The situation in the Lampari Kingdom gradually stabilized, and under the wise leadership of Her Majesty Queen Servini, the entire kingdom continued to advance toward greater prosperity.
The situation in the Stantin Duchy, however, was precisely the opposite.
Signing an official ceasefire agreement with Xu Yi had cost Count Wellen nearly six hundred square kilometers of territory and forced him to surrender considerable control. For instance, he had originally held greater authority over their jointly funded factories, but those were now entirely controlled by the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
Yet once Xu Yi began honoring his promises, the benefits to the count proved even greater.
Because the Xinfei Merchant Guild gave him priority in supplying sufficient Military Magic Machinery, Count Wellen regained an overwhelming equipment advantage in his battles against the other lords.
Although he could no longer crush them as completely as before, what now determined the outcome of battles between the Stantin Duchy's lords was which side possessed more Military Magic Machinery, and whose equipment was more comprehensive.
With the Xinfei Merchant Guild's support, Count Wellen naturally far surpassed the other lords in this respect.
Thus, after the new year began, another series of battles erupted between Lord Wellen and the allied forces of the four lords who had previously driven him back, and he won victory after victory.
Through this string of victories, Count Wellen took only three months to all but obliterate the resistance of those four lords.
Count Wellen also seized the opportunity to claim most of their territory, becoming, without question, the most powerful lord in the northern Stantin Duchy.
Meanwhile, the southern Stantin Duchy had also descended into war.
Angklu, who had still been advancing steadily and cautiously the previous year, launched a frenzied expansion as soon as year 3875 of the Continent Calendar