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October 2nd, the Viscount's castle in Rothe Territory. The leader of the Gray Goose had just finished enjoying a night of pampering by human girls.

To be honest, he finally understood why human nobles insisted on building castles. These structures featured wind-element arrays for indoor ventilation, fire and ice-element arrays to regulate temperature, silence arrays to isolate him from the barbarians outside, and readily available baths, alchemical lamps, and the services of human maids.

At this moment, the Gray Goose leader was full of ambition. After sweeping through the Dragon's Northwest Earldom, he planned to return to the Gallop Plains with hundreds of slaves and thousands of non-magical humans.

He intended to build a grand castle near the salt mines; the profits from the mines would be enough to hire human mages to install arrays for his fortress.

He was no longer satisfied with just the Northwest Earldom as a market. He was also thinking of finding the Kirislaf Caravan that entered and exited through Lokiraf Pass, and the White Owl Caravan of the Dragon's northern earldom, to open up new markets.

Of course, more importantly, there was Lord Blue Dragon; without him, there would not be enough salt pans.

"Leader," a barbarian of the Gray Goose came to report, "all the knight villages within Rothe have been taken. Per your orders, we did not attack the territories of other Dragon nobles, but they have likely discovered us by now."

"Hahaha, good! That is exactly what I want. If they don't discover us, how will they know Rothe has become mine? How will they gather at Blue Magpie Castle, and how can we take advantage of their absence to sweep through their castles?"

"Yes, leader. Our warriors from the plains have already set up camp outside the castle. Two hundred warriors are fully prepared and waiting for your command."

"Do not be impatient. Give that old Kempins a little time to get a good look at our forces," the Gray Goose leader said dismissively. "What about the other camps on the plains? Didn't I tell them to head south as quickly as possible?"

"Yes, our cavalry has split up to deliver the orders."

"Good. Aside from those maintaining the salt mine garrison, have the other tribes come over. Let them see how we lay siege to this Dragon's count."

Less than 40 kilometers east of the Viscount Rothee castle lay the private land of the Kempins family: the Blue Magpie Barony. The castle in this territory was managed directly by each successive Count Bristle-Wolf.

Blue Magpie Castle had once been a supply base for numerous armies heading toward the Gallop Plains, equipped with ready-made granaries, docks, barracks, and fortresses. It was two days' journey from Bristle-Wolf City. Whenever the barbarians launched a large-scale southern invasion, the Bristle-Wolf Knights and the knights of the various baronies and viscounties within the earldom would advance here to prepare to repel them.

Along the boundary river between Rothe and Blue Magpie, there were several observation outposts. These simple camps were usually located next to the drawbridges over the river, designed to raise the bridges immediately upon detecting a large-scale barbarian invasion.

Five days ago, all the drawbridges had been raised. The barbarians had launched a massive invasion; they had breached Rothe Castle and occupied the entire territory.

As the barbarians appeared intentionally or otherwise near the boundary river, the entire Blue Magpie territory had fallen into a state of immense panic.

Viscount Rothee had once been the deputy commander of the Bristle-Wolf Knights and a high-level knight. He was considered a formidable expert within the entire Northwest Earldom, and his knight squad was a force renowned even within Bristle-Wolf City.

Yet, this powerful force had not lasted three days against these barbarians, and not a single knight had managed to break through to send word.

The knight commander left in charge of Blue Magpie Castle had long since realized the severity of the situation. Starting from September 31st, he had been collecting intelligence from within Rothe and reporting it to Bristle-Wolf City daily.

"My lord, Commander!" a knight ran over to report. "There is unusual movement on the west side of the boundary river!"

"What? What is happening?" The commander asked, though he did not stop his pace. He donned his helmet, rode out of the castle, and galloped toward the boundary river with his personal guards.

Ten minutes later, the commander arrived at the observation post closest to Rothe Territory, only to see numerous birds startled into the sky above several patches of forest on the opposite bank.

"What is going on?" The commander immediately climbed the watchtower.

Looking out over Rothe Territory from the 30-meter-high tower, he saw massive clouds of dust rising over ten kilometers away. From within the dust, squads of barbarian cavalry charged out. The tall barbarians, mounted on Black-Scaled Horses, reached the riverbank in just a few minutes. More than 200 cavalrymen, like a black mist, moved along the riverbank from north to south.

Behind the barbarian cavalry were numerous pack animals, herds of sheep, caravans of non-magical humans, and large groups of non-magical humans carrying timber.

The commander knew that the river beneath his feet could no longer protect Blue Magpie Castle. With so many non-magical humans, they had ample materials to construct a massive bridge.

