On His Deathbed

Glan City.

A city with a permanent population exceeding fifty thousand, city walls over thirty meters high, a magnificent lord's mansion within, a tall and white city hall in the center, a neatly planned commercial district and a street of hotels and inns nearby, a military academy in the west of the city, and a majestic and magnificent monastery on the small hill north of the city. Flourishing and bustling with people, it was a hub for traveling merchants and workshops. This city, completed less than five years ago, was already as prosperous as Woz City, the Royal Capital of the Vorris Kingdom.

But this morning, teams of Light Cavalry rushed into the city from the gates, announcing an emergency city-wide lockdown. The entire Glan City was enveloped in a tense and uneasy atmosphere.

In the afternoon, a fierce sound of fighting came from the lord's mansion. Soon after, the fighting stopped. Some sharp-eyed citizens of Glan City seemed to see Lord Donny of the lord's mansion being escorted by a team of fully armed soldiers to an unknown location. Their hearts immediately sank. Glan City was about to change.

Lord's Mansion.

In a side hall of the west wing.

Donny, who had been escorted in by soldiers, dejected and full of resentment, saw the person he hated the most before him.

"Shameless thief! Everything in my territory has been put into your own pocket!" Donny spat, a glob of saliva landing on him.

"Donny, where did I fail you that you resent me so much? Look at this prosperous city at your feet, look at this fertile land. Every brick, every tile, every blade of grass, every tree, which part wasn't painstakingly built by me for you? You sit in the castle every day enjoying these fruits, living a life of luxury and wealth, why do you still mess around with me like this?"

Zhou Ming turned around with his hands behind his back, looking at Donny, who was over thirty years old, with a scruffy beard and a mature age but a far from mature personality. He was extremely disappointed and truly didn't know what to say.

He had painstakingly assisted him for over ten years, constantly traveling and fighting battles, only to get this result.

Alas, he was angry at his lack of ambition.

"Bah! Damn thief, I only regret not listening to Eugenie earlier and poisoning you with a cup of wine! Letting you, this thief, usurp my authority and put me in that puppet seat, letting you fool and manipulate me, I've had enough of this life! I want to take back what belongs to me, take back everything that you, this damn thief, stole!"

Donny roared hysterically, his eyes red, lunging at him with bared teeth and claws, but was immediately restrained by two guards.

Looking at Donny in this state, Zhou Ming suddenly remembered Madam Madeline, who had treated him like her own son and cared for him meticulously. After some futile resistance, on a gloomy day, she had jumped from the top floor of the high castle, ending her painful and desperate life.

He hadn't expected Donny to eventually reach this point, whether it was for his supreme authority to rule over everything, or to win the enchanting smile and sweet promises of that peerless beauty, or perhaps to gain greater freedom and a broader sky, he chose to betray his close friend, and chose to betray his wife Alice, who had shared his life for 13 years and had given birth to four children for him.

This was absolutely unforgivable!

Yes, King Herrian, who had clashed with Zhou Ming for over ten years and had been repeatedly defeated, finally found a fatal loophole in his airtight defense. This fatal loophole was naturally Donny.

Through the channels of several traveling merchants, Herrian secretly sent his stunningly beautiful daughter, Princess Eugenie, to Donny's bed. Donny, who had always been fond of women and had left behind over a dozen illegitimate children among the common people over the years, was captivated by this naturally beautiful woman with her exquisite appearance, graceful demeanor, and upbringing in court etiquette. In the embrace of this gentle beauty, he found it difficult to extricate himself for a time.

Upon learning her true identity as King Herrian's daughter, and being told that her father Herrian was willing to form a marriage alliance with him, end the war, and promised to enfeoff him as the Grand Duke of Glan Territory, occupying seven earldoms in the eastern part of the kingdom, Donny's heart immediately began to beat uncontrollably.

Not only that, King Herrian also promised that after his death, he would be nominated as the first heir to the throne of the Vorris Kingdom. In other words, as long as he agreed to marry Princess Eugenie, he would not only have a peerless beauty but also gain a complete Vorris Kingdom.

Damn, why wouldn't he do it!

At this moment, Donny's mind had long since cast aside his wife Alice, who had shared his life for many years, to some unknown place.

Compared to Eugenie, who came from royalty, this commoner wife, who was inferior to her in every aspect – background, appearance, temperament, culture, and noble etiquette – had her status in Donny's heart reduced to not much different from a common mistress. In fact, due to her body becoming out of shape and gaining weight from multiple pregnancies, he sometimes felt she was not even as good as those young and beautiful mistresses outside.

