55: Chapter 55 Grain King, I'll Trade Air for Your Granaries

The candlelight flickered, casting Levi's shadow on the wall like a silent giant beast.

The tip of his quill hovered above the pristine parchment, ink gathering into a full, black drop, as if poised to fall and stain the flawless surface.

Ella Radiance's breathing almost stopped at that moment.

Her sapphire eyes reflected the candlelight, and also the almost fanatical calm on Levi's face.

Printing money?

In a world where the imperial royal family strictly controlled coinage rights and precious metals were the sole hard currency, these three words were nothing short of a direct declaration of treason, a monstrous crime capable of uprooting the entire Byron Family.

"You're insane!" She finally found her voice, but it was sharp with shock. "Private minting is a capital offense! Even if Count Augustus blocks you, you can't..."

"Who said I was going to mint coins?" Levi finally put pen to parchment, the quill drawing smooth, elegant lines as he wrote a clear title—"Blackstone Territory Phase One Grain Subscription Voucher."

"Minting coins is too costly and easily exposed. What we need to do is create something more valuable than gold coins—confidence."

Without looking up, he rapidly wrote down the terms of the subscription voucher, explaining in a calm tone, as if engaged in an ordinary academic discussion: "Your Highness, consider this: why are farmers willing to exchange a year's worth of hard-earned grain for a few shiny metal discs? Because they believe these metal discs can buy plowshares from the blacksmith and clothes from the cloth merchant. They believe in the 'purchasing power' of the gold coin, not the gold coin itself."

He stopped writing and pushed the parchment, covered with terms, towards Ella.

"So, what we need to do now is make everyone believe that this piece of paper of mine has the 'purchasing power' to exchange for equivalent grain from me at any time in the future. As long as they believe, this paper is no different from gold coins."

Ella looked down. The terms on the parchment were clear: "This voucher can be exchanged for one pound of wheat, using standard measurement units, at the Blackstone Territory official granary on any day after the end of the Black Snow Disaster."

At the bottom, was the Byron Family crest.

But what startled her most was the large blank space left next to the crest.

"This... this is a worthless check!" Ella's voice trembled slightly with anger. "Your granary doesn't have this much grain! You're deceiving them! Deceiving those who trust you and see you as their only hope, your people! When they hold these worthless papers and can't get a single grain of rice, your territory will instantly collapse!"

"No, I'm not deceiving them, I'm saving them." Levi's gaze was as calm as water. He looked directly into Ella's eyes and said, word by word, "When confidence collapses, people die. But as long as confidence remains, there's always a chance. Right now, what Blackstone Territory lacks most isn't grain, but the confidence to survive this winter. I will use these 'papers' to exchange for real gold coins in the market, and then use these gold coins to pry open Augustus's granary."

He extended a finger and lightly tapped the blank space, a meaningful curve forming on his lips: "And to create this kind of confidence, nothing works better than the Royal Family's credibility. Princess Ella Radiance, I need you to stamp your private seal on this, in the name of the Radiant Empire, to provide royal credibility for my 'currency.'"

Ella recoiled as if struck by lightning, looking at him in disbelief.

For him to use her reputation to endorse a complete scam?

This was even more unbearable than killing her.

"Impossible! I will never use the glory of the Radiant Family..."

"You will." Levi interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Because you know better than I do that once Blackstone Territory collapses due to famine, the next to be devoured by Augustus and the Northern nobles will be you and your isolated knight order. To survive, you have no choice. Either you play this game with me, or you become a dry bone in the black snow, along with my people."

The air in the study seemed to solidify.

The fire in the fireplace crackled, each flicker seeming to interrogate Ella's soul.

After a long while, she slowly closed her eyes, a clear tear sliding from the corner, her voice hoarse and despairing: "I need a guarantee. A guarantee that you will truly get the grain in the end."

"I guarantee it." Levi's answer was without hesitation, but his eyes were so deep they were unfathomable.

In the temporary workshop, converted from the castle basement, a pungent smell of ink mixed with the odor of cheap paper permeated the air.

Dozens of nimble craftsmen, under Evelyn's supervision, were operating several crude wooden printing presses day and night.

With creaking sounds, beautifully printed "Grain Subscription Vouchers" were produced.

Levi, however, was not here supervising production.

He wore a heavy bearskin cloak, braving the wind and snow, and entered the most dilapidated tavern in town.

