Chapter 154

Dawn City northern suburb military camp.

Crack—crack—crack~~

Amid the sound of hooves, a group of high-status southern nobles rode tall horses, inspecting the Dawn Legion's camp.

Among them were Dawn Duke Rade in hardened krypton gold armor, the Dawn Legion's commander and senior officers from the Adrian royal house, and a group of similarly uniformed southern county knights.

These knights are representatives of the fifteen southern county earls, usually the earl's own brothers, and core figures of the family.

As for the earl lords,

At present they are mustering troops in their own territories, and only when they truly march north will they lead their armies to join the Dawn Legion.

Lastly, there is one more, the naval marshal Tweed who has just returned from the northern White Sturgeon Island.

As Dawn Duke, Rade was surrounded by the nobles like stars holding the moon.

Clad in exquisite deep-purple armor and possessing a tall, strong build, he looked as dazzling as a deity descending to earth.

"Uncle, how do you think our Dawn Legion's soldiers compare to the White Sturgeon Island army?"

Tweed's physical condition is good, his spirits are not bad either; he just seems a bit dispirited, looking preoccupied.

But this appearance drew no attention from anyone, for any soldier who has just suffered a crushing defeat could not possibly be in high spirits.

"Duke, I have never formally engaged the White Sturgeon Island army in battle, but judging from artillery control skill alone, their level should be quite high."

"Artillery? Uncle, you ought to change that rustic term used by country folk; in Aaron, this new magical device has a formal name, called 'Blazing Thunder'."

Tweed furrowed his brows: "But this is not Aaron; it's Weilan."

"Moreover, Aaron's Blazing Thunder has never seen real combat, yet the White Sturgeon Island's artillery let me truly witness its power."

The Dawn Duke suddenly reined in his horse, turned his head, and carefully assessed Tweed.

"Sir Tweed, were you frightened into cowardice by the White Sturgeon Island baron?"

Tweed grew even more dissatisfied, thinking to himself: "What a spineless duke, kneeling to Aaron, yet accusing me of being scared stiff."

Of course, circumstances are stronger than the individual; he naturally dared not speak those words outright, so he could only lower his head and yield.

"Duke, I think there's no need to quarrel endlessly over a name."

"If you want to ask about the White Sturgeon Island army's capability, my assessment is that every soldier is high-spirited and has a clear goal."

After all, the other party is a family elder, so Rade could only suppress his inner anger.

"Clear goal? What goal?"

Tweed shrugged: "Naturally, it is to serve the Dawn Princess."

Rade's anger still flared, and he shouted loudly: "Sir Tweed, there is no Dawn Princess anymore!"

As his words fell, a voice came from beside: that of Holland Adrian, knight, commander of the Dawn First Legion.

"Duke, the royal council has not abolished the title of Dawn Princess, so she still exists."

Commander Holland is also a highly esteemed member of the Adrian royal house, and he is the sole member who has openly expressed dissatisfaction with Rade.

He greatly dislikes Rade, and naturally Rade also fears him greatly.

Yet Rade could never replace him, for he is the only one in the royal house possessing five-ring battle aura, a power that could be called the pride of the Adrian family.

Had it not been for his advanced age and somewhat impure bloodline, back then he could have succeeded as duke.

Precisely for this reason, when facing solemn royal matters, others dare not speak, but Holland dares to step forward and point out the duke's mistakes.

And he gives the duke no leniency whatsoever.

Rade gritted his teeth, but he dared not confront Holland directly, only muttering: "Sir Holland, the Dawn Princess has clearly rebelled."

Knight Holland's hearing is sharp; he let out a cold snort.

"The princess has not rebelled; she is merely undergoing the normal selection process, and we are not going to suppress a rebellion—we are merely following the normal persuasion procedure."

After saying that, he spurred his horse out of the crowd: "My First Legion still has some supplies not in place; I need to urge them along."

Without waiting for the duke's reply, he spurred his horse and left.

Rade watched him with an ashen face, waiting until he had gone far off before letting out a cold snort, thinking to himself: "What a foul, stubborn stone in a latrine; once you're too old to walk, I'll see how I deal with you!"

Although Holland enjoys high prestige in the royal house, he devoted himself to only one woman, who died early and left him no heirs.

