433 - 439

All Quiet on the Southern Front

"I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another.

But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your pommels, of your spear, of your sword; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony - - Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?"

~ excerpt from Memoirs of the Soldier, a collection of soldiers' memoirs by Crown Prince Norton Staggen, Year 2227.

After deciding to take on a passive stance, Auguslo gathered his generals and reorganized his forces. The main camp would be moved back 25 kilometers to Wesstwood's border. They still had to erect outposts and defenses at the new location to protect against any surprise attacks.

The camp itself would be split. Kenmays's two heavy-armored divisions, Tigersoar, and Pegasus would be in the left camp, standing between Handra and Farkel's Koribia. Whitelion, Third Frontier, and the reserve legion, they would be in the right camp, their backs facing Paetro. The two camps on the two sides of Wesstwood were two blades. Handra did not know what to make of this arrangement.

Had Auguslo stayed where he was, Reddragon would have been tasked with defending Welony Pass, and Forund's forces, stationed at the end of Cloudsnap, and Farkel's forces, stationed to the east of Matnamady, would have launched ambushes. Now, however, the enemy's forces had withdrawn by 25 kilometers; the defenders had no idea how their enemy planned to attack. Each of their three staging grounds could now be assaulted with equal chance.

Handra sent lots of scouts down the mountains to find out why the enemy had withdrawn. Unfortunately, the enemy had set up their new camp on flat terrain, the perfect place to use cavalry. Almost none of the scouts returned, they were all captured or killed. Barely six managed to limp back and make their reports.

A withdrawal was not the same as a complete extrication, the kingdom's forces still had a strong presence in the area. It was a tactic often used to keep up the pressure even when a side had taken a passive stance. Auguslo had struck this balance well. Despite moving the camp back, he had Tigersoar and two of Fisablen's legions move out and surprise the enemy with their presence every now and again. The enemy was not allowed to relax and become complacent.

Auguslo relegated field command to Lorist and Fisablen, granting each command over their camp, after sorting everything out. They were to keep the enemy pressured and try to force them to make mistakes that could be exploited. He then returned to Paetro with Shazin and his forces. He planned to make Summer Palace his headquarters for the time being. He would manage the entire kingdom from there, as well as the eight newly acquired provinces. They had to be developed rapidly to support the frontline forces.

Looking at the distant multi-colored military banners, Kenmays, who had come to send Auguslo off, spoke.

"Hennard's just too stupid. He didn't just not get any benefits from His Majesty, he's even being used like a gofer. I bet His Majesty will start dealing with Forund after he goes back to Paetro and Hennard will be the blade he uses," said he to Lorist.

In return for their cooperation with the new strategy, Fisablen had requested enough military gear to outfit a legion, and 50 thousand migrants from Handra; Kenmays got a two year tax exemption within the kingdom for the salt merchant committee; Felim got 30 thousand youth laborers; and Lorist got three years' tax exemption for his dominion and the areas he governed. Each had gotten something out of it one way or another. Shazin, however, had been too straightforward. He had asked before the campaign to be enfeoffed mineral-rich land, when this round of negotiation had come around, he had not made any further requests.

"Fools have their own kind of luck, you know," Lorist said, "Actually, Hennard being used as a blade to cull the nobles is His Majesty's reward. Now that our forces are stationed here, the costs of shipping resources from so far away had gone up. Though Forund hasn't really been torn apart and ravaged by the war and the winter harvests are decent, it isn't enough to supply them for long.

"The next harvest is still four months away. No matter how resourceful the king is, he can't get food out of nowhere unless he relies on growing it here. Shipping food from elsewhere will be very expensive. The best option available to him is to clear out Forund's minor nobles. The king can easily get a year's supplies this way. Hennard's going to be used to do this. Do you really think he'll allow himself to come out of this empty-handed? His Majesty would shut one eye even if Hennard snuck away two or three hundred thousand gold Fordes."

Felim humphed a little unhappily.

"That bastard is really lucking out. I hope he isn't poached."

"Hehe..."

Kenmays came in to back Shazin up right away. He was in a sense related to him, after all, his cousin was House Shazin's matron.

"Don't worry. Though Hennard isn't that sharp, he knows well that we four houses are a united unit. His Majesty is only using him. There's almost no chance he'll be recruited. Also, didn't your two houses eliminate the Farkellan nobles last year and piss His Majesty off? His Majesty is targeting the nobles now because of you."

Felim was completely speechless. He had kind of stepped out of line when it came to sweeping the nobles.

"You don't know the predicament we were in," Lorist countered, "His Majesty only gave us 15 days' food. Would it have been possible to transport so many refugees all the way to Windbury? If we didn't raid the nobles, where would we have gotten food and clothing? It would have had to be done anyway, we just saved him the trouble of doing it himself. He didn't just fail to thank us, he even got mad. How ridiculous."

Kenmays and Felim laughed uncontrollably. Even the king had no way of dealing with Lorist. Auguslo was a great schemer, but he suffered every time Lorist was involved. The other three houses also profited at Auguslo's expense quite a bit.

Lorist was rather dissatisfied. On what grounds did Auguslo disband the minor noble's army, refuse to let him return to The Northlands, and, instead, put him in charge of the frontlines even after he had elected to take on a passive stance? What was there to deal with anyway? It wasn't like they were like to fight any major engagements soon. If he only thing required was to put pressure on Handra's defenses, Loze was more than enough. There was no need for him to be present personally.

He had dug himself an even deeper pit it seemed. The prospect of having to stay there for the next two years turned his insides the wrong way. But, seeing that Fisablen was also kept there, he felt a little better. Such was human nature. Suffering together was far better than suffering alone, especially when one could indulge in schadenfreude.

After some careful thought, Lorist came to the conclusion that Auguslo's arrangements regarding him and Fisablen were rather interesting. If the two were allowed to return to their own dominions, Lorist might think of messing with Fisablen some more. It couldn't be helped as they were the only remaining target in the region. Given how close they had become to the king, and how he didn't want a threat like that to exist near his dominion, he wouldn't hesitate to apply pressure whenever he could.

Though Auguslo was rather hostile to the four houses; given how far he was, and the appearances he had to keep up as king, there was no way he would shed all pleasantries and fight them directly. That's why Lorist was so careful whenever it came to messing with the king. As long as he didn't grab hold of anything he could use against Lorist, there was nothing he could do. Other than that, he also had to be wary of House Norton's might. Even if he wanted to turn against them, he had to think twice about whether he could afford to be their enemy.

Now that Auguslo had forcefully made the two dukes stay at the frontlines and given them command over the troops, his intentions for the two were obvious. He wanted them to cool down and stop gunning for each other the moment they returned to their dominions. Given how the kingdom was in the final stages of the war with the duchies, Auguslo didn't want Lorist causing any more waves between House Norton and House Fisablen lest it affected the frontlines.

If you're that trigger-happy, vent it all on Handra. Don't dare mess around under my watch.

It seemed the king understood well that even though House Fisablen had signed an armistice with the four houses, the matter of them submitting to Auguslo and receiving lots of help from him frustrated the houses greatly. No matter who it was that led House Norton, they definitely wouldn't allow him and House Fisablen to form a joint front against them. There was no way Lorist would let an opportunity to screw things over for the Fisablens pass him by. As for the armistice, he just had to avoid open armed-conflict until he could properly justify it. Excuses to start wars were easy to find if one bothered to look.

If only Lorist was left behind, he would definitely not feel safe enough to stay put. He might even leave with his forces without a word. If only Fisablen was left behind, he wouldn't sit there calmly either. Maybe word of House Fisablen being uprooted would soon spread. Only by having both stay could they be assured. At the very least, they could hold each other back there. Maybe that had been the king's plan all along. As he was residing in Summer Palace, he could also make sure no huge conflict erupted between the two.

A few days after Auguslo departed with his entourage, Kenmays and Felim bid Lorist farewell. They generously handed command of their forces over before departing lightly. Kenmays was heading to the eight occupied provinces to build a network for the salt merchant committee while Felim was returning to Southern to take care of its development. Auguslo had only told Lorist and Fisablen to stay on the frontlines, so they were free to come and go as they pleased. They also felt assured that Lorist wouldn't use their men as cannon fodder, so they were comfortable leaving them in his care.

As Kenmays himself had said, 'We four houses are one. I feel assured with you in charge of the forces.'

After they left, Lorist became bored. Though Felim said he would rush back in two months, Lorist was still exasperated. So, he turned his attention to dealing with Handra's three defense lines.

So their catapults occupy the higher ground and can shoot further, huh? Those lever-style catapults aren't nearly a match for our catapults otherwise.

He got a few worksmiths to build several tens of gigantic lever-style catapults and placed them right in front of the three lines. They periodically launched their stones at the defenses and caused a lot of chaos. Lorist's actions were far too eye-catching, even Auguslo was shocked. He quickly rushed to the frontlines to see what was going on. Lorist didn't mind. While his crude gigantic catapults could fire far, they weren't accurate at all. They were also quite troublesome to operate; each toss required ten soldiers to pull on the lever. They also needed heavy counterweights. They were terribly inefficient.

Despite this, Auguslo and Fisablen were incredibly impressed. The design was simple, a huge wooden rack and a strong log made up the level and counterweight. On the opposite end of the log from the rack was a leather scoop that could hold a rock up to the size of a human head. Cutting the rope that pulled the lever down and lifted the counterweight[1] would cause it to swing, sending the rock half a kilometer away into the enemy's defenses.

It was an unexpected surprise for Auguslo. He asked whether Lorist could have more of them made to destroy the defenses so they could give another go at breaking through.

Lorist shook his head.

