Above the Black Crow Dunes.
"Kill!"
Thousands of soldiers clashed fiercely, unleashing a brutal slaughter.
Unlike the skirmishes of the past, today, after Theodore Sothoth realized the enemy had truly begun to retreat, he immediately launched a ferocious attack.
And he achieved remarkable results.
The sun set over a battlefield strewn with blood. Tattered banners slanted toward the ground, like the end of an era.
"This war was ultimately won by the Sothoth Family!"
Theodore rode across the battlefield, surveying it with smug satisfaction.
"And Aaron—his intelligence was very useful. Hmm... he held Widow's Bay, too. He deserves credit for that."
Theodore muttered to himself, then spotted the faintly gloomy look on his eldest son's face.
But he said nothing.
Just then, a mounted scout brought a messenger from the Davis Family.
"Honored Lord Theodore, I bring my master's goodwill. He hopes we can make peace. We admit defeat and are willing to cede some territory."
The messenger was a fat man with a fawning smile. He dropped straight to his knees.
"Peace?"
Theodore hesitated.
He very much wanted to wipe out the Davis Family, but that wouldn't happen overnight. If the enemy dug in and resisted, their castle could hold out for a long time, even with just a few hundred men.
At that moment, a raven swooped down. Knight Turner caught it and took the letter from its leg.
He glanced at it, his expression changing at once. Then he went to Theodore and handed him the letter. "My lord, this is an urgent message from Young Master Aaron."
"What?"
Theodore took the letter, his eyes widening. He turned to the kneeling fat man and strode over, lashing him viciously with his whip. "You deceived me?"
"My lord, I wouldn't dare! My lord!"
The fat man rolled around on the ground, his fine robes smeared with filth as he begged for mercy.
"My son has already breached your castle, destroyed the drawbridge and the gates, and set fire to your stores of grain!"
Theodore laughed loudly. "Did that fellow Andrew send you here to sue for peace just to buy time to rebuild the castle?"
"What?"
Colin was stunned. "Aaron actually... breached a castle?"
He'd already been shocked by the earlier report that Aaron had killed a knight. Could this really be the same younger brother of his who was always so quiet and barely noticeable?
Could it be...
A deep sense of urgency took root in Colin's heart.
"Send the order! Attack! Attack! Attack!"
Theodore roared. "I'm going to take the Davis Family's castle and unite the Green Forest! I'll make sure there's only one voice in the northern forests of Kagash!"
Ten-odd days later, Aaron received the news.
Theodore Sothoth had taken Davis Castle, beheaded the Davis Family patriarch, Andrew, and his heir, Little Andrew, and completely occupied the territory of the Upper Green Forest.
From then on, the green flag bearing the Green Banyan Horn would fly across the entire Green Forest domain!
"The war... is finally over."
Aaron sighed. "At least... I achieved my minimum goal. I managed to survive."
A month later.
Inside Green Banyan Tree Cave.
Having won the war, Theodore believed it was a blessing from Grandmother Green Banyan and insisted on holding a grand ceremony.
During the ceremony, Aaron saw the severed heads of Andrew and Little Andrew, father and son, as well as an even more bloody and cruel human sacrifice.
Once the sacrificial stone altar was covered in flesh and entrails, and the flag representing the Davis Family had been burned to ashes, Theodore finally declared the ceremony over.
The group left the cave. Aaron took a deep breath, suppressing his faint nausea.
Killing people in war and slaughtering them after the fighting was over were entirely different things.
"My son, you did well."
After taking off his ceremonial robes, Theodore casually tossed them to Colin and, for once, smiled at Aaron. "Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"How about a fief?"
Aaron met Theodore's gaze and answered without hesitation.
It was almost impossible to grant any more fiefs in the Lower Green Forest. But now that they had gained the Upper Green Forest, it was entirely possible to carve out several knightly fiefs to reward those who had distinguished themselves.
And this was also his way of telling Theodore that he had no interest in the position of heir.
No matter how well he performed, he might not win Theodore's favor enough to make him replace the current heir.
For all he knew, this was a test.
At Aaron's answer, Theodore's expression stiffened for an instant, but his smile remained unchanged. "Good. You'll make an excellent vassal."
"A lord grants land to his vassal, and the vassal repays him with loyalty. That's only right."
Aaron put on a slightly excited expression.
The landed nobility of this era was completely different from that of Huaxia.
In the later feudal era of Huaxia, titles like Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron were still used, but they came with no real fiefs and no private armies. The emperor could naturally dispose of their lives as he pleased.
In the West, even a king couldn't have a baron hanged with a single decree.
To Aaron, a Western kingdom was like a company. The king was, at most, a weak chairman who could be dismissed by the board of directors at any moment...
In the Green Forest, once he became a knight, even if Colin took power, it would be difficult for him to do anything to Aaron.
Theodore said a few more words, then looked toward Colin. "The Upper Green Forest has been ruled by the Davis Family for generations. Now that we've suddenly replaced its rulers, the people will inevitably resist. What should we do?"
"Father, I'm willing to be your sword and sweep away every obstacle in your path," Colin answered without hesitation.
Theodore looked disappointed and turned to Aaron.
"The Upper Green Forest should focus on appeasement for now. We can recognize the legitimacy of the fiefs belonging to the knights who submit. Besides... the Davis Family's direct line may be wiped out, but Sylvie is still alive..."
A trace of amusement crossed Aaron's mind. "Why not honor the marriage agreement and have Colin marry Sylvie of the Davis Family? We could announce that their child will inherit the Green Forest in the future. What do you think?"
"An excellent idea. That's the wisdom of a ruler!"
Theodore smiled happily. "Did you hear that, Colin? Make preparations to marry Sylvie at once. The celebration must be grand!"
Colin felt as if he'd been punched.
He had no desire to marry the woman who had brought him such humiliation. Besides... she was in Aaron's hands, and who knew what might have happened to her!
But this was a political marriage. Even if Sylvie were a sow, he would still have to marry her!
What's more, the marriage would secure his position as heir.
Once he married Sylvie and had children, Aaron Sothoth and Sean Sothos would have no chance of competing with him!
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