Under the flickering candlelight, Martin leaned forward and whispered his intention to annex the city's aristocratic properties. Karen leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, her expression full of hesitation.

He raised his eyes, gazed through the window into the distance, and slowly spoke, "I'm afraid that the Sword Oath City cannot be defended. After all, the attackers are a transcendental army led by three golden knights. In my opinion, the Sword Oath City will be breached before the reinforcements arrive."

Although His Majesty the King had personally ordered the powerful nobles who owned fiefdoms in the North to send out troops immediately, Karen knew after a conversation with those noble representatives that the powerful nobles in the Dragon's Teeth Pass in the North did not want to fight the orcs head-on.

These nobles planned to intercept the orcs at Dragon's Teeth Pass, the second largest pass in the central North. Relying on the steep terrain of Dragon's Teeth Pass and being high above, they could effectively resist the enemy while minimizing their own casualties.

As a result, it was extremely difficult to form a coalition army. The nobles in Longya Pass only symbolically hired a few C-level and D-level mercenary groups to provide support.

Upon learning of this, Marquis Roderick was furious and sternly ordered the nobles to dispatch troops. However, only those outside Dragon Teeth Pass responded. The powerful nobles within the pass kept delaying, making various excuses. Marquis Roderick had no recourse but to grit his teeth, hoping to settle accounts with them after the war.

The king also received the news. He was silent for a moment and asked someone to silently write down the names of those nobles. Then he calmly asked Marquis Roderick to lead the Knights to integrate the coalition forces. After the integration was completed, they would go to support the Sword Oath City.

After some hesitation, Martin knew that without Karen's support, it would be impossible for the White family to swallow up the noble industries in the city. Martin thought that if the White family ate the meat, he could also have a sip of soup, so he finally decided to reveal his cards.

Approaching Karen, Martin lowered his voice with a barely perceptible hint of pride in his tone: "To be honest, I have two golden knights who obey my orders."

Karen's calm expression was instantly filled with surprise when he heard this. His eyes widened, and he was about to ask a question, but the words were swallowed back. He took a deep breath, his expression becoming serious. He stared at Martin seriously and asked word by word, "Can you completely control them?"

Martin raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said without hesitation: "Brother, you don't have to worry about this at all. Everything is under my control, no problem!"

Hearing Martin's confident explanation, Karen's tense nerves relaxed instantly and she breathed a sigh of relief. Recalling Martin's confident look when he first entered the room, Karen suddenly understood that everything seemed to have a reasonable answer.

The two of them discussed in the room, and time passed by minute by minute. The noble representatives in the study had already become impatient, and the voices of whispering became louder and louder, and complaints came one after another.

Finally, Karen pushed open the door and walked steadily into the study, with just the right amount of apology on her face: "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."

After that, he got straight to the point, discussing the placement of the nobles' properties. "Considering our long-standing friendship, the White Family is willing to take over your properties for 10% of the original price. Of course, we won't pay cash. Instead, we'll use three mines of equal value owned by the White Family as collateral. Within three years, the White Family can redeem the mines at the collateral price."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire study erupted in an uproar. The faces of the noble representatives instantly flushed crimson. Some slammed their hands on the table in anger, while others stared in disbelief, gasping and glaring at Karen as if he were a greedy plunderer.

Karen, however, remained calm. He unhurriedly picked up the cup of tea that had already gone cold, took a few sips, and let the anger of the crowd spread in the air.

After a long while, the noble representatives gradually calmed down and gathered together to discuss in a low voice.

Then, an older representative stepped forward, his tone sincere yet with a hint of helplessness: "Master Karen, the price you offer is far too low. We can't even get back our original investment. You know, many nobles have families to support, and it's already difficult to make ends meet.

We just discussed this. How about this? We're willing to exchange minerals at 80% of the market price. This is already our biggest concession."

Karen didn't buy his talk. He had never heard of any nobleman starving to death, even those without real power or fiefdom.

After some bargaining, the deal was finally concluded at 12 percent of the original price.

In reality, the noble representatives were extremely reluctant to sell their properties. They had been operating on this land for many years, and the property was the foundation of their family and a symbol of honor and wealth.

But the reality was extremely cruel. The earls and nobles in Longya Pass only cared about their own little plans and dragged their feet everywhere. The viscounts and barons below followed suit, causing the plan to send troops to support the Sword Oath City to be seriously delayed, wasting precious time in vain.

The situation is now precarious. According to the current situation, even if Lord Marquis Roderick arrives in time with the coalition of nobles outside Dragon Fang Pass, they may not be able to withstand the fierce and surging attack of the Orc Kingdom.

After all, in terms of high-end combat power, the coalition only had one Golden Knight, the Marquis. Although the Marquis' family had a deep foundation and certainly had more than one Golden Knight, who would be willing to throw their most powerful force into a war with an uncertain outcome?

By the time the main force of the Kingdom's Royal Legion arrives from afar, they'll likely only be there to clean up the mess. By then, it's hard to predict whether the war-torn Sword Oath City will still be standing.

Thinking of this, the noble representatives were filled with helplessness and sadness. Perhaps selling the property in exchange for some tangible benefits was the only way to find a way out for the family at the moment.

In the solemn atmosphere of the study, although the noble representatives were unwilling, they had no choice but to sign the property transfer agreement with Karen under the cruel circumstances.

Outside the window, carriages on the training ground slowly drove away one after another, their wheels rolling and raising dust, until the last carriage disappeared, leaving behind the assets accumulated by the nobles over the years, which also indicated that this land was about to usher in great changes.

After the nobles had left, Martin hurried to the study. His face was filled with anxiety, and upon entering, he pulled Karen aside to inquire about the details of the treaty. When he heard that the nobles' entire estate had been acquired for only 12 percent of the original price, Martin was stunned for a moment, then burst into a hearty laugh that echoed throughout the empty room, revealing his pride.

Karen looked at the excited Martin with a smile on her face, and then asked someone to call the butler. After a while, the butler came to the study, and Karen said: "Butler, you should continue to open those industries that are closely related to daily life, such as grain and oil stores, to ensure the basic life of the people in the city. Other industries should be closed for the time being, and we can do it after we survive this war." After that, he asked the butler to take over the noble industry.