The Herald's Difficulties

While the mineral resources of the Rocky Lands and the Goblin Wasteland were certainly tempting, for someone like him determined to build a empire, both places had a fatal flaw:

The rainfall is too low, and the land is severely desertified.

Even if one could earn mountains of gold coins through mining and trade, one still couldn't farm or support a population.

Ye Wei'an knew very well that grain was the foundation of his rule.

Developing these two locations would mean that the lifeline of the territory would forever be in the hands of the kingdom. If a falling out were to occur with the powerful figures of Susar in the future, the other side could simply cut off the food supply lines, and the painstakingly built territory would crumble without a fight amidst famine.

Ye Wei'an's gaze swept past those two places and finally settled on the green area surrounded by mountains on the west side of the map—the Thun Plain.

"Compared to the previous two regions, the Thun Plain is indeed more humid, and theoretically can achieve extremely high grain yields," the official noticed his gaze and reminded him, "but there is a huge problem on the Thun Plain—the Thun River."

"This river is chaotic and floods every year, turning the Thun Plain into vast swamps. If you don't manage the flooding and drain the swamps, it will just be a breeding ground for mosquitoes and snakes, and you can't grow crops at all."

Looking at the Tu'en River on the map, which was flooded due to siltation and numerous tributaries, Ye Wei'an suddenly thought of something.

Both are surrounded by mountains

Both are basin terrain

Similarly, poor river management led to fertile fields turning into marshes.

This reminded him of his hometown, Sichuan, which was known as the "Land of Abundance".

The ancient sages there faced the same predicament until the miracle known as "Dujiangyan" appeared, which turned the turbulent Minjiang River into a life-giving rain that nourishes thousands of miles.

For Ye Weian, the lack of land in the Thun Plain was never the lack of a "Dujiangyan" that could effectively divert floods and transform the landscape.

Once successfully managed, the Thun Plain will no longer be a swamp, but the most fortified granary in the western border of Cormier.

Only when he had enough food to be self-sufficient could he truly break free from the constraints of the royal family and gain the ability to be independent.

"No need for introductions," Ye Wei'an made his decision. "I'll choose the Thun Plains."

The official was taken aback, clearly not expecting the young count's son to choose this notoriously "quagmire."

He adjusted his glasses and kindly reminded him, "Sir, I must warn you, although the Thun Plain has a high potential, the difficulty of governing it is astronomical. If you can't cultivate any farmland, your investment may rot in the mud during the first rainy season. It would be better to go to the other two places; at least you can see output by occupying a mine. The cost is low and the results are quick."

"That's my business." Ye Wei'an withdrew his hand. "Can the formalities be completed?"

Seeing this, the officials said no more, after all, in Susar, everyone has the right to choose how they die.

He took out a bronze seal, pressed it heavily onto the red-hot sealing wax, and then put it into the document basket beside him: "In that case, sir, your application has been officially filed. Please come here in two days with your identification to collect the official pioneering order."

After finishing this matter, Ye Wei'an left the administrative hall of "Border Affairs and Territorial Development" and headed to the Heraldry office on the other side of the hall.

The herald was a nobleman in his fifties, impeccably dressed, with an elegant lace embellishment around his collar.

When Ye Wei'an explained his purpose and submitted an application to confirm the noble status of "Ye Wei'an Xia Xing", the herald officer's gaze lingered for a moment on the "child born out of wedlock" section of the application.

Almost instantly, his reserved smile faded, replaced by a cold indifference that exuded a sense of superiority.

"So he's Baron Harandil's... eldest son." The herald officer emphasized the last two words, casually closing the register. "The procedures for bloodline verification and heraldry conferment are extremely complicated."

"Earl Wafred has confirmed this, the documents are here, you just need to verify and file them," Ye Wei'an reminded him.

"Oh, clerk, yes." The herald officer lazily walked to the back of the archives, casually flipped through them a few times, and then returned empty-handed. "Unfortunately, it seems that Xia Xing's genealogy record has not yet been sent to the Herald Academy, or it was lost during the sorting process."

"How long will it take?" Ye Wei'an asked.

"Three or four days, a week, or even a month... who knows? Heaven knows how many barons Cormier has, the relevant documents are piled up like mountains, finding proof of an illegitimate child is no easy task." The heraldic officer shrugged, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery.

"You old bastard—!"

