“Baron Lind Roer, long time no see, long time no see indeed.”
The one coming to persuade surrender was an acquaintance, the envoy who had previously delivered the marriage contract to Sebas.
Originally, he came from the Royal Capital to issue orders to the nobles in the western part of the Northern Border, but unexpectedly, due to a twist of fate, he ended up persuading Lind to surrender.
“Lord Envoy, it has been a long time. I wonder what insights you have during this visit to Graywhite Territory?”
After settling Ruby and the old butler, Lind brought Lena to meet the envoy.
This was Lena’s own request; currently, she felt very insecure, possibly afraid that Lind might suddenly betray. The once confident Lena now curled up behind Lind like a little kitten.
“I suppose you, Baron, already know that the dark clouds hanging over the Northern Border have cleared. The leader of this area, Count Wisk Evans, does not wish to create further massacres, so he sent me to discuss with you.”
With that, the envoy pulled out the letter of surrender from his bosom. Rather than a letter of surrender, it was more like a treaty of defeat.
The treaty included formulas for sugar and healing potions, and provisions for releasing magic stone mines and other benefits, almost equivalent to selling the entire Graywhite Territory.
What Lind would receive was merely a hollow title of promoted nobility and the lordship of a small town at the edge.
This treaty seemed to fear that Lind might surrender; those lords wanted to avoid losing their privileges and couldn’t wish more for Lind to resist until the end. The envoy even came with an attitude meant to provoke Lind, inwardly praying that he would not surrender.
“Of course, if you are willing to voluntarily hand over the rebel from the Lars family, we will provide you with a more generous treaty.”
After speaking, the envoy glanced at Lena, whose eyes were still red from crying.
Unexpectedly, this Lind Roer, while initially resistant to the marriage, had now stood together with the rebel from the Lars family.
Without realizing it, Lena tightened her grip on Lind’s left arm, fearing that he would really sign the treaty.
“Your Excellency the Baron, don’t say I didn’t remind you. Even the formidable rebel lord Duke Lars has been wiped out under our coalition’s offensive!”
For a moment, Lind didn’t know how to retort. If Duke Lars truly had been wiped out, then Doug Lars might be restless at night, who knows if he escaped using some magical artifact.
Moreover, what was this talk of the rebel lord? Was this an official designation? It felt a bit juvenile. Surely the envoy wasn’t just spouting nonsense?
But Lena was clearly agitated by this talk of being wiped out, wanting to say something but unsure what to voice.
“Not seeing the corpse? Does that mean Duke Lars might still be alive?”
Feeling the strength in Lena’s grip, Lind quickly understood what she wanted to say and voiced it for her, despite having no idea what the principle behind it was.
“Impossible, absolutely impossible; he must be dead.”
The envoy immediately rebutted, and Lena’s gaze dimmed.
“Baron Lind, I advise you not to harbor any luck-based thinking. Regardless, Duke Lars’s death has become a fact. Those nobles pledged by His Majesty from the new Lars family are the future of the Northern Border. You, Baron, are also a clever man; I hope you don’t misjudge the situation and hand over the rebel from your territory. I have an obligation to give an account to the future lord of this territory.”
“Oh? To me, the one who murders his father and slays his nephew is the real villain. Is it really wise to make such a person the future of the Northern Border? Who is it that’s misjudging the situation?”
Lind immediately became combative, arguing back.
“You, you! Your Excellency the Baron, don’t think you can act recklessly just because you rely on a high-ranking profession and a group of elite cavalry. I remind you that the former Lars’s power will ultimately be crushed under our iron hooves! What you’re relying on are merely ten leftover cavalry men and an elite rebel; we’ve investigated this thoroughly!”
In reality, there hadn’t been any investigation.
“Do you know how many nobles we have in the coalition? How many professions? We have ten thousand heavenly soldiers; once our coalition’s heavenly soldiers arrive, we will make you regret it!”
Of course, those ten thousand included logistics and logistics personnel for logistics.
Additionally, there were the nobles’ cooks and their logistics.
