The first year of the Conquest King's calendar.
The world of Thel did not have a unified calendar. The first thing Wu Ming, who was deeply affected by the chaos, did after ascending to power was to issue a decree to establish a new era, as well as to unify weights and so on.
This calendar was called the 'New Calendar'. It began on the last day of the winter when he became king, and was also called the first year of the New Calendar.
In the first year of the New Calendar, under the call of the Conquest King, William Wallace the First, the blue-blooded nobles, freedmen, mercenaries, and even barbarians of the Wind Firefly Plains began to retaliate against the invasion of the highlands.
An army of close to 20,000 passed through the Death Canyon of Eagle Castle and marched majestically into the highlands.
Along with them were many solo adventurers, volunteer mercenary groups who wanted to earn merits and titles, and small merchants who just wanted to make a fortune.
The blue torrent surged, bringing a terrible disaster to the highlands.
In the third month of the New Calendar, the Conquest King's army arrived at Boulder City in the eastern region of the highlands. Earl Kyle Wellington was guarding this place. He rejected the Conquest King's envoy's request to submit, and declared, "Every inch of land here belongs to the highlanders. Blue-blooded people, scram back to the plains!"
The Conquest King William's envoy was still very polite. "Your actions will bring war. Your people will betray you, cheer for our king, and put your head on a spear!"
The enraged Earl Kyle cut off one of the envoy's ears and put him back.
The Conquest King, who received the news, immediately began to attack the city. With just a round of bombardment from the wooden cannons, the seemingly indestructible walls of Boulder City suddenly had several gaps. A large number of troops poured in through the gaps, and the entire Boulder City began to riot.
The people did not fight for Earl Kyle as their lord had said. Instead, they all shouted, "Peace, no cannons!" As they swarmed into the lord's room, caught the unprepared Earl Kyle, and presented him to the Conquest King.
The seemingly indestructible Giant Stone City submitted to the Conqueror within a day.
At this point, the gates of the eastern region of the highlands were wide open. It was equivalent to the entire highlands opening up to the Conquest King's army.
Earl Kaer was known for his stubbornness and stubbornness.
Even though he had completely failed and was tied up in front of the Conquest King, he still raised his head proudly. "Invading King, you can hang me, or even chop off my head and stick it on your spear, but the resistance of the Highlanders will never stop."
However, the Conquest King smiled and shook his head. After cutting off Earl Kyle's two ears as punishment, he mercifully gave him two choices.
They could either continue to cut off their heads and send them to Lionheart City in a gift box, or they could surrender and kneel before the great Conqueror King, swearing allegiance and kissing the ground under his feet.
Earl Kyle had been impassioned previously, but when his ear was sliced off, the bloody scene and excruciating pain immediately made him cry. He immediately knelt down and kissed the ground in front of the Conquest King, choosing to submit.
Because of this, the Conquest King generously retained Kyle's title of nobility, only demoting him to a baron. He also stripped him of his suzerainty over Boulder City and gave it to other meritorious officials.
With the map in the Philosopher's Book, the Conquest King did not stop after occupying Boulder City. Other than leaving behind the necessary troops to guard the route of retreat and the supply lines, his army immediately pounced on Lionheart City.
He decreed that nobles who surrendered before the army arrived could retain their original titles and fiefs. Otherwise, these rights would belong to the first person who defeated them.
With this decree, coupled with the previous propaganda, many small nobles immediately expressed their allegiance to the Conquest King.
Of course, there were also those who were determined to resist, but before Wu Ming could arrive, they were overthrown by their own retainers or mercenary groups. The original peasants moved into the nobles' castles and obtained their land, wealth, and women … They lived a life that they could not even dream of.
In order to maintain their current status, they had to resolutely support the Conquest King and obtain victory in the Highland Battle!
The entire Highland was immediately thrown into chaos.
Amidst this haze, the Blue Dragon Flag slowly approached Lionheart City, the headquarters of the Wellington Family and the core of governance of the entire Highland.
…
In Lionheart City, in the meeting hall of the Wellington Family, many well-dressed nobles could no longer maintain their poise.
Their faces were flushed red as they angrily quarreled, telling each other about their misfortunes and sufferings, as well as angrily berating each other for their inaction and stupidity.
There was a deep sense of fear in this mutual shirking, causing the Grand Duke of Wellington, who was seated at the head of the table, to feel helpless.
A few months ago, he had still been a high-spirited middle-aged man who might have even become the king of a new duchy. But now, his hair was all white, and there were many wrinkles on his forehead. He looked like an old man with one foot in the grave.
