The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

On the watchtower of Whitefrost Castle, Pierre's eldest son excitedly pointed to the chaotic military camp in the distance and said, "Father, I can see it! That's one of my personal guards. He's fighting the enemy in their camp right now!"

Pierre looked at his eldest son as if he were an idiot. How could his son recognize his personal guard from such a distance, given that he didn't know any scouting magic?

Those who had originally wanted to surrender now turned into advocates of war, pleading with Pierre to open the gates and launch a general offensive.

"Father, if we don't go to support my sister now, when will we? The enemy is coming with great force. If we wait any longer, my sister might also be killed!"

People who usually didn't care about Emily at all stood up and vowed to live and die with her.

Some people had even donned their armor and summoned their guards, just waiting for Pierre to tell them to open the door.

"No, let's wait a bit longer. Maybe it's some kind of trap."

Pierre was sweating profusely and didn't know how to explain.

"What other trap could there be? Didn't my sister successfully launch a night raid? Father, open the door quickly! What if my sister is captured?"

If it were just a successful night raid, these nobles in Whitefrost Fortress wouldn't be in such a hurry. But the current situation is that the enemy's camp looks like a mess, like a dilapidated house that could collapse at any moment.

This aligns with the reasoning of some pro-war factions in the castle: the enemy only managed to conquer cities and strongholds by relying on advanced weaponry, and once they encountered a tough opponent, they would be full of weaknesses, since these people, unlike old Pierre, had never personally fought against the troops below.

In addition, old Pierre had made similar ambiguous statements in an effort to maintain morale within the castle.

Therefore, everyone in the castle wanted to go into battle. After all, from the current perspective, this was not just a successful night raid, but a great victory, a victory that could be recorded in history.

Going up now would be like picking up military merits for free. The Laurent family was already an old and established family in the Northern Territory, and with these military merits, it wouldn't be impossible for the Laurent family to restore the glory of their ancestors.

Now, the rest of the Laurent family are practically tattooing "I'm going to die" on their foreheads, as if if they wait any longer, Emily will steal all their military achievements.

Soldiers who had been conscripted by old Pierre kept pointing at the blurry figures in the distance, saying that they were their own personal guards, and they couldn't wait to don their armor and go into battle to support their guards.

"No, we should wait for Emily to return. She has dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. We should wait for our allies to arrive before launching a full-scale attack."

Old Pierre was stunned for a long time, and finally only uttered this sentence.

"Oh, Father! When did you become so old-fashioned? Look, my sister has already fought so deep into enemy territory. She clearly doesn't intend to come back and is calling us to come and support her! Besides, if we wait for our allies to arrive, won't the credit be divided up?"

Others nodded.

"Young Master is right."

"Sir, please open the door!"

What could Pierre say? Could he say it was all a lie? That he had tipped off the enemy commander and that the night raid was doomed to fail?

Or should we say that all of this was to get Emily out of Whitefrost Castle and cut her off?

In the end, Pierre could only respond with silence.

But the others wouldn't have it, and they all rallied around Pierre's eldest son. Seeing that he had enough supporters, Pierre's eldest son stamped his foot and said, "Father, how can you be so old-fashioned! My own sister is still waiting for our support outside, and I, as the eldest brother, cannot sit idly by!"

After saying that, he left with the others, seemingly preparing to forcibly open the city gate.

Pierre glanced at the guards and professionals around him. He could certainly use force to stop these people, but if he did that, the castle would probably fall into internal strife first.

"and many more!"

Old Pierre eventually managed to stop them.

"Open the castle gates, but everyone must follow my orders."

Old Pierre steeled himself and stamped his foot, ready to go out and see what would happen; if he couldn't win, he would surrender.

Although the truth can be revealed, what difference is there between the Laurent family and death if they lose their cohesion? They might as well surrender. Old Pierre has been suffering from mental exhaustion due to the series of bad news lately, and he has become somewhat self-destructive. Surrendering is the end of it all.

The gates of Whitefrost Castle finally opened, and old Pierre led the castle's elite troops out.

However, as soon as they rushed out of the gate, the eldest and second sons took it upon themselves to lead the cavalry away from the ranks and charged straight toward the burning military camp.

Just as he was about to stop his two sons, who were blinded by their sister and military achievements, a squad of white-helmeted knights who looked like they had been lying in ambush charged out from the side.

The molten-slicing spears in their hands, radiating an orange glow, were exceptionally bright in the darkness, especially the tips of the spears, which were trailed like streaks of orange-red shooting stars.

Pierre knew there was an ambush, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly. The enemy was probably very confident that they could finish the battle quickly.

In a single encounter, the two sons were scattered in terror by the opposing team of white-helmeted knights.

Pierre planned to put up a fight first, rescue his two good-for-nothing sons, and then surrender when he couldn't win anymore, after all, old Pierre still had some pride.

However, the opposing cavalry consisted entirely of Lars's knights. Even without an equipment advantage, they were incredibly tough. After breaking through the front ranks, the opposing side seemed to realize that they were the main force. They completely ignored their two good-for-nothing sons and charged straight at Pierre.

Just as Pierre's spellcasters were about to retaliate, the enemy pulled out their muskets and unleashed a barrage of fire to suppress them, followed by close-quarters combat using melting-cutting spears.

The Lars Knight, equipped with heavy gear, felt like a city wall rushing towards Pierre, creating a suffocating feeling that rendered any attack ineffective, which could completely break a person.

But Pierre had brought along elite troops from Whitefrost Fortress, and the two sides actually fought steadily for several rounds.

However, during the ensuing struggle, Pierre realized that his escape route was completely blocked and he was gradually being surrounded. Any maneuvering or command was useless; his opponent could take him down simply by fighting steadily.

What was burning in the distance did not seem to be the enemy's military camp, but rather Pierre's White Frost Castle.

Looking at the white-armored knight holding the Melting Spear not far away, Pierre took a deep breath. He had done his best for Doug and began to prepare to surrender.

At this moment, the opposing white-helmeted knights seemed to have been prepared. A white-helmeted knight with a more elaborate armor style rode up to the front of the formation and shouted: "Knights of Whitefrost Fortress, today's battle has proven your loyalty and courage, but why do you have to serve a man who murdered his father and seized the throne? If you are willing to surrender, the governor is willing to forgive your previous resistance in the name of Patriarch Lars. Lay down your weapons!"

Pierre's knights visibly wavered, and Pierre, not expecting the other side to offer a way out at this moment, quickly nodded and shouted, "The Laurent family is willing to surrender!"

"The Laurent family is willing to surrender!"

As the knights of Whitefrost Keep continued to shout, the entire battlefield quickly calmed down.

The next morning, Pierre brought his two sons to see the captured Emily. Upon seeing Emily, the two brothers suddenly let out a deafening wail: "Sister! I'm so sorry! I never expected that these people would still be ambushing us even after their camp was burned down!"

Emily's eldest and second sons were holding her, who was bound hand and foot, and crying bitterly. Emily looked at her two brothers with an embarrassed expression, not knowing what to say for a moment.

It seems that the two of them are unaware that they have stepped into each other's trap, thinking that the younger sister is fighting the enemy at the front while they are dragging their feet at the rear.

Okay, the two brothers are a bit silly, but at least they care about their sister, and at least the family is all together now.