After falling for Herrian's honey trap, under the "guidance" of this beauty, Donny made a mess of some of the policies that Zhou Ming had implemented in the territory for many years during the time he was away on campaign.

For example, he replaced the six governors appointed by Zhou Ming, enfeoffed six earls to take over the military, political, and civil affairs of various regions, and also recruited a group of knights who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He enfeoffed one as a Baron here, another as a Knight there. In a short period of time, this land, which had undergone earth-shattering changes in the past decade, returned to the state of various small and large lords being enfeoffed and self-governing, just like it was over a decade ago.

For a time, the Glan Territory, which had been turned upside down by Donny, was filled with popular resentment, like oil boiling over a fire, ready to explode at any moment.

Zhou Ming, shocked to hear that his backyard was on fire, had no choice but to quickly return with the Light Cavalry to control this turmoil that could very likely lead to the collapse of his excellent situation overnight.

"Donny, have you ever heard this saying: The reason foolish people die is because they do the most foolish things even when everyone knows they are foolish!"

Zhou Ming said angrily, frustrated by Donny's lack of ambition. The foolish things Donny had done, aside from the woman behind him and a group of knights of unknown origin who supported him, meant that within this territory, this city, and even this lord's manor, apart from a few opportunists, not a single person stood up to support him.

Even the guards escorting him were members of the lord's guard, who had once been most loyal to him.

"Ryan, could it be... you're going to kill me?"

Suddenly hearing the word "death," Donny trembled with panic. He immediately remembered this ruthless man, who had used despicable means to harm countless people over the years. Now that he had turned his sights on him, Donny realized that he shouldn't have, absolutely shouldn't have, provoked this demon.

Thump!

The extreme fear of death made Donny kneel down. He grabbed Zhou Ming's pant leg and wailed, "I'm sorry, Ryan, I was wrong. Please spare me. I'm your best friend and brother-in-law. Can you really bear to see Alice lose her husband, and her four children, so young, lose their father? Don't kill me, please don't kill me!"

He shuffled forward a little more and hugged Zhou Ming's thigh.

"Whether you live or die isn't up to me, it's up to Alice. Go beg Alice."

Zhou Ming shook his head, broke free from Donny's grasp, and exited the side hall, leaving everything here to Alice, who walked in holding a child.

Alice, who walked into the side hall, had red eyes, clearly having just cried. Her body was still trembling. It was the first time she had seen a living person die in front of her, after she had just taken people to the adjacent side hall to poison Princess Eugenie, who had made her feel inferior at first sight. She hadn't yet emerged from the mix of fear, stimulation, excitement, and relief.

"Alice, my beloved wife and lover, please spare your husband! I swear to God, from now on I will only love you, one woman. I will be devoted, and only be good to you, one woman! Please don't kill me, I am the father of your four children, and your husband, whose importance in your heart far outweighs your brother's husband!"

Donny, on the verge of collapse, grabbed Alice's skirt hem. Tears and snot flowed down his face. At this moment, he only wanted to live, even if he lost all his wealth and lived like a dog, as long as he could live.

"Get lost! You heartless wretch, you're not even worth a single hair on my brother's head! Just for one woman, you abandoned the promises you made to me, abandoned the future of my four children, abandoned everything you promised me! You thing whose conscience was eaten by a dog, now you even want to harm my brother, go to hell and repent!"

Alice mercilessly delivered the death sentence. Yes, she had once held fantasies about this man, but seeing his increasing number of illegitimate children outside, seeing his increasingly cold attitude towards her, until she saw the woman who made her feel inferior to the point of despair, she no longer had any pity or sympathy for this heartless and unrighteous man.

Yes, her brother was right. The only man in this world who was good to her, who would always be good to her, was her brother.

"Alice!!"

Donny cried out in despair, but could only watch that figure move further and further away from him.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another ten years had passed.

In these ten years, Zhou Ming, leading his Tiger and Wolf Legion, occupied the entire Vorris Kingdom. He then paused his external expansion and instead built strong fortresses on the borders to prevent the surrounding kingdoms from uniting out of fear and invading this unstable new nation.

He continued to promote the agricultural revolution, reduce corvée labor, reward childbirth, improve sanitation, release bandit groups to abduct people from neighboring countries, and use various means to increase the country's population base.

He implemented a low-tax policy, encouraged industry and commerce, vigorously mined coal and ore mountains, smelted iron and steel, and enhanced military strength, both enriching the people and strengthening the nation and its army.

