Chapter 76: Nobility
The restless emotions were rapidly spreading.
The Wolf Soldiers, who had just completed a pursuit operation, were now growling restlessly.
The other soldiers of the Spring Breeze Territory didn’t dare to approach them at all.
They clustered together, cautiously and warily watching the Wolf Soldiers, afraid that they might suddenly go berserk.
In fact, such incidents were not uncommon in the Spring Breeze Territory.
During many joint combat training sessions, it was common for the Wolf Soldiers to suddenly lose control and attack their own allies.
Only after countless trials did they finally discover that this self-destructive behavior stemmed from the prey used as imaginary enemies being too few in number, training with Wolf Soldiers could not proceed without bloodshed, so it was impossible to conduct mock battles in detached units.
Therefore, the combat drills involving Wolf Soldiers in the Spring Breeze Territory either required the purchase of a batch of slaves as expendables, or the use of death row inmates from the dungeons.
And now, these Wolf Soldiers had become agitated precisely because the prey in the earlier chase was too few, and their bloodlust had not been satisfied.
“Silence!” A young man with a hideous scar across his face rushed over quickly and scolded the restless Wolf Soldiers.
One of the Wolf Soldiers seemed to lose control completely. He suddenly howled and lunged at the young man.
His movements were swift and nimble, leaping more than two meters high, with short axes tightly gripped in both hands, resembling a pair of sharp claws.
Just like a wild beast!
Adema’s eyes gleamed with ferocity. He suddenly launched a flying kick that struck the Wolf Soldier squarely in the abdomen, sending him flying back into the group of Wolf Soldiers, knocking over several others who were also beginning to stir.
Then he swept his gaze once more over the Wolf Soldiers. His intimidating aura was so overwhelming that none of them dared to meet his eyes. They let out beast-like whimpers and all lowered their heads.
Only then did the agitation among the Wolf Soldiers begin to subside.
“Hmph.” With a cold snort, Adema turned and quickly left.
The mountain path was rugged.
Especially at night, it was even harder to traverse.
But this did not trouble Adema in the least.
Adema the "Wild Wolf".
As he traveled through the mountains, it was as if he were walking on flat ground.
Even the pitch-black night, where an ordinary person could hardly see anything, was no different from daylight in his eyes.
So before long, he had already reached the mountain summit.
“Lord,” Adema spoke before he even got close, signaling his presence. “I’ve interrogated some of the survivors.”
“Speak,” Harris Robert said in a deep voice.
The Lord of the Spring Breeze Territory was currently seated at a long table covered with a white cloth, elegantly enjoying his dinner.
Twelve dishes were neatly arranged on the table.
Unlike the Karco Family of the Western Wind Territory, which had a long and storied history, the Robert Family of the Spring Breeze Territory had only passed down to Harris through five generations.
In terms of family history, they were not even as well-established as the Bole Family of the White Mountain Territory.
However, the Robert Family’s ancestor had once married the beloved youngest daughter of the Count of the Fertile Territory from the Antares Family, which was how they came to possess a rich land like the Spring Breeze Territory.
Because of this, the Robert Family was fanatically devoted to the nobility’s etiquette, demeanor, and elegance, to an almost pathological degree. They claimed descent from the Antares Count Family and believed that their kin must never disgrace the Count Family.
Even during times of war, the members of the Robert Family insisted on maintaining a "fully noble" dining protocol.
A long table, a candelabrum, and twelve dishes.
Not a single item could be missing.
Adema clearly understood the kind of man he had sworn fealty to, so he wasn’t surprised by the scene before him.
“The villagers of Plain Village had already evacuated the evening before we launched the attack.”
“Their destination was White Mountain City.”
“Those we captured were mostly the ones who had trouble moving or were burdened with too many supplies, which allowed us to catch up. From what these villagers described, those who moved faster have likely already reached White Mountain City.”
“I’ve thought it through carefully. Unless the administrator of White Mountain City is a complete fool, they won’t let us sneak in.”
“How many slaves did we capture in total?” Baron Harris asked.
“Fewer than three hundred,” Adema replied. “But the actual number still alive is likely under two hundred. After tonight, maybe only around a hundred will remain... The Wolf Soldiers lost control a bit, so the casualties during capture were high.”
The sound of knife and fork clashing suddenly ceased.
“So, we got nothing out of this raid?”
“Yes,” Adema nodded.
In fact, it couldn’t be said they gained nothing.
