Failure of the Plot

"What's going on now?!"

At Horn Pass, Lorinvik had already captured the pass, but Darian's face showed no joy whatsoever.

This is because his biggest plan failed, and even if he were to capture Horn Pass next, he might not get what he expected.

Darian stood on the city wall, looking at the large number of soldiers captured by his men, the corpses of knights who had to be killed for their fierce resistance, and several knight prisoners held on the ground, unable to move.

This was originally a victorious battle, a great start by all accounts, especially since he captured the pass with only twenty-odd casualties.

Keep in mind that more than a dozen knights have died, while only four of his subordinates, all First Order Profession, have perished; the rest are apprentices.

If this level of casualties had occurred in any other battle in the history of Lorinvik, Darian believed he would have certainly gone down in history.

However, this is Horn Pass, and Darian's strategy is not the kind of large-scale assault on a fortress.

"Those damned nobles, not a single one of them is willing to come... and they're actually thinking of vying for power at this time..."

Thinking about the situation back home, Darian felt a headache coming on. Although he was the only one who could become the next king of Lorinvik, and no one else would have any chance until he died, that was beyond doubt.

However, this does not mean that the nobles will not vie for power, because only he is qualified to become the next king, and this position is even more scarce for the vast number of nobles.

They didn't even have the chance to choose another prince to try their luck, and even right next to Darian, they would all be vying for the position.

What's unusual is that, although Darian is already the next king, not a single noble is willing to follow him in his plan to attack Lorinvik.

This is because, regardless of the circumstances, Darian was only about to become the next king, and his power at this time was weaker than that of his father.

Moreover, even if Darian takes office, he will be unable to act in many areas, and even if he wanted to, it wouldn't be as simple as just saying a few words. Those who occupy key positions are confident that they are not worth Darian's major efforts.

As for the reason for Darian's trip, in the eyes of the other nobles, Darian's attack was far too reckless and foolish.

Although Antir was in turmoil, it was ultimately a fight between its own people. The Alliance only took a brief look and chose to stand by after Duke Theodore agreed to abide by the Alliance's rules.

However, the Kingdom of Lorinvik ultimately belongs to other powers, the Alliance will not allow the large-scale annexation of Lorinvik's land at this time.

Other countries are aware of this, but that doesn't mean they can't profit from it.

Although the territory cannot be touched for the time being, they can send troops in to plunder people, food, and disrupt production.

If this continues for a while, the border of his territory will naturally move towards Antir, which is why Duke Theodore wants to maintain Antir's fighting strength as much as possible.

Perhaps other countries cannot immediately plunge Antir into dire straits, but after acquiring Antir, maintaining Antir's boundaries without retreating would be the true victory.

And so, coupled with Lorinvik's long-standing tradition, only those who seize land are considered victors; Lorinvik does not consider a battle won without acquiring any land as a victory.

Moreover, the nobles gained nothing from this affair. Darian's Sect expanded, but what about the nobles themselves?

What will they gain? If a large army marches over to capture Horn Pass, the requirements for the quality and quantity of soldiers will not be low. After these soldiers are sent over, the spoils of loot will probably be divided among them.

Without land, meaning these nobles themselves received nothing, Darian could only bring his private army and followers of the Shadow Cult to this place.

He was very lucky; he received help from the opposing commander at the beginning, and a mage from the Alliance, for some reason, kept helping him.

This allowed the Shadow Cult followers to easily infiltrate Horn Pass, set up camp, and control key positions—a perfect start for a stealth-based faction.

Therefore, even though Theodore had become aware of the situation and even forced the Marquis Crawford to defect, it did not affect the final outcome.

After the fall of Horn Pass, if Darian didn't mind the time commitment, he could send the Shadow Cult members to every corner of Antir.

Although he didn't do that, he still sent three First Order Profession to the Royal Capital.

He knew that with Duke Theodore having dispatched such a massive force to Horn Pass, the enemy probably already knew they were in dire straits after he breached the Horn Pass.

