Asher went to a high ground, watching hundreds of soldiers clash. Sparks flew as their weapons collided and dust rose due to the quick foot movements.
All of them wore black tunics, pants, and leather boots. Surrounding the large pit were Grand Aegis men, standing tall with their armor reflecting the sunlight.
Littered in the pit were recruits. It had been three days since the upgrade, and in that time, 15,500 recruits joined the Grand Aegis Legion, raising their number to 20,000 Heavy Infantry men!
These recruits were the awestruck youths of Tiberias whose desire to become Ashbourne knights ignited after they saw the upgraded soldiers patrolling.
The air around them, the power they commanded, the respect people had for them, and their pay made the youths drool.
This advertisement was so fluid because of the recruitment posters Asher had distributed to every part of the city.
Of the 15,500, none of them were allowed to join the Frontline Legion because the legion belonged to Bashan.
The desolate lands, also known as Bashan, were the frontline!
Due to the reform, the system brought the steles of all the units in the Grand Aegis Legion to Tiberias, thereby building a massive barrack.
The Grand Aegis Legion was to guard the great dividing wall, making sure no unauthorized fellow was granted access into the Ashbourne’ land.
Once the training was over, Alec planned to send 5000 Grand Aegis soldiers and 1000 Goshen Longbow Archers to the great dividing wall.
The gates of that wall were made with the wood of the cedar tree. It weighed so much that Asher came to a conclusion that they would need 30 gold-ranked knights to push it open or six diamond-ranked knights.
“My lord, the recruits are all able-bodied. They should be ready for the transformation tower in a month’s time.”
Asher turned to Alec and nodded.
“I see that.”
“The news must have spread. Several regions know of your existence, and by all means, they would want more knowledge about you.”
Asher raised an eyebrow. “You mean they will send spies?”
“Indeed. We need our own secret unit to spread into their lands.”
Asher chuckled. “Although you are the first line of defense against the high plains lords, don’t forget where we are.”
After saying that, he opened his palm and showed Alec the snowflakes in the palm of his hand.
“It’s winter, Alec, and we’re just a few weeks into the first month.”
“But we’ve grown since then. We can face a beast tide led by a beast knight or a sacred beast and subdue it.”
Alec’s confidence made Asher smile, then clasp his hands behind him.
“We have more than beast tides to worry about, Alec. People are falling ill and dying. The cold in Bashan has never been this bad. Katarina said this herself, and she’s lived there for several decades.”
Alec furrowed his brows.
“Besides, who said the beast tide would be as weak as the one we faced?”
Asher’s last question made Alec’s eyes widen, but Asher was already walking away, and he couldn’t bring himself to question his lord.
“I’ll be heading north, to Nineveh and then to Ashkelon. Time to expand into the depths.”
His voice faded away as the distance between them kept growing.
Watching him leave, Alec thought of something. Would he not be seeing his lord on a weekly basis like before? Was it going to take months to see his lordship from now henceforth?
What would it be like to stare at him months from now?
No doubt, he would have grown.
Asher had never remained the same from the moment he took the seat of rulership over the Ashbourne domain. Since then he had been growing; his aura grew deeper and sharper.
He had maturity.
He wasn’t the young lad that cried behind a tree because some dozen men fell in battle. He was not a lord.
And not just any lord.
But a count. The white wolf of the North, the northern rising star, the war bringer!
Alec smiled softly.
‘That gait. He walks with undeterred confidence.’
….
Bam!
A huge man inside a tent slammed his palm against a wooden table, right on top of a map with different flags representing noble houses.
Crash!
With a yell, he flung everything to the ground, his eyes like that of a hungry beast as he glared at the woman kneeling before him.
Around him were his generals, and all of them couldn’t believe the news that entered their ears.
Boom!
A white flash left the huge man, splitting the table in two, allowing him to walk toward the woman with a deep, deadly gait.
“You lost my capital to that little child that is barely 25?!”
William, for the first time, felt like throwing Sofia far away from his sight.
“He’s no mere boy, my lord—!”
Sofia lifted up her head, her eyes filled with moisture.
Unfortunately—
“Shut your mouth!”
Count William’s voice thundered, causing her to shiver.
“My capital was impossible to conquer. You should have been able to hold him and whatever army he had for at least 2 months!”
“Unfortunately, my lord, Count Asher is stronger than that. His knights were almost 10,000, and we were divided internally.”
A voice rang from outside the tent. It opened in the next moment, and a man walked in with a clutch.
Struggling a bit, he went on one knee.
“My lord, it is I, Josef Syria, your vassal.”
Count William squinted. “What happened to your leg?”
Viscount Syria sighed. “I’m afraid her ladyship was too busy to stop her bodyguard from making me a cripple for the rest of my life.”
Count William shot Sofia a deadly glance, his rage rising to the peak.
In just a month, she had wrecked all he had worked for!
Decades of effort, all wasted!
“Take her away.”
Sofia’s eyes widened. “Wait… my lord, wait… I… it was their fault!!”
Despite her screaming and pointing at Syria, Count William wasn’t a fool. Especially now that the loss of Tiberias had taken away whatever affection he had for Sofia.
“Tell me all that happened, Josef.”
Count William said as he sat down.
“As you wish, my lord, but we must first face an imminent problem.”
“And what is that?”
“Archduke Nubis’ son and heir is dead.”
A chill swept into the room, causing a stilling silence. One that could even scare a dead man in a graveyard!