It seemed that Arthur's capture and the bad news that came one after another had dealt a great blow to him.
"How many people do we have left?"
The Duke of Wellington asked in a low voice.
"We've already gathered all the troops in the territory and urgently recruited all civilians above the age of sixteen. Together with the mercenary groups and adventurers, it won't be a problem to gather fifty thousand people!"
A fat nobleman stood up and said.
But even so, there was not much joy on their faces.
After all, most of the fifty thousand people were farmers. There were less than nine thousand soldiers who had undergone proper training.
"What about the reinforcements promised by the Celtic Family, the Lister Family, and the Andre Family?"
The Duke of Wellington frowned.
These families had originally been conquered by Arthur's army and recognized the House of Wellington as their lord and protector. They had the obligation to send troops to fight for them.
But with the spread of the bad news, the fence-sitters began to waver again.
Just when they needed to firmly suppress the rebellion, the House of Wellington had lost the absolute advantage in terms of military power due to Arthur's defeat. With the army of the Conquest King pressing in, not only could they not increase the number of soldiers in the newly conquered lands to maintain their rule, they had no choice but to withdraw their elites.
As a result, the suppressed local factions immediately began to raise their heads.
After all, with the accumulation and resources of the aristocratic families that had been passed down for a thousand years, they had countless connections in the local areas. Unless all the citizens were killed, it was impossible to completely wipe them out in one go.
"They …"
The fat man was immediately at a loss for words. From his expression, the Duke of Wellington immediately knew the result.
"Damn it!"
The Duke of Wellington slammed the conference table, and the air in the room seemed to tremble. "I've decided. With just the highlands now, it's impossible to fight against the Conqueror. We need reinforcements, reinforcements from Storm Horn!
"Veron, you'll be the messenger. Immediately go to Storm Horn and find the chief of their largest Storm tribe. Tell him … As long as he helps me, I'll give them the Icy City in the north!"
The Grand Duke of Wellington closed his eyes in pain and said in a low voice.
In the eyes of all the nobles in the Seer Continent, although Storm Horn was vast and vast, it was synonymous with barbarism and barrenness. Not to mention the Wind Firefly Plains, even compared to the highlands, it was barbaric and backward, with an extremely harsh natural environment.
In the past, just to deal with the spontaneous raids of the barbarians every winter, the feudal lords of the highlands and the Wind Firefly Plains had to invest a large number of troops in the north.
But now, the Duke of Wellington had personally opened up the highlands to them.
"The Icy City has always been a barrier against the Storm Warriors. Once the Icy City changes hands, our highlands will be exposed to the blades of the Storm Warriors! I object! "
A nobleman from a side branch of the House of Wellington immediately stood up and questioned loudly, "Duke of Wellington, what are you trying to do?"
"I'm just trying to protect the family, so that our glory can continue!"
The Duke of Wellington crossed his fingers and rested them on the table, "The Storm Warriors and the chiefs only need our food, ironware, women, salt … But that greedy dragon from the Wind Firefly Plains wants everything from us!"
Although he had explained, he felt even more tired in his heart.
Even at this moment of life and death, the internal strife within the family was still going on. It was too disappointing.
"William the Conqueror?"
After hurriedly coming to a decision and ending the family meeting, the Grand Duke of Wellington returned to his study and muttered this name.
His hands began to tremble uncontrollably, as if this name contained some sort of magic.
If this Conqueror did not have some sort of strange magic, how could he possibly defeat his invincible son who had the protection of the King's Sword?
The Duke paced slowly in his study. After a long time, he finally made up his mind.
He pursed his lips and came before a bookshelf. He took out a dusty book with a black cover and opened it to the last page.
In the center of this page, there was an empty slot. In it was a black card with a purple datura flower blooming on it, giving it a mysterious feeling.
In the study, the doors and windows were tightly shut, and the thick curtains were drawn, blocking all light. The surroundings were plunged into darkness, and only the light on the black card grew increasingly dazzling.
"With my blood, I summon my contractor. Descend!"
The Duke took out a golden dagger and cut his finger, letting the crimson blood drip onto the card. He began to chant in a low voice, like a mysterious incantation.
"Your Grace!"
A purple mist surged out of the card, and the datura flower on it slowly bloomed. A bewitching light overflowed, and a cloaked man appeared faintly in the mist. He bowed to the Duke, "After hearing the news from the Conquest King, I knew that this day was coming! Everything is under the watch of the Master of Shadows! "
The Duke of Wellington looked at this magical scene, but his heart felt cold. He gritted his teeth, "I want William Wallace's life!"
"As you wish!"
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