152: Chapter 92 Together 152: Chapter 92 Together After Knight Balfe led Leon away, Baron Eriv had his attendant fetch a map as he returned to the tent.
Spread across the table, he stroked the parchment, lightly touching the villages and fortresses surrounding Nightmare Forest.
Aside from the knights and soldiers who accompanied him on the campaign, if he called up the garrisons from Farolis City and the Eastern Fortress, he could still muster an infantry of a thousand men, plus nearly a hundred cavalry.
However, to siege and conquer territories, this army of over a thousand would also require at least an equally sized group of civilian craftsmen.
Undertaking this additional summoning of over two thousand people for food and drink, without affecting his current command at the Mamor Front, Eriv estimated that his funds could sustain this thousand-man army for a year.
That would be enough, even though such action draining all his reserves would exhaust the last of his provisions…
Baron Eriv’s eyes burned intensely as his palm caressed the part of Kantadar County in the southern part of Nightmare Forest.
This would mark the beginning of the Farolis Family’s rise, which he had sought all his life.
He had never considered sharing this intelligence now with the other lords, including General Trosa, who now led the Gray Pine Valley forces on a southern campaign.
Indeed, Eriv knew that if the Orland Kingdom gathered its true might and launched an army from the south of Nightmare Forest, it could easily seize a large swath of Kantadar.
Perhaps even swallowing up the entirety of Kantadar’s North.
But what did such a promising future for the kingdom have to do with the Thorny Flower Family?
Since taking over the fragmented family, Eriv had dedicated years desperately submitting numerous proofs of loyalty to Lydwen III.
However, as remnants of a previous dynasty that had backed the wrong side during the civil war, just maintaining the last of his Baron Domain within the kingdom was an enormous stroke of luck.
Not being devoured by the surrounding Royalist neighbors, the Thorny Flower Family had already exhausted their capabilities.
Yet, the labeled Farolis Family, no matter how they performed, remained firmly locked out by the kingdom’s real power factions.
He had painstakingly established a good friendship with the Kingmaker.
Yet, from the current war, it appeared that those Royalists still treated the Thorny Flower Family as expendables and cannon fodder.
As the vanguard, having made such great sacrifices in the early stages of the war, they only received a few pieces of barren frontier land, and even the route connecting to the new territories was monitored by Sir Gunnar of Leding Castle.
The intention of the Royalists with such an arrangement was clear.
It seemed personal connections with Trosa could not translate into acceptance by the entire Royalist faction.
Even after swallowing one disadvantage after another without gaining respect, the family’s revival seemed hopelessly distant.
Baron Eriv’s angry fist slammed on the map, his face expressionless as he suppressed the indignation in his heart.
However, if Leon’s news was true, seizing this godsent opportunity, the Thorny Flower Family would no longer have to curry favor with anyone.
Eriv also understood that he couldn’t possibly monopolize the whole of Nightmare Forest and the lands of Kantadar beyond it by himself.
But he could use the element of time, seizing the initiative before anyone else, as long as he consolidated his hold on the territory and unified it.
By then, if Lydwen III, the old dragon, still wished to quickly move south and seize the lands of the Southern Kingdom, he could not easily manipulate the Thorny Flower Family at such a critical location.
Leading their well-fed horses, Leon and Kovis waited on the camp’s road for Knight Balfe to select personnel at the Guard Camp.
Keenly observing and learning from the arrangement of the large camp, designed to withstand a prolonged siege of nearly ten thousand people, Leon suddenly spotted a familiar figure in robe armor passing by.
Leon recalled that he still had a treasure in the other’s possession and approached to greet him, “Good day, Master Hillgarde.”
The magician consultant, leaning on his long-handled War Hammer, turned to see the young man in silver plate armor and remembered the little knight he had met over a month ago in Selva.
“What a coincidence, Sir Leon,” Hillgarde nodded and saluted, “Have you also enlisted to join this war?”
“Perhaps in the future, not yet, I’m here to attend to some affairs of the Baron Domain,” Leon vaguely responded, then asked, “Sir, have you managed to fix my magic necklace?”
might take a few more days, to cope with the current battle, I hardly have any spare energy to replenish the magic power for that item,” Hillgarde said somewhat embarrassedly.
Leon wasn’t too disappointed, “No problem, but do you have it on you now?
My friend wants to see it.”
After talking with Kovis about past experiences, Leon deduced from the young man’s guess that the necklace, capable of activating physical potential, might also originate from Athias.
“I’ve been keeping it with me at all times,” Hillgarde pulled out the necklace from under his armor’s collar.
Leon turned back, motioning to Kovis to take a look, “What do you think?
Is this the thing you guessed?”
The blond young man stepped closer, glanced at the familiar necklace around the neck of the local spellcaster from the Western Continent, and recognized it instantly.
“Yes, it indeed belongs to ‘Magic Knight’ equipment.”
Hearing this, Hillgarde sized up the handsome blond young man beside Leon, curious about the exotic terminology the boy used.
Feeling reassured, Leon then addressed the magician, “Master, you don’t need to let it interfere with your work anymore, I would like to take the necklace back now.”
“No problem, but do you have a way to replenish its magic power?” Hillgarde removed his hood and took the magic necklace from around his neck to hand it back.