Eileen's anger surged instantly. She took a step forward, clenched her slender hand into a fist, and slammed it hard on the marble countertop between the two of them.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, a grotesque crack appeared on the thick, blue marble countertop.

The heraldry officer screamed in fright at the sudden violence, lost his balance and fell back into his chair, his face turning deathly pale.

"Eileen, step back." Lina calmly reached out to stop Eileen, who was about to continue, then leaned close to Yevian's ear: "My lord, this is Susar. A heraldic officer has no reason to target you. Could it be Count Wafred who's behind this?"

Ye Wei'an didn't think so.

In his view, he had indeed offended Earl Wafred, but he left just in time and never stopped along the way.

Even if Wafred rushed to send a message to Susar, he couldn't possibly bribe the officials of the Royal Court within hours of entering the city.

Why this person is making things difficult for him needs further investigation.

Thinking of this, a strange purple light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"Second-level spell, Detect Thoughts!"

At the same time, the herald finally got up from the floor.

Although his legs were weak, he felt a little more confident when he saw the Purple Dragon Guards walking slowly behind the pillars of the hall.

"You've gone mad! You've gone completely mad! You barbarians! This is the Royal Court! Keep your men in check, or I'll have the guards throw you all into the dungeon right now!"

Ye Wei'an looked around.

The courthouse was heavily guarded, with patrol squads visible every few dozen meters: a Lv.3 Purple Dragon Knight accompanied by two Lv.2 Heavy Warriors.

On the terrace high above the hall, at least one Lv.5 battle mage was watching the commotion below.

In fact, Ye Wei'an had also considered using magic to forcibly control the other party to pass the application.

However, under such tight arcane monitoring and military intimidation, he was unable to cast mind control magic in full view of everyone.

If he triggers a fluctuation in the magic network, he may be labeled as "maliciously attacking" by the battle mages on standby.

Noticing the battle mage's gaze sweeping in their direction, Ye Wei'an withdrew the purple light from his eyes.

"Since you can't find it now, then please hurry up." Ye Wei'an didn't press the matter further, simply uttering those words in a cold tone.

The herald officer, however, assumed Ye Wei'an had backed down and grew even more arrogant: "Mr. Xia Xing, in Susar, rules are rules. Who knows how long it will take? You can go back and wait for news, or... go pray at a few more temples, maybe the documents will pop up by themselves tomorrow."

Ye Wei'an gave him a deep look, then turned and left with the others without saying another word.

As she walked out of the courthouse, Eileen finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Master, that old bastard was just muttering in there, saying something about 'a mere bastard wanting to be a nobleman, he's just polluting the noble bloodline'... I should have knocked his teeth out one by one!"

As a martial monk, her senses were extremely sharp, and even through the thick stone walls, the gossip could not escape her ears.

"What?" Volodya and Kleb's faces instantly darkened.

In the eyes of these confidants, Ye Wei'an was not only their lord, but also a powerful figure they recognized.

In terms of ability and skill, who is more qualified to represent the Xia Xing surname?

This arrogance, purely based on their birth, made them feel extremely humiliated.

"My lord, is it really not because they sent word from the Eastern Territory?" Lina frowned worriedly. "This deliberate obstruction, if it's to curry favor with the Earl..."

"It wasn't them." Ye Wei'an shook his head, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. "I just saw it. That old man doesn't have that many schemes in his head. He just purely and deeply despises bastards. In a place like Susar, you could throw a brick in the street and hit four barons. Among so many nobles, who knows how many are useless parasites? For these people, bloodline is their only fig leaf to be proud of. For someone like me to appear in the Royal Court is an 'insult' to him."

"So we're just going to put up with this?" Volodya asked gruffly.

"Tolerance? In Susar, tolerance will only make these hyenas think you're weak and easy to bully." Ye Wei'an shook his head. "But he's right about one thing: this is Susar. Rules, power, and connections are the weapons here. I'll find someone to put pressure on him—since he thinks I, his illegitimate son, am not important enough, then find someone he can't afford to offend to remind him how to do the paperwork."

"Do you have a suitable candidate?" Lina asked.

"Susar has no shortage of self-important nobles, but it also has no shortage of clever people who would sell out their ancestors for profit." Ye Wei'an's lips curled into a playful smile. "Let's go, let's have a good meal first, we can talk about it tomorrow."