Among them were also many of the noble lords’ concubines and their logistics. After all, who wouldn’t want to showcase their prowess on the battlefield in front of their most cherished wives?
Counting these people and rounding up a bit, after rounding it a second time, there would be ten thousand people. That seemed reasonable, right? At least, the envoy didn’t round it up to a hundred thousand.
The nobles in the entire western part of the Northern Border had begun to form a coalition, preparing to feast on this last piece of cake; this was no secret.
After all, it was a bit exaggerated for just Graywhite Territory to oppose the entire western part of the Northern Border. Lena even contemplated giving up; escaping to the elves wouldn’t be unacceptable.
After the envoy finished, he started to offer carrots, throwing the treaty onto the table.
“If you, your Excellency the Baron, can lay down your arms and surrender, you will not miss the title of a marquis in the future. Why endure hardship for a woman now? I remember you were not very satisfied with this marriage, right?”
Lind didn’t even look at the treaty and said, “I thought the envoy had traveled far and wide and would have profound insights. I didn’t expect you to come here to distort the truth, lacking discernment of good and evil, even barking aggressively.”
“You, you!”
“A group of parricides and usurpers, conspiring with external enemies, dare to shamelessly claim to be the future of the Northern Border? I have never seen such brazen and shameless people!”
With that said, Lind took the treaty, signed it, and threw it back in the envoy’s face.
The envoy took the treaty and found that where he was supposed to sign, there was just one word: “Read.”
This was clearly the format for approving a subordinate’s official document, and suddenly, the envoy’s blood boiled, staggering back to the ground.
“Show him out.”
After saying that, Lind left without looking back. The attendants, understanding, dragged the envoy, who had fallen to the ground and hadn’t had time to get up, out.
Once the envoy had left, Lind turned to the still-tense Lena and said, “Can you let go now?”
Only then did Lena realize, and she quickly released her grip on his arm. Lind rolled up his sleeve and found that his arm was already bruised from her grip; thankfully, Lena didn’t use real strength, or given the strength of a sixth-tier knight, his arm might have shattered on the spot.
“I’m sorry, brother, I just got a little nervous for a moment, and then, well…”
Lind interrupted Lena and continued, “Surrender is out of the question; they won’t let us off easily.”
In fact, once that treaty came out, Lind knew surrender was no longer an option. These insects were afraid someone would surrender and claim their share of the cake, and even before the fight began, they had probably prepared their traps.
Escaping also seemed very difficult. Even Duke Lars’s reputation couldn’t save him now, and while Lind had interacted with the elves a few times before, though they were very trustworthy, they were not entirely akin to the traditional image of elves; they lacked divinity and had more humanity. The internal factions among the elves were also complex, making them unreliable.
Seeing the still hesitant Lena, Lind let out a helpless sigh, unexpectedly finding himself in the position of having to encourage Lena to revolt instead of the other way around.
After a moment of hesitation, Lena nodded, “Okay, I’ll follow you, brother! We won’t go to the elves; I want revenge.”
Meanwhile, Ruby, from behind, pulled the old butler Sebas out, saying, “I don’t want to leave; I want to stay with my sister.”
The old butler then fixed his gaze on Lind, seemingly trying to discern Lind’s thoughts.
Feeling the butler’s gaze, Lind asked, “What is the current situation within the Lars family?”
“There may be reinforcements. Winter Fortress has not yet been captured, so as long as you can hold on, I can try to contact the elders of the Lars family.”
This was essentially relying on the remnants of Duke Lars’s reputation to see if they could draw some people back.
“Moreover, there are still many loyal to the duke’s line. As long as the young lady is still here, she should attract quite a few people, provided we can hold our ground.”
The old butler continued to add.
Though he said this, the butler’s actual expectations were more pessimistic; it was likely that discussions within Winter Fortress were already underway about whether to side with the new Lars family or to continue holding out.
Hearing this news, Lind merely nodded.
“Then let’s fight! The war for the heirs has not ended!”
