Chapter 88: Chapter 87 : Zudrad, A Complex Picture

The next day…

“Ralf Fawkes, no doubt, I’ve heard so much about you from Greg, it's great to finally meet you.”

Ralf was given pause as he stared at the well-dressed middle-aged man only a metre away from him. The other bubbled with excitement, causing the thick brown moustache on his face to dance wildly atop his lip. Upon spotting Ralf, Samuel had practically teleported over.

“Hey, back off, Sam,” Greg quickly intervened, grabbing his friend’s shoulder and pulling him back. “Forgive the reaction, he’s been wanting to meet you for a while now.”

“That so, then I can’t fault it. You must be Samuel right, it’s nice to meet you too,” Ralf said, sporting a friendly smile.

He had heard of the other several times by now, with him mainly being referred to as ‘Greg’s buddy from Popleigh’. Greg didn’t say much about his friend, but three facts were made clear to Ralf.

The first one was that Samuel Auburn was a Senior Advisor to Duke Arrin and a wealthy merchant, in other words, a big cheese. Ralf had no doubt that this was true. The other’s fancy dress sense furthered the notion, but it was the presence of the Range Rover-like white SUV in the background which solidified this notion. This was the first time Ralf had seen a car in this world; the middle-aged man was clearly well-off.

The second fact was that Samuel was Greg’s main partner in running the duo’s R & R brand, and was the main reason for its rapid success. And the third fact was that he was responsible for arranging the tickets needed for Greg, Hana and Ralf to attend the ‘something special’ happening today.

With all this known, Ralf put on his best face. “Greg has mentioned you as well, good to finally put a name to a face.”

“Likewise, young man,” Samuel said with a smile, aura more subdued than before. “I’ve heard all the stories from Greg, you’re simply amazing Ralf. Be it business ideas or combat endeavours, I’m enthralled, addicted even. What will you do next? I find myself asking this question so often recently, it’s driving me crazy. I must know...”

‘Whoa, this guy is pretty intense.’ Sensing the other was of the long-winded variety, Ralf quickly interjected. His palm landed on the other’s shoulder, instantly silencing him, before saying, “The answer lies in time. Don’t worry, I have a mountain of interesting things stockpiled, just stay tuned.”

Samuel’s eyes beamed at the words, and to a lesser extent, so did Greg’s. At this moment, Hana exited the front door. She approached in a sundress, hair flowing down to her shoulders. Her look was simple yet captivating, the trio of males couldn’t help think, especially Samuel, who froze in place.

“Ah, there she is. Good day Hana,” Greg greeted, ignoring his friend’s entrapment to Hana, already too used to it by now.

“Good day to you too, Greg. Mm, you must be Samuel, nice to meet you, I’m Hana, Hana Fawkes. Thanks for today, been looking forward to it,” she said, showing a slight but bright smile.

The smile thawed Samuel free. “Ah, glad to hear that, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself today. - no, I’ll make sure of that.”

“I’m counting on you then…oh, a car, is that yours, Samuel?” Hana’s eyes sparkled as she caught the motor vehicle in the background.

“Indeed,” Samuel said proudly. “Are you a fan of cars, by chance?”

Hana’s answer couldn’t be more obvious. After asking her question, she had moved toward the vehicle with giddy steps.

“I am,” she said, examining the car with eyes and Psi Scan alike. “Both the designs and how they operate, I’ve always had a fascination. Your car is splendid, Samuel.”

The middle-aged man’s moustache quivered in delight; a compliment felt good, but one from a beauty, even more so.

“Many thanks, Hana. I’m glad to hear you feel that way; I too have a great fascination with these mechanical beasts. My fascination has led to quite a collection, the largest in Popleigh to my knowledge,” the middle-aged man boosted with his chest out. “The collection is dozens in number, with all kinds of motor vehicles, from practical to pretty. If you want, I could give you a tour, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”

“I’d love that,” Hana said, joining her hands into a clap as a joyous smile adorned her face.

