Lind directly interrupted the topic and said, “Let’s report the battle results first.”
Seeing Lind change the subject, Lauri became even more curious, feeling that Lind was trying to cover something up, but he reluctantly began to report to Lind.
The army of tens of thousands had a lot of discrepancies, but almost all the nobles from the western part of the Northern Border participated in this battle. Although the allied forces that hadn’t entered the valley managed to escape, the leading forces could be said to have suffered severe losses.
The allied forces in the middle section of the valley were not in a better situation. The good news was that they did not face Lars’s knights and ray guns directly; the bad news was that being trapped on both sides led to the highest casualties, as the deaths caused by pushing crowds and uncontrolled warhorses might even exceed those caused by cannons.
As for those who managed to survive to the end and escape, Lauri did not pursue them hard.
According to the customs of noble warfare, Lind could demand large sums of ransom and land this time, but this was not an ordinary noble war, and Lind did not need to adhere to the so-called noble rules in front of this group that had already broken them. So this time, Lind planned to take as much territory as he could.
Now that the path was blocked, it was impossible to continue joking around with these nobles. Lind had to absorb a large amount of land and population to complete his subsequent research projects.
Including lathes, power sources, gunpowder, and magic stone towers.
Although the population of Graywhite Territory was scattered, making it impossible to manage the upcoming vast territories, the old butler Sebas had already sent a message to the elders of the Lars in Winter Fortress, indicating that Lind needed the prestige and population of Lars to help manage the upcoming territories.
After Lauri finished his report, Lind individually praised the two laborers. These two laborers seemed quite young and could be trained as officers, while Graywhite Territory was already in the process of manufacturing medals to encourage the warriors who fought bravely in this battle. Lind even planned to promote and encourage these two laborers as models for the campaign.
After hearing Lind’s praise, Sean and Colin were extremely excited and gave Lind a military salute they had just learned.
At that moment, the old butler came into the camp with Ruby, who excitedly jumped down from the old butler’s arms and ran to Lind’s side.
“Brother-in-law! We won, right?”
“That’s right; the bad guys have all been driven away by your brother-in-law.”
Lind squatted down and affectionately ruffled Ruby’s hair.
At this point, Ruby turned to look at the two laborers beside her and excitedly shouted, “Bro! You’re still alive!”
“Did you find Brother Sean and Brother Colin, brother-in-law? You’re so amazing!”
After the old butler ran over, he too shouted excitedly like Ruby, “Young master, that’s great; you are all still alive.”
The whole place fell into an awkward silence.
Seeing this, Sean had to step forward and explain, “Let me reintroduce ourselves; I am Sean Lars, and this is my brother, Colin Lars. Brother-in-law, we are really happy to see you.”
Lind’s face darkened instantly, and he silently withdrew his earlier commendation for the two. Were these two in poor relations with Lena? How come they didn’t say a word upon arriving at Fasen Town and secretly became laborers?
Moreover, Lind originally assumed that these two younger brothers were either dead or had gone missing. If they were to show up now, it might cause the Lars in Winter Fortress to support these two instead.
For a moment, Lind even thought about eliminating them, but this idea was quickly dismissed. Not to mention that these two were Lena’s family, having them die on his territory would be too big of a problem, and when did he become so cold-blooded?
Looking at the excited two, Lind merely nodded, his attitude clearly not as warm as before.
Sean and Colin were unaffected and Sean directly said, “Brother-in-law, actually, we have some scattered guards in Fasen Town and around. We will gather these guards to help you clean up the aftermath. These people will rely on your command.”
Hearing this, Lind’s expression eased slightly.
Although the two brothers were still immersed in Lind’s previous commendation, the old butler Sebas understood from Lind’s expression.
Lind’s situation was indeed very difficult. He originally thought he could successfully integrate the remaining Lars after this victory, but now the sudden appearance of two new legitimate heirs made it a challenge for anyone.
The old butler realized that Sean and Colin did not have the capability to integrate and revitalize the Lars, and out of loyalty to Duke Lars, he did not know how to choose.
Not long after, Lena also met her two brothers. The siblings embraced each other, crying and comforting one another, displaying a scene of reunion.
There were many nobles who sent letters afterwards, distancing themselves from Wisk, and sent large sums of money, hoping that Lind could release their family prisoners.
This time, because the nobles brought their family’s younger generations to gain favor, many families immediately lost their heads of families and heirs. Lind suppressed things until the Lars ships reappeared on the Tears River.
Probably because Lind had won and the attitude from the Royal Capital had somewhat changed subtly, the pressure on Winter Fortress decreased sharply. This time, the large ships not only brought materials but also the elders of the Lars family.
Although these elders were not directly related to the Lars, they held significant positions. However, it still remained that in a feudal system, the elders’ authority could never exceed that of the legitimate heirs of the Lars. Duke Lars had not chosen to force Sean to take the position simply because he feared chaos rather than because it was impossible.
This time, the elders came primarily to confirm the transfer of power within the Lars family with Lind. After all, Ruby was too young, and from what had been seen previously, there was only Lena remaining as the heir from the Lars firstborn branch.
Lena had no governance ability; it was entirely Lind managing things. Therefore, the elders originally intended for Lena to have the titular position of heir, while the real power would be given to Lind, allowing the Lars family to continue existing and preventing their positions from being seized by the traitors.
Now the variables appeared with the sudden reappearance of Sean and Colin, giving the elders two new heir candidates.
The ideal outcome would be for Lind to continue working for the Lars family and either Colin or Sean inherit the remaining legacy of the Lars family. The worst outcome would simply be a fallout between both sides, with the elders using the resources of the Lars family to support the two brothers.
Since the elders were aware that Lind now needed the population of the Lars family to help manage the territories of those nobles, if Lind refused, then Winter Fortress could directly take military action to take over the territories of those defeated nobles in the name of the Lars, as Lind’s victory was indeed that of the Lars in legitimate terms, avenging Duke Lars.
So it would make sense for our Lars family to take over, right?
Even if the situation was stabilized under Lind, even if Lind’s prestige had started to rise, even if there were rumors that Lind was a descendant of the ancient empire, these elders were still unwilling to give up any chance.
Because the example of Augustus was fresh in their minds, Augustus had taken power through the identity of a son-in-law. Lind currently appeared to the elders as a replica of Augustus, with greater achievements, but not enough power at hand.
If Lind were to succeed the Lars family like this, it wouldn’t be much better than being killed by the traitors on the other side.
With such a mindset, the elders stepped into Fasen Town.
