325 - 330

Three Requests

Here's the second release of the week! I'll be going to my hometown tomorrow, but the chapters will still be released as usual, albeit possibly at slightly different times.

Fiercetiger Loze stepped through the inn's entrance, feeling rather good with his performance during the afternoon. He had racked up nine consecutive victories and won four sets of knights' armor, four mounts, and more than 200 gold Fordes. Selling the spoils he got to a reseller netted him another 200 Fordes, so he decided to treat a few of the friends he made in the wandering knight's tent to some drinks. He had heard that The Rose, a tavern nearby, had hired a number of wild dancer maidens. They charged so much for their service that few could enjoy it.

Loze patted his money pouch with a lewd smile, thinking of the relaxing time he would have later that night. Since the second round of the competition would only begin in a few days, he wasn't worried that he would be too worn out from the 'workout session'. Just as he was about to head out, he saw Tarkel standing before him angrily.

It's over, thought Loze.

He had been bargaining with the merchant a few minutes earlier and had forgotten to lower his visor again.

Tarkel saw Loze desperately trying to escape his notice and smiled.

"Sir Loze, stop trying to hide. Our Lord already recognized you when you were fighting this afternoon. He wants you to see him during dinner, you know the place. Good luck," advised he.

...

Currently, Loze was standing curled up in front of Lorist, as if it would make him invisible. Lorist was angered and amused at the same time at his pathetic state.

"Stand properly. Don't shrivel up in the corner like a turkey. Loze, what do you have to say about leaving your legion behind to come play in the city? Can you tell me where that your legion is?"

"The legion is fine, Milord, Yuriy is in command. It's just 30 kilometers outside the city. It can make it here in time if anything happens," reported Loze as he stood up straight.

"So that's why you abandoned your post to participate in the tournament?"

"Yuriy wanted to come too, Milord, but he lost in a round of rock-paper-scissors, so I'm the one who got to come," explained Loze in a troubled manner.

"You guys... really get on my nerves," said Lorist, not knowing how he should admonish his subordinates all of a sudden.

Baron Shazin came in at that moment and saved Loze.

"Oh? Loze, you're here too?" he said before he pulled at Lorist without listening to Loze's reply, "Locke, come with me! Let me introduce you to someone. Hahaha, I'm really too delighted today. Did you know that Bonawa finally agreed to be my household knight? Let me tell you, Bonawa..."

Lorist was thusly dragged out of the room by Baron Felim without being able to say anything else to Loze. Howard followed closely behind.

"Well," Els mumbled, "I should rally the guards and follow."

Loze looked at the rest still in the room.

"I should be fine now, right?" asked he.

"Well, given how busy our lord has been over the past few days, I don't think he'll recall that he hasn't punished you yet," answered Josk.

"I'll go take a rest now. I still have to accept challenges tomorrow," yawned Reidy, leaving.

"As long as you perform well and don't anger our lord, he might just let you off," said Tarkel.

"I don't care anymore," answered Loze, rolling his eyes, "I won quite a bit today, so drinks are on me tonight. I heard the tavern hired a few magnificent dancers, how tempting."

"I ain't going, I still have a match tomorrow," declined Josk.

"I'll go with you for a drink, but you can keep the women," agreed Tarkel.

...

The one Baron Felim wanted to introduce to Lorist was Knight Bonawar, whom he had met on the way to Windbury. According to the baron, he had been promoted alongside the man because of his contributions right after joining the second prince. Baron Felim kept charging into the forefront of the conflict and his performance increased as the danger did. Unlike Lorist's deceased elder brother, however, Baron Felim suffered no lasting injuries from his military exploits. Even though the unit the second prince assigned to his command was frequently beaten up, the baron had always managed to lead his household troops back safely.

Knight Bonawar was a different kind of officer. He was raised to the art of war based on the traditional tenets of the Krissen Empire. He focused on military regulation and efficiency, and monitoring casualties. He was one of the most well-received commanding officers among the second prince's subordinates. Of the three victorious battles that preceded the founding of the Iblia kingdom, two were thanks to Bonawar.

One involved the elimination of the noble army of the first prince's faction. Bonawar had commanded a ragtag bunch against the army, which had numbered 18 thousand, and still managed to emerge victorious after three months. The battle led to the crumbling of the army and the eventual extermination of the houses involved on the enemy's side. If the battle had not ended as it had, the first prince would have influence over Southern and might even threaten Winston's peace.

The other battle was when the second prince led his troops to attack the Melein duchy for the first time, only to be defeated by the Fiercegale legion. At the time, Duke Melein led his troops in pursuit of the second prince. When the second prince was at his wit's end, Bonawar, who had been sent there with some food, managed to arrive in time to save the second prince. The second prince had already given up all hope and even excused himself by saying he'd go to Duke Fisablen's to borrow soldiers for a comeback, intent on leaving the mess of a battlefield to Bonawar. However, the situation did not faze the knight and he ordered the logistics heavy-armored troops to pick another spot and set up camp while he reorganized the remnants of the army. He used the opportunity when Duke Melein pressed his pursuit to cut off their path of retreat and managed to turn the battle in their favor. It ended with Bonawar's victory and the extermination of all 8000 of the enemy. Duke Melein managed to escape but with only ten riders from his personal guard.

Despite being such an accomplished tactician, Bonawar had always been the target of the second prince's jealousy and oppression given his straightforward demeanor and impressive reputation. When the time came to entitle the nobles who had contributed to the kingdom's founding, despite his contributions, which qualified him for peerage at at least the level of baron, the second prince requested he pay a hefty sum to fill the kingdom's barren coffers before he could be entitled and enfeoffed land. It made him leave with anger and coop up in his manor for a long time.

Since the Lorist's group encountered Bonawar's group en route to Windbury, Baron Felim had spent a few days looking for his whereabouts in the city and finally managed to locate him. After asking about his situation, the baron learned the knight was not faring too well. The relationship between House Felim and House Bonawar actually went far back, with his ancestor actually being a baron. However, due to an incident at Windbury that caused House Bonawar to lose their peerage, he was left with just a knight's manor in Southern.

Just like how Baron Felim had been, Bonawar was trying hard to revive his house. It was too bad he wasn't as recklessly brave as Baron Felim. While he was also a one-star-gold-ranked knight, he wasn't particularly talented in battleforce training. In other words, he was only a talented tactician.

He had come to participate in the tournament because he didn't have much of a choice. As he put it, he was there to 'sell himself' and find a decent house to serve. The 50 or so young men he had at the manor had a really hard time defending it. Southern had been ruined by the war between the second highness and Duke Melein, and the province was overrun by beggars and deserters-turned-bandits. Even though he came from an accomplished military family, he was helpless before the thousands of bandits and had to consider the safety of the women and children in his manor.

That was why Bonawar finally decided to try his luck in the tournament. Any choice that made his house safe was a good one. Given his lack of martial talent, he didn't think that people would actively recruit him, so he could only rely on those who knew his reputation to come to him.

It was too bad that he had been refused an audience with the queen, whose time was far too precious to spend on a knight. He was similarly unable to meet Duke Fisablen, who was busy with his own matters. On the third day, he traveled around to socialize with the nobles of Southern with whom he was familiar. While they did recognize his talents, given Iblia's horrid state, there wasn't much room for him to use his skills.

It was at that moment that Baron Felim made his visit and even came over for the next few days. When Bonawar found out that House Felim had formed a legion of 46 thousand in The Northlands, he was finally convinced. Baron Felim made it a point to mention that, while letting the troops of the second prince perish under his lead was fine since they weren't his own, the house's new legion was one constructed with lots of effort and funding, so the baron wasn't willing to just throw it away. Bonawar's style of command was cautious but effective, so Felim felt he was the perfect man for the job.

Felim was completely elated when Bonowar pledged allegiance to his household. He held banquets for three days straight. Lorist was present throughout and even made some suggestions. He offered to have Reidy, Josk, and a thousand of his own guards go along with the baron's own guard to transport the knight's family to their new home safely after the tournament concluded.

Windbury regained some of its former livelihood thanks to the tournament. It was far livelier than before, at least. Even the marketplace looked rather prosperous. The nobles had also partially gone back to their previous leisurelY lifestyles. A large feast was held at the Rose Palace once every three days and a smaller party in

between. Every night, there would be a ball where elaborately dressed noblemen and ladies would dwell throughout the night.

It all felt pointless to Lorist, which further exacerbated his boredom. Not only was he forbidden from participating in the tournament, he didn't like to interact with other nobles either, especially those at the balls who greeted each other superficially wearing their fancy masks. The noble ladies flocked about him were more than willing to share his bed, but not without some sort of remuneration. Lorist was no saint either and had sexual urges like everyone else. However, his current situation made it inappropriate for him to sleep around. He had come to the city to win the princess's hand, after all. Should he act promiscuously and carelessly, rumor would no doubt spread across the city only to incite the princess's anger.

But for some reason, even after 12 days passed, Princess Sylvia had yet to return to Windbury. Duke Fisablen was visibly angered, which prevented Lorist from meeting with him and making his proposal. It frustrated Lorist greatly as well. The silver lining was that the house's reputation grew by leaps and bounds during the tournament. To no one's surprise, Josk had become the champion of the archery segment. Reidy managed to defeat a gold rank with his silver rank battleforce in ten-odd minutes, much to the shock of the audience.

