Count Elderwood was a famous hero in the Porfield Kingdom. He had, after all, been in the frontlines against the Dalian Kingdom. He had led hundreds of soldiers against thousands of Dalian Horsemen, and managed to hold out until the Porfield Royal army supported him.
His former glory had led him to live a life of extravagance. Although he stayed faithful to his wife, he had drunk himself to sleep more times than he could count.
This time however, he didn't drink a single drop of wine.
In his hands stood a letter with the Landragon Nobility Seal. It wasn't something that people could or would dare to impersonate. This could only mean one thing: Arthur Landragon, a costly investment he had made in the past, had returned.
Upon reading its content, Count Elderwood grew very excited.
"Dear Sir Elderwood,
I am writing to you, Counter Elderwood, to tell you great news. It is no secret that my father is very loyal to you. As soon as I returned to my family's estate, I have been forced to write you a letter and offer my services. Due to personal circumstances, I decided to reside in my family's castle to better support you.
I have received great pieces of news, some including your plans of expansion. Do know that I fully support you, and should you order me to, I would join you in your future battles, if you allow my brothers to accompany me. They, too, should earn the opportunity to get a taste of a battlefield.
Baron Lark has increased the price of salt several times fold, but a recent deal with the Sylvester Household has relieved us of this crisis, so rest assured since the Lark Household does not possess any more leverage against us.
My sincere greetings to your wife and daughters,
Arthur Landragon"
'What a cruel, yet elegant letter...Arthur has made it look like he fully supports me, yet he would only help me if I order him to...', Count Elderwood thought, 'I can only use him for three years anyway...So let's use him'
"Hale! Come here right now!"
An old butler with intermediate knight cultivation quickly came in. He used to be a great warrior, but losing his right arm made him retire. Ever since he lost that arm to a dalian soldier, he swore to serve the man who saved him: Count Elderwood.
"Write a letter to all my vassals and tell them to come with an army. Next month, we march towards the Lark Barony and we will conquer their lands, plunder their towns and kill their soldiers!", Count Elderwood, who had grown quite fat due to his life of extravagance, shouted.
Hale shaked his head upon looking at this pitiful sight: "I am afraid it is not that easy. Declaring war on a fellow noble for no reason will only draw fury from the Royal Family. Since they are too weak, they won't act, but we have to give them face by giving them a good reason for our actions"
Count Elderwood smiled: "Someone tried to assassinate me"
Hale's eyes squinted: "What do you mean?"
Count Elderwood stood up without difficulty and opened his wardrobe.
*BOOM*
A corpse collapsed on the ground.
It was a dark-robed woman, her body obviously trained. It seemed like her body had been dead for quite some time now, yet there was no sign of festering.
"She is not human. She is a female assassin from the Dark Star Assassin Guild. Only a noble know the existence of this guild of assassins, and they must have thought that I have grown weak. I might have gotten a little bit fat, but I have never become weak"
Hale felt like he could see the Count's former self at this point
"So just say the word and summon all of my vassals. Baron Lark has gone too far. Just because he has missed on the loot in the past war does not mean he just gets to send assassins after me", count Elderwood spat.
Hale nodded, and wrote personal letters to all of Count Elderwood Vassals. The Landragon came first, so he had to bring up their friendships.
Then, there were the Galeheards, a Knight Household which had produced strong archers.
Finally, there were the Bearclaws. Although the old Widow was the head of the family, Bearclaws were known for their loyal and strong axe-wielding knights.
If the four armies marched under his lead, Count Elderwood was confident in taking out Baron Lark. Intermediate acolyte or not, Count Elderwood no longer feared his strength, since he was now in possession of an intermediate acolyte himself. It didn't matter if Arthur Landragon was too weak. In his eyes, as long as Arthur could capture the attention of the old Baron, the war would be won. This was how terrifyingly huge the gap between the two factions were.