"This isn't very useful. It's way too inaccurate, it has a spread of 200 meters at just 500 meters. You can't hope to hit anything smaller than a town with it. It's only useful for annoying the enemy," replied he.

Auguslo left angrily. He did make sure to sketch the catapults before he left, though, not that Lorist particularly minded. He actually looked forward to seeing the king use them in battle. What a joke that would be. When his bronze cannons were fielded, the catapults would be completely useless, nothing but targets.

Though he didn't hope for anything and only used the catapults to harass the enemy, the three duchies' garrisons soon couldn't take it anymore. The catapults were completely unpredictable; no one knew where the next rock would fall. The men had to keep a watchful eye on the sky all the time, lest they not even know what had squashed them.

As such, the three garrisons came together and arrived at a solution. They launched a surprise attack in the night. They managed to break through the perimeter and set the catapults on fire. Angered, Lorist ordered for the worksmiths to build even more and even funded them out of his own pocket. He fielded double the previous number of catapults. Within a few days, the weather forecast once again became sunny with a chance of rockfall.

This time around, the catapults fired not the human-head-sized rocks from before, but rock shards. Large fist-sized pack of rocks rained over a large area. Though they weren't fatal, they were more than enough to badly wound their victims.

The men were soon at wit's end again and descended the slope for another attack. This time Lorist was prepared. He put Tigersoar's carroballista division in covered positions and ambushed the enemy as they approached. They were all but wiped out.

Lorist was inspired by the fuel the attackers had brought along. He shipped large amounts of fuel and put it into jars to be flung at the enemy with the catapults before sending waves of flaming rocks after. The defenses were soon engulfed in flames. The garrison there was pretty capable though and quickly put out the fire with sand and mud.

[1] Editor's note: NO NO NO NO NO!!! Rope is expensive and labor intensive to make. Why would you ruin a perfectly good piece of rope just to fling a rock, every time you want to fling a rock?!?!?!

On a calmer note, watch THIS video by the great and entertaining Lindybeige that explains why this is such a ludicrous idea.

The Line of Succession

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by avoiding it today." ~ Loze

We're back to this week's first releease, enjoy!

"Great news, Your Grace! Great news!" cried Loze as he ran into the tent with a dozen guards. He barged in it with Dulles hot on his heels. The latter was smiling so brightly he appeared foolish.

"Great news? What news could merit such jubilance?" asked Lorist, somewhat annoyed.

He had been studying Handra's three defensive lines. He'd spent the whole night brainstorming ideas to turn the tables after they'd suffered some casualties in several skirmishes the day before The stalemate had remained unchanged. The three lines' garrisons couldn't do much about the catapults, so they moved their camps a few hundred meters back, out of the weapons' range. It flabbergasted Lorist. Just like that, he had lost all use for the damned contraptions. The things weighed way too much, it was impossible to move them forward up the slope to get them back in range. Additionally, unlike his mobile catapults, these couldn't be quickly set up if they were packed, so they had no way of retaliating if they came under attack during the move. Fisablen had wanted to try his luck, but his catapults were destroyed soon after they started moving. The enemy threw rocks and logs at them down the slope. The men couldn't do anything; a hundred died or were injured before they finally retreated.

Lorist's forces occupied the low ground, his enemy the high ground. The two lines were 500 meters apart, so even though the enemy had pulled back a few hundred meters, they could still react in time to any offensives… and there was nothing Lorist could do about it from his position. The defenses didn't just cover the flats of the pass, but ran up and down the slopes on either side of it as well. No matter how he tried to get around the defenses, he always ran into more. Lorist couldn't do much to the situation personally, either. He may be somewhere between a rank 3 blademaster and a swordsaint, but even he couldn't do much to the enemy's defenses.

He had led a night assault with a small force the night before but everything fell apart very quickly. The first trench was filled with broken glass. Whilst he wasn't personally harmed, his men didn't fare as well. They were clad in heavy armor, but the soles of their feet were exposed. The moment they descended into the trench, men cried out in pain up and down the trench. Arrows rained down on them moments later, followed by rocks flung from the slope above by the enemy's catapults, a few fireballs mixed in. He ordered a retreat the moment he noticed something was off, though, and saved many of his men. He still lost around 400 of the thousand, though. He was so infuriated that he'd lost so many without doing anything to the enemy he almost lost it entirely. He only calmed down after reminding himself it could have been worse. He sent a recovery group in as soon as they had regrouped. They managed to recover all of the downed men. Of the 400 taken down, luckily only a dozen or so were killed, the rest were only injured. He was greatly troubled by how to make up for this loss, so he didn't have the energy or patience to deal with Loze's ridiculous joy.

"A messenger came over from Ragebear. He brings good news."

"What good news?"

"Madame Sylvia is with child. She is two months along."

Sylvia's with child?!

Lorist was dumbstruck.

It's the beginning of the 7th month now, so if she's two months along, it should have happened around the end of the 4th month.

When Sylvia learned Lorist was staying on the frontlines for who knew how long, she stuck to him like glue for several days. She even called all the concubines, including Dilianna and Dixie over and arranged for them all to sleep together. She made sure she was the one in whom he finished each time, however. Her efforts must have paid off since she was now with child.

"Good news indeed! Why should you be happy about it, though?" Lorist wondered, It's not like I don't have a son already. Irina already gave me two, and Anna's child is also a boy. Telesti gave me two daughters as well. It's only natural for Sylvia to get pregnant. What are they so happy for?

"If Madame Sylvia's child is a son, you'll finally have a legitimate heir! The knights now have hope for the long-term future!" explained the foolish-looking Dulles with a beaming smile.

"Buzz off!" Lorist cried angrily, "I'm not even 40 and still full of life! Do you really look forward to my son taking over so much?!"

Dulles knew he had said something better left unsaid. He crouched and hugged his head fearfully. Loze stood beside him awkwardly.

"Hey, come back."

Dulles, who was just about to leave, turned around.

"Your Grace..." mumbled he.

"Where's the messenger?" asked the duke glaringly.

"Outside—"

"Why haven't you called him in yet?"

Lorist recognized the messenger, he was one of his three thousand strong personal guard. He had brought just two of the three thousand along to the frontlines. He'd left the rest in Ragebear to look after his family. The messenger, a young man named Wallon, was a lieutenant.

Wallon had with him a letter penned by Sylvia herself. She had written of her pregnancy and her pride at it. Lorist couldn't help but smile when he read her arrogant tone. She also wrote a lot about how much she missed him. She had left the capital for Cherry Blossom ridge where she would stay until the child was born. The place was quite a bit cooler than the city, so it was indeed the best place to stay for the summer.

Once he finished the letter Lorist told Wallon to rest for a while. He would call for him once he had a reply for him to take back. His brows furrowed as the man left the tent.

"I already have three sons. Irina's first is eleven, staying with Malek; her younger is seven and I'm still looking for a good tutor for him; and Anna gave me my third, now four. I don't want for successors and I promised all my children would be on the family registry and thus have a place in the line of succession.

"While it's great Sylvia will also give me another child, it's only to be expected. I certainly am happy, but not ecstatic like you two. Tell me, honestly, how many of the men share your view? How many are skeptical of my concubine's children?"

Loze and Dulles stared at each other for a moment Loze stepped forward.

"I'm not trying to be a busybody, Your Grace. Actually, I believe having the concubine's children registered in the family registry is one of the most important things to ensure the house stays stable across generations If Your Grace hadn't gotten married, I wouldn't have had anything to say about letting all of the concubine's children be in the line of succession. But you're now married, Lady Sylvia is your wife. Her children are your legitimate and primary descendants, they should also be the first in the line of succession. Most of the house, if not everyone, agree with me."

Dulles wanted to say something, but kept silence. Lorist glared at him.

"Speak freely. No matter what you say, I won't hold it against you. Though the house has developed a lot, those willing to speak the truth have become fewer and fewer. Tell me your honest thoughts.

"Think about the hardship we suffered on the way north all those years ago and what we have now. You were my first vassals, I've never doubted your loyalty. Please, share with me your thoughts."

"Very well," Dulles surrendered and raised both hands, "It is not that we don't have our thoughts and opinions, we just feel they aren't appropriate to voice to Your Lordship. You made it clear with Sylvia marriage, after all, that we have no place interfering in your personal matters. However, the matter of succession is not the same, it is at the core of the house's future, something that deeply affects all of us. If you are followed by an incapable or unsuitable heir, the entire house's future could be in doubt. We are very loyal to your majesty, but we also have families to look after, and those of us with land and titles, like Charade, also have to think of our subjects.

"Take the first young master as an example. We have kept a close eye on him. Baron Malek said that he has great potential to become a fearless knight, but he has no aptitude for governance; he won't be a good duke, his personality is too crude and cruel. Lady Malek tried her best to educate him in etiquette and restraint, but he still kills small animals in awful ways. Keeping him as your heir apparent is a disaster for the entire house."

"He's still young," argued Lorist hopelessly.

It wasn't that he didn't know about the reports concerning his first son. Tarkel had sent a few informants to check on the child's progress. The one that left the deepest impression was the time his son was punished by Malek's wife. He went out of the house, shot a squirrel with a bow and turned the poor critter into minced meat with his shortsword.

"This is not something age will solve, Your Grace. A child his age should no right from wrong. Venting his rage on a weaker being is not courage. We believe he became this way because his mother spoiled him too much when he was younger. We don't think his younger brother will be much better. They are not fit to succeed you," continued Dulles.