The jousting segment, which was the largest among the three, had also just entered its second round. Two of the top ten were knights of House Norton, with Fiercetiger Loze obtaining the champion's seat. Lorist decided that, as reward, he wouldn't be punished. The other winner was Els. The two had successfully defeated their enemies in quick succession and earned the right to enter the third round, which would begin in a few days and would decide the ultimate winner.

During the second round, Loze was faced with Count Dalek. The two had clashed many times and exchanged hundreds of blows before Count Dalek surrendered. That evening itself, Lorist received word of Count Dalek and Count Chujway's departure for their dominions.

Was my gut wrong? Lorist thought, stroking his chin, Weird, those two seem like they came for nothing but the tournament, they left the moment they lost.

Perhaps, he was being over sensitive about everything because he was worried about Princess Sylvia.

When the jousting's third round began, Tarkel came to Lorist.

"Milord, Duke Fisablen left with a squad of guards for Eastwild early this morning. We think he's probably there to bring the princess over. After all, many of the nobles participating in the knighthood tournament want to witness her famed beauty. Some of them have already started complaining and some rumors are floating about that the princess left because she was scolded by the duke. That's probably why he has no choice but to go fetch the princess himself."

Duke Fisablen managed to rush back before the third round was over. He was just in time to present Fierceger Loze first prize. During the ceremony, Duke Fisablen didn't look particularly well; his laughter seemed a little forced but everyone knew the reason was the princess's refusal to follow him back.

The moment they left the stadium, Lorist saw one of the duke's guards who said that the duke wished to meet him at the pavilion.

"Your Grace, I wonder if I can be of service in any way?" asked Lorist when he saw the worn-out duke.

Duke Fisablen breathed a long sigh before he said, "Locke, I know why you've come. You want to form a union with House Fisablen by marrying Sylvia, right?"

"That's right, Your Grace," replied Lorist straightforwardly.

"Time really flies, to think that lass is of marriageable age already," the duke mused, "It must be because I spoiled her so much when she was young and caused her temper to develop like that. It has been incredibly embarrassing for me. You guys must have had a great laugh at my expense."

Lorist merely listened on, speechless.

"I don't oppose an alliance with your house, nor a marriage between you and my granddaughter. In fact, I am looking forward to it," said Duke Fisablen.

"Oh," Lorist started, "Your Grace, does that mean you agree?"

"That's right. I hold you in high regard, Locke. The moment the matters are settled, you'll have to call me grandpa, haha" the duke said before giving a hearty laugh, "However, I'm a little curious about the kind of price House Norton is willing to pay in exchange for my precious and beloved Sylvia."

"Your Grace, please feel free to state your demands. As long as they are within my house's capabilities, we will definitely not let you down," promised Lorist as he thumped on his chest.

"Alright, I like how frank you are. I only have three requests. First, I will require House Norton start ten new factories in Wild Husbandry so House Fisablen will be self sufficient in two years. Don't worry, I won't force you to build refineries, only factories for daily necessities. Can that be done?"

"No problem," Lorist nodded.

Duke Fisablen stared at Lorist with his hawk-like eyes, stretched out his second finger, and said, "Second, I want ten thousand sets of the armor your personal guard wears. That's the minimum."

"Your Grace, we only managed to produce three thousand sets of these ourselves, yet you're asking for 10 thousand! That would amount to more than two million gold Fordes already and is incredibly troublesome! But for Princess Sylvia's sake, you have a deal!" agreed Lorist.

"Haha, good," Duke Fisablen cheered, "My last request is not even worth mentioning, to be honest. You know that Sylvia is the treasure of our household, so I wish for her to not suffer any discomfort when she goes to you. How about this, all you have to do is to have your concubines and illegitimate children leave House Norton to spare my Sylvia the pain of not being your one and only."

Apologies

Hi guys, here's this week's third release. Just got off a long car trip and finally have a chance to rest. Cya guys tomorrow!

That last request was a given in Duke Fisablen's mind. When two noble houses unite in marriage, the household of the bride has a right to request the groom's house to exile their concubines so that they don't cause any trouble during succession in the future. At the same time, there would no longer be an incentive for the illegitimate children to harm the rightful heir.

That was the case with the third prince and Duke Melein's daughter's marriage. The third prince had four concubines prior to his engagement, with one of them being a daughter of a minor noble who had given birth to a son. She was unwilling to leave and propped her son up as the result of her efforts of serving the third prince. In the end, the former emperor had to poison her drink to ensure the successful union of the imperial family and the Melein house and send the two-year-old illegitimate son somewhere far away where he would never be heard from again.

The union of two noble houses through marriage didn't only show the favorable relationship between the two houses, it also related to the benefits those two houses would receive upon their union. The first two requests made by Duke Fisablen looked out for the interests of his own house. In terms of total cost, Lorist would have to pay out roughly three million gold Fordes to be allowed to wed Princess Sylvia.

However, the final request was made for the princess's own sake so that she would live a life of bliss, untroubled by the jealous wiles of the other women in the Norton household.

Lorist kept quiet the whole time after he heard the third request.

Duke Fisablen was in a very good mood when he said, "Servants, have some food served here. I wanna have a few cups with Locke right now."

"I apologize," Lorist said, "Your Grace, I won't be able to do it."

"Huh? What are you saying?" the duke asked disbelievingly while turning around. He still had his finger outstretched from when he instructed his servants, which seemed to be frozen in place like a withered branch.

"Your Grace, I am unable to fulfill your third request," Lorist said as he raised his head and looked at the duke solemnly.

Duke Fisablen stared fixedly at Lorist's face before he croaked, "Aha... ha... haha... Count... Count Norton... You're just joking around with me, right?"

Lorist shook his head and said, "I am serious. To me, they have become my women the moment I took them in as concubines, and I am their man. Men of the Norton house don't abandon their women. Not only that, I believe that Sylvia will understand and accept why I think so too."

Bam! Duke Fisablen thrust his palm harshly against the table, causing it to crumble into several pieces on the ground. Standing up, the duke exploded like a flaming volcano, "Whether Sylvia understands or not is her own matter. But are you really willing to refuse the request of I, of House Fisablen?"

Lorist stood up without showing any weakness and said, "I only care about Sylvia, not House Fisablen. I've already accepted the first two requests of your house, but I would never allow House Fisablen to stick their hands into the affairs of my house. You have no right to demand that I abandon my women!"

Duke Fisablen was so angered that fumes seemed to waft out from his head. "You... You requested to be allowed to marry Sylvia from our house, yet you're unwilling to give up on other women. Is this the 'care' you said you had for her?"

"Does that sound conflicting to you?" Lorist asked and laughed, "It's because I care for Sylvia that I want her to be my official wife, the matron of House Norton. She will have everything that she is due, but she has to respect the traditions of the Norton house as well. Should she become my wife, she will have to treat my other women well also. That is one of her responsibilities as the matron," declared Lorist now that negotiations have completely fallen off the table.

"You... You insolent little!" roared the duke, almost coughing blood into Lorist's face. What do you think the Fisablen house is?! You said that the most precious flower of our house has to take care of your other women after being wedded there? Ridiculous! If word of this spreads, how would I be able to show my face in front of others in future?! We are not like those other fallen noble houses! We are House Fisablen, the Lion of the Northern Grasslands!

Duke Fisablen glared at Lorist with anger as the energies within his body coalesced. His right hand was already holding tightly onto the longsword hanging by his hip, as if he wanted to cut Lorist into two halves.

While Lorist seemed incredibly relaxed with both his hands down, his feet had already gotten into a steady position, ready to receive the duke's rage at any moment. If gazes and thoughts could materialize, the space between Lorist and Duke Fisablen would've been obliterated.

"Count Norton, give up on your concubines and illegitimate children. This is the request of House Fisablen, and is also the requirement you have to fulfill to take Sylvia as your wife. It is also your chance to express your sincerity to her. If you can't do that, I will take it as an affront against the Fisablen house. Do not test our patience. As her grandfather, I will definitely not allow her husband to have other women and children," said the duke after a long while as he greatly suppressed his anger.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace. I mentioned that I wouldn't be able to do it. This is not an issue of the union between our two houses. It's one of the responsibilities of a man. Abandoning one's women and children is a mark of shame for any man. That is something I'm definitely not willing to do."

All of a sudden, Duke Fisablen dispersed his threatening air and sat back down onto his chair in a crestfallen manner. Waving his hand, he said, "Count Norton, you should head back. I hope that you can consider the third request I made. Only after you consent to it will I allow Sylvia to marry you."

"Your Grace, you should consider this as well: if I give up on my concubines and illegitimate children for Sylvia today, what's to say I won't give up on Sylvia for some other women in the future? That's why..."

Before he finished, Duke Fisablen lifted an ornament on his desk and tossed it towards Lorist. "Scram! Get out of my sight right now!"

Lorist quickly took his leave. When he emerged from Rose Palace and saw Els and the rest waiting there, he stopped, stroked his chin and said, "Wait, why didn't that old guy cut me down immediately? That's weird, even when I said that before I left, all he did was throw things at me. Didn't they say he had a bad temper? And he's a rank 3 blademaster to boot, so he shouldn't fear me, should he? How weird..."

By then, Els and the ten-odd guards had walked up to receive Lorist, so he could only keep the thoughts for himself and ponder upon them when he returned to the inn.

Count Kenmays had been waiting in the hall of the inn for Lorist's return. The moment he saw Lorist enter, he jumped and pulled on Lorist's hand, asking, "Did Duke Fisablen want to see you because of your marriage with Sylvia?"

Lorist nodded.

"Did it work out?"