Thus, when he grows old and loses his strength, there will be no one to support him.

After cursing inwardly, Rade continued: "Keep moving forward."

As his words fell, Tweed said: "Duke, my fighting spirit has not yet recovered; I fear it would affect the army's morale, so I'll go ahead first."

Rade thought that reasonable, raised his hand like shooing a fly, and said: "Then go ahead."

He originally didn't want to do it this way, but Holland had just given him a harsh snub, so he needed to find some balance from Tweed.

Otherwise, facing so many southern county knights, he would really have trouble saving face.

Facing this contemptuous attitude, Tweed gritted his teeth in silence; as a defeated commander with little spirit to retaliate, he pretended not to notice, turned, and spurred his horse away.

After walking away, he then changed direction and went to the camp to find Holland, who had just distanced himself.

Holland did not seek the quartermaster; instead, he was alone in the training ground practicing spear techniques.

He thrust his spear at the air as if there were a loathsome enemy before him.

He sensed Tweed's arrival but did not stop: "Tweed, what are you here for?"

"I have something I want to say to you alone."

Holland glanced quickly at Tweed: "I can't see any fighting spirit in you at all; it seems you have already turned to Selena."

Tweed dismounted, handed the reins to an attendant nearby, and said: "Selena's navy defeated me, so I do not regard this as a disgrace."

Holland immediately corrected: "To be precise, it is the White Sturgeon Island navy."

He stopped practicing, thrust his spear into the ground at random, and said: "Come with me into the tent."

He led the way into a nearby military tent, whose surface was inscribed with many runes, giving it a decent anti-eavesdropping effect.

Upon entering the tent, after lowering the curtain and confirming no one was inside, Tweed spoke bluntly: "Selena has long been carrying on with the baron; a few days ago she gave birth to a boy and a girl."

Huolande was startled, but then he burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha, Selena this lass is far more fun than Leiden; once she sets her sights, she charges ahead without looking back."

Te Wode gave a wry smile: "The baron wants to become Dawn Duke."

Huolande's smile vanished instantly, but before he could speak, Te Wode produced a contract scroll.

"But the baron swore a sacred oath, guaranteeing that the next duke would be his and Selena's child."

Huolande's expression eased slightly: "That still won't do!"

Te Wode then pulled out another bottle, ten milliliters of medicine: "The Levinde Royal Family's secret elixir, which can restore a person's body to youth and health, and this is the baron's sincerity."

He tossed the elixir over: "I've tried it; it completely cured my ailments."

Huolande hesitated a moment, then drank the elixir.

He was alone, with nothing to fear. After the elixir settled in his stomach and he felt its effects, he nodded blandly: "It is indeed an excellent medicine, but not enough to change my attitude."

"As for this matter, my bottom line is to remain neutral."

Te Wode shook his head: "But then I'd lose a vote in the clan council, while you've drunk my medicine."

Huolande froze: "You bastard, you schemed against me."

He had drunk it and couldn't bring himself to vomit it up. Since he was the type who never wanted to owe a favor, this left him quite embarrassed.

Te Wode advised: "The baron's methods are strong; he can help Weilan completely free herself from Aaron's manipulation."

Huolande snorted coldly: "And then become a puppet of Levinde?"

"That's obviously impossible; Levinde is still too far away—even with a Black Stone warship it wouldn't help. After all, Aaron will soon have one as well."

"With two routes, Weilan would have room to maneuver, which is the foundation of true freedom."

Huolande fell silent, for he knew Te Wode was right.

"But Weilan's ancestral teaching—"

As for this, Te Wode also found it quite a headache, and he knew Huolande was extremely stubborn; once he made up his mind, no amount of persuasion would help.

Just as they were thinking how to persuade him, suddenly a strange clamor came from outside the camp.

"What's going on?"

Huolande frowned at the sound, flung open the curtain, and bellowed at the guards: "What's happening?"

The guards immediately ran to the commotion to inquire.

He had gone at a jog, but immediately sprinted back, his face filled with intense fear.

"Sir! Sir! Something terrible has happened!"

The guard hurried up, panting: "Prince Kao has arrived in Dawn City. Huff… huff…"

"Don't pant—say it all in one breath!"

