Jim was pulled out by his mother.
Even though he was locked in a room every day, Jim still heard about the defeat of the Aces Family.
Moreover, his father Wisk was also captured, and several of his older brothers had died or been injured in the chaotic battle.
The entire Aces Family was in disarray, and the elders of the family sent countless wealth to Graywhite Territory, but it all sank without a trace.
When the boots had not yet touched the ground, everyone was filled with anxiety, and no one knew what would happen to the Aces Family in the future.
The situation in the Northern Border was completely different than before; after losing the public figure Duke Lars, the entire Northern Border had fallen back into an era of noble fragmentation. Although there were rules from the Royal Capital, they were minimal, especially after the king’s deployment had retreated to the central area.
The winners get everything, and this was also the reason Wisk and other nobles were eager to invade Graywhite Territory.
Now, the Aces Family had become the one to be consumed.
Locked in his room, Jim was thus pulled by his mother into the reception hall.
At this moment, Jim finally realized that the boot hanging over the heads of the Wisk family was about to touch the ground.
On both sides of the hall were the white knights of the Lars Family, as well as many soldiers holding strange fire sticks. This was an absolute violent organization, representing the days when the nobles could still negotiate peacefully at a table and pay fines were long gone.
The former lord of Graywhite Territory, Lind Ror, was sitting on a high platform, crossing his legs and looking down at the crowd with his eyes lowered.
His demeanor was more reserved than what Jim had seen in Graywhite Territory, his expression neither cold nor friendly, but with a hint of delicate authority.
After quietly observing the surroundings, Jim noticed that not only were all the other members of the Aces Family present, but many nobles from surrounding areas were also there.
These were all the noble families that had followed his father Wisk into battle; back then, these people fought bloody battles over positions within the army, yet now they were humbly kneeling before the lord of Graywhite Territory.
And the bard who had excessively flattered his father before the expedition now stood humbly bent over behind Lind Ror.
Having done business with many people, Jim knew that the bard no longer showed the same ingratiating demeanor he had when he was near his father, but instead had placed himself properly and appeared completely as a servant.
As if to confirm everyone had arrived, Lind Ror took the document handed over by the bard and, after comparing it with the one in his hand, stood up.
“I have two documents here: one is the report of the bards on your inquiry, and the other is the report from my secretaries who visited and researched.”
“In order not to wrongfully accuse you, I only selected the parts where the investigations agreed, and I will judge you according to the Northern Border regulations issued by the Lars Family and the laws of the kingdom. Do you have any objections?”
After Lind finished speaking, most of the nobles below still shrank back in fear, but a few bolder ones looked up and said to Lind, “My Lord, the Northern Border regulations have actually been neglected for many years, and there are many rules among us nobles that we no longer adhere to. If you strictly enforce the Northern Border regulations, you may lose many of your loyal allies.”
“I do not deny your authority; I am merely suggesting that the Northern Border regulations… should perhaps be relaxed a bit?”
No noble would truly abide by the Northern Border regulations because these were laws used by the Lars family to expand and safeguard the northern frontier, driving the Demon Clan to the Eternal Frozen Land, during the most powerful times of the Lars family.
The laws in effect had also evolved from military law; although they had been relaxed due to subsequent amendments, in the eyes of these nobles, they remained harsh and severe. Even the Lars family themselves no longer adhered to the Northern Border regulations.
Lind did not respond and occasionally glanced back at Lucanus.
Lucanus understood and stepped forward, speaking in a measured tone, “Burton Watsworth, thirty-four years old, the sixth family head of the Watsworth family, conspired with his brother to murder the previous family head, oh, and he took advantage of your brother’s death to snatch your sister-in-law and seize your brother’s territory. I didn’t expect you to have the leisure to do such things.”
Lind interrupted Lucanus’s gossip, saying, “Continue reading.”
Lucanus promptly collected his thoughts and continued to list out Burton’s offenses one by one, including illegal occupation of others’ territory, adultery within the clan, abuse of power, illegal taxation, and looting other nobles amid the chaos.
If this had been in the past, these matters would typically be handled internally within the clan, or they might simply turn a blind eye, as everyone knew that no noble had clean hands, and mutual assistance in wiping each other’s dirt was very common.
“Handle it according to the law.”
After Lind finished speaking, two knights of the Lars Family dragged Burton out.
“Wait, wait, my Lord! I know where our family has buried treasures! My brother has hidden gold coins and magic stones; we still have…”
Burton was dragged out amidst such wails, and all the nobles in attendance were too afraid to lift their heads, reflecting on all the potentially illegal activities they had engaged in.
But Jim somewhat approved of Lind’s actions. Such scum and the disgrace of the nobles should have been dealt with long ago. The Northern Border continued to decline because of pests like these; how could it be governed well with such pests around?
Lind was uninterested in Burton’s nonsense; instead, he simply sat down and told Lucanus, “Continue.”
Soon, one noble after another was dragged out by the knights, according to the Northern Border regulations and the laws of the kingdom. Those with serious crimes were directly taken for trial, while those who hadn’t committed such severe offenses were dragged off to mine. As for the noble families that had not committed any crimes, none had yet appeared.
Only a few nobles who had too little practical power and too small territories narrowly escaped misfortune, having paid fines for their lives.
No nobles resisted, for some reason, the power transfer between Lind Ror and the Lars family went exceptionally smoothly, and there were no internal conflicts that the nobles had imagined. The Lars family chose to trust Lind completely and directly raised him to the position of Family Head.
No noble claimed unfairness because all of Lind’s judgments were made according to the Northern Border regulations. Although the enforcement was somewhat harsh, even if one appealed to the Royal Capital, Lind would still have the upper hand. The only unreasonable aspect was that Lind abolished the nobles’ immunity.
Of course, there were a few places where Lind felt penalties were too lenient since, although the Northern Border regulations were strict, they were fundamentally a law enacted by nobles and still showed some obvious bias.
Lind made on-the-spot modifications to those areas but followed the old laws for these guilty nobles first.
If they commit offenses again in the future, they will be punished along with their past deeds.
Those nobles who narrowly survived expressed that they would never offend again, almost to the point of wanting to come and lick Lind’s boots.
