Loyalty Belongs to Ye Wei'an!

That night, the caravan set up camp by the side of the road.

After dinner, Ye Wei'an gathered the soldiers to distribute their pay.

"Renn, bring the chest over." Ye Wei'an sat on an overturned wooden barrel, placing the money chest beside him as torches were planted all around. "Everyone line up. Come forward one by one to collect your share."

He did not let the quartermaster do the work; instead, he rolled up his sleeves to distribute the money himself.

The wisdom from his old home told him that letting the soldiers know who was paying them was crucial for securing the loyalty of an army.

The first to step forward was the veteran with the severed arm.

"Rochi, I remember you." Ye Wei'an saw the man's name on the system interface hovering above his head.

He grabbed a handful of gold coins from the chest and placed them into the man's only remaining hand.

"During that breakout, you held the flank of the supply wagons all by yourself and cut down two bandits. You were wounded back then, yet you didn't take a single step back. Firefall Valley will remember your sacrifice."

The veteran, Rochi, froze, his rough fingers tightening abruptly.

He had originally thought of himself as mere cannon fodder to be discarded at any moment, never expecting that this noble young mage would actually know his name, or even remember his performance so clearly.

"M... My Lord, that was just my duty." Rochi's voice choked up.

He suddenly felt that even without these 50 gold coins, he would have willingly lost that arm just for those words.

"Next, Timothy." Ye Wei'an called out the second name without looking up.

The stubble-faced infantryman froze; he had thought the young master calling "Rochi" by name was just a coincidence, but he hadn't expected the young master to remember him too.

"I remember you using your spear to hold off that mad-dog rider under Grumman. Even though you were injured, you didn't retreat a single step. You're a good man." Ye Wei'an placed a handful of gold coins into his calloused palm.

Timothy's eyes turned red instantly, and he stammered in response, "Th... thank you, Young Master! For you, a little wound like this is nothing!"

Then came the second, the third...

"Scott, you were the one who blocked that cold arrow aimed at me, right? You handle your shield well."

"Simon, don't look so dejected. Even though you were scared at the time, that final thrust to save your comrade was spot on."

Relying on the system panel, Ye Wei'an called out each person's name as he handed out the bonuses, even chatting a bit about their combat merits.

These grassroots soldiers, who were usually treated as consumables and numbers in the eyes of the nobility, had never experienced such treatment before.

As they received the Gold Lion coins, their hands trembled. The sense of honor from being "watched by their commander" made these men wish they could charge into battle for Ye Wei'an all over again right now.

Not far away, Cain leaned on his sword, watching this scene quietly, his heart churning.

He had served in the Purple Dragon Order for several years and had seen many nobles and commanders.

But those people were either too arrogant to bother looking at a soldier, or they simply treated reward money as a cheap bargaining chip to buy hearts.

There were few commanders who were truly respected.

Yet, he had never seen a leader like Ye Wei'an, who could call every grunt by name and keep every contribution in his heart.

Is the young master... really leading troops for the first time? Cain marveled inwardly. Even the great rulers in the history of the Kingdom of Cormyr might not be able to do this.

When the last gold coin in the chest was distributed, the soldiers' morale had climbed to its peak.

Ye Wei'an stood up wearily and patted Cain on the shoulder. "I'll leave the rest to you. I'm tired; I'm going back to my tent."

"As you command, My Lord."

As the heavy velvet tent flap fell, the soldiers seemed suddenly liberated, swarming around Cain.

"Lord Cain! Tell us about it!"

"Did you really go to Firefall Town?"

"How exactly did the young master drag the mastermind out from behind the scenes?"

Cain cleared his throat. He stepped onto a large rock and began to speak to those faces filled with admiration.

"You can't even imagine what happened that night," Cain recalled the scene. "The young master led us through the dense forest. It was as if he could foresee the future; he avoided all the wild beasts, swamps, and hidden pits. We covered in one day what should have taken two, arriving at Firefall Town before the news could even get back!"

"The young master's disguise was a miracle!" Renn added, gesturing wildly from the side. "He turned into that Gray Crow right in front of us. Even the bodyguard who hung around with Gray Crow all day was played like a fiddle by the young master. We entered the house, made the arrest, and searched for evidence—the whole operation went down without the militia across the street hearing a peep..."

The men recounted what they had witnessed over the past few days, showing off the extraordinary nature of Young Master Ye Wei'an.

The soldiers listened, mesmerized, letting out gasps of amazement from time to time.

In the eyes of these grunts, this method of capturing the leader without losing a single soldier was even more fascinating than being peerless on the battlefield.

At this point, Cain's tone suddenly shifted.

"But, brothers, have you thought about it? Why did Gray Crow want to kill the young master?"

The crowd went quiet.