Lorist kept silent for a while. He knew this was a minor act of rebellion by his vassals. He didn't know when the two factions had come to be, but they were undeniably present. The old faction included the house's original members, specifically Maplewoods' members. They were prideful and looked down on the newer members as being not 'true members of the house'. They were the 'new ones'. They believed only those who'd, like them, been brought up in the house were truly loyal. The rest were opportunists who couldn't be trusted. Hansk was at the faction's head. They believed that despite being only a concubine, as the only of Lorist's lovers to have been brought up in the house, and being the first to give birth to possible heirs, her children were the true heirs to his title.

The new faction was composed of most of the nights and officials who'd followed Lorist to The Northlands or had joined the house since. They didn't see the old members of the house in a good light. They believed they were cowards who could only stand tall because Lorist gave them shade. Just look at the state they were in when Lorist first arrived. They were just country bumpkins barely hanging on to life. The new faction's members believed they'd proven their loyalty through the hardships they suffered on the way north and through their outstanding service to the house since they'd joined. They were the ones who'd walked alongside Lorist to bring the house to its new heights. The old faction's members had overseen the house's downfall and had contributed little to its recent rise, what rite did they have act all high and mighty in front of the new faction and boss them around?

Not everyone had chosen a side, though, many were still neutral. Charade, Potterfang, Spiel, Kedan, and Belnick were among them. They did not concern themselves with the faction of the person who made a proposal, they made decisions based on the options' merits alone. They had worked hard to keep everything between the factions under control.

Lorist knew about the rift between the two factions, but wasn't too concerned. If anything, the rift made the house easier to control. He hadn't thought, however, that the old faction would make so much of a ruckus when he chose to make Sylvia his wife. Now the new faction was trying to get back at the old faction by kicking their candidates from the line of succession. Can't they tone it down a bit?

"What about Anna's child? She gave me a son too, right?" asked he finally.

Dulles shook his head.

"Madam Anna's status is not suitable. She's not even your concubine so the house's reputation will be severely damaged if her child becomes your heir."

Lorist understood Dulles was hinting at him about Dilianna's identity as a widow as well as a participant of Queen Carey's Paradise Gathering before becoming Lorist's concubine. Paradise gathering was famous among the nobles. Though Queen Carey was now dead, and the noble who participated dead, knowledge of the party was widespread, and who knew if someone could associate his concubines with it.

If Dilianna's son succeeded him, she would have to appear before other nobles eventually. Should anyone find out about her past, they could use it to blackmail her or cause trouble by spreading it around, possibly bringing her son's legitimacy into doubt. Dilianna preferred a peaceful life above all. She just wanted her son to support her in her old age; she had no ambition for her son in the line of succession.

Sigh, I didn't think Sylvia's child would cause so much trouble.

News of her pregnancy was both good and bad. No matter his stance on the matter, some things couldn't be avoided. This really wasn't as simple as a personal matter. His decision in this regard affected everyone in the house, he couldn't justify doing this without considering them as well.

"Dismissed. Let's leave it for today. Don't get too entangled with this. We're worried about this a little too soon. Right now I just want Sylvia to give birth safely."

Lorist waved as he sent Loze and Dulles out before he sat in his tent, smiling bitterly. Now that the house had conquered the whole of The Northlands, its future was immeasurably bright. But the way he saw it, he had only gotten strong enough to defend himself. Just as the house's situation appeared good, internal strife brew. This was probably unavoidable. But it didn't make it any easier.

Those bastards! I'm not even 40! If I really become a swordsaint, I'll easily live for another two or three hundred years! They have too much time on their hands. They're not considering my feelings at all... This should've been good news, not a troublesome matter I should worry myself over.

He spent the rest of the day writing a love-filled letter for Sylvia. It was filled with line after line of his longing for her. He also urged her to take care of herself and promised he would go back to spend time with her whenever he could. He had Wallon take the letter back. He deliberated whether he should hold a banquet to celebrate the occasion or keep it private. The decision was only complicated by the fact that this concerned Duke Fisablen, he was Sylvia's grandfather, after all.

Should I invite him? Will he even accept? pondered he.

Round Up and Hunt

"This is how a grandfather should be; a man with silver in his hair and gold in his heart." ~ Norton Lorist

Duke Fisablen accepted Lorist's invitation without any trouble. He didn't even bother to ask why Lorist had invited him and only brought a single attendant along. It made Lorist feel a little like he was the bad guy, seeing how the duke wasn't worried whether Lorist would harm him. Then again, if he really did invite him over with ill intentions and word got out, it would tarnish the house's name.

Putting aside the huge loss of trust, a good portion of the household knights might leave as well. On Grindia, a house's reputation was sacred, as was that of the individual noble. At the very least, most nobles, knights, and commoners held the same belief. Some nobles and knights were even willing to sacrifice their lives to uphold their house's honor.

In Lorist's case, he had no choice but to serve Auguslo to protect his house's reputation of being loyal to the imperial family. Even though it might already have exceeded Andinaq might, Lorist sill had to stay put obediently as the Duke of The Northlands and put up a cordial front to Auguslo.

In Grindia, keeping one's word and being loyal were considered virtues. Even if two nobles were at war with one another, they had to justify their actions proudly. In the millennia of the continent's history, traitors were far and few in between, and every one of them were nailed onto a rack sd examples for all to see. Such were the continent's traditions. Should a lord be unfair, his vassal may resist, but not rebel.

Fine, this is all that slimy of fox's fault. Why would he accept my invitation out of nowhere like this? Does he really not think I'll harm him? Or is he looking down on me? Does he think I don't dare touch him?

Lorist grit his teeth and tried to push the blame on the old man who had chosen to attend the banquet. Yet, he still had to force a smile and welcome him warmly.

Lorist chose a private function. He had a table set up in his tent for himself and the duke; he wasn't going to get all the troops involved. The main reason was that he already had five children, so Sylvia's pregnancy wasn't a big deal in any way. He was also worried celebrating this with the troops would instill a misunderstanding in some's minds that he was preferentially inclined towards his legitimate heirs. After much thought, he decided to host a private banquet and break the news to the duke without spreading it around.

In all seriousness, this was the second time he'd met the duke in person. The first time was back at Windbury when he'd privately discussed the matter of wedding Sylvia with him. As he didn't agree to the duke's third condition -- to abandon his concubines and children -- they had parted on bad terms. A year later, he led the alliance and chased the duke and his troops all the way back to his dominion, forcing them to present Sylvia to him and sue for peace.

Auguslo visited Eastwild soon after and the duke submitted to him and became his vassal. It resulted in the duke joining the same faction in which Lorist was. Not only was the old man incredibly thick-skinned, he was also incredibly adaptable. This made him even more wary of the old man. Even though he was in the same camp as the Duke now, Lorist had never met the latter again. They only met during Auguslo's military councils where many others were present.

Perhaps the duke thought Lorist wanted to ask him for advice after the loss he suffered a few days earlier during his attempted night attack. He was in charge of the attacks against the three defense lines, after all. The duke had long gotten wind of the failure. However, even an experienced general like him didn't have a solution to this new problem as he didn't have any methods to counter the defenses either. He could only advise him to be patient.

Lorist didn't know how to react to the duke's consolation.

"You are mistaken, Lord Duke. I didn't call you here to ask for advice on dealing with the enemy. Sylvia is with child and I thought it only right I tell you personally. I also thought we could have a small celebration—"

"Sylvia's pregnant?!"

It was rather surprising that the old guy was even more worked up than Lorist. He was so happy he didn't touch any of the wine and circled the table constantly as he muttered about how Sylvia should take care of herself and be careful. He even began to consider where to hire an experienced midwife.

"Gosh, aren't you thinking a little too far ahead? Sylvia's belly isn't even visible yet. Gods willing, it'll be another half a year before we even need to consider what to do about the birth."

It wasn't easy for the duke to realize that he'd lost his grip. He made a toast to Lorist despite being the guest and got drunk in no time. Lorist had no choice but to have someone send him back to his quarters.

Two days later, Lorist received an invitation from the duke. Thinking that it was a reciprocal invitation, he brought only Jinolio with him. He'd not expected the camp to be so merry.

"Why everyone to jolly?" he asked one of the guards.

"We heard His Grace's granddaughter got knocked up. His Grace was so happy he's paying out of his pocket so we can celebrate for three days straight. Not only do we get to eat all we want, there are even bonuses being flung around! Everyone's so happy. We hope she's knocked up every year!" replied the guard.

Jinolio burst out in laughter, while Lorist just stood there, not knowing what to do.

Damned old man, you should've been clearer about why you're celebrating so much! Now it's turned into such a huge joke down the grapevine!

However, he didn't intend to take what the guards had said to heart. He just barked outside the tent, "Alright, old man, you want to make a big deal out of this?! Jinolio, pass this on to Loze: have the army throw a celebration for three days! Double the bonus they're giving out over here! I will cover all the costs!"

In the end, even Auguslo, residing in Paetro, learnt of Lorist knocking up the duke's granddaughter as well as the three-day celebration. He sent Lorist a huge gift to congratulate him. Lorist felt he was being chased off the stage by the others. The whole debacle did have an upside, though; the enmity built up between Lorist and the duke vanished. The duke would frequently visit him to inquire after news on Sylvia or to chat about the war. Lorist realized the old man was pretty self-aware in that he knew Sylvia didn't want to meet him, her own grandfather, given how hung up she was on being sent to him as she had been. So, he collected lots of precious herbs and gave it to Lorist so he could give them to Sylvia.

For instance, he heard some locals say that goldscale crimsonlip fish could be found in Nibarak. The fish was an incredibly rare ingredient in the field of herbal medicine and was really good for stabilizing pregnancy. However, they were slowly vanishing and it was really hard to catch any these days. So, he had a large number of worksmiths build boats to catch the fish. The enemies noticed and thought Auguslo was preparing to attack down the river, so they fortified their defenses there.