Currently, they had captured nearly two hundred villagers from Plain Village.
If they were willing to use medicine and bandage the wounds, around one hundred and fifty might survive.
Including the supplies and savings confiscated from the prisoners, they had acquired around seven to eight hundred Tyrella Gold Coins.
However, when this amount was divided among all the soldiers involved in the war, it was clearly far from sufficient, even though the eighty Wolf Soldiers didn’t require monetary rewards, Adema, who was familiar with Baron Harris’s nature, knew their lord would likely have to pay out of his own pocket.
“Damn it!”
As expected.
Upon hearing Adema’s report, Baron Harris Robert flew into a rage on the spot. “Is that Ion insane? Why would he evacuate all the villagers? What was he thinking? Doesn’t he realize that by doing so, we would get nothing?”
“Three villages!”
“These three villages were agreed upon, one for each of us, and all looted goods were to belong to us. Half of White Mountain City’s yield goes to tribute, and the remaining half is split among the three of us. The remaining two villages of White Mountain Territory belong to Eastern Mountain Territory.”
“Now!”
“Now we’ve taken Plain Village and gotten nothing!”
“Is Ion doing this on purpose?”
“Adema! Tell me, is Ion insane? Is he targeting us?”
Facing his lord of Spring Breeze Territory suddenly screaming hysterically like a madman, what could Adema say? He could only lower his head and pretend he saw nothing, replying along the lines of his lord’s rant.
“This Ion,” Harris suddenly blinked. “Did any of the villagers say where he went?”
“Yes.” Adema sighed inwardly.
Yesterday morning, when they arrived at Plain Village and discovered the entire population had fled, Harris had already lost his temper once and immediately ordered a pursuit.
However, since they had missed the optimal time, Adema hadn’t held much hope initially.
But after actually catching some of the slower villagers and realizing the situation might not be as bad, he immediately led the main force into a full pursuit.
This, however, caused them to miss the messenger sent by Baron Howis Abres of Eastern Mountain Territory.
The reason Adema was now urgently reporting to Harris, besides the information extracted from interrogations, was because that very messenger had finally located them.
But by now, it had been a full day and night since the messenger had been dispatched, counting tonight, that made it two nights and a day.
“He led his people to Mountain Ridge Village, stormed it, killed a knight of the Abres Family, and forced the Baron of Eastern Mountain Territory to return with his forces.”
“That happened yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” Harris was stunned. “You mean that knight from the Bole Family didn’t retreat to White Mountain City, but went back to rescue the Baron of White Mountain Territory? And he forced Howis to give up the chase? … His retreat path was cut off?”
“Very likely,” Adema nodded. “We’ve had no contact with Baron of Eastern Mountain Territory for two days. According to the original battle plan, the Lord of White Mountain Territory should be breaking through toward our direction and falling into our ambush... But now, not only has the Lord of White Mountain Territory not entered our ambush, even the Baron of Eastern Mountain Territory hasn’t continued communication with me.”
Harris’s expression turned grave. “That Howis fellow... It seems like something happened to him.”
“Awoooo—”
From halfway up the mountain came a long howl.
But this was not a genuine wolf’s cry, it sounded more like someone deliberately mimicking a wolf’s howl with a shrill scream.
Both Adema and Baron Harris instantly understood, it was the Wolf Soldiers’ warning signal.
Two figures slowly emerged from the base of the mountain.
The one in front was only about 165 cm tall, starkly contrasting the person behind, who was over 180 cm.
Both wore high-collared black cloaks. The one in front had a slightly pale face that looked even whiter under the night light; the one behind looked robust and healthy, with a well-built body that couldn’t be concealed even under the cloak, he gave off a powerful and oppressive first impression, clearly not someone to be trifled with.
Yet in reality, both Baron Harris and the "Wild Wolf" Adema showed evident wariness toward the petite woman in front.
The "Blood Knight" Molly Karco.
Lord of the Western Wind Territory, current head of the Karco Family, and eldest daughter of Baron Russell Karco.
In truth, this identity alone wasn’t enough to instill such fear in Harris and Adema.
The real danger was that during her third-tier awakening, her bloodline manifested as the so-called most dangerous creature of the Fertile Plains, the "Bloodthirsty Beast".
This effectively ruled her out from inheriting the leadership of the Western Wind Territory, but in exchange, it granted her strength far surpassing her peers.