"Call everyone! Leave here immediately! Notify all outposts along the river to prepare to retreat to Blue Magpie Castle at any moment!"

At the lord's mansion in Bristle-Wolf City.

A slip of paper fell silently from the hand of Kempins.

"200 men? How is this possible?" Where did they come from? A massive wave of shock surged through the Count's heart. Behind those 200 cavalrymen were at least another 400, as they still needed to guard their camps and the salt mines, plus nearly 4,000 non-magical humans—that meant at least 60 camps.

It was uncertain if even 60 such camps could be gathered south of the entire Gallop River. How could so many cavalrymen have gathered together?

"Father? Now... what should we do?" His eldest son, Fernando, was equally shocked. According to imperial standards, the Bristle-Wolf Knights consisted of 50 high-level, mid-level, low-level, and reserve knights.

Among them, 3 high-level knights, 10 mid-level knights, and 20 low-level knights were the core strength of the order, while the remaining 17 reserve knights were mostly the second or third sons of various barons and viscounts.

The other viscounts and barons combined could likely muster about 70 more knights. This force would feel very insecure facing 200 cavalrymen.

If the knights of the entire earldom formed a single force to clash directly with the 200 barbarians, the knights might eventually win, but the cost of victory would be devastatingly tragic.

As the vanguard, the Bristle-Wolf Knights would likely have to prepare for more than half their number to be sacrificed. The remaining 2 viscounts and 4 barons would likely lose their heirs or their own lives. After such a battle, the earldom's strength would not recover for at least a decade.

However, the proportion of magic-users among the barbarians was higher than among humans; perhaps another wave would come next year.

Taking a step back, even if the knights did not clash with the main barbarian force, they would inevitably be forced into a standoff at Blue Magpie Castle. If they summoned the knights from every territory, those territories would be left defenseless, and the barbarians could easily penetrate them with light cavalry.

If they did not summon the knights, then the viscounts and barons of the entire earldom would likely have to face squads of over 100 barbarian cavalrymen each.

Kempins now felt deeply frustrated. The barbarian invasion was an open conspiracy; relying on the mobility of their horses, they could maneuver at high speeds in a short time.

Rothe Territory had fallen due to the slow response of the Kempins family. Without Rothe Castle, the gatekeeper of Korniko Pass, the barbarian cavalry could roam freely throughout the entire Northwest Earldom.

Defending one place with the knight order meant abandoning others; trying to defend everywhere meant defending nowhere.

"I never imagined that in just a few days, Rothe Castle would be lost like this," the Count finally spoke. "What is it that the barbarians want?"

"Grain? Wealth? Population?"

"Hmm, they have already taken Rothe, but it is not enough." The Count had guessed the barbarians' intentions, but what good did guessing do? Could they carry out a large-scale relocation? Or could they split their forces to defend?

"Notify the Bristle-Wolf Knights to garrison Blue Magpie Castle. Order the viscounts and barons to the east and south of Bristle-Wolf City to seal their castles and mobilize all their knights to Blue Magpie Castle."

"Father."

"We must save as many as we can."

"Then should we appeal to the Royal Capital..."

"No. We are merely short on troops, not under siege at Bristle-Wolf City. If we have each house contribute some magic-users, our army can exceed 200 men. A battle against them is not necessarily a losing prospect. We are currently in the Count's territory where magic flows smoothly; the advantage is ours!"

"Very well, Father." It was the first time Fernando had heard of needing to conscript ordinary magic-users to fight against barbarians. Yet, he knew that the Bristle Wolf family had served as the Counts of the Northwest for generations. Every inch of land in the northwest was Bristle Wolf territory, and the family would never tolerate encroachment by others.

"My Lord," the Bristle Wolf steward entered the room, "news has arrived from the Mirror Hall. An imperial council is being convened."

Between Bristle-Wolf City and the King's direct territory of Dragon Tooth City lay the Elk Viscountcy. Viscount Gant Elk was a distant relative of Marquis Wornat Elk of the southern Elk family; the common ancestor of these two houses dated back to before the Magic Tide of the year 709 of the God Emperor.

However, an ancestor from 300 years ago did not prevent the current Viscount Elk from flirting with the main Marquis house. To the Bristle Wolfs, the Elk family was the most pro-Royal Capital and pro-South faction within the entire territory.

"200 cavalrymen? How could this be? Shouldn't the Count have gone directly to Rothe Castle to provide support?" Viscount Elk had already sensed something amiss.