Through his informants and scouts, Lorist quickly grasped the change in deployment and understood the situation. He called Fisablen over to discuss how they would apply even more pressure on Handra. His plan was simple: he would have House Kenmays's two heavy-armored divisions defend the main camp, and Pegasus deployed on the field for launching feint attacks on the three defense lines from time to time. At the same time, he would lead Tigersoar and House Fisablen's reserve legion towards Nibarak, loudly proclaiming that he would construct a road on the other side that stretched southward to Deramak.

This was the third method he'd suggested to Auguslo: splitting their forces. However, Lorist didn't really intend to go all the way, he only wanted to apply more pressure on Handra and force them to strengthen their defenses near the river and thus consume more resources. He caused a lot of commotion by sending his troops all over the place after they crossed the river, though that was actually just a welcome side effect. His true goal was to make some extra pocket money for himself and his grandfather-in-law. While the road's construction was only being done half-assed, the hunting was intense.

Nibarak was considered a natural border that separated the civilized lands from the wilderness. On one side were rich farms, well-maintained orchards, and peaceful villages, on the other the ancient forests, swamps, and ever-stretching mountains. Even the duchies' hunters only dared to hunt within five kilometers of the riverbank, they didn't dare to go any further east.

Forund had once had plans for the other side of the river a few decades ago. They had wanted to develop the land there and recruited nearly a thousand commoners to build a few villages. Magic beasts attacked the villages during the winter. If not for the fact that the river didn't freeze during the winter, the villages within the duchy would have been attacked as well.

He crossed the river after the rainy season to check the villages, to find only ruins. All the villagers had been killed. Only blood and destruction was left. Almost all of the four duchies' inhabitants feared the other side of the river and even began to call it the demonic lands.

According to the hunters, the most common magic beast they encountered was the dire wolf. They were incredibly cunning. According to folklore, they could understand the human tongue and would exploit it to lure the hunters into the deeper parts of the forests and become their prey.

The huge wolves, easily bigger than cows, were the rulers of the demonic lands. Dire wolves lived in packs and were the most dangerous. They also never forgot their grudges. When Duke Handra had still been young, he had brought a regiment of troops across the river for a hunt. However, he was unfortunate enough to encounter a pack of more than 20. They managed to exterminate most of them, but three or four wolves slipped away. In the end, the three gathered others and attacked his party day and night. By the time he returned across the river, only three hundred of the original thousand-man regiment was still alive.

Lorist didn't really care about the dire wolves. Usually, hunting was something undertaken when there was no other option. While the army did have food support from Auguslo, meat was incredibly rare. The food provided was only enough to keep the men's stomachs full, but far from well-fed. Transporting meat from The Northlands added a lot to the costs, so much that it wasn't much of an option. Duke Fisablen had ordered a large number of cows and goats brought along only to realize that the livestock had lost most of their weight by the time they arrived.

So, the construction of the boats was both for capturing some goldscale crimsonlip and procuring meat. Lorist's idea of hunting the magic beasts had the duke's full support. Hunting magic beasts was but a common affair for Tigersoar. From the time they had hunted the magic beasts that remained in the dominion following the beast wave to the time when they went into the wilderness to hunt the beasts down, they had slain more than a million. However, the grassland barbarians considered beasts like the resilient and ridiculously strong cliffbear, the savage and sharp-toothed swordtooth tiger, the terrifying giant pythons, or the giant swamp crocodiles whose skin seemed stronger than metal something against which they didn't stand a chance. Even though they were accustomed to various types of wolves, the gigantic dire wolves could still inflict heavy casualties. But the moment Tigersoar struck, their eyes were opened. They witnessed the escaping magic beasts being used for target practice first hand.

In just two short months the meat started overflowing. The processors couldn't keep up with how quickly more was being brought in, so an entire division was dedicated to the task.

Tigersoar and the reserve legion had stormed half of the demonic lands and were beginning to head south. When Handra's soldiers discovered enemy cavalry on the opposite bank, they got even more anxious and hurriedly constructed one watchtower and signal fire point after another.

Lorist was so busy rounding up the magic beasts on the opposite bank that he had tossed his other directive to the back of his mind and forgotten about it completely. He had just set his sights on the magic beasts' fur. It was a good source of income. Given that there was no cotton on Grindia, winter clothes were made of various animal pelts. Even though he had started a large livestock farm in the west of The Northlands where near a million goats and cows were reared, their skins weren't the best material for winter clothing. Instead, the fur of magic beasts was ideal.

Some fur from rare magic beasts were priced in the thousands of gold Fordes. Apart from fur and meat, other parts of certain beasts were considered precious medicinal ingredients and sold for great prices on the market. Lorist roughly estimated that the two months of hunting had netted him nearly a million gold Fordes, not included his grandfather-in-law's share. He was pleasantly surprised that he could still make so much money on the side even though he was at war. He didn't even bother with answering the king's inquiries on the situation.

In the blink of an eye, the 10th month came around. Duke Fisablen had to send ten plus messengers to call Lorist back. The moment he entered the tent, the old man rushed over to tell him that Duke Handra had privately sent an envoy. The envoy had already been waiting for four days."

Envoy and Conditions

"People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything, people who enjoy secret meetings even less so." ~ Norton Lorist

The moment he heard Fisablen say Duke Handra's envoy had been waiting at the campsite for four days, Lorist stopped in his tracks.

Wait, something's amiss.

The gears in Lorist's mind started turning. Looking at Fisablen glumly, he thought, What is this geriatric planning? Handra's envoy should be seeking an audience with the king. What does he plan to achieve by staying in the campsite I'm in charge of and calling me? Is he going to keep it from Auguslo and drag me down?

A single look told Fisablen that Lorist had misunderstood him. He hurriedly explained.

"We know the envoy and he came to find us specifically to ask what price the king wanted to stop this war. I don't dare make any decisions on my own. You know the king far better than I, so I need your advice. You know my campsite is under tight surveillance, I can't just bring him in there, especially not considering that I've only recently returned to the fold."

Come on, isn't that basically trying to pin part of the blame on me? Also, since when were we close enough for you to be bothered by my opinions?

Despite his skepticism, his interest had been aroused.

"I know him too? Who is it?"

You must've had some sort of complicated relationship with the duchies. They even sent 70 thousand of their elite infantrymen to aid you. But now you've suddenly submitted to Auguslo and even led your troops against them, a thankless traitor. Don't tell me you haven't heard how the enemy curse your men. How dare you have the balls to hook up with them again?

And that Duke Handra is really something. Why would he even bother sending an envoy to negotiate with you? If I were in his shoes, I would fight to the bitter end.

He understood such things were only common for nobility, however. Everyone was making their decisions for the good of their house. He didn't have much control over what Fisablen did. It was common for people to switch sides overnight and no one thought it something immoral and appalling.

"The envoy is Count Chujway. You met him during the knighthood tournament. You even invited him to the inn called Anna's Abode for a talk once," whispered Fisablen, his eyes keeping close watch over their surroundings.

It almost seemed like an incredible secret was being revealed. Lorist quickly took two steps back.

"Oh, it's him? And what does he have to say?"

"Uhmm..." Fisablen hesitated, "You should talk to him yourself. Given my relations with them, it's a little awkward for me to deal with him."

"It's good you're aware," Lorist nodded, "Where's he now?"

Count Chujway dallied in a corner in the back of the camp. There stood a few ad-hoc wooden houses. They used to be isolation cells for Tigersoar soldiers who broke regulations. However, Fisablen had Pegasus's general, Penawar, clean it up and refitted to be a guest house.

Lorist was speechless. If Tigersoar had remained in the camp, Fisablen and even Lorist himself would have had to be announced before they could enter the camp. Now that Tigersoar was in the demonic lands, the old man could come and go as he pleased. However, Lorist understood Penawar was a knight of House Felim, whose dominion in Southern bordered Eastwild. Though House Felim was a member of the alliance, he couldn't afford to offend the duke for no good reason. Additionally, the old man was technically Lorist's grandfather-in-law and had been visiting him quite frequently as of late. The least Penawar could do was make it easier for him to come and go.

The moment the two entered, Count Chujway was ready to receive them by the door. He bowed to the two respectfully. Lorist immediately noticed the joy in Chujway's eyes when he saw he'd had arrived. He might have believed Lorist was the only one who could call the shots.

Fisablen was surprisingly quiet once they sat down as if he wasn't willing to speak at all. Lorist didn't have to beat around the bush for long for Chujway to cave in and stated outright why he'd come: Duke Handra wished to affect Auguslo's moves through the two to stop the war.

Lorist played around with the teacup in his hands as if it contained some sort of interesting secret. When he became a little annoyed by what Chujway was saying, he asked softly, "Oh? So Duke Handra can't resist anymore?"

"That's not what I said!" Chujway denied firmly as he started like a person being injected with chicken-blood injected, "Duke, all our nobles and commoners are prepared to resist you to the end! We've formed three legions so far. Coupled with the garrison legion in the capital, Hans, as well as the various garrison forces across the land, our duchy alone has 200 thousand soldiers!

"Additionally, the three other dukes brought over 200 thousand men, we have at least 400 thousand between us, far more than your 300 thousand. The duke can mobilize another 200 thousand youths at a moment's notice. However, my lord is benevolent and treasures our history with the empire. That is why we have not launched any offensives."

Lorist put the cup down and applauded. "Well said, Lord Chujway. Do continue."

Continue? What's there to continue? Chujway looked at Lorist blankly. He didn't understand what the duke meant. But, seeing how attentive Lorist was, he had no choice but to turn to Duke Fisablen.

