Grand Duke Fernandez reorganized his army beneath Birch Castle while secretly setting up sentry posts and building reserve granaries along the way.
He also dispatched men to sweep through the nearby villages and towns, proclaiming his rule.
He had brought along quite a few nobles formerly from Saint Myra Province. Eager to atone for their past failures, they worked exceptionally hard.
After dawdling for half a month, he only sent an army to slowly advance on Pulan City once Birch Castle had been thoroughly sealed off.
As for himself, assisted by a group of veteran commanders, he began advancing toward Augusta Territory.
Occupying this region would add at least another two hundred thousand subjects. Squeeze them a little, and he could get several tens of thousands more cannon fodder.
As for losses, those who survived the war could simply be reorganized into the army on the spot, while the Church replenished the population. What was there to worry about?
Compared to others, Grand Duke Fernandez possessed every fine quality of the nobility, including a complete disregard for human life.
Born into royal blood and raised above everyone else, he naturally lacked compassion for those at the bottom.
He could not even be bothered to pretend. In his world, commoners were merely tools, stepping stones used to adorn his great achievements.
In the eyes of nobles, the world was small, and few people met their standard of what counted as human.
This was the nobles' world.
When the first town blocking their path came into view, Grand Duke Fernandez's generals quickly seized more than two thousand civilians from nearby villages.
Then, under the gaze of the army, these civilians branded as criminals were driven to climb the walls.
They wept, screamed, and begged.
But the army showed no mercy. Beneath blades