Chapter 188: Dragon Slaughter Plan?

When Vittel heard this, his breathing became rapid. Using the wealth that Archibald had plundered for decades to expand the army? What a grand gesture!

He felt the blood in his body burning!

"Please rest assured, Master Governor!" Vittel slammed his chest armor and promised loudly, "Even if this subordinate has to risk this old life, I will definitely complete the task!"

"Very good." Roko nodded with satisfaction and turned to Silas.

"Master Silas."

"Here, Master Governor." Silas bowed.

"Your Commercial Alliance, I want you to be my eyes, my ears, my mouth!"

"I want you to use all your intelligence networks to investigate for me! Investigate Marquis William's ancestors for eighteen generations! His troop composition, which capable generals he has under his command, the personality characteristics of each person, where his logistics supply line runs, I want to know everything!"

"At the same time," Roko's mouth curled into a cold sneer, "I want you to spread what happened in the plaza today throughout the entire western border in your own way! Remember, highlight a few points."

"First, Archibald committed treason, and the evidence is conclusive."

"Second, the Third Prince is the backer of the traitor, and the imperial decree he issued is forged."

"Third, William is a running dog sent by the Third Prince to pick peaches."

"Fourth, I, Roko Raymond, am the guardian that the people of the Sunset Province yearn for!"

"I want William's reputation to stink before he even arrives in Sunset City! I want the soldiers under his command to know who they are fighting for! This is a public opinion war, do you understand?"

Silas listened with excitement; he discovered for the first time that war could be fought like this.

This young Governor was not only brave, but also full of wisdom!

"Master Governor is wise!" Silas said with heartfelt admiration, "I guarantee that within three days, the entire western border will hear your voice! Marquis William will find that what he is facing is not just a strong city, but the hostility of the entire province!"

Roko's gaze finally fell on the local nobles.

When those nobles were looked at by him, their hearts suddenly chilled, and they hurriedly straightened their backs.

"Gentlemen." Roko's tone softened a bit, but his majesty did not diminish, "Your families have been entrenched in the Sunset Province for many years and have deep roots. Now, it is time for you to show your loyalty."

"I need you to return to your respective territories immediately, use your influence to appease the people, and at the same time, most importantly, clear out Archibald's remnants!"

"Master Silas will soon give you a list; the people on it are all Archibald's die-hard loyalists. For these people, I have only one requirement."

A cold light flashed in Roko's eyes.

"Those who resist are considered rebels and will be killed on the spot, and their family property will be confiscated! Those who are willing to surrender must also hand over their military power and half of their family property to show their sincerity!"

"Gentlemen, this is a purge, and also a feast. I will redistribute the land and wealth left behind by the purged families according to your contributions!"

Threats and promises!

All the nobles present felt their breathing become heavy.

They knew that this was Roko consolidating the power of the entire province, and also giving them "newcomers" a chance to submit their credentials.

If done well, the family could go to the next level.

If not done well, or if they acted in defiance, the next one to be hung on the gallows might be themselves.

"We are willing to die for Master Governor!"

All the nobles knelt on one knee in unison, their voices filled with determination.

After arranging everything, Roko waved his hand and let everyone retreat.

In the empty hall, only he remained.

He walked to the window, looking at the deep night outside, but there was no fatigue in his eyes, instead, a burning fighting spirit.

He did not go to rest immediately, but turned and walked toward the dark and damp dungeon of the Governor's mansion.

That so-called "Royal Capital messenger" still had some use.

Half an hour later, Roko walked out of the dungeon with a thoughtful look on his face.

With the "help" of a few small items found in Archibald's secret chamber, the messenger's bones were much softer than imagined; he not only confirmed that this order indeed came from the Third Prince, but also revealed that Marquis William would likely arrive in half a month leading the main force of the 15,000-strong Silver Moon Legion.

What Roko cared about most was that the messenger, on the verge of a mental breakdown, inadvertently mentioned a term, "Dragon Slaughter Plan".