The reason why the Western Wind Cavalry Regiment of the Western Wind Territory was so feared was largely because she served as the vice-commander of the regiment, although only vice-commander in title, everyone knew that the actual commander of the Western Wind Cavalry Regiment was her nominally titled father. Therefore, she was the true commander of the regiment.
“Didn’t expect the one coming would be you, little brat,” Harris curled his lip.
“I didn’t expect it either, that Uncle Harris would come in person,” Molly smiled. “I thought you’d just send someone casually.”
“When the Count himself gives instructions, I wouldn’t dare to slack off,” Harris sneered coldly.
The implication in his words was clear.
But Molly only gave a sweet smile. “Yes, my father thought the same. So, he sent me.”
Harris clicked his tongue inwardly.
He had long known that Molly was not only powerful but also sharp-minded.
It was just that at times, she could be influenced by the bloodline power of the "Bloodthirsty Beast" and lose her sanity.
In fact, it was precisely for this reason that Molly had lost her right of succession.
However, when she was in her right mind, few could gain the upper hand against her, even in a battle of words.
“Only the two of you came from Western Wind Territory?”
“With me and Nail, isn’t that enough?”
Two Third-Tier Bloodline Users, such power was certainly sufficient. Even if Western Wind Territory hadn’t dispatched any soldiers, no one could criticize them.
But Harris knew well that Russell Karco wasn’t the kind to leave any room for reproach.
As expected, he soon heard Molly’s voice again. “If you’re asking about troops, my father assigned four hundred soldiers to me.”
“The Western Wind Cavalry Regiment didn’t mobilize?”
Molly playfully rolled her eyes. “The White Mountain Territory is basically mountainous terrain. Would I bring cavalry just to waste rations? Besides, if we really need to attack White Mountain City later, would they be useful?”
“Hmph.” Only then did Adema speak in a deep voice, “But you’re late. According to the plan, you were supposed to rendezvous with us by noon today, but now you’re a full half-day late. If, at this time, the Lord of White Mountain Territory successfully breaks through the blockade, can your Western Wind Territory take responsibility?”
“Uncle Harris, is he the ‘Wolf King’ you’re grooming?” Molly looked curiously at Adema, then chuckled nonchalantly.
“The ‘Children of the Mountains’ is full of many unrepeatable accidents. You can’t create another ‘Children of the Mountains’ just by having a ‘Wolf King’... even if he awakens the Third-Tier ‘Frenzied Wolf’ next, and later the ‘White Wolf’.”
The Wolf People were the result of a failed advancement from Fifth-Tier "White Wolf" Bloodline User to Sixth-Tier "Mountain Wolf".
And the commander of the "Children of the Mountains" was widely speculated to have awakened the "White Wolf" bloodline, which allowed him to command Wolf Soldiers who possessed the Mountain Wolf bloodline.
Even so, incidents of losing control in the "Children of the Mountains" were not uncommon, especially in spring.
Molly’s statement that the "Children of the Mountains" was full of unrepeatable accidents was not baseless.
According to rumor, the current commander of the "Children of the Mountains" awakened "Swift Wolf" at Tier Two, "Frenzied Wolf" at Tier Three, "Thunder Wolf" at Tier Four, and "White Wolf" at Tier Five, advancing in a way that completely defied logical progression, thereby acquiring the qualification to command the "Children of the Mountains".
After all, apart from sharing the wolf species trait, the other characteristics of these bloodlines were almost completely opposed.
"Swift Wolf" was a magical beast famed for its speed, essentially aligned with Wind Element.
"Frenzied Wolf" was a beast with an extremely aggressive nature, more aligned with Fire Element.
"Thunder Wolf" was a high-risk magical beast, both fast and violently aggressive, whose attribute derived from both Wind and Fire, resulting in Lightning Element.
"White Wolf", by contrast, was among the gentlest and lowest-risk wolf-type magical beasts, its attribute derived from Water Element, extending into Ice Element.
It was worth noting that the "Mountain Wolf" bloodline leaned toward the Earth Element.
Although there was no strict concept of elemental countering in bloodline advancement in this world, commonly acknowledged opposing relations still existed.
For example, Water and Fire, Wind and Lightning.
Therefore, in standard bloodline advancement, if one selected Wind as a base attribute, one would generally avoid advancing to a Lightning-type bloodline, and for safety’s sake, even steer clear of Fire-type traits.
