Chapter 201: Hernand Family Contingent!

"Spear formation, advance one step, thrust!"

Puff! Puff! Puff!

But Gervas paid no mind to elite or not—he seized the enemy's moment of shock and pushed forward himself.

The spearmen marched forward in unison, then thrust their spears again.

As the sound of spears piercing flesh echoed, over a dozen Patr guard soldiers were cut down!

This sight finally jolted the stunned guards awake; they scrambled backward in terror.

"Damn it! Don't retreat! Kieran, Berry, you bastards, charge forward now!" Patr roared in fury.

Hearing the shouts, the vassals and knight captains standing on either side of the formation dared not delay further.

They drew their longswords, activated their battle aura, and prepared to break through the spear formation.

But at that moment, another figure darted in from the side of the spear formation.

It was Lei Meng.

Lei Meng's battle aura erupted violently as he surged toward Kieran, the strongest among the enemy knights.

Kieran had barely taken him seriously—he was a veteran Bronze Knight, with few rivals in his realm.

But the instant Lei Meng's aura flared, Kieran froze in shock, "A Silver Knight?!"

Clang!

Lei Meng's sword struck swift, precise, and brutal—flinging Kieran's blade from his grip.

His motion didn't stop.

In Kieran's horrified gaze, the blade's cold gleam slashed across his chest.

Ssshhht!

Kieran felt a chill on his chest—he turned pale with terror and looked down in panic.

Fortunately, his leather armor had only been sliced open, not piercing flesh or bone.

"Tell your Viscount Patr to withdraw immediately from Stormhold—or this will be our Lord Gervas's final warning!"

Before Kieran could even think he'd been lucky, Lei Meng's icy voice cut through the air.

Kieran realized then—it wasn't luck. The opponent had held back.

Without a moment's hesitation, and without seeking Patr's orders, Kieran shouted, "Retreat! Everyone, fall back now!"

The Patr guards, already terrified, could hold no longer—they fled downhill like a tide, abandoning armor and weapons.

In the end, Patr's force had arrived with pride—but fled in disgrace across the border.

"Damn it, Kieran! Why did you order a retreat? Don't you obey my orders as Viscount?!"

After crossing the border and confirming Stormhold's army wasn't pursuing, Patr twisted his face in rage and roared at Kieran.

Kieran's face was grim, but who was Patr but his liege? He immediately showed Patr his breastplate.

"My Lord Viscount, this is the slash my armor received from the enemy knight captain—if he hadn't held back, I'd be dead now!"

"How is this possible? Kieran, you've been a Bronze Knight for twenty years!" Patr couldn't believe it.

He knew well—Kieran was his family's strongest warrior.

"My Lord Viscount, the enemy knight captain… is a Silver Knight."

"S-Silver Knight?" Patr froze. "How? He's only been Viscount for a month and a half—how could he have a Silver Knight as his captain?!"

"And in this border region, how many viscounts even command the loyalty of a Silver Knight?"

Patr couldn't believe it—his own Patr family, which had ruled for decades, had no Silver Knight under them.

Kieran understood his lord's shock, but he couldn't let his lord make another reckless move.

"My Lord Viscount, Berry and Wol both saw the Silver Knight's battle aura. So… we'd best avoid provoking them from now on..."

"I—" Patr opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He wasn't stupid.

He'd thought the other side weak, thought he could bully them.

Now, they weren't just well-armed and numerous—they had a Silver Knight captain. He truly couldn't afford to provoke them.

He cast one last reluctant glance at the mine behind him, feeling his heart bleed.

"My Lord, that was so satisfying! Ha! That damned Viscount Patr dared try to steal back the mine! Now he won't dare again, right?"

"Ha! After this battle, our Lord's name will spread far among the neighboring nobles!" Seeing the enemy flee in panic, Migen and the knights burst into loud laughter.

They were no strangers to noble border conflicts.

Such clashes ranked among the top causes of guard deaths outside full-scale royal wars.

These skirmishes had both advantages and drawbacks.

The advantage: victory boosted your family's influence along the border.

For example, before this, Viscount Patr's family had been the most influential in the region.

Lesser nobles subtly looked to Patr's family for guidance.

But after this incident, our Lord's reputation would surely eclipse Patr's.

"Too bad the royal law forbids nobles from killing nobles—if only our Lord had wiped out Viscount Patr outright, we'd have no rivals left in this region!"

Migen muttered, still unsatisfied.

But that was only human—Patr's forces had already broken; a countercharge could've slaughtered them all.

Unfortunately, royal law forbade any noble from killing another noble—only the King and the Noble Council could judge noble crimes.

Otherwise, even in Patr's situation, Gervas would face severe punishment.

The reason was simple: in a world with poor communication, forging evidence was easy.

If this rule weren't enforced, powerful nobles could crush and annex weaker ones at will.

Thus, this royal law, though restrictive, was meant to protect minor nobles.

"No need to regret it. Let Viscount Patr remember this lesson—or next time, 'bandits' will pay him a visit at his castle!" Gervas's expression remained calm.

Royal law did indeed constrain noble actions on paper.

But if one truly wished to eliminate a noble, there were always ways around it.

For example, decades ago, the former lord of Kain's barony died in a 'bandit' attack.

Since then, Patr's family had never again disputed ownership of the iron mine.

So let Patr cherish this narrow escape—if he dares provoke again, Gervas won't hold back.

In truth, Patr was terrified.

Upon learning Lei Meng was a Silver Knight, he silently led his broken troops back to his castle.

As long as neither he nor his men became Silver Knights, he'd never dare trouble Gervas again.

Of course, Patr didn't want trouble.

But as his routed troops passed through Patr's small town, a free commoner who'd only moved there from the north a few days prior immediately packed up his roadside stall.

He hurried back to his rented hut. "What's wrong?"

"News has come—Viscount Patr was defeated. I must deliver this to Lord in Eagle City immediately!"

"Good!"

The free commoner pulled out a cart from the backyard. After pretending to leave the town, he abandoned the cart in the bushes and rode north on horseback.

…

"You are the Lord of Stormhold, Gervas?"

"That's right. I am Gervas Gail. And you are?"

At dusk, a group of unexpected guests arrived at Stormhold.

Over a hundred strong, they were well-armed and mounted on superior warhorses rare in the southern borderlands—clearly of noble origin.

And indeed, they were the Hernand family's contingent.

Hearing the reply, Fener continued to study the border noble before him—youthful, but otherwise unremarkable.

Yet remembering his mission, he hid his contempt and forced a warm smile: "I am Fener, of the Hernand Ducal Family."

"So you are Lord Fener. What brings you to my Stormhold?"

Gervas knew full well their purpose. His smile remained polite, but utterly cold.

Fener immediately frowned—the border noble's reaction was so dismissive.

Didn't these backwater nobles, upon hearing the name of a Ducal Family, tremble in awe?