Wonderful!

Basil felt dazed when he was escorted out of the reception room by the footman who led him there, not quite understanding what was going on.

The Twin City Cup?

To be fair, it did sound like a tourney.

'What is even going on? I've brought imperial military elites here, ready to make a display of martial force only to be sucker-punched before I reach the city. And now, the one I was about to show off to is going to show off his power instead?

'Isn't this straight up treason!?'

Basil recovered with another pinch of cold sweat dripping over his body.

Nonetheless, he noticed certain unusual things after he calmed down.

True, Lancaster was a relatively prosperous trading city which paid the most in annual taxes across the North, matching even several important cities in the Valla Empire—and that was without the imperial capital taking a closer look at their books.