Southern County Campaign

On a small hill near the dock Silver Maple City, a caravan of merchants was resting their horses.

The Southern Four Counties have large areas of dense forest, where plants grow very quickly, and newly cleared roads are soon overrun by vegetation.

It was precisely because of these natural barriers that the Southern Four Counties were able to the East Sea Alliance to resist.

The caravans were unable to travel through the forest, so a unique group of mule caravan merchants emerged to trade between territories far from the river.

This group of people looked like typical caravans from the Southern Four Counties. Did the guards at the dock pay them any attention?

The caravan merchants were all wearing dark hooded cloaks. One of them was being tightly protected by the others. Suddenly, he sighed.

A man approached him from behind, "Sir, your shadow warrior is ready to sacrifice himself for you, and his brothers are also willing to draw away the pursuers for you. What we should do is leave as soon as possible and not let their sacrifice be in vain."

"I know, but it's all my fault. They had a chance to survive."

The hood of the leading merchant was suddenly blown open by the wind, revealing the face of Count Lloyd.

The person who had just spoken behind him quickly stepped forward, lifted the hood, and put it on Count Lloyd.

Count Lloyd sighed again, "Alright, Nio, we should go now. I'll take good care of these brothers' families when we get back."

"Yes, my Count."

He quickly called to the others, signaling them to mount their horses immediately.

Soon all the caravan merchants got back on their horses and continued south with their caravans.

Just as everyone was jogging on horseback, Baron Nio suddenly said, "I don't know if the foolish Grand Duke and Prime Minister have discovered that we have already escaped. Fortunately, Count Excellency the Earl had made preparations before you came and bribed the guards at the Noble Council and the city gates, otherwise we would not have been able to leave so smoothly."

Count Lloyd snorted. "It was just a preparation. I didn't expect it to actually come in handy. Don't think of Count Lagos as so stupid. My foolish nephew betrayed me because of him. I just had a backup plan."

At that moment, another man on horseback caught up with the two. His chin, which was exposed under his hood, bore a scar. He was Viscount Saltwood.

"My lord, a message has been sent to the territory, and the army has begun to assemble as planned."

"Thank you for your hard work, Ferry."

"My duty."

Viscount Ferry remained silent, but Count Lloyd didn't mind, for he knew that Viscount Ferry had always been so sparing with his words.

Baron Nio, standing to the side, spoke with admiration.

"My lord, we'll take advantage of the time difference and launch our army before the loyalist nobles of Cornwall County return to their territories. We'll surely catch them off guard."

Lloyd nodded. "Because of my poor decision-making, we lost control of Cornwall County, which has led to our weakness in recent years."

Now we finally have a chance to set things right, but we have to be quick. If Hampshire realizes what's happening, there won't be much of a chance left.

"Those rigid guys in Hampshire wouldn't dare move. Although they have the strongest troops, they'll just stick to the border, sticking to their conservative approach."

As for the Duchy's Sixth Legion in Dorset County and Devon County, which are directly under the Duchy's directly subordinate to the Duchy, they wouldn't easily leave the border fortresses; otherwise, the three legions of the East Sea Alliance would have dared to cross the border directly.

"Yes, you're right, Nio, but we need to be prepared for Hampshire to mobilize and anticipate their moves."

Okay, everyone hurry up, we need to leave Milan County before dark.

After saying this, Count Lloyd spurred his horse to speed up, with Viscount Ferry following closely behind. Nio smacked his lips as he watched him, then called to the cavalry behind him to catch up as quickly as possible.

Silver Maple City, Count Lagos, who was still engrossed in admiring the gold dog-head in his study, was startled by a rapid knock on the door.

"Who told me not to bother me?!"

Count Lagos opened the door, and the butler outside immediately grabbed his hand. "My lord, someone from the palace has come. They say the Grand Duke wants to see you immediately; it seems there's something urgent."

Count Lagos stroked his beard. "Alright, lock the study for me. I'm going to the Maple Leaf Palace. Go and prepare the carriage."

"Yes."

Count Lagos rushed to the Maple Leaf Palace.

He was led directly to a side hall by the guards stationed at the palace gate. There he saw Mora sitting angrily in a chair, Viscount Borey standing to the side, and a person kneeling on the ground.

Count Lagos looked closely and realized it was Speaker Lance!

His heart skipped a beat, realizing that something might have happened in the House of Noble Council.

"Your Majesty, why are you in such a hurry to see me? Has something happened?"

Mora looked up and saw that the Prime Minister had arrived. She nodded her chin toward Lance and said, "Ask him."

Count Lagos had no choice but to step forward and ask Speaker Lance directly, "Speaker Lance, has something happened in the Noble Council?"

Speaker Lance looked up at Count Lagos, Lagos noticed that the Council Speaker was covered in sweat, and his already sparse hair was stuck to his head.

"Prime Minister Excellency, I don't know why. Count Lloyd suddenly disappeared, and Baron Bolton died in the courtyard. No one reported this to me. I know nothing. You must save me."

Count Lagos was taken aback by these words, and cursed inwardly, "You good-for-nothing, if you weren't still somewhat useful, Mora should have sent you away."

He stepped forward and helped Speaker Lance to his feet. "Speak to me carefully. When did you discover that Count Lloyd was missing? When were the guards who were watching over him?"

Speaker Lance stood up shakily, his face contorted with grief. "I was just about to go see Count Lloyd and Baron Bolton and bring them dinner, but the house was empty, not even the guards were there."

I dared not delay and immediately sent people to search. Later, in a storeroom, we found the bodies of several Imperial Guards and Baron Bolton.

I also discovered that the guards of the House of Noble Council had disappeared, possibly in collusion with Count Lloyd.

That's all I know. As for how or when they disappeared, I have no idea.

Count Lagos cursed inwardly, "What a useless piece of trash."

He turned to Grand Duke Mora and said, "Your Majesty, immediately seal off the city gates and all major roads leading out of the city, including the docks."

With less than three hours left in parliament, they certainly haven't gone far; there's still plenty of time.

Grand Duke Mora nodded to Viscount Borey then walked directly out of the side hall.