Imperial Throne

Chapter 19: The Clouds of War

The current Lord of the White Mountain Territory was not one to indulge in luxury.

Thus, although his territory developed slowly, it had indeed been steadily growing.

Consequently, White Forest Castle only hosted banquets during the annual transition between the old and new years.

At other times, such extravagant expenditures were never made. As a result, it became customary for the castle's inhabitants, whether servants or nobles like Giggs and Lily, not to wander around the castle at night. Therefore, the entire castle appeared particularly quiet once night fell.

But tonight, with the arrival of a messenger, the castle's tranquility was completely shattered.

Inside the study, which housed several detailed terrain models of the territory, the Lord of the White Mountain Territory, simply draped in a blanket, pressed his temples with a headache and fatigue.

He had just dealt with the messenger, instructing someone to escort him to the guest room to rest.

Then, he immediately summoned the two household knights currently in the castle and dispatched his own messenger to inform another household knight who had returned to his fief.

When Giggs arrived with Yam, there were already three people in the study.

Shortly after, Lily also arrived, dressed formally.

In contrast, Giggs, clad only in sleepwear, appeared somewhat disrespectful.

Yam merely glanced briefly at the middle-aged man with a hooked nose and then looked away.

This was his third time seeing the current Lord of the White Mountain Territory.

The first was upon his initial arrival at White Forest Castle, during dinner. After that, Yam no longer participated in the Bole family's dinner gatherings, having noticed that no other household knights attended besides himself.

The second encounter was in the courtyard garden while practicing swordsmanship, where they had a brief meeting.

However, during both encounters, there was no interaction between them, so Yam did not know the temperament of this lord.

He had only heard a few words from Giggs, which were insufficient for Yam to form a solid impression of the Lord of the White Mountain Territory.

“Father, summoning us so late, what's the matter?” Giggs maintained his usual nonchalant demeanor. He even casually found a chair to sit on and invited his sister and Yam to sit as well.

But Lily and Yam did not heed him.

To show his stance, Yam stood behind Giggs.

Having been at White Forest Castle for some time, he was naturally aware of the strained relationship between Giggs and the old baron.

He speculated that perhaps this was why the Lord of the White Mountain Territory did not show him a friendly face. After all, he was Giggs's household knight, not a knight of the Bole family, and certainly not a knight of this lord.

“An urgent order from Count Shuvaric,” the Lord of the White Mountain Territory said coldly, glancing at his eldest son.

“The vicious wolf of the Gem Territory has gone mad for some unknown reason and has even incited the Forest Territory and Red Soil Territory to mobilize troops. The Red River Territory is struggling to hold them off and has requested our assistance. Fearing we might not send troops, they also sought help from Count Shuvaric.”

Upon hearing this, the two household knights present furrowed their brows.

War was a serious matter. If it could be avoided, all the better. But once it began, the outcome would be unpredictable.

Previously, the war had been strictly confined to the conflict between the Red River Territory and the Gem Territory.

Despite lasting over a year, nearly two, both sides had only suffered a few severely injured bloodline knights, with no fatalities.

Most casualties were among the commoners and serfs. In fact, over two-thirds of the time during the war was spent on training troops and transporting supplies.

The Red River Territory, fighting on home ground, bore the brunt, having missed one spring planting and two autumn harvests.

Fortunately, the Red River Territory was wealthy, having accumulated substantial reserves due to its developed transportation hub and advantageous location. Thus, it could sustain the losses.

However, with the Forest Territory and Red Soil Territory now involved, the situation changed entirely.

Both the Forest Territory and Red Soil Territory were viscountcies, unlike the baronies of Gem, Red River, and White Mountain.

The Red River and Gem Territories, being relatively affluent, each maintained five knights serving their families.

Years ago, the Gem Territory lost a bloodline knight for unknown reasons, slightly weakening its strength. This led to a prolonged war with the Red River Territory, resulting in a stalemate.

Although nearly half of the Red Soil Territory's land was unsuitable for habitation, it produced a large amount of magical beast materials, making it one of the wealthier territories among neighboring lords.

It had seven bloodline knights under its command. The Forest Territory, while lacking stable magical beast material resources, had a vast area and could consistently supply large quantities of timber, supporting six bloodline knights.

If the Red Soil and Forest Territories joined forces, even after leaving some bloodline knights to guard their lands, they could still field ten bloodline knights.

Combined with the Gem Territory's own bloodline knights, the three noble families could mobilize at least fifteen bloodline users.

The White Mountain Territory, being resource-poor, had only five bloodline users, including the lord and his son Giggs, along with three household knights, not counting Yam and Lily. Among them, only the lord was a third-tier bloodline user, two were second-tier, and the remaining two were first-tier.

“My lord, the combined forces of the Red Soil, Forest, and Gem Territories could muster fifteen bloodline users, including at least three third-tier and five or six second-tier. Relying solely on us and the Red River Territory, we might not be able to hold them off.”

The middle-aged man who spoke was someone Yam recognized.