In just ten years, the small "Burns Kingdom" under Zhou Ming's rule became a "powerful nation" with a population of over 600,000, an elite army of over 30,000, and capable of fielding an army of 100,000 in an emergency.

In August of this year, in a major border battle against the combined invasion of four surrounding kingdoms, the 40,000-strong army cobbled together by the four kingdoms was completely annihilated. One king was killed, and two were captured. The small "Burns Kingdom" shook dozens of kingdoms and became famous throughout the entire continent.

Some astute monarchs also noticed the unique political structure of this kingdom in this battle. Its immense power led to discussions about reform beginning to circulate among the upper echelons of some kingdoms.

This battle, due to catching a cold and worsening lung disease, became the last battle Zhou Ming commanded in his military career. In the following years, he could only lie in bed in his private manor, relying on expensive medicine to prolong his life. He also called his two sons to his side, deciding to cultivate them well in these last few years.

This day, the weather was cold and gloomy.

Perhaps sensing that his time was near, Zhou Ming called his two sons to his bedside and gave them some earnest instructions.

He said to his 26-year-old eldest son, John, "John, I know you control two-thirds of the kingdom's field army, and you have achieved great military feats. Last year, you captured 12 earldoms from the Iron Fortress Kingdom. You are also arrogant and look down on your weak-willed King cousin... But you must never go to your aunt Alice and ask Cousin Allen to move his butt and give you that position, absolutely do not do that! Since this kingdom is named Burns, it should belong to the Burns Family! This is my promise to Alice. I must keep it while I am alive, and after I die, you must also keep it!"

"Yes, Father!"

His eldest son, John, lowered his head, saying, his heart filled with surprise. This idea was buried deep within him, and he hadn't expected his father to see through it.

"John, it's not that I want to stop you from achieving great things, but don't pursue this kind of internal strife. Look further ahead, don't just focus on the Burns Kingdom. Any land outside the Burns Kingdom, you can conquer and become king there."

Feeling tired from speaking, he paused to rest for a while, then Zhou Ming continued, "John, do you know? An explorer I sent to the east the year before last recently returned. He told me that behind the Ural Snow Mountain to the east of the kingdom, there is an incredibly vast land, even larger than hundreds of kingdoms we know combined! You can send people to carve a path through and occupy that vast land. On that land, there are many volcanoes and mineral resources, including saltpeter and sulfur needed for gunpowder."

"Father, the Ural Snow Mountain is ten thousand feet high. Legend says only devils can cross it. Sending people to carve a path, how long would that take? Father, I plan to conquer the Iron Fortress Kingdom next year and make it my fiefdom. Cousin Allen and Aunt Alice should agree."

John said with a relaxed expression. The entire Burns Kingdom was conquered by the Derek (Zhou Ming's surname) family. Now he just wanted a fiefdom that he conquered himself. Surely no one would gossip about that.

Seeing his eldest son John's flippant demeanor, Zhou Ming knew that no matter how many times he repeated himself, he probably wouldn't take it to heart. This child, ever since he learned a little bit from him, had become a bit arrogant and conceited. But after all, he was his own son, and he couldn't say those harsh words again. He only hoped that after he was gone, he wouldn't suffer too great a fall.

After giving instructions to John, Zhou Ming's gaze fell upon his youngest son, George, who was only 16 years old, had a personality very similar to his own, and was very interested in inventions and creations.

His youngest son was very talented. When he was 13, based on the design drawings he provided, he invented a matchlock gun with decent power.

Perhaps knowing what his father's instructions meant this time, little George had remained silent, just listening quietly. When he heard that the Ural Snow Mountain could be crossed and there was a vaster world behind it, his eyes immediately lit up, sparking boundless curiosity.

"Father, are you hoping I will fulfill your wish and help you see the world behind the Ural Snow Mountain?"

Before Zhou Ming could speak, just by meeting his gaze, little George seemed to know what he would ask and spoke first.

George knew that his father's lung disease was already very serious. Every word he spoke was extremely difficult. Being sensible, he hoped to alleviate some of his father's pain.

"George, you are the youngest and smartest among my children... Father only has one thing to say... Maintain your strong curiosity and thirst for knowledge, don't care about what others think, keep... keep moving forward... reach the place... of your dreams..."

Perhaps a weight had been lifted, Zhou Ming felt increasingly tired, his head was light, and his body gradually escaped the pain. Before losing consciousness, he seemed to hear the sound of his youngest son George, his wife Anna, and his two daughters weeping by his ear.

"Ding~"

"Game character has died, exiting game..."