"Ballard Lord... I seem to have heard of it somewhere." Alyssa murmured in a low voice.
It has not been long since she officially entered the Leinforte Group, and she has not been involved in social circles before. Her knowledge of nobles is limited to the Northland family and people related to Thors. She has only heard of other famous nobles by name at most. Degree.
Of course, if the Marquis came to the Fourth Development Department to discuss business, that would be another matter. Alyssa would definitely collect information in advance and fully understand this person so that she knows herself and her enemies.
Irina has already done similar things, and this set of procedures was taught by Alyssa. As Irina's right-hand man, Sharon already knows all about Ballard's information and is ready to talk about it.
"The Marquis of Ballard, whose full name is William Ballard, is the temporary administrator of Lamar State and the last person likely to succeed Duke Kane. He is the largest partner of the group in the west and the major shareholder of the western branch. .”
"It turned out to be him."
After saying this, Alyssa remembered.
She still knew about the Western Branch, saying that it had strong support from the next Duke Kane.
Duke Kane, Alyssa and even the entire old Class VII have a bad feeling.
The largest noble in the empire, the biggest instigator of the civil war, and the leader of the "Noble Alliance" wanted to revive the great cause of his ancestor, the pseudo-emperor Otrus.
Because of his ambition, the empire suffered huge losses, imprisoned the royal family, and used Cedric to activate the "Crimson Riding God", leaving a huge shadow on the latter, which indirectly led to Crowe's death.
Having committed so many crimes, it was naturally impossible for him to be given the title of Duke again. However, taking into account the long aristocratic history of the empire and the issue of post-war revival, Emperor Jukent III did not deprive the Kane family of its hereditary title and status of the four famous families. The dukedom can still be passed on according to the normal process.
The Duke of Kane's family is sparse, and the only one who is still active is the Marquis of Ballard, but he is also the taller among the dwarfs.
There is some ability, but it is a selfish ability. Relying on his bloodline advantage and having no competitors, he only knew how to harm the public and enrich himself. During his tenure as the manager of Lamar State, he abused his power and gained a lot of benefits for himself.
Many nobles are talking behind their backs that the Kane family is really going to decline.
"What did he do?"
Sharon did not answer Alyssa's question directly, but looked at Irina first.
Sharon is very measured in what she does and has a clear sense of priorities. Her first loyalty is to Irina, followed by Alyssa.
Small things don't matter, big things will never be exceeded.
Irina said: "He ordered four new train guns, intending to use them as the biggest bargaining chip to succeed Duke Kane."
For this reason, Ballard did not ask for secrecy, but instead planned to publicize it once it was completed.
"Why would he make such a weapon? Aren't he afraid of being suspected of rebellion by the government?" Alyssa couldn't figure it out.
The Western Lamar State is the westernmost part of the Samlian continent. It has no country bordering it and the border is basically on the sea. The nearest Chu Lai city was also annexed by the empire. It can be said to be absolutely safe. There is no need to waste money and resources on building such weapons of mass destruction.
Moreover, it has only been a year and a half since Duke Kane took office, and construction at this time is really too sensitive.
"He wanted to give the train gun to the regular army in exchange for government support." Irina explained.
Ballard believed that he had no rivals among the nobility, so the only resistance could only come from the government. After all, his reputation was not good.
"It's still strange." Alyssa added, "The place where the train cannon can be most effective is the border with Kalvad, and the corresponding fortresses have plans to install it."
"I also analyze it from this aspect and feel that there is something wrong with this matter, as if someone is pushing it behind the scenes."
Hearing what Irina said, Rean's doubts were finally dispelled.
"There are indeed people behind it to cause unrest in Lamar State, and my goal is to disrupt this unrest."
"How do you want to destroy it?" Irina asked. "The agreement has been signed, and non-delivery or delayed delivery are impossible. Ballardhou has been watching this matter, and he is very clear about the progress every day. .”
“It doesn’t need to be to this extent.”
Rean shook his head. A sudden change of mind could easily arouse suspicion and lead to unexpected changes.
"I hope I can do some tricks on the train gun. Normally everything works fine, but at critical moments it gets stuck and the gun can't fire."
"This request..." Irina closed her eyes and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "It is feasible to a certain extent, Sharon, you can handle it. All of this has nothing to do with Ryan Forte, it is someone who wants to harm the group and cooperate. A device secretly installed by my partner.”
"I understand, President." Sharon smiled.
This will not affect Ryan Fult's reputation, and it will fulfill Rean's wish.
Sharon has already thought of the method. Weapons like train guns cannot be pulled out and fired twice like conventional weapons.
At most, it will be tested a few times before leaving the factory and being delivered, and it will still use blank ammunition, so you only need to do some tricks on the firing mechanism to make it stop after the test firing period.
Of course, Sharon had to find an opportunity to secretly install it herself, and there must be traces of the installation afterwards, so that Irina could shirk responsibility.
To take a step back, it doesn't matter even if what Rean is worried about doesn't happen. It can be handed over to the regular army and then find an opportunity to dismantle it. The installation and maintenance process of the train gun is different from that of ordinary weapons. Linefort needs to send a dedicated person to track and take charge, so there are many opportunities.
"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Sharon." Rean greeted with a smile.
Irina asked again: "Are there any other requirements?"
"Yes, yes, but it's not particularly urgent. During this period, you can verify the information I gave you first. You can't always be giving without getting anything in return." Li En understood the principle of accepting when something is good.
"Actually, I've been rewarded." Irina glanced at Sharon.
Li En probably guessed that the two of them had renewed their contract, and he was happy in his heart, but said: "That doesn't count, and I won't care about gains and losses in this kind of thing."
This sentence made Irina take a deep look at Rean: "You are outstanding, you can say that you are the best young man in the empire. It is very reassuring to be friends and partners with people like you, but as a Alyssa’s mother, it’s hard for me to trust you with my daughter.”
"Huh?" Li En was confused.
"Mom!" Alyssa panicked, blushing and waving her hands wildly, "I, there is nothing between us."
"Really?" Irina chuckled and said nothing more.
"President, please don't worry, I will do my best to help the eldest lady." Sharon patted her chest and expressed her stance.
Irina chuckled again.
Silly girl, I'm afraid you'll get me involved.
Men like Rean Schwarzer are poison to women.