As "Swift Wolf" was highly compatible with Wind Element, Bloodline Users with this base usually avoided Fire and Lightning for their Third-Tier advancement.
Based on countless cases, advancing with such conflicting elements had an extraordinarily high failure rate. Most often, the price of failure was death, so no Bloodline User would risk their life for such a gamble.
However, as a nation, the Tyrella Kingdom could forcibly nurture talent without concern for cost.
They did manage to produce a few individuals who followed the same advancement path as the "Children of the Mountains" commander. Unfortunately, those raised with great effort and resources still could not command the "Children of the Mountains".
Hence, the Tyrella Kingdom had already abandoned this experiment decades ago.
And now, Adema had awakened "Swift Wolf" at Tier Two and intended to develop toward "Frenzied Wolf" at Tier Three.
The intention behind it was clear to anyone who wasn’t a fool.
Molly even knew that Count Shuvaric was also secretly observing the "Wild Wolf" Adema, because he was currently the second known person in the Southern Region with a certain degree of influence and appeal over the Wolf People.
That was why Count Shuvaric supported Baron Harris in fully cultivating this so-called "Wolf King of Spring Breeze Territory".
After all, if Harris succeeded, Shuvaric could maneuver Adema into the "Children of the Mountains", and then this Southern Region garrison, which only followed the orders of the Karla Royal Family, might very well fall into the hands of the Antares Family.
No one could resist such temptation.
Especially for the Antares Family, this was essentially a cost-free deal, since all resources for cultivating Adema didn’t come from them. If Adema were successfully trained by the Robert Family, then the Antares Family only had to hint at the opportunity to have him command the "Children of the Mountains", and even if Adema wanted to refuse, the Robert Family would never allow him to.
It was far too easy for a great lord to manipulate a minor noble.
This was also why the Karco Family was willing to act like an obedient dog.
Without enough bargaining chips or even a seat at the negotiation table, hiding one’s fangs and claws was the smartest move.
Family reputation?
Being called the most loyal dog of the Antares Family wasn’t a bad thing.
In noble society, such talk was almost considered the highest form of praise.
As for behind closed doors?
Molly would make those who spoke with ill intent and sarcastic tones regret ever being born.
Therefore, Molly always thought the Robert Family’s ostentatious behavior was incredibly foolish.
“Adema was right. You’re very late.”
Although Harris didn’t know what Molly was thinking or what she thought of his family, he could clearly sense the malice in her tone when she said those words.
Knowing that Molly was sharp-tongued and realizing it would be very disadvantageous to tangle with her on the matter she raised, Harris chose not to respond to her question.
“We didn’t want to either,” Molly pouted a little, feigning slight grievance. “It’s all because of the people in Andar Village. They wasted too much of our time.”
“Hahaha,” Harris suddenly burst into laughter. “So the people of Andar Village all ran away too?”
In this campaign against the White Mountain Territory, the three villages in the Fertile Plains directly corresponded to the territories of the three lords.
According to their agreement, all supplies and population of Andar Village belonged to the Western Wind Territory; the resources of Plain Village to the Spring Breeze Territory; and Mountain Ridge Village to the Eastern Mountain Territory.
As the initiator of the war, the other two villages within White Mountain Territory, Old Mountain Village and Fisher Village, were also allocated to the Eastern Mountain Territory.
After all, in this invasion, the Eastern Mountain Territory had indeed sacrificed two of its own villages, so compensation was necessary.
Additionally, half of the loot from White Mountain City was to be offered to Count Shuvaric, and the remaining half divided equally among the three territories.
But unlike the five villages, which they could plunder entirely, White Mountain City had to retain half its population, and that half couldn’t consist solely of the elderly, the weak, and the disabled, it needed a quota of able-bodied workers and fertile women.
As for wealth and materials, everything from merchant caravans and guilds could be taken, but the property of the city’s residents could not be completely looted.
Because the guilds that had signed the agreement had long known that war was coming, they had withdrawn from White Mountain Territory early. Thus, the guilds and caravans that hadn’t yet left were considered “gifts” left behind.
The same applied to the population, no one ever felt they had too many people in their territory.
This was why the three lords of the Fertile Plains waited two and a half months before launching the war, this period was deliberately created to allow the “agreement parties” to leave White Mountain Territory.
If they hadn’t left by the end of this period, they had no one to blame when war broke out.