"He brought 800,000 Ogre Dawn City Bank deposit certificates, claiming they're fake, and demanded the bank explain. Huff… puff…"

Upon hearing this, Huolande and Te Wode were struck as if by lightning, shocked on the spot.

After a few seconds of silence, Huolande strode to his warhorse, turned it, and rode off.

He needed to go home at once and cash out his family's 5,000 Ogre bank deposit certificates.

This sum was his savings for old age; if it vanished, he'd have no way to get by when he could no longer walk.

Perhaps one could rely on clan relief, but who knows if the clan would still exist after this? Te Wode was likewise jolted awake and took off running.

His son had opened a small clan bank affiliated with Dawn City Bank for lending; if Dawn City Bank collapsed, we'd all be ruined! As he galloped out of the camp on his warhorse, he saw the entire camp already in chaos.

All the senior officers, with their own guard detachments, raced desperately toward the city.

Meanwhile, Dawn City Duke Leiden was discussing the northern campaign plan with the knights.

Basically, he was doing all the talking while they listened meekly.

The reason is simple: the Dawn Legion's strength far exceeds that of the southern prefectures.

This sense of being in control made Leiden very satisfied; his bearing grew ever more upright, his voice ever louder, as if he were the master of fate and victory lay within easy reach.

Then he saw a Black-Iron Guard charging toward him on horseback.

When the guard was a hundred meters away, he didn't even bother with his horse, but flew straight toward him using Flight Spell, shouting as he flew.

"Duke, it's terrible… it's terrible!! Something major has happened!"

The duke recognized the man as Master Ande, and quickly raised his hand to signal the guards beside him to lower their guard.

Master Ande landed, stumbled, fell into the mud, covered head to toe in slime, but he didn't care; he scrambled up and staggered over.

"Duke, it's awful—Dawn City Bank has counterfeit deposit certificates!"

The duke felt his head spin, nearly collapsing: "You're full of shit!"

He thought Master Ande's brain must be addled; even if it were true, you couldn't say such a thing to so many people!

Anger surged from his chest, ready to be unleashed on Master Ande.

Master Ande wore a grief-stricken face: "Everyone in the city knows now—Prince Kao Leiden himself came to question them, holding 800,000 Ogre fake deposit certificates."

"The Arcane Master in charge of the magical seals went to check and found they were indeed fake!"

"The whole of Dawn City has gone mad, with everyone rushing to the bank to demand cash!"

Hearing these words, the duke suddenly felt the world unreal, and also felt his crystal-forged armor weigh heavily.

He could barely stand; his back bent, his shoulders slumped, and his legs trembled.

"Plop~"

He actually slid off his horse's back, knelt on the ground, and knelt opposite Master Ande.

No one paid him any heed.

At some point, all the knights from the southern prefectures had fled, racing desperately to the bank to cash out! The legion commander and officers also ran.

They also brought their own personal troops, intending to go to the bank to defend their wealth.

Hoo~~ Hoo~~

A gust of mountain wind blew by, and finally a guard remembered the Duke on the ground, and one on each side helped him up.

But the Duke couldn't stand; his legs were weak.

After a few attempts, even the guard gave up.

Thump~

The Duke continued kneeling on the ground.

After a while, he opened his mouth: "Ande, Weilan is finished!"

If others claim there are false orders, he can still try to cover it up.

But Prince Kao clearly came to mess with him, instantly turning the matter into a city‑wide uproar, and it became impossible to resolve.

Ande, the mage, gave a wry smile: "Duke, run quickly, hurry to Aaron, seek the Lion King's protection; if you're late, you won't make it!"

If there were no external threat, even a bank overload could be barely suppressed.

But the Northern Allied Forces are about to move south, and Dawn Princess is eyeing the Duke's position; if this happens again, unless Leid is a descended heavenly deity, there is no chance to turn the tide.

But everyone knows Leid is a mediocre person!

Therefore, anyone who lags even a bit later might see Leid's head come off his neck!

Ande's words gave Duke Leid a sliver of hope: "Right, I must run! As long as I'm alive, there's still hope!"

He stood up and said to the guard, "Let's go to the Aaron Embassy!"

(End of chapter)