Cain looked around, his voice turning cold. "We found correspondence between Gray Crow and Firefall Fortress in the study. The person who truly wanted the young master's life, the one who bribed the bandits and planned that bloody attack, was none other than... our Baroness, Selina Amarisk."

The name hit like a giant boulder crashing into a calm lake, stirring up a wave.

"What? The Baroness would actually do such a thing!"

"That's the Baron's own son!"

"Isn't it for the inheritance? I've heard of such plots plenty of times."

"In that case... then we..."

As they spoke, the soldiers gradually realized the crux of the problem, looking at one another in dismay.

In Firefall Fortress, challenging the authority of the Lady of the Manor was tantamount to suicide.

Lady Selina was not only the mistress of this territory, but she also had the powerful Amarisk Family backing her.

"She never intended for the Young Master to return alive, nor did she intend for us to survive." Cain punched a nearby tree trunk, shouting in anger, "If she planned to assassinate the Young Master, then why send us to retrieve him? In the Lady's eyes, what are we, the guards tasked with protecting him?"

At this, he looked toward the soldiers beside him.

He could already see the flames of fury in the eyes of some of them.

"We aren't her soldiers at all; we are merely sacrificial pawns used to cover up a crime! If we all die, she can pin the blame on bandits, and your families won't even receive a single copper coin in compensation!"

Someone suddenly thought of something and asked with a trembling voice, "Lord Cain, since it is the Lady who wants to kill the Young Master... then if we have captured Gray Crow and taken the money, won't we be walking to our deaths if we return? The Lady will surely take revenge on us!"

"Even if we don't do this, do you think the Lady would let us go?" Cain sneered.

A soldier suggested, "Lord Cain, since it is the Lady who wants to harm the Young Master... then once we return to Firefall Fortress, can't we just go directly to the Baron and beg for help? He is the Young Master's own father; surely he must uphold some justice?"

"Beg the Baron?"

Cain reacted as if he had heard an absurd joke, suddenly stepping forward and pointing toward the direction of the castle: "Wake up! The Baron is currently so ill he cannot even get out of bed, and Firefall Fortress is filled inside and out with the Lady's spies! Even if the Baron could protect us for a moment now, what about later? The future lord is the Lady's own son; once that little brat inherits the title, do you think that vicious woman will spare those of us who know the truth?"

He repeated to the soldiers the very words Ye Wei'an had spoken to him.

These words were like a basin of ice water, completely extinguishing the last shred of fantasy in the soldiers' hearts.

It was true; the Lord was already failing, and the future of Firefall Fortress belonged to the new lord and Lady Selina.

Regardless of what they did, they would be branded as traitors.

"There is no need for anyone to feel guilty; Selina never treated us like human beings." Cain ripped the badge bearing the family crest from his chest and threw it heavily to the ground, "I, Cain, have served in the Purple Dragon Order; I know what loyalty is. But loyalty is not throwing your life away!"

Following this, he announced to everyone present: "I have already sworn my allegiance to Lord Ye Wei'an—listen clearly, I am loyal to Lord Ye Wei'an, not to the Firefall Fortress of that new lord!"

He scanned the group of hesitant soldiers, saying each word with deliberate weight: "The Young Master promised me personally that he would protect everyone who pledges their loyalty to him. Not only that, but when he possesses his own territory in the future, there will be a place for you there. You will no longer be cannon fodder to be discarded at will, but the foundation of the territory—future lords and knights!"

"Think about the 50 Gold Lions in your hands!" Harold also stepped forward, "What has the Lady ever given you? Only cold arrows and murder to silence witnesses! But the Young Master has given us wealth, life, and dignity!"

The soldiers looked at each other, then toward the luxurious tent—they had all been startled when the Young Master had produced it out of thin air.

Recalling the Young Master's powerful magic, recalling how the Young Master had saved them from the brink of death, recalling the warm 50 gold coins in their hands, and recalling the respect in the Young Master's voice when he called them by their names...

"Damn it! I've had enough of the arrogance of those nobles!" Rochi, who had lost an arm, was the first to stand up. With his only remaining hand, he tore the family badge from his chest and threw it fiercely to the ground, "My life, this life of mine, was saved by the Young Master; my loyalty belongs to Lord Ye Wei'an! Anyone who dares to move against Lord Ye Wei'an will have to step over my corpse first!"

"Loyalty belongs to Ye Wei'an!"

"I also pledge my loyalty to Lord Ye Wei'an!"

"Count me in!"

"To hell with the Amarisk Family!"

With some taking the lead, the remaining soldiers stood up one after another, casting aside their badges to declare their stance.

Even those who were hesitant made the same decision, driven by the herd mentality.

The will of the entire unit had been completely transformed this night.