Commander of the Saint Myra Legion

The Holy Cross Kingdom had suffered a crushing defeat. The Barbarians had fought a major battle against the Holy Cross Kingdom and, in one stroke, defeated all the forces in Saint Myra Province.

A vast territory with a population exceeding one million—an entire province—had fallen into the hands of the Barbarians.

Clearly, the Barbarians had attacked on two fronts. Though they had suffered a minor setback against the Locke Kingdom, they had won a great victory against the Holy Cross Kingdom.

As two hostile nations, they should have been delighted by this news.

Yet from the perspective of the three southern kingdoms, there was nothing to celebrate.

In the end, the three southern kingdoms all shared the same roots. This was an internal war.

The Barbarians were foreign enemies.

The Barbarian Kingdom's actions had been unexpected.

Thirty years had changed too much.

A new power had truly risen in the north.

With two wars and the deaths of tens of thousands, the Barbarians had proven it.

Before the nobles and officials of the Northern Province could recover from the news, two more orders arrived from the Royal Capital.

The first order formally commended everyone who had rendered merit, and the King's rewards were exceedingly generous.

Derek was granted the titles of Hereditary Baron and Court Viscount, as well as the post of Commander of the Saint Myra Legion.

That was right—the Commander of the Saint Myra Legion. This was a newly established formation, even authorized to field five thousand men.

However, apart from the title, all its troops were carved out of the Second Legion.

That was secondary. This deeply symbolic title had already revealed the King's intentions.

As for his Fief, it lay within the Holy Cross Kingdom and was even larger than the Ferrera Family's territory.

Yet Derek was not the only one. Many nobles and meritorious individuals had all been granted fiefs in Saint Myra Province of the Holy Cross Kingdom.

If they spread out a map, they would find that the King had promised away half the land in the entire province.

Before the nobles of the Northern Province could burst into curses, the King's second order arrived.

The Barbarian Kingdom's status was to be recognized, and formal diplomatic relations established.

And the price... the Barbarians would hand over Saint Myra Province in its entirety to the Locke Kingdom.

This perfectly explained the King's orders. Clearly, Barbarian envoys had been waiting in the Royal Capital all along.

If the Northern Province had fallen, perhaps the nobles of the Holy Cross Kingdom would have come to take over its lands?

Before Derek had time to think, the King's envoy and the Noble Senate's envoy arrived together.

The special envoy completed the hasty investiture ceremony on the King's behalf, even waiving the procedure of traveling to the Royal Capital for an audience.

The Senate also presented the noble insignia and coat of arms they had prepared long ago.

When Knight Derek's title had first been registered, the Two-Headed Dragon had already been recorded as his emblem.

However, a knight could only use a Triangular Flag and a swallowtail banner.

Now, he could cut away the swallowtail and officially use a noble's square banner.

The titles bestowed by the King this time were Court Viscount Derek and Baron of Augusta.

By convention, he could henceforth be addressed as Von Ferreira Augusta Derek.

And his descendants would inherit Augusta as their surname.

His territory was also the Augusta Region in Saint Myra Province.

Of course, it was highly possible that this territory would soon be lost in the Holy Cross Kingdom's counterattack.

That would be truly infuriating.

"Viscount Derek, please set out as soon as possible. His Majesty the King awaits your good news."

Having completed his task, the special envoy conveyed the King's urging.

In truth, the Locke Kingdom did not have much time left.

The Holy Cross Kingdom must have been preparing a counterattack from the moment the Barbarians invaded. They simply had not expected the defeat to be so disastrous, nor had they expected the opponent to be the Locke people.

But it did not matter who the opponent was. Saint Myra Province would certainly be taken back.

Yet the entire mess had been dumped onto the Locke Kingdom—or, more specifically, unlucky people like Derek.

To be honest, the King's actions were not very honorable.

But this had also been unexpected for the King. His original target really had been the Barbarians.

Yet since Saint Myra Province could be obtained, he naturally changed direction.

The Barbarians' intentions were not difficult to guess. They wanted two tigers to fight, giving themselves room to develop. But once the tigers had the will to fight, there was no stopping them.

That night, the Governor summoned all nobles and officials.

Many looked at Derek with pity. Clearly, they had all learned the news.

Although Saint Myra Province might not necessarily be retaken, a prolonged war was unavoidable.

The Holy Cross Kingdom would not let this go.

The Governor coughed. The King's sudden change of plans had caused him considerable trouble as well.

His gaze drifted across the generals and nobles such as Derek. Some looked furious, while others remained expressionless.

"Cough, cough. Saint Myra Province is an accident, and everyone understands the Barbarians' intentions.

"But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If the Barbarians had not caught them off guard, Saint Myra Province would never have fallen so easily."

The Governor was not wrong. If the Locke Kingdom's army had mobilized, Saint Myra Province would likely have been on guard long ago.

Only the Barbarians, who had fallen outside the mainstream's attention, had the chance to launch a surprise attack.

This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But the King had been far too unscrupulous.

Facing the silent nobles awkwardly, the Governor continued, "Please rest assured, everyone. For the next three years, Saint Myra Province will have no Governor and pay no taxes.

"The Kingdom will provide its full support with all food, supplies, and even population."

Clearly, the Kingdom also knew that the Barbarians would not let them have an easy time.

Therefore, food, population, and every kind of material would need to be supplied by the Kingdom.

But compared with the gains, all of this was worthwhile.

The nobles' expressions improved considerably.

Count Perella beckoned Derek over to his side.

"This old man must go to war again. The First and Second Legions will be merged into one legion.

"With your Saint Myra Legion and the private armies of the various houses, we will have perhaps twenty to thirty thousand men, yet we must face the Holy Cross Kingdom's first counterattack.

"And the Kingdom's reinforcements will not arrive for at least three to five months. What do you think, Derek?"

Count Perella was under immense pressure as well. One wrong move this time, and he might be buried in Saint Myra Province.

Derek pondered for a while but did not give a definite answer. "We will have to decide after reaching Saint Myra Province and seeing the situation. But we cannot let down our guard against the Barbarians either."

"Indeed. We must prevent the Barbarians from suddenly turning on us, but we also need to take over Saint Myra Province as quickly as possible and prepare early."

It was not impossible for the Barbarians to turn on them, then wheel around and attack the Northern Province.

Even if the handover went smoothly, it still had to be completed quickly.

Otherwise, if the Holy Cross Kingdom launched its counterattack just after the handover, the trouble would be immense.

Derek was already mentally prepared. "If the Barbarians refuse to cooperate, then we will show them a little strength.

"They want us two tigers to fight so they can gain room to develop.

"Since that is the case, they will not dare fall out with us lightly."

If the Barbarians had reservations, then they should seize upon their weak point and target it. Derek's thinking was always direct and incisive.

Count Perella truly had not considered that.

He immediately smiled. "Then I will hand the troops over to you as quickly as possible. You set out ahead of me and test the Barbarians' mettle."