Lorist shook his head, shrugged, and said, "I don't think so, since I didn't accept his third request."

Stunned, Count Kenmays asked, "What were the requests?"

"The first concerned our house starting ten factories at Wild Husbandry Province so that they can produce enough daily necessities to sustain themselves," recalled Lorist.

Count Kenmays jumped as he said, "No way, we definitely can't do that! He's trying to cut out the salt merchant committee! Locke, daily necessities are what that province requires the most. Even though the profit per unit is low, the sheer volume of things traded is enormous! Currently, the salt merchant committee has a monopoly on the daily necessities market at Wild Husbandry Province and Eastwild Province, with two-thirds of our profits coming from there! That's because the products made at other places can't compete with ours in both price and quality, eventually stopping production altogether because of us. And hasn't the duke conquered the greater and lesser golden creeks? I was just about to charge them a bit more since they have started to mine gold over there."

Count Kenmays lost all his previous flair suddenly and said, "Well, Princess Sylvia's matter is what's important right now. At least we know that Duke Fisablen doesn't want us to mine gold coins from his dominion. Maybe they're interested in making a profit using our goods as well, hence his request for you to help him set up those factories. No matter, even if we lose that profit, we can think of other ways to increase them on other fronts."

"The second request was for my house to provide them with ten thousand sets of armor that my guards wear," continued Lorist.

Count Kenmays burst out once again, "That's going too far! This greedy old bastard is really shameless!"

The armor worn by the three thousand guards were admittedly different from those of the other household soldiers. Even though the household soldiers were armed with stainless steel armor, the defensive capabilities were slightly lower than the ones worn by the guards. Even though the design was similar, the color differed slightly -- the armor worn by normal household soldiers were lead grey in color while those worn by the guards were greenish-grey. That armor was exclusive to Lorist's personal guard.

Count Kenmays, Baron Felim and Baron Shazin all thought that the armor worn by the Norton house were same as theirs, being made of stainless steel, because they weren't able to tell the different metals used to manufacture them based on only the color. However, they did know that the armor worn by Norton guards had the highest defensive capabilities. Lorist told them that each set cost 180 gold Fordes and that the house had only managed to make a little over 3000 of them, before gifting each of the three two sets of armor made of the same materials according to their preferred design.

Yet, Duke Fisablen had asked for ten thousand sets in one breath. Count Kenmays complained, "Is that old guy nuts? No matter how large the lion's mouth is, even it would choke to death if it tried to swallow prey in one go. The marriage between the third prince and Duke Melein's daughter only involved a transaction of two million imperial gold coins that amount to only 800 thousand gold Fordes at most. Yet, he had asked you to pay such a huge price for marrying the princess. Is that why you refused?"

Lorist replied, "I've agreed to both those conditions."

"Ugh," Count Kenmays gasped, before he snapped out of his stupor and said, "Well, it's fine. It is fine House Norton is truly impressive, for you to be able to accept those conditions. Then, was the third request even more ridiculous?"

"Well, not really. His third request was for me to exile my concubines and illegitimate children before he would agree to the union between our two houses."

Count Kenmays stayed silent for a good moment before he patted onto Lorist's back and said, "I really want to call you an idiot for refusing a request that pales in comparison to the former two, but I feel relieved that you didn't agree to it somehow. I think Baron Felim and Baron Shazin would feel the same after they hear about this. We would no longer have to worry about the alliance between our four families to rift just because the Norton house got too powerful."

Lorist laughed bitterly and said, "But now, I don't know how I should answer to the princess for this..."

Count Kenmays laughed and said, "Locke, I can only ask you to grieve and move on. We'll always stand behind you and offer our moral support no matter what kind of chaos you cause."

"Good Sol, is that all you have to do as allies? Isn't it better for me if the alliance was called off, then?"

"No way, you're the unquestioned head of our little alliance. It was you who called for the alliance's formation, so if we don't leave it, you won't be able to back out either, unless you want the reputation of the Norton house to suffer and abandon all noble niceties altogether," said the count in a serious tone.

"That can't happen, I don't believe I can't dissolve the alliance when I choose to..."

A guard interrupted their joking around and said, "Milord, Duke Fisablen's messenger requests to meet you."

"Oh? Let him in," said Lorist as he wondered, what does the duke want this time around?

The messenger was but a normal guard instead of a noble. "Lord Count, I have come on behalf of the duke's orders to report that the banquet to celebrate the conclusion of the tournament has been canceled because the duke isn't feeling well. I hope my lords will understand."

Count Kenmays mumbled wide-eyed, "No way... The celebration must always be held for the nobles and knights for any kind of tournament. This is tradition, why would the duke call it off just like that?"

Lorist smiled coldly and said, "Well, I can't really blame the duke for being a little petty? After all, the swordsmanship and archery competitions were dominated by us, House Norton, with Loze taking the crown at the jousting competition and Baron Felim getting number two, Baron Shazin getting number five, and Els getting number seven. Not only that, not one of the rest are people from House Fisablen, so it's understandable that he has nothing worth celebrating.

"If he had agreed to the marriage union with us, he could still announce and brag about it. But now that I've refused his requests, he would never acknowledge us as the true winners of the tournament and give a free boost to the reputation of the four allied families of The Northlands. I think I understand now why he didn't draw his sword to flip out on me when I refused him. Hehe, so he's still holding the arms deal he signed with our house in consideration. He's afraid that we'll stop supplying him with the goods."

"Will you do so?" asked Count Kenmays.

"No," Lorist said, shaking his head, "This is an agreement we signed before he had a disagreement, and I will honor my word to him. That's because this concerns the reputation of House Norton and is not a matter I can decide based on my whim.

"Alright, let's pack up tonight and leave first thing tomorrow morning. I doubt we'd miss attending his little banquet. We can just hold our own when we return to The Northlands. I believe that many will be disappointed by the duke's neglect to host one, and perhaps might cause some kind of trouble while they're at it. Believe it or not, I think the duke will have to use his troops to chase the wandering knights away tomorrow, so it's best we leave early."

Morning the next day, Lorist and the rest left Windbury. As Knight Bonawar, who had just pledged allegiance to Baron Felim, had almost 200 members in his household, their journey was held back slightly. After meeting up with the division under Yuriy's care, they traveled for another six days and would cross Hendliff Suspension Bridge the next day.

A smoke signal could be seen in the distance as three mounted men rushed over. The moment they encountered Lorist, the three riders leaped off their horses and reported, "Knight Charade ordered us to inform you that Princess Sylvia has arrived at Firmrock Castle five days ago!"

The Princess's Heart

Enjoy this week's fourth release!

Since Princess Sylvia already arrived at Firmrock Castle, Lorist traveled ahead of his escort so that he would arrive sooner. He was curious how she knew of his refusal of the duke's conditions already.

She's not here to interrogate me, is she?

Count Kenmays, Baron Felim, and Baron Shazin mocked Lorist jokingly as he left with Reidy, Howard, and ten-odd guards, wishing him a 'blissful life'. It took them just three days to reach Firmrock Castle.

The moment Lorist dismounted, before he could even dust himself off, Princess Sylvia rushed over and hugged him -- tears streaming down her face.

Lorist hurriedly tried to apologize, "Sylvia, I'm So--"

Before he finished, Princess Sylvia bawled even louder, mumbling, "Brother Locke... Hollycost... He... He left just like that... He's not even ten!"

Wait, what? Who's Hollycost? That name sounds familiar, thought Lorist for a good while before he finally remembered, Isn't Hollycost the young prince of Iblia? That child of the second prince the queen birthed after their drunken lock-up?

Unfortunately, perhaps because of the use of drugs, Hollycost was born with a congenital heart disease. One of his herbalists said he would likely not even see his twentieth birthday.

The young prince was abandoned by the queen after his birth and was put under Duke Fisablen's charge, who treasured the child like his very own kin. However, when he found that the young prince had a birth defect, he no longer cared as much and didn't consider him a trump card anymore. In fact, it was Sylvia who had dragged the child along with her and raised him like her own little brother.

After she stopped crying thanks to Lorist's consolations, she explained why she didn't participate in the knighthood tournament. Hollycost had passed away suddenly without warning. The servants initially thought he had simply fallen asleep. It was only in the evening, when the servants felt that he had slept for far too long and attempted to wake him, that they realized that his body had cooled and he was no longer breathing.

When Princess Sylvia received word at Windbury, she requested Duke Fisablen postpone the tournament by a couple of months so she could return to Eastwild to tend to the matters resulting from poor Hollycost's death. After all, he was technically the rightful heir to the kingdom's throne. However, Duke Fisablen refused. He thought the prince, who had just died wasn't of much use to him in the first place, and the knighthood tournament concerned the reputation and future of the house, especially because it involved Sylvia's marriage. It had to go on no matter what. As for the dead Hollycost, he would deal with it as he would with deceased household knights.

Sylvia was angered and disappointed at Duke Fisablen's cold and heartless decision. After a huge argument, she looked for her aunt, the queen, to report the death of her son.

She didn't expect the queen to be even more heartless than her father.

"I never cared about him when he was alive, why should I now that he's dead?" was all she was on the matter.

Fuming with rage, Sylvia threw a huge tantrum before she brought Blademaster Xanthi and her guard with her back to Eastwild to bury Hollycost.

However, she realized that she wouldn't be able to give Hollycost a burial fitting a prince no matter how hard she tried, because even in the entire kingdom, Hollycost's name itself was somewhat of a taboo. Since the queen herself didn't want anything to do with the dead prince, the nobles treated him like he didn't exist. In fact, the queen and the nobles were relieved that they didn't have to bother with the prince's burial.

