The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Linde immediately interrupted the topic, saying, "Let's report on the results first."

Seeing that Linde had changed the subject, Laurie became even more curious, feeling that Linde was trying to cover something up, but she had no choice but to begin reporting to Linde.

The army of 50,000 men was largely inflated, but almost all the nobles of the western North participated in the battle. Although the allied forces of nobles who had not yet entered the valley escaped, the leaders of the allied forces were either dead or had surrendered.

The allied forces in the middle section of the valley weren't much better off. The good news was that they didn't have to face Lars's knights and ray guns, but the bad news was that being caught in a pincer movement meant they suffered the most casualties, as the number of deaths caused by the shoving crowds and the loss of control of warhorses was likely higher than that caused by artillery fire.

As for those professionals who managed to survive until the end and escape, Laurie didn't pursue them relentlessly.

According to the conventions of noble wars, Linde could demand a large amount of ransom and land this time. However, this was not an ordinary noble war, and Linde did not need to abide by the so-called noble rules for this group of people who broke the rules first. Therefore, Linde planned to take as much territory as he could this time.

There's no turning back now. It's impossible to keep joking around with these nobles. Linde must absorb a large amount of land and people to complete his subsequent series of studies.

This includes lathes, power sources, new gunpowder, and magic stone towers.

Although the entire population of the Grey and White Collars might not be able to control the vast territory to come, the old steward Sebastian has already sent a message to the elders of Lars in Winterhold, saying that Lind needs Lars's prestige and population to help him manage the territory to come.

After Laurie finished her report, Linde praised the two laborers separately. The two laborers looked quite young and could be trained as officers in the future. Meanwhile, the gray-collar workers were already rushing to make medals to encourage the soldiers who fought bravely in this battle. Linde even planned to use the two laborers as role models of the battle to promote and encourage them.

Upon hearing Lind's praise, Sean and Colin were both incredibly excited and gave Lind a newly learned military salute.

Just then, the old butler brought Ruby to the camp. Ruby 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 were all chased away by my brother-in-law."

Linde crouched down and affectionately patted Ruby's head.

At that moment, Ruby turned to look at the two laborers beside her and excitedly shouted, "Brother! You're still alive!"

"Brother-in-law, did you find Brother Sean and Brother Colin? Brother-in-law is so amazing."

The old butler ran over and, just as excitedly as Ruby, exclaimed, "Young Master, thank goodness, you're still alive!"

An eerie silence fell over the entire room.

Seeing this, Sean had no choice but to step forward and explain, "Let me reintroduce myself. I am Sean Lars, and this is my brother, Colin Lars. Brother-in-law, we are really happy to meet you."

Linde's face immediately darkened, and he silently withdrew his praise for the two. Did these two have a bad relationship with Lena? Why did they remain silent after arriving in Fasen Town and even secretly work as laborers?

Moreover, Lind had assumed that his two brothers-in-law were either dead or missing. If they were to reappear, then the Lars in Winterhold would probably turn around and support them.

For a moment, Linde even considered killing them, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Not to mention that these two were also Lena's relatives, it would be a huge problem if they died on his territory. Besides, when did he become so cold-blooded?

Seeing the two excited people, Linde simply nodded, his attitude clearly not as enthusiastic as before.

But Sean and Colin were unaffected. Sean even said directly, "Brother-in-law, we actually have some scattered guards in and around Fason Town. We will gather these guards together to help you clean up the mess. From now on, these people will be at your disposal."

Hearing this, Lin De's expression softened slightly.

Although the two brothers were still basking in the praise Lind had given them, the old butler Sebastian had already figured it out from Lind's expression.

Linde's position is indeed very difficult now. He originally thought that he could use this victory to successfully integrate the remaining Lars, but now there are suddenly two more legitimate successors to Lars. Anyone would be in a dilemma.

The old butler had already realized that Sean and Colin lacked the ability to integrate and revitalize Lars, but out of loyalty to the Grand Duke of Lars, he was unsure of what to do.

Soon after, Lena also met her two younger brothers. The siblings hugged each other, crying and comforting one another, creating a scene of a happy reunion.

Subsequently, many nobles wrote letters distancing themselves from Wesker and sending large sums of money, hoping that Lind would release the prisoners of their families.

This time, because the nobles brought their family's descendants to gain prestige, many families have lost both their patriarchs and heirs at the same time, but Lind suppressed it until Lars's ship reappeared on the River of Tears.

Perhaps because Lind's side won, and the attitude of the capital seemed to have changed subtly, the pressure on Winterhold was greatly reduced. This time, the large ship brought not only supplies, but also the elders of the Lars family.

Although these elders were not Lars's direct descendants, they all held significant positions, but that was all. After all, under the feudal system, no matter how much power an elder had, it could not surpass that of Lars's rightful heir. The reason why Grand Duke Lars did not choose to force Sean to the throne was simply because he was afraid of causing chaos, not because he could not do it.

The elders came mainly to confirm the power transfer of the Lars family with Linde, since Ruby is too young, and from the previous perspective, the only heir in Lars' eldest son line is Lena.

Lena lacked any governing ability, and Linde handled everything. Therefore, the elders originally intended to give Lena the nominal title of heir while entrusting Linde with the real power. This way, at least the Lars family could continue to exist and prevent those few traitors from Lars from usurping the rightful position.

But now a change has occurred: Sean and Colin, who have been missing for a long time, have reappeared, and the elders suddenly have two new candidates for succession.

The best outcome, of course, would be for Lind to continue working for the Lars family, with Colin or Sean inheriting the remaining Lars family fortune. The worst outcome would be for the two sides to break off relations, and then the elders would use the Lars family's resources to support the two brothers.

The elders were certain that Linde needed the Lars family's population to help control the territories of those nobles. If Linde refused, Winterhold could simply send troops to take over the territories of those defeated nobles in the name of Lars. After all, wasn't Linde fighting under the banner of the Lars lineage and avenging Grand Duke Lars?

So it's perfectly normal for our Lars family to take over, right?

Even though the situation has stabilized for Linde, even though Linde's reputation has begun to rise, and even though there are rumors that Linde is a descendant of an ancient empire, these elders are unwilling to give up any opportunity.

Because the example of Augustine is still fresh in everyone's mind—Augustine I usurped power by becoming the son-in-law of the emperor—Linde is now seen by the elders as a replica of Augustine I, with even stronger achievements, but still lacking in power.

If Lind were to take over the Lars family's mantle like this, it wouldn't be much better than being killed by a traitor on the other side.

With this mindset, the elders stepped into Fasen Town.