The duke felt a huge urge to laugh, but suppressed it by coughing loudly a few times. "Well, Duke Norton, do you think given our numerical inferiority, we will really be successful in attacking Handra?"

Old fox, you're feigning ignorance again and pushing this bad cop role to me. Lorist smiled and spoke frankly, "Lord Chujway, Handra has three provinces and a total population of around a million. I'm sure feeding an army of 400 thousand is quite challenging."

Chujway reddened immediately but was still unwilling to concede. "It's not difficult at all! The last couple of years had great weather and amazing harvests. Food fills our warehouses to the brim and we can feed our army for even five years. The Union has also been very generous with their aid. They've been sending streams of resources since they first heard of our predicament.

"They hope the army can teach your king a lesson and wake him up to reality so he drops his reckless ambitions. The duke was too kind and wasn't willing to go to all-out war, hence his sending of me to inquire as to your king's intentions. If His Majesty's requests aren't outlandish, we can cease hostilities and restore peace."

Hehe, what a load of bull! Nobles are so shallow. If it's really as you say, then why would your duke bother to send you? Let's see who can last longer. Lorist smirked disdainfully but refrained from bursting his guest's bubble just yet. Instead, he acted as if he was really troubled, "Lord Chujway, I completely believe you. But you should know what our king's temper is like. He's been holding a grudge for your betrayal for years and believes had you submitted to him and returned to the empire when he first asked, his dreams of reuniting the empire to its former glory would've been successful.

"It's not that I don't want to give you a hand, but our king's mind is made up. He wants to wipe you all out no matter what. It's best they turn themselves in and beg His Majesty for forgiveness. I am confident His Majesty won't them."

"Impossible!" Chujway barked. face red, "We have 400 thousand men! We won't go down so easily!"

Lorist slapped his thigh. "Wonderful. Since you're unwilling to surrender despite understanding our king's stance, you might as well send your 400 thousand troops over all at once. We'll unravel our defenses and prepare for a grand battle. As long as you defeat us, our king's anger might just subside and we can finally get the peace we all want."

Chujway understood the situation in a moment. He had taken his threats too far. Currently, his side had no other option available but to defend, especially with Lorist standing with Auguslo. It wasn't that the count hadn't witnessed the might of House Norton's forces before. His strong act had completely backfired.

"Haha... Hahaha..." Chujway laughed dryly and hurried to change the subject. "Well, Lord Norton, I... I have come on the orders of my duke to sue for peace. I wasn't going to suggest we engage in a huge battle. My Lord truly wishes to end the war. He sent me over to ask what the two of you think about whether there'd be a way to end this needless conflict."

"Really?" Lorist mused, "Then tell me, what kind of conditions did your lord suggest?"

"Well, he said if the two of you could convince His Majesty to restore the four duchies, then the dukes will pay two million gold Fordes as compensation and even relinquish their sovereignty. They are also willing to pay the royal family a million gold Fordes in annual tribute."

Lorist was so angry he felt like laughing. You expect Auguslo to accept these conditions and even want me to convince him? No wonder that old fox isn't saying anything. Had the war not happened, Auguslo might really have taken these conditions seriously. But now that three duchies have been conquered, that's all they're willing to offer? Has Duke Handra had his head kicked by a mule?

"Do you think the king will accept this? If Duke Handra doesn't have the intention to be sincere, he shouldn't have sent you over. How about this: Why don't I send you to the king and you tell him these conditions yourself?" asked Lorist discontentedly.

Chujway's face greened and paled. In actuality, even he felt the conditions were a little ridiculous. But there was nothing he could do; the conditions had been agreed upon by all four duke. Given how unstable the duchy was, the four's relationship was rather strained. Forund had promised his subordinates, and Duke Shabaj wouldn't be able to cause any commotion even if he wanted to. The most troublesome was Farkel, who acted completely without tact. Though he was a guest, he didn't consider Handra with respect at all.

That was especially so with Duke Farkel's knights, who behaved no differently from bandits. They actually dared to raid villages in the duchy and violate the women. They even proudly proclaimed they had abandoned their own nation to come protect Handra, so it didn't really matter what they did to the wenches.

Handra was enraged and sent his knights to apprehend Farkel. Considering their status as allies, He left the fate of the knights to the duke. But the latter just released them and even argued it wasn't a big deal for a few commoners to be killed. He even invited the the duke's knights to go along and rape some of his subjects when the dominion was conquered.

It was Handra's own misfortune to encounter such a ridiculous person, an ally, no less. Though he still had lots to spare after forming two legions, a duke formed the third Blackdragon Legion to keep an eye on Duke Farkel's Bloodspear situated within the duchy to prevent them from messing with the villages.

Chujway was aware of the current situation. While there really were 400 thousand soldiers, his statement about being able to feed them for five years was a lie. Even if the duchies had had great harvests for several years running, their consumption was immense. The latest estimate predicted their food could last them only six months. Even if they included the fall harvest during the 10th month as well as the following spring harvests of the winter wheat next year, they could drag the war on for another month or two at most. During such a critical lack of food, Duke Farkel even wanted his legion to be supplied with good grain and meat.

It wasn't that the dukes didn't try requesting aid from the Union. But the Wessian supervisor, the nearest to Handra, said they couldn't help even if they wanted to and expressed his sympathy. Currently, the Union was caught up in the war with the mid-southern army; they were unable to provide aid. But, given how Wessia had old ties with the duchies, they said they could sell weapons and other supplies at a discount on account of that.

While they claimed it was a discount, the price was actually three times normal and the quality was bad. The supervisor's answer was that he had no choice. Given how war was all over the place, all sorts of supplies were in short supply. Being able to procure some to sell was already the best they could do, causing Duke Handra to question on the spot whether Wessia was worried Auguslo would turn his sights on Bodolger after the extermination of the four central duchies, given that it used to be Krissen Empire territory as well.

The supervisor proudly replied that Wessia Merchant Guild was not the least worried about that happening, given how they were backed by Forde Trade Union, Grindia's number one superpower.

The reason the four dukes wanted to make peace with Auguslo was because they were unable to procure aid from the Union at all. However, their first condition to restore the four central duchies to the state they were before the war was akin to saying that they wanted the conquered territory of the three duchies to be returned. There was no way Auguslo would agree to that. It was like asking him to spit out a piece of meat he already swallowed. As for the two million gold Fordes, that was even more unconvincing. If Handra's defenses were breached, the money wouldn't be going anywhere either.

"If... If the two of you are able to convince His Majesty Auguslo to agree to our request, the four dukes are willing to gift each of you 500 thousand gold Fordes..." Chujway still tried to make his best effort.

Lorist felt his anger rise. I already earned close to two million gold Fordes from the demonic lands already! Are you mocking me with your measly 500 thousand?

"Lord Chujway, since you're an envoy, I can tolerate your impolite transgressions. However, I will not allow you to humiliate us like that. You may leave. Tell the four dukes to keep their necks clean. I don't want my longsword to be dirtied when the time comes."

"You..." Chujway glared at Lorist angrily.

Lorist shrugged him off and ordered, "Men, send the guest off!"

Moonlight Stones

"When a son and a father can speak openly, honestly, and sincerely to one another, only a bright future can await their family." ~ Duke Fisablen

Watching as Chujway left on horseback with his two attendants, Duke Fisablen finally spoke.

"Is it really alright to refuse?"

Lorist snorted.

"Come on, stop putting up that act. Isn't the reason you called me over because you couldn't bear to refuse them because of your history and wanted me to play the bad guy? I'm sure you understand Count Chujway had come to ask us to speak to His Majesty on their behalf as well as to find out more about what we thought about the four dukes. In actuality, he's here to check whether we are having the same supply problem as them. They want to make sure whether His Majesty is going to see this through."

Duke Fisablen shook his head with a smile without refuting Lorist's hypothesis.

"Don't you know I had Count Chujway sent to your main camp and even welcomed him with a banquet? He was so surprised when served the magic beast meat and even felt bad for eating something so luxurious. When I told him even our soldiers ate it, he didn't believe me. So I led him around the camp. He was speechless when he saw the soldiers making jerky. He hurriedly requested to try to make peace between them and our king. I only called you over because I couldn't refuse him."

"It's obvious they're really tight on supplies. They might've begun rationing already," Lorist said, understanding the subtext of Fisablen's words, "While what Count Chujway said about them having 400 thousand troops is true, the claim that they' can sustain them for five years is definitely fake. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so surprised by how rich our meals were. I suspect the claim that they're receiving lots of aid from the Union is false as well. There's no way they'd take the initiative for peace talks if they were indeed being supported by the Union."

"But their conditions are a little too insincere, right? How could they expect His Majesty to agree? The first clause itself required him to give up the eight occupied provinces and return the territory to how it was before the war. The kind would never agree," Duke Fisablen argued, "Their request was just an excuse. The commotion you caused on the bank on the other side of the river is what worries them most. If we really head to Deramak from the demonic lands, we can strike their weak points. Even if they have the Union's support, defending the whole riverbank will require lots of soldiers. They've sent this envoy over to see if we can avoid exactly this outcome."

"Perhaps," Lorist continued after some thought, "I believe the four dukes think that we're in a similar situation as they are. If they are lacking in supplies, they'll believe that it's the same with us. Though their troop numbers exceed ours by around 100 thousand, our dominions are quite far from here and transporting resources here could prove difficult. They believe the eight provinces we've just occupied can't be used for the next two or three years. What they don't know is that His Majesty has already effectively cleared out and organized them.