He did not know the specific content of this plan, only that it was a top-secret military operation led by the Castilla Principality, and the target seemed to be the entire western defense line of the Bulake Kingdom. The Third Prince's rebellion also seemed to have a thousand-thread connection with this plan.

"Dragon Slaughter—does it refer to the royal family of the Bulake Kingdom? Or—" Roko's brows furrowed tightly.

He felt that behind William, the evil wolf on the surface, there seemed to be a more ferocious and deadly poisonous snake lurking. He returned to the council hall, looked at the sand table, and remained silent for a long time.

"It seems that time is even more urgent than I imagined."

He muttered to himself, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes.

"Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless."

He ordered the guards outside the door: "Pass my order to General Vittel, the purge operation starts tonight!"

The night was as deep as ink.

Sunset City, this majestic city that had just experienced a change of power, fell into a strange silence after a brief carnival.

The city gates were already closed, and on the thick city walls, there was a soldier holding a torch every ten steps, vigilantly watching the darkness outside the city. General Vittel's order was executed without compromise, and the entire city entered the strictest state of alert, allowing entry but not exit.

Countless undercurrents were surging wildly beneath this silence.

Inside the Governor's mansion, a side hall was temporarily converted into a combat command room.

Silas's efficiency was astonishing; in just a few hours, a thick list had been placed on Roko's desk.

This list was intelligence that the Commercial Alliance had spent years infiltrating and spending countless manpower and material resources to collect, detailing the names, positions, territories, military strength, wealth, and even the dirty dealings that Archibald's important cronies had done.

This was not just a list, but a sharp blade capable of subverting the old power structure of the entire Sunset Province.

Roko flipped through it page by page, his expression calm, but his eyes grew colder.

"It's really rotten to the core." He put down the list, his tone devoid of any emotion.

General Vittel stood to the side, and looking at the names on the list, he also felt a chill in his heart.

Among them, many were still calling him brother at the Governor's mansion banquet yesterday, and in the blink of an eye, they were about to become ghosts under the blade.

But he had no hesitation; he knew that this was the first of three fires that the new master had to light upon taking office, and also the credentials he had to submit.

"Master Governor, everything is ready." Vittel said in a deep voice, "Three hundred Storm Knights have completed integration with my personal guard, divided into thirty action teams, and are ready to set off at any time."

Roko nodded, picked up a vermilion pen from the table, and circled more than a dozen names on the list.

"These dozen families are Archibald's die-hard cronies and also the strongest. The private soldiers under their names add up to several thousand, and they may resist fiercely."

He handed the list to Vittel: "You lead the team yourself, knock out these hardest nails first, be fast, be ruthless, and don't give them any chance to react!"

"As for the rest—" Roko's gaze swept over the remaining names on the list, "leave them to those 'new friends' to handle."

He was referring to the local nobles who had just sworn allegiance during the day.

"Tell them, before dawn, I want to see results. Whoever completes it well will get the biggest piece of meat from this feast."

"Yes, Master Governor!" Vittel took the order and turned to leave with big strides.

Soon, the side door of the Governor's mansion opened quietly, and teams of soldiers in black armor, like ghosts in the dark night, merged into the city streets silently and rushed toward their respective targets.

A bloody purge sweeping the entire city officially began.

West of the city, Viscount Barkley's mansion.

Viscount Barkley was a relative of Marquis Archibald and one of his most loyal running dogs. Over the years, relying on the Marquis's power,

he ran rampant in the city, plundering and accumulating amazing wealth.

Archibald's downfall terrified him. But he didn't think that the young kid Roko could sit firmly in the position of Governor. In his view, tearing up the imperial decree was an extremely stupid suicidal act.

While secretly contacting other old nobles to discuss how to create trouble for the new Governor, he gathered more than three hundred guards in the mansion, preparing to start an uprising as soon as Marquis William's army arrived, to coordinate from the inside and outside.

