As soon as the hottest part of summer passed, the fighting between Count Wellen and the Grand Duke of Stantin immediately intensified.
The Grand Duke of Stantin had actually sent an assassin of Great Mage Rena's caliber to kill Xu Yi, prompting the Xinfei Merchant Guild to give Count Wellen even greater support. Not only did it supply him with a steady stream of military magic machinery, it also purchased vast quantities of supplies from the Lampari Kingdom, the Rulson Kingdom, and several other countries with which it had joint projects. With all his logistical concerns resolved, Count Wellen could naturally throw himself into the war against the Grand Duke of Stantin.
The Xinfei Merchant Guild even intervened directly in the wars between the Stantin Duchy's lords for the first time, sending the finest guards of the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps into battle several times during the fighting between Count Wellen and the Grand Duke of Stantin.
Against the terrifying firepower of the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps, which was several times more powerful than even Count Wellen's forces, the Grand Duke of Stantin had no way to resist.
In just two months, Count Wellen personally led his men into Faraday City, the capital of the Stantin Duchy.
Seeing no hope of resistance, the Grand Duke of Stantin set fire to the magnificent ducal residence he had spent decades building, reducing it to ashes and perishing in the flames himself.
Afterward, several lords within the Stantin Duchy simultaneously pledged allegiance to Count Wellen and nominated him as the new Grand Duke of Stantin. He became known as Grand Duke Wellen.
The first thing Grand Duke Wellen did after assuming his position was to demand that all the other lords within the duchy disarm and fully accept the ducal administration's