Chapter 508: The Duke's Outlook

With Count Wulaer captured and the Flame Seal Knights and others all killed by Luoning, the Battle of Miwu City ended in victory for the Noble Allied Forces of the Auduin side.

The remaining tasks were to blockade the city, occupy Count Wulaer's castle, and control the remaining Guards and resistance forces in the city.

These matters could be handled by the various Knight Orders; Luoning and the others only needed to keep an eye on things and did not need to participate personally.

What they were more concerned about was the arrival of Buluoer.

In fact, Buluoer was also extremely shocked.

He had set off in the second half of the night after receiving the letter from His Majesty the King.

Although his flight speed at night was a bit slow, he still arrived at Red Pine Castle in the afternoon, and what shocked him was that the Noble Allied Forces had already begun their attack on Miwu City.

And by the time he had just flown to Miwu City, the battle had actually already ended, and the victors were actually the Auduin Kingdom side.

It seemed that capturing Miwu City was not a difficult task after all?

"Marquis Luoning, this is the letter from His Majesty for you."

Buluoer handed Bruno's letter to Luoning, "His Majesty also brings his congratulations to everyone for achieving victory across the board; I didn't expect you all to have already taken Miwu City."

Everyone chuckled; indeed, the progress of this war had been somewhat fast.

Luoning tore open the letter and read it in front of everyone; he was very curious as to why a letter had been sent to him alone, rather than to Jialete.

After he finished reading, he could not help but look at Jialete; it turned out there were so many twists and turns involved.

Jialete seemed to sense Luoning's gaze as well, and the two looked at each other; Luoning saw evasion in the other's eyes.

He smiled slightly and said, "His Majesty anticipated that we would take Miwu City, so he has instructed us not to continue marching into the Telixiya Kingdom after capturing it, but to first garrison in Miwu City to prevent a counterattack from the enemy."

Everyone nodded.

"Black Jade Bay can no longer continue the attack; we must transport the Viscount's remains back to our territory."

The one speaking was Edmond, the son-in-law of Viscount Weilisi and also the Regiment Commander of the Black Jade Bay Knight Order.

In this battle, besides the death of Viscount Weilisi of Black Jade Bay, the Meteor-level Deputy Commander of the Knight Order, Nikula, also died in the battle to protect Weilisi.

With two Meteor Knights dead at once, the losses for Black Jade Bay were immense.

"Viscount Weilisi sacrificed himself for the country; please tell us the date of the funeral, and we shall go to pay our respects," Luoning said.

Edmond nodded solemnly, "I will convey your intentions to William."

Having said that, he led his troops to prepare to transport the remains of Weilisi, Nikula, and the others back.

However, the Black Jade Bay Knight Order did not withdraw completely.

As the victors, they needed to leave people behind to share in the fruits of victory.

It was just a pity that the head of the family was not there; although Edmond was Weilisi's son-in-law and the Knight Order Commander, he could not represent the Black Jade Family.

He could only rush back to the territory as quickly as possible to have Weilisi's son, William, or other members of the Black Jade Family come over.

"We also need to reorganize."

Count Yiben said in a deep voice, "Wulaer's counterattack was too sudden; every one of our houses has suffered heavy losses. His Majesty's order for us not to continue the advance is correct."

If one were to say whose losses were the smallest in this battle, it would be the noble armies responsible for attacking the West Gate and the East Gate.

At this moment, a Knight came to Gushan's side and whispered a few words.

Afterward, Gushan looked at Luoning: "Luoning, the Knights under my command have bled heavily, but they should still be savable; we need the help of your Magician, Mr. Aierlong!"

Luoning nodded, "You can just go find Aierlong; he is very keen on saving lives."

After the war was won, Aierlong basically saved people spontaneously; Luoning had never opposed this practice, which increased the impression others had of the various nobles while simultaneously increasing Aierlong's own influence.

After a brief communication, Buluoer brought Luoning before Jialete.

"Your Highness!"

Buluoer bowed slightly, "His Majesty wants you to return to Jinyu Palace immediately; he has matters to discuss with you."

Buluoer naturally knew the hidden reasons for this.

But out of a desire to maintain the face of the royal family and Jialete himself, he did not state it explicitly.

"He wants me to go back? Then what about the affairs on the front line?"

