TYRANNY: HOW TO CREATE A WORLD

Traumas Brought by a Pitiable Situation.

The old man sat at the head of the great table in the main hall of the castle, examining a large parchment. His eyebrows were furrowed like they hadn't been in ten years. Even when he had heard that his daughter had been exiled from the capital to this city, he hadn't felt this bad. In his eyes, the family came before everything else.

Sitting next to him was a middle-aged man who seemed to be trying to show off his slightly better financial situation with the ornaments on his plain linen clothes. A sycophantic smile had settled on his face, and although the man in front of him had heard of Baron Albert's reputation, he didn't seem the least bit concerned.

Baron Albert was a man of iron will. He had fought dozens of battles in his life, starting as a peasant, and in each one he had fought bravely and made a name for himself. First, his success in battle had earned him the title of knight, and then he had risen to the rank of baron, a noble title.

Now he farmed the land he had been given. His lands were not very fertile, but they were extensive, and his wealth was considered relatively high. He didn't have a large city like Highrock under his control, but his three towns and several dozen villages gave him far more material resources than he could use. After his wife died, he never remarried or took concubines, so he spent most of his money on improving his region. This was one of the reasons why he was a popular lord in his area.

With no sons of his own, his lands would eventually pass to his grandson, the young prince, and that was the purpose behind all of his hard work. He wanted his grandson and daughter to live a comfortable and long life by providing a large and safe land. In doing so, they could expand their lands and have a chance to leave a greater legacy.

That was Albert's goal as well - to leave a bright future for his grandson, the young prince.

But as he looked at the document in his hand, he could only feel disappointment and sadness. The most famous source of income in this town was mining. Of course, this place didn't have any metal mines. It was known for gemstones, which were not as valuable as precious stones, but resembled them and were much more affordable, often used for accessories.

In addition, there were only a few hundred fruit trees, and the land was unsuitable for small livestock. Horse breeding and a few large livestock were the main sources of income for the relatively wealthy people in the area.

Farming was almost non-existent among the city's sources of income, as the farmers kept the grain they produced in their fields for their own use. Even if they wanted to sell, they would starve. The few sacks of wheat they produced would only be enough to feed themselves. A few pieces of copper wouldn't fill their stomachs like a sack of wheat.

Albert looked at the total amount of income: 107 gold coins.

The total expenses, on the other hand, were a surprising 180 gold coins. Moreover, this was the income and expenditure chart for the last month. It explained why the former city lord had suddenly fled.

With a furrowed brow, he lowered his eyes to the bottom of the parchment and looked at the remaining amount in the treasury: 13 silver coins.

The city had no more money to spend. With an irritated look, he turned to his sycophantic city lord's assistant. While city lords had to be of noble status, there was no such requirement for their assistants. They could reach this position through merit, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see a trace of merit in this man.

"Go! Don't ever show your face to me again, Matteo." Albert spoke with a serious tone.

In front of him, Matteo, the City Lord's assistant whose smile seemed to never fade, was shocked by Albert's words and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"But why? I haven't done anything!" Matteo thought he had earned this position, so he protested.

"Isn't that the main point? You haven't done anything! Look at these expenses!" He pointed angrily at some of the expenses after slapping the parchment with his hand. "A Windreaver horse! He is too fat to even ride that horse! (Old city lord.)" Albert turned and looked at a stunned and embarrassed Matteo, whose expression of bewilderment only fueled his anger.

"

And how about this! Eight golden bracelets and a golden belt!" Albert pushed back his chair and stood up. His anger had not subsided. "And the most infuriating of all, these flowers, whose names I don't even know, costing two gold each!"

Matteo tried to defend himself, but his example was completely inappropriate and only served to further infuriate Albert. "But for the lady's bath..." He was startled when Albert suddenly slammed his hand down on the table.

"Get lost!" Albert's eyes had turned red and it was clear that he couldn't control his anger any longer.

"Guards! Take this scoundrel away!" Two men ran from the door. They wore leather armor compared to the Imperial Guards. They were Albert's own guards, because he didn't trust the Imperial Guards. He saw them as nothing more than extra, unnecessary eyes on him.

The two guards grabbed Matteo's arms and, amidst his screams, left him at the castle gate. Matteo, who had fallen to the ground and gotten dirty from the dusty road, quickly went through a change of emotions. He got up, dusted himself off, and then left with a smile.

In fact, this position was very risky for him at the moment. At any moment, he could find himself in a situation where Albert was much angrier, and he could quietly meet his demise. After all, he had no military power, and as a noble, Baron Albert had the right to train and keep soldiers.

Of course, Albert was not a good man. As a noble, he had long overcome any qualms about such situations, and without feeling any guilt, he sent five soldiers after Matteo. These were some of his lightly armored soldiers, and killing Matteo was a piece of cake for them.

The next day, Matteo's lifeless body was found just outside the walls of Highrock City. Albert's acting was sometimes better than most of the famous performers on the great theater stages of these beautiful cities.

In his grief over Matteo's loss, he had shed a few tears in front of the people who found him, as if he had lost a friend he had been with for years.

Albert didn't return to the castle that day; instead, he went to the nearest other city, Sunset City, to meet up with some old friends. He took thirty horsemen and fifty spearmen with him to wipe out the local bandits. All of these soldiers were his own, and their main purpose was not to further strain the finances of Highrock City.

Highrock City had the potential to be a gold mine in his eyes, but the city lacked the qualified workers it needed. That's why he was on his way to Sunset City.

Some of his friends from his military days had done very well for themselves. They were smart people who had achieved a lot with their brains. Albert had maintained good relations with these friends, and through them, he had found opportunities to develop his own lands. Now he wanted to do the same. With the help of his friends, his goal was to maximize the potential of Highrock City and the surrounding land and to ensure a comfortable future for his grandson as the owner of that land.

As Albert moved away from Highrock City, he controlled the rare groves and rocky outcrops along the roads where bandits could hide.

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AN: This can be compared to a little information about military structures rather than a thought. Soldiers are more into each other than you might think. People who fight shoulder to shoulder develop an indissoluble bond with each other for life. An example is the relationship between Albert and his friends. We will meet these friends in the later chapters and understand the value of these friends who may seem like 'plot armor' to you.