Samuel averted his gaze, sensing the dirt below him giving way. His eyes shifted to Ralf, who he had almost forgotten about. “What about you Ralf, are you a fan of cars?”

“The fast kind, yeah, though I’m more of a motorbike person,” Ralf confessed.

Samuel’s lips tugged up at the words. “No worries then, I also happen to have an extensive motorbike collection. You’ll definitely find something you like amongst the lot.”

Like parent like child, Ralf’s eyes also lit up. “What are we waiting for then, let’s go. We using the car?”

“Preferably,” Samuel said, desire thick in his voice. He opened the driver's side door and hopped in.

“Then, we’ll do that then. Greg, you can take the front, mom and I will take the backseat.”

“Sure sure.”

With this exchange, everyone quickly found their seats, and soon, the car was off. Ten minutes later, it exited Ganurg’s northern gate and followed the path heading northeast.

With twenty kilometres to cover, Samuel seized the opportunity and unloaded all of his curiosities. Ralf took it in stride, as he had become very used to doing; though, as usual, he kept a lot of cards close to his chest, leaving the other vibrating at the edge of his seat.

“You’ve not been to Popleigh, not even once before?”

“No,” Hana answered Greg’s question. “I heard it’s undergone some changes, but I wasn’t too interested and didn’t want to leave Ralf at home for too long…so I never made the trip over.”

“I see, then you’re in for a real experience,” Greg said cryptically. “Popleigh has undergone a lot more than some changes. The new duke has been prolific since he took over the reins.”

“Prolific,” Ralf’s attention was grabbed at the word, “in what way?”

Greg rubbed his beard. “Hmm, I think it’s best to see for yourself. Though, for someone who’s been asleep for the last five years and with no prior knowledge, it won’t hit as hard. Ralf, what do you know about this country?”

“Just the basic stuff. It’s a small landlocked country that came into existence around a hundred years ago. It’s a kingdom on paper but hasn’t had a king or unified ruler for the last twenty-eight - no thirty-three years, and instead, the nation is split and governed by six dukes.”

Thirty-three years ago, Zudrad’s fourth ruler, Albert de Rang suddenly died without leaving a clear successor. This caused quite the mess, with blood being spilt in mass. People began popping out the woodwork, making claims to the throne, with even the three neighbouring nations throwing their hats into the ring.

In the end, the dukes of the time decided to indefinitely suspend the succession race, refusing to acknowledge anyone, leading to Zudrad’s current circumstances, where each Duke ran their region largely independently. This strange arrangement, which started as a band-aid fix, had over the last three decades become the new normal for Zudrad.

“Indeed,” Greg nodded, “that is just the basic picture. There’s a lot more to this country than that. You two have been making your way upwards from Setsuna so you should know that this place, even by Southern Region standards is… incredibly backwards.”

The mother and son pair showed agreement. This was true to their experience of things.

“Architecture, culture, technology, industries, civilization level; Zudrad is way behind surrounding nations and even further behind the most developed of nations. This is, of course, not natural. This country was founded by people longing for a bygone time. Since its founding, its progress has been purposely and actively stunted. The rationale the rulers of this nation give the international community for this stunting is that this simple lifestyle is better for one’s mental health and avoids a lot of problems that are present in more highly industrial and urbanised nations.”

“They had such pure intentions,” Ralf said in a disbelieving tone.

“Ha, of course not. This is nothing but a convenient justification they use to mask their real twisted desires. The rulers never gave a damn about people’s wellbeing or anything of the sort; the last century of rule has made this very clear. They’re more interested in indulging in royalty role play. Living in castles, donning crowns and robes, wielding sceptres; it’s all ridiculous. It’d be one thing if they just wanted to do this in their private time, but to subject a whole nation to this nonsense makes my blood boil.”

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Greg took a moment to calm himself. When the topic of Zudrad was discussed, he couldn’t help but get riled up. As his birthplace, it held a special place in his heart. Taking another breath, the middle-aged man found his composure with a beard rub and continued.

