Ten Years

After Zhou Ming turned the entire Rose Territory upside down, it wasn't long before Glan Territory, this monstrous beast that had just revealed its ferocity, was completely exposed to all the powers in the Vorris Kingdom.

A rebellious land with only a supreme lord and not a single enfeoffed knight below him.

A rebellious land whose political system and development model for industry, agriculture, and commerce were so unconventional, even absurd.

A rebellious land that conscripted and trained farmers to establish a farmer army.

A rebellious land that was utterly treasonous, colluding with thieves, wantonly plundering the property of other territories, and murdering noble lords and knights!

At all costs, the nobles, farmers, and thieves on this rebellious land must be uprooted one by one, completely eradicated!

Ten years, seven encirclement campaigns.

Within the small Vorris Kingdom, wars raged almost every year.

But during these seven encirclement campaigns, Glan Territory, at the eye of the storm, was not shattered by the successive storms. Instead, it achieved complete victory in all seven encirclement battles!

The area controlled by Glan Territory expanded from the initial small Glan Territory to the entire Rose Territory, then to the Merlin Territory in the north, the Bame and Yokan Territories in the west, until it occupied half of the eastern part of the Vorris Kingdom.

Seeing the rebellious forces growing stronger and occupying more territory, while the population and property plundered by the thieves increased, King Herrian had no choice but to take out all the treasures in the royal treasury and offer to cede four earldoms as a price to seek aid from the Chulin Kingdom to the west. He borrowed a Knights Order of 2,000 heavy cavalry, cobbled together by the entire Chulin Kingdom.

Adding the 3,000 barbarian mercenaries King Herrian had heavily recruited from the Savage Kingdom in the north, plus the remaining 500 knights in the kingdom, a terrifying legion of 5,500 men marched directly towards the core of the rebellious region – Glan City (Glan City was a city expanded on the foundation of Rose Town and the Glan Territory castle).

Zhou Ming had long been prepared for this. Within the area he controlled, he issued a general mobilization order. In less than ten days, he had assembled a massive army including 5,000 elite archers and crossbowmen, 10,000 elite spearmen, and 3,000 elite light cavalry, marching towards the location of the decisive battle.

Before the decisive battle, the "Alibaba Thieves Gang" of over 3,000 led by Great Thief Jero had already gone ahead, causing widespread destruction within King Herrian's controlled area, cutting off the supply lines of the punitive army, setting traps, and ambushing a large number of punitive soldiers on the march, causing heavy losses in personnel and supplies, and plummeting morale.

The final battleground for the two armies was a vast, flat grassland called Tinggen Highland. This area, spanning a hundred miles, was all yellowish-green grassland.

Riding his horse on a high ground, Zhou Ming, in full military attire, saw the formation of the King's punitive army on the opposite mountainside.

"Ten cavalry squares, about 2,200 men, fifteen mercenary squares, less than 3,000 men, a little over 5,000 in total. Not much of a challenge."

Zhou Ming curled his lip, expressing disdain for this military force capable of destroying a small kingdom.

Of course, he had the confidence to say such a bold statement.

One source of his confidence was the invincible Tiger and Wolf Legion under his command, which he had painstakingly built over 13 years, had gone through dozens of bloody battles without a single defeat, and had only grown stronger and more courageous with each battle.

This Tiger and Wolf Legion rejoiced at the sound of battle. At the command, they quickly assembled. Once on the battlefield, they desperately fought for kills and military achievements, which they then exchanged with Zhou Ming for land, servants, titles, and bounties. Everything was clearly priced, with each head corresponding to a reward. Heads were limited, so the more you took, the more you got.

Secondly, Zhou Ming's confidence came from the good development momentum of Glan City and the surrounding controlled areas. Agricultural output increased year by year, industry and commerce developed rapidly and were full of vitality. A population base of over 150,000 and an extremely prosperous market economy allowed the annual tax revenue to support an elite army of over 20,000.

Furthermore, the year before last, he sent a group of thieves to occupy a medium-sized iron mine near the border with the Iron Fortress Kingdom. With a stable source of ore, Glan Territory adopted blast furnace steelmaking. In less than two years, steel production increased tenfold from less than a hundred tons per year to a thousand tons per year.

With enough steel and the excellent craftsmen Zhou Ming recruited, the quality of the armor and weapons provided to the Glan Territory Defense Army naturally improved by several grades compared to before. For example, the archers and crossbowmen were fully equipped with steel crossbows with internal steel springs, increasing their range by 50% and their killing power by a factor of two!

After being fully re-equipped, the spearmen became heavy spearmen wearing plate armor and wielding steel spears.

As for the light cavalry, they were even more formidable. They were fully equipped with breastplates and sabers, and each knight was also equipped with two small steel crossbows, greatly improving their melee and ranged combat capabilities. They could even utilize their excellent mobility to kite knights of equal numbers.

Therefore, Zhou Ming, who had the advantage in terms of numbers, equipment, morale, logistics, and every other aspect, had no doubt about the final outcome of this decisive battle.

"Brave soldiers, the time has come to earn military merit and glory! Take up your weapons and attack!"

Drawing the Side Sword from his waist, Zhou Ming gave the order to attack.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

To the sound of pounding war drums, the thick battle lines moving down the mountainside, like a solid wall, advanced towards the "military merits" ahead, their steps uniform, their dry lips licked, revealing cruel, sinister smiles.

Under the sunlight, seeing the flashing, bright iron wall of spears opposite, like a giant wave sweeping in, rushing towards their own weak "bodies," many soldiers in King Herrian's punitive army trembled with fear.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Two torrents of steel, one large and one small, collided violently. Sparks flew, blood spurted, and broken limbs and bones were scattered everywhere.

In this battle, Glan City's Tiger and Wolf Legion, at the cost of less than two thousand casualties, completely annihilated this punitive army of over 5200 men, achieving a complete victory in the final anti-punitive campaign.

After the Battle of Tinggen Highland ended, Zhou Ming did not stop his advance. Instead, he followed the Bella River west, entering the fertile Bella Plain, preparing to capture the city in the center of the plain that he had long coveted—the Royal Capital, Woz City.

However, shortly after Zhou Ming's Tiger and Wolf Legion besieged Woz City, and before launching a general assault, a mysterious messenger from Glan City hurriedly delivered a secret letter, causing him to immediately halt military operations, announce a full retreat, and quickly return to Glan City.

"Donny, oh Donny, you could have just been a good lord, enjoying your wealth and status. I helped you develop the economy, train soldiers, expand your territory... You just had to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Why did you have to be so blinded by greed and cause such trouble? Indeed, I did promise Baron Connor that I wouldn't harm you, but you've gone to such an extreme extent, what reason do I have to be soft-hearted anymore?"

A cold killing intent flashed in Zhou Ming's calm eyes.