Delay

"I'm sorry, Mage Lucy, although it's a bit presumptuous, I still have to say it."

"According to our reports from the front lines, the situation is not good. Marquis Crawford has reported the deaths of many knights and the depletion of a large amount of strategic resources."

"Although Horn Pass can still hold out for now, we must prepare for the worst."

"Therefore, I would like to request your authorization today to use that item ourselves."

Count Ian's expression was not good; he knew that using this thing provided by the Alliance would not be good for the Antir Region.

Maybe it's because of this one mistake that Ian won't be able to advance to the second tier.

This is his personal matter, but it is also a matter for the entire Antir.

On the path of advancement to Territory Knight, it's true that as long as you have a powerful father, you can meet the requirements for advancement to First Order.

However, things are different at the second tier. In addition to having a certain territory, the knight also needs to make his own efforts.

You need to use the knightly title you represent to defeat knights of the same Order, or achieve numerous victories in battle.

This is how a second-tier knight is created, and knights of higher ranks are also created through this method.

All Third Order Professional born in the kingdoms of Antir and Kingdom of Lorinvik accumulated their achievements under these circumstances and then advanced through fame.

Count Ian had already satisfied the latter, having made the greatest contribution during Duke Theodore's rebellion, for which his achievements were already known throughout Antir.

Count Ian satisfied the former's needs by allocating land among the territories, so that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Antir would have one more Second Order Profession User.

Next came the matter of stalling for time, something Count Ian was quite pleased with.

After all, once he becomes a Second Order Profession User, not only will Antir's own strength be enhanced, but Second Order Profession User are considered top-tier combatants even in the Alliance's surrounding areas.

Especially now that none of the players are at Tier 3 or all Tier 3 players are injured, a new Tier 2 player is an invaluable asset for Antir, who is still in the midst of battle.

Moreover, for Ian himself, this matter only brought benefits and had no particular drawbacks.

He was already Duke Theodore's right-hand man, and whether or not he advanced to the second rank would not affect the enemy's attitude towards him. On the contrary, it would be more beneficial for him to defend against the enemy's attacks.

For Count Ian's family, this was even better news, because a family that had produced a second-tier member was still no match for a family that produced only First Order members, even if the latter had five or six.

However, it is clear that now is not the time to consider these things, because if Duke Theodore fails, he will inevitably be besieged by those people for occupying so much territory.

Otherwise, the territories left behind by Duke Theodore after his defeat would not be enough to satisfy the needs of Lorinvik, and even the Prince of Antir would not allow this to happen.

In some ways, he, like Finley, was at risk of losing everything in this battle.

The difference between them is that Finley himself was unsure which side to stand on, which is why he rushed forward with great excitement when Fran reached out her hand, trying to find a way out of this choice.

Count Ian, however, could not do that, because he was already too deeply bound to Duke Theodore.

Putting aside the issue of trust, given the territory he currently owns, no one would be willing to accept him back after the event.

For these nobles, territory was the truly important resource; everything else came second. Count Ian had known this for a long time.

Lucy, however, was secretly pleased as she looked at Count Ian's somewhat solemn expression.

Because she already knew that the Marquis Crawford had long since sided with Lorinvik, and Lorinvik had promised her a piece of land that she could rule as a lord.

Logically speaking, a territory like White Flower Territory is far too insignificant for an enemy who has betrayed them.

After all, this was a life-or-death mission, and the other party was a commander on a crucial route.

But the problem lies in the power of the Marquis Crawford and the Duke Theodore.

Count Ian was a trusted subordinate of Duke Theodore, and he did many excellent things for him, for which he received the most rewards.

But what about those below Count Ian?

Meanwhile, in order to allow Count Ian to reach the second rank, without having completely controlled Antir, Duke Theodore had no choice but to allocate most of the distributable territories to Count Ian.

The Duke Theodore's intentions are good, but the situation remains tense, and the war may not end for at least another year.

At this juncture, supporting a trusted confidant and preparing to restrain him would be the most sensible approach for Duke Theodore to maintain stability.

However, it was clear that his decision was not so pleasant for others besides Count Ian who had also contributed, or even made outstanding contributions, in the battle.