The tavern was deserted, with only one white-haired, wrinkled old man, drinking the cheapest ale with a plate of salted beans.

His eyes were cloudy, filled with the despondency and resentment of bankruptcy.

Levi walked over and sat opposite him, pushing a heavy money bag across the table. The gold coins clinked crisply.

"Old Jack," Levi's voice was exceptionally clear amidst the noisy wind and snow, "I remember half a year ago, you were the biggest grain merchant in Stonebreak Town. If not for Count Augustus's malicious squeeze, you'd be drinking wine in his banquet hall, not horse piss here."

The old man raised his bloodshot eyes, looking at Levi warily, and asked hoarsely, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Who I am isn't important. What's important is that I can give you a chance, a chance to personally send Count Augustus to hell." Levi placed a freshly printed subscription voucher on the table and pushed it towards the old man.

"I'm going to open a 'Blackstone Discount Supermarket,' and you, will be my first manager. Your task is simple: take these 'subscription vouchers' to all the black markets around Blackstone Territory, and tell the poor and small merchants who are suffocating under Augustus's high grain prices that I have grain, and the price will always be ten percent lower than Augustus's market price."

Old Jack picked up the paper, a shrewd glint flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He felt the texture of the paper, carefully examined the terms and the seal, especially the private seal belonging to the Radiant Empire's princess, and his breathing suddenly became rapid.

As an experienced grain merchant, he instantly understood the madness and opportunity behind this piece of paper.

"You want to use a worthless promise to empty Augustus's treasury?" Old Jack's voice trembled slightly, with suppressed excitement.

"It's 'we,'" Levi corrected. "After this is done, all future grain trade in Blackstone Territory will be managed by you. And Augustus's failure will be the foundation of your resurgence."

Old Jack clutched the subscription voucher tightly, his gaunt body trembling with excitement.

He looked at Levi as if he were looking at a devil climbed out of the abyss.

He suddenly grabbed the money bag from the table, chugged the inferior ale, and a flame of revenge burst forth in his eyes: "Let's do it!"

Almost at the same time Old Jack disappeared into the wind and snow with the first batch of subscription vouchers, strange sights began to appear on the main trade routes outside Blackstone Territory.

In the howling wind of the mountain pass, merchant caravans composed of tall Orcs were struggling to trek.

They were taciturn, clad in thick furs, followed by large carts pulled by giant beasts, covered with heavy tarpaulins.

Wheel tracks left deep imprints in the snow, and occasionally some fist-sized, purplish-black tubers, never before seen in the North, scattered from the carts.

A few shivering peddlers, catching a glimpse of this mysterious convoy from afar, were too scared to make a sound and hid behind rocks.

They watched as the Orcs skillfully handed over goods to the Blackstone Territory guards, then transported entire teams of cargo into the heavily guarded pass fortress.

Evelyn stood on a distant hillside, her purple eyes reflecting the scene below.

Her slender fingers traced invisible paths in the air, maintaining this vast illusion.

Those "Orcs," those "giant beast-drawn carts," and even those scattered "purplish-black tubers" were merely phantoms constructed by her succubus power and a few carefully arranged alchemy crystals.

But the illusion was so realistic it could deceive any ill-intentioned eyes.

Soon, the news that "Blackstone Territory Lord Levi had colluded with Southern Orc tribes, found a mysterious winter grain channel, and his granary was unfathomable" spread like wildfire through the mouths of those "frightened" peddlers, reaching towns large and small and black markets across the North.

In Count Augustus's castle study, the warm fireplace blazed, but he felt an inexplicable irritation.

Urgent intelligence reports from various regions piled up like snowflakes on his desk.

Report One: A large number of "Grain Subscription Vouchers" issued by Blackstone Territory suddenly appeared on the market. These vouchers could be exchanged for grain at a low price and were guaranteed by the Radiant Empire's princess, causing a small-scale buying frenzy.

Report Two: Multiple informants confirmed sightings of large-scale Orc merchant caravans transporting supplies to Blackstone Territory near the Red River Valley pass. The type of supplies was unknown, but it was highly likely to be some cold-resistant, high-yield crop.

Report Three: Old Jack, the old man he personally squeezed into bankruptcy, had become Blackstone Territory's agent and was frantically selling off subscription vouchers, already beginning to impact his hard-won high grain price system.

Augustus paced irritably in the room.