So, Sylvia could only carry out the matter herself. While she did receive Duke Fisablen's incessant letters demanding her return to show her face at the tournament, the letters only made her angry and caused her to ignore the messengers completely. But when the final messenger came over with a letter that stated the princess would be dragged to the capital by the duke personally, she made the decision to run away. She headed for Firmrock Castle. She did so because she felt the Norton dominion was the only place her grandfather couldn't drag her out of.

Lorist breathed a long sigh.

So the princess isn't here to ask about my refusal after all.

However, Lorist soon found himself troubled. Should he tell the princess about his objection to the duke's conditions and the subsequent annulment of their engagement, or not? Lorist saw Sylvia's tender emotional state at pr sent and decided to keep quiet on the matter for the time being. He would tell her once she was more stable.

In the month that followed, Lorist traveled around with Sylvia in an attempt to lighten up her mood, which meant that Count Kenmays and the barons weren't greeted by anyone when they arrived at the castle. The angered count wrote Lorist a letter. 'You bastard! You're putting hoes before bros. You're so caught in your lust you've completely forsaken friendship!' were but one of the many things he had to say in his letter.

Lorist didn't really mind the count's comments. In truth, he felt rather guilty towards the princess, perhaps because he still hadn't informed her of his refusal of the duke's requests. Her mood had improved substantially over the last couple of days and her smile started to regain its former glamor. Lorist really didn't feel like ruining the good mood by bringing up his falling out with the duke.

The moonlight melded with the waters and illuminated the clear waters. The proud hull of Northsea cut across the silvery surface of the sea and sailed on the infinite waters of the ocean.

After having fun at Silowas for about half a month, Princess Sylvia was finally in the condition to return to The Northlands. During that time, Sylvia was just like a lovestruck maiden falling in love for the first time. She grew closer and more reliant on Lorist, which only served to intensify Lorist's guilt about the matter. He knew well things might not remain as they were for long, with the mountainous obstacle that was Duke Fisablen standing between them.

The round silver moon appeared like a gleaming plate of silver, hanging from the dark blue veil of the night.

Princess Sylvia leaned on the ship's railings and stared out over the ocean. as she looked at the ocean.

"Brother Locke, I never imagined the sea could be this beautiful. I remember grandfather brought me to a cliff near a beach once. It was the first time I saw the sea with my own eyes. All I saw were harsh waves bashing against the cliff harshly. The water was black and the wave's splashes were unbearable. The winds were very strong. I clutched onto my grandfather with all my strength, I didn't dare let go. He told me such was the sea, borderless and infinite. I've always had the impression that the sea was something ferocious and that sailing was a huge risk on one's life.

"I didn't think traveling to Silowas with you would make me realize that the sea also had times it is calm and gentle. We can build sandcastles, collect seashells, and even play by the water. I didn't think it would be that fun," she said, the moonlight on the water shimmering in her eyes, "Look, Brother Locke, the moonlight looks like silver sparkles on the sea's surface. How beautiful..."

"It's the 7th month right now," Lorist said smiling sweetly, "It's when the northern seas are the calmest. When the 11th month comes, it will become harsher, almost like what you saw in your childhood. Sailing then will definitely be very risky. I once sailed to The Northlands during the 11th month. The waves were so tall they could reach the ship's deck. Fortunately, the ships built by our house are sturdy. There's no worry of them being crushed by the waves."

Sylvia's eyes gleamed.

"Brother Locke, you're amazing," whispered she.

"Well," mumbled Lorist as he stroked his nose shyly, Why do I feel like a middle-aged man tricking a little girl with a lollipop?

Despite his slight sense of forbiddenness, Lorist couldn't help but feel a certain sense of pride and achievement from seeing Sylvia's adoring gaze.

Sylvia accosted Lorist and leaned on his body. He froze like a statue.

"Brother Locke, you still haven't told me about your experiences in the tournament," Sylvia whispered.

Lorist grit his teeth. He had known the time would come eventually.

"I'm sorry, Sylvia. Your grandfather brought up three requests I couldn't accept."

"I knew it," the girl sighed, "You wouldn't be accompanying me on this trip otherwise, would you? Can you tell me what the requests were?"

Thus, Lorist informed her about the requests without holding any detail back.

Sylvia turned around slowly and looked at Lorist with her starlight-like eyes.

"Brother Locke, don't you fancy me?"

"Sy-sylvia... I... I do like you, that much is true... But if it means having to e-exile them... It isn't f-fair to them... After all, t-they're my women and children, and I am their man and father. I f-feel responsible for their well being..."

Sylvia leaned on Lorist's chest. Her arms slipped around his waist, clasped his back, and drew him into a deep hug.

"I... I know, Brother Locke. I can see your sincerity in the first two requests. I don't blame you for turning down the third. In fact, if you had agreed to it, I would have looked down on you. It's because you aren't cruel and heartless that you stood your ground. I... I can't help but envy your lovers and children..."

The girl slipped into silent weeping as the last words left her mouth.

"H-hey, don't cry now Sylvia... It's my fault," mumbled Lorist in a panicked fit.

Sylvia raised her tear-covered face, her crystal eyes pierced into Lorist's soul.

"Kiss me..." she whispered.

Lorist's arms wrapped the princess in his embrace. He lifted her to him and the two kissed under the gentle gaze of the moon. In the corner of the deck, Blademaster Xanthi let out a soft sigh. She stayed quiet for a long moment before she spoke.

"It's getting late, Sylvia. You should get some sleep. You wouldn't want to catch a cold, the winds are rather chilly."

The pair separated. Lorist stared silently at Sylvia's red face, like a moon-rising on a wet evening, one last time before she darted for her cabin. He glared at Xanthi but only got light giggles in return.

When they arrived at The Northlands, Sylvia told Lorist, "I'm going to return to the house. Brother Locke, you've already agreed to the first two requests for the sake of House Fisablen. As for the third, I should have a say in it since it concerns me directly. I'll make sure my grandfather understands and doesn't make an issue of it."

Lorist finally relaxed after the girl departed. He decided to take a stroll around the dominion instead of returning to Firmrock Castle right away.

Charade, busier than ever, rolled his eyes at Lorist once he returned.

"Aren't you carefree as always? Traveling with a beauty at a time like this..."

"Well, it's because you're here that I'm able to take it easy. Tell me, is there anything important going on within the dominion?" laughed Lorist.

Charade put down the folder in his hand.

"Did you forget Els is going to get married? The big day's on the 10th day of the 8th month," inquired he.

Oh, there was that too, thought Lorist as he slapped his forehead, "Ah, I think he mentioned it while we were still in Windbury. He said he was going to take Mancheny's daughter as his wife after he broke through to the gold rank. I think the ceremony will be held in Redriver Valley, at his manor. He also said that he would go to Morante to see his uncle and his other pals, so I gave him a three-month leave."

"Very well, we ought to present him with a great gift," Charade snickered, "I still remember he caused so much trouble during my wedding. I'll finally get my chance to pay him back. Haha, I'll definitely make sure he regrets what he did..."

Lorist wiped the sweat off his forehead.

To think this fatty would hold a grudge for such a long time! He's still on about that thing during his marriage even though his son's already a few years old!

Lorist knew Charade was just fooling around and wouldn't go too overboard, so he didn't interfere.

"Is there anything else?" asked Lorist.

"There are two pieces of good news and one bad one," said Charade.

"What are they?"

"Ovidis and Dulles have managed to break through to become gold ranks. The two remaining manors at Redriver Valley have owners now. As for the bad news, Jim failed his breakthrough and must take half a year off to recover according to the herbalist."

It was definitely good news for Ovidis and Dulles to succeed in their endeavors. Despite being a former bandit, Ovidis had been loyal ever since he pledged his allegiance, which was why Lorist trusted him deeply. Enough to give him command of the Thunderbolt Brigade. It was a definite improvement for him to breakthrough to the next rank.

As for Dulles, he had been traveling with Lorist ever since the days of Dawn Academy. Being the founder of the carroballista unit and its commander, he had gained many achievements over the last decade. However, his silver rank battleforce had caused him to stand out in a bad light even more among the commanders of his army. Now that he had broken through to the gold rank, he had become one of the 16 gold-ranked knights of the household. Being another person Lorist deeply trusted, he would definitely be utilized more often now.

It was too bad that the joy of hearing about Ovidis and Dulles's successes was dampened significantly by word of Jim's failure.

"Jim was in too much of a rush to break through," Charade sighed, "Even though he was injured in Hanayabarta's conquest, he insisted on trying to break through the moment he was reasonably healed. He might have stood a chance if he'd waited another six months. You ought to visit him when you're free. I checked on him a few days back and he seemed rather down and unstable."

Lorist nodded and was just about to say something when he heard hurried footsteps coming his way.

"Milord!" Tarkel yelled the moment he opened the door.

"Come in!"

Breathing raggedly, Tarkel reported, "Mi-milord... There's word from Iblia. On the 30th day of the 6th month, the four central duchies united and launched a military campaign against the Melein duchy. They sealed off the roads into and out of the duchies so we only got word from our informants fifteen days ago. We just received word that the duchies' army attacked Messen Castle on the 23rd day of the 6th month. Duke Melein also died on Mount Leiffdema surrounded by enemies. Melein's been completely wiped out!"

