Blood Dragon

Section 46 Dispute

Things about Ryan ended up being dealt with softer.

In fact, this matter was completely within everyone's expectations. After all, Ryan has a pretty good army in his hands.If it is really necessary to eliminate his power and army by force, it will undoubtedly cost a considerable loss, and this is a meaningless loss.At the same time, everyone also understands that Ryan himself is a knight of St. Jean, and has a very powerful father and quite extensive connections in the country.The combination of these factors finally constitutes such a result.

Ryan's title of duke was finally temporarily affirmed, but the fief was to be conferred on Cassilos, who had been ravaged by the war.At the same time, he does not have several important privileges that the Duke has. For example, he cannot gather troops in his own name, and any legal regulations issued in the territory require the approval of the royal family.At the imperial meeting, this compromise solution was approved by the vast majority of people—or at least not opposed.

Ryan accepted everything obediently. He handed over the command of the army and came to Loren City himself.For some reason, the princess also attended him as one of the temporary members of the court meeting.

The war seems to be over, and the next important job is how to take over and govern the war-torn Cassilos.The former is not a problem at all. With the withdrawal of the last surviving troops of the Paro from the border castle, many Cassiros knights began to appear in Loren City and were absorbed as middle-level members of the court.Due to the joining of these knights, the details of Casillas were quickly known within the court, and the able courtiers quickly made plans for the situation.

In a sense, the post-war reconstruction work is more complicated, tedious and tiresome than the war itself.Many knights of Cassilos hoped that the princess would return to the city of Foros, but the fire set by the Paro people when they retreated gave the San Jean people the best excuse, and this suggestion was not adopted in the end.

The knights were sent out one by one, holding the letter of appointment from Her Royal Highness to carry out various tasks.Even the originally dreary court meeting began to become more relaxed and active.On the one hand, because the war is over, the general content of the meeting has basically become the distribution of the fruits of victory, and Princess Irina has the highest ruling power. On the other hand, the newly conferred Duke of Ryan has always been Princess Irina's most staunch supporter .Ryan's attitude is undoubtedly very popular with the princess.

There seemed to be no other major issues, and all that was left was to wait for Thomas' slow triumphant return from Paro.

"General Thomas doesn't know where he is now." At the end of the day's meeting, Princess Irina asked unintentionally.

"Master Thomas should have passed through the border castle area. He will arrive at the city within four or five days." A nobleman replied looking at a map in his hand. "Your Highness, it's unfortunate that St. Jean has Lord Thomas. He finished all the battles, causing no one else to get a chance to perform. Also, he canonized too many knights, and the Court of Honor will be busy to death!"

There was a burst of laughter all around, filling the conference hall with a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Suddenly, the door of the meeting room was pushed open, and a man rushed in. His clothes showed that he was a knight.

"Your Highness, urgent... urgent news!" The knight reported loudly.

"What happened?" The nobles present at the meeting realized that something big had happened. "The Paro people tore up the contract?!"

"Thomas...General Thomas, unfortunately passed away due to injuries..."

……

Loren City is already ahead.

The size of the army commanded by Ashrufat has been reduced a lot.Many Casillas knights received the letter of conferment from Her Royal Highness on the way, and took their leave.Quite a few militiamen and archers have left too - they've had enough spoils in the war and are now eager to go back to their families or find a good place to splurge.

Now, his army has only more than 3000 people left.Among them, there are less than a thousand San Jean people who set off from the city of Loren for the expedition.Behind the glorious victory all the way, there are huge casualties of more than [-]% of the entire army.In particular, the ruthless battle in Derek City was like a blood mill. Countless knights spilled blood on the battlefield, and the three hundred Holy Grail knights were all wiped out.

A small team sent by Princess Irina is already waiting for them ahead.Under their leadership, Ashuruffat entered the military camp on the outskirts of the city at dusk.This was originally a large barracks that could house tens of thousands of soldiers, but only a few thousand people entered at the moment, so it looked extremely empty.

Even these thousands of people will not stay for long. After a short period of time, except for a few knights who have to assume court duties, everyone else will be dismissed and go home.The barracks were then closed and would not be opened again until the next war.

Ashuruffat stood outside the big tent, silently looking at the city wall in the distance.In the twilight, the distant city wall seemed to be covered with a huge layer of dead black.

