King
Chapter 621 - 621 150 Reselling Strategic Materials_2

621: Chapter 150, Reselling Strategic Materials_2 621: Chapter 150, Reselling Strategic Materials_2 Compared to fighting head-on with the Orcs, most mercenaries stretched out their dark hands towards Orc tribes, directing their hunting targets towards the old and weak.

They did not massively slaughter women and children, not because they had a sense of honor, but mainly because the price of selling slaves was slightly higher than the rewards offered by the Allied Forces.

What surprised Hudson the most was that the most victorious “Mercenary Corps” weren’t real mercenaries.

Instead, they turned out to be acting on behalf of the Front Line Army.

Using pseudo-identities to do the dirty work wasn’t a big deal.

But they at least needed to create a convincing disguise.

The imposing mercenary group names made Hudson speechless.

For example, the “Unbeaten Holy Mercenaries”.

Just by the name, Hudson knew this was a pseudonym set up by the Clergy.

Organizations that could be honored with the royal title on the continent were, in ninety-nine percent of cases, branches of the Clergy.

Another example, the “Continent’s First Kingdom Mercenary Corps”.

With such an obvious signature, the only reason they hadn’t been pursued by the Frank Kingdom for copyright infringement was that it was their own pseudonym.

…

Almost all the pseudonym mercenary groups of the Allied Forces could be determined by their names.

If one party was a troublemaker, it might have been considered mischief.

But when everyone was up to the same thing, it could only be for profit.

Although their manner of action was a bit ugly, this did contravene the spirit propagated by the nobles.

It was also beneficial to all in identifying identities and avoiding unnecessary conflicts.

Without exception, the mercenary groups with the best battle records were all pseudonyms of major forces.

Apart from a few unlucky ones from the North Border Region, all the major human forces had made their names prominently featured on the list.

The rankings were roughly corresponding to the status of the major forces among humans.

Hudson only found a “real mercenary group” outside the top fifty.

Unfortunately, after investigating, they found that this pseudonym belonged to a Major Noble.

This pseudonym was not recent, but had existed for many years.

If carefully investigated, it would be found that behind any slightly prominent mercenary group or consortium on the continent, one could see the shadow of a Major Noble.

The grassroots rise did exist, but once it developed to a certain extent, it would inevitably be taken over by someone.

This was the sequel of knowledge monopoly.

Without education, ordinary people find it difficult to outwit those old foxes.

Originally, Hudson wanted to take the opportunity to pick up some promising mercenary groups and secretly incorporate them.

Now, it seemed he had been naive.

Everyone has been doing this.

Outwardly, each one boasted, looking down on mercenaries as such grassroots armed groups; but in the dark, each was more active in recruiting.

Any mercenary group showing a little potential, behind it would be one or several nobles as their backstage shareholders.

By the time Hudson noticed them, each had already been spoken for.

To disrupt the rules of the game for a mercenary group was evidently a loss-maker.

If he couldn’t get involved, Hudson wouldn’t force it.

Instead, he just played dead and continued supplying logistics to everyone, doubling up by doing a bit of small business on the side.

The gold prospectors could make money, and the merchants providing services to the prospectors could also cash in.

Even though these deals were all conducted in collaboration with the consortium, and only completed smoothly thanks to them, it didn’t affect Hudson’s profit share.

The only trouble was: after entering the mountainous region for operations, the consumption rate of logistical supplies during transportation surged, catching everyone’s close attention.

Fortunately, the Orcs were lending a hand.

Every once in a while, transport convoys would be ambushed, leading to the severe loss of the Allied Forces’ logistical supplies.

It certainly wasn’t a case of profiteering.

If you don’t believe it, check the books.

The warehouse in-and-out data could all be matched.

All losses could be traced back to evidence.

…

“Hudson, disaster has struck!

The Rocknard Family has reported to the Alliance Council that you are trafficking strategic materials.

Both the Alliance and the Kingdom have dispatched investigation teams.

They’ll reach the frontlines in a few days to scrutinize the consumption of the army’s strategic materials.

Better manage your books!”

The news brought by Viscount Orlan caused Hudson to falter.

How could the enemy act so hastily?

These days, escorting logistical supplies was a tough job.

It was an unspoken rule for the transport team to skim off profits.

Nobody would care unless it was too excessive.

However, the worst-case scenario is when someone raises a formal complaint.

It would be a huge scandal.

Whether it’s fatal or not purely depends on the extent of the embezzlement.

Generally speaking, as long as the gap isn’t too big, everything could be balanced out.

It’s not surprising that Hudson’s thriving business has caught the eye of some interested parties.

What he can’t understand is why the Rocknard family is so impatient.

The war is not over yet, but they are eager to stir up trouble.

Especially, making a direct complaint to the Alliance Council, it’s a clear breach of protocol.

Even if they can bring him down this time, they are slapping the King in the face.

Caesar III and the nobles of the North already had tense relations, now this incident is rubbing the King’s face in the dirt!

Not only the King, but all the nobles of the Alpha Kingdom will lose face.

Normally, in such a situation, everyone would choose to handle this privately.

“Viscount, do not worry!

They won’t be able to find anything.

If the investigation team comes, the ones who will suffer are the nobles of the North themselves.

If we count the loss of supplies in every region, their losses are the greatest.

Even if their accounts are flawless, there will still be issues.

If the investigation goes deep, one way or another, all the major nobles on the front line will be implicated.

However, Duke Pias is not a fool, he would rather risk offending numerous nobles of the Kingdom to expose this now, there must be other forces at play behind the scenes.

Let’s wait and see.

I am sure the upcoming story will be interesting!”

Hudson said with a cold smile.

Without a doubt, this report has a huge impact on him.

Even if nothing is found, Hudson’s reputation will be severely damaged.

After all, there are millions of officers and soldiers in charge of transporting supplies.

Dig deep enough, and someone is bound to take the fall.

A charge of negligence is unavoidable for Hudson.

But he is not without preparations.

Especially after Duke Cavadia revealed his ambition, most of the dirty, tiresome tasks hidden in the transportation duty has fallen on the nobles of the North.

This is also the direct reason for their high rate of material loss.

Once the investigation team arrives, the nobles of the North, who have the highest loss of materials, will definitely be the main focus.

He thought with this restriction, he could tie them down, but in the end, there was still trouble.

A typical “kill one thousand enemies, lose eight hundred” strategy.

If they continue investigating deeply, neither Hudson nor the nobles of the North could escape.

Even if the five dukes didn’t get involved, who could ensure that their clan members or junior members didn’t dip their hands in it?

“Hudson, are you sure there are no issues?”

Viscount Orlan asked concernedly.

He knew that lately Hudson has covertly sold a lot of strategic materials and made a fortune.

While the chamber of commerce was in charge of execution, the nobles could not be kept in the dark about these insider activities.

“Viscount, rest assured.

Part of the strategic materials that seeped out were transferred by me from the rear, while the rest were spoils of war I purchased from the Allied Forces recently.

I even kept all the relevant transaction documents.

No matter how the investigation team probes, I never laid a hand on the army’s strategic materials!”

Hudson said calmly.

The fact that he sold strategic materials is true, so there has to be a reasonable explanation for the sources of these materials.

After all, the crime of embezzling and selling strategic materials is not a light one.

Hudson doesn’t want to bear a wrongful accusation.

Many times, truth and lies can be blurred under the scrutiny of many.

He also needs people to speak for him, to testify that this is just an unfounded rumor.