Missed Initiative

Here's the 5th release of the week! See you guys next week!

Knight 1: Charade, also known as 'The Fatty', bore the title Chief Knight of the House and was a one-star gold rank. He was born in a family with a mercantile background and used to be the supervisor of Dawn Academy's enforcement division. He was also one of Lorist's close friends.

Knight 2: Three-star-gold-ranked Grei Potterfang, nicknamed Pog, was of common birth and use to serve as a regiment leader in the Krissen Empire's Whitelion Legion. He was the first gold-ranked knight to pledge allegiance to Lorist.

Knight 3: Loze Wales, nicknamed 'Fiercetiger Loze', was a peak three-star-gold-ranked knight whose father was a mercenary. After he matured, Loze joined the army and became one of the legion's generals. He joined House Norton along with his friend, Potterfang.

Knight 4: Mons Malek, who bore the moniker 'Ironface', was a two-star gold rank of common birth who used to serve as a regiment leader in the Whitelion legion. After the legion's dissolution, he joined Lorist along with Fiercetiger Loze.

Knight 5: Josk, affectionately called Joe, was a three-star gold ranked knight known as the 'Divine Marksman'. He was born in a family of knights and was adopted by a noble. He joined Lorist for the sake of vengeance. He pledged to live life alone forever so that he wouldn't forget his deceased fiancee.

Knight 6: Chino Freiyar, a three-star gold rank who used to be a mercenary, had been forced into a labor camp because he had fought against some nobles. He was rescued by Lorist's convoy alongside his family and traveled to The Northlands to become a gold-ranked knight of the household.

Knight 7: Belnick, or 'Beck the White-haired', was a three-star gold ranked knight born to a servant family of the Norton household. When he was still a silver rank, he had been poisoned and remained in his sickbed for years before Lorist treated him. After being given a high-ranked battleforce manual, he eventually trained to the gold rank.

Knight 8: Brennan Evanport, known to most as Els, was a one-star gold rank who used to be a syndicate boss in Morante. He ended up following his close friend, Lorist, to The Northlands and became a silver-ranked knight of the house. After ten years of training, he eventually became a gold rank.

Knight 9: Waprey Terman, a one-star gold rank who was born in a family of freelance knights, was the first one to join Lorist's northbound convoy. Deeply trusted by Lorist, he got the position of the commander of the Raging Bear Knight Brigade.

Knight 10: Yuwen Ridest, nicknamed Yuriy, was a man from a line of shepherds from the grasslands. One of Lorist's close friends since the days of the academy, he joined Lorist's northbound convoy and eventually ended up being the commander of the light cavalry scouts.

Knight 11: Pajik, a one-star gold rank of common birth, had become the captive of the first young master of the Norton house during the time of the civil war. Following the first young master's death, he kept his word and was eventually knighted by Lorist when he returned to the dominion.

Knight 12: Senbaud, a two-star gold rank ex-pirate who had been forced to serve House Norton during one of Lorist's expropriation missions and eventually pledged allegiance to Lorist, was the commander of the Oceanic Legion.

Knight 13: Two-star-gold-ranked Jades used to be a slave. Originally a wandering knight, he had been captured and enslaved by a Hanayabartan slaver band and forced to fight for his masters' entertainment. He was eventually rescued when Lorist exterminated the kingdom and pledged his allegiance to his house.

Knight 14: Messen, a one-star gold rank who used to be a slave, used to be the captain of a village garrison before his enslavement. He eventually pledged allegiance to House Norton since he no longer had a home to return to.

Knight 15: Ovidis, nicknamed 'Big-beard', was a one-star-gold-ranked ex-bandit. After surrendering to Lorist and serving him, he eventually made many contributions to Lorist's cause. His trustworthiness and sincerity were the qualities that convinced Lorist to knight him.

Knight 16: One-star gold rank Dulles. Being of common birth, he had joined up with Lorist when he was still at Dawn Academy because he admired Lorist's swordsmanship. Dulles was utilized extensively and was the one who founded the carroballista unit so monumental to the northbound convoy's success. He was also one of Lorist's favorite subordinates.

Those were the 16 gold-ranked knights under Lorist's command. Their reputation had yet to truly become widespread, and they had no way of knowing that they would eventually come to be known as the Raging-Bear King's 16 Wings. With the growing might of House Norton, the Raging Bear sharpened its claws. Eventually, the time when their reputation spread far across the whole of Grindia would come.

...

In the guards' residential quarters, Lorist walked through the corridor and stopped in front of a room with a red-colored door. The door was shut, but not locked. Upon pushing it open, Lorist saw someone lying face-flat on the bed.

"Didn't I tell you? I don't feel like eating. Don't bother me," said the person without raising his head when he heard the door open.

On the table beside the bed were some honeyed bread, wheat porridge, meat soup, roasted fish, and two baked apples. There was also some warm goats milk in a glass jar nearby.

"Hehe, the sick menu looks rather good. It's far better than what we had at Dawn Academy. I still remember when we only had black bread and wheat porridge and nothing else. I cry a little bit inside every time I eat it again," said Lorist, standing in front of the table, looking at the food.

The person on the bed started before he got up hurriedly and said, "Mi-milord... Why have you come?"

"To check on you, of course. I hear you've been depressed so much you won't eat."

The person sitting on the bed was none other than Jim, who had failed his attempt to break through to the gold rank. Lorist had come to visit him.

"I'm disappointed Jim, not for your failure, but your current condition. Failing a breakthrough isn't a big deal. You can always recover with enough time. As the second in command of my guards, don't tell me you don't have the courage to face a little setback? Waxima, Pete and some others have also failed before, but they didn't fall into despair like you. Oh no, they're working hard to recover.The house trusts you all and will help you make your next breakthrough."

"Milord, it's my fault... I shouldn't have taken out my failure on others and cooped myself up in my room," said Jim with his head lowered.

Lorist sat down and stretched his hand to Jim's left hand.

"It's fine, as long as you recognize your mistake and learn from it. Make sure to finish your food and rest to recover your body. You will become my gold-ranked knight. For now, let me check what's going on with your body."

There were three methods with which a person could train their battleforce. The first was the basic method which one would use after awakening one's battleforce. It was the simplest and easiest to master and people of all battleforce attributes could use it. However, it was only good for use up to the iron rank. one would have to use a mid-to-high-ranked battleforce technique to breakthrough to the silver and gold ranks.

The second method involved the use of the standard battleforce technique taught in the military. The military battleforce technique was more complicated than the basic battleforce technique given its focus on attack techniques and practicality. Without a proper foundation in battleforce training, one might injure oneself from erroneous training techniques. Similar to the basic battleforce technique, the military battleforce technique could be used by battleforce users of any attribute, with most people able to reach the peak of the silver rank with it. Potterfang was one example of a person who reached the peak silver rank through training in the military battleforce technique. It was only after he started training in a high-ranked battleforce technique that fit his attribute that he broke through to become a gold-ranked knight.

The last kind of battleforce technique was the kind that was passed down from one generation after another in noble houses. One advantage of these techniques was that they were purer and could improve one's battleforce strength and output. Not only that, it could decrease the difficulty required to breakthrough to the next rank. Potterfang himself had to spend a lot of time getting acquainted with the different circulation diagrams of his high-ranked technique as he had developed many habits from using the military battleforce technique for too long. One had to keep circulating one's battleforce according to the high-ranked technique. Should one revert to the old military battleforce technique, one would fail when attempting to make a breakthrough like Jim, injuring oneself in the process.

That was the reason for the long time of seclusion training required before one broke through to the gold rank. Normally, breaking through from the bronze to silver ranks posed little problem as the major circulation diagrams only increased in complexity by a little. However, the major circulation diagrams for the gold rank was far too different from that of the silver rank. One had to spend large amounts of time to practice and get used to the new circulation diagrams to breakthrough to the gold rank.

For instance, a bronze rank only had to circulate their blood through 20 blood circulation nodes. The number could go up to 28 for iron ranks and a range of 36 to 45 for silver ranks. Gold ranks had to circulate through 80 to 100-odd blood circulation nodes. Only after one was familiar with the new major battleforce circulation cycle could one not make the mistake of using an old circulation path. That was what differentiated those who succeeded in breaking through to the gold rank from those who didn't, and was also the main reason people failed during their breakthrough.

Jim's situation was similar in that he had accidentally used an old battleforce circulation path while he was familiarizing himself with the new paths, causing the force within his bloodstream to clash and injure him. Currently, he was just like a cripple who could not use the slightest bit of battleforce. However, all he had to do was rest for half a year to recover. Not only that, he could start training with the high-ranked battleforce technique right away without having to retrain his old techniques. It would take him roughly eight months to a year to breakthrough the bronze and iron ranks to regain his former strength as a silver rank. Having experienced failure, he would still have gained some experience from the attempt so the effort was definitely not in vain.

After checking Jim's condition, Lorist offered some more words of consolation. Only after seeing that he had regained some spirit and finished his food did Lorist leave. When he arrived at his study at Firmrock Castle, he saw Tarkel waiting for him by the door.

"Milord, the detailed battle report was just delivered," reported Tarkel.

"Give me the report. Thanks for the hard work, go take some rest," said Lorist.

That report was about Melein' destruction as a result of the death of Duke Melein, a rank 2 blademaster and one of the three renowned war gods of the former empire.