The Marquis Crawford was the most unfortunate among them; he was originally a subordinate of the Duke Theodore and made outstanding contributions at the beginning of the battle.

According to Lucy, the Marquis Crawford was the one who intercepted a large caravan bound for the Alliance.

The other party had a keen sense of smell and realized that not all caravans heading to the Alliance were so unapproachable; the Pharmacist Association in the City of Apprentices was an exception.

As a major force in the City of Apprentices, the opposing side surprisingly had very few First Order Mage in their entire Association, and most of these First Order Mage were merely figureheads.

This is purely because the identity of Apothecary is simply inferior to that of Alchemist, which is why the Pharmacist Association does not have as much power.

If the Pharmacist Association didn't interfere, things would be fine. Under the protection of the Alliance and with the combined efforts of many apprentices, no one would dare to mess with the Pharmacist Association.

However, the fact that the other party dared to invest in a caravan leaving the Grey Soil Province gave Marquis Crawford an opportunity. He disguised himself as a bandit and robbed the caravan.

Afterwards, the Marquis Crawford withstood pressure from the Pharmacist Association and used those items to replenish the supplies for Duke Theodore's army. Even the majority of the expenses for hiring the Blood Wolf Knights were covered by the Marquis Crawford.

Even such a meritorious official lost his composure on the spot after seeing Count Ian reap almost the greatest benefits.

Even so, after Count Ian received the most important mission and arrived in White Flower Territory, Duke Theodore found that the remaining people were almost all the same; there were places he could trust, and naturally, there were places he couldn't trust.

After much deliberation, the Duke Theodore had no choice but to appoint the Marquis Crawford as the commander of Horn Pass.

Despite this, he still didn't fully trust the Marquis Crawford, and he only gave the Marquis Crawford a portion of the power, with much of it concentrated in the hands of other knights.

Lucy was the one who facilitated this connection for the Marquis Crawford. In order to force them to use the Territory Destroyer quickly, she took the blame for this whole mess.

Therefore, he deliberately told what he knew to the Kingdom of Lorinvik, and through some underhanded means, he also learned about Marquis Crawford's thoughts and made arrangements accordingly.

Lucy cleared her throat and then continued:

"I'm sorry, but as we discussed before, I haven't finished dealing with my current tasks. If we start this abruptly, I'll also be implicated."

Lucy originally leaked the information to Lorinvik to speed things up and get her side done faster. If things dragged on any longer, they might be discovered.

However, with the addition of the variable ' Lai ', Lucy's plan had to be changed accordingly.

And since ' Lai ' initially told her it would take a month, she should wait a month before making any decisions.

For a mage like ' Lai,' Lucy would rather not offend him, since she can neither defeat him nor has a suitable means within the Alliance.

So Lucy had long since stopped trying to connect the Marquis Crawford with Lorinvik, and hadn't even contacted them again for half a month.

Upon hearing this expected yet somewhat disappointing answer, a hint of impatience flashed in Count Ian's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

He said somewhat anxiously:

"Could you give me a definite answer, Lucy, about when...?"

At this moment, Count Ian cursed the mage in front of him in his heart.

He knew the other party definitely had ulterior motives, which was evident from the fact that they had stayed in White Flower City for so long.

At first, things were fine. They had come for the sake of that mage named ' Lai ', and they had even resolved his problem and promised that he wouldn't bother them.

But then something went wrong. Lucy stayed in White Flower City for half a month. Count Ian wasn't stupid; he could definitely tell something was wrong.

But there was no way around it; although Lucy handed the item to them directly, she didn't give them a way to activate it.

Count Ian, however, stared at the intricate Magic Inscription on the object and the several differently colored buttons, but he still couldn't bring himself to press them.

"Rest assured, although the Kingdom of Lorinvik is ultimately a country of the same level as yours, with so much material support, I believe Marquis Crawford will hold out."

Lucy blinked, then gave a deadline.

"I think it will be about two weeks if things go smoothly, or maybe two months if things go slowly... But don't worry, you helped me, so I will naturally help you in return. I will stay here until it's finished."

Count Ian nodded as he looked at the smile on Lucy's face.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mage Lucy."

However, a fleeting smile crossed his face at that moment.

He knew that Lucy might be doing something, and he could prepare accordingly.