Chapter 590 - 500 Belvan’s Philosophy (Combined)
His lover didn’t understand Maxwell, but she was considerate enough to offer him the comfort he needed, and Maxwell quickly rallied his flagging spirits.
Even if the Royal Family didn’t take the threat from the Dwarves seriously, and the Nobles and Landlords within the domain didn’t believe a war would occur, Maxwell did not give up.
The aged Earl first hastily imposed a tax, then dismissed the remaining Minstrels in his mansion, and called upon more able-bodied men to enlist, borrowing money from traders to fortify the border. His various measures met with massive opposition from the Nobles and Landlords, and he faced great difficulties, but he stubbornly and obstinately prepared for war.
During this time, Maxwell wrote no fewer than ten letters to the Royal City, the content of which revolved around warnings against the Dwarves, requests for assistance, and the dispatch of soldiers, but without exception, he received no response from the King. Those dozen or so letters brought Maxwell nothing but a chest of copper coins sent by the Minister of Finance.
"What a stubborn old mule!"
"No one can persuade him unless the Gods appear before him."
"Nakbet had better send him to the Great Plain quickly; there’s no place for such a ’Hero’ here."
Because of Maxwell’s persistence, the opposing voices of the Nobles and Landlords within his domain gradually turned into insults, but the old Earl didn’t care one bit, continuing to go his own way.
What those Nobles and Landlords didn’t know was that Maxwell wished for war to break out less than anyone else.
And once war did break out, he would have to be prepared to win.
These feelings were also reflected in the old Earl’s worship,
in the morning he prayed to Scatty, the deity he had always believed in, that war would not occur, while at night, he implored the God of Victory, Laiendos, to ensure that Golan would triumph if war did break out.