation will collapse quickly.

It's not that these rebel armies are so powerful, but that the nobles are too powerful!

Now, His Majesty the Emperor and the great nobles seem to have straightened out the division of interests. Some people are starting to be purged.

Those nobles who are put on the dinner table have become sacrifices to end this farce. Now that everyone's demands have been met, well, the peasant uprising is over.

Madore, Abel, Griggs, and the soldiers outside, along with their former "masters", have become victims of interests. Their masters have been put on the dinner table, and their fate is obvious.

They will be executed in the name of "rebels", and their families and clans will also be implicated.

For middle and lower-level managers, they don't care whether these people have really rebelled, nor do they care about the reasons for their rebellion. They only care about catering to the superiors.

In other words, if there are no changes, they are doomed!

"Politics is always dirty. I deeply regret your experience!"

Lance nodded slightly. "I don't care what you were like in the past. Now that you work for me, I will arrange to bring your families over."

"Madore can do this. You are experienced."

Madore nodded aside and said, "Yes, our families have already been brought over."

The two of them looked very calm, not at all like they had heard good news.

You must know that when Madore and the others heard that they could bring their families over, everyone showed a look of ecstasy!

No one knows how the situation in the Empire will develop, and no one knows whether the executioner's axe will be directed at their families. Only by bringing them to the Federation is it truly safe.

Griggs bowed slightly, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Lance."

He glanced at Madore. Madore's expression showed a brief look of surprise, and then became a little serious. Before he even had time to stop him, Griggs said, "Mr. Lance, I would like to discuss a business with you..."

"Shut up!"

Madore glared at him, "You shouldn't say that!"

Griggs didn't look at him, but looked at Lance with bright eyes. Lance didn't quite understand what they were doing. He was silent for a while.

"I trust Madore very much. He protected me in times of crisis. If he thinks your behavior is inappropriate, I will give you some money. You can try your luck here, or arrange for someone to send you back to the Empire."

"Stay or go back."

"Mr. Lance!"

Griggs raised his voice and stood up.

Abel also stood up. Hiram, who had been sitting in the corner with little presence, directly took out his weapon and looked at them.

As long as they moved again, he would kill them all!

He didn't care whose soldiers these were, nor did he care what happened to their master.

Lance sat on the chair with his legs crossed. He spread his hands, "This is the Federation, this is my territory, I have the final say!"

Madore also stood up, looked at them, and said with a very displeased expression, "Get out, you have disappointed me!"

Griggs and Abel looked at each other, apologized with some disappointment, and turned to leave.

Lance glanced at Hiram, who also followed them out.

He asked someone to keep an eye on this group of people, and would send them to the police station if necessary.

Although Lance is willing to integrate and unite the Imperials, he will not accept these forces that obviously do not belong to him.

Walking out of the house, Madore began to complain, "I thought you were really planning to join me."

Griggs squinted at him, "Learn from you and become a deserter?"

This sentence left Madore speechless. In reality, he was indeed a deserter.

"I'm going to make a call."

Griggs went directly out of the company gate and walked to the phone booth at the door. He wanted to contact the Young General's people.

In fact, they weren't the only ones who came to the Federation; there were others seeking various forms of assistance.

The royal family and the great nobles had already settled the issue of profit distribution, and what followed was a frantic crackdown on the rebel army, especially on people like the Young General, who should have been executed but somehow survived.

He had enough connections in the Empire, and if he were given the opportunity to grow, it was hard to say whether those nobles would have other ideas and thoughts.

When some people gain huge benefits, others pay a heavy price.

The victors want the current situation to last forever, while the losers want to reshuffle the cards.

The phone was quickly connected, and Griggs talked to the person on the other end about what had just happened.

Outside the phone booth, Mador looked at Abel and said, "You shouldn't do this; it makes things very difficult for me."

Abel showed a somewhat apologetic smile, "Actually… a lot of things happened after you left."

"They surrounded our hometown, took out a roster, dragged out our families, and then forced us to surrender."

Hearing this, Mador already knew what would happen next, and "My God" escaped his lips.

"Yes, you know, they all died."

Abel rubbed his face, "Now, what sustains us is the power of hatred, so you and your Mr. Lance don't need to worry about what we will do at all."

"At least until we complete our revenge, we won't do anything; we will become the quietest and most useful tools."

"We will fight for whoever can bring us the hope of revenge!"