“Thankfully, this farce is beginning to unravel. A future where Zudrad isn’t this backwater slums is in sight.”

“The duke is that impressive?”

“Yeah, he is, right Samuel.”

Samuel nodded, grabbing hold of the invisible baton his friend handed him. “Indeed, Vincent Arrin is something special alright. He has a grand vision for this country and has been moving swiftly to see it realised.”

The Senior Advisor’s face beamed with admiration. And it was with this admiration that he went on to give a long-winded account of the duke’s history and achievements.

The trio didn’t stop him, letting him flow as he pleased. Greg had heard this all before and amused himself by checking out the passing scenery. Hana, who had little interest in the topic did the same. Ralf himself was very interested in hearing what type of person the ruler of this domain was and listened intently.

Vincent Arrin was the previous duke’s, Clide Arrin’s, second-born son. He was raised like his brothers and lived a very privileged life. However, that all changed at age 10, when his mother, fed up with Clide’s treatment of her decided to leave him.

Together with his mother, the pair left Zudrad and settled in the Northern Region nation of Travoga, a few countries over. During this time, Vincent experienced many things and got to see first-hand the drastic disparity in the quality of life between Zudrad and developed nations.

He hated it, and the system the dukes subjected their citizens to and wanted to correct it. And so, he took action. Spending several years, he formed countless connections and built up a large faction called the White Hawk. Then, with them in tow, he returned to his birthplace.

Clide was apathetic to his long lost son’s return. Discussions were had between the two about the future of the dukedom and the nation as a whole. In the end, Vincent’s words didn’t sway his father’s stance. Clide was one cut from a similar cloth to that of many other Zudradian rulers.

However, while Vincent didn’t get everything he wanted, the talk couldn’t be said to be fruitless. Wanting to pacify his son, Clide gave Vincent an unimportant town at the edge of his territory to rule over. The old duke believed that the task would keep his son busy enough that no wild thoughts would enter his head.

However, things didn’t go as expected. With a territory to govern as he liked, Vincent went absolutely wild. He didn’t just manage the place, he thoroughly transformed it, turning Lycra from the no-nothing town it was into the icon it is currently.

Vincent threw everything he had into developing Lycra, using all the money and connections he had available. Given the plethora of both and the power of Psi, things were made to move at an incredible rate.

In the span of a few months, Lycra’s civilization level was brought up to the level of Northern Region nations. With all the essentials of a modern city, it was the one area in Zudrad that wouldn’t be out of place if relocated to a developed nation.

The then duke and his fellow dukes didn’t like what was happening. Still, they didn’t take any strong action, for they knew that would be unwise. Vincent’s White Hawk wasn’t just a bunch of weaklings. He had recruited dozens of combatants to his side, with a handful of especially strong combatants ready to fight on his behalf.

They weren’t flimsy allies either - no, all followed him wholeheartedly, believing in the vision he laid out. The reason for this loyalty stemmed from the fact that most of them were ex-Zudradians, who themselves were fed up with the system. So while they could betray Vincent for someone else, that someone else would never be the dukes at the time.

With no one to stop him, Vincent pushed the pedal to the floor. Lycra expanded upwards and outwards, growing bigger and more marvellous by the day. Vincent presented the city as a golden opportunity, not just for those in Zudrad but the international community.

Both bit the hook he set out. Zudradians from all over came to experience what they were missing out on while big-name corporations and brands invested money into the city.

When Ralf heard that Lycra was Vincent’s doing, his opinion of the new duke instantly shot up. You see, Lycra wasn’t just another concrete jungle, it was essentially Zudrad’s Las Vegas equivalent.

It was a place dedicated to pleasure and entertainment. The small city was constantly lit up, dazzling in various colours. Large and magnificent structures, from high rise buildings to colossal works of exquisite art were commonplace. It was the place to be and one he had wanted to go to since first arriving in Zudrad all those years ago.

