This Giant Dragon is So Powerful!-Chapter 97 - 90: The Army Claims the Land
Yalbit Kingdom.
Royal City, Palace, Back Garden.
Bradley the Seventh ’Ivan’, known as the Iron-Blooded New King, was walking with the Queen.
"Your Majesty, you look worried, is there something troubling you?" The Queen noticed Ivan’s expression and asked softly, her tone caring.
Ivan turned to look at his dignified and beautiful wife, sighed, and said,
"Duke Nicholas has died."
"What?!" The Queen was shocked, covering her red lips in disbelief.
Ivan calmly watched his wife’s expertly feigned surprise, showing a sorrowful expression on his face, "When I received the news, I couldn’t believe it either... but the truth remains as such."
"Duke Nicholas was only fifty-six years old, in his prime, it’s truly... regrettable. My father often praised the Duke’s exceptional bravery." The Queen sighed.
"It’s truly regrettable... but now the most important thing is dealing with those Desert Centaurs. At present, the position of Commander of the Blood Flower Knight Order, previously led by Duke Nicholas, is vacant. I intend to appoint Duke Elcan. What do you think, my Queen?" Ivan looked at his wife, inquiring.
Duke Elcan is the father of Queen Mela.
A sliver of unconcealable joy flickered in Mela’s eyes, as she softly said, "This decision lies entirely with Your Majesty, I dare not interfere."
"I’d like to decide entirely myself, but those old fogies in the noble council may not necessarily agree with my thoughts." Ivan shook his head, sighed, showing a face full of helplessness.
Upon hearing this, Queen Mela was anxious and quickly said, "Your Majesty, if you truly wish it, why not summon Duke Elcan to discuss it? Those nobles are only after benefits, it can be resolved peacefully."
Ivan pretended to ponder for a moment, "The Queen is right."
Thus the matter was settled in this manner.
Soon, Queen Mela’s father, Duke Elcan, arrived in the back garden to meet with Ivan. The two discussed for a full hour before a conclusion was reached.
Ultimately, Duke Elcan chose to relinquish three upper-level iron mines and one Magic Crystal Ore mining site in exchange for the qualification to lead the Blood Flower Knight Order.
Of course, these three upper-level iron mines and Magic Crystal Ore were properties on the deceased Duke Nicholas’ territory, not Duke Elcan’s assets.
The so-called discussion was only about how the benefits were divided.
A day later, amidst the bickering of the noble council, the benefits division was concluded, and the old foxes each dispersed contentedly. The final result was: Duke Elcan obtained the position of Commander of the Blood Flower Knight Order, while other major nobles received seventy percent of the deceased Duke Nicholas’ territory wealth, and the new King Bradley the Seventh ’Ivan’ gained ten percent of Duke Nicholas’ estate and the full support of the now Duke Elcan-led Blood Flower Knight Order.
As for the family of the deceased Duke Nicholas?
They retained twenty percent of their family’s wealth and inherited the Duke’s land to ensure the safety of the entire clan.
After all, without Duke Nicholas, their family’s strongest was merely a high-level Professional, unable to defend the extensive resources Duke Nicholas amassed during his tenure. If they did not understand how to negotiate, the adept major nobles would personally ’instruct’ them in handling matters.
Royal Conference Palace.
"Duke Elcan."
"At Your Majesty’s service." Duke Elcan stood from the cushioned seat, facing the new King Ivan with a respectful demeanor.
"In three days, you will lead the army south to the Wasteland and drive those Centaurs out of our territory." Ivan ordered indifferently.
"I, obey!" Duke Elcan accepted the royal command.
A similar scene unfolded in Kas Duchy.
"Gather the army within two days, flatten the Centaurs, and reclaim the land that belongs to our nation!" Purple Thorn Duke spoke in a cold tone.
This Wasteland war was from the start a territorial dispute between the two countries regarding the Wilderness Plains.
In this process, whoever was stronger occupied more territory!
Although Kas Duchy was not as strong as Yalbit Kingdom in overall power, the forces Kas Duchy could muster were only slightly fewer than those of Yalbit Kingdom.
This was a consequence of historical problems between the two countries. Yalbit Kingdom, with a legacy exceeding a thousand years, has hundreds if not thousands of nobles with autonomous territories scattered across the nation, causing the country’s power to be extremely dispersed.
The forces entirely obedient to the new King Bradley the Seventh make up only a small portion of the entire kingdom.
For instance, the new King Ivan has barely managed to summon an army of a hundred thousand, and aside from a small portion fully loyal to the new King Ivan, all other soldiers are pieced together by various nobles offering three hundred here and five hundred there. In terms of strength, not mentioning cohesiveness, it’s quite worrying.
The Kas Duchy, established less than a hundred years ago, is different; the Purple Thorn Duke is the first-generation Duke, with most of the Duchy’s power concentrated in his hands, and the few noble powers not concentrated in his hands unanimously adhere to the Purple Thorn Duke. With the Duke’s command, the entire nation speaks in unison, sending a seventy-thousand strong army north to the Wasteland, only three thousand fewer than the kingdom.
On the seventh day, the kingdom’s and Duchy’s armies successively entered the Wilderness Plains, commencing a steady encroachment on the Centaurs’ habitat.
....
Clatter~
"Halt!"
The leading Centurion Commander waved his hand, halting the hundred Black Knights behind him.
The Centurion Commander frowned, observing the Centaur Tribe’s site on the slope ahead, now empty except for numerous beast-hide tents.
This was the third time.
Every time this cavalry reconnaissance team, belonging to the kingdom, found a Centaur Tribe’s location, it was always deserted.
But, internally, the Centurion Commander only grumbled about missed achievements, then led his somewhat dispirited cavalry back to camp.
Kingdom Army Main Camp.
Duke Elcan, nominally the Commander of the army, pondered upon the news brought by the cavalry scouts.
"It seems the Centaurs have chosen to abandon the Wasteland." Elcan smiled slightly.
This was also good, gaining vast fertile land without shedding a drop of blood, maximizing benefits efficiently.
"Accelerate the army’s advance, seize more territory swiftly!"
Since the Centaurs chose to surrender, the vast Wilderness Plains became an unclaimed treasure; how much one could gain depended entirely on one’s capability!
The Duchy army advancing in the other direction realized this quicker than the kingdom’s army and began swiftly claiming Wasteland territory.
Soon, as the armies moved, numerous mineral veins and fertile regions were encircled by the forces.
Though the Wilderness Plains had never been governed by the two nations, over the years, the slightly noticeable locations of mineral veins and fertile areas were already laid out on their tables.
During this, both country’s armies were not without battles; the Wilderness Plains, such a vast area, is populated with numerous Demons and Monster Tribes, the Centaurs are just the apparent rulers of the Wasteland, the actual scope of their control covers only a small portion of the Wasteland, the rest is divided among Demons and Monster Clans.
Under the armies’ iron hooves and long swords, countless Demons and Monster Tribes on the Wasteland suffered calamities.
Even strong High-Level Demons could only flee from such a substantial human army, and the slow ones had their fur, bones, and blood priced and readied for transportation and sale.
Most of these Wasteland Demons and Monster Tribes chose to escape towards the Dark Forest in the west. The other three directions, north and south, were blocked by the long border defenses of the Duchy and Kingdom. Escaping towards the Human Realm is tantamount to courting death!
As for the east? The east does offer a fitting environment for the survival of Demons and Monsters, but reaching the east requires crossing the Laputa River, which averages fifty kilometers wide.
Confronted with this enormous river, perhaps only flying Demons and Monsters have the capability to traverse it, while ordinary