Mador felt a wave of fear in his heart. Fortunately, his family had already been brought to the Federation. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had met Lance later; perhaps his family would have suffered a terrible fate!

He walked over and gave Abel a hug, "Everything will be alright."

As he spoke, Griggs came out of the phone booth, "Martin will come over. We'll stay here for two days. Can you arrange things for us?"

Mador rolled his eyes, but eventually agreed.

Martin was the general's cousin and also the family's chief steward. He was sent to the Federation by the Young General to seek some assistance.

Mador sighed, "You should have told me in advance."

Griggs didn't seem to hide anything, "And then we send the money he gave us back?"

"I don't like to deceive people, Mador. It is what it is. If he can accept it, then we will work for him."

"If he can't accept it, then we'll look for someone who is willing to do business with us. That's it!"

Considering that the other party's entire family had died, it was difficult for Mador to argue with these old friends. He just nodded, "Okay, you guys rest for a couple of days and see if Martin can persuade the boss."

"Boss?" Griggs asked.

"Boss!" Mador emphasized, "He gave us our current life and brought our families over. I work for him, that's it."

"What about the general?" Griggs asked again.

Abel quickly stood between the two, "Okay, okay, don't talk about this. I haven't been to the Federation before. I might as well look around. They all say the water here is sweet!"

Mador glanced at Griggs, a man completely dominated by hatred. He was too lazy to continue talking to this former friend.

He looked at Abel, his lips slightly upturned, wanting to laugh, but he held back.

"The water is indeed sweet, but not necessarily safe."

Abel scratched his head, "What do you mean?"

Then Mador began to explain what these things meant. He actually liked to drink the water from the tap when he first arrived. It was sweet, as if sugar had been added!

But when he heard Lance say that the heavy metals in the water exceeded the standard and that drinking too much would cause poisoning, he had a "What the hell did I just hear" expression!

He even asked Lance, "Isn't the federal government afraid of people dying by doing this?"

In fact, they weren't really afraid of anyone being poisoned to death!

Because it would take a very long time, and even if someone was poisoned to death, the deceased's family would have to prove that their death was related to the water supply system, and they would also have to find a way to win the lawsuit before they could get compensation from the federal government and the water supply company.

The effort and cost they would have to spend might far exceed what they could get, so the federal government and the water supply company weren't worried at all.

Replacing the entire water network was a super project, and they simply couldn't come up with that much extra budget!

Standing on the second floor, Lance watched Mador take his people away, his gaze returning from behind the blinds.

There were quite a few people sitting in the office. Lance returned to his chair and sat down, "Keep an eye on them. If they cause trouble for us, kill them directly."

He paused for a moment, "Are there still people causing trouble at the pier today?"

Erwin was now in charge of this matter. He shook his head and said, "No, many workers have already signed the 'Waiver of Rights' and rolled out with their last wages."

Lance showed some disdain, "They once had better choices, but greed ruined them!"

He paused, "The firm should continue to recruit people, and our people should also continue to recruit. When the senators are about to leave, we will clean up those little pieces of trash."

He looked at Maurice in the wheelchair sitting in the corner, "Is your body better?"

Maurice's complexion was not very good. He had not fully recovered, but he couldn't stay idle.

"It's better, at least it doesn't hurt so much."

Lance thought for a while, "Continue to take over your people, and I will give you another sum of money to continue to expand. I want you to monitor the five major families."

These words were beyond everyone's expectations, but were immediately followed by ecstatic expressions!

"Are we… going to attack the five major families?"

Lance nodded, "First is the Cassia family, then the Koda family. Senator Williams wants to become mayor and needs to offer more benefits."

"It's unrealistic to let us give up all the profits from alcohol, but the only places in Gold Harbor City that can generate so much profit besides the alcohol business are the pier business and the Koda family's casino business."

"Those people in the Bay Area are too united. It's not easy for us to move now. We still lack some foundation and strength."

"But the Koda family has no problems. This is the price they pay for betting on the wrong side!"

People listened and rubbed their fists, "Great, I'm tired of people always mentioning the five major families. As I see it, there is only one family in Gold Harbor City, and that is our Lance family!"

Lance couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, "Very good, very motivated, then let's work hard towards this goal!"

He glanced at his watch again, "I'm going to attend a party tonight. If you have nothing else to do, do what you need to do…"