Vincent knew that to attract bees, one needed a sweet scent, and Lycra exuded the sweetest scent in Zudrad. People came flocking in mass. And just like Las Vegas, Lycra was incredibly wealthy. The casinos, hotels, Battle Arenas, expensive shows and events brought in a colossal amount of money.

Even when subtracting the money he had to pay to investors, outside interests and taxes, Vincent’s pouches remained overflowing. In the span of a few years, he catapulted himself to be Zudrad’s richest person, and this was while he poured as much money as he could into his various projects.

Lycra was on its way to becoming a major metropolis. However, its ascendancy was stunted at a sudden happening, Clide’s death five years ago. It had come about due to a conflict at the border with Zudrad’s eastern neighbour, Ronda.

While the dukes kept mostly to themselves, when it came to national affairs, they would stand together at the drop of a hat. Clide, along with several of his sons made their way over to the other side of Zudrad, armed forces in tow.

The bloody incident was over the discovery of some valuable ores in a disputed area. Both nations claimed the ores as their own and were unwilling to let the other have them. When the initial negotiations fell through, battle ensued, and it was during this battle that Clide and two of his sons died. With the death of a duke, things got extremely heated. So heated that the Pillar Faction’s attention was grabbed. Fanged Hunters rocked up, and negotiations quickly began. In the end, an agreement was made and both nations pulled back.

At this point during Samuel’s story, Ralf couldn’t help but scratch his hairless chin. Samuel saw this and quickly interjected with:

“No no, as goal-orientated as Vincent is, even he would never kill his own father. I’ve known him for quite a while and he’s not that type of person. Right, Greg.”

“Yeah. If anything, it’s more likely that the other dukes killed him. With the Great Ocelot Forest at its back, the Arrin Dukedom has always been the most prosperous region in Zudrad.”

Ralf ceased his chin scratches at the two’s words, however, the possibility wasn’t erased from his head. The middle-aged pair didn’t bother to convince him further.

Samuel continued with his account.

With the Arrin Dukedom duke-less, Vincent’s eyes flashed with opportunity. No matter how wealthy he became, there was only so much he could do as a tycoon. Knowing the value of the position, he quickly moved to obtain it. The local nobles opposed him, but at that point, Vincent was an unstoppable force. He became a duke in no time. From there, he used his new influence and might to crush the old regime and bring a new era to the Arrin Dukedom.

“He’s been doing a lot, though obviously, there’s still much to be done. The southwest region, Ganurg and Lagner are in, hasn’t seen any changes. His main focus has been developing Popleigh. Instead of fixing up a bunch of villages and towns, he intends to transform and expand Popleigh into a major metropolis that ends up engulfing everything else. Things have been going slower than he likes, but it’s still moving quickly.”

Samuel gestured to the window. “Those electric towers, cables, roads and train tracks over there; soon they’ll snake throughout the entire dukedom. From the estimates I heard, it’ll take half a year at most.”

“The plans that were previously meant for Lycra is now being used for Popleigh. It’s a more ideal location after all. As for Lycra, it’s still being maintained. Now, its main purpose is to act as a money pouch to fund the Duke’s projects in this region, but mostly Popleigh. It’s all part of the Duke’s grand plan, and so far it’s working. There’s been a great shift towards Zudrad’s western region and it’s all his doing. He’s an incredible man…Vincent is.”

Hearing Samuel till the end, Ralf’s opinion of Vincent was somewhere high in the clouds.

“He certainly sounds it. I’d like to meet him someday, maybe trade some ideas.”

Samuel’s eyes brightened at Ralf’s words. “I’d love for that to happen as well. I’d say it’s an inevitability. The Duke loves to meet interesting and talented people, you’re probably already on his radar.”

“Hm, I see. Then, I’ll begin prepping my speech.”

“Do so. Oh, we’re finally here.”

Coming to the top of the incline, the group was given a full view of Popleigh’s majesty.

They had arrived.

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