At this moment, he was in his study, tasting fine wine while imagining the future: "When Marquis William enters Sunset City, I will be the first-class hero! By then, maybe I can get a Count title—"

"Boom!"

An earth-shattering loud noise interrupted his dream.

The entire Viscount mansion trembled violently, as if it had been hit hard by an ancient giant beast.

"What's going on!" Viscount Barkley was so scared that the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground, and he rushed out of the study in shock and anger.

He saw that the thick solid wood gate of the mansion, wrapped in fine iron, had actually been smashed open by brute force from the outside, as if it were made of paper!

Amidst the flying wood chips, a tall and burly figure, holding a giant sword like a door panel, walked in slowly.

It was General Vittel.

Behind him were teams of murderous black-armored soldiers.

"Vittel! You—what do you want to do?!" Viscount Barkley screamed in shock and anger, "You actually dare to lead troops to break into a noble's mansion! Are you trying to rebel?"

Vittel looked at him coldly, as if looking at a dead person.

"By the order of the Master Governor, purge the remnants of the rebels! Barkley, you colluded with Archibald, exploited the people, and committed heinous crimes! Now, I give you a chance, put down your weapons and surrender, perhaps you can still keep a whole corpse!"

"Fart!" Viscount Barkley screamed with a ferocious face, "What kind of bullshit Governor! He is just a traitor who defies the decree! Attack! Kill them! Kill these traitors!"

The guards in the mansion hesitated for a moment, but under the Viscount's urging and the promise of heavy rewards, they still bit the bullet and rushed up. "Not knowing life or death!"

A cold light flashed in Vittel's eyes, and instead of retreating, he advanced, the giant sword in his hand bringing up a gust of wind, directly meeting them.

The Storm Knights behind him were even more like tigers entering a flock of sheep, their standard longswords drawing deadly cold lights.

Screams instantly resounded throughout the mansion.

These guards who usually acted arrogantly were simply vulnerable in front of the battle-hardened elite soldiers.

The battle lasted no more than a quarter of an hour from start to finish.

When Vittel walked out of the blood-soaked mansion carrying Viscount Barkley's head, which died with eyes wide open, other action teams also successively sent news of success.

Throughout the night, in Sunset City, shouts of killing and screams rose one after another.

Those nobles and officials who had once attached themselves to Archibald had not yet recovered from the shock of the Governor's downfall when they found themselves turtles in a jar.

Some tried to resist, only to be crushed by the black-armored knights with more violent attacks, along with their mansions.

Some tried to escape, only to despairingly find that all exits of the city had been blocked tightly.

Others were blocked at home by those "new friends". Those "allies" who were calling them brothers yesterday now showed their most ferocious fangs, and in order to claim credit to the new master, they were more ruthless than anyone else.

Overnight, the world turned upside down.

When the dawn of the morning first illuminated the city, the purge that had lasted all night finally came to an end.

In front of the Governor's mansion, mountains of gold, silver, jewelry, and weapons and equipment glittered in the morning light.

Vittel and those local nobles stood before Roko, covered in blood, reporting their respective battle results.

This night, the old power structure of the Sunset Province was completely shattered and reorganized.

More than thirty noble and official families involved with Archibald were uprooted.

Roko not only harvested massive wealth, but more importantly, he also incorporated more than five thousand private soldiers and obtained large tracts of land and manors.

These would become his confidence in confronting Marquis William next.

He looked at the nobles below whose eyes were filled with awe and fear, and nodded with satisfaction.

The purpose of establishing prestige was achieved.

From today on, in this Sunset City, and even the entire Sunset Province, there would be only one voice.

That was his, Roko Raymond's voice.

However, just as he was preparing to reward the meritorious and further stabilize people's hearts.

A scout responsible for vigilance rode a fast horse and rushed over like crazy; before the warhorse could stop, he rolled off the horse to the ground. ===== CHAPTER 189 =====