Crick was not a cruel person. On the contrary, he was actually quite gentle and polite to everyone. Even to the servants of the baron's mansion or even the beggars on the roadside, he rarely showed a stern look or made some cruel punishments.
But this did not mean that he was weak and easy to bully, nor did it mean that he would make the mistake of being soft-hearted on key issues and imitate Mr. Dongguo or the farmer who saved the snake.
At critical moments, he could still be cruel and callous.
Two years ago, on the battlefield on the day the sun went out, he also wielded his sword and killed countless people.
At this moment, in the face of the Lord of Thunder who had gone too far, he was furious and was not afraid to kill!
Archbishop Miloman's idea was very good and practical. The key was that he pointed out the blind spot in Crick's thinking.
All along, he had never thought of confronting the Lord of Thunder. After all, the gap between the Keane Territory and the Duchy of Thunder was as big as heaven and earth.
If there was a need, the Duchy of Thunder could deploy a regular army of at least 20,000 people. Among them, there would be more than 3,000 knights who could skillfully use various weapons, wear heavy armor, and charge on warhorses.
And what about the Keane Territory? At most, it could come up to 3,000 people — assuming that all the young men, women, old and young were recruited and each was given a sharpened wooden stick as a weapon.
As for 20,000 people, forget about it. Even if the livestock of the Keane Territory were included, it would not be able to come up with this number.
… It was probably more practical to gather 20,000 ants.
Looking at the high-end forces, the Duchy of Thunder had four legendary masters. At critical moments, they could probably rope in twice this number. Among them, at least two were directly under His Majesty the Grand Duke — one of the three marquises, the elder brother of the duchess, Marquis Gates Enrique, the "Slayer of the Green-Eyed Dragon", was one of them.
And what about the Keane Territory? At present, the top master was Archbishop Miloman of the Church of the Void Mask. He was at level 19, not even at the peak of the high rank — and he did not directly belong to Crick. Among Crick's own subordinates, the highest level was "Three Arrows" Reid, who was currently at level 15 and had just stepped into the high rank.
He was completely crushed, okay?!
Indeed, the strength of Keane Land was already very strong. There were thirty heavy infantry, twenty veterans who were good at using bows and other weapons, around ten knights, four middle-tier spellcasters, and three veteran adventurers. With this as the foundation, and the temporary militia, it was enough to form an army of around three hundred people.
If he were to ask for help from the friendly Church of the God of Literature and Art and the Church of the Void Mask, it was estimated that there would be another twenty or so adventurers, among whom there would be at least three or five Spellcasters. He might even be able to borrow a small group of Temple Knights.
With this kind of power, he could crush any Baron with the weight of a mountain. Even if he faced most Viscount Lords, he could still win.
… But against the entire Duchy of Thunder? That was a matter of intelligence.
Krieg had always thought this way, so even when the Grand Duke of Thunder had ordered him to go to the Eagle Kingdom to provide reinforcements, he didn't dare to refuse.
But Miramon's words were like the most crucial ray of sunlight before dawn, illuminating his heart.
Yes, the Duchy of Thunder was indeed powerful, and the Grand Duke of Thunder was indeed powerful, but so what?
He was just the leader of the great aristocrats. In the face of a Baron or Viscount, he was high and mighty, but in the face of the Earls, he couldn't show off his power.
The Keane Land was located in the hinterland of Earl Holhaak. Whether the Grand Duke of Thunder wanted to send troops to annihilate or send masters to raid, he would have to ask the Earl's opinion first. Maybe the two sides would have to bargain for a while. In this world where transportation was not convenient, it was not uncommon to negotiate for a year and a half.
In that case, what was there to be afraid of!
If worst comes to worst, I'll just go against him and join Count Horhak!
In this world, "betrayal" was a very despised thing, and decent people would rather die than do it. The reason why the Grand Duke of Thunder was so determined to take over the Keane Land was that he thought Krieg Keane was a decent person. Even if he was dissatisfied, he would not dare to betray him.
But he really thought too highly of himself! It was true that Krieg was a decent person, but he was not a person of this world at all. The concept of "loyalty" in this world had no effect on him at all.
Krieg still remembered when he was in college, there was a professor who liked to criticize the transformation of traditional literati in the past. Every time he talked about this period of history, he would often shout heartbreakingly, "If a country has principles, it will become an official. If a country has no principles, it will become a recluse. But if it can't even be recluse, then what is it!"
In the end, that professor fought with another professor for speaking ill of the first national leader. No one knew whether the professor was loyal or a traitor.
Thanks to this old roaring emperor, Krieg quite remembered some historical epigrams. Although he did not know the actual source, at least he could still use them when needed.
For example, now.