Ryan had already gone one step ahead of him, returned to Loren City, and got himself a duke title.This incident was told to him by the knights who greeted him.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned around to realize it was Leo.For some reason, Leo was wearing a full set of armor and a weapon, and came behind him.

He wanted to ask Leo why he was dressed like this, but he didn't know why he couldn't say it.

"Ashuruffat, did you hear about Ryan?" Leo asked him.

Ashrufa nodded.Lane killed Thomas directly and William Daly indirectly.After doing these things, how could he run back brazenly and really turn himself into a duke? !

"You want to avenge Thomas, don't you?" Leo asked.Ashrufa nodded.He knew that it was useless for him to deny it. Leo already knew him very well, and lies could not be deceived.

"I want to tell you that if you want to talk about revenge, I have priority over you." Leo's voice was cold, not at all like usual.

Ashuruffat looked sharply into Leo's eyes, there was a frightening cold light in his eyes, but Leo was unmoved.

"Thomas is your mentor, but he can also be regarded as my mentor. And the time I spend with him far exceeds the time you spend with him. At the same time, he is also my lord. So, if it is true In terms of qualifications, I should be more qualified than you." Leo continued.

"I don't want to discuss this topic!" Ashuruffat replied word by word.Although the light was dim, Leo could still see that Ashuruffat's eyes were bloodshot.He knew that Ashurfat's emotions were restrained and intense, he looked calm and rational, but in fact he was impulsive and fanatical, and he possessed an almost lawless power of action.If Ryan hides in a corner, maybe Ashuruffat will endure it.But now Ryan is so shameless, relying on betrayal and lies to get the title of duke for himself, Ashuruffat will never allow it!

The crux of the matter is that Ashurfat has an iron will - he won't give in easily.

"But I want to, and I want to claim my rights!" Leo suddenly drew his long sword.

"I don't want to fight you, Leo. You can't beat me!"

"Battle cannot prove who is right and who is wrong, but it can decide who can survive." Leo replied. "If you want to fight for this right, it's very simple, just beat me."

"..."

"Ash Rufat, there is only one Ryan, and you and I are both eager to avenge Thomas. One of us must make a concession, and I have enough reasons to think that the one who makes the concession should be you!"

Ashuruffat clenched the hilt of the long sword, but in the end he didn't make any moves.

"Leave everything to me, Ashrufat." Ryan walked past him and said softly. "You just have to watch from the side!"

……

News of Thomas' death spread throughout the city the next day.

San Jean lost his strongest knight and defender.Many citizens voluntarily held mourning ceremonies for Thomas.Even the princess publicly issued an order to ban any entertainment activities within three days to express her deep condolences and deep memory of the old general.

But inside the court, the news of Thomas' death did not cause much surprise.In fact, in a sense, everyone knows that Thomas will not live for a few years—after all, Thomas is over eighty years old. Although he looks healthy, it is not surprising if he suddenly collapses one day and never gets up again.The impact of this news is mainly manifested in another aspect, that is, Thomas' death left a huge power vacancy.

That is the position of the general.

The general is a very important position in the palace and a key position in the military power.Of course, the general has the greatest power in wartime, but this position cannot be ignored in peacetime.According to tradition, in non-war years, the country generally only maintains a standing army that is not particularly large, and this army is commanded by a general.At the same time, if any nobleman wants to gather troops to prepare for a small-scale war (usually a border skirmish or bandit suppression), he must also obtain the permission of the general.

The general also usually received the power of knighting from the royal family.This is a very important power, which means that the general will have great say and influence among the low-level nobles in the country.Such a position, anyone would desire very much, and Princess Irina would definitely give this position to her most trusted courtier.

The problem is that now the princess is no longer simply facing the country of St. Jean, but the two countries of Cassilos and St. Jean.It is really not an easy task to find a candidate who is both loyal and acceptable to the knights of both countries.Even with the addition of a "temporary generation", it is quite difficult to choose a candidate who will only play a transitional role.

……

The city of Loren was exceptionally quiet tonight.Her Royal Highness has already issued a ban on holding any entertainment activities, so even the previously prepared dances, receptions or dinners can only be canceled now.People in the city are very sad, fortunately, only sad.Because the war was over, General Thomas did his best to finish off the Paro people before his death.

Of course, there are also people who are not sad.For example, at this moment of nightfall, in a noble mansion in Loren City, Luke and his nephew and uncle Ryan were getting together.