Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 386

Chapter 386: Incompetency Chapter 386: Incompetency If looks could kill, the man standing before Caius would already be a lifeless heap on the ground.

The siege of Harmway wasn’t going disastrously-far from it, in fact.

In a week and a half, the invading army had managed to avoid outbreaks of disease, a feat that any seasoned general would count as a minor miracle.

The city was locked down tight, with no ships slipping past the naval blockade.

By all accounts, things were proceeding as planned.

But the devil was in the details.

The island’s population, never more than a few thousand due to Harmway’s unforgiving geography, worked against them.

The small city nestled within the fortress walls could sustain itself for longer than Caius liked to admit, stretching their meager supplies to outlast the siege.

It wasn’t a thriving metropolis filled with mouths to feed-it was a hardscrabble outpost of survivors accustomed to scarcity, which meant that whatever food they had stored, it could last them quite a bit.

Of course the fact that the very sustenance of the troops regarding not only food but water was linked up with the navy, was certainly worrisome for the general, who in due time found out that his worries were not actually misplaced.

In the dim glow of a candle that was lit at all time , Caius sat rigid in his chair, his piercing gaze locked on the envoy standing before him.

The man fidgeted, a sheen of nervous sweat glistening on his brow as he struggled to maintain his composure under the general’s unrelenting scrutiny.

“If I’m not mistaken,” Caius began, his voice low and venomous, “the contract we signed with your trade guild was explicit.

We agreed to pay twice the market price for grain-twice.

An absurdly generous sum.

And in return, your guild assured us full control over the logistics and redistribution process.

Complete responsibility, you said, without any room for mistakes.

Yet here we are, with our coffers lighter and our stomachs empty.

Where is the grain?” The envoy swallowed hard, his hands clasped tightly in front of him.

“General, with all due respect,” he began cautiously, his voice trembling slightly, “a considerable number of guards were employed to ensure the safety of your shipments.

But your enemies…

they didn’t take the bait.

When they saw the level of protection on the cargo ships, they changed their tactics.” Caius’s eyes narrowed, his impatience barely concealed.

“Changed their tactics?

What are you saying?” The envoy hesitated, then continued, “They didn’t attempt to board.

Instead, they opted for a more…

brutal method, they rammed the ships.

Deliberately.

With no intention of taking the cargo, they sank them outright.

At that point, there was nothing we could do.

The guards we paid for couldn’t stop hulls splintering under the force of their ships.” A tense silence followed, broken only by the sound of Caius’s fingers drumming on the armrest of his chair.

The general’s voice dropped to an icy calm, his words cutting like steel.

“So, you’re telling me that I paid an exorbitant price to secure my army’s lifeline, and your response to sabotage is to shrug and tell me you were powerless?

This incompetence is unacceptable.” As he said so his piercing eyes bore into the envoy, who shifted uneasily under the weight of his gaze.

“Your prince built a navy, did he not?” Caius asked, his voice sharp ”Why didn’t you request their protection for these shipments?

Surely, with all the coin I’ve thrown at your guild, you could have secured an escort.

Or was that too much to manage as well?Is your greed that much?” The envoy stiffened, clearly bracing himself for the backlash that would follow his response.

“General,” he began hesitantly, “we did try.

We humbly approached the prince, who right now is in full control of the throne given her grace pregnancy, and formally requested that the navy accompany the supply ships to ensure their safe passage.

It was a reasonable request, given the circumstances.” Caius raised an eyebrow, his lips pressing into a thin line.

“And?” The envoy swallowed hard before continuing, his words tinged with frustration and resignation.

“Unfortunately, the prince refused.

His response was…

blunt.

He stated that he had no obligation to aid the guild in fulfilling a contract we willingly entered into with your lordship.

According to him, this matter was strictly between the guild and your lordship.

He washed his hands of it entirely.Even after we proposed to pay a part of the money we received , he still refused ” Caius exhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring as his hand clenched into a fist on the table.

“Of course he did,” he muttered under his breath, his tone laced with bitter sarcasm, as if he did not know better he would have thought that their prince was trying to sabotage their effort.Bloody hell!My brother paid his weight in silver for the grain , and we won’t even be able to receive it !What am I supposed to feed my men with?

