66: Chapter 66 Royal Investigation? Let's go through the company's emergency plan first.

The sharp declaration was like a giant rock smashing into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand ripples.

These four words, carrying the unique arrogance and sense of finality of the Royal Capital, echoed repeatedly in the cold morning air.

After a deathly silence, an uncontrollable commotion rose from the crowd, like tiny bubbles emerging from the bottom of a pot of water about to boil.

The previously dejected Bloodaxe Legion captives now had a rekindled light in their eyes.

Their gazes rapidly exchanged between them, a mixture of surprise at a narrow escape and a restless eagerness.

The Royal Family was intervening!

Her Royal Highness the Princess was coming to judge this usurper!

Their suffering was about to end, and perhaps... they even had a chance to redeem themselves.

On the other side, the orcs, who had just tasted the fruits of victory and the satisfaction of a full belly, presented a completely different scene.

Their heavy breathing rose and fell, and low, beast-like growls rumbled in their throats.

In their simple logic, the 'employment contract' they had just signed meant that the employer was about to be 'liquidated' by another, more powerful group of humans.

This was betrayal!

This was an open snatching of the food they had earned with their blood!

"Roar..."

Grom stepped forward, the frozen ground groaning under his heavy war boots.

His single eye was fixed on Levi, and the veins on his arm, holding the skullcrusher, once again bulged like coiling pythons.

He didn't care about the Royal Family or any princess; he only knew that this seemingly frail human was the only employer who could keep his tribe alive through this winter.

With just a look, a gesture from Levi, he would not hesitate to split this noisy messenger, man and horse, in two.

The atmosphere of the entire area was stretched to the limit, like a bowstring about to snap.

However, Levi, at the center of the storm, showed not a ripple of emotion on his face.

He ignored the messenger holding up the scroll, waiting for him to grovel, and he ignored the almost explosive tension around him.

He simply walked down the steps with unhurried strides, calmly taking the parchment scroll, a symbol of the Royal Family's will, from the messenger's hand.

A flicker of surprise crossed the messenger's face.

He had anticipated fear, anger, or even stubborn resistance, but he had never expected such... casualness, like taking a glass of wine from a waiter's tray.

Levi didn't even open the scroll to glance at it; he simply folded it casually and tucked it into the inner pocket of his coat.

This action conveyed a deeper level of contempt than any fierce words could.

Immediately after, he turned around, once again facing all the inwardly agitated 'employees' in the plaza.

His gaze swept over their varied expressions; the humans' hope and the orcs' anger were all clear to him.

He cleared his throat, and Evelyn immediately understood, using a small amplification spell to clearly transmit his voice to every corner.

"Everyone," Levi's tone was as steady as if he were announcing tea time, "as you all just heard. Due to a significant, unpredictable change in the external market environment, I announce that Blackstone Heavy Industries is immediately activating its Level 1 Emergency Plan."

"Emergency Plan"? "Market environment change"?

These unheard-of terms stunned everyone, and even Grom, who was ready to act, instinctively paused, trying to understand the meaning of these words.

Levi didn't give them much time to think, directly dropping the bombshell that would most stir everyone's emotions.

"According to the detailed rules of the plan, during the crisis response period, all original project bonuses and performance-based salaries will be dynamically adjusted upwards based on your specific performance in this 'crisis public relations' event." A perfectly measured curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, as if sharing insider benefits, "Specifically, for outstanding performers, bonuses can be increased by up to double the original standard, which is—"

Two hundred percent!

This number, like a thunderclap, instantly shattered the strange atmosphere on site.

The Bloodaxe Legion captives exchanged glances, the fire of hope in their eyes doused by this sudden 'bonus doubling'.

What was going on?

With the Royal Army bearing down, shouldn't they be scattering like monkeys when the tree falls?

How did this sound like a 'new project' where they could make a lot of money instead?

The orcs' minds were simpler and more direct.

They might not understand complex percentages, but the concept of 'double'—they understood that!

Double meant more meat, more ale!

The anger of being betrayed was quickly replaced by a more primal, stronger desire.

Who cared about Royal Families or princesses? If they could get double the meat, even if a dragon came, they'd dare to go up and pluck a few scales!

Grom's brows furrowed into a tight knot. He lowered his body, leaned towards Levi, and his voice came out like a squeeze from his teeth: "You want to go to war with the Royal Capital's army?"

Levi didn't directly answer his question.

His gaze passed over Grom's shoulder, falling on the Royal Capital Messenger, whose face was flushed with embarrassment from being ignored and who was now at a loss.

The magnificent warhorse also seemed to sense the dangerous aura emanating from the surrounding orcs, pawing its hooves restlessly and snorting.

"Director Grom," Levi's voice was not loud, but it was filled with an undeniable air of authority, "please answer a question. According to Chapter 3, Article 7, Paragraph 2 of our recently published 'Blackstone Heavy Industries Pre-Job Training Safety Manual': How should an unauthorized external vehicle that forcibly enters an employee assembly site without declaration be handled?"

This serious, bureaucratic-sounding question completely bewildered the Orc Blademaster, whose mind was full of battle and glory.

He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

What manual?

What article?

He only remembered Levi having someone read them a bunch of stuff yesterday, like 'Safety in production is everyone's responsibility' and 'No urinating or defecating randomly in the mining area'. Who could remember all those details?

However, just because he couldn't remember didn't mean others couldn't.

