Meanwhile, the head of the Champagne Nobility, Wisk Evans, had just received a messenger from the Royal Capital and excitedly called a family meeting.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our Evans family has a chance to turn the tables!”
“Now, the wicked Lars family has been eliminated by the awakened Fang Ge Lars, along with reinforcements from the Royal Capital and friends from the border. Now, we just need to eliminate the last remaining old Lars hiding in the west, and we can thoroughly end the Lars family’s rule in the Northern Border and usher in a glorious new era!”
Everyone in the hall erupted with applause, many of whom already knew about this matter in advance. They had only relaxed once Wisk confirmed it.
The Lars family had tilled the Northern Border for too long; if they didn’t wipe out all the Lars quickly, a terrifying backlash was bound to follow.
Currently, a faction within the Lars family had fully aligned itself with the royal family, seizing vast territories, including large areas within the River Valley, using the power of the royal family and the Demon Clan, and ambushing Duke Lars, who was trying to return to the Northern Border.
It can be said that as long as the last nail of the Lars family in the Northern Border is removed, the Lars family, which had ruled the Northern Border since the establishment of the kingdom, would become nothing more than a dog of Augustine.
Of course, Fang Ge Lars’s methods were not honorable; apart from the rules set by Duke Lars regarding the heir wars, the noble wars in this era still followed very absurd and primitive rituals, such as formally submitting declarations of war beforehand, agreeing on time and place, and everyone shouting “three, two, one” before initiating battle.
Even if this rule was foolish and shouldn’t have been followed, it should not have been violated by someone from the Lars family who used diplomatic negotiations as an excuse to send his two big nephews out of the city, then ambush them with a sneak attack.
Moreover, it was even a situation of uniting with an outsider to attack one’s own kin, which was frankly shameless.
No one was concerned about these details because Fang Ge Lars and his brothers won. Although the two big nephews were lured out and escaped, at least Duke Lars was dead.
Duke Lars’s residence, Winter Fortress, couldn’t be taken down in an instant; as long as supplies were cut off, the old men inside the fortress could only wait to die or surrender.
Now, as long as they flipped the Graywhite Territory held by Lena Lars, a glorious era would be imminent.
As the head of the Champagne Nobility, Wisk had actually already placed a secret bet: he was betting on Fang Ge Lars, or rather, betting on the royal family behind Fang Ge Lars to win, and it was clear that the time to reap the rewards had come.
A recently developed little Viscounty could be said to be firmly in the hands of the Evans family; as long as they won this battle, the Champagne Nobility would no longer refer to a group of nobles but would point directly to the Evans family. From that point on, the Evans family would no longer be a noble that could only act dominant in the western part of the Northern Border, but a truly first-rate family.
Although the main forces couldn’t come to the west due to the need to suppress the newly occupied territories, this also represented the significance of the Evans family’s survival, not to mention the other allies who came to support.
Although Wisk would have preferred they not come, these people immediately approached to say they wanted to eliminate the remnants of the old Lars family once they saw the battle was certain, clearly coming to share the cake. This made Wisk, who had already placed his bet, quite unhappy; however, for the Evans family, which was set to take the biggest piece of the cake, it was also a means to balance the western Northern Border in the future.
If everyone shared the same corpse, they would be on the same side thereafter.
“Everyone, let us warmly welcome the Bard who facilitated this alliance and my personal confidant, the Bard from the Epic Compilation School—Lucanus!”
Amid the applause, the bard dressed in bright and exaggerated theatrical garb, with his eyes covered, entered the scene.
The audience was already accustomed to such attire.
As Lucanus was about to salute, Wisk helped him up.
“My lord, that’s unnecessary.”
Saying this, Lucanus stubbornly completed his salute.
“Why wouldn’t it be? You are the noble who pointed me in the right direction. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be counting coins in my room right now.”
The crowd burst into laughter.
For those unfamiliar with Lucanus, Wisk introduced, “All our accomplishments today are thanks to Mr. Lucanus’s persuasion; our family has seized the opportunity and leaped to become the foremost family in the Northern Border. If we had bet on both sides like that Jefferson, we would still just be a small noble counting coins at home.”
Lucanus humbly replied, “I merely guided you toward the correct destiny; after all, we are bards of the Compilation School.”
“Our bards from the Epic Compilation School are different from those of the Recording School. We are not only responsible for recording history, but also for stepping onto the battlefield ourselves to create magnificent epics. And now, my lord, you are the protagonist of my epic.”
Before the conceited Wisk could humble himself, Lucanus passionately continued, “Simply waiting for new heroes to create epics is not enough; a true bard should create epics themselves, forge myths! I believe that under the leadership of the Evans family, humanity will once again see the glory of the Rom Empire.”
Rom was the last human empire, over a millennium ago, and is considered the golden age of humanity. The Capetians and Anju Kingdoms both originated from the Rom Empire and both claim to be the legitimate successors of the Rom Empire.
Of course, for the people of today, this empire is merely a legend.
Such words might seem somewhat irreverent, as it is still the Age of Augustine, but no one in the hall cared about this and stood up to applaud Lucanus, even popping champagne—literally.
“Once we join together to eliminate the last Lars, I will present you with the carefully crafted epic story, and you will then be the hero who saves the Northern Border.”
Lucanus took out a lute and sang for the audience.
In this joyous atmosphere between the host and guests, an unpleasant voice suddenly came from the side.
“Dear! Doug Lars not only betrayed noble faith and rules but also suppressed local merchants and exploited his own subjects to please the Demon Clan. Did we really want to ally ourselves with such a person?”
Wisk halted his champagne-popping hand and discovered it was his hot-headed younger son, Jim.
Although many families are very fond of their younger sons, Wisk grew more displeased with this son, thus assigning him numerous arduous tasks, not expecting this child to grow more rebellious the more he was sent on errands.
“Furthermore, based on what I observed in the Graywhite Territory last time, their subjects are very united, and the lord is well-loved. It probably won’t be so easy to conquer it.”
Wisk scolded angrily, “Being good doesn’t put food on the table! What can a bunch of mud-legged peasants do? You’d be better off talking about the remaining ten cavalry in the Graywhite Territory. Someone, take Jim away and have him reflect in his room!”
“Dear!”
Before Jim could say anything else, a guard immediately took him back to his room.
“Alright, guests, I apologize; my son’s mental state is a bit off. Let’s continue with the champagne! Today’s expenses are on me.”
Of course, Wisk secretly felt that Jim’s words carried some truth. As the future ruler of the western Northern Border and about to promote to a great noble of a first-rate family, Wisk thought they couldn’t appear as badly as Doug Lars.
Although it wouldn’t be necessary to set a time like traditional nobles and shout “three, two, one” to initiate battle, a declaration of war still had to be submitted, and troops had to be dispatched.
After all, victory was virtually guaranteed, and Wisk wanted to win in a more dignified manner. Furthermore, if they could achieve victory without fighting, that would be the best—winning without fighting would also prevent allies who were preparing to jointly attack the Lars family from taking the biggest piece of cake.
However, this matter still required consultation with Lucanus. After inquiring, Lucanus clearly expressed his support.
“Subduing the opponent without war will add even more brilliance to your epic.”
Hearing this response, Wisk stroked his beard, even imagining the scene where the once-mighty Lars would surrender to him.