Caius narrowed his eyes, his irritation mounting as he glared at the envoy standing meekly before him.

The man’s timid posture only fueled his disdain.

“If you’ve come all this way just to whine about how you failed to uphold your end of the bargain,” Caius began coldly, “then you’ve wasted your breath.

Why are you here instead of fixing this mess you made ?” The envoy flinched but mustered the courage to respond, his voice trembling slightly.

“General, if I may…

given the situation, we were hoping your forces might be willing to dispatch a few ships to accompany our next convoy.

It would ensure safe delivery and-” Caius didn’t let him finish.

His fist came down on the table with a thunderous crack, rattling the maps and goblets spread across its surface.

“That wasn’t part of the deal!” he roared, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.

“I paid good coin-more than good coin-for your guild to deliver what was promised.

The contract was clear.

I supply the gold; you supply the grain.

Not the other way around!” The envoy took a shaky step back, his face pale as he tried to keep his composure.

“General, with all due respect, we couldn’t have foreseen-” “Enough!” Caius snapped, his glare sharp enough to pierce armor.

“I didn’t ask for your excuses.

I don’t care about your prince’s refusal or your guild’s incompetence.

I paid for a service I have yet to receive, and now you stand here asking me to pick up the slack for your failures?

You’re lucky I haven’t sent you back to Yarzat in chains for breach of contract.

“It is explicitly written in the contract,” he began, his words sharp and precise, “that if either side fails to uphold their end of the agreement, they will be subject to a financial penalty.

If you cannot fix this mess you’ve made, then return the money we paid in good faith, and we will seek another guild-one capable of fulfilling what you clearly cannot.” The envoy visibly flinched, if that was to actually happen it would surely be a disaster, as after all with the margins of failure to sell grain being actually zero, many merchants spent most if not all of their savings on grain to sell it, and if the imperials were going to actually search for another client, then most of the guild would have gone bankrupt.

At which point they would have to take out a loan from the crown, which was not sure could even happen as it was an open secret that the prince consort, , actively despised them as if the crown was a dog and them the cat.

The envoy hesitated before speaking, his voice cautiously measured as he tried to gauge Caius’s mood.

“General, if your forces could spare a few ships to defend our transports, I’m certain the guild would be willing to reconsider the price of the grain-lower it significantly, even.” Caius arched an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly as a humorless smile played on his lips.

“Lower the price, you say?” He tapped his fingers on the table, the sound sharp and deliberate.

“If I agree to assign five ships, the only price I’ll consider paying is the standard market rate.

We’re already doing half your job for you.” The envoy flinched but quickly regained his composure.

“With all due respect, General, that would be…

problematic,” he replied, swallowing hard.

“Many of the guild members paid above the standard price to secure enough grain for your fleet.

If we accept your terms, it would be a financial catastrophe for us.” Caius’s expression darkened, and he leaned back, folding his arms across his chest.

“Catastrophe?

You dare talk to me about catastrophe while I sit here managing an invasion on a hostile island, surrounded by enemies, because your guild couldn’t keep up its end of the bargain?” His voice was sharp, but his tone carried an edge of restrained patience.

The envoy held his ground, though sweat glistened on his brow.

“General, we deeply regret the circumstances, but a price reduction as steep as you propose would cripple us.

Surely, a compromise can be reached?” For several minutes, the two argued back and forth, voices rising and falling as each tried to bend the other to their will.

Caius made it clear he would not pay exorbitant prices for work he was now partially funding with his fleet, while the envoy insisted the guild couldn’t afford a substantial loss without risking their broader operations.

Finally, Caius exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples.

“Fine,” he growled.

“Ten ships.

You’ll get ten of my vessels to escort your transports.

But in return, we pay no more than one and a half times the standard market price.

Not a single coin more.” The envoy hesitated, weighing the terms.

After a moment, he gave a reluctant nod.

“Very well, General.

Ten ships, one and a half times the market price.

I’ll inform the guild immediately.” Caius gave a curt nod, dismissing the man with a wave.

As the envoy scurried out of the tent, the general’s scowl deepened.

“They better deliver this time, or no amount of excuses will save them.

Wretched incompetents”