Aaron stepped forward a few paces and raised the hand bearing his signet ring.
The area below fell abruptly silent.
Even Theodore couldn't help feeling envious of such authority.
"Everyone... I will explain everything that happened inside Sothos Castle. It was all part of a conspiracy, a vile plot by spies from the Kagash Kingdom. It directly led to the death of my brother, Colin..."
Aaron's expression was calm. His voice was steady and firm as he announced:
"But the Green Foresters will never forget their hatred!"
"Now... I announce my first order as Count. My knights, return and muster your armies. Call up your militias. We will go to war against the Kagash Kingdom!"
"We'll unleash the Green Disaster once more and make the Sheep Men in the south tremble at the mere sound of our name!"
"We'll head south and plunder their wealth, ironware, and captives..."
"In the end, we'll reach the Sheep Men's capital, Kagash, and hang every last member of the royal family!"
Aaron wasn't a great orator, but at that moment, he knew how to fill his words with fervor.
At his final roar, ambition and fire blazed in the eyes of every Green Forest lord. Like beasts, they howled hoarsely.
Autumn, the seventh year of Anthony II's reign over the Kagash Kingdom.
The Green Disaster had erupted!
The Kagash Kingdom covered a vast territory, with one duke, two marquises, four counts, and the lands of many more lesser nobles.
The closest to the Green Forest was the Frost Wolf Family in the north, led by Arnold.
When the current Marquis Arnold heard the news, he was so frightened he could barely sit still. He summoned all his knights and soldiers, assembled three thousand men, and was then swallowed up by five thousand