"And there's your call for those worksmiths to craft boats upstream and my proclamation that I'll build a road at the demonic lands. Logically speaking, there's no way we could afford the supplies. Maybe the dukes believe we're just putting up a front, so they sent Count Chujway over to check. It would certainly explain why he changed his mind so quickly and asked for our help.

"It's a shame the conditions the dukes proposed were predicated on the fact that we're in a similar situation. They consider us on equal standing with them and believe that their conditions are a good exit for His Majesty to step out of this situation while maintaining his reputation. The other conditions are merely empty promises. If we really are to negotiate with them, we'll demand they pay up right away. They are tests as to whether we really want to negotiate with them, so I refused them immediately."

Duke Fisablen nodded in approval. "Your inference is sensible. However, I think it's better to lead them by the nose a little longer. We can fight while we negotiate and find out about the internal situation of Handra and whether they can hold on from their envoys."

"There's no need," Lorist refused the suggestion immediately, "Since Count Chujway already found our supplies are far more than three years, coupled with our swift refusal of his request, the four dukes will be faced with an immediate dilemma. Continuing to defend the riverbank will only make their supplies tighter. But if they don't, they'll have to fear our advance into the heart of Deramak. My refusal of their request will also reinforce His Majesty's resolve to eradicate the duchies. Next time they send an envoy, their conditions will be far better and their attitude will definitely be sincere."

Surprised, Duke Fisablen asked, "Do you think that they'll send envoys again?"

Lorist nodded.

"Yes. They don't have any choice. They have to start negotiating while they still have cards to play. If they continue on like this, it's either extermination or exile. If they know what's good for them, we can put in a good word or two. There's no real need to stay here for a few more years in a stand-off."

"Oh? Didn't you say their supplies were dwindling? They shouldn't be able to last much longer."

"No," Lorist smiled bitterly, "I miscalculated. The duchies are far wealthier than we imagined. Didn't you hear Count Chujway say they were willing to pay two million gold Fordes as compensation and said we'd each get 500 thousand as a token of gratitude if we helped them out?

"I expect the three million gold Fordes is but a third or fourth of their wealth. Otherwise, they wouldn't even make this offer. If they choose to escape, that wealth could let them spend a few lifetimes in luxury in the Union. Similarly, if they choose to resist, it can buy supplies that'd last a year or two.

"His Majesty doesn't mind spending two or three years here. He has already cleared up all the nobles in Forund and Farkel and started managing them effectively. Shabaj's three provinces have also begun to regain their vigor and their development is on track. The king doesn't mind taking his time. But do we really want to stay here for two are three years?"

Fisablen was speechless at how unwilling Lorist sounded when he spoke. While he had agreed to help Auguslo conquer the duchies and spending a year or so wasn't a huge issue, dragging the war on for two or three years for the meager rewards Auguslo had promised was not an option. However, honoring promises was an exalted virtue and he couldn't just drop everything and leave.

Seeing that the three duchies were already gone with only Handra struggling at the brink of death, he was determined to not waste a number of years on the battlefield. It would be best if he could withdraw and return to his dominion rather than remaining here. If he could make the four dukes submit, everyone would have saved their faces and it would for the best.

"Oh, when is Sylvia expecting the child?" Fisablen changed the subject.

"It should be in the 1st month of next year."

"When are you going back?"

"Maybe in the 12th," Lorist said with grit teeth, "Before I leave, I have to take one defense line and put more pressure on the four old bastards. I have to force them to send an envoy sooner to discuss their surrender. Otherwise, I won't hold back..."

Though he had agreed to help the king, his forces didn't really have a chance to perform. Instead, they'd been acting to prevent as many casualties as possible while taking advantage of the enemy's weaknesses from time to time. It was mainly because he felt sacrificing his forces for the sake of reuniting the empire was incredibly wasteful and only wanted to do the bare minimum to fulfill his obligations. One look at Fisablen and one could see he only used the reserve legion for dangerous missions. Grassland barbarians were not in short supply on the plains, after all. Third Frontier had been sitting in the back and watching the show the whole time.

"But... Isn't it winter in the 12th month? How will you attack the defenses?"

Lorist rolled his eyes. "Stop pretending, old fox. Wasn't your Third Frontier forced to surrender to me in the winter? I'll tell you frankly that my men aren't affected by winter. In fact, it's an opportunity to show off. You'll see how we launch our assault when the time comes."

Fisablen smiled a little awkwardly.

"Fine, I'll finally see it for myself. But aren't you worried it'll delay your return? It's Sylvia's first child. I'm worried for her safety."

"Worry not, I've already written a letter to tell her I'll make it back before she gives birth. As long as there are a few heavy bouts of snow, I can travel back in three to four days. It's five to six days faster than traveling on horseback."

"Uhmm... Could I go with you? I know things have gone awry between me and the girl, but she's my granddaughter. I really want to be there for her when she gives birth," asked Fisablen shyly, his head lowered.

Lorist was taken aback and found it a little funny.

"Fine, come along if you want. We can go back together."

"Thank you, Lord Norton," exclaimed he, elated.

Lorist looked at him, sighing. "Call me Lorist it's just us. You're Sylvia's grandfather, my father-in-law. There's no need to address me by title."

"Alright. Thank you, Lorist." the duke responded.

"You're welcome. Also, these are the profits we got from the demonic lands. You can have a third according to our agreement."

Lorist took out a small pouch and tossed it to the duke.

"What's this?" Duke Fisablen opened the sack and found ten smooth oval-shaped pebbles, glowing white like jade.

"Moonlight stones?!"

They were very well-known jewels. Some scholars believed they were a kind of fluorescent stone, others thought they were a variant of jade. Perhaps they were produced when jade was washed onto shore and gradually molded into the round pebbles one usually discovered, beaten by waves and bathed in moonlight for centuries. The silver moon's light gradually caused the jade to become fluorescent. Whenever it's light fell on the stones, they glowed like stars.

It was said that on the southernmost tip of the continent, the Romon Empire had a very famous palace which's roof was decorated with a circular arrangement of moonlight stones. When a candle was lit in the middle of the palace in the night, the stones would reflect the light as white light and make the whole palace bright as day. The palace was named Brightmoon Palace as a result.

The value of moonlight stones varied depending on the strength of their glow. The most expensive ones could go for up to 10 thousand gold Fordes while the cheaper ones cost only around ten gold coins. Most moonlight stones on the market sold for hundreds to thousands of gold coins. The sack Lorist had tossed to the duke contained ten moonlight stones of high quality, even the cheapest was worth over a thousand gold.

"Where did you find these?" asked the duke as he toyed with one of the stones.

Lorist turned to the demonic lands.

"Your grassland barbarians were rather lucky. They discovered a huge creek as they were chasing down a herd of magic goats. While it looks normal during the day, it shines silver during the night. They thought some deity lived there and instantly dismounted and started worshipping the creek.

"When we received their report, we knew they had discovered a stash of moonlight stones. We harvested nearly a thousand, worth around 700 thousand gold Fordes in total. Don't worry, you'll get a third. We've signed an agreement, you don't have to worry about me breaking it. These are your third of the best batch. As for the grassland barbarians who discovered the creek, I've given each five gold Fordes."

Duke Fisablen was speechless. It was a gap in knowledge. The grassland barbarians discovered a moonlight-stone-filled creek and thought it sacred and didn't dare to enter it. They even dismounted and started kowtowing in awe. Lorist, on the other hand, knew it was treasure waiting to be found and managed to get nearly a thousand stones and profited greatly. It was no wonder he was so happy hunting in the demonic lands and didn't want to return.

After some thought, the duke put the stones back into the sack and handed it back to Lorist.

"I think you should keep them. Use the stones to decorate the house after Sylvia gives birth. That way, you won't have to worry about the possibility of a fire from using too many lamps to light the house."

Lorist wasn't the least bit surprised and accepted the sack.

"Fine, I'll accept your gesture."

...

On the 21st day of the 12th month of Year 1782, House Norton's Tigersoar launched a surprise attack on Welony Pass's defenses under the cover of snowfall and crushed Handra's Reddragon in a single fight. Reddragon lost at least half its forces, the remaining men only barely managing to escape a similar fate by retreating to the second line of defense.

At the same time Welony Pass was conquered, the two defense lines in the flanks were assaulted as well. Forund's first garrison legion and Farkel's Forestmont had no choice but to give up on their defenses and retreat. Countless troops died from the frost. Forestmont raided and burned the villages they came across in accordance with Duke Farkel's scorched earth strategy, resulting in some 30 thousand dead civilians, sowing the seeds for the coming strife between Duke Handra and Duke Farkel.

Argument

"Never do what your enemy expects, unless that is what they don't expect." ~ excerpt from Treatises on War by Norton Loris

"Why have you come?"

Blademaster Xanthi had returned to her residence. She was surprised to see Fisablen seated near the fireplace drinking tea. They were at Cherry Blossom Ridge. The moment Xanthi received Sylvia's letter about her being with child, she had rushed from Crouchtiger Castle all the way there, ignoring Fisablen's order to guard the dominion, opting instead to stay by Sylvia's side. It was only after Lorist returned that Xanthi returned to her residence for not wanting to see him.

"I came back together with Lorist," the duke replied, "Also, how's Sylvia doing?"

"Not bad. She should be giving birth in a month or so. Now that the guy has returned, she's so happy she's stopped caring about me, her adoptive mother," complained she.

"Hehe, someone your age is jealous of their juniors?" Fisablen teased laughingly, "Come, sit down. We haven't spent much time together for quite some time now."

Xanthi walked over and sat down, leaning on the duke and snuggled into his embrace. Every time the two were together, she would turn into a little girl and stick closely to her man.