During his previous trips to Fisher Village, this man had been responsible for protecting Giggs.

He was reportedly the current knight commander of the Bole family, a second-tier bloodline user who had reached a scale of seven points six months ago. Now, half a year later, he was likely closer to the third tier.

“Count Shuvaric has sent three people to assist,” the Lord of the White Mountain Territory sighed. “Third-tier bloodline users are out of the question. We'll have to rely on ourselves and the Lord of the Red River Territory...” He glanced at his son Giggs before continuing, “However, if we're lucky and the Red River Lord's son breaks through during battle, the gap in third-tier bloodline users might be bridged.”

Upon hearing their lord’s words, the two household knights of the Bole family knew that this war was now unavoidable.

The enemy would have at least three third-tier Bloodline Users, and no fewer than five second-tier Bloodline Users.

On their side, the Red River Territory had two second-tier Bloodline Users. Including their own knight commander, that made three.

With Count Shuvaric sending reinforcements, the disparity in second-tier Bloodline Users would likely be evened out.

In that case, with both sides nearly equal in strength, the outcome would hinge on leadership and determination.

The knight commander of the Bole family was not a coward.

He was simply fulfilling his duty by presenting the advantages and disadvantages to the Lord of the White Mountain Territory. Now that fighting was inevitable, he quickly adapted to his role and said in a deep voice, “My lord, what are your plans for this battle? And who do you intend to leave behind to protect the young master?”

Giggs, who had been listening for a while, finally heard his name and bluntly replied, “Protect me? I don’t need any protection. I have Yam, that’s enough. You all should go to war with my father.”

“Young master.” The Bole family’s chief knight commander turned and looked intently at Giggs, then said gravely, “Even if you don’t need protection, what about Lady Lily?”

“That’s true,” Giggs nodded. “Then let Nika stay behind.”

Nika was the only female Bloodline Knight among the Bole family’s three household knights.

She was already thirty-one years old, yet still a first-tier Bloodline User.

This wasn’t due to a lack of talent or potential; in fact, she had reached the full scale of first-tier five years ago.

However, the first-tier Bloodline Elixir she had consumed was rather unusual, and the second-tier bloodline was particularly difficult to acquire.

As a result, she had remained at the first tier for a long time. But in exchange, she had gained extensive combat experience as a Bloodline User.

Thus, having her protect Lily put both Giggs and the Lord of the White Mountain Territory, as well as the knight commander, at ease.

Yam remained silent, standing quietly to the side.

He knew he had no right to speak in such a war council. Even if he were given a chance to speak, he wouldn’t know what to say, he understood nothing about these matters. In this moment, his mind drifted.

He thought that if his father were here, he might have offered some good advice.

After all, his father had once been a scout in the Kingdom's army, frequently battling those people from the South, what cunning tactics hadn’t he seen?

This train of thought made Yam worry about his father and younger brother again.

They had been gone for almost nine months now, and he had no idea of their current situation.

He dared not imagine, nor did he want to believe, that they might have died.

So he constantly reassured himself that they had merely been delayed by some accident.

At the same time, he disciplined himself to practice swordsmanship diligently every day, forcing his mind to go blank to avoid overthinking and burdening himself with needless worries.

“Yam? Yam!”

“Hm?” Yam was jolted awake by Giggs’ voice and looked around the room, only Giggs, Lily, and he remained.

The Lord of the White Mountain Territory had likely already left with the two household knights to begin preparations, overwhelmed by the looming pressure.

War mobilization required more than just a few words, it was impossible to act immediately. Just preparing military rations alone might take three to five days.

This was a matter for the baron of the White Mountain Territory to worry about. His three household knights each had their own fiefs, so aside from Nika, the other two had to return to their villages to conscript soldiers or mobilize militia troops, and they even had to supply their own military provisions.

“You should bring your mother here tomorrow,” Giggs said, no longer carrying his usual carefree tone. “White Forest Castle is definitely safer than Fisher Village.”

Yam’s heart trembled when he heard this.

He suddenly realized that this war might not be as simple as he had imagined.

He lowered his head and replied, “Yes.”

“What about your father and brother?” Lily suddenly asked. “I remember your family had four people.”

“My father…” Yam was momentarily flustered, his expression sorrowful. “My father and younger brother left home nearly a year ago. I haven’t heard from them since.”

He had almost blurted out that Ion had taken Akar to hunt magical beasts, but caught himself just in time and managed not to reveal too much.

Lily instinctively felt something was amiss, but upon observing Yam’s expression, she realized he was truly worried about his father and brother.

So she didn’t press the matter, simply offering an apology, saying she hadn’t meant to bring up the topic.

Sensing the atmosphere growing awkward, Giggs quickly dismissed Yam.

Now that Yam knew war was imminent, he also realized that if the enemy bypassed the Red River Territory and directly attacked the White Mountain Territory, then Fisher Village, being closest to the Gem Territory, could very well become the first target of pillaging. Unable to sit still, he asked Giggs for permission to immediately return to Fisher Village.

Giggs readily agreed.