Ironvine Territory (29)

Victor was very curious upon hearing this, "Is it the first lady of Count Colt?"

Lenster nodded. "Yes, it's her, the mother of Count Colt's eldest son. She was a stunning beauty. At the time, not only Rusa Viscount Ferry, but also many young nobles from the Southern Region and even other parts of the duchy pursued her."

Victor recalled John Iron Birch's appearance: a full beard, coarse speech, and even if he shaved his beard, he wouldn't be considered handsome, at most just average.

But Count Colt had a very dashing appearance and was a handsome man in his youth. Victor initially thought it was because Count Colt's first wife was ugly, but now it seems that may not be the case.

But John is quite ordinary-looking!

Seeing Victor's doubtful expression, Lenster knew that Victor was also somewhat skeptical, so he quickly said, "I know you don't believe me. Although I've never seen what she looked like, there are portraits of her that have been preserved. She was truly a beauty."

"Think about it, if she weren't beautiful, how could she have attracted so many suitors, even leading Count Colt to abandon so many suitable marriage partners to marry a girl from a minor baron's family?"

Lenster's words made sense. Victor was also curious about the First Lady of Count Colt. It seemed that if she hadn't died so young, his aunt wouldn't have risen to power so easily.

At this moment, seeing that Viscount Ferry was still busy looking at the map, Lenster whispered to Victor, "Actually Viscount Ferry still has feelings for that beauty. After John returned to Cornwall County from the Northlands, he was actually in a bit of financial straits, Viscount Ferry even gave him some money."

Oh, by the way, that John is now Viscount John Greentree of Cornwall County. Count Colt was quite kind to him, helping him exchange some lands, more than doubling the territory left by his grandfather, and elevating him to the rank of viscount."

Victor glanced at Viscount Ferry, surprised that this guy was such a devoted admirer, even treating his beloved's child so well.

"Did Viscount John participate in the war this time? Which side was he on?"

Lenster shook his head. "This man didn't participate in the war, and neither the nobles of Cornwall County nor Hampshire paid any attention to him. His territory is just to the southwest of our family's territory."

But even in our operations last year, we didn't take any action against their family; we deliberately avoided them."

Victor knew that this was probably due to the political sensitivity of those southern nobles; they wouldn't provoke the Iron Birch Family before the situation of the civil Civil War became clear, even though this Viscount John didn't have the surname Iron Birch.

He then wondered if it was because Viscount John was so unattractive and didn't resemble his parents that Count Colt ultimately supported Alex's ascension to the throne. If it weren't for his feelings for his first wife, John probably wouldn't have remained heir for so long.

Viscount Ferry noticed the two whispering to each other and quickly called out, "You two, don't just stand there, come and help me check if there's anything I've overlooked."

"They've arrived." x2

A thin mist drifted through the valley in the early morning, as if enveloping the Yalori Valley in a sea of clouds.

At this moment, the Valley Outer Wall was covered in blood by the sound of hacking and slashing. Dozens of soldiers dressed in Ironvine uniforms were stabbed to death at the foot of the city wall.

Immediately afterwards, the outer gate was pushed open from the inside, and a group of soldiers with blood-stained clothes ran out and began to transport the bodies of the soldiers who had just been killed outside the city wall.

At this moment, beneath the city gate, an old man and a young man were arguing. Both were dressed in armor and held military positions.

The young man questioned the old man, "Suas, why did you kill these soldiers? They were all my soldiers, they knew nothing."

"Young Master Portland, they truly know nothing, but they are soldiers from farms near Ironwire City, utterly loyal to the Iron Vine Family. What if they report our actions to those people in the valley?"

We only have one battalion of soldiers; we can't stop the nearly ten thousand troops in the valley. To accomplish great things, we must be cautious and eliminate potential threats in advance."

The old man was blind in one eye, had a sinister face, and spoke in a harsh voice, which silenced the young man who still had a childlike face.

The young man was unwilling to accept this, but he also knew that what Suas said made sense.

"What about my troops? You killed so many of my men; my three squads are now down to a quarter of their strength."

Suya offered a solution. "I'll transfer a small squad from my command to you to lead. How does that sound?"

Upon hearing this, Portland stopped pressing the matter and asked, "When will someone from Tyre City arrive?"

"I've already sent people over there, and I expect to hear back soon. They must be quite anxious too."

"Hopefully everything goes well, and I can avenge Brother Bolton."