One moment he thought Levi was putting on a show, bluffing. How could he conjure grain from his godforsaken territory?

But on the other hand, the news of the Orc caravans and the princess's guarantee made him suspicious.

What if... what if that kid really had some trump card he didn't know about?

"Can't wait any longer!" Augustus slammed his fist on the table. Greed ultimately triumphed over reason.

In his view, whether Levi had grain or not, he had to control the market's initiative!

If Levi was bluffing, then he would buy all the subscription vouchers on the market, and on the redemption day, expose Levi's scam in front of everyone, ruining his reputation!

If Levi really had grain, then he would even more so buy all these low-priced subscription vouchers. This would be tantamount to indirectly buying out all of Levi's grain reserves at a low price, and then reselling them at ten times the price!

Either way, he wins!

"Someone!" he roared. "Notify all my agents, buy without regard for cost! Buy as many subscription vouchers as there are on the market! I want every piece of Levi Byron's worthless paper to turn into a gold coin in my treasury!"

An invisible war quietly began in the Northern market.

Augustus's vast cash flow, like a hungry beast, pounced on the seemingly weak prey of "Grain Subscription Vouchers."

But to his surprise, these vouchers seemed endless.

He bought ten thousand, and soon twenty thousand more would appear on the market.

The subscription vouchers, originally ten percent below market price, not only didn't drop but rose due to Augustus's frantic buying, even quickly surpassing normal grain prices.

Countless speculators and small merchants, seeing this, also joined the buying spree, further driving up prices.

The entire Northern financial market fell into an unprecedented frenzy because of this small piece of paper.

Meanwhile, in the cellar of Blackstone Castle, the atmosphere was completely different.

In the cold stone chamber, there was no grain, only box after box of heavy Imperial gold coins, exchanged from Augustus's agents.

The gleam of the gold coins shimmered in the torchlight, almost blinding.

Sophie, the pale-faced young financial officer, was meticulously counting a newly arrived batch of funds with several apprentices.

Her fingers were pale from prolonged contact with the cold metal, but her eyes shone with astonishing brightness.

"Lord," she closed the ledger and reported to Levi, who was quietly observing everything, "According to the latest data model, Count Augustus has mortgaged the output of three manors and two mines under his name to acquire over seventy percent of the subscription vouchers on the market. His cash flow can only last two more days. After two days, his capital chain will completely break."

It succeeded.

A faint smile finally appeared on Levi's lips.

He had won this grand gamble.

With a pile of worthless paper, he had almost drained all the liquid funds of the Northern "Grain King."

Now, he held enough cash to buy any city in the North, while Augustus's castle was piled high with subscription vouchers that were about to become worthless.

Next, as long as his real grain—the batch of cold-resistant, high-yield snow potatoes he had entrusted the Graymane Tribe to secretly transport from the South with his initial funds—could arrive smoothly.

He could immediately open the granaries and establish the credit of the subscription vouchers.

At that time, Augustus would be completely bankrupt, and he, Levi, holding vast sums of money and grain, would become the undisputed new King of the North.

Just then, the heavy wooden door of the Council Chamber was violently slammed open!

A cold wind, mixed with the smell of blood, rushed in, making the candlelight flicker wildly.

An Orc scout stumbled in, his sturdy leather armor slashed with several deep cuts that revealed bone, blood staining the fur on his chest and congealing into dark red ice shards.

One of his arms was unnaturally twisted, clearly broken.

"Young Master!" The Orc scout was an elite of the Graymane Tribe, but his face was ashen, his voice filled with despair and pain, as he roared with his remaining strength, "We... we encountered Ogres at Dragons Tooth Pass! It was the Bloodfang Tribe! They ambushed our main caravan!"

Levi's smile instantly froze.

The Orc scout swayed, finally unable to stand, and fell to one knee, using his last ounce of strength to pull out a blood-soaked tribal token from his embrace, wailing: "The caravan... completely wiped out! All... all the snow potatoes, all stolen!"

"Boom!"

Levi felt his mind go blank, as if struck hard by an invisible giant hammer.

The mountains of gold coins piled in the cellar became incredibly dazzling and cold at this moment.

His financial scam, his carefully constructed castle in the air, was undermined at the very last moment before completion, its only physical pillar pulled out from under it.

Without grain, all the subscription vouchers would become worthless paper.

Without grain, all confidence would collapse instantly.

He had won Augustus's money, but lost everyone's lives.