Chapter 795: Section 536: Bright Mirror (3)_2
Old Hagelberry was very satisfied after listening—compared to how the Northern Kingdom deals with such traitorous subjects, they use the Blood Eagle torture.
Malin, this child, is still too merciful.
With this thought, Old Hagelberry saw the crowd part very tacitly, a middle-aged man fell to the ground, apparently having fainted.
The paladins from the Church of Justice were empathetic; those who grabbed chairs, those who grabbed potions, those who pinched mouths, and even one who, upon finding a mouth that could not be opened, physically punched the Minister of Finance’s stomach to force open the mouth for the potion. After swiftly accomplishing this, Old Hagelberry watched as the pitiful Minister of Finance broke free from the paladins’ grasp and knelt before the assembly and His Majesty.
"I and the Prime Minister, no, this sinful subject was coerced by the traitor Sanders! He said if I did not comply, he would send my illegitimate son to battle! Your Majesty! I and my wife have borne nine daughters! There is but this one son! I am guilty! But please spare my children!"
Old Hagelberry glanced sideways at Sanders, the former Prime Minister in everyone’s eyes, who was shivering, evidently devastated by his close friend’s betrayal at the crucial moment.
Alas, you see, what was supposed to be a profitable venture, turned into a human tragedy by this bald man, how lamentable.
"Guards, please have the former Minister of Finance step aside, and Sir Malin, have you discovered anything else?"
"Yes, still concerning the Minister of Finance, I had previously sold rear-loading cannons to your army generals, which after usage received rave reviews, and your military ordered three hundred from me, also through the Minister of Finance, Sanders, the former Prime Minister recorded here as winter, day forty-three, Minister of Finance Mack Dressey purchased from Malin’s workshop a batch of cannons, three hundred new rear-loading cannons, along with forty-five thousand accompanying cannonballs, the accounts clear, verified without error, hereby recorded."
"Are not the numbers of cannons correct?" His Majesty Manheim’s voice was filled with joy, but his face showed no hint of happiness, Old Hagelberry even saw the concealed fury in the man’s eyes.
"Yes, the number of cannons is correct, after all a rear-loading cannon costs twenty thousand Mowish each, and they aren’t produced in high quantities, I had no reason to give extras. But the list came that three thousand cannonballs were ordered, out of the kindness of helping our human brethren against Chaos, we went ’buy two, get one free,’ gifting fifteen thousand cannonballs." Malin said with a smile, then turned to glance at the Minister of Finance: "Mack, you truly are a genius, you even dared to tell the military that Sir Malin had oversold you one-third of the cannonballs, the fools in the military truly believed it."