Return (New Book Seeking Support)

The moment Aaron saw his men charging into the castle alongside the captives and a swarm of commoners, acting like wild beasts, he knew he had won the day.

By the time the sun had climbed high, news that Davis Territory had fallen had already spread throughout the vicinity.

Many commoners, their faces masked, had turned into rioters and joined in the feast of plunder.

He merely guarded the castle gates, turning no one away, allowing them to flood into the castle to explore hall after hall, discover secret passage after secret passage, and wear down the enemy through attrition, even going so far as to pry every iron nail from the doors.

"That's about enough..."

Looking at the chaotic state of the castle, Aaron gestured for Sanchez and the others to follow him as he entered the main hall.

The corridors were slick with blood; had he forced his men to storm the place, the casualties would have been catastrophic.

But as it stood, among the fallen corpses, very few belonged to Aaron's own men.

Screams and manic laughter echoed from various rooms, and several bandits wandered the hall with wine bottles in hand, draped in silks or even curtains they had torn down.

The robbers instinctively split into various groups, eyeing one another with hostility, yet none dared to cross the regular soldiers.

To break the castle as quickly as possible, my share of the loot will be significantly reduced...

Aaron thought to himself as he reached the depths of the castle.

This was the portion he was entitled to—the areas the rioters dared not touch, for those who had dared were already corpses.

Just then, muffled sobs of a young woman drifted from behind a door.

The men present knew exactly what was happening, and playful grins couldn't help but surface on their faces.

"I remember saying that loot and women were to be distributed uniformly!"

Aaron's expression, however, turned abruptly grim. He knew the nature of his men; expecting them to follow orders perfectly was impossible.

But such blatant disobedience would lead to a decline in his men's combat effectiveness. If everyone did this, they would quickly lose their advantage as a regular force, fail to suppress the rioters, and perhaps never make it out of this territory!

Crack!

Aaron stepped forward with a cold face and kicked the door open.

Inside was clearly a lady's boudoir, with silk curtains shielding a velvet bed.

On the floor lay several corpses of rioters, and one man was in the middle of undressing. Seeing Aaron, he hurriedly pulled up his trousers, a sheepish smile instantly appearing on his face: "Boss, let me explain... it wasn't me, it was those rioters."

"Right, it wasn't you, though you were just about to make it so..."

Aaron stepped forward and lashed Eight-Fingers with his scabbard.

Crack!

Eight-Fingers swayed, a Crimson welt immediately appearing on his back.

He continued forward and flicked the curtains aside with his sword, revealing a tear-streaked face: "Sylvie Davis?"

She was the only daughter of the Lord of Davis, as well as Colin's fiancée—the woman at the center of this war.

Aaron had seen her at the engagement ceremony and remembered her as a very arrogant woman, but now...

"Take this woman; she might be useful."

Ignoring the woman's state, Aaron issued the order and asked, "What about Lady Anna?"

"That woman got hacked to death in the next room, along with a few children!"

Eight-Fingers replied with a look of regret; if only the boss had arrived a little later.

As for the heir to Davis Territory, he was currently on the front lines, fighting alongside the Lord of Davis.

"Take all the spoils and let's leave. We must be on the ships before noon!"

Aaron nodded, glanced at the corpses, and issued his command.

Even if someone sent word and the army on the front lines turned back, it would take time. As long as they boarded the ships and headed downstream, they would surely escape!

In any case, he would never hold the castle to the death, only to perish with the enemy army and let Colin reap the benefits.

That was simply unrealistic!

When the sun reached its zenith, the two ships set sail.

If my father is sharp enough, he should have been prepared after receiving my letter... and the chaos of the enemy army is the best sign of that.

If he seizes the opportunity, this war should be brought to a complete end.

Aaron Sothoth stood at the bow, looking at the crates of seized loot, thinking to himself.

The sooner the war ended, the fewer people would die.

By comparison, today's sacrifices were nothing.

If the great war continued, perhaps ten or a hundred times more people would die than today!

However, my greatest goal is still for my own sake.

Aaron heard low sobs coming from the young women. They were all 'spoils of war,' including the castle maids and the slightly attractive matrons—his men were, after all, a pack of animals.

Of course, among them was the crown jewel—Sylvie Davis.

He had a premonition that this woman would prove quite useful.

"And from now on, the war has little to do with me."

Aaron let out a long breath.

Widow Bay Camp.

Two ships were docked outside the camp, and a group of jubilant bandits was excitedly preparing to divide the spoils.

"I intend to split this loot into three parts: one for the Lord, one for myself, and the last one for you lot to share!"

Aaron Sothoth held a pen and paper, beginning to allocate the plunder.

Because there was so much, including livestock and women, things were in a bit of a chaotic mess for the moment.

"Also... all the books go to me."

Aaron picked up a volume; it was bound in papyrus and was practically falling apart.

After all, before he had invented the paper mill, papyrus was the most commonly used material in the Green Forest. This type of paper could not compare to parchment, its only advantage being its low cost, though it was later completely crushed by the new paper and driven from the market.

However, before the paper mill was operational, precious parchment was rarely used, so most books were still made of papyrus.

"As you wish, my lord!"

Eight-Fingers bowed.

"Don't think this means you'll escape that lashing."

Aaron snorted coldly. As punishment for disobeying military orders, even though the misdeed hadn't been fully carried out, a lashing was still inevitable.

He rummaged through a chest filled with papers when his hand suddenly paused. He pulled out a roll of parchment and immediately knew that the information recorded on it must be quite valuable.

After discreetly tucking the parchment away, he pointed to the chest filled with silver and copper coins: "Divide it up. Squad leaders get a double share, and anyone who wants women or livestock will have their share reduced!"

Having laid out a generally fair distribution plan, Aaron paid no further mind to his men's revelry and returned to his tent to begin studying the parchment he had found.

Upon opening it, a black map emerged.

"So, it's a map."

A look of interest appeared in Aaron's eyes. He gazed at the map and discovered that the upper third was covered in forest, marked as the 'Green Forest'.

Then, in the lower part of the map, there were various castles guarding all the convenient transportation routes, forming a kingdom.

Kagash Kingdom... the true masters who rule this land. I have heard of its reputation...

However, in the minds of that kingdom's subjects, we Green Foresters are probably just wild monkeys living in the woods, aren't we?