The next day, Lurans summoned the nobles and the personnel of the Knight Order. In the main hall of Black Python Castle, he laid out how the spoils of war would be divided.

Kabil, being the only one granted a noble title, was naturally thrilled.

He came from common stock. Although he had married McKinney on the strength of his looks and ability, he had lacked the military accomplishments over the years to be anything more than an Honorary Knight. Now, he had finally been ennobled and given a territory of his own.

The other nobles, though they only received coin and supplies, were also quite satisfied.

After all, they had volunteered for this battle; Wushan Castle hadn’t issued a formal summons.

From that point on, Black Python City was back under the administration of Wushan Castle. Lurans would arrange for officials to manage its political affairs and dispatch a Knight Order to garrison the city.

Purple Thunder Territory was also publicly granted to Roning. Lurans even gave him the authority to mobilize the Black Python City Knight Order in an emergency.

The nobles had no objection to this arrangement by Lurans.

Roning’s performance had left them not only shocked, but also increasingly filled with a sense of awe, admiration, and deep respect.

Not yet twenty, and already a Meteor or Silver Moon Knight—who wouldn’t respect a man like that?

In their eyes, Wushan Territory was destined to be Roning’s.

So it was hardly surprising that Lurans gave Purple Thunder Territory to Roning; they wouldn’t have been shocked if he’d given him Black Python City as well.

It was merely passing from one hand to the other.

Furthermore, when they heard Lurans grant Roning the authority to mobilize the Knight Order, they shrewdly grasped the Marquis’s ulterior motive.

They had all been around long enough to know about the conflict between Lurans and Andrea.

Before, the Marquis had been ill, not even leaving his castle, let alone resolving such conflicts.

But things were different now. The Marquis hadn’t just made a full recovery—he had become a Silver Moon Knight. In the future, conflict with the Villa Duchy was a distinct possibility.

This led the nobles to a sobering thought: perhaps it was time they hurried to improve their own strength.

And so, after the banquet, the nobles cornered Roning, insistent on buying Enhancement Potions from him.

Feeling obligated, Roning promised them a small amount—about a tenth of his stock.

Marvin Viscount and the others pushed for more, but Roning could only fall back on the excuse of insufficient magic herbs.

He then offered them a deal: if they could gather enough magic herbs to increase his production, he would have an additional supply to sell.

And so, everyone scrambled to join the effort to collect magic herbs.

Of course, just as he had done with Miroslav, Roning merely provided a long list of required magic herbs, not the actual recipe for the Enhancement Potion.

After shaking off the nobles, Roning didn’t take the two days of rest Lurans had suggested.

He had Carlos fly Ridder back to Shore City, where the latter would notify Joffrey to lead a team and take over Giant Stone City and Chishan Town. Simultaneously, he ordered Macken to take his Knight Squad and set out for Purple Thunder Territory at once.

Meanwhile, he, Elron, Rig, and the Wubei Territory Knight Squad rode for Purple Thunder Territory.

Until Macken’s Knight Squad arrived, Rig and his men would be responsible for the law and order and defense of Purple Thunder Territory.

...

News of Ossen’s defeat and Taini’s death had reached Purple Thunder Territory by the time Ridder and his men entered the city and seized the castle.

Although Taini’s son, Gelunot, was eligible to inherit, the price for following a traitor was that upon losing their Lord from Black Python Castle, they would also be stripped of their noble title and lands.

Thus, the moment Gelunot heard the news, he carried out the instructions his father, Taini, had given him before leaving for war—

If Black Python Castle should fall and Taini himself be slain, Gelunot was to take the core members of the family and their fortune and flee to the Villa Duchy for sanctuary at the first word of the news.

And so, that very night, under the cover of darkness and with a guard escort, Gelunot quickly fled Purple Thunder Territory and crossed into the Villa Duchy.

Those with resources and connections could flee to another country for refuge. Others, however, were unwilling or, rather, lacked the means to seek asylum elsewhere—the Reed Clan, for example.

As the only Baron serving under Taini, Nige, the Patriarch of the Reed Clan, had dutifully followed Taini into battle and, just as dutifully, had died on the field.

His son, Saimon, thus became the new Patriarch, but he had no idea what to do.

If he didn’t flee, staying here meant risking enslavement. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

But fleeing to the Villa Duchy could very well lead to the same fate; they didn’t have powerful enough connections there.

After weighing his options, he concluded his only choice was to swear fealty to the new lord of Purple Thunder Territory. But how to convince the new lord to accept his loyalty was another matter entirely, one that required careful consideration.

WHOOSH~

As the sun sank below the horizon, a massive dark shadow streaked across the sky, arriving over Purple Thunder Territory.

From his high vantage point, Roning could see the city below, the Black Pine Mountain Range, and even the lands of the Villa Duchy to the east.

"Carlos, from now on, you’ll need to patrol these mountains. Let the magical beasts here know the might of Purple Thunder Territory so they won’t dare approach."

"Rest assured, Master. I guarantee no magical beast will attack your territory!"

Roning fed another Energy Essence to the Giant Dragon. Its Level progress reached (9648/12500); it was on the verge of breaking through to become a Seventh-level Magical Beast.

Having experienced such an explosive surge of strength, Carlos felt utterly subservient to Roning.

At this point, he’d be willing to work as a mere pack animal, let alone go hunt in the mountains.

"Come, let’s go see Taini’s castle."

Riding Carlos, Roning circled high above the territory, observing it.

As night fell, he saw farmers returning from the fields. Everything seemed normal; the territory hadn’t descended into chaos.

"Let’s go. To the castle."

Roning found this a little strange, but with Elron and Carlos at his side, he wasn’t the least bit afraid.

The castle was easy to spot. A large footprint, good maintenance, and relatively grand architecture—those were the hallmarks of a castle.

Carlos folded his massive wings, and they dove—dragon and rider both. Their incredible speed generated a deafening roar of air resistance, the sound startling the castle’s occupants and drawing them outside.

’What is that?’

Saimon, standing guard in the castle, was stunned.

For a moment, he thought a giant magical beast from the Black Pine Mountain Range was attacking Purple Thunder City. But upon a closer look, he saw a person standing on the flying magical beast’s back.

’Silver-white hair... A member of the Wushan Clan!’

His mind raced. Suppressing the fear in his heart, he stepped forward. It was time to make his gamble.

"Excuse me, Your Excellency... Are you Count Roning?"

Roning leaped from the dragon’s back and glanced at the castle. There were few guards and even fewer servants to be seen.

He then turned his gaze to Saimon. "Are you Gelunot?" he asked.

Saimon bowed. "My Lord, I am Saimon of the Reed Clan. The Gelunot you mentioned has already fled Purple Thunder Territory with his family and fortune to seek refuge in the Villa Duchy."

Roning frowned. He thought he’d been fast enough, but he was still a step too slow.

’If only I’d known Purple Thunder Territory was going to be mine, I would have come here that same night.’

’The Reed Clan...’

Roning murmured the name, having no memory of the family. He had no choice but to ask, "He fled. Why didn’t you?"

Hearing this, Saimon dropped to one knee. "Rather than flee, I wish to submit to you, the great Roning Wushan, member of the Wushan Clan and Count of Wubei Territory!"

He raised his head, his gaze pleading. "My Lord, please accept my oath of fealty!"