Sir Cord's heart tightened. Count Zebo was the most powerful great noble in the Northern Frontier. In the past, constrained by the royal decree prohibiting private warfare, he had not dared to act recklessly. But now that the emperor was gravely ill, the royal family could no longer exert the same degree of control, even if it could not exactly be called weakened.
The Northern Frontier was far from the emperor, and the royal family's strength was tied up suppressing the various lords. Even if Count Zebo made a move, it would be difficult for the imperial capital to mobilize troops to intervene.
Sir Cord nodded. The Northern Frontier was not particularly prosperous, but its land was exceptionally fertile and produced a considerable amount of grain. Not to mention that it also possessed the lifeblood of a lord's army—the iron mines.
Once he annexed more than half of the Northern Frontier's territory, he would become one of the most powerful lords in the entire empire. Sir Cord believed that Count Zebo would find such temptation very difficult to resist. Thinking of this, Sir Cord immediately wanted to return to his domain and tell Baron Reiner about it.
"All right, Your Excellency. I'll pass your words on to my liege, Baron Reiner!" Sir Cord bowed, then said, "Please allow me to take my leave!"
"All right, Sir. You may leave at any time," Count Wesley said.
After leaving, Lumbard and Sir Cord looked at each other. Count Wesley's warning had left them trembling with fear. If Count Zebo truly intended to annex the Northern Frontier, how could they possibly have the strength to resist?
Sir Valas, however, remained unconcerned. As a top-tier unit from a fantasy world, exchanged through the system, he had single-handedly suppressed the Uruk-hai and Wolf Riders of