Alien world

Chapter 1215 137. Food Crisis
Joan Ecosella Jeanne d'Arc Behrdad Clement Montreal, Princess of the Empire, Ambassador of Liberty City.

Except for "Joan", the rest can be ignored.

This merchant girl whom Annan met in the city of Betar finally lived the life she had always dreamed of after following Annan from the North to Middle-earth for several years: opening a shop and becoming her own boss.

After she became somewhat bored with such a peaceful life, she was sent to the Kingdom of Dimon by Annan who was in urgent need of people.

After all, a person who was born in the North and worked as a merchant knows the customs and practices of the North better.

"Why do you think I would want to go to the north and suffer the cold? Wouldn't it be better to stay here and be a boss, collecting money all day?" Joan looked reluctant at the time.

"Do you want to be an official?" Annan just asked.

Joan was then sent to the Kingdom of Dimon to manage the commercial street in the capital.

Now, Joan, who is in charge of an entire street, is also an absolute big shot. She either attends banquets hosted by nobles or chats and laughs with wizards. Because of her style of doing things, she is nicknamed "Cunning Joan".

When the liaison officer brought the news that Liberty City would provide a batch of food, "Cunning Joan" quickly realized the opportunity it contained.

The news of the kingdom's food shortage had spread to the entire "unoccupied area". Although the king and the royal family repeatedly assured that there would be enough food, it still caused a certain panic. The nobles fled to the safer and more remote mountain cities, and the people also migrated to the south.

People who stayed in the capital were unwilling to spend money, and the theater had no more than a hundred guests throughout the day. After all, who would have the heart to watch magic images?
You walked into the theater in the afternoon to watch "The Fall of the Mage Tower", and when you came out in the evening, you found that the ratmen were just outside the city?
At this time, they need a force to pull them up, or give them a slap on the head to wake them up.

Joan acted decisively, led the heavy horses used as anchor points for the portal out of the city, opened the portal in the deserted suburbs, and transported out grain carts one by one.

At this time, in the palace of the capital of the Kingdom of Dimon, the king and his ministers were in a gloomy mood.

The king is only forty-five years old this year, in the prime of his life, but the gloomy weather over the past few days has made him look a little old.

The battle report sent by Marshal Galkin from the front was presented to them.

The conclusion is simple: the rat people have made some unusual moves in recent days. Combined with the intelligence received later, the rat people may open a new battlefield as early as autumn and at the latest in winter.

There was another briefing next to it: This year's grain harvest was poor, grain collection and purchase were lower than expected, and the cost of sending grain to the capital was too high. In short, if they defended the capital, they would soon be isolated and helpless because of the lack of food...

Da da da--

The sound of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall, becoming clear as the captain of the guard pushed open the door.

The captain of the guard said excitedly: "Your Majesty, my lords, the food has been delivered!"

His Majesty stood up in surprise, and went to the top of the tower with his ministers. Standing on the high ground and looking out, he soon found a long line of convoys.

The king was pleased and asked, "Where did these grains come from? From the rear?"

"Your Majesty, it's Liberty City."

……

Residents of the capital gathered on both sides of the road, staring at the grain trucks passing by.

What they saw was not food, but hope.

Joan climbed onto the top of the grain cart and said loudly to the people on the roadside: "I am the executive officer of Liberty City. I am here on the orders of Lord Annan to deliver the first batch of grain to you! Yes, the first batch! There will be a second and third batch soon!"

If the Kingdom said something like this, they wouldn't believe it, because they've believed it too many times and been disappointed too many times. But if it was external aid, or the Free City they'd heard of... they didn't know whether to believe it or not.

"In order to boost the morale of the citizens of the capital, we announce that the Commercial Street Theater will be open for free. Everyone is welcome to come and watch the magical images at will!"

There was some expression on the faces of the people, but it was not enough... Joan, who saw the guards welcoming them in front, had another idea. She tried to climb down, and when she jumped off the grain cart, she suddenly made a pretentious sound of "Ouch", and cut a hole in the grain bag.

The full grains of food suddenly poured down, attracting a lot of attention.

It's a simple little trick, but it works.

The residents felt reassured when they saw the real food. Even if some of them were ready to make a move, they did not dare to get close due to the pressure from the guards.

Joan did not take a detour or turn, but drove the grain cart team straight to the palace. When the palace guards saw a row of grain carts coming towards them with no sign of stopping, they did not know whether to stop them.

However, the order from the palace arrived faster than the grain carts, and there was only one word: release.

Joan didn't want the grain cart to get under the king's nose, so she drove into the palace and stopped in an open space.

"You guys... helped a lot!"

The official who greeted Joan was full of simple gratitude: "What do you want?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"That's what Annan said," Joan made up.

She took the initiative and did not ask the liaison officer. After all, how much can dozens of trucks of food be worth? It would not be enough for the capital to eat for half a day. Favors are the most valuable!

The official was unsure and didn't know how to reward Joan, so he ran back. Not long after, the eldest prince, whom Joan had seen before, came back.

"Hello, Miss Joan."

"Hello, Prince." Joan raised her hand and said casually, "I know what you want to ask. If you ask, there is really nothing. Our Annan has always regarded the Grand Marshal as his brother."

"I know, but you have to give us a chance to repay your kindness, and you can directly transport the grain here. Father hopes that we can negotiate more deals."

"makes sense……"

Joan quickly arranged a meeting between the eldest prince and Annan. This was their first meeting, but because they had worked together in depth, they were familiar with each other.

The eldest prince first thanked Annan for the assistance provided, and then after a brief reunion, he said that they were impressed by the power of Free City, which could go wherever it wanted.

If a portal connecting the two places can be maintained, the Kingdom of Dimon is confident that it can stop any enemy in the capital, which is more important than any assistance.

"I'm sorry, we can't make a permanent portal, but we can still make a temporary portal that opens a few times a day. If you need any supplies, you can tell us and we will purchase them for you."

The eldest prince was a little disappointed, but having a trade route was better than having no trade route at all, so he asked Annan if he needed anything.

Annan was about to say no, but after being reminded by Olmedo, he asked the eldest prince whether there were any coal mines in the kingdom.

“There are coal mines... but most of them are in the territories occupied by ratmen and demons.” The eldest prince smiled bitterly.

This is also the reason why they try their best to communicate with the outside world.

They are like the snow mountain fortress back then, lacking everything and with enemies everywhere.

(End of this chapter)