The southern region of Ximengsi Continent, Adrian Empire’s largest lake area along the border
In the vicinity of the Leopold Lake Area, Earl Fred led over 50,000 troops, Earl Gerard commanded over 40,000 troops, and Earl Edgar commanded over 60,000 troops in order to compete for this ultra-large lake with abundant fresh water and fishery resources. Entangled in battle, over 150,000 troops had encircled the lake. “The Battle of Three Earls” had raged for many days.
The behind-the-scenes financial backers of those three earls were all different. Earl Fred’s backer was Stuart Clan, Earl Gerard’s was Morston Clan, and Earl Edgar’s was Douglas Clan. Although the behind-the-scenes financial backer of Steinbeck Fief was nominally Morais, a lady of Morston Clan, because Morais had impetuously run away from her clan in a fit of pique, Earl Gerard couldn’t be counted as a friendly force to Clyde’s side. Moreover, from the beginning, Clyde hadn’t wanted to take part in this “Battle of Three Earls.” He just wanted to march forward and attack Marquis Charles’s army before they could finish building fortifications in the Needham Plains to gain a tactical advantage over any invaders.
Over 10,000 soldiers of Steinbeck Fief had set out on this journey. Among these soldiers, over 7,000 were the resurrected soldiers who had participated in Atad’s Undead calamity. They were elite troops. The other 3,000 or so were new recruits. This was their first test. There were still over 2,000 elite troops staying behind in Steinbeck Fief because Clyde couldn’t leave the city unguarded; that would be too suspicious. It was inconvenient for those Bloodkin familiars following his younger sister, the wicked Bloodkin Lolita Lucifer, to publicly protect Steinbeck Fief. They could only take action in secret.
In this expedition, all of Clyde’s female companions were present other than “Punishment Saintess” Tiffany and “Light Saintess” Maria. They were occupied with supervising the construction of their cathedrals. After their cathedrals were finished, Steinbeck Fief’s army would have the support of these powerful priests during expeditions. However, there was no shortage of priests around Clyde. Earl Harrison’s family’s Eldest Miss Sophie was a high-level priest who could be dispatched for free.
“Sister Lucifer, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Big Brother Clyde. I’m not so fragile! I’m different from those ordinary Bloodkin. This level of sunlight is no issue.”
“Don’t force yourself. If you feel uncomfortable, go to the Suzerain carriage in the rear and rest!”
“That won’t do. Big sister Saras and the others are there, and I can’t help but want to hunt when I see them.”
At the fore of Steinbeck Fief’s army, Clyde rode a white warhorse, wearing commander-specific silver armor. His younger sister Lucifer sat behind him. She wore a black gothic Lolita outfit and held a small black parasol to block the radiant and enchanting daytime sunlight.
Not far behind Clyde was a big luxurious carriage. The nominal Suzerain of Steinbeck Fief, Princess Saras, was in there along with Clyde’s other female companions. For this expedition, Steinbeck Fief had announced that the Suzerain herself would lead the troops in person; therefore, Princess Saras had to appear at the scene.
In this expedition, there were over 100,000 monster troops under Ancient Demon King Andrisno’s command at the rear Acting as the transport supply corps. On the left and right wings marched over 160,000 mummy-type monster troops under the command of Undead Queen Lafania and her younger sister, Cursed Queen Memphis. They were responsible for guarding the flanks. Each of them commanded over 80,000 troops at their respective side. This was the reason Clyde fearlessly dared to bring along so many female companions without worrying about running into difficulties. Even if they ran into an Undead calamity like in Atad, he was confident enough in escaping with his women unscathed.
Miss Paladin Alicia and the female knights under her guarded the Suzerain carriage. Over a period of time, they had gradually accepted Clyde’s status as their master. In order to avoid being conspicuous, they wore common knight armor. In addition, they also wore helmets. Now, they weren’t wearing the female-specific armor they usually wore. Like this, they were able to hide their gender. Practically no soldiers of Steinbeck Fief’s army knew that the knights in the vicinity of the Suzerain’s carriage were all beautiful girls. They only knew that the leader of this knight regiment had the strength of a paladin. Everything else was unclear.
When Steinbeck Fief’s army reached the peripheries of Leopold Lake, they discovered that this place was already a mess. The buildings in a nearby city were all destroyed, and there were countless signs of destruction. Originally, because Leopold Lake was abundant with freshwater and fishery resources, the residents here had led very prosperous lives and used the plentiful water to turn everywhere into civilized farmland. It was an important grain production area at the borders of Adrian Empire. Moreover, because of the historical unclear rights of attribution, it was not clear which Suzerain had jurisdiction over the Leopold Lake Area; therefore, there was no administration overseen by a local aristocrat, so the residents hadn’t needed to pay any taxes. This place had been a free zone and had legally evaded taxes for many years.
