Chapter 1391: Chapter 1391

"...I know the rules. I’ll give half the shares to you, my lord, for your protection of my businesses. In return, I’ll give you 30% of the profits from each brothel..."

Owen Bertram raised his hand to stop him and asked, "What did you just say?"

"I’m planning to open a brothel."

"The sentence before that."

"Rock George underestimated me."

"I have learned a lot under your guidance, my lord..."

Owen Bertram was furious, "Is this what you learned under my command?!" Harrison argued shamelessly, "My Lord, I must say this: You are being discriminatory! This is unfair to those hardworking women. They dress up every day to please and serve, providing a haven for the disheartened souls who have lost passion for life. Aren’t they lovely girls?

They are good listeners, skilled in music, chess, painting, and calligraphy, and know various worldly pleasures. They make money with their professional skills, and I don’t think it’s shameful!"

Owen Bertram glared, "Get out!"

If Owen Bertram had inquired in Bottleneck Pass, he would have known that Harrison was the biggest patron of all the brothels there. When he was young, he was a rascal, squandering his days on drinking, gambling, and womanizing. If he hadn’t experienced some changes, he would have died long ago under a woman’s belly.

Harrison’s ultimate goal in life was not to destroy the Nine Witch Demon Court–that was his family’s duty–but to become the biggest brothel owner in the world!

Owen Bertram was annoyed with his two Seventh Realm subordinates. They were enthusiastic, but perhaps too enthusiastic. After Harrison was reported by Rock George, he immediately retaliated by collecting evidence of Rock George’s subordinates making false battle achievements.

It was actually "killing innocents for glory", but since they killed demons instead, Owen Bertram called in Rock George and scolded him again.

The two were completely different from Owen Bertram’s previous subordinates, but more capable. Amid their atmosphere of "mutual supervision and sabotage", the army arrived at the Demon Court’s military stronghold, Customs City.

"The next battle is bound to be fierce."

Owen Bertram didn’t tell anyone, but Customs City was actually the final target of this military campaign. He wasn’t arrogant enough to think that his 150,000 elite troops, plus 600,000 Ghost Army members, could really destroy the Nine Witch Demon Court.

Regardless of the Demon Clan’s upper-class corruption, their strength was still formidable. Many demons were born as warriors, with natural combat prowess far beyond humans.

The basic goal of Owen Bertram’s operation was to recover King Ilias’s territory; a more ambitious goal was to capture the Eight Cities of Swallow Nest, while the most optimistic outcome would be to capture Customs City. At that point, they would have to stop.

Looking at the map, Customs City was located at the intersection of two huge mountain ranges. The terrain was flat and defensible from the Eight Cities of Swallow Nest to Customs City. Beyond Customs City were several impregnable millennia-old stronghold cities of the Demon Clan, with thick walls and numerous layers of defenses, which would be difficult to conquer in a hurry. If they became entangled in prolonged sieges, they would be surrounded by the Demon Clan’s reinforcements and ultimately annihilated.

Upon capturing Customs City, Owen Bertram could use this strategic location to defend the 800-mile territory they had seized.

As Owen Bertram could see, so could the Demon Clan. The surrender of the previous dozen cities was due to both the deterrence of Owen Bertram’s sword and the demons’ realization that they couldn’t hold out and had to abandon their cities.

However, the Demon Clan would definitely hold Customs City to the death. The large-scale battle between the two armies could involve millions! As for the top combat power, the investment of the Nine Witch Demon Court in Customs City would exceed that of the Eight Cities of Swallow Nest. Owen Bertram would have to face multiple opponents of the same tier and even opponents with higher minor realms.

The demons wouldn’t bother with martial virtues. They would resort to using outnumbering tactics, wheel wars, assassinations, and so on. Owen Bertram could foresee that Rock George and Harrison wouldn’t be able to help much, so instead of asking Abner Lane and Nick Liam for help, he called Verna over with a letter.

Before the arrival of the main force, hundreds of scouts were already dispatched, and various messages were sent back to the army. As expected, Customs City was fully prepared! The Demon Court had assembled a 400,000-strong Demon Army and had stocked a vast amount of war materials in the city. Surprisingly, there were only three Tire-7 Demon Saints stationed there–but that was not the final number.

Five demon saints who once defended the Eight Cities of Swallow Nest refused to fight. They confessed in the Demon Court, "We haven’t found a way to counter Owen Bertram’s sword. It’s pointless to lose for nothing." Since they couldn’t win, there was no point in sending them.

However, Ghost Chariot General Hugo Crow disagreed, "Owen Bertram is absolutely incapable of unleashing that sword again! After the Eight Cities of Swallow Nest fell, the Wu army took three days to regroup. They must have been cleaning the battlefield and Owen Bertram must have been healing his injuries. As long as we defend Customs City, it won’t take long for the Eight Cities of Swallow Nest to return to our hands!"

One demon reminded him, "The Eight Cities of Swallow Nest have been destroyed."

Hugo Crow was vexed and angry, "We’ll rebuild them!" However, restoring the Eight Cities of Swallow Nest to their original state would require Tire-8 power, which the Demon Court currently lacked.