Baron Harris Robert of Spring Breeze Territory had been furious earlier precisely because the people of Plain Village had all fled, and he gained nothing from it, that haul of less than eight hundred Tyrella Gold Coins wasn’t even enough to pay the war subsidies for the soldiers accompanying the expedition: he had brought three hundred and eighty soldiers this time, including eighty Wolf Soldiers and three hundred Private Soldiers.
Wolf People in Spring Breeze Territory held a status no different from slaves.
So Wolf Soldiers composed of Wolf People naturally received no war subsidies, just give them good food and they would charge into battle fearlessly.
But ordinary soldiers were different.
So Harris offered ten Tyrella Gold Coins in war subsidies to each ordinary soldier, with twenty more as death compensation for those killed in action.
Only then could this army effectively coordinate with the Wolf Soldiers.
Harris didn’t know how much war subsidy the Western Wind Territory offered its four hundred soldiers to maintain morale and combat strength, but he was sure it wouldn’t be lower than what he offered.
That’s why, upon hearing Molly say they were delayed due to problems at Andar Village, he was especially pleased.
At this moment, the Lord of Spring Breeze Territory had even forgotten that according to the original battle plan, they were supposed to jointly blockade the surrounding area of Andar Village.
But since the people of Plain Village had all fled, this lord had angrily deviated from the original plan. If this issue ever came to light, he would clearly be in the wrong and might even be forced to compensate by the Western Wind Territory and the Eastern Mountain Territory.
After all, not only had he failed to help the Western Wind Territory blockade the surrounding area of Andar Village, but he had also allowed Ion to escape and cause trouble in Mountain Ridge Village.
Adema looked at Harris, who was now basking in a gleeful schadenfreude, and felt a little helpless: the Robert Family was rumored to be cursed, a curse that made their members somewhat neurotic and deranged.
But Harris’s joy didn’t last long.
Because Molly spoke.
“No, it’s because there were simply too many villagers in Andar Village. With just the four hundred soldiers under my command, there was no way to capture them all. So I had no choice but to kill some, which is why we arrived late.”
“But Uncle Harris, what do you mean by ‘also all ran away’?”
“Don’t tell me… you didn’t capture a single person from Plain Village?”
Molly suddenly mocked him without mercy.
Nail Spencer, the burly man standing behind Molly, couldn’t help but sigh when he saw his lady acting this way.
They had seen it clearly as they came up from the foot of the mountain: the number of villagers the Spring Breeze Territory had captured was far too few, completely inconsistent with their prior intelligence on Plain Village.
So in truth, Nail knew Molly had already figured out that Spring Breeze Territory had failed to capture the villagers of Plain Village, which was why she didn’t help blockade the area around Andar Village.
This had forced them to spend more time capturing the fleeing villagers of Andar Village.
In fact, to seize the wealth of the entire Andar Village, his lady had already lost control once.
It wasn’t just a matter of “killing some villagers”.
Nearly one-third of Andar Village’s residents had been slaughtered by her. Only then were the remaining villagers cowed into surrender.
“How many villagers from Andar Village did you capture?”
“Not that many,” Molly sighed. “About nine hundred households, roughly two thousand three hundred people.”
“Damn it!” Baron Harris cursed without any regard for his image. “But still, over three hundred households got away, right?”
They had, of course, gathered intelligence about each village’s situation through merchant caravans before the war.
So Harris Robert knew that Andar Village had about thirteen hundred households and around three thousand residents.
The total value of the village’s goods and savings was estimated between thirteen to fifteen thousand Tyrella Gold Coins.
Plain Village was slightly less valuable, with an estimated worth of about ten thousand Tyrella Gold Coins.
And now he had only seized around eight hundred Tyrella Gold Coins’ worth, naturally, he couldn’t be happy about it.
Especially when compared to the Western Wind Territory’s gains, the bitterness became even more acute.
“They didn’t get away,” Molly smiled. “I killed them. But although those people are dead, all their wealth was left intact.”
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” Baron Harris cursed again with no regard for decorum.
He didn’t even realize that he was technically Molly’s elder.
But Molly didn’t seem to mind at all. She simply watched Harris curse with a cheerful expression.
“Let’s cooperate.”
Suddenly, the madness in Harris’s demeanor vanished.
It was as if the raving man from a moment ago was someone else entirely.
His eyes gleamed with clarity and greed, giving him an especially aggressive presence. “Howis Abres is out of the game. If he’s lucky, maybe he escaped back to Eastern Mountain Territory. But if not, then the lordship of the Eastern Mountain Territory might be changing families.”
