Realm of Power

Summer in Ratouquet

Green vines climbed all over the walls of La Tuquette Manor, like countless tentacles surrounding this deep courtyard.

In the eyes of the people in the town, the owner of this courtyard must be a reclusive nobleman.

Although this manor, full of romantic and elegant style, looks so charming, the breeze blows through the spreading walls, and the brilliant small flowers of various colors sway in the wind.

Few people in the town have really seen the appearance of the owner of the manor.

The manor, like its closed and decadent exterior, envelopes everything

Most of the time, what residents in the town see is just black carriages stopping in front of this mysterious courtyard.

The people above always enter the courtyard gate in a hurry.

Then he was blocked by an emerald green creeper sculpture at the entrance of the manor.

Over time, people in the town have become accustomed to this situation.

It is said that the nobles in the city like to buy secluded manors in the suburbs outside the city to use them to do some shady things. In some places, there have been cases where young girls have disappeared in large numbers.

Compared to these terrible rumors, there are so many good things about this secret and peaceful La Touket Manor.

But the guests coming this time are special.

The old York couple across from the manor were awakened by the sound of rushing horse hooves late at night.

The sound of clanking metal made them get up from the bed curiously.

Through the slightly open slit of the window,

Old York looked at it carefully with his dim eyes.

Spying on guests from the manor opposite has become a unique hobby of this old couple.

By the bright moonlight in the sky,

Old York saw a group of black-armored cavalry with shining metallic luster, stopping at the door of the mysterious La Touchet Manor.

"What are these!" Old York almost shouted in surprise, the black devil from the south! The embodiment of blood and killing,

This was once the ruler of Kudan, the favorite words used by the Stian family to criticize Samor.

But now, Old York really understands this sentence

The black armor shone coldly in the deep night,

Black soldiers wearing armor and serious expressions lined up like a strange wall in front of La Touchet Manor,

The La Touquet Manor, which has always been known for its mysterious and closed nature, is rarely brightly lit today.

The steel gate of the courtyard, which had always been closed, was now wide open.

The emerald green sculpture that was originally used to block the figure was removed, revealing a more spacious space inside.

From time to time, officers on war horses came and went.

In the silence, you can vaguely hear the breath of the war horse coming from its nose.

"This document will be sent to the south immediately! This is the order just signed by your Excellency!"

A general wearing a red cloak walked out of a small two-story hall in the middle of the courtyard and handed the document in his hand to the ordering soldiers waiting outside.

The peaceful manor is shrouded in suffocating desolation

A farmer like Old York, who had never stepped out of a small town in his life, was stunned by the sudden changes before his eyes.

That black, death-like armor, that tall war horse that can reach the eaves of your own house

This is probably the legendary Samor people,

Old York still remembers it, Mr. Atles, who just escaped from the city, said,

The powerful Samor army in the south had just defeated the local Lord Stian with an army of 100,000 troops on the outskirts of the Kudan Plain.

Now these southerners have become the new owners of this land,

For these great events, heard only in rumors and gossip,

Most people in the town have the attitude that they just want another person to collect taxes.

But actually seeing these murderous knights with your own eyes was another matter.

"It's really terrible." Old York gasped and leaned down hesitantly.

The already rickety hunchback became even more curved, and I prayed secretly in my heart,

I hope these rulers from the south can increase less taxes.

I hope they will not drive themselves from their dilapidated homes to the more desolate West like the rumors

The bright moonlight shone through the slit of the slightly open window in the room,

Like a sharp blade, the darkness in the room was divided into two distinct pieces.

A ray of light, a ray of darkness!

The fat man led the Guards Cavalry to station themselves at Latuket Manor, and asked Hu Keqili to go to the Salon Camp outside Kudan City on his behalf.

"This is a letter from Mrs. Jelinkana from Kudan City to your Excellency. Hu Keqili handed the letter to Salon with a strange expression and whispered.

"Your Excellency asked me to tell you that he will arrive at Kudan in 2 days! He hopes to see Kudan's open door when he arrives."

"Kudan's open door?" Hu Keqi's ambiguous message made Salon stunned.

These words have too many meanings. The gate of Kudan City is as weak as a piece of paper in front of tens of thousands of Samor troops.

Salon believed that with at most one squadron of troops, he could easily occupy this nominal gate.

