Chapter 787

Duke Bradley did not feel much resistance to Paul's invitation.

First, the king had granted the young man the marquis title that had been gone for several centuries, clearly treating him as a military leader of the frontier. With the Watchers Legion returning north to fight the orcs, it was only right that they come under his command.

Second, although the Watchers Legion had escaped annihilation, it had in fact been almost completely wiped out. A large number of warriors had sacrificed themselves during the breakout. From the Nerodan Corridor to the Alkin Highlands, and then from the Alkin Highlands to Crystal Radiance, they had struggled onward. Some ordinary soldiers had made their own way out, while others had been disbanded. By the time they set out from Crystal Radiance for the northwest of the kingdom, only a little over a hundred remained. They were all knights who regarded honor as dearly as their lives, along with their retainers. The legion needed the support of a powerful force to rebuild its strength.

Finally, and most importantly, Paul Greiman had defeated the orcs. That was more convincing than any amount of empty rhetoric.

Duke Bradley accepted Paul's invitation and agreed to submit to his unified command, but he still emphasized several points: the Watchers Legion was the king's army, fighting alongside the Northwest Legion under Rhodesney XVIII's orders. He himself was directly loyal to the king, and his relationship with Paul was that of a subordinate to a superior, not that of a vassal.

"Of course. What do you take me for, Duke Bradley? I'm a loyal subject of the kingdom too!" Paul replied with a smile.

Duke Bradley could not read anything from Paul's expression, which puzzled him somewhat. Could Marquis Greiman really not be annoyed by the faintly probing