The Grand Duke of Thunder did not do things sincerely. Then, as his younger brother, Baron Keane, would betray him, or even go to another more reliable boss. Wasn't that natural?
Doing this kind of thing, Krieg only felt happy. There was no psychological pressure at all.
But going against the Grand Duke of Thunder could be done now. As for going to Earl Horhak, that could be discussed later.
After all, Krieg had never thought of going to this guy before, nor had he carefully investigated the Earl's situation. Other than knowing that the Earl was very powerful, very strong, and had many brothers under his command, he basically did not know anything else.
Just based on this information, he ran to become the boss? Was he retarded? Or was he retarded?
He let his imagination run wild, and finally could not help but laugh.
If there was a comedian next to him at this time, he would definitely play the role and say, "Sir, why are you laughing?"
Unfortunately, there was no one.
Everyone just looked at him in surprise. They did not understand how he, who had been frowning just a moment ago, suddenly became so energetic and full of smiles after whispering a few words to High Priest Milomon. He was as bright and cheerful as the blue sky.
Even Milomon himself was a little puzzled. He felt that the plan was indeed good, but it should not be so good that it made Baron Keane so happy …
Krieg laughed and glanced at the people in the conference room. Seeing that everyone was confused, he smiled and explained, "Just now, I figured out something big."
"What big thing?" Butler Leighton asked hurriedly.
Krieg smiled mysteriously and whetted everyone's appetite again. Slowly, he said, "I have fought for His Majesty the Grand Duke before, so I do not owe him anything now. In that case, I do not have to be loyal to him. "
Everyone was stunned. They looked at each other, most of them confused.
Previously, Krieg had led the territory's army into battle because of an order from His Majesty the Duke. He had really risked his life. But how did he change his stance after just a few years?
"Everyone, the premise of a subordinate's loyalty to the Lord is that the Lord will treat his subordinates well, right?" Krieg said. "I fought for His Majesty the Grand Duke, and that counts as loyalty, right? But how did he repay me? He robbed me of the harvest of my territory!
"If one day, you fought for me and came back with injuries, and I not only did not reward you heavily, but I also robbed you of your property, what would you do?"
"How is that possible!"
"Sir, you are not that kind of person!"
"Yes, Sir, you must be joking, right?"
Crick sneered, took out a short knife, and slammed it on the table. "If that day really comes, I won't need you to tell me. I'll slit my own throat first, so that I won't be embarrassed to live in this world!"
He looked at everyone's faces solemnly. "Now, this is how that wicked fat man treats me!"
Everyone immediately understood, and they all flew into a rage. The young and vigorous Knight Charles Auth even jumped up and shouted, "Rebel! Rebel against him! "
"The matter of rebellion needs to be considered at length. We can't be trying to break a rock with an egg." Krieg gestured for everyone to be quiet, and then said, "But without a doubt, from now on, we do not need to care about that bastard's bullsh * t orders! Laver, later, find someone to secretly take care of that messenger. Make it look like he was attacked by magical beasts on the way to the territory. That shouldn't be difficult, right? "
"Very easy," Intelligence Officer Laver said with a sneer.
Krieg nodded. He first smiled, but then sighed.
"Speaking of which, this guy is actually quite innocent. He only sent a letter, but he lost his life … "
"He is not innocent!" Patrol Captain Reid said with a cold face. "This guy galloped on his horse on the way to the city. If I was not there at that time, I am afraid that someone would have been trampled to death by his horse. At that time, he even said that there was an urgent military order to be delivered, and he scared me! "
"Oh?!" Krieg's eyes turned cold, and his smile suddenly became a bit more sinister. "Then it seems that this guy is not a good person. I have no psychological pressure anymore."
"Most of these messengers are scoundrels who rely on their master's power to deceive their superiors. How many of them are good people?" Scout Rena said with a cold snort. "They are even less than the gold coins in my wallet!"
"How many gold coins do you have in your wallet now?" Krieg asked curiously.
Rena took out her wallet and turned it upside down. There were only silver and copper coins, and a holy emblem of the Church of the Goddess of Wealth.
It was obvious that she had saved all the gold coins, and there were no gold coins in her wallet at all.
Everyone roared with laughter, and the gloomy atmosphere from before was swept away.
A few days later, a group of adventurers found "the remains of the Grand Duke's messenger from the capital." They reported it to Baron Keane and received a good reward.
Then, the Baron sent a letter to the capital, reporting this matter.
As for why the messenger, who was strong and had guards with him, would be attacked by magical beasts on the main road. Not only did he die, but he also lost most of his belongings. As for why this news spread so slowly, no one knew.
In any case, Krieg expressed that he did not know anything.
Regardless of whether the Grand Duke believed it or not, he believed it himself.
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