"Perhaps the Bristle-Wolf Knights didn't have time to assemble?" the Viscount's scholar speculated.

"Impossible. The fifty-some knights of the Bristle-Wolf Knights all reside within Bristle-Wolf City. They could assemble in half a day, reach Blue Magpie Castle in less than a day, and be at the gates of Rothe City by the third day."

"If the enemy has 200 cavalry, even if all 50 knights were deployed, would it be enough to turn the tide?"

"A single barbarian tribe has only 10 available cavalrymen, but they wouldn't commit all their strength to an attack. Behind 200 cavalrymen are at least 40 tribes; these savages couldn't have coordinated a departure in advance. Even if Bristle-Wolf City didn't intentionally withhold aid, their negligence has led to the largest barbarian invasion in recent years. Our Count is likely about to face immense pressure from the Royal Capital."

"Then what should we do now?"

"Assemble all our knights and prepare to head for Blue Magpie Castle. We must not repeat the same mistake as the Bristle Wolfs!"

At this moment, inside the palace of the Royal Capital, Dragon Tooth City, King Dusen Whiteowl of the Dragon Kingdom was presiding over an imperial council in the Mirror Hall.

The Mirror Hall was a peculiar room. Upon entering, one would think it contained only polygonal walls, a table, and a chair.

However, once the underground magic array was activated, the seven or eight mirrors on the walls would ignite. These mirrors could connect to others thousands of miles away, allowing those at both ends to see one another. To someone from Landen's hometown, they were essentially surveillance monitors.

Within the Mirror Hall of the Dragon Kingdom palace, there were dedicated magic mirror connections to two enfeoffed Marquises, three enfeoffed Counts, three Duke families, the Supreme Temple of the Kingdom, the Dragon's Nest—the Kingdom's highest magic tower—and the lairs of several legendary dragons.

Today's imperial council was specifically convened to discuss the barbarian invasion on the northwestern border. The Royal Capital had received word at the same time Count Bristle-Wolf learned of the fall of Rothe Territory.

The Royal Capital was not slow to learn of critical information, but due to the maneuvering between various families, bad news was often initially dismissed as unworthy of attention, then confirmed as something that could be solved at any time, and finally acknowledged only after the opportunity for resolution had passed.

In short, knowing in time did not mean acting in time, acting in time did not mean succeeding in time, and succeeding in time did not guarantee a good outcome for the future. Such was the result of familial power struggles within the Kingdom.

"Caspin, old friend, tell me, how severe is the barbarian unrest in your region?" Nine years ago, Dusen Whiteowl had become the Dragon King due to a variety of reasons.

Although he was the son-in-law of the late King Baulya Reddragon, he did not bear the name Reddragon. He intended to wait until his son, Yelichi Reddragon, reached the 9th rank before abdicating the throne to him.

Consequently, during his reign, Dusen Whiteowl disliked these "video conferences." Through the magic mirror, he could sense the dissatisfaction other nobles felt toward him for ascending via marriage.

"Your Majesty, please trust that the Bristle Wolf family can guard the northwest for the entire Kingdom." The Count of the Northwest was defending himself, though his defense was pale and powerless.

"I have heard that 200 barbarian cavalry have already gathered in Rothe Territory, and hundreds more are assembling north of the Korni-Ko Valley?" The speaker was Viscount Roland Blue-Mandarin, the Captain of the Palace Knights.

"Impossible. That is absolutely impossible." Count Bristle-Wolf could only dig in his heels to prevent the Royal Capital's forces from entering his territory.

"Hmm. Since there is no such great pressure, the Dragon Knights need not remain on high alert. What about you, Lord Maikailun Bluedragon?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Maikailun Bluedragon was one of the three legendary pillars of the Dragon Kingdom, currently a peak-legendary rank knight.

Legendary pillars were those legendary powerhouses supported by the Kingdom or Duchies; their families were either royal or held the title of Duke.

For instance, the three legendary pillars of the Dragon Empire—the legendary knight Maikailun Bluedragon, the legendary priest Gorkesh Reddragon, and the legendary mage Benite Wyvern—each had a family that held a Duke title and a central city.

Such generous treatment naturally required them to respond promptly when the Kingdom faced a crisis.

"Would you mind keeping an eye on the northwest territory? If an accident occurs, could you lend a hand?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"I thank Your Majesty for the arrangement." Count Bristle-Wolf spoke words of gratitude, but his heart was filled with bitterness. Once a legend took action, one had to provide appropriate compensation. Count Bristle-Wolf now regretted not supporting Rothe in the first place.