However, sooner or later, they would’ve had to pay back for these years of prosperity, and now the time had come. With the three earls entangled in warfare, this place had thoroughly turned to chaos. The earls’ allied soldiers wantonly looted the residents. Their wealth, properties, and anything of value were stolen. Only now at this moment did the residents realize the benefits of being under the jurisdiction of a Suzerain. At least, their security would have been more guaranteed.
The troops directly under the three earls still maintained some military discipline. They didn’t loot the residents like bandits. Nevertheless, the armies of those small lords recruited to assist in battle were different. They were basically temporarily recruited militias. Their military disciple couldn’t be guaranteed. Tyrannical army ruffians who did evil everywhere filled the ranks of those small lords’ armies.
Adrian Empire was a member of Victor Alliance, so there was no slavery. Thus, it was very unlikely for the soldiers to capture prisoners for slavery, which could be regarded as their good luck. Those army ruffians normally withdrew after looting some valuables. However, because the three earls had brought too many small lords to assist in this battle, the number of troops they had brought was simply too great, leading to excessive looting. Often, just after a batch had finished looting and left, another batch would arrive like an endless cycle.
Clyde indifferently gazed at the tragedies around him. In the end, after evading taxes for all those years, coughing up their belongings like this was well-deserved. At least, the land had not been robbed, and the people remained with their lives. It couldn’t be regarded as not owning a thing in the world. The army ruffians here had an unwritten rule. They would only loot money and valuables, not grains. Like that, the residents would just lack money and frivolous luxuries, nothing more.
“Big Brother Clyde, I asked Andrisno, and she said that the demonic soul you brought back from Atad last time is another Ancient Demon King for sure. She seems to be an acquaintance of hers. Now, we just lack a suitable female body to serve as an intermediary for resuscitating her.”
“Don’t worry about that. We can find a suitable body later. After all, we might find one this time.”
“I hope we can find something. Honestly speaking, I want to see that Ancient Demon King’s appearance. Andrisno said that she had been much more beautiful than herself.”
Clyde was chatting with Lucifer on the warhorse. Although they had encountered many army ruffians along the way, they had only been in groups numbering in the tens or hundreds. Upon seeing the 10,000 well-equipped troops of Steinbeck Fief, no one dared to come look for trouble, instead choosing to avoid them.
At this moment, several knights quickly rushed over from a distance. They were scouts Clyde had sent forward in advance. During the march, Clyde had dispatched a large number of scouts to investigate the military situation ahead and determine the best marching route to avoid the main battlefield of the three earls.
“Lord Clyde, the route ahead is blocked by the three earls. We’ve investigated and found that the path is basically sealed up without any side routes.”
“I… the three earls are too immoral. Is there a suitable place to station nearby? We’ll stay there for the time being.”
“There is a place called Ian Village nearby that is a suitable place to stay. However, that place is occupied by Knight Thomas who has over 2,000 troops that will be quite troublesome to deal with.”
“Knight Thomas, which earl’s side does he belong to?”
“Lord Clyde, we heard that he was invited by Earl Edgar.”
“It turned out to be the earl supported by Douglas Clan. Well then, we don’t need to stand on ceremony. March to Ian Village. If Thomas doesn’t leave that place, directly use force to drive him out.”
After receiving the scouts’ intelligence reports, Clyde was at a loss. Around the Leopold Lake Area, the three earls had built various kinds of trenches, fortresses, and other fortifications, entering a war of attrition. They were clearly prepared to fight for a long period of time. This blocked the route of Steinbeck Fief’s army. Although Clyde didn’t want to involve himself in the “Battle of Three Earls,” it was too late to make a detour now.
Therefore, Steinbeck Fief’s army quickly turned around and advanced towards Ian Village, which was occupied by Knight Thomas who fought for Earl Edgar. The behind-the-scenes financial backer of Earl Edgar was Douglas Clan, the same behind-the-scenes financial backer as Marquis Charles whom he wanted to deal with later. Therefore, Clyde decided to make it a priority to settle Knight Thomas.
The current Leopold Lake Area was a chaotic place where allies could turn on each other at any moment and former comrades could duel to the death. Even though everyone was of Adrian Empire, the current power and prestige of Adrian Empire’s imperial family had declined and could effectively be ignored. When Steinbeck Fief’s army finally reached Ian Village, they found the troops of Knight Thomas wantonly looting the village residents. They hadn’t built any fortifications or defenses, revealing their unprofessionalism,. The sudden arrival of Steinbeck Fief’s troops frightened them, yet before they could react and understand what was going on, Steinbeck Fief’s infantries charged.
There was a brief battle between the two sides. Knight Thomas’s miscellaneous troops of over 2,000 couldn’t compete at all with Clyde’s trained army. After a short while, they ran away, leaving behind several hundred corpses, and this village fell into Clyde’s hands. From the looks of it, they wanted to request reinforcements from Earl Edgar. As for the casualties of Steinbeck Fief’s army, only a dozen or so had been injured, without their suffering any deaths.
