Ironvine Territory (Thirty-Two)

The officers of the Independent Regiment left the room. Since Portland, the strongest among them, was willing to give Suas a chance, the others, whose combined strength was no match for these two, naturally wouldn't want to be left out.

Just as Portland was preparing to return to his unit, someone caught up with him.

"Baron Portland, please wait a moment."

Portland looked back and saw that it was also an officer of the Independent Regiment, who seemed to be Lanko from Arrow Bamboo Territory.

Portland greeted him politely, but with a hint of distance in his tone. "Hello, Knight Lanko. What brings you here?"

Portland wasn't very familiar with Lanko, only knowing that he came from a branch of the Arrow Bamboo Family and was dissatisfied with the new lord supported by the Ironvine, so he brought his own troops to join them. However, after all, he was just a member of a branch and was very weak, with only a few dozen people under his command.

However, Lanko didn't care about Portland's aloofness. He approached warmly and said, "Baron Portland, Suas just transferred one of his squads to your command. Now you are the strongest in the regiment, and I think you are the most suitable to be the Regimental Commander."

Portland frowned and distanced himself from Lanko. He wasn't enthusiastic about Suas's position Regimental Commander. To put it bluntly, he joined them to avenge Bolton, and he didn't care much about anything else. It didn't matter who was Regimental Commander.

Lanko probably sensed that Portland wasn't very interested, so he didn't get any closer and instead kept a distance as he continued speaking.

"Lord Portland, you also share the surname Ironvine. If the Duchy wins in the future, you will undoubtedly be the most suitable successor to the Ironvine Territory."

I feel you should be more proactive. I know you had a good relationship with Baron Bolton, and you only rebelled because of his death.

You may not have any particular interest in the Ironvine Territory, but I genuinely believe you have a great chance. I hope to follow you and assist you in achieving more merits so you can inherit the territory."

"Even with your troops included, I only have less than 400 men under my command. How much impact can such a small force have on a battle spanning Southern Four Counties with a total force of over 100,000 on both sides?"

With so few men, how much merit could they possibly achieve that would make the Grand Duchy grant me the entire Count?

Portland was very blunt. Although he was young, he wasn't stupid. He hadn't had much contact with this Lanko before, so his sudden visit to him, offering to help him, seemed rather deliberate.

Lanko quickly laughed it off, "Baron Portland, that's not what I meant. I know it's impossible to inherit a Count."

But think about it, the Iron Vine Family ultimately has a familial connection with the Silver Maple Ducal House. What was the Iron Vine Family's initial mission? It was to restrain the nobles in the Southern Region.

"If the Iron Vine Family were to disappear like this, wouldn't that mean the Silver Maple Ducal House would lose a key asset?"

Portland suddenly interjected, "Since you say that the existence of the Ironvine Territory is to suppress other southern nobles, why was the Ironvine Territory previously subjected to such suppression by the Duchy?"

"Finally, they've taken the bait," Lanko suddenly smiled and said, "Because the Ironvine Territory is too powerful, especially under the leadership of the fifth Count of Ironvine, who has basically gathered all the nobles of Cornwall County under his command."

At that time, all the nobles of Cornwall County were at his service. At its peak, the Count of that generation could mobilize 100,000 Noble Army, which exceeded the combined strength of the Duchy's garrison in the Southern Region and the nobles of Hampshire.

If the Duchy continues to allow the Iron Vine Family to grow stronger, wouldn't that cause the Southern Region to gradually drift away from Silver Maple City?

Portland retorted, "But the Count Ironvine of that generation was always loyal to the Duchy. Wasn't he able to unite the Cornwall County nobles by watching them lead the southern nobles against the invasion of the East Sea Alliance and achieve a great victory?"

"Yes, that Count was indeed a loyal subject of the Grand Duchy, but the Grand Duchy feared him not because he was disloyal, but because he had the ability to be disloyal, and that is the key to everything."

