Western Campaign

Edmund personally saw them off from Sweet Sorghum Territory and instructed them, "Seniors, you must make sure to wipe out all the direct descendants of the nobles in the target territory, otherwise there will be some troublesome consequences later."

Edmund's words were cold, but the two men were not offended. Becoming a nobleman required military merit, and they had trampled countless people underfoot to achieve their current status, some of whom had even rotted away.

"Don't worry, Captain Edmund, this is no problem. Leave it to us!"

The target territories they chose this time all had one thing in common: none of the lords had accompanied Count Sibeth to the front lines in the Carson Mountains. The purpose of this selection was to make it easier to eliminate any potential threats. Without a victim, there would naturally be no one to hold them accountable.

As Gilles and Texera waved goodbye to Edmund, they spurred their horses to catch up with the rest of the army. Edmund watched them leave in silence until the vanguard of the army had disappeared from his sight before turning away.

Upon returning to the Sweet Sorghum Territory, Bertley rushed out to greet him. "Fleet Commander," he said, "Most of the eligible soldiers in the Sweet Sorghum Territory have been recruited by the two barons. Our recruitment of Auxiliary Troops has not been very successful. We have only recruited a little over fifty so far, not even enough to form a small squad."

Edmund dismounted and, once he was standing still, said to Bertley, "It's nothing. Just recruit as many as you have. There will be plenty of men to recruit in the next territory. No need to rush."

By the way, how is Baron Benn doing?

Bertley was relieved to hear that Edmund wouldn't pursue the conscription issue. When Edmund asked Baron Benn, he immediately replied, "It's been dealt with; they've declared it a serious infectious disease."

Edmund nodded. "Was it Hashim who did it?"

"No, sir, it was I who did it. Hashim is still too young. It was inappropriate for him to kill his former master on his first murder. Please forgive me for taking the liberty."

Bertley apologized to Edmund with trepidation, but Edmund didn't take it to heart. He felt that what Bertley said made some sense, but even if it was Hashim who did it, he didn't think it was a big deal.

"What about Baron Benn's immediate family?"

"Everything has been taken care of. His children, wife, including his two younger brothers, and their families—everyone has been dealt with cleanly, without exception."

Edmund was very satisfied after hearing this. With the entire direct line of the Sweet Sorghum Family wiped out, he could now do whatever he wanted with this land.

Edmund actually intended to place his new territory here for two reasons. One was that the Sweet Sorghum Family already had an existing territory with a population base and relatively complete facilities. Another reason was that the location was on the coastline, which was suitable for trade, and the surrounding mountain roads that bordered other territories made the terrain easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Furthermore, a brief survey revealed that there is still considerable land available for development along the riverbanks upstream and downstream of this mountain valley, an area more than four or five times the size of the current sweet sorghum fields, indicating enormous potential.

Edmund then summoned Hashim's family, including his Karask's wife and their mother.

"Hashim, I think I've fulfilled my promise to you this time."

Hashim said respectfully to Edmund, "Lord Edmund, thank you. I apologize for my previous behavior. Hashim has no way to repay you and is willing to offer you everything he has."

Edmund looked at Hashim, who had been looking very serious, and suddenly burst out laughing, which puzzled Hashim and his family.

"It's nothing, I just couldn't help but laugh at the way you talk, after all, you're only 13 years old."

These words made Hashim blush deeply.

"Alright, enough joking around, Hashim. From now on, you will follow me as my retainer. I will personally train you, and I will protect your family. I don't need everything you have, only your loyalty."

Hashim replied solemnly, "Yes, Lord Edmund."

Seeing Hashim's attitude, Edmund knew he had won his loyalty and was very pleased. Edmund then brought Karask under his command and handed over the land deeds that Baron Benn had seized.

Hashim's mother was overjoyed to see her family's land restored. She kept telling her two sons to serve Lord Edmund well, and instructed her eldest grandson Gaita to serve Lord Edmund when he grew up.

But this wasn't the end of it. Edmund continued, "That was just part of the promise. I have something else to give you." With that, Edmund beckoned to Bertley behind him.

Bertley took out a small box and handed it to Edmund. Edmund took the box and said to Hashim and Karask, "As I said, besides avenging you, I will also give you other rewards. This is it."

After speaking, Edmund handed the box directly to the brothers Karask and Hashim. Encouraged by Edmund's gaze, the two opened the box. Inside was a large silver dragon scroll wrapped in paper and rope, along with two tokens.

"This money totals 500 silver dragons. Although it's not a lot, it should be enough for your family's use for a long time and enough to solve your worries."

These two tokens are for two Squad Leader. You two brothers will first serve as Squad Leader for our newly recruited Auxiliary Troops. I believe it won't be difficult for you two."

Edmund left without waiting for the two to express their gratitude further, offering some words of encouragement.

Hashim and Karask's mother, a well-traveled old woman, said to her two sons, "Lord Edmund has given you so much favor; you must do your best!"

Don't worry, Mom.

In the remaining days, Edmund oversaw the construction of the mountain pass outposts daily, while also receiving several battle reports from Gilles and Texera.

Their troops, plus 500 Auxiliary Troops, totaling 3,000 men, have already pacified two baronial noble territories in the past four days, eliminating more than 300 noble private armies with minimal losses. They are currently resting and taking stock of their spoils in the two territories.

In their battle reports, one noble family refused to surrender and ultimately burned themselves to death in their castle; another family, due to excessive oppression of their territory, was killed by a mob while fleeing.

"Bertley, look at this. The two seniors did a very clean job. This way, we can give headquarters a satisfactory explanation."

Bertley nodded, a look of envy on his face. Edmund, seeing this, asked, "What's wrong? Can't stand being here anymore?"

Do you also want to go and do the same thing as them, clearing out the territories occupied by nobles?

"Yes, sir. Aren't we falling a bit too far behind? The two lords have already cleared two baronies, and we're not even ready to set off yet. If we send the battle report to headquarters, won't they think you're being too negligent?"

"Bertley, you bastard, you clearly want to make a name for yourself, why are you dragging me into it?"

Bertley quickly tried to explain, but Edmund stopped him, "The outpost is almost finished, and we've recruited two squads of Auxiliary Troops. Hashim and his men are local strongmen after all; they managed to pull out so many able-bodied men. Making them Squad Leader was definitely the right thing to do."

Bertley instructed that, except for the troops remaining here, all other units should rest early tonight, and we would immediately head northeast tomorrow morning."

Bertley was thrilled to hear that Edmund was finally ready to act. After giving a military salute, he immediately went to relay the orders.

Early the next morning, Edmund's troops had already assembled at the foot of Sweet Sorghum Territory Castle. There were two large battalions of soldiers, plus two smaller squads of Auxiliary Troops led by the Hashim brothers, and five smaller squads of troops left in the territory to protect the territory and the fleet.

With Edmund's order, the troops began to advance northeast. The first territory they would pass through was their target: a viscount's domain.

Two weeks later, a group of messengers arrived in Carn City from the west and went straight to Count Sibeth.

Count Sibeth was horrified when he saw the letter they brought and immediately went to find Turas.

"Legion Commander Turas, I must immediately lead our Western Allied Army Forces back."

Before Turas could ask, Count Sibeth immediately added, "An army from the Raine Kingdom has entered the Western Three Counties. Currently, seven baronies and two viscounties have been invaded, and none of the nine noble families have escaped."

The entire western region is now in chaos. If I don't go back, my noble private armies will return on their own."

Turas was also stunned by this sudden news. Although he desperately wanted to keep the Western Allied Army with him, he couldn't stop them from returning home to reinforce the troops at this moment.