"You've come so far in this cold, stormy weather. You must be worn out, right?" asked she as she reached her hand out to touch the duke's face.

"I bet you wouldn't believe me if I told you I didn't suffer at all. I traveled from Wesstwood all the way here with Lorist without rest. It took only four days and three nights," said he, sighing.

"Impossible! How many provinces did you have to cross? Let me count... Wesstwood, Perolina, Freewood, Jigzai, Messen, Rimad, Southern, Winston, and The Northlands. Look, even if you travel on horseback for a day and a night, you'll only cross one province. How could you go through nine provinces in this kind of weather so quickly?"

"It's true, I'm not lying," Fisablen said as he gave her face a kiss.

She giggled and buried her face even deeper in his chest.

"I bet you never would've imagined we didn't come on horseback. We came on sleds. Apart from the mountainous paths where workhorses had to be strung, we only used sails to travel down the mountains and across the plains. I didn't think sails could be used in such a way as well. The heavier the storm, the faster the sleds. It was like a bolt of lightning. The scenery whooshed by so fast I couldn't see it at all.

"Lorist said House Norton only experimented with two kinds of sleds with the aim of solving the problem of transportation during the winter. We'd used one of them. Unfortunately, you can only transport small amounts of supplies like this; you still need animals to pull larger loads," said he with much insight.

"That kid loves to use these unconventional and devilish methods," said Xanthi.

"Devilish? Haha, you look down on them too much," said the duke, a little crestfallen, "I only now understand they were holding back when they attacked us. Had he not been worried that nobody would keep the grassland barbarians in check, he could've long sent his troops to Crouchtiger Castle.

"Don't tell me we have a huge population in Eastwild with limitless potential and that our frontier legions are best at hit-and-run attacks. As long as it's winter and our soldiers huddle up in the castles for heat, House Norton's forces can use sleds to send their forces to encircle us. There'll no way we can escape."

Xanthi's eyes widened. "It can't be. If even you're so pessimistic… are the sleds really that amazing?"

"This isn't really a problem of sleds. While they are indeed quite suitable for use on the plains, especially when snow covers them, I am more concerned with the mindset behind it. The is far more conservative than House Norton. There are no talented people in the next generation that stand out with creative ability and tolerance.

"Oh, and, six days ago, House Norton's Tigersoar used the cover of the snow and their skis to attack the defenses in Welony Pass. I watched the battle myself. I saw Lorist lead his men across the snow to the defenses' rear quickly.

"The defenders would never have imagined that the enemy would show up behind them in that weather. The many blizzards have packed snow hard on the ground. Using the skis, Lorist can attack quickly and easily from anywhere.

Reddragon was completely swarmed. They didn't even know how the enemy had appeared. The hundred or so catapults along the mountain pass fell without inflicting any casualties, and the number of enemies that escaped was negligible. The defenses that had held us back for eight months were conquered in a few minutes, with few, if any, casualties on Lorist's side. I understand completely why Lorist says winter is his friend, not his foe."

"Then we can also train House Fisablen's forces to fight like that! I'm sure you can do whatever that kid can," consoled Xanthi.

Fisablen laughed bitterly. "I already told you it's a problem of mindset. I've seen how the soldiers of Tigersoar are armed and their response to orders. It isn't something a quick training course can achieve. It's the result of years of regular winter training.

"Each soldier is given a set of specially made insulating clothing. They know how to not lose their way in the midst of a blizzard as well as how to camouflage themselves in the white, snow-covered fields and even how to prevent snow-blindness and keep their body temperature up.

"I really can't fathom Lorist investing so much into his forces. I asked around at one point; it's not just Tigersoar that has that training. Every Norton soldier has to go through it every year."

Fisablen sighed.

"I've always thought my fate was unordinary and dreamt of ushering in a new age for the house. But compared to Lorist, I am worthless. Whether it is personal power or the might of our armies, I'm not his match. I'm not saying this just because I'm sour. We're just too far apart.

"It really is unfortunate we have such a neighbor. The only thing I can be happy about is that this kid married my granddaughter and can be considered my son-in-law now. As long as I don't step out of bounds, I don't have to worry about House Fisablen being exterminated. I'm sure the kid will give us a hand in consideration of Sylvia."

...

On the 11th day of the 1st month, Year 1783, House Norton's matron, Duke of The Northlands', Norton Lorist's, wife, Sylvia, gave birth to a healthy child Lorist named Anderbael, 'peaceful bearling' in the language of the fae.

Auguslo's envoys traveled to The Northlands one after another after the rainy season ended, with the order to return to the frontlines. Duke Fisablen had already returned. After the attack on Welony Pass, the entrance to Handra was opened. It wasn't known whether the four dukes would react in desperation. So, Duke Fisablen rallied his troops after the new year's and rushed back to the pass. Lorist used the excuse of accompanying his wife and child to delay his return.

He only started packing in the 5th month. Had it not been for the king's consideration of how a monarch should behave, Lorist suspected he would have cursed in his letters already.

As expected, the frontlines were in complete chaos. The successful attack had been a pleasant surprise for the king. When he received word of it, Lorist had already returned to his dominion. As it was due to Sylvia's upcoming labor, there was nothing he could do. When he rushed to the frontlines in the blizzard, he quickly realized it was thanks to the skis he had obsessed over so much that the attack could be carried out successfully.

In Egret Swamp those years ago, he had seen how fast Lorist had traveled across the snow with the skis and even learned how to make them. He had forgotten one important factor, though. When he returned and wanted to form a ski assault corps, he realized all the men would have to be provided the skis, and a set of expensive heat-retaining clothing.

The reason Lorist could outfit his men was that he had a massive surplus of the necessary material from the magic beasts they had hunted. He had exterminated millions of them and obtained their pelts. But, lacking any way to ship them for sale in large quantities, he had used them for winter clothing for his troops.

Auguslo didn't have that kind of fur. He realized every soldier being given a set would be a huge burden on his finances. So, out of consideration for his coffers, he dropped the plan. He was really envious of the equipment Tigersoar's men had. He had wanted Tigersoar to press on and continue raking in the victory while winter lasted but Loze refused. He had told the king that Lorist's orders were to defend the pass so their efforts wouldn't be wasted if the enemy launched a counterattack. Additionally, the skis could only be used to catch the enemy off-guard. Now that they were aware of their presence, they'd definitely be ready. Any further attacks would only lose them more men.

What a load of bull. So what if the enemy is prepared? There's no way they'd stay in their trenches during the blizzard! They'd freeze to death before you even fight! Who else would have such priceless winter gear and the ability to show up out of nowhere in this kind of weather?

It was too bad Tigersoar wasn't under his direct command. Loze could rightfully refuse his orders because he wasn't their commander.

He returned, anger-filled, and swore he would spend even the last gold coin in his coffer to form an assault corps he could deploy in the winter as well. All he could do in the moment, however, was watch as the opportunities slipped away. After the rainy season passed, he kept on sending envoys to Lorist to have him return.

What are you doing in your dominion now that your child is born? Get your ass back here!

Welony's conquest meant that at least half of Wesstwood was now controlled by Andinaq. With Handra losing their advantageous defensive position in Cloudsnap, they had no choice but to retreat a further hundred kilometers. Fortunately, there were a few low hills there where the duchies had set up defenses to resist the first prince's invasion. The legions made their way there, reformed and took up position.

For now, six legions were stationed there. The four dukes had basically deployed all their forces in that single location. Forund's first and second legions, Handra's Whitedragon and Blackdragon legions, as well as the horribly defeated Reddragon, joined ranks. Farkel's Forestmont and Bloodspear were also there. As for Duke Shabaj's division, it was stationed along Nibarak to keep the enemy from passing through.

Perhaps because of the stimulation of Tigersoar's attack, Auguslo had led Whitelion and Duke Fisablen's the reserve legion in attacks on the defenses multiple times. But the defenses held and he was unable to break through.

"Locke, only the defenses in front of us are left. As long as we break through, we can completely annihilate the enemy. I believe it's possible with Tigersoar's capabilities. I hope you'll take this on," said the king during their council.

After inspecting the troop layout diagram a scout had drawn, Lorist shook his head.

"Not possible."

"Why?" Auguslo's face darkened.

"Simple. The reason I led Tigersoar to attack Welony was to apply even more pressure on their defenses. The four dukes will soon crumble on their own. One look at the defenses and you'll understand they have to form new legions now that they've stationed the six available legions they have there. They also have to make sure the riverbank is defended to keep us from launching an attack there.

"We can only imagine how many soldiers they need to ensure their full defense. There's no way they can keep this up with only two provinces. As long as we maintain this stance without going all out, Handra can only keep trying to increase their defenses until they can no longer keep it up. Why would we then waste our men in battle?"

"But our attack could apply even more pressure on them! If we succeed in crumbling this line, the enemy will fall even faster!" argued Auguslo loudly.

"Perhaps. But it will kill our men as well. Since victory is already assured, why sacrifice unnecessarily?"

A voice interrupted the exchange from outside the tent.

"Reporting to His Majesty, Duke Handra's envoy is requesting an audience."

House Nordingham

"I pitty those who think negotiations come after the war is over. They will be slain by their enemy's words and lose even a war they had been winning in the field." ~ Kenmays

The envoy Duke Handra sent was the familiar Count Chujway. However, this time he looked paler than the last, with a gloom on his face. Upon entering the tent, he respectfully bowed to Auguslo.

"Count Chujway of Handra pays his respects to the king of Andinaq."

Auguslo's expression was stern. Lorist's refusal to obey his order to attack had enraged him a lot. He didn't really react much to Chujway's greeting. He only came back to his senses when Duke Fisablen coughed a few times beside him.