In the time of the empire, the first one to be hailed as war god was the Wargod Knight, Duke Yanjinov, commander in chief of the imperial troops. Too bad he perished during a great battle thirty years earlier during the conflict between the Empire and the Union. Duke Yanjinov was blamed for the mistake that saw the empire's only swordsaint die in an ambush. He was stripped title and land. He faded from the limelight not long after and died ten years later. His death caused the overly ambitious first and second princes to pull out all the stops and start the civil war.

The second one to be hailed as war god was Duke Fisablen, Wargod of the Plains. The old fox had resisted the grassland barbarians' invasions without a single failure for many years, but he hardly ever left his dominion and was far away from the empire's administrative center.

The third wargod was Duke Melein, mainly because he held the position of Commander of the Fiercegale Legion, one of the empire's three largest armies, for almost a decade. The difference between the imperial local defense legion that mainly defended the empire and the Whitelion legion that fought in conflicts with other nations was that Fiercegale specialized in dealing with internal threats such as revolts and bandits. The reputation gained by Fiercegale over hundreds of battles was far less in comparison to that gained by Whitelion, which fought in open and large-scale battles. Even so, Fiercegale had come to specialize in mobility and flexibility thanks to Duke Melein's training. It had impressive offensive capabilities.

When Duke Melein wedded his beloved 16-year-old daughter to Third Prince Andinaq and united his house with the imperial family, he retired from his position as Commander of the Fiercegale Legion and returned to his dominion to spend the rest of his life. When the civil war began, however, Duke Melein had to stand at the third prince's side and fight the second prince's forces frequently. Even though there were some battles lost, in the end, he still managed to ruin Southern and successfully suppress the second prince. However, because Duke Fisablen was on the second prince's side, there was nothing much Duke Melein could do about the prince.

After the civil war, Duke Melein formed the Melein duchy. Originally, he had been on good terms with the four central duchies and had trade relations with them for quite some time. However, when the second highness rallied his soldiers and embarked upon his quest to reunite the empire, the duke had greatly supported him. When the second highness ended up trapped in Frederika, Duke Melein responded by attacking Shabaj with his troops. He hoped it would enough to help the second highness out. But, due to the years of fighting Melein had gone through, the duchy had long expended most of its resources. Duke Melein ended up unable to help the second highness much and gaining four new enemies for himself in the process.

The attack on Frederika by the four central duchies exterminated most of the second highness' remaining troops. While they didn't manage to find the second highness himself, they managed to stabilize the situation and decided to take out Melein and his duchy. Perhaps because they thought the second highness was hiding in Messen Castle, they decided to go all out to kill him lest he causes more trouble in the future. So, the four central duchies contacted Duke Fisablen and stated their intentions to invade the duchy without warning.

Duke Melein, who was trapped in his own castle, found that his soldiers were far too weak to resist the enemy's assault, so he abandoned The castle in an attempt to break out of the encirclement. He was stopped by Duke Fisablen's cavalry divisions at Mount Leiffdema. He was killed on the battlefield by ten arrows.

According to the report, Melein and Rimad provinces were absorbed by Shabaj whereas Duke Fisablen moved more than 100 thousand people from the duchy to Eastwild. It was said that it was part of the agreement between Duke Fisablen and the four central duchies.

I totally missed the initiative! Lorist sighed, Duke Fisablen hid everything from me and I wasn't able to find out why the two dukes were there. I thought they were going for Princess Sylvia just like I was...

If I knew their target was Melein, I could've taken Southern and Winston after Duke Fisablen deployed his troops and trapped them in Melein. I would've been able to force House Fisablen to give in to my demands and may even have stood a chance at taking Wild Husbandry! I could've made them reliant on House Norton for their survival and eliminated a target for worry while I was at it!

Now that the chance is missed, the effort to bring in more refugees from those two provinces will be affected. Before this, Duke Fisablen wanted it for his own dominion but he wasn't able to do so as his house didn't have that much money. However, now that they've conquered the greater and lesser golden creeks, their financial crisis is solved and they're also able to afford buying gear from our house to strengthen their forces. They will be able to import labor from Southern and Winston to solve their lack of manpower.

The most important part is that without Melein, Duke Fisablen gains a reliable route to the four central duchies. He might e en be able to send livestock over there in droves and trade with them for the resources he needs instead of with the salt merchant committee...our monopoly is in shambles! We are no longer able to control House Fisablen's trade!

Lorist shook his head as he looked at the map and thought that the house would definitely face heavy opposition from House Fisablen if he tried to conquer Iblia. Now that Duke Fisablen had the support of the four central duchies, there would definitely be a huge war in Winston and Southern. The unforeseeable missed initiative had cost more than Lorist had imagined!

"Have all the knights leading the three legions to gather at Firmrock Castle for a strategy meeting. Also, send someone to notify our allies. Have Count Kenmays, Baron Felim, and Baron Shazin come over to discuss the expansion of our influence."

Dominion Replacement

Sorry for the deviation from the usual Tuesday release. Here's the first release of the week, enjoy!

"Do you want to take a whole province for yourself?" asked Lorist Count Kenmays, who was busy picking some fine wine off the racks.

The count was the fastest among the three and had already arrived. Baron Felim and Baron Shazin would take another day.

"You're finally going to act?" asked Count Kenmays with two bottles of wine in his hands.

Lorist nodded.

"Which province? I don't want the bad ones," said the count.

"See for yourself," said Lorist as he pointed at the purplish-black veil that was on the wall.

Count Kenmays put the wine bottles down and pushed the veil aside to reveal a large map on which two red arrows were drawn. One was pointed at Wild Husbandry while the other was pointed at Delamock.

"Are you going to act against the Madras duchy and House Fisablen?" Kenmays asked, "Can we really hold off against the combined attacks of those two?"

Lorist shook his head. "We can't attack both sides at once. What we have to prepare for now is to attack Madras first and conquer the Metropoulos River's northern streams. In other words, we have to take control of the floating bridges that are sealed off there to connect Delamock with The Northlands.

"We can thus increase our four houses' spheres of influence. We will then turn our blades to Iblia to see whether we have an opportunity to swallow up Winston and Southern.

"However, before this can happen, we need your houses to move to fitting dominions. As your armies are built to be greater in defense than offense, you won't be much of a threat against House Fisablen. So, I have to take over the eastern part of The Northlands, which is where your dominion is situated. I can only station Tigersoar there to put pressure on Duke Fisablen that way. He'll have to station at least one of his cavalry legions opposite me to be at peace."

Count Kenmays walked to Lorist's front and felt Lorist's forehead with his palm, before raising three fingers and asking, "What number is this?"

Lorist glared at the count angrily and said, "What are you up to?"

Count Kenmays said, "It seems you don't have a fever. So I take it you're serious about what this. Do you think attacking the Madras duchy will be an easy feat? That old turtle Duke Madras has done nothing but build fortresses and citadels and other defensive fortifications across his dominion all these years. Even though the Metropoulos River's northern streams are rather peaceful, the opposite shore is full of defensive walls and barricades as well as moats, not to mention that we won't be able to get ashore given how our boats won't make it to the opposite side. I recall that punk Hennard telling me that he had wanted to procure some fresh fish and had some of his men construct some boats to fish at the river When his men got a little too close to the opposite shore, two of the boats were sunk and seven or eight men drowned. He was so mad he almost went to war.

"Also, just look at the border between Iblia and Madras, the intersection point between Winston and Delamock. Back when Duke Madras defeated the second prince at Kobo, he managed to reclaim the southeastern area of Delamock. To stop the second prince from once again breaching the south, the duke spent three whole years building seven citadels around Sanderson Hills. That area is basically an iron wall defended by more than 40 thousand troops. When the salt merchant committee deals with them, we have to pass through that area. While you might not know much about it, I've seen how strongly defended that area is for myself. Are you going to waste all your soldiers conquering the citadels over there?"

"Are you done?" Lorist asked, rolling his eyes, "You don't have to worry about how we attack the area. I have confidence in my ways to take down the duchy."

"Confidence, eh?" Kenmays said, unconvinced, "Locke, I really don't understand... Even if Duke Fisablen refused to let Sylvia marry you, you have to maintain your calm. You shouldn't act like this just because you received a bit of a shock. War is not to be initiated this recklessly."

Not knowing whether he should be humored or annoyed, Lorist said, "This has nothing to do with Sylvia."

"Then why are you in such a rush?" Kenmays asked, "Right now, the salt merchant committee has a monopoly on the daily necessities and salt of Duke Fisablen's dominion. If you're patient enough, we will eventually be able to control their salt supply and limit our trade on the products to force the duke to lower his head to us. If he doesn't want his dominion to fall into chaos and revolt, he has to abide by our demands. You can take up your role as groom then. This is also war on the business front. At any rate, it's better than taking our weapons out carelessly, right?"

"The Melein duchy is gone," said Lorist, shrugging.

"What did you say?" the count asked, not having heard it clearly enough, "What is gone?"

"The four central duchies worked with House Fisablen to attack Melein. Duke Melein died on the battlefield and the duchy is no more. I have a detailed report in the blue folder on my desk," said Lorist as he pointed at the folder he mentioned.

Kenmays leaped over and flipped the folder open before he jumped and exclaimed, "Deploy our troops! We have to attack immediately! We have to take Southern as soon as possible! We have to seal the trade route between Eastwild and the four duchies! We can't let our years of effort go down the drain like this! If we don't, even if we stop supplying salt, the four central duchies will provide House Fisablen with large amounts of it. If House Fisablen takes control of the trade route, then the salt merchant committee's monopoly on the three provinces under their control will be ruined!"

