Chapter 42: Earl Amper’s Ambition
With the help of the Koutao Merman, the mithril mine exploitation began to get on track. Although their mining speed was average, it was still much better than humans who couldn’t swim.
Xi Wei hadn’t considered asking the players to do such work. If it were radium gold, it would be fine, but mithril was too time-consuming and yielded low output. With that time, it would be better to release some missions that could help players improve their combat skills.
It wasn’t enough to just exploit them; after all, they would be a powerful force under his command in the future.
…
“Your Majesty, Earl Amper’s army has reached Most Territory, but they didn’t attack the newly appointed lord and are heading straight for us.”
In the castle’s conference hall, Clemon was reporting the intelligence brought by the scouts to Xi Wei.
“Who is the current lord of Most? The former Viscount Mandefu?”
Xi Wei recalled a middle-aged man with a pale face and a small handlebar mustache.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Is he an idiot? Earl Amper isn’t attacking him, and he doesn’t know to proactively intercept?”
Xi Wei was almost amused to tears. He thought to himself, what kind of king was he, with the enemy marching directly into the royal capital, and the nearby lords acting as if they were blind.
He knew that this had something to do with the emptiness of Most Territory’s military strength, and the current lord undoubtedly had many grievances about the laws he had promulgated.
Therefore, even if Viscount Mandefu discovered Earl Amper’s army, he would turn a blind eye and simply give up.
But none of these were excuses.
The attitude of these lords was truly deplorable.
Couldn’t stop them due to lack of troops?
No problem.
But couldn’t they send soldiers to inform him, the King of Winter, about it?
Xi Wei’s own scouts had to discover the anomaly first.
“It seems killing one person at the previous meeting wasn’t enough; these nobles still haven’t understood their positions.”
Xi Wei clasped his hands together, propped his chin, and his sapphire-blue eyes glinted coldly.
He wasn’t insistent on these nobles being lords. With the current situation where all the high-end power in the country was in his hands, he could even let players become lords.
However, there was one thing Xi Wei still couldn’t figure out.
If it were the army of the Andor Empire invading, he could understand. After all, he, the current King of Winter, had just taken office, and the country was in disarray.
In the eyes of the King of the Andor Empire, he must not have many troops at this moment, making him a fat fish on a chopping block, ready to be slaughtered.
Even so, for an Earl to try and snatch the fruits of victory was a bit too presumptuous, wasn’t it?
Didn’t this Earl Amper really think his Wintery Empire had no army left?
With this thought, Xi Wei smiled coldly.
Since Earl Amper wanted to court death himself, he couldn’t be blamed for being impolite. As for the Andor Empire’s royal capital, they were probably still having a headache dealing with the Naga.
“Assemble the army, and have the scouts keep a close watch on Earl Amper’s movements. We will advance offensively in three days and beat his brains out.”
“Your command will be followed, Your Majesty.”
…
On the border of the Wintery Empire, in Most Territory.
Earl Amper’s army was getting closer and closer to Eagle Territory. They advanced unimpeded, and the newly appointed Count Mandefu didn’t even dare to show his face.
This further solidified Earl Amper’s belief that the King of Winter’s military strength was depleted.
Logically, he should have waited for more detailed intelligence from the royal capital, as the many high-level professionals there would obtain more realistic and detailed information.
However, due to the royal capital being constantly entangled with Naga, no news about the Wintery Empire had come.
His intelligence capabilities were limited. He only knew that Lord of Eagle Territory and Marquis Karallant of Kolon, along with a group of other lords, had attacked Dragonflame City, killing the Pope. But in the end, these armies were all wiped out, and the First Prince and Second Prince of Kolon died one after another.
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Finally, the sole survivor, Lord of Eagle Territory, reaped the fruits of victory.
Earl Amper believed that under these circumstances, Lord of Eagle Territory, the newly appointed King of Winter, would not have many troops left.
Think about it, the King of Winter was originally just an Earl, with at most a similar military strength to himself. After a brutal siege battle, how could his army grow instead of shrink?
All these reasons, coupled with Viscount Budun’s instigation, fueled Earl Amper’s greed. He knew this was an opportunity, a chance to be promoted to a top noble in the empire.
Therefore, without notifying the King, he privately joined forces with several viscounties under his command, gathered over 20,000 troops, and, by pooling resources, assembled a total of eight Sky Knights to launch a surprise attack on the struggling Winter City.
He was still very cautious, advancing slowly all the way, consolidating his gains, and constantly sending out scouts to observe the actions of the nearby lords.
Then, to his pleasant surprise, he found that no army blocked his path.
Winter City was finished.
The sun blazed in the cloudless sky. Earl Amper stood on a high cliff, looking at his vast army with a surge of pride.
The political system of the Andor Empire was different from Kolon. A county had various viscounties under it, unlike the completely independent territories of the Kolon Empire. Therefore, his influence and military strength could be more concentrated. (This point was mentioned when writing about Budun in the previous chapter.)
The former Budun Territory was a vicounty belonging to Earl Amper’s territory.
With 20,000 troops, over 400 Great Knights, six Sky Knights borrowed from his superior Marquis, and two Legion Maguses, this elite force was already far stronger than a Marquis’s territory in the Kolon Empire.
Not to mention that Earl Amper had also prepared sufficient siege equipment. He couldn’t imagine how he could possibly lose.
“The advantage is on my side, hehe…”
Earl Amper chuckled smugly to himself.
He could already vaguely see the despair in the King of Winter’s eyes.
At that time, he would not only seize the fruits of the King of Winter’s victory, but he would also demolish his palace and play with his women in front of the King of Winter.
There was nothing more enjoyable and proud than humiliating a king. By then, his name, Duke Amper, would be spread throughout the entire Andor Empire!
Earl Amper had already thought of this title: Duke of the Falcon.
…
Just as Earl Amper was filled with ambition, more than a thousand kilometers away in his territory, at Amper Castle, two Great Knights from the royal capital arrived.
They were specifically sent to deliver news from the royal capital.
“Is Lord Amper here?”
A burly Great Knight dismounted, removed his helmet, revealing a handsome and imposing face.
He handed the reins to a castle maid, and not forgetting to lightly scratch the palm of the charming maid with his finger, causing her heart to flutter and blush with shyness.
The butler of Amper Castle observed but pretended not to see the Great Knight’s actions, responding calmly and indifferently:
“Lord Amper is not here. He has already led his army to attack the royal capital of the Wintery Empire.”
The Great Knight was stunned upon hearing this. His face turned grim at a visible speed, and his voice rose, tinged with anxiety:
“When did this happen? How long has the Earl been gone?”
“The Earl left his territory five days ago and should be nearing Winter City by now.”
The castle butler looked confused. He didn’t understand why the Great Knight’s expression suddenly turned so gloomy, knowing that the Earl was bound to succeed this time.
“Five days?!”
The Great Knight almost fell to the ground. He exchanged a glance with the other Great Knight, immediately mounted his horse, donned his armor, and the thought of flirting with the maid vanished from his mind.
“Damn it! We have to go and bring the Earl back. We cannot afford to attack the Wintery Empire. The King of Winter not only didn’t suffer much loss when attacking Dragonflame City, but he also gathered all the high-end forces in the country to become a dictator.”
“Even more horrifying is that the King of Winter is a member of the Church of Light. It is said he has already broken through to the Legendary stage. Although it’s unbelievable, one thing is certain: the Earl is by no means a match for the King of Winter.”
The Great Knight explained anxiously, without even taking a sip of water.
“I hope… it’s not too late…”
He whipped his horse fiercely, and amidst the astonished gazes of the castle servants, he and the other Great Knight galloped away in a hurry.