Jialete's expression was not very good; he also wanted to ask Aierlong to help treat his injuries, but he could not bring himself to ask.

Buluoer replied, "The command of the front line will be temporarily handed over to Count Gushan and Marquis Luoning; His Majesty already gave instructions in his previous letter."

"Miwu City was captured under my command; it was I who washed away the shame of the Auduin Family for decades. Now that we have just won, my father wants to strip me of my command!"

Jialete said stubbornly, "You go back and tell Father, I do not agree!"

He knew that once he went back, it would likely be difficult to return to the battlefield.

And in the upcoming battles against the Telixiya Kingdom, he would likely no longer have the chance to command Luoning.

"This..."

Buluoer knew Jialete's temper, and he was no match for the other party; if he were to use force...

He could only seek help from Luoning.

Luoning did not waste words and handed Bruno's letter directly to Jialete.

"His Majesty has also given me orders; if you do not cooperate, I will have Kaierluosi send you back."

Jialete looked at the words on the letter, his inner anger surging; so in Bruno's heart, had he unknowingly become an "immature and reckless" child?

And the weak tone used toward Luoning really made him unhappy.

Whoosh—

A shadow swept past, and Jialete could not help but look up; the figure of the dragon made him uneasy.

Jialete took a deep look, then snorted coldly, "Maite, help me return to Red Pine Castle first, then back to Jinyu City."

In the end, he chose to compromise.

He was not worried that Luoning would really have the dragon deal with him, but rather that if he did not compromise, Luoning would reveal the fact that he had replaced Gushan as the commander.

Luoning took back Bruno's letter, "Your Highness, go back and tend to your wounds well; leave the matter of attacking the Telixiya Kingdom to us."

Jialete remained silent and left quickly with the support of his subordinate Knights.

Luoning put the letter away.

At Bruno's request, although Luoning did not tell Gushan and the other nobles about Jialete seizing command, he could keep this letter.

The Noble Allied Forces left a portion of their men to clean up the battlefield, while the rest took Miwu Castle.

More than thirty years ago, there was a rumor that whichever side occupied Miwu City would be the legitimate successor to the Orland Empire.

It was not that this city was once the capital of the empire, but rather that it had gradually been imbued with this meaning during the wars between the two countries.

Of course, as the former defeated party, the Auduin Kingdom naturally would not mention this claim.

As the castle was taken, the nobles held a simple banquet, eating, drinking, and boasting about their respective battle achievements.

It was basically about how many enemies they had killed, including how many Meteor Knights, how many Golden Knights, how many prisoners were taken, and so on.

And among them, Luoning's battle achievements were the most dazzling.

Alone, plus a dragon, he killed the long-renowned General Aruba of the Telixiya Kingdom, who was a Blazing Sun Knight; besides that, there were two Silver Moon Knights, five Meteor Knights, several Golden Knights, and so on.

In addition, Ruidar also killed one Blazing Sun Knight and three Silver Moon Knights, which were also to be counted toward Luoning's tally.

This meant that in one battle, Luoning had killed two enemy Blazing Sun Knights, five Silver Moon Knights, and several Meteor and Golden Knights.

Other nobles might have exaggerated their battle achievements, but Luoning's side was seen by everyone; these were solid, real achievements.

This record was too heavy, so heavy that they dared not question it.

"Luoning, I suppose I should congratulate you in advance!" Buluoer suddenly laughed.

"How so?" Luoning asked with a smile.

Buluoer said, "At the last conferment ceremony, His Majesty wanted to confer the title of Duke upon you, but everyone was hindered by your insufficient military merits, so you were ultimately only titled Marquis."

He paused and looked around at the nobles, and everyone understood.

Yiben laughed, "In this Battle of Miwu City, the roles of Luoning, Ruidar, and the dragon were crucial; such achievements are enough to make up for the previous gap. This time, no one should have any objections, right?"

"It is time to congratulate him!"

The nobles and Knights stood up one after another, and whether sincere or just following along, they all offered their congratulations.

Luoning could not refuse, so he picked up his wine glass and drank with everyone.

His seat as Marquis had not even warmed up yet, and he was already going to become a Duke?

Luoning would go and lobby Bruno, but whether he would ultimately be conferred as Duke still depended on Bruno's intentions.

After all, regarding the last conferment, although the objections of others had played a significant role, the key still lay in Bruno's will. (End of chapter)