But it is obvious that the Grand Duke delayed his trip at this moment,

And gave myself a deadline of 2 days,

I'm afraid that this result is not what I need

"Yes, Kudan opened the door!" Hu Keqili was Salon's favorite general when Salon was the commander of the Guards Cavalry, otherwise he would not have taken up Salon's position after Salon left.

Hu Keqili has always kept this kindness in mind.

Naturally, he will also give his old commander some hints at this critical moment.

"What you need is the hearts of Kudan, and you want the Kudan people themselves to open the door of the city in front of you!" Hu Keqili said in a serious tone.

He knew that his old commander was good at fighting, but bad at politics.

He couldn't help but whisper in Salon's ear to remind him again, and handed a note attached to the back of the letter into Salon's hand.

"Kudan's people's hearts!" Salon looked at the letter in his hand with a bitter look on his face.

It was the Grand Duke who issued the expulsion order. When he had driven out most of the Kudan people by force, it was also the Grand Duke who asked for the people's hearts to be regained.

This is too difficult! ~

"Actually, it's not impossible!" Hu Keqili looked at Salon, who had a face like a bitter melon, and knew that this officer who was single-minded in executing the demolition order must have mixed feelings in his heart at this time.

I have offended most of the Kudan people, but now I have to win back the Kudan people’s hearts and minds within 2 days.

For Salon, who is not good at government affairs, this is simply an impossible task.

"It's just!" Hu Keqili looked around cautiously, but hesitated to speak.

"You guys go down and rest first!" Salon saw Hu Keqili's expression and knowingly ordered his generals to disperse.

After all the generals had withdrawn from the tent, Hu Keqili whispered in Salon's ear

"Kudan's people's hearts are in Kudan City, but Kudan City is in the hands of Mrs. Jelinkana.

All you have to do is reach an agreement with Mrs. Jelinkana! "

"Agreement!" Salon looked embarrassed,

It's okay for him to fight, but it's okay for him to sit at the negotiation table politely, like a seasoned politician, and bargain with the enemy like a businessman.

Moreover, there is still a deadline for negotiation, which undoubtedly makes Salon, a bloodthirsty man, feel depressed and want to vomit blood.

"This is too difficult!" Salon couldn't help but sigh and shook his head helplessly.

"Sir, please don't let down the Grand Duke's hard work!" Hu Keqili saw Salon's dejected look and continued.

"Since the Grand Duke has handed over this letter to Your Excellency, he is actually handing over the supreme control of the entire Kudancheng to Your Excellency.

Winning people's hearts is the Grand Duke's strength. Sir, do you still remember how the Grand Duke regained Zhiva Cheze in the south? "

"Southern Riva Cheze? You mean..." Salon's depressed face regained its expression, as if he had remembered something.

Although Salon did not participate in Satsuma's battle to conquer the south, Salon also heard some things about the south.

In particular, Caesar Sauron of the Northern Legion had a good relationship with Salon. In their letters, they mentioned a lot about the situation in the south at that time.

Looking back now, there are many similarities between Zivache at that time and Kudan City today.

One is a century-old southern aristocratic cultural center, and the other is a century-old northern aristocratic cultural center.

Samor always enters forcefully as an invader.

"Land is what farmers desire most! And wealth is a fatal temptation for nobles!

If you want to gain a foothold in the shortest possible time, some special measures are indispensable.

Why don't you learn from some of the practices of the Grand Duke in Zhivacheze in the south?"

Hu Keqili saw the look of realization on Salon's face, and suddenly his heart tightened.

The one-eyed dragon Saron has the most killing reputation among the Samorian army.

Even many of the current generals in the Guards Cavalry couldn't help but feel chilled when they saw the old officer Salon's one eye.

Hu Keqi was afraid that Salon would get the wrong idea, so he quickly reminded cautiously.

"If I'm not wrong, the reason why the Grand Duke asked you to handle this matter is to pave the way for you to serve as the consul of the Kudan region!

Northern Kudan is the most important hub area for controlling the entire north.

The adults must give it to the person they trust most.

Looking at the entire Samor, except for the Lord, no one has such a prominent prestige and loyalty to the Grand Duke.

"Loyalty?" Salon's face was slightly stunned, not knowing what Hu Keqili's words meant.

"Your Excellency resolutely implemented the demolition order, which offended the Kudan people, but won the Grand Duke's recognition of your loyalty." Hu Keqili saw Salon's confused eyes and continued to explain.