At this point, the only chance for the enemy was to disregard everything, risk the prince's potential retaliation, storm into the Royal Capital, and make a final stand.

So he sent three First Order Profession to deliver a heavy blow to Duke Theodore during the battle... He believed that this was already his greatest advantage.

The prince had to fight to the death, because he knew that once he left the Royal Capital, all that would remain was the title of prince, which was utterly meaningless.

Without the Territory Blessing, they would never be able to defeat Theodore.

Darian thought the same way. He was willing to come here because he could cooperate with the Prince of Antir and maximize his profits.

Clearly, the news that had just arrived greatly surprised him, because the Prince of Antir had been killed by Theodore, and his three Profession had also been found by Theodore, two of whom were executed and one spared.

"Has that Prince of Antir never practiced swordsmanship? How could he be killed so easily by Theodore? I sent him three Profession swordsmen..."

Darian brought almost everything he had with him this time. The deaths of the four First Order Profession already pained him greatly, let alone the loss of three more now...

He now only has three First Order Profession left under his command, and he can't spare any of them because he has to guard the prisoners here.

He privately believed that with the help of the three Profession he had sent, the Prince of Antir had a high probability of victory. After all, with the help of three assassins, defeat in battle was only a low-probability event.

Now that Darian has encountered this low-probability event, he has no choice but to cut his losses.

"Damn it, why didn't that captured Profession just die? I still have to pay money to exchange for him..."

Darian was so angry that he lost his temper and started berating the captured Profession, because it was because of this Profession that he had to give up a piece of the pie during the subsequent negotiations.

Things have come to this point, and continuing the fight would only result in a lose-lose situation, a fact that Darian was acutely aware of.

He had lost enough men, and even after he calmed down, he realized that he had only said things in anger. A surviving First Order Profession was exactly what he needed right now.

Otherwise, when he returns, without a sufficient number of First Order Profession, he will have to wait for his power to shrink.

All he could do now was accept the compensation offered by Theodore and pay the ransom to the prisoners after surrendering Horn Pass. However, since Theodore also had prisoners, the ransom he was paying was less.

After all, the importance of First Order Profession is not the same for the two. Although Duke Theodore has a large shortage of knights because of this, these shortages can be filled quickly if given some time.

However, this doesn't apply to Darian. Strictly speaking, all the knights within the Kingdom of Lorinvik can be considered his subordinates, but who his true subordinates are is a highly debatable point.

Darian waved for a messenger to come forward and gave his orders.

"Tell Theodore that we are negotiating at Horn Pass, and I am willing to return directly to Lorinvik."

Unlike the somber atmosphere at Horn Pass, the Royal Capital was filled with cheers of victory, even a day after the battle had ended.

Duke Theodore sat on his throne, reluctant to rise for a long time. He looked at the figure in front of him, pierced by several Spear, his eyes full of smiles.

"After persisting for so long, this is the final outcome. It's not worth it."

The hall was empty. His words seemed to be addressed to someone who was already dead, while the figure impaled on the ground still had a look of horror on his face.

He didn't understand why his power was beginning to decline, and the territory occupied by the royal family shrank to just a corner of the Royal Capital at that moment.

This drove him to make a final, desperate struggle, but under Theodore's knowing gaze, he was ultimately killed by an immense and irresistible force, forever trapped in the Royal Palace.

"Count Ian has arrived."

A voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing him back to his senses. He rose from his throne to greet his capable subordinate, who never disappointed him.

Theodore's eyes narrowed slightly the moment he saw Ian, because he sensed a second-tier aura emanating from Ian.

This can't be! Didn't Ian activate Territory Destroyer? Why is Ian still at Tier 2?

Furthermore, if it wasn't activated, then why did Prince Antir's power weaken?

At this moment, Theodore, still immersed in joy and not yet having carefully examined the territory's information, suddenly realized that at the location of the White Flower Territory...

There were no deep pits on the territory sensor that Lucy had told them about before—marks left by Territory Destroyer that would take decades to heal.

Instead, there was a powerful sense of strength in him, as if it were providing him with power.