Behind him, an orc squad leader, who had just been promoted to 'Security Department Team One Leader', had spent half the previous night having Priestess Natasha read him that thin manual three times over, because Lord Levi had said that those who could memorize the manual would receive an extra pound of smoked meat at the end of the month as a 'Learning Role Model Award'!

"Reporting, Director!" The orc squad leader thumped his chest, shouting loudly, "The driver and vehicle should be immediately controlled, removed from the scene, and transferred to the Safety Education Learning Room for no less than one standard hour of re-education on safety production regulations!"

Before his words fully fell, he had already waved a hand, leading four burly orc warriors who pounced like hungry wolves.

"You... what are you doing? I am a messenger from the Royal Capital!" The messenger shrieked in terror, but his resistance was as fragile as a chick before these orcs who had just experienced a bloody battle.

He was roughly pulled from his horse by two orcs, and a piece of cloth, torn from who knows where, was stuffed into his mouth.

The other two orcs skillfully controlled the startled warhorse, and both man and horse were thus 'invited' to the temporary detention room beneath the castle, under the absurd pretext of 'violating safety production regulations', in full view of everyone.

Watching this scene, Karl's eyelids twitched wildly.

He realized for the first time that this young lord was simply a madman who played by no rules!

To use his self-proclaimed 'company regulations' to deal with a messenger representing the laws of the kingdom—what arrogance and blasphemy!

Having dealt with this small interlude, Levi acted as if he had merely done something insignificant.

He patted Grom's stiff shoulder and said calmly, "Let's go, Director Grom, Deputy Mine Manager Karl, and Deputy Director Natasha. Our first emergency project meeting begins now."

In the war room on the second floor of the castle, a large sand table map was placed in the center.

Grom and Natasha stood on one side, while Karl, who had been 'invited' to the meeting, stood on the other with a ashen face, several orc guards watching him from not too far away, preventing him from making any move.

Levi didn't waste any words, directly picking up a pointer and indicating a red main road extending from the direction of the Royal Capital on the map.

"From the Royal Capital to Blackstone Territory is a straight distance of three hundred li. Even if Princess Ella's knight order marches at full speed, it will take at least ten days. And on this essential path," his pointer heavily tapped a dark green area, "there is a region called the Crying Swamp. The road is narrow, muddy, and difficult to traverse. A large army passing through will inevitably stretch its formation and slow down, making it an excellent ambush location."

A sharp glint flashed in Grom's single eye. He licked his lips, full of fighting spirit.

Karl's heart, however, sank to the bottom.

He knew that place too well; it was a natural trap made for a massacre!

However, Levi's next words astonished everyone.

"Therefore, I have decided to establish the 'Welcome Avenue Project Team'." He drew a wide, straight line across the swamp with his pointer. "Our mission is to build a road wide enough for four horses to travel abreast across this swamp before Her Royal Highness the Princess and her knight order arrive, and at the end of the road, construct a temporary reception camp capable of accommodating a thousand people."

"What?!" Grom and Karl exclaimed almost simultaneously.

Grom was incredulous: "You want to... build a road for the enemy?"

Karl, on the other hand, felt his worldview completely overturned.

Facing the Royal Family's punitive army, not strengthening defenses, not setting traps, but instead actively helping them solve their biggest marching problem?

Was he mad, or scared senseless?

"Not building a road for the enemy," Levi corrected, his gaze sweeping over Karl, with a knowing implication, "but demonstrating Blackstone Heavy Industries' excellent infrastructure capabilities and sincerity for cooperation to our future, potential, and most important business partners."

He handed the pointer to Karl, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Mr. Karl von Heinrich, I officially appoint you as the Chief Engineer of the 'Welcome Avenue Project Team', fully responsible for the construction and management of the project. Your soldiers are the team you are most familiar with. This is the first performance assessment to prove your personal 'management value', and I hope you will not disappoint me."

Karl held the cold wooden pole, his palms slick with cold sweat.

He understood that this pointer was both power and a sword hanging over his head.

If he did well, he might survive as a valuable 'management talent'; if he didn't... he had no doubt his fate would be a hundred times more miserable than that messenger dragged off for 'safety education'.

"I... I need manpower, a lot of labor," Karl said with difficulty, trying to bargain for some leverage.

"Of course." Levi nodded, looking at Grom, "Director Grom, the Security Department will dispatch three hundred orc warriors as labor support for this project. Please remember, their identity is laborers, not overseers. I need cooperation, not internal friction."

Then, his gaze turned to Natasha, and he took a parchment scroll sealed with wax from his In my arms and handed it over.

"Deputy Director Natasha, this is the 'Special Supervision Regulations' for this project. You will serve as Project Supervisor, overseeing the progress and quality of the engineering throughout. This regulation authorizes you, in the event of any 'non-technical delays' in the project, to bypass Chief Engineer Mr. Karl and directly handle matters according to the content of the regulations."

Natasha took the scroll, her charming fox-like eyes looking at Karl, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned in a charming yet dangerous smile.

Karl shivered at her gaze, a chill running straight from his spine to the top of his head.

He instantly understood what those so-called 'non-technical delays' referred to—slacking off, sabotage, incitement... any small trick he might use to delay the project would trigger this terrifying regulation, the contents of which he did not know.

This road was not just the road to Blackstone Territory.

It was also the only path to his own life or death. He had no choice.

He took a deep breath, gripping the pointer in his hand as if it were his last straw.

He knew that from this moment on, he had to put all his effort into building that road to welcome the 'judges'.

Because only when the road was built would he have a chance to live until the day of his judgment.