Chapter 161 : Chapter 161

Chapter 161. Taking a Look at Her Own Territory

If this thing was useful, then yes, it was indeed very useful. It could grant a knight a territory of their own and strengthen them through that land.

But aside from that use, it only seemed to possess a few indestructible properties, and even now, Fran still had not figured out how she was supposed to make use of this territorial token.

Just then, the red gem set in the middle of the token glowed faintly. That meant Fran had already arrived within the territory corresponding to the token.

This was Whiteflower Territory in the Antir region, close to the northern frontier. To its north lay the Northern Border Pass. This was the place in the Kingdom of Antir closest to the northern lands.

And the lord here had long since fled to parts unknown. Under the rebels’ offensive, the place had become a wasteland, and as Fran followed the road, she saw several villages.

Only, every one of those villages bore the marks of war’s plunder.

The entire village reeked of an unbearable stench of rot. Every door had been smashed open, and inside lay human corpses, more or less everywhere.

There were even corpses hanging from the eaves along the streets, with the ground beneath them stained a dark red.

Fran did not see a single living person. Ever since she had entered the main road of the Antir region, she had not seen any living villagers at all.

Only the occasional transport carts heading toward Gerd Town.

As for the larger towns and cities, Fran had deliberately gone around them to avoid trouble.

After all, she still could not confirm which side was occupying any given city, nor did she know what the situation inside was like.

The first town Fran had encountered in the Antir region had only just been breached by soldiers, who were busy looting every bit of wealth they could find.

When they saw Fran riding over on her black horse, those illiterate soldiers failed to recognize what her mage’s robe represented.

Their eyes merely lit up, and with grins on their faces, they tried to swarm her...

The result was that several of them were kicked to death by the black horse’s hooves, while Fran, seated on horseback, used magic to kill more than a dozen soldiers outright.

In the end, it was only when one of their officers arrived that the fighting was barely stopped.

Fran, however, knew that staying there would only bring trouble, so she simply rode out through another gate and camped in the wilderness along the way.

She looked at the territorial token still giving off a faint glow and scratched her head, no one knowing what exactly she was thinking.

After turning it over in her mind again and again, she finally decided she should go to Whiteflower City, the largest town in Whiteflower Territory, and test whether she could make use of this thing after all.

She even held on to a bit of wishful thinking. Maybe I’ll discover some special use for it.

And the conclusions of those who came before were not necessarily correct. If Fran tested it herself, perhaps it would have some special effect.

Besides, Fran had foreseen that her encounter with the Blood Wolf Knights would still happen more than half a month later, while she was now only three days’ travel from the location she had anticipated.

She had an intuition that if she triggered that future she had foreseen ahead of time, something bad would happen.

The future Fran had seen was highly favorable to her, so she had not the slightest intention of going against it. And so, for now, she only wanted to find somewhere to pass the time. Perhaps she might even gain some unexpected harvest.

She looked at the crooked road sign by the roadside, and at the fork it pointed toward.

“Whiteflower City, to the right.”

Looking at the sign, she patted the black horse beneath her, prompting it to turn to the right.

And straight ahead of that sign was written: [Northern Border Pass].

---

Meanwhile, on the other side, within Whiteflower City, a fierce debate was underway inside the castle at the city’s center.

Earl Ian, Duke Theodore’s capable subordinate, looked on at the uproar with a headache.

“I was the one who breached the city gates first. By rights, I should inherit this territory!”

“If I hadn’t climbed the walls, do you think you could’ve broken through the gate? Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Enough of that! Without my crossbow troops and the suppression from those magic scrolls, how could any of you have succeeded? This territory should be—”

The knights below were all members of the knightly order specially formed by Duke Theodore.

Every single one of them was a first-tier knight, every single one had the qualifications to become a lord, and each had rendered some degree of service in the capture of Whiteflower City.

Whiteflower City had fallen to the combined efforts of these knights three months ago. At the time, neither Earl Ian nor Duke Theodore had been anywhere near that battlefield.

Because of that, he could not simply appoint one knight to be the lord of Whiteflower Territory.

He had not witnessed the battle in person and had no way of knowing the exact circumstances.

And every one of these men claimed that his contribution had been the greatest. Every one of them insisted that without him, the others would never have succeeded.

Even questioning their ordinary soldiers would be useless, because those soldiers were all in the same camp as their commanders. Anyone with half a brain would desperately flatter his own leader.

And the enemy could not be trusted either, because there was no way to guarantee that they would not suddenly point to someone who had been utterly useless on the battlefield, causing the knights who had truly rendered merit to become dissatisfied.

Ian’s gaze swept across the assembled knights. Every face was flushed red, their voices hoarse from shouting, as though the people before them, rather than their actual enemies, were their true foes.

This scene was only one step away from devolving into a brawl, but Ian also knew that three months earlier, they really had fought one another before. They were only showing restraint now because they stood in front of him.

And he knew why these knights were fighting so fiercely over this matter. The number of territories was limited.

There simply were not enough to go around, and not every lord in the Antir region had been hostile to them.

Some lords had surrendered directly after putting up token resistance. By Duke Theodore’s order, those men had been allowed to keep their lands, which meant there were even fewer territories left to distribute.

Now that a large territory had finally appeared, with its lordship vacant and its strategic significance having been crucial in deciding the battle’s outcome, there was no way these men would not fight over it.

Ian let out a sigh. If not for the lack of a territorial token, it would take at least two years for a knight to become the true lord in practice. Otherwise, he would have long since appointed some loyal subordinate to the position.

But now he was truly troubled, because he genuinely could not determine which of them was more suited to become the lord of this place.

Helpless, he took an envelope from his pocket. On it was the image of a lion with a scar across it—the Theodore family crest, signifying that this letter bore Duke Theodore’s command.

Some of the knights present noticed Earl Ian’s movement and instantly stopped arguing, turning their eyes toward him.

Earl Ian tapped the table lightly, cleared his throat, and then said:

“By Duke Theodore’s order, since the rightful lord cannot be determined, a knightly duel shall be held, and the outcome shall decide who becomes the lord of this land. All knights who participated in the capture of Whiteflower City may take part, and each may bring two retainers.”

As he spoke, he looked to his side, where a robed figure stood. Judging by the pattern on the robe, this was a formal mage of the Transmutation School.

“I have specially hired a mage to inspect matters and ensure that none of you use prohibited potions.”