Chapter 49: Slave market

                                    

                                          
Beta read by Shigiya and Fluffy Slayer 
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-The Border of Feoh-
To say the current state of affairs was in complete chaos would be an understatement. 
Baron Raul Azorius was struggling to sustain his land. The large wave of monsters created enough unrest and panic in his territory, forcing many to migrate to the neighboring kingdoms, both belonging to other Princess Knights and those outside Eostia. 
The man was a middle-aged battle-scarred, and balding warrior, who once fought as a mere soldier two decades ago under the banner of Feoh, back when the kingdom was under the rule of Migel Arcturus — the former king of Feoh and Alicia's father. A time when Celestine hadn't created the system of the Seven Shields and formed an alliance with the seven kingdoms along with her faction; the Church of Lucross. 
Having survived countless near-death battles alongside many legends against the dark forces that invaded their lands. Holding ground in Fort Laudan, when the Dark Queen launched a siege against Thorne. Then acting as reinforcement in Fort Pantielle and finally raising to the rank of esquire to a Templar after successfully killing a battalion of Lycans and Orcs, growing stronger under the guidance of the Church before his many contributions earned him the title of Baron after he retired as a Templar five years ago. Now this allowed the establishment of a small territory next to the land belonging to the Marquis Pantielle. 
"Bah! What’s the point of calling him a Marquis anymore?" Such titles lost their meaning after the establishment of the Princess Knights. The centuries-long history of each kingdom and their royal family led to near extinction by infighting, treachery, and Dark Queen killing them one by one. The only surviving members of the original royal families which ruled each kingdom were the Arcturus, the Fiorire, and the Shobijin ancestry. Ken, from what he learned, was wrought with many infightings and plots within the family that weakened their forces considerably, letting their kingdom descend into complete anarchy for a power grab. 
In the end, the families were butchered by a Demon raid organized by Olga thirty years ago. With little to no way to defend themselves, Ken fell in less than a day. It took Celestine another ten years to push the Dark Queen back and re-establish the kingdom. Having no living rulers, she established the Princess Knights system where another decade later Maia was appointed as the head of Ken. 
Thorne followed a similar route, though not much was known about what happened with that particular Royal family, were they killed, abandoned their seat of power, or integrated with the Church — nothing was known. The general history remained foggy even to people like Joshua Pantielle. Maybe Grave Levantine knew something but getting an audience with that man with his status as a mere Baron would be nigh impossible. The holy scriptures and literature distributed by the Church describe how Celestine occupied the land from the beginning and was the Royal Queen of Thorne before establishing and becoming a Princess Knight. 
To think a once powerful dominion fell so easily over such a short span of time was a terrifying reality. It put into question just how vulnerable Eostia was from any other forces outside Olga. The demihumans nation, the nation of elves, and even separate human kingdoms outside Eostia. If they were to notice the unrest and instability of the land, an invasion was very likely. The Dark Queen was just one of many disasters, and now he was faced with another dilemma. 
"Sir, we have gained another five hundred refugees this month alone. Grenzstadt won't be able to feed and house everyone if this continues on." By his side was one of his many servants and advisor — Hal. A young lad who showed many promising skills in both management and accounting. "Our granary is getting emptied faster than we can replenish them."