Chapter 351: The Summoning Order Arrives!

"You are Lord Gervas?"

Back at the castle, it so happened that the Eagle City contingent was still in the front courtyard.

Upon learning of Gervas's return, the lead man—a middle-aged fellow with triangular eyes and a hooked nose, dressed in silk ceremonial robes—studied Gervas.

His attitude was oddly arrogant.

"That's right, I am Gervas. And who might you be?"

"I am Randal, deputy to the Inner Councilor of Eagle City. I've come here personally to deliver your summons!" Randal tilted his chin slightly, then produced a scroll of animal hide.

Gervas narrowed his eyes. Wilard had already schemed against him—that much he knew.

But now they sent a subordinate to deliver the summons in person? Was this a show of intimidation?

"What summons? I recall the kingdom's law: each vassal owes only two months of mandatory service per year; the rest of the time, one has the right to refuse summons."

"Unless the vassal's lord's safety is in grave danger!"

"And I, Gervas, only months ago answered the kingdom's summons, fought for two full months on the western frontier against the western tribes, and earned the highest commendation!"

"So what relevance does this summons have to me?" Gervas sneered.

Randal clearly anticipated this objection. He spoke calmly: "Lord Gervas, you yourself said—only in emergencies threatening the lord's safety. This campaign is in the northern frontier, concerning the beastfolk invasion!"

"Thus, this qualifies as an emergency!"

"You're lying. If it truly threatened His Majesty's safety, it would be a full kingdom mobilization—the summons scroll would be painted red to signal dire emergency!"

"But your summons is identical to a routine one—nothing like the rumored emergency summons!" Before Gervas could reply, Lei Meng immediately countered.

As a knight captain from a viscount's family, Lei Meng understood these matters well.

Randal hadn't expected these country bumpkins to know so much—they'd exposed his lie instantly.

Yet he wasn't fazed. With Wilard's backing, he simply said: "I don't know the details. All I know is the summons has been issued. Lord Gervas, please accept it!"

"If you delay military orders and fail to report to the northern frontier within the deadline, you'll face punishment under kingdom law!"

"My lord, we cannot accept this summons—it's clearly Wilard's doing. We can appeal to the Viceroy in Eagle City!" Mi Gen, seeing the situation, immediately urged anxiously.

They all knew full well the dangers of the northern frontier.

This summons must not be accepted.

"Not accept? Hah, knight—do you think you can refuse a summons just because you want to? The list of names was sent to the capital and the northern frontier before I even left!"

"Moreover, the assembly deadline is tight. If you wish to waste time, go ahead—by the time you finish your appeal, the capital's arrest warrant may already arrive!" Randal mocked.

The Inner Council's machinations would never allow these fools a chance to turn the tide.

"You—!" Mi Gen and the knights glared furiously, itching to tear Randal apart.

But Gervas remained calm. He waved his hand toward Mi Gen and the others.

Then his gaze, sharp as ice, locked onto Randal: "I will accept the summons. I will join this campaign."

"But tell Wilard this: when I return alive, he'd better wash his neck and wait."

Randal shuddered under Gervas's murderous gaze and instinctively stepped back two paces.

Yet remembering he had dozens of guards and Wilard as his patron, he regained his composure.

"Lord Gervas, save your threats until you're alive to speak them! This time, Lord Wilard himself is going—and he'll serve as overseer of the Southern Legion!"

With that, Randal showed no further interest in staying at the castle. He immediately gathered his men to depart.

"My lord, let me take men and kill that dog!" Watching Randal's retreating back, Mi Gen gritted his teeth.

"What good would killing him do? He's just Wilard's dog."

"Wilard would even welcome it—then he'd have a perfect excuse to harass us!" Gervas said.

Yet seeing Mi Gen's frustration, Gervas changed tone: "Of course, he won't die—but breaking his legs is perfectly acceptable."

"Mi Gen, since you're so angry, go to Black Pine Forest and ask the mother lizard to help you."

"If you move fast enough, you can still settle accounts before this fellow leaves."

Mi Gen's face lit up instantly: "Yes, my lord! I'll go right now—and I'll ask Captain Mick to send me on a griffin!"

Then Mi Gen vanished in a flash.

"My lord, what do we do now? Though Randal is despicable, what he said isn't false."

"The summons was issued to you—clearly Wilard's scheme—but the capital and northern frontier don't know that."

"So if we don't go, we'll be branded as evading the summons."

"Moreover, though we can appeal, the entire kingdom is now focused on the war—they have no time to care about this!"

"Worse, if Wilard deliberately delays, by the time our appeal reaches the capital, the punishment may already have arrived!"

After Mi Gen left, Lei Meng stepped forward.

As the knight captain with greater political awareness, he was more concerned about Gervas's and Stormhold's safety.

"Lei Meng, don't worry. Others see war as danger—but isn't it also an opportunity?"

"Don't you remember how I rose from baron to viscount in half a year?"

"But my lord…"

"No buts, Lei Meng. Fortune favors the bold! You can dodge today—but not the next time."

"Rise in rank now, so you can properly deal with Wilard later."

The old Gervas had wanted to hide until becoming a "god."

But since that path is blocked, he had no objection to changing tactics—using this chance to raise his rank further.

After all, with his intelligence network, he'd hold the advantage in any war.

Though the beastfolk are more dangerous, the opportunities are greater too.

"Yes, my lord!" Lei Meng understood clearly.

Wilard would never let their lord off the hook.

So even if they somehow escaped this time, there would surely be another.

To truly end it, their lord must rise one more rung.

At the rank of earl, he'd become part of the kingdom's high nobility—no longer a petty noble anyone could trample.

As for whether their lord could truly achieve it…

Recalling all the fortune their lord had enjoyed in the past half year, perhaps it was truly possible.

After all, he'd never heard of any noble so favored by the God of Glory as their lord!