“What do you mean?” Molly frowned.
Only now did she realize that the Lord of White Mountain Territory, who was supposed to be driven into the ambush, hadn’t shown up, and no one from the Abres Family of Eastern Mountain Territory had appeared either.
“What happened?”
“Ion Soderbell realized our invasion ahead of time. When I reached Plain Village, everyone was already gone,” Harris Robert said as he sat back down, his expression dark.
“He went to support Mountain Ridge Village and killed the defenders Baron Howis Abres had stationed there, forcing him to give up the chase of Baron Ster... and this was all yesterday.”
“As you can see, today Howis hasn’t contacted me at all, so I suspect he’s already dead.”
“Tell me, if Howis Abres and all the knights he brought with him are dead, can the Abres Family possibly survive?”
Hearing Baron Harris’s words, Molly furrowed her brow. “Don’t forget what our real mission is. If Ster Bole doesn’t die, Count Shuvaric will be very displeased.”
“Of course I haven’t forgotten,” Baron Harris smiled. “We can kill Ster first, and then think about how to carve up Eastern Mountain Territory.”
Molly suddenly realized the danger posed by Baron Harris Robert, or rather, by the entire Robert Family.
Eastern Mountain Territory was the domain of Count Shuvaric, and the Abres Family were technically blood-related allies.
But in Harris’s eyes, with Baron Howis Abres dead, the territory had simply become a juicy piece of meat ripe for the taking.
“What if Uncle Howis isn’t dead?”
“No, he’s already dead,” Harris grinned. “And he must die. If he doesn’t die, who will compensate for my losses?”
By the time he said the last sentence, Harris Robert had once again entered that hysterical state.
But Molly felt a sudden chill surge through her heart.
Because she understood the meaning behind Baron Harris’s words: Baron Howis Abres had to die.
Even if he wasn’t killed by the Lord of White Mountain Territory, Baron Ster Bole, Harris would still never let him live.
Because otherwise, they would have no chance to touch Eastern Mountain Territory’s wealth and might even incur the wrath of Count Shuvaric.
But as long as Baron Howis Abres died, and died without value, then before Count Shuvaric could react, if their two families quickly divided the wealth of Eastern Mountain Territory, Count Shuvaric wouldn’t say anything.
And the two most crucial factors in this scheme were her participation and the death of Baron Howis Abres.
The former represented the Karco Family’s involvement.
The latter represented the demise of the Abres Family.
“Then what about Baron Ster Bole?”
“Him?” Harris looked puzzled. “He also must die. If he doesn’t, Count Shuvaric won’t let us go... So here’s my plan, we kill the Lord of White Mountain Territory first, and then if Howis isn’t dead yet, we kill him too. What do you think?”
“That’s your plan?”
“Of course,” Harris replied as if it was completely natural.
Molly didn’t quite know how to respond.
But when she saw the serious look on Harris’s face, she knew that continuing this discussion with him was meaningless.
“What about the Bole Family?”
“You still want to take White Mountain City?” Harris looked confused. “Giggs Bole isn’t even in White Mountain Territory, and Lily Bole is in White Mountain City, but now that we have to clean up the mess left by that Howis guy, where do we find time to attack White Mountain City? Just building the siege weapons alone would take too much time... All of this mess was caused by Howis. Count Shuvaric will surely understand, won’t he?”
Molly knew that only Baron Ster Bole was on Count Shuvaric’s death list.
As for Giggs Bole and Lily Bole, they weren’t listed. They were considered optional kills.
But if things had gone according to the original plan and they had managed to take White Mountain City, then Lily Bole would definitely not have survived.
“Alright.”
Without much time to think, Molly Karco nodded and agreed to Harris Robert’s proposal.
Splitting Eastern Mountain Territory’s wealth without needing to offer tribute to Count Shuvaric, why give up such a good deal?
Although the Karco Family had always been referred to as the Antares Family’s loyal hound by outsiders, such talk was only useful for fooling others. If members of their own family actually believed it, then they were beyond saving.
At the very least, Molly Karco never saw herself as a dog raised by the Antares Family.
“So, Uncle Harris, what exactly do you plan to do?”
Harris gave a gentle smile.
His smile was very warm, very refined.
But the words that followed were especially cold.
“First, we have to force Baron Ster into Eastern Mountain Territory, only then will we have room to maneuver.”