New military establishment  

The screams of Walter Ravenswood and others made Edmund Blackthorn feel a chill run down his spine.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and knew to turn against them and confess. Otherwise, he would have been subjected to the same brutal punishment as the other family heads whose cries echoed through the room.

However, at this moment, Edmund Blackthorn felt no sympathy for Walter Ravenswood and the others. He had already been signaling them repeatedly, but they were too foolish to understand his hints and kept charging ahead like moths to the flame.

Although both Edmund Blackthorn and Victor Blackthorn were still unharmed, Edmund Blackthorn knew that the "Sinbad" before them would not let him off so easily.

Sure enough, "Sinbad", sitting at the table, took out a letter from his official robes and threw it in front of Edmund Blackthorn.

The letter was clearly from the officials of Alp Arslan's faction, instructing Edmund Blackthorn to deal with Magnus Valorion .

As soon as Edmund Blackthorn saw the letter, cold sweat poured down his back.

"Please, Sir, spare me! We originally intended to target that Lord Magnus Valorion , not you, Lord Sinbad!"

Magnus Valorion coldly replied, "Isn't it Lord Magnus Valorion standing right before you? Are you saying you didn't plan to target me?"

Upon hearing these words, Edmund Blackthorn became even more certain that "Sinbad" and Magnus Valorion had secretly swapped territories without informing the court.

"Lord Sinbad , please spare me! I had no idea that you and Lord Magnus Valorion had switched towns."

From Edmund Blackthorn's words, Magnus Valorion realized that Edmund Blackthorn still didn't recognize that "Sinbad" and Magnus Valorion were the same person.

As expected, the ones in the thick of things are always confused, while those on the outside can see clearly.

Magnus Valorion decided to take advantage of this to further press Edmund Blackthorn.

"Although Chancellor Alp Arslan wields great power, you should know that in our Great Latium Imperium, we have a saying: 'The hand you hold is better than the promise of the king.' Here, the emperor is distant and powerless. Even if you've tied yourself to the Chancellor, so what? His power is vast, but can it outpace the sharpness of the blade in my hand?"

"Yes, yes, Lord, your blade is faster!" Edmund Blackthorn hastily responded.

Edmund Blackthorn couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. He thought to himself: "This 'Sinbad' truly is audacious. Not only does he fearlessly conceal his identity, but he also shows no fear of the Emperor or the Chancellor. He even dares to use this to threaten the Blackthorn family. He is truly a person who lives on the edge!"

Magnus Valorion continued to press: "Since I was able to quietly send people to retrieve this letter from your house, I can just as quietly send someone to take your head. I trust you don't wish to wake up one day and never get out of bed again, correct?"

At once, Edmund Blackthorn collapsed on the ground, fervently kowtowing: "Lord Sinbad , if I had known it was you, I wouldn't care about any orders from that scoundrel Alp Arslan , let alone the Emperor's!"

To be honest, Magnus Valorion couldn't help but admire Edmund Blackthorn . He was capable of enduring, of bending and stretching. This was the mark of a true man.

Moreover, since Edmund Blackthorn 's family had already been involved in the covert death of Lucius Blackthorn, Magnus Valorion didn't believe that the Blackthorn family wouldn't suspect them of involvement in that matter.

Therefore, Magnus Valorion kept a keen, snake-like watch on the prostrated Edmund Blackthorn .

For now, Edmund Blackthorn and his family still held some value, and when that value was exhausted, Magnus Valorion would naturally find a way to eliminate them.

After all, if they realized that Magnus Valorion had been behind Lucius Blackthorn's (叶光明) death, they might retaliate like a viper.

Magnus Valorion would never allow that to happen.

"Lord, the Blackthorn family will definitely follow you from now on. If we show any signs of betrayal, we will die a miserable death," Edmund Blackthorn swore.

In this moment, he was like a fish on the chopping block, unable to resist. How could he not show his loyalty?

Edmund Blackthorn knew well that "As long as the green hills remain, one need not fear firewood." In his eyes, even if his family was left with only him, it wouldn't be the end.

As long as he could secure "Sinbad's" forgiveness and keep himself alive, he would sacrifice everyone else, even the rest of his family, if necessary.

"Since that is the case, then you should know how to address me from now on!"

Edmund Blackthorn hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "Lord Magnus Valorion !"

Magnus Valorion nodded in satisfaction: "Very good. From now on, address me as Lord Magnus Valorion when you speak to others!"

At that moment, Duncan Thorngate entered and reported, "Sir, the whipping has been completed!"

"Bring them all up!"

Soon, more than a dozen family heads and their clan members, bloodied and bruised from the beating, were dragged up to the front.

Magnus Valorion feigned concern and said, "Just now, you claimed that it was Lord Sinbad's men who stole your grain. I've been thinking about it, and it's simply not possible that it was Lord Sinbad ."

"Originally, Lord Sinbad had over 5,000 mountain bandits under his command, but the court only gave him 3,000 to subdue. It seems that those who raided your grain were probably the remaining 2,000 mountain bandits who were disbanded. In that case, I must have wrongly blamed you!"

"Not wronged, not wronged! We just didn't explain clearly..."

"Yes, yes, we didn't explain clearly..."

Walter Ravenswood and the other family heads had already been so thoroughly subdued by Magnus Valorion that they dared not object. They were left with no choice but to follow his lead.

"You may have been beaten, but it wasn't for nothing. Even if you win a lawsuit against the government, you would still be subjected to the lash. As for the other two groups of bandits, I will report them to the court and request that they be exterminated."

"Perhaps, the court will even send Lord Sinbad himself to lead his elite soldiers to eradicate the bandits."

Magnus Valorion's performance left Edmund Blackthorn and Victor Blackthorn dumbfounded, while Walter Ravenswood and the other clan heads were overwhelmed with gratitude.

In order to have legitimate military authority over Willowbrook Town, Magnus Valorion instructed Edmund Blackthorn to continue contacting Alp Arslan's faction officials and inform them of the theft.

As expected, Alp Arslan's faction fell right into the trap. They would never miss such an excellent opportunity to attack Magnus Valorion , so they immediately submitted memorials to the emperor, accusing Magnus Valorion of enabling the bandits to raid the people.

Fortunately, within the court, there were officials from the faction opposing Alp Arslan , led by Edmod Aldrich. With the help of the eunuch Basil Lekapenos who spoke in Magnus Valorion's favor, Emperor Adrian Montague shifted the blame for the 2,000 mountain bandits onto Alp Arslan .

Emperor Adrian Montague pounded his chest and exclaimed, "Alp Arslan , you really are getting old and confused! Last time, Lord Magnus Valorion already confirmed that there were more than 5,000 bandits. Yet you only chose to subdue 3,000. The remaining 2,000 disbanded bandits, left unchecked, surely went on a rampage. This was truly a mistake on your part!"

Although Alp Arslan had long seen through everything, he did not argue with the emperor. Instead, he played along and admitted his fault.

He also agreed with Magnus Valorion's plan to recruit the remaining 2,000 bandits.

What Magnus Valorion hadn't expected was that the emperor didn't hesitate and gave him the military authority to recruit those 2,000 bandits without delay.

However, the emperor's decree did come with an added condition: the grain and supplies for the 2,000 recruits must be self-supplied, and they were forbidden from plundering the people. Otherwise, Magnus Valorion would be held responsible for their crimes as well.