“Not only that, but his armor was made of adamantine with several runes that made it a half-step imperial-ranked armor. Had you not struck the gaps between the adamantine plates, you wouldn’t have been able to harm him.”
Aquila said.
Asher frowned. He turned to Euodiad, leaning against the wall and back toward Aquila.
“It can hear you.”
Aquila looked at the sword. For some reason, she felt a pair of ice-cold eyes stare back at her. Her shoulders trembled.
‘Is that sword alive?!’
Her pupils shook.
Alarmed, she averted her eyes from Euodias. “Tiberias has been breached. Our men are slowly claiming the sectors, but some places are proving quite difficult.”
“That was within my calculations. Some wealthy folks won’t let their domains be taken so abruptly. The smart ones would have fled or submitted.”
“It is indeed as you said, Your Lordship.”
“Now… about the nobles, did the commanders do as I commanded?”
Asher straightened his figure, looking straight into Aquila’s eyes.
“Yes. The low-ranking nobles have been slain, but Viscount Syria escaped. We couldn’t find him.”
“What about Sofia Tigris and her daughter?” Asher’s voice grew deeper.
“We did as you said. We chased after them, making them assume we wanted to actually slay them. Lady Liya vanished into thin air. I can’t track her mana signature.”
“She’s now a dark mage. It’s not possible without exposing yourself. You may leave.”
Aquila nodded and left.
Asher’s eyes flickered. He was no fool. After killing Slade, he knew the archduke would erupt, and the forces of that dukedom were strong enough to destroy all he had built.
He wasn’t strong enough to face the archduke, but when the duke would see that none of Count William’s family members died, he would suspect Count William.
Questions would surely pop up, and that would make Count William lose the Archduke’s support. In fact, in the best-case scenario, they would become enemies.
….
A week later, the entire Tiberias was conquered; all noble households that refused to let go of their nobility were slain, and those who were activists of House Tigris also lost their lives.
Asher moved into the lord’s mansion, and from the same window he once looked out from when he visited this city a year ago, he looked at the tiger statue.
His hands were clasped behind him. He thought he had seen luxury, but Count Tigirs’ mansion was on a different level.
It was a whole level of grand. Behind him, soldiers could be seen moving out the table, chairs, and flags.
Only the golden candle stands were left. Read exclusive adventures at empire
Asher walked on the red carpet, ascended the platform, and caressed the armrest of the golden-white throne before him.
Turning to face the hall, his gaze met with that of Adam, Aquila, Eritrea, Alex, Alec, Nero, Paul, and some lower-level commanders.
Sapphira was still recuperating.
The moment he sat down, all of them fell on one knee. “We congratulate His Lordship for conquering Tiberias. The white wolf has defeated the great white tigers!!”
[Ding…!]
[Upgrade Quest: Lay waste to Tiberias, the great city of the white tigers, in one month’s time. (Completed.)]
[You have conquered the wastelands, officially becoming the only lord of this vast domain.]
[Your reward is unfolding…]
Rumble!
The great shaking made Asher and his men leave the hall, mount their horses, and ride out of the city.
While running, they could feel the earth’s trembling. The contaminated soil was slowly being purified, causing grass to sprout, but these changes were not as significant as the magnificent wall rising up from the ground.
Asher could see rocks of different sizes flying towards the wall. This was the first time the system did an upgrade a different way.
In fact, as time went on, Asher noticed the system was slowly upgrading!
From afar, the wall looked massive, but when they came close, Asher was stunned. He looked up, his eyes narrowing at the size of the wall.
Such a wall would take decades to build!
It spanned the entire border between the wastelands and the high plains.
If he could fully conquer the desolatelands, he could unify both lands and form a dukedom!
Tall and imposing, the Great Wall stood there, sealing the north away from the rest of the world.
Asher went to the top and looked at the other side. All he could see was a vast, endless plain.
Those were the dukes’ territory.
The wall was about 30 meters tall and extended to both ends. One end was the azure river, and the other was a mountain.
This time around, the system didn’t assign men to guard the wall; it was left for him.
Looking at the hundreds of Ashbourne flags fluttering proudly on the wall, Asher fell into a state of calmness.
His ears listened to the howls of the wind at such height off the ground.
‘One wall, one lord, one army. It’s time for House Ashbourne forces to have armor. One that speaks for the House.’
Asher said, as he looked at the Commanders. They looked united in their black armors and white hooded cloaks, but their forces looked like they were picked from different places.
However, all those armors had their advantages, so Asher planned for an armor that was superior to all of them.
Only the plumes would be different. In the entire continent, it might be only his forces that had plumes as mandatory.
….
Later that day Asher returned to Tiberias and sat on the throne. This magnificent city, although ruined, might be his new home.
Before him was Adam giving a more detailed report of the battle, this time concerning the Ashbourne troops.
16,250 strong fought against Tiberias. Now, 12,100 remain. 4,150 died on the battlefield!
This was the greatest loss Asher had ever recorded, but compared to House Tigris, who lost over 30,000, their losses were nothing.
“Console their families with an abundance of whatever they lack. It’s the only way we can lessen the pain.”
“I will do so, my lord.”