Just like the current Baron Colt, I doubt he ever intended to betray the duchy when he helped Grand Duke Mora ascend to the throne!

It was only after Mora became Grand Duke and began to consciously suppress the Northern Frontier nobles that Count Colt was able to raise an army.

Therefore, after the end of this civil war in the Grand Duchy, Baron Portland, the Grand Duchy will definitely clean up the various noble forces in the current Duchy. Many old families may be eliminated, but many new nobles will also rise.

Those newly rich, given this opportunity, could very well gain immense influence and power in one fell swoop. At that point, they will also attract the attention of the duchy, and that will be our chance."

Lanko spoke with great pride, believing that what he said made perfect sense.

Portland nodded, as if in agreement.

"You mean you want me to be a spy for the duchy, to stay in the Southern Region and continue to help the duchy monitor and even suppress those newly rising nobles?"

"Yes, Baron Portland understood immediately, and that's the opportunity, but not just anyone can take on this role."

Baron Portland, your surname Ironvine. Even if the Duchy takes away a large portion of the territory, as long as you achieve enough merit, you can at least retain a core area of Ironvine Territory. This is a foundation, and combined with your own territory, becoming a strong viscount will be quite easy.

With such a foundation, it won't be difficult to gain the favor of the Duchy. With the support of the Duchy, you will definitely be able to maintain your place in Cornwall County.

And I am very fortunate to have this opportunity to gain a small reward; that is why I follow you."

Lanko's last words were very sincere, and Portland was convinced by them, becoming somewhat interested in the future Lanko described.

However, Baron Portland knew it was too early to talk about these things. He said to Lanko, "It's too early for us to talk about these things now. The Yalori Valley is a key town on the southern Ironvine route. Even if the outer walls have been taken, the valley has been well-developed and the defenses of several camps are very well constructed. It won't be easy to take it."

Rather than focusing on the uncertain future, I think we should concentrate on the present and seize this opportunity to achieve as much as possible; that's the right thing to do."

When Lanko heard Portland mention "us," he knew he had convinced Portland, and he happily said, "Don't worry, Baron Portland, I'll do whatever you say."

Seeing that Lanko was being so tactful, Portland nodded. "Just call me Portland."

"Then forgive my rudeness, Portland."

Lanko knew he should carry out Portland's orders without question, and sure enough, Portland smiled at him after he finished speaking.

"Get some rest. We need to leave the outer wall early tomorrow morning and wait for the Allied Army's instructions."

"Yes."

The two parted ways and returned to their respective units.

After returning to his camp, Lanko secretly wrote a letter and summoned a soldier, giving him a few words of advice.

"Make sure you deliver this letter to the adults, and then take the secret passage. Make sure no one discovers it."

"Yes, sir."

Lanko waited until dawn, and seeing that nothing unexpected had happened, he went back to rest. The soldier never appeared in his unit again.

The next morning, Suas first led the Independent Regiment out of the outer wall, and then found the Gregory Knight alone to explain the dispute that had occurred during the Independent Regiment's shift change the previous day.

Seeing Suas leave the outer wall so readily, Gregory knew that the Independent Regiment was probably truly loyal and wouldn't do anything malicious.

Soon, through his coordination, the supplies and weapons that originally belonged to the various units of the Independent Regiment were returned to them.

Having obtained these, Suas temporarily controlled the Independent Regiment, and no one pressured him to resign anymore.

As for Portland and Lanko's ulterior motives, they are keeping them to themselves, waiting for another opportunity.

After confirming that the outer walls had been completely breached, Gregory immediately sent someone to inform the Allied Army headquarters of the news and await Rusa's arrival with his troops.

Rusa quickly received the news and confirmed that the Valley Outer Wall had been firmly secured. The entire Tyre City immediately erupted in excitement. The allied forces of Coalition of Nobles had been stationed around Tyre City began to leave their camps under orders from the command headquarters and head towards the Yalori Valley.