"If you can complete this task well, I believe that you will be the second army commander in Samor who also serves as the local administrative and military officer, besides Lord Statunko of the Southern Army!

This should be the Grand Duke's reward for your outstanding performance in the Battle of Kudan! "

"Ah, this is impossible..." Salon's one eye suddenly lit up, and he almost shouted in excitement,

I didn’t expect that after being left alone on the northern defense line for a year, I would still be able to achieve such glory.

"This is what you deserve! No one has to stand alone in the north.

The Grand Duke could not completely rest assured that he would unify the entire central and southern parts of the kingdom.

Speaking of which, your Excellency can be regarded as Samor’s biggest contributor!

The Grand Duke was able to deliver tens of thousands of Samor's elites into your hands during the entire campaign. This is in itself a recognition of your loyalty! "

"No matter how great a monarch is, the loyalty of his subordinates always comes first!"

Hu Keqili patted Salon on the shoulder with emotion on his face.

Thinking that he had gone through dozens of bloody battles from south to north, even though he seemed to be a confidant of the Grand Duke, he was still far away from Salon, an important member of the party who was about to be released.

What may be lacking is "loyalty" to the unconditional execution of the Grand Duke's orders.

"Here I would like to congratulate you on your promotion to the chief officer of the Kudan area." Hu Keqili performed a military salute like Salon, who was still in a daze, and took the reins of the war horse from the guards outside the tent.

Seeing that Hu Keqili was about to leave, Salon quickly persuaded him to stay. Hu Keqili said to Salon, who was trying to persuade him to stay, "I also want to stay with you for a few days, but the military affairs are urgent and I have to rush to the west to meet some important people." Guests from the North!”

"Guests from the north!" Salon asked strangely, "Are they the Kugits again? Aren't they besieging Aichmore?"

"Haha!" Hu Keqili said with a wry smile, "I heard that those arrogant Kugits were surrounded by the Ruidian army in Aichmore. They are here to ask for help this time!"

"No way, the Kugits used 80,000 troops!" Salon was startled by Hu Keqili's words and thought he had heard wrong. The 80,000 cavalry were not the 80,000 infantry.

It is very easy for cavalry to travel hundreds of miles a day.

In particular, the Kugits know the art of hunting and cavalry very well. The cavalry groups are like hurricanes whizzing across the grassland, possessing frightening high mobility and powerful combat power.

It is necessary to surround the 80,000 brave and capable Kugit light cavalry in the vast grassland extending in all directions.

That is simply an existence that is impossible to talk about in the Arabian Nights.

But the Ruidian people did it. What kind of fierce means and calculations were needed!

Think about the Kugit War 2 years ago. It was only the 40,000 Kugit left-guard cavalry that almost turned the entire central and northern part of Wikiya into a hornet's nest.

If it weren’t for Fatty Samour’s strong rise,

Waikia may have long been a pasture for Kugit cavalry! ,

"I heard that Marshal Ruedian Bertrand took action this time." Hu Keqili had a strange look on his face and sighed, shaking his head.

"This time the Ruidian army fought brilliantly. They used the 20,000 Ruidian troops who were stationed in Aichmore to engage in street fighting with the Kugits on the inner wall of Aichmore. Street fighting is not Kugit in the first place. Due to human strength, the 80,000-strong army was held back for half a month by the 20,000 Ruidian infantry.

Just when the last line of defense of Aichmore was about to be broken, Marshal Ruidian Berlant, who had already assembled, personally led the 30,000 cavalrymen rushing to the north to attack for 3 days and 3 nights.

A sudden attack on the royal court in the rear where the Kugits were too forward,

The royal court was attacked, and the exhausted Kulgit main force had to retreat.

As a result, when passing through the Laha area,

Once again, they were attacked from two sides by the 100,000-strong Northern Army of Ruidian who had withdrawn from the Stian territory.

Countless people were killed by the Kugit army, and it is said that even the Kugit king was seriously injured!

Duo Weiyan, the Kugit envoy, walked into the green courtyard in front of him with a heavy heart.

The cool summer breeze mixed with the fragrance of green grass blows into the nostrils,

Duo Weiyan's heavy heart felt even more anxious. In his hometown, the vast Kugit grassland,

This season is when weeds grow wildly and horses gallop.

But now, there is mourning all over the place,

The intruder becomes the invaded!

What an irony!