The First Magic World War-Chapter 236 - 231, Front Line Intelligence

Baron Valentine was brought forward, looking completely dazed. He was indeed a bit afraid, not knowing how Charles would deal with him.

Originally, he thought Charles was notoriously infamous in Seagull City, having an even worse reputation than this lord himself, certainly not an extraordinary person. Most of the rumors were probably exaggerations. After all, he had met Lady Southseraph, and those South Ceraph Reclamation Army troops were just too ferocious; the Behemoth Knighthood simply couldn’t stand against them.

But as he was captured, he also saw Charles’s Westwind Knights, which had a completely different demeanor than his own knighthood.

Indeed, Charles’s Westwind Knights were in shambles earlier, but after winning several battles, their morale boosted, training was in place, wages were paid in full, and naturally, they became disciplined.

Gradually, Baron Valentine began to grow scared. He shouted a few times, trying to attract attention, but a soldier from the Westwind Knights stuffed his mouth with rotten cloth strips, and suddenly he could only muffle noises.

Inside Charles’s Westwind Knights, there was no shortage of gang members, who had little respect for the nobility.

It took a while for Charles to suppress his emotions and ordered Baron Valentine to be brought before him. Seeing the baron brought up complicated feelings, entirely different from when he had just met Yang Meilianye, when he had inadvertently recalled Talia Meilianye.

If Talia Meilianye represented the brightest aspect of Charles Meklen’s life,

this Baron Valentine represented the darkest aspect of his life.

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Charles didn’t want to kill Baron Valentine, he smiled faintly and said, "According to the Empire’s rules, I can ask for ransom."

Baron Valentine was overjoyed, shouting, "I can pay the ransom! As long as you let me leave alive, I’ll pay any amount."

Charles pondered for a moment and said, "Then let it be ten thousand Aegeus."

Baron Valentine’s soul trembled with distress, and he said, "Can it be reduced a bit, say, one hundred Aegeus?"

Charles smiled faintly and said, "Nine thousand nine hundred Aegeus will do."

Baron Valentine embarrassingly said, "I mean to give you one hundred Aegeus."

Charles smiled graciously, not taking offense, and drew his rapier, slashing over seventy times on his body, and said, "I’ve cut you into eighty-one pieces, and I’ve marked a price on each piece. If you don’t want a certain piece, feel free to bargain."

He left Baron Valentine to ponder over it.

Although Charles Meklen indeed owed some apologies to the baron in the past, that bit of guilt, in the heart of "Huang Hai Sheng," wasn’t worth so much money.

Things!

It wasn’t his doing.

Baron Valentine brought out several hundred of his men, and Charles didn’t take it lightly. He reorganized these people slightly and put Dobin in temporary command.

He didn’t plan to incorporate them into the Westwind Knights. Firstly, the people from Seagull City wouldn’t want to leave their homeland, and secondly, it wouldn’t be easy to explain to Kreel Brittany.

Among these hundreds of prisoners was an old acquaintance.

Freeman Martin!

Charles didn’t want to take him along and specifically ordered the release of Freeman Martin so he could represent Baron Valentine in negotiating the ransom with the baron’s wife.

Freeman Martin, the captain, huffed and puffed in frustration but was powerless. After discussing with the baron for several hours, he eventually returned to Seagull City.

The following afternoon, Freeman Martin came back to deliver a message that the baroness had decided to come in person to negotiate.

Without hesitation, Charles left Valentine Baron behind and departed with his knighthood.

Given the choice, he would have preferred not to have a past at all.

On the way, Charles encountered Anatasiya, who had also dealt with the Ode Mountain City knighthood. At Charles’s strong recommendation, they didn’t return to Mostar Fort but went back to Silver Pigeon Fort instead.

At Silver Pigeon Fort, Charles received a welcome that emptied the streets, as nearly all of its people held him dear.

Though Charles’s time managing Silver Pigeon Fort was brief, he brought tangible benefits to every person there. After the last taxation by Kreel Brittany, Charles made a point of returning to compensate each individual.

To the people of Silver Pigeon Fort, Charles was an incomparably good "lord."

Even though Charles wasn’t yet qualified to be a lord.

Anatasiya, too, held fond memories of the city she was born and raised in, and what comforted her further was that her mother’s remains had also been transported to Silver Pigeon Fort during those days.

After Charles promised her, he wrote a letter to Cyrus. He hadn’t held much hope, but to his surprise, not only did Cyrus fulfill the request, but he also had the coffin sent back to Silver Pigeon Fort.

However, from this incident, Charles also saw how strong Cyrus’s control over the people of South Serif had become. Even from Ferlanden, he could still command the people of the South Serif to do his bidding.

In fact, by writing that letter, Charles had also done Cyrus a favor.

With Cyrus’s intelligence, he surely understood what it meant for Charles to be in Behemoth.

This had always been part of the Fars Empire’s plan. Charles was merely going with the flow, allowing Cyrus to get a head start. It was beneficial for Charles, for Cyrus, for the Empire, and for everyone involved, except perhaps for Byron.

Anatasiya found a serene and ancient temple where she laid her mother’s remains to rest. Completing this task made her feel as though she had shed a great burden, as if unloading a heavy load.

Anatasiya had always carried a mountainous sense of guilt, feeling as if her very existence was a mistake.

From a young age, she knew her mother had "endured humiliation and hardship" as a spy for Lady Southseraph. At that time, she was lost, not knowing whether to stand with her father or her mother, until her mother relayed the painstakingly gathered intelligence to Lady Southseraph, only to be tortured to death by the latter.

Anatasiya knew she should hate those specific individuals, but she couldn’t decide whether she should like Behemoth or be loyal to South Serif.

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It was not until she met Charles and deeply resonated with his ideals did she realize that she was a person of Fars, a standard person of Fars with her own country, her own friends, and in the future, her own family.

In Silver Pigeon Fort, Charles soon received intelligence from the frontlines: Kreel Brittany, the most talented of Fars’s young generation, had already flattened seventy percent of the South Serif territory, conquering seven or eight cities.

Currently, only two cities continued to resist obstinately.

In his letter to Charles, Kreel Brittany mentioned that he needed to transfer food and supplies from the rear. These were urgently needed not only by the military but also by the occupied people of South Serif.

After reading the letter, Charles fell into deep thought.

The supplies that Kreel Brittany was requesting were excessive…