Count Kenmays had made a 180-degree turn from a pacifist to a warmonger in mere moments.

Lorist laughed and coughed as he tried to pull Kenmays to the couch before he brought him a cup of wine.

"Calm down. Now, you understand why I said we should act, don't you? It's obvious that Duke Fisablen's relationship with the four central duchies is growing by the day and he might eventually end up our enemy. If we don't take down Madras, The Northlands will only have two metal suspension bridges to rely on and might be cut off from the rest of the continent should Duke Fisablen attempt to do so.

"That's the reason I've decided to act against Madras. After we conquer it, we will move your dominion there and station Tigersoar in your current dominion to add pressure to the troops at Wild Husbandry. It will force the duke to station more troops on our border to rebalance the power disparity, diverting resources from the defense of the kingdom and allowing us to take Winston. We will gain the initiative to press our attack or defend our ground."

Count Kenmays took another sip of the wine in his cup before walking to the map.

"So which province are you going to make my dominion?"

"This one," Lorist said as he pointed at Sidgler, "This is the old lair of Duke Madras and I am going to let this place be your replacement dominion. You should know well the advantages this province provides. It's easy to defend and incredibly hard to attack, with the only passageway to the outside world being Xith Citadel. Additionally, Platinum Beach is also there with no other landed nobles around either, so you won't have any trouble to deal with in the future. That's far better than your current dominion in the eastern Northlands."

Kenmays grit his teeth before he said, "That's not enough. It'll be hard for me to answer to the rest of the house if all I get is Sidgler Province. However, if you can do Delamock, then there's no problem."

"That won't do," Lorist said, shaking his head, "I need to split Delamock into multiple smaller fiefs, so I can't hand it to you."

"Fiefs? Are you going to found a kingdom?"

"No. There are still 17 nobles staying at Firmrock Castle. It's because we conquered their dominions. We owe them new fiefs. I'm not going to let them have their new dominions in The Northlands, so Delamock's land will be enfeoffed to these nobles. The land there is rich and fit for agriculture, so I'm sure they'll be happy to agree. Additionally, the household knights that gain enough achievements will be made vassal houses one day, and I plan to give them fiefs in Delamock as well, " explained Lorist.

"I see. My house is also taking care of five Northlander nobles deprived of their dominions. Why don't you make similar arrangements for them and give my house Vanades? They would agree to a relocation if that's the case," said Kenmays, attempting a compromise.

"There'll be no problem with moving the five nobles to Delamock," Lorist said, shaking his head, "But I can't hand you Vanades. It's the largest city in the duchy and the largest trading hub in the entire northwestern area. There's no doubt that it will become the center of our dominions' trade once we take it. I can't let your house have sole control over the city. I can let you be the city's custodians. You can have it for the first five years, and, if you do well, you can keep the position for another term. Additionally, I'll make it up to your house and construct a port for you at the coasts so you can form your own trading fleet."

"Are you serious?" Kenmays said, wide-eyed, "You can actually make a port at the Cursed Coasts? You're not kidding me, are you?"

Lorist took out a rolled-up diagram from his scroll bin and handed it to Kenmays.

"See for yourself. This is the blueprint for a wooden-box port that allows offshore activities. My house already has two at the Bladedge Mountains and they're holding up pretty well. Your house can also use this flexible port to trade and ship things across the sea. However, if you want to build a more permanent port that can weather the strong winds, you still have to reclaim the land for a proper structure to be constructed."

Kenmays held onto the blueprint like he would a delicate heirloom.

"Alright, I'll agree. When can we relocate?"

To the count, born to a line of merchants, controlling a trade route was akin to gaining a way to generate incessant profits. It was far better than their gold mine at the eastern Northlands which would run dry sooner or later anyway, so he was more than willing to make the trade.

"There's no rush. We still need a bit of time but I can promise you the relocation will happen next year," said Lorist.

"Do you need me to do anything? If you need our forces on the battlefield, feel free to let me know," offered Kenmays generously.

"No, I won't be needing it. Our forces will take Sidgler and pass it to you in good condition. All you have to do is to fortify your new dominion, then station your troops at Vanades to keep the Andinaq kingdom's soldiers in Yungechandler in check. You'll have to watch out for attacks from Farkel and Shabaj to your east. Even though the only connection between the two nations is the 500-kilometer path through Egret Lake, you can't be too careful."

"No worries. While our forces aren't good at attacking, we're more than capable of defending ourselves. What of Baron Felim and Hennard's arrangements then?" Kenmays inquired.

Lorist tapped on the southeastern area of Delamock.

"After conquering this, I will give it to Hennard. Since both he and Baron Felim are nobles with military backgrounds, unlike you, their forces will be relatively better in offense. Sanderson Hills is the two provinces' point of intersection. If Hennard is there, he can attack Winston and reinforce Vanades should it come under attack.

"At the same time, I will construct a few floating bridges over the Metropoulos River's northern streams to link The Northlands to Delamock. You don't have to worry about how I'll come to your aid in the future. As for Baron Felim, his dream is to reclaim House Pegasus' old dominion in Southern, which they had occupied for over a century previously. We will help him fulfill his dream.

"Southern's been completely ruined by the wars. If Baron Felim wishes to restore the glory of House Pegasus, he'll need to invest a lot; he'll need our help as well. If we can occupy Southern, we'll have caged the lion called Duke Fisablen. By then, we won't have to worry about that old fox causing us trouble anymore. As long as we can cut off the dominion's trade, the old fox will have no choice but to play nice."

"What do you plan on doing with these two?" asked Kenmays, tapping on Winston and Windbury.

"If everything goes well, Southern will go to Baron Felim. I will use Winston to settle in the nobles that join our faction. When we attack Madras, there's bound to be nobles who surrender. I will relocate their dominions to Winston. I also plan to make it the trading hub of the southeastern area like Vanades to develop the land surrounding it," said Lorist.

"Locke," Kenmays said, eyes flashing, "You should found a kingdom after you conquer Madras and Iblia. The Norton Kingdom... I can't help but think about how splendid that sounds. Naturally, I would be willing to become a Norton noble."

Lorist exploded with laughter.

"We'll see. It's not too late to consider it after Duke Fisablen properly submits. For now, we only have to focus on taking Madras and ensuring the first phase of our plan succeeds. When Hennard and Felim arrive, we'll have another formal discussion. We'll require their cooperation, after all."

"Locke, I'm actually quite curious what gave you the confidence that you'll be successful in taking Madras. Don't be mistaken, Madras is no turtle. It's a shriveled up porcupine. If we get dragged into a drawn-out war, even if we end up winning, we'll lose far more than we gain. It would be even harder for us to deal with House Fisablen in the future if that happens," said Kenmays.

"Don't worry, I have my own methods. When Hennard and Felim come over, I will bring you all to see our secret weapon," said Lorist as he nodded again, confidently.

"What secret weapon?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

"Come on, Locke, don't be so petty! Can't you tell me about it first?"

"Nope."

Plan of Attack

Here's the second release of the week, enjoy!

"Fire!"

Ten large, wooden constructions hummed momentarily. Ten long staves flipped ninety degrees from the horizontal to the vertical. Ten basin sized lumps of rock arched through the sky. They shrunk over the course of two or three seconds until they vanished, as if they'd popped out of existence entirely. Three or four long seconds of silence passed before, in the distance, several dust clouds popped into existence, followed a second later by as many loud thumps and the sound of crashing and crushing stone. When the dust cleared, a heap of rubble became visible. At the two edges of the mound, a few stones stood packed on one another, trying their best to remind the observer that there had indeed once been a wall.

Count Kenmays, Baron Felim, and Baron Shazin stared wide-eyed at the ruin in the distance. They had sworn just moments earlier that only through the reckless swarming of soldiers without regard for casualties, with the use of siege ladders, could that very wall be conquered. Only after wearing down the defending forces by paying a high price could one take it.

They never expected Lorist only needed to instruct Ovidis to bring ten thunderbolt catapults over and set them up about 350 meters from the wall. Lorist only needed a few minutes to undo what was likely years' work. They felt like complete fools for saying what they had.

"The next target will be the tower on the right. Prepare the flame meteors!" ordered Ovidis once more.

Flame meteors were spherical balls wrapped up in rope and doused with fuel. They were first placed inside a metal catapult bucket before a soldier set it aflame. The ten stone balls were soon burning brightly.

"Fire!"

The flaming balls soared through the air towards a rectangular structure on a hill in the distance. The structure was quite a bit smaller than the wall had been – granted, after the last volley the two were now about even – so several shots missed. They weren't far off, though, and landed just beside it. Those that missed set fire to the leaves around the structure, whilst those that hit made three large holes in it. Soon smoke billowed out the of the holes to join the smoke already rising from the ground around the tower.

"This is amazing," Felim praised, "With such a weapon in hand, we won't have to worry about any castle standing in our way!"

"So this is where all your confidence came from!" Kenmays said, tugging on Lorist's arm excitedly, "Hahaha, I bet Duke Madras can't imagine that he won't be able to resist our attack anyway regardless of how hard he tries to shrink up like a turtle! We'll be able to raze his defenses to the ground without anyone being able to stop us! Well, he only stands a chance if he confronts us in a field battle... Perhaps not even then! Hehe, he'll lose even faster if he comes out of his shell."

"Locke, give me a few! I want to obliterate the sentry outpost and the walls near the stream!" Shazin said with both his hands clasped.

It seemed that he held quite a deep grudge against those who manned the defenses at the northern stream.