"Well, you whatchamacallit... Just say what you want. What does that traitor Handra want you to tell me?" he said, waving his hand annoyedly.

Chujway's face reddened immediately. Auguslo's nonchalant attitude and impolite words nourished his anger. He stood up and glared at Auguslo.

"Your Majesty, please honor the dignity of nobles. I have a name and it is Nordingham Chujway! Our duke isn't a traitor either! He's never betrayed the empire!"

"Haha, traitors never admit their sins. As for you, a count appointed by a traitor, you should be grateful that I even acknowledge your presence," said Auguslo with a snark rather than blowing up in anger.

"That so? Then Your Majesty considers your ancestors traitors as well? I have nothing to say in that case. However, I really wonder how a person who considers their own ancestors traitors can claim he wants to further the empire's glory!" argued Chujway, not holding back.

"What did you say?!" barked Auguslo angrily.

He was most concerned about his family's legitimacy. Chujway's accusations enraged him so much he was about to draw his sword and end the envoy.

Chujway smirked without moving.

Fisablen had no choice but to step in to keep the situation under control.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The envoy is the current head of House Nordingham, a descendant of Blood Knight Nordringham Jadeweis. His title is bequeathed by Krissen VI, not Duke Handra."

Stunned, Auguslo stood absentmindedly for a few moments.

"Blood Knight Nordingham Jadeweis? Why is he with Duke Handra?"

Auguslo understood he had spoken wrongly. While he could call Duke Handra a traitor, he didn't have any right to say the same of House Nordingham. If word of this really got out, it would become a massive joke. In the history of the Krissen Empire, Krissen VI was a rather ordinary emperor who was in power for only 17 years. Within that term, he resumed Krissen V's policies of invading the Union. And during that time, he only led his armies to the Union once.

House Nordingham had risen to fame in that single march. Krissen VI's invasion was one of the biggest military failures in all recorded history. Not only was the army completely defeated, even Krissen VI was completely surrounded. Fortunately, the Union's forces didn't know and tried to pursue the escaping forces before dealing with those they had encircled. One first had to bite through the meat to reach the bone.

Baron Nordingam, arriving late to the invasion, came onto the battlefield with 1300 men, most of his retinue, in that time. The battle had already passed its climax and there was no way to change the outcome. He could only help cover for the retreating forces. The surviving nobles gathered in the evening and realized Krissen VI was not among them.

They were so terrified of the Union, however, that no one wanted to save the emperor. They argued incessantly about who should save Krissen VI. Baron Nordginham Jadeweis was infuriated and led his forces back onto the battlefield to look for the emperor on his own.

No one knew how many engagements he and his men fought, but they eventually returned, triumphant. But of his original 1300 men, only thirteen remained. The baron collapsed, a bloody mess, the moment they reached friendly forces. He had suffered 46 wounds and it was a great struggle to save him.

Looking at Nordingham Jadeweis's bloody form and thinking back at the heroic sight of him charging into the enemy formations to make way for himself, Krissen VI was greatly touched and named the baron his blood knight and made him a count. The emperor's failed invasion had cemented House Nordingham's reputation as a house of loyalty. They became the idol knights strove to mimic.

Auguslo hadn't heard Chujway's self-introduction properly and had mistaken him as a count entitled by the traitor. He had slighted his own reputation. Krissen VI was his great-grandfather, and it had been that emperor that had entitled House Nordingham. It was common knowledge to every noble in the empire.

"Your Majesty, House Nordingham's dominion is in Wesstwood. During the civil war, Duke Handra was given jurisdiction over Wesstwood by the late king. So, House Nordingham is a vassal house of Duke Handra," explained Fisablen.

Upon hearing the explanation, the king did something shocking. He walked up to Chujway and bowed incredibly respectfully.

"Apologies, Lord Nordingham. I am truly sorry for my rude behavior. Please forgive my ignorant transgression."

Chujway was moved and hurriedly pulled the king upright.

"There's no need for this, Your Majesty. I apologize for not being clear when I requested an audience. This apology is too heavy for me to accept."

Auguslo smiled.

"I shall correct my errors. It's alright as long as Lord Nordingham doesn't fault me."

Chujway hurriedly waved his hands.

"Please address me by name, Your Majesty."

"Oh? May I know why?"

"Before my father passed away, he handed me the dominion. His last words were that while the house was now loyal to House Handra, its name belonged to the empire. So, until the empire is restored, I cannot in good conscience use my family name. As such, I will only be known by my title and given name."

"House Nordingham truly is an exemplary noble house! The symbol of loyalty indeed!" the king exclaimed.

The king glanced at Lorist as he said so, making the latter pout.

"Come, take a seat, Lord Chujway. Men, bring us some refreshments! Have the butler arrange a banquet! I wish to properly welcome the lord count," yelled Auguslo.

"Lord Chujway, I wonder for what reason you have requested to meet me?" sked the king once everyone was seated

"I have come on the instructions of Duke Handra. He wishes for peace."

The king shook his head.

"Lord Count, I cannot forgive the traitorous actions of the four dukes. I respect House Nordingham's loyalty and would be more than glad to welcome you to the kingdom. I hope you don't remain entangled with those traitors."

"You are mistaken, Your Majesty. The four dukes aren't traitors. They never betrayed you," argued Chujway.

"Never betrayed me? Haha! Had the duchies agreed to come back into the fold when I asked them to after I'd conquered Redlis, the empire would've been united again by now. But the traitors didn't want to give up their independence and refused to rejoin the empire. Instead, they got together with the Union and the Redlissian traitors and continued to resist. They are the ones who prevented the empire from reforming by taking Frederika from me. They are traitors and I have sworn an oath to bring judgment down on them. They will not extinguish my dedication to reforming the empire," said the king, standing furiously.

Chujway applauded.

"I really look up to your efforts and I'm sure the empire's nobles also understand it. But you are wrong that the four dukes betrayed you. They are not traitors.

"Everyone knows their houses have remained loyal. From quelling revolts to sending forces to attack the Union, they've always played a huge part in maintaining the empire and have never disappointed. Many members of their houses have sacrificed themselves on the battlefield for the empire's sake.

"Even when the civil war broke out, the dukes supported King Andinaq and believed he was the late emperor's true heir. They resisted the pressure and temptations the first and second princes laid on them to get them to join their sides. They even sent their forces out to help the late king quell rebellions and suffered retaliation from the other kings as a result. These retliations have ruined most of their dominions. Their loyalty is what prompted the previous King Andinaq to grant them jurisdiction over their provinces. I'm sure Your Majesty won't deny this.

"It was thanks to the dukes' continuous support that the late king's forces could defeat his rivals. Duke Madras rebelled just as everything was about to calm down and the duchies were cut off from the kingdom. The land and the people were too exhausted to go on another campaign, so the dukes had no choice but to hunker down and rebuild, waiting for the kingdom to expand its borders and meet up with them again.

"Your Majesty knows the war stopped when the Union intervened. But they did not allow the four duchies to become part of the kingdom, and instead declared that they were to be independent. The dukes secretly contacted the king and let him know that if the opportunity ever present itself for them to rejoin the kingdom, they would do so. Somehow King Redlis learned of this and invaded.

"The war lasted three years and left the duchies exhausted again. King Andinaq suffered an assassination attempt and everything fell apart. It wasn't until Your Majesty took power that the situation stabilized. Your Majesty was preparing for battle and the dukes answered your call with supplies and funds despite how poor the last war had left them.

"When Your Majesty launched a surprise attack and conquered Frederika, all the nobles celebrated the renewed hope for the empire's restoration. But then you demanded that the Dukes give up their land, be move to Madras and accept a demotion. On what grounds? Your Majesty, what have the four central duchies done to upset you and the kingdom? What sin have they committed for you to treat them so poorly? Just because they didn't send their forces to reinforce you? Is that a justification others would accept?

"When they heard about it, the duchies' nobles were in an uproar. You hadn't even shown us the courtesy of telling us yourself, you just sent a knight with the message. We could not accept such disrespect, so we broke with the kingdom. We are not traitors, we are resisting an unlawful command. Every noble has the right to do so in good conscience!"

Chujway became more charged as he spoke. Lorist laughed. He had already heard the story once, but hearing it again as an accusation against the king was novel indeed. The king was indeed the kind of person who'd make such an unreasonable demand, especially considering that he had been on a roll. He had just conquered Frederika and had 300 thousand men in his army. He had let his successes go to his head.

Auguslo glared harshly at Lorist.

"Apologies, Lord Count. I was injured from crossing Greatsnow Mountains and had been recovering in bed after the surprise attack on Frederika. I've never given such an order before. My subordinate knights must have misinterpreted my decree and caused such a misunderstanding."

Auguslo pushed responsibility for his ridiculous actions on his dead knights. Though it was true that he had been suffering from an illness and hadn't revealed himself to anyone.

Chujway, not expecting such a reply from the king, froze for a moment.

"If it was truly just a misunderstanding, may we discuss peace sincerely? This war only harms the empire's vitality. We have never been against becoming a part of the empire again. We wish to see the empire restored."

Auguslo remained silent and sat back down.

"Lord Count, I'm sure Duke Handra told you their requests before you left. Let me hear them."

"The dukes are willing to relinquish their sovereignty and submit to you, they will also pay a tribute of three million gold Fordes. Their only request is to be allowed to remain in their hereditary dominions."

Lorist shot Fisablen an eye with the intent of conveying something along the lines of 'the one million gold Fordes they promised the two of us have all gone to Auguslo now'.

"... Rest here a few days, Lord Count. I will consider their request seriously," offered the king politely.