Chapter 70: Six Years

The Battle of Wind Bell Plain came to an end with the dramatic collapse of the kingdom's army.

Yet within the Kajashi Kingdom, the narrative of this war was overshadowed by the prominence of another person.

That person was the Green Forest Earl!

A being who mastered Mysterious power and nearly wiped out the entire royal palace single-handedly!

The name of the Green Devil was enough to stop children from crying at night throughout the kingdom!

Slightly to Aaron's surprise, the Purple Bauhinia Grand Duke and Lord Yunisis both managed to escape; of course, the old Duke was so severely struck by the blow that he kicked the bucket shortly after returning to his fief.

But Lord Yunisis remained; he inherited the Duke's position and, for reasons unknown—perhaps due to that joke Aaron once made—he placed Vivian on the throne as Queen, while styling himself as Regent.

At the same time, he sent envoys to fully accept the conditions Aaron had previously proposed: ceding the territory of the North and paying an indemnity of one million Nars, with both sides ceasing hostilities thereafter.

Green Forest and the Kajashi Kingdom barely returned to peace, and as for the wails of the many lords of the North, no one cared anymore.

In any case, they were the ones who had suffered the most from the Green Disaster, and by now their castles had been broken, leaving them with no power to resist.

In their place, a trend of studying mysticism had swept across the entire kingdom, and it was still spreading outward...

Sotos Castle.

"Welcome back, my son. You have conquered a territory equivalent in size to another Green Forest."

At the main gate, all the returning Warriors received a hero's welcome, with Aaron being the most prominent among them.

Even Theodore had waited by the roadside for a long time in person.

"Father, I have killed the King and avenged Colin..."

Aaron dismounted his warhorse and looked at the ancient castle, which had grown a banyan tree, suddenly feeling it was not very suitable for living.

Given that the Sotos Family now ruled the vast territories of Green Forest and the North, keeping the center of power here was somewhat out of place.

Strictly speaking, Frost Wolf Castle was actually a decent location.

It was originally a Marquis's castle with a strategic position, and the North was also much wealthier than Green Forest, both in terms of population and farmland.

However, Theodore clearly would not accept that.

He was a stubborn local of Green Forest, and there were many others like him.

This also resulted in Green Forest being unable to integrate or digest the Kajashi Kingdom.

But Aaron couldn't be bothered with these things.

In fact, after he made the kingdom cede a large portion of the North, he felt a bit of regret.

The daily administrative tasks were too numerous, severely affecting his sleep, which was simply unforgivable.

"Pass down the order to prepare a grand banquet; I want to reward those who performed meritorious service in this war."

Aaron dismounted and calmly instructed Albert.

"Please rest assured, Earl, I will certainly handle things well."

Albert had originally been recommended by the scholar of Sotos Castle, and that scholar had later participated in the rebellion and was caught and hanged.

Consequently, Albert felt that the people around him looked at him with strange gazes.

Now, seeing that the Earl still trusted him, he almost burst into tears.

Aaron, of course, knew that Albert was still innocent; there were many who studied under that scholar, and they couldn't all be rebels.

Besides, by now, it didn't really matter anymore.

The entire Green Forest had completely submitted to his command, whether it was the Upper Green Forest or the Lower Green Forest.

In fact, he was planning to reward Knight Yiman heavily this time, promoting him to Baron or Viscount and increasing his fief in the North, to demonstrate his style of employing people regardless of background, judging only by merit.

Theodore watched as Aaron gave order after order, which no one dared to defy; he felt a sense of gratification, yet also a touch of desolation, and he turned and walked away slowly with his hands behind his back.

This was, after all, no longer his era.

At this thought, his heart felt even more desolate, and even the subsequent grand banquet lost its luster...

Time flies like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, six years passed in an instant.

In Frost Wolf Castle.

Aaron finished writing the last letter, pressed the wax seal, and handed it to the scholar beside him: "Send this to Viscount Yiman."

The scholar bowed and retreated respectfully.

Aaron stood up and walked to a full-length mirror.

Although he was in his early twenties by age, his appearance was still as youthful and tender as it had been at sixteen or seventeen, which led to rumors of the Green Devil's immortality circulating throughout the Kajashi Kingdom, though these were accompanied by sordid rumors of bathing in blood and absorbing the Vitality of children...

As the new seat of government, Frost Wolf Castle had been renovated and was now taller, more majestic, and more opulent than before.

Regrettably, both Theodore and Jinni preferred living in Sotos Castle.

Aaron stood on the balcony, looking at the rivers and mountains in the distance, and sighed softly.

For some time now, he had been handling official business during the day and entering dreams at night, with nothing of great importance happening on either side.

Green Forest and the North were very peaceful; no one dared to resist the Green Devil's rule, and the kingdom outside had shrunk like a tortoise.

And after adding new Chemical Fertilizer and farming techniques, the farmers of the North had enjoyed several bumper harvests, their lives gradually becoming prosperous, and no large-scale starvation had occurred.

Truth be told, although Aaron had used his abilities in dreams to record the structure of the Steam Engine and some advanced scientific technologies, he had not handed them over to Craftsmen for development, and he hadn't even paid much attention to the improvement of gunpowder weapons.

The fundamental reason was that he just couldn't muster the enthusiasm...

"It feels like... the 'Red' Spirituality within my body is about to run out... My estimation was slightly off; each time I used my abilities in those major battles, it was equivalent to more than five years of consumption..."

"In this world, even the Extraordinary is difficult, let alone immortality..."

Aaron sighed.

Even if he were the Creator in his dreams, the Mysterious energy and status only existed attached to his dream body.

In reality, he remained just an ordinary person, and every bit of Spirituality was extremely precious.

Moreover, even now he was unable to summon himself, and communicating with the consciousness in his dreams through a Ritual always seemed to lack one critical thing.

This made Aaron quite frustrated.

Spirituality would eventually dissipate, which seemed to mean that one day he too would age and die...

"I will never accept this."

Aaron muttered to himself.

As the lord ruling over the Green Forest and the North, he had not married, which was something his subordinates had always criticized.

Furthermore, even though he maintained intimate relationships with several ladies, he had never had any offspring, not even a single illegitimate child.

This was not some curse of childlessness as the outside world claimed, but simply something he intentionally controlled.

With children, there would be more things to distract him.

He did not want that; instead, he was prepared to continue exploring the Extraordinary and the Mysterious with a do-or-die attitude.

After pondering for a while, Aaron returned to his bedroom, lay down on the luxurious bed, and entered the dream world.