"Don't be in such a rush. 'll sell you as many as you want after we take the duchy. However, Hennard, I will allow you to lead Ovidis to the stream so you can exact your revenge. We'll force the duke to gather his forces there in response to our surprise attack. After you return, gather your men to make as many rafts as possible. We will load our catapults onto the rafts and bring them across the river. Naturally, we'll be sending as many woodworkers and boat makers as we can to help you," said Lorist with a smile.

"No problem. I'll get the required materials and manpower ready when I return. However, Locke, won't we alert the duke of our activities if we start building rafts on our side of the shore?"

"Don't worry, it's all the better if they are alerted. What we want is for the for the duchy to concentrate there as much as possible so the defense at other places is weakened."

Shazin Hennard rubbed his palms together.

"Hehe, well, I was just saying what came through my mind. With Ovidis's Thunderbolt Brigade helping me out, I'm confident I'll be able to storm my way through and raze the seven citadels all the way across Sanderson Hills to the ground. My rage will only calm if I do so much."

Lorist shook his head and said, "I would advise against doing that, Hennard. Don't forget that Sanderson Hills is where your dominion will be. It won't be good for you if it's ruined. Actually, I have a method to force the soldiers defending it to surrender and hand the seven citadels over. You don't even have to bother considering how you will deploy your troops. It'll save you both time and effort, which is ideal."

"You're saying we should go straight for Vanades right after busting through the defense line at Metropoulos; that we should take Xith Castle and storm all the way to Sidgler in one go? So we're going to give this attack our all and capture Duke Madras dead or alive to force the rest of the soldiers to surrender, right?" asked Felim.

"Well, that's the best plan we have for now," Lorist said, nodding, "Unless we have a better strategy when the time comes, that's how this will all play out. Our only worry after crossing the stream is encountering the duke's heavy-armored soldiers, which would drag the conflict on unnecessarily. Even though we have a weapon like the catapults, we must still be wary of any accidents.

"Even if Duke Madras is nothing but an aging turtle, he's one that has years of experience. We must not be careless in the slightest. It's the 8th month right now, we'll launch a few probing attacks at the end of the 10th month to see if we can lure more of their troops to the wilds to weather the elements. If the soldiers spend their time camping outside in the winter to defend against our attacks, they'll be severely worn out by spring. That will be our chance to strike."

After Kenmays, Felim, and Shazin went their way, Potterfang met with Lorist.

"Milord, I heard you're going to sell the catapults to our allies?"

"That's right. What's wrong?"

Potterfang stood ramrod straight.

"Milord, I am against it. Even though the three houses are our allies, the catapults are secret weapons only our house has. It's the ideal tool for besieging castles and defending them. Selling these weapons might introduce a new threat for which we have to watch out."

"It's not as serious as you think," Lorist laughed, "The catapult will be outdated soon enough."

"Outdated? That can't be. How could anything outstrip the catapult?"

"Did you forget about the bronze cannons the Oceanic Legion employs? Grandmaster Sid and Professor Balbo have already perfected the cannons for ground use. Their power far exceeds that of the catapults. These catapults are only standing targets for our cannons. I've already instructed Howard to pick a group of reliable people and train them as cannoneers. In time, the gun carriage will be part of your legion's arsenal."

"Understood, Milord. Please excuse my rudeness. I wasn't aware of it," said Potterfang.

"It's fine," Lorist said, waving his hand dismissively, "If I know you as well as I think I do, you must've been prompted to confront me about that issue by the others, right? I'm sure you know that we already have our own plans regarding this just from Charade's silence. If selling the catapults would truly have endangered our house, he would definitely have been the first to throw a tantrum."

"Milord, I should've known better..."

"Don't worry about it. Have you gathered the Oceanic Legion and Firmrock legion's leaders yet? If they're here, we'll start the meeting right away."

...

Facing a group of knights gathered tightly together, Lorist used a long, fine stick to point to the large map.

"What I'm telling you now is our real attack plan; even our allies aren't aware of it. They believe we will launch our attack from the Metropoulos' lower stream after Thunderbolt Brigade has pulverized the enemy's defenses and forced them into the open. Actually, that part of the plan is just bait to lure Madras into deploying its forces by the river, thus pulling forces from other front's, weakening them.

"Our true target is here," Lorist said as he pointed at a spot on the map, "Sidgler province's Platinum Beach. We will launch our attack at the end of the 12th month."

Apart from Charade and the rest who could already see what was coming, many household knights expressed gasps of disbelief.

"This attack will be headed by Firmrock with the aid of the Oceanic Legion. You may ask any questions you have now," said Lorist as he looked at the chattering knights.

Potterfang stood up.

"Milord, going on shore during the winter season is a rather huge risk due to the winds. The waves and winds in the northern seas have always been rather harsh during winter and we may incur heavy casualties if we're not careful."

"Senbaud, I'll let you respond to Potterfang's query."

"Sir Potterfang," Senbaud explained, "in the recent years, I've had people document the weather changes over the seasons in the northern seas and discovered that between the 32nd day of the 12th month and the 35th day, which is a few days before the coming of the new year, the northern seas will be incredibly calm. No accidents will occur If we sail to their shores during that time. Apart from using the smaller boats to travel ashore, Our Lord has also ordered us to prepare lots of wooden box parts. We only need ten hours to build two floating ports that connect to the shores for our comrades to go ashore from our ships safely."

Malek stood up next and asked, "Milord, how will we get our troops ashore without being detected by the local garrisons? Sidgler is the duke's headquarters; if our movements are discovered, the odds of our surprise attack being successful will plummet greatly. After all, the enemy is cooped up in the city and has the defender's advantage."

Lorist nodded in acknowledgment before he addressed the point.

"Actually, between the 32nd and 35th days of the 12th month in the past two years, I've sent people to go ashore on Platinum Beach for a survey. We noticed that the defenses at Sidgler during that time is rather lax because nobody expects there could be an attack at that time. Over here lies the city of Edelise, named after the duke's daughter. It's also where the duke's household is situated.

"Every winter, Duke Madras will invite the nobles across his duchy to gather there for a celebration and to count down to the new year. That is when the defenses at Edelise will be at its most lax, which is also part of the reason I decided to launch an attack during the 12th month. Getting off the shore is so that we can capture all the nobles gathered at Edelise in one go. We won't have to plow through entire duchy to find them this way.

"Our plan is to deploy, launch a surprise attack to conquer Edelise, and use the seal of the duke right away to transfer their soldiers away or take Xith Castle by surprise, followed by Vanades and Kobo. Through this one route, we will have conquered three cities in one go. This way, the duchy will be good as gone. I will be in one of the first batches of people to participate in this surprise attack."

"Milord, you don't have to take such a huge risk. Just leave this attack to us. We will not disappoint you," Potterfang protested.

"Duke Madras has a rank 2 blademaster by his side," Lorist argued, "He is my target. Firmrock will have to be transferred to a temporary campsite at the foot of Bladedge Mountains to prepare for the battle. In the meantime, Pog, Malek, you two must make sure to train the soldiers to board and disembark from the ships so they don't screw up during the actual mission."

"Understood, Milord."

"Freiyar, when the Firmrock legion leaves Silowas, I want you to lead a local defense division and defend the island."

"Yes, Milord."

"As long as we can conquer Kobo, the duchy's bread basket, the troops guarding the seven citadels at Sanderson Hills, and those gathered near the riverbank will lose all their supplies and face surrender or collapse. That's how we take Madras during the winter. I hope you will all lead the house to success!"

"Yes, Milord!"

"Alright, meeting adjourned. Fiercetiger Loze, Dulles, Joe, and Yuriy, I want you to stay back for a bit."

Apart from the aforementioned four, Charade also stayed.

"If everything goes well, we will have to face House Fisablen right after taking Madras," Lorist said with a solemn tone, "After the relocation of Count Kenmays, Tigersoar will be stationed in the eastern area of The Northlands to apply pressure to the troops in Wild Husbandry. But given Tigersoar's trait as a heavy-armored cavalry unit, it will find it hard to deal with the mobile and agile cavalry troops of Duke Fisablen. That's why I've already discussed forming a brand new light cavalry division similar to those of the duke with Charade, which shall be called the Jaeger legion, the troops will be known as mounted jaegers. Joe will be the legion commander and Yuriy his second-in-command."

Josk looked surprised and seemed to have something to say, but Lorist raised his hand to stop him.

"Joe, I don't think there is anyone more fitting to lead the legion than you. Yuriy is also working as your aide of his own will. The best countermeasure we have against the duke's cavalry are the mounted jaegers. The only other method we have to deal with them is to crush them with pure numbers in an open field battle, but we're fighting in the grasslands, the duke's home turf, he won't afford us that kind of luxury. We will also suffer in terms of terrain. I have put my hopes in you. Do you think you're up to it?"

"Milord, I will definitely not let you down," Josk started.

Lorist patted on Josk's shoulder.

"We don't have much time. After we take Madras, it will take about a year for the situation to stabilize, including having the Kenmays and Shazin houses relocate. But after the year passes, we will have to deal with House Fisablen. Joe, Yuriy, I have already ordered all the legions to allow you to recruit from them. You can pick whoever you think are fitting for the Jaeger legion, but make sure to leave some people in the groups from which you recruit. Even so, you only have a year to get the new legion in shape. Do you think you can do it?"

Josk and Yuriy stood up, saluted to Lorist, and said in unison, "Understood, Milord. Please be assured that you will not be disappointed."