Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 293 - 293 146 Arbitration Meeting Back from the Dead_2

293: Chapter 146: Arbitration Meeting, Back from the Dead_2 293: Chapter 146: Arbitration Meeting, Back from the Dead_2 For instance, one day, the curse that had stretched across Southern Kosos for a thousand years suddenly vanished for unknown reasons.

A certain lord discovered this and subsequently led his army to launch a surprise attack on the Kantadar Kingdom, seizing a large swath of territory…

“Eriv, what kind of dream are you talking about?” Baron Gunnar frowned upon hearing this.

The nobles in the tent were all puzzled.

Only Mage Met softly raised his eyebrow, but his gaze held some disbelief.

“Forgive me, the lord who seized the opportunity to head south and plunder, was none other than myself.

Please forgive the Thorny Flower Family for not announcing this news sooner.

However, I believe everyone present here, except for the esteemed general, would have made the same choice as I did,” Eriv continued coolly, confessing to all the lords present.

Count Trosa leaned forward slightly, frowning at Baron Thorny Flower, weighing the diversion of the topic like a jest in this “story.”

Seeing the gaze of Earl of Buck, Eriv decided to end this farce now.

He had come here to attend the arbitration meeting, and now was his purpose; he was not here to engage in a verbal dispute with the Gunnar Family.

Rising to his feet, Eriv gestured and a Thorny Flower Knight immediately unfolded the brought parchment scroll map.

Baron Thorny Flower raised his hand, pointing towards the enemy’s county in the southeast of the Nightmare Forest, and said, “While everyone is gathered here, my army has already taken control of the entire Glade County of Kantadar, serving as the vanguard, paving the way for the kingdom to advance southwards.

This is the major affair that all of you need to seize the opportunity and decide on the rise and fall of your families, not sitting here wasting precious time listening to unreasonable accusations from Gunnar.

Regarding those monsters, as long as you lead your armies across the Nightmare Forest, you will see those Living Corpses lingering from ancient curses.

Rest assured, these undead will not be too difficult for all of you to handle.”

“Lord Farolis, do you know what you are talking about?” Trosa stroked his white beard, repeatedly confirming whether the Master of Thorns had lost his mind.

As the general in command of the Orland Army and the king’s war minister, he was well aware of the massive impact if this jest were to be true.

“General, I have no interest in making such a huge joke.

If you doubt it, you are welcome to send someone you trust to accompany me across the Nightmare Forest.

I need to return to Glade County soon to consolidate my rule and will not linger too much in the Thorny Flower Territory,”

Eriv said, bowing to Trosa as an apology,” Please forgive me for initially withdrawing the troops without disclosing the real situation.

I think…

you can understand the reasons behind the Thorny Flower Family’s actions.

However, now, you should quickly verify the information I’ve provided and report it to His Majesty.

At this moment, after my occupation of Glade County, even if the Kantadar people do not know my path of advance yet, they will eventually realize it…

The kingdom doesn’t have much time left to assemble its troops.”

As Eriv fully disclosed the intelligence, the lords in the tent stirred up.

Despite the presence of Gunnar’s Royalist allies, they had lost interest in the trivial spat between the wolf and the flower.

For the lords of Kosos County, taking advantage of Kantadar Kingdom’s delayed reaction to seize the vast lands and wealth to the south was the utmost priority.

Especially since their armies assembled in the east at Mamor County had not yet disbanded, just a redirection of their march would make everything effortlessly obtainable.

Attacking the lands south of Nightmare Forest from this direction was much easier than a prolonged border standoff at Mamor County, as none of the lords present had ever wasted resources on fortifying defenses in the direction of Nightmare Forest, fully imagining how undefended the lands down south were.

Of course, that was assuming all that Eriv had said was true.

Baron Gunnar sat in his seat, filled with shock and uncertainty.

He had taken the entire Glade County?

That was a county territory, not much smaller than Kosos County!

Baron Grey Wolf suddenly felt that his newly acquired territory in Mamor County at Leding Castle seemed so meager.

If the king recognized the adversary’s title, then the damn Baron Thorny Flower was about to become the Count of Glade County!

“Did you withdraw the frontline troops earlier to march through the Nightmare Forest and attack the south?” Gunnar blurted out in disbelief.

“What else, do you think I was that interested in fighting internal battles in Kosos County with you?” Eriv glanced at him.

“But your lady….

No, wait, are you saying you never intended to bother me from the start?” Recalling the grand funeral of the other’s wife reported by his spies, Gunnar was puzzled.

“Why would I want to bother you?

Lord Gunnar, I’m curious, I had never told anyone about my wife’s assassination attempt, so who told you that Thorny Flower was going to trouble you?” Eriv retorted.

Gunnar choked, unable to outrightly admit having bribed Trosa’s chamberlain.

“But regardless of who it was, I must tell you, my wife is safe and sound, despite having faced an assassination attempt by some despicable people and someone trying to blame you for it.

You should think carefully about who is trying to stir up conflict between us.” Eriv said, his gaze discreetly glancing in a certain direction.

The individual intent on assassinating Canis had learned of his identity through Leon; he undoubtedly had ties with the mastermind behind the attempt on his own wife’s life.

“Your lady is not dead?” Baron Gunar’s eyes widened in surprise, but at that moment, he also realized that he might have been played.

If his opponent’s wife had not been harmed, then Eriv had been planning the southern expedition from the beginning.

The mobilization of his troops and the assault on his wife were not directly related…

Since Eriv had never considered seeking revenge against Wolf Territory out of anger, who had played him?

Eriv would not stage such a plot himself; since he aimed to secretly annex a vast territory, he certainly did not want to provoke conflicts during this period.

Who told him these “inside matters?”

…

Count Trosa’s chamberlain.

Thinking of the most suspicious suspect, Gunar shook his increasingly confused head; that damned chamberlain could be dealt with privately later.

Right now, there was an urgent matter that needed to be addressed.

“Since your wife is unharmed, why then do you detain my eldest son?

Why prevent my men from seeing Canis?” Baron Gunar demanded.

The main reason for his anger and leading an army here was his concern for his captured son, who he feared might have been retaliated against by the grief-stricken Eriv.

However, it now seemed there was no reason for his opponent to break the noble customs of warfare by harming his eldest son.

“Detain?

Your Excellency might find a better term; my men have actually protected your eldest son, and refusing to reveal his whereabouts was only to prevent another assassination attempt,” Eriv explained calmly.

“Assassination?” Gunar exclaimed in shock.

“Yes, your foolhardy invasion of Thorny Flower Territory, your defeat at Longka, and my restraint seemed to have made the mastermind behind the conspiracy desperate.

They planned a murder against your beloved son, framing it to look like the work of the Thorny Flower Family, exactly like what they attempted with my wife.”

General Trosa at the head of the table realized there was more to the dispute between the two households; someone was secretly instigating internal strife among the Orland nobles.

The surrounding lords’ whispers grew denser.

The curse of Nightmare Forest dissipated.

Someone plotted to assassinate the close relatives of the two Great Barons, inciting a civil war…

The explosive news they heard at today’s meeting came one after another.

Mage Met, sitting composedly, subtly furrowed his brow: “…?”

Canis was indeed dead.

He knew it very well; the moment when he was caught off guard and a spell shattered his heart and lungs.

He had even confirmed that Canis’s soul had completely dissipated from the lifeless shell before he left the cell.

But now, why did it sound like, according to Eriv, Canis was still alive in the hands of the Thorny Flower Family?

…Was it just to buy time?

However, Eriv’s next words directly shattered the suspicions and guesses in Met’s mind.

“Hope you have prepared the ransom, Lord Gunar.

My knights saved your eldest son during the assassination, and they haven’t even mentioned raising the price,” Baron Thorny Flower turned and looked at his young fortunate general.

“Leon, please bring Lord Canis in.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leon, upon receiving the order, immediately went out.

In a moment, he returned leading a towering figure cloaked in a cape into the tent.

The newcomer removed his hood, revealing the features underneath; Canis’s eyes, filled with immense rage, glared fiercely at his nemesis.

Met straightened up, clutching his staff tightly, his eyes wide.

…This was impossible!

Absolutely impossible!!