A cannon would sound on the square every hour, signaling that another formerly "prominent and important" figure received his deserved verdict.

Their convictions had actually already been decided, so this process was mostly used as a propaganda for the citizens. It especially condemned the church and Timothy for conspiring against the king and stealing the throne. After a week of preparation, the evidence collected against them proved their guilt without a doubt—of course, Roland did not actually give them a chance to argue for themselves.

Only a few of the n.o.bles were sentenced to hanging. Besides Timothy, his henchmen, the Prime Minister, and judge, all the other sentenced men were the church believers. Even the church of King's City was completely uprooted, and Roland made sure that everyone who was involved in spreading the demonic plague got what they deserved.

These sc.u.mbags will surely be met by cheers from the audience when they're brought to the gallows.

"Are you not going to watch it in person?" asked Nightingale, standing by the window.

"Iron Axe and Theo will take care of everything," replied Roland without even raising his head. Public trials helped excite and unite the subjects in Border Town, but they would not have the same effect here. The people would not automatically side with Roland as soon as he killed Timothy, just like they did not side with Timothy after King Wimbledon III and Gerald died.

He did not have enough support among the citizens here.

He was also concerned about his own safety. Sylvie eventually found the gem list Roland remembered, which Timothy had hidden in a secret compartment in his closet. However, there were twelve more names than the gems there, four of which were hidden in King's City. It meant that they had all received Timothy's orders. Although they were not necessarily the a.s.sa.s.sination orders, Roland still kept his guard up. Execution grounds were too disorderly and unsuitable for him to visit, and he had no interest in watching executions.

He had much more important things to deal with.

For example, the army.

The casualties in capturing King's City were finally calculated, revealing that the First Army lost 33 men, which was their worst loss so far. Although they killed a much larger amount of enemies than that, Roland still noticed many flaws in their street battle tactics, especially in house demolition—most of the First Army's casualties were caused when enchanted soldiers surprised them by leaping out from civilian houses. If his soldiers could use rifle grenades or blasting cartridges to demolish suspicious houses in their way, there would definitely be lighter casualties.

His other concern was the size of the army. The First Army could take on the entire Kingdom of Graycastle with its 3,000 men, but it was not enough to conquer everything in his sights. He would have to leave at least 500 men behind to maintain order in King's City, and after conquering Fallen Dragon Ridge and the Southernmost Region, the army would be too small to maintain a peace war. He needed to expand his army.

Roland wrote down the plans for death benefits and army expansion and handed them to his guards. He ordered them to take the plans back to the City of Neverwinter, where the City Hall would carry them out.

After that, the prince directed his attention to the lower-level n.o.bles.

They did not have any substantial political power, but they were all well-educated and desperately wanted to be promoted. All the great n.o.bles in King's City had already been cleared out. They were either exiled from the territory or sent to the Neverwinter mines, leaving many vacancies in the office. In order for King's City to run normally, the most effective tactic was to have these lower n.o.bles work for him.

Barov had years of experience in King's City and definitely knew some of these men, so he would be in charge of organizing a temporary ruling system.

These men were willing to serve him, so giving them greater responsibilities would increase their eagerness. Yorko was Roland's first try.

Over the past few days, he finally decided where he should a.s.sign his "old friend".

...

Yorko shouted as soon as he entered Roland's office, "Oh G.o.d, you really killed all of the church scoundrels! I would never have guessed that they spread the demonic plague, and I couldn't even believe my ears when High Priest Ferry confessed to it. What a disgrace to the deities! Right now, the crowds on the square are praising your name and saying that you saved them six months ago."

Roland smiled. Theo had ordered the Rats to spread this news to corroborate the refugee camps from six months ago. It seemed that it was quite effective. However, Yorko probably made up the part about praising his name to flatter him.

He did not question his words and handed a delicate lambskin letter to Yorko.

"Take a look at this."

Yorko opened the letter, glanced at it, and widened his eyes. "You're, you're making me the amba.s.sador of the Kingdom of Graycastle?"

"Yes, and a permanent one," said Roland with a nod. "You'll have an official letter of appointment, scepter, and seal, and you'll reside in the City of Glow in the Kingdom of Dawn. What do you think?"

This position had taken a great amount of consideration—as the famed "Magic Hand" in King's City, Yorko had a bad reputation, just like Prince Roland did in the past.

No one wanted to be made a cuckold, including the n.o.bles. While their wives cheated on them with other men, instead of simply catching them in the act, the husbands also meddled in brothels and bars—but it was all in secrecy.

If Yorko was given an important position, or if Roland openly gave the Magic Hand a job in the City Hall, it would have an unimaginable influence... All the n.o.bles and merchants would be worried that their wives would begin to openly pursue Yorko, and the women that Yorko had slept with would all try to take advantage of him. Roland did not want this to happen.

His best option was to place him in a foreign country. Kingdom amba.s.sadors were different from traveling emissary delegations, and they had similar authority as Earls, so even foreign kings treated them with respect. This was an important-sounding t.i.tle that was perfect as a promotion. He also did not have to give him any land, and he would not worry any of the other n.o.ble.

Let him go bother the Kingdom of Dawn. I heard that their n.o.blewomen are exotic and outstanding, so he might be able to make a new name for himself there.

Yorko obviously also realized this point. He knelt down without any hesitation and replied excitedly, "I accept... my lord!" He was so eager as if he was worried that Roland would regret his decision.

"Then it's decided," said Roland with a smile. "Before you leave, I'll have a ceremonial officer to train you."

Besides Yorko, he also needed to send some of his own men to the Kingdom of Dawn, so he could keep an eye on his neighbor and also form an alliance with them to fight the church.