The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

"Is it so exaggerated?"

As Jefferson returned and reported what he had seen and heard on Doug's side, Lind couldn't help but put his hand to his face.

Linde had no interest in the decadent private lives of those nobles, nor was he particularly interested in the military transport routes Jefferson mentioned. What truly worried Linde was that most of Doug's land was managed by old women.

So it's questionable how much grain Doug's territory can harvest this year. Linde isn't Doug after all, and he doesn't really think that everything will be fine as long as he defeats the enemy. Governing afterward is no simpler than fighting a war.

It seems the pace of the gray-collar workers needs to be accelerated; some areas can be conquered and planted with crops first, and the rest can be dealt with later.

"not only that."

Jefferson continued, "Actually, some people from the Demon Clan also approached me along the way, hoping I could smuggle some things to the Demon Clan. They were also testing your attitude. If you were willing to let them into your territory, they would help our army find Doug's important military facilities. Right now, it seems that Doug's relationship with the Demon Clan is not very good."

After hearing this, Linde's gaze turned somewhat cold: "These parasites, they've already started preparing to become collaborators even before Doug has shown any obvious signs of decline."

"Those demons are incredibly generous. Should we sell them some weapons like we sold them to Doug?"

Jefferson turned over all the bribes he received during his trip to Doug's territory, and the amount given by the Demons alone was almost equal to that given by Doug.

"No, not a single one can be sold. I don't care if they steal from Doug, rob, or even pay more to buy them, but we won't sell them a single weapon."

"This is a war among us humans, and it's none of their business to interfere."

Linde's attitude was very clear: Demons? After clearing out Doug, the next target would be the land outside Broken Snow Territory, which they were determined to reclaim.

Forget about having any private plots in the concessions.

Seeing Linde's resolute attitude, Jefferson felt relieved. Although Jefferson had sworn never to sit on the fence again, the worst thing for someone in Jefferson's job was for his superiors to be vague.

If Linde's attitude is ambiguous, then Jefferson will have to constantly guess whether Linde is hinting that he can do business with the Daedric to make more money.

Fortunately, Lind now holds absolute power and violence, so he doesn't need to play this kind of riddle game with his subordinates, while Lilith, who is in the capital, has a much harder time.

"Oh, by the way, the demons not only came after me, but I also heard at the ball that they have started to collude with the Eastern Realm."

At the ball, in addition to listening to the noble ladies boast about the luxury goods the army had given them, Jefferson also heard some rumors.

After all, the nobles on Doug's side were all big sieves, and even though Jefferson was careful not to ask, he still heard a lot of outrageous information.

"Yes, I've received the news as well."

Linde pulled out the intelligence report that Lucanus had handed him earlier and flicked it with his hand.

"Doug isn't entirely useless. Although he can't defeat us, at least he prevented the East from truly swallowing up the North's territory. Hopefully, he can keep up the good work."

Although Monroe of the East had been harassing Doug, he had never managed to take over a single piece of territory. After all, while Doug's army was no match for Lind and was even being overwhelmed by the resistance, they still had some advantages when fighting the East's army with muskets.

Jefferson shook his head after hearing this and said, "But now the demons have also come after the people of the East. I think it's a bit dangerous there."

"The parasite has simply found a new host."

Finally, Lind patted Jefferson on the shoulder encouragingly, "You did a great job this time. Go and rest now, and I'll contact you again when it's time for the next deal."

Jefferson breathed a sigh of relief; this mission to smuggle goods, carried out under orders, had come to a perfect end. As he left the study, Jefferson remembered something and asked, "Your Excellency, has the Pétain Line been breached? Why was there not a soul in sight when I returned?"

"That defensive line is even tougher than Lars's knights, it won't be easy to break through, but judging by the time, it should be soon."

Lind turned around and looked in the direction of Pétain's defensive line.

Meanwhile, within the Pétain Line, knights and veterans were huddled in their rooms, and no one was out patrolling anymore.

The strange rules within the defense line not only didn't end, but many new rules were added over time.

The most terrifying thing is that people have started to disappear from the fortress. They may have escaped through some means and returned to Doug's territory, or they may have directly sneaked to the outpost on the other side and defected to the enemy.

Of course, there are also those who genuinely disappear without a trace.

Rumors of supplies being cut off intensified, especially after Silverwing, the last supply line, fell.

Although the knights above claimed that supplies had not been cut off, and that even if supplies were cut off, there were enough supplies inside the fortress for everyone to live on.

That's what they say, but the rations distributed to the soldiers don't lie.

Although the two meals a day inside the fortress remain unchanged, the quantity of the two meals can only barely match the amount of one meal before.

There used to be supplies that included notes of defection and randomly refreshed, but because there are fewer and fewer patrols, these supplies are becoming increasingly scarce, or rather, the gray and white-collar workers no longer need to use these methods.

"I'll go out and try my luck."

The veteran finished eating the last bit of food and prepared to get up and go on patrol.

They called it a patrol, but they were actually looking for randomly spawned supplies sent from the gray and white collars.

"It's better not to go, since we'll have to hand it over anyway."

The knight leaned against the wall and voiced his objection.

"But the brothers are almost at their limit."

The veteran looked around and saw that all the soldiers looked pale and sickly.

The soldiers around him fell silent. This war was completely different from what he had imagined. There was no bloodshed or glorious sacrifice. They hadn't even seen any of the opposing soldiers except for the football game.

“You defended me when I stole the rebels’ supplies, and now it’s time for me to repay you.”

After saying that, the veteran prepared to go out and try his luck.

At this moment, a soldier got up and shouted, "Wait!"

The soldier then stopped the veteran and asked in a low voice, "Are you a white-collar worker?"

Everyone in the room held their breath. This was a taboo within the defense line, one of the new rules added to the strange tales of rules: never ask your teammates which side they belong to.

"No, no, although I've eaten supplies from the gray-collar workers before, I'm not one of them."

"Then I'll go out with you. Let's find a place to escape together. Whether we seek refuge with the other side or become outlaws, I don't want to stay here any longer."

There was an eerie silence in the room.

Finally, the knight said, "Do you know what? Just because of what you just said, we can capture you and use you to exchange for food for the masters."

"Arrest them if you want!"

At this moment, more soldiers stepped forward and stood beside the veteran, saying, "Originally, there was enough food, but those lords at the top sold it all off. They abandoned this fortress long ago. What are we still doing defending it?"

The veteran asked in astonishment, "Where did you hear all this from?"

The soldiers looked at the veteran with suspicion: "These were all written on little notes scattered around, weren't they? Didn't you put the notes down? Aren't you a white-collar worker?"

"No, even though I ate the supplies they gave me, I really wasn't one."

The veteran's eyes slowly changed from shock to terror.

At this moment, the young knight stood up and said, "It was I who left the note."

"I am the inside man."