Can't I develop my own character?

"Why am I always the one standing?" Iverson scratched his head and muttered, wondering if the Grand Duke was a little too excited today?

in the tent.

Maganna took out another map of the empire and spread it out, excitedly greeting him, "Look, Ryan, our troops are here now. Karkat is here, and Barron has less than 50,000 men left... Do you think we can pull off a boomerang? Anyway, I only promised that guy to retreat. I'm retreating from Barron, too. I never said I wouldn't come back, right?"

After confirming that Ryan was safe and sound, with all his parts intact, Maganna became interested again. After all, this was a great opportunity.

"Oh, right, and there's also the Holy Blood Legion. They just happened to enter the city. My army will rush over and kill them all! That Vine, that Xia Li, they're all in the same group. Kill them all!"

The Grand Duke was full of fighting spirit and was eager to lead his men to kill the Holy Blood Legion right away.

Ryan quickly grabbed her.

"Grand Duke, let me analyze this rationally."

"You said."

"Although I didn't witness what happened in Barron, based on what you just said and the current situation, I don't think now is a good time to launch a large-scale attack."

"Oh?" Magna crossed her arms and nodded slightly. "Why?"

"It's simple. We can't afford to win."

"Can't win?"

"It's not that we can't win, it's that we can't afford to win this war. Even if we win, the entire empire will be in ruins. The southern border will immediately riot, the imperial army will completely let loose, and the Janus Gate will regard us as enemies. It's like we've only won an empty battle, but the price we paid is the lives of our iron-blooded brothers and the endless losses of war."

"this..."

Magna hesitated.

When you think about it carefully, it is true.

The southern border belongs to "Vene", and the imperial army is heavily controlled by Karkat. The Gate of Janus will definitely not give up, and the entire empire will not benefit at all.

"Not only that, during these days of imprisonment, I also learned a terrible secret!" Ryan lowered his voice and said, "Grand Duke, do you know how many members of the Holy Blood Legion there are now?"

Magna tilted her head: "Ten thousand?"

"Be bold and add a zero."

"One hundred thousand?!" Magna was stunned. "How is that possible? How long has the Holy Blood Legion been established? Besides, there's no extra resources for them to support so many soldiers!"

Maganna was well aware of the Holy Blood Legion's combat effectiveness. Those soldiers, endowed with special powers by the will of war, had a faster formation speed and a higher growth ceiling than the Iron Blood Army. Although she was reluctant to admit it, the Holy Blood Legion was more powerful.

There's no way around it. This is the effect of the War Path. She's the chosen one of the Death Faith Path and can't do what 'Charlie' does.

"Look, you don't know, do you?" Ryan continued, expressing his loyalty. "Those are just superficial, just like before the Barron War, no one knew that Weine was hiding so deeply. I clearly heard the conversation between Charlie and Weine. And it's not just the August Empire, the neighboring Kingdom of Lot is also a secret base secretly developed by the Holy Blood Legion. If you don't believe me, send someone to check the Kingdom of Lot to see if there are any Holy Blood Legion soldiers!"

"I suspect it won't be long before the Lot Kingdom pledges its allegiance to the August Empire. Venetian is a formidable individual. She's already planned everything. Once she takes control of August, she'll use the Lot Kingdom as a springboard to infiltrate the Northern United Nations."

Magna was stunned. "The Kingdom of Lot? She's actually already extended her hand there?"

"Yes, I'm not too sure about the details. I dug these out with great difficulty. So I suggest that you, Grand Duke, don't act rashly. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. Wei Nei knows us very well, but how much do we know about her? Too little!" Ryan sighed heavily, his face full of self-blame. "But in the end, it's all my fault. If I hadn't fallen for Charlie's trick, you wouldn't have been in such a difficult situation. You might have really taken the throne."

"This has nothing to do with you." Magna waved her hand. "It's all because of that cunning Weine. She actually used that woman, Charlie, as a honey trap. Lord Ryan, you are a man of loyalty and righteousness. It's normal for you to be deceived. You are the victim. I don't blame you. We should hate those who bully us."

Ryan was stunned.

No, Grand Duke, if you say so, I am really touched.

Ryan, you deserve to die.

"No matter how you think about it, this is Shichen's fault."

The Grand Duke and I are close friends, and I use my brain with him... To be honest, if it weren't for the golden finger that allows him to create unlimited new accounts, Ryan really wants to follow the Grand Duke for the rest of his life.

"Don't worry, Grand Duke. We are sworn enemies!" Ryan patted his chest. "One day I'll make her kneel down and sing Conquer."

"Well, it's great to have this momentum. So, Lord Ryan, what do you think we should do now?" Maganna praised.

If we can't fight, then we can only retreat and return to the west. But if we don't fight now, will there be another chance in the future?

With a hundred thousand Holy Blood Legion, it probably won’t be long before the empire is reorganized and stabilized.

"This is actually quite simple," Ryan said. "Grand Duke, are you any different from the Emperor now? Actually, no. In the Western Territory, you are the Uncrowned Emperor."

"Uncrowned King? Well, that sounds very impressive." Maganna smiled.

"Of course. Look at Vine. She easily manipulated Casradi, but would she dare to manipulate you? Of course not. You're the one she fears most right now. So I'm sure she'll promise you even more benefits once she becomes the new queen. As for you, Grand Duke, take whatever you can get. It's a waste not to take it."

"Well, you're just taking all the benefits without doing anything, right?"

"Yes, I predict that the Augustus Empire and the Northern Alliance will have a war soon. Grand Duke, you only need to develop your power in secret, sit back and watch the fight. When they are both defeated, you can come out and reap the rewards. First, take Augustus, then break the Northern Alliance and become the true empress of the Northern Continent in one fell swoop!"

Magna's eyes lit up.

"Sir Ryan, you are indeed worthy of being me!"

According to this plan, she will unify the northern continent.

"Then let's go back to the West now!"

"No, no, don't rush." ​​Ryan said, "There's no rush to return to the Western Territory. Let's see how Wei Nei will stabilize the situation in the empire. We can also use this opportunity to secretly win over some people and lay the foundation for the future. In addition, you can first have the main force of the Iron Blood blockade the Tartar defense line. We must not let the Western Barbarians take advantage of the situation. The Western Territory is our homeland and we must not lose it. Even if you, the Grand Duke, can break out of the Western Territory and conquer the grasslands, then by then, Wei Nei will respectfully call you "Old Grand Duke" when she sees you."

"Clearing those barbarians...I'm afraid that's a bit difficult. The grassland is too vast, and they don't even have a city."

"It's actually not that difficult. If you can't clear them out, you can subdue them and defeat them one by one."

Although the prairie is called a prairie, the environment is actually very harsh. The area that is truly suitable for animal husbandry is less than one-third of the entire prairie, so the Western Barbarians as a whole are in a state of lacking everything.

Otherwise, why would they have nothing to do after eating, and still attack every day knowing that Maganna was guarding the West?

Where there are needs, there are weaknesses. This has always been human nature.

"Dry!"

Maganna made the final decision.

Planning is too long-term. Just do it as long as you have a goal. Anyway, I have nothing to do after returning to the Western Territory. I'm free anyway, so I might as well fight the Western barbarians just as training.

"Lord Ryan, I really like your ideas. Although Ina is smart, I always feel that everything she says is a little off. However, it's time for you to reflect on yourself and stop being fooled by those women, okay?" Maganna raised her hand and patted Ryan on the shoulder. "You're going to do great things with me, so you should focus on the real thing."

"The Grand Duke is right. I will definitely work hard in the future."

"So, I've been thinking about continuing with our previous engagement. How about you go ahead with it? From now on, you'll be my fiancé. Let's see which woman dares to cause trouble for you!"

"?"

Ryan was stunned. "Grand Duke, are you still going to continue with the engagement plan?"

"Of course." Maganna put her hands on her hips and said proudly, "This Grand Duke said I would make you famous in the future, and I will definitely do it." Then she had a flash of inspiration, and her eyes lit up like the sun: "I got it, let's hold the engagement party here in the imperial capital!"

"Iverson! Iverson!"

"Grand Duke, I'm coming!" Iverson ran in excitedly. "Grand Duke, Ryan brothers, have you discussed it? When will the killing start?"

"Get ready, I'm going to have an engagement party."

"What?"

Watching Maganna stride out, Iverson scratched his head and looked back at Ryan: "Brother Ryan, what did the Grand Duke say he was going to do?"

"Engagement party."

"You and the Grand Duke?"

"Ah."

Iverson was stunned for a moment, then patted Ryan's shoulder with sympathy: "Have some hardship, brother. Everyone in the Iron Blood Corps thanks you."

"You...sister."

Ryan's mouth twitched slightly. Iverson, from now on, you should do a handstand outside every time you have a meeting.

...

In fact, Ryan doesn't care about engagement or anything like that. He has no problem with getting married.

What happened to Maganna? Put it in the game and ask how many people are willing to buy a ring for 648.

The legal loli is also magnanimous, and she has no problem picking someone up and charging forward. This alone is enough to kill countless so-called heroines in seconds.

Of course, Ryan hadn't expected that Maganna actually remembered the engagement, and was so reckless that she actually wanted to hold it in the imperial capital? As expected of a Grand Duke, he couldn't think of such a plan even after scratching his head.

In fact, although his arrival in the imperial capital did not cause a sensation on the surface, many forces were secretly watching him.

After all, the events in the southern border had caused quite a stir, and everyone thought Ryan was a vassal of Kasiladi. However, now that he has returned and his identity has been made public, everyone realized that he was actually a henchman of Grand Duchess Maganna.

This time, it was indeed a case of an insider getting into the rival's house and becoming a trusted minister. For a while, the story of Maganna x Ryan x Casradi became gossip among the nobles in the imperial capital.

However, because Casradi never showed up, the news and gossip could not spread. Instead, when the Iron Blood Army announced the will of the Grand Duke, everyone, human or ghost, fell silent.

"Magna holds a large army but doesn't want to seize power, and is planning to hold an engagement party in Baron? Is this true?"

"Maybe they're playing a big game?"

"Or maybe it's just a hot-headed thing."

"Ryan? Who?"

Perhaps it was because Maganna did so many earth-shattering things that when word got out, some people found them plausible? It was as if any outrageous event, once linked to Maganna, became less outrageous.

However, Maganna deliberately arranged the engagement party before 'Vine' took office as emperor, thinking of disgusting 'Vine'. Some people wanted to wait and see whether a war would break out. Unexpectedly, 'Vine' immediately expressed support for the Grand Duke and Ryan's engagement party, and even wanted to vacate the palace to host it for them.

For a moment, Barron's people were a little confused.

So Maganna is actually the trusted minister of 'Vene', right?

If I think about it carefully, if Maganna hadn't led the Iron Blood Army to rush in and kill everyone, even if 'Vene' had the support of Janus Gate, it would be useless...hiss! The smell of conspiracy is revealed.

What's more, because of this incident, those forces that were originally stirring up trouble in secret have finally calmed down.

After all, Maganna's Iron Blood Army is here.

In addition, after the Holy Blood Legion entered the city, 'Vene' immediately dispatched them to the surrounding areas of the castle to replace the original imperial city guards. The 10,000 bloody warriors dealt a heavy blow to the psychological defenses of Barron's nobles. Some people have begun to waver and consider the issue of standing on the right side.

Ryan didn't care about the rumors and speculations outside. His original intention was to keep the Grand Duke in Barron temporarily to stabilize the situation until "Vine" officially took office, and then he would propose a high lord meeting plan and bring the Grand Duke in directly.

However, this engagement party gave him an inspiration. The day after the news came out, he asked "Vine" to send out invitations, inviting Maganna, Casladi, "Lin Qi" and many influential nobles in the imperial capital to attend the imperial conference on the pretext of discussing the future development of the empire.

The empire had just experienced a coup, and there were too many remaining issues within it. It really needed an opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin.

On the one hand, it allows those nobles who are still wavering to make a decision quickly, and on the other hand, it also takes this opportunity to pass the decision-making proposal of the high lord. While Maganna is still there, her vote is crucial.

"What is this guy doing again?"

Maganna held the invitation in her hand and originally didn't plan to go, but then she thought that after all, they had just given her face, and all forces were invited. If she didn't go, what if these people were secretly discussing something shameful?

After thinking about it, Maganna decided to go, and not only that, she also wanted to bring Ryan with her. When she thought about how Casradi would look when she saw her and Ryan, Maganna was already extremely excited.

What princess, what saint, what future emperor, just watch me use Ryan to decide the outcome!

"Lian, come with me to the castle. You will be the one speaking on my behalf at the meeting."

........

Second update~ The update is a bit late, mainly because a few chapters were stuck in the review, and then I revised and submitted them. Generally speaking, it's okay, but I just need to be a little more restrained. I haven't set up any groups yet, mainly because I feel that I can't manage too many groups. I will wait and see.

Please vote for me at the end of the month!

A reward at the end of the month [update in front]

As the title says, I didn't want to open it originally, but I couldn't bear it anymore. So far this month, I have updated 320,000 words, which is an average of more than 10,000 words, far exceeding the standard line of Hedgehog Cat.

But I still wanted to make a push for the monthly ticket list, because the distance is really not far, and I want to give it a try if there is hope, so I decided to offer a reward.

The bounty rules are a little different from the ordinary ones. The goal is to make it to the monthly ticket list. As long as you make it to the monthly ticket list this month, we will update for a week in the next month to ensure that the daily rewards are above 15,000!

Although the bounty rules are a bit tricky, I really can't afford it based on the number of votes, because the daily updates are over 10,000 words, so there is no other way.

That’s it, let’s continue typing!

Chapter 114 Lolita Maganna! Imperial Conference, but all of them are Ryan’s family!

A luxurious carriage came over, led by Iverson himself.

Ryan discovered that the nobility still preferred to travel by horse-drawn carriage. Even though cars were obviously more convenient and faster, they still felt that cars could not be decorated as luxuriously as carriages. Moreover, the popularity of cars made them affordable even for the more affluent commoners. However, an expensive horse was a clear symbol of status.

In short, be different.

Ryan's evaluation was that he was just taking off his pants to fart and looking for trouble.

But even someone like Maganna, who usually behaves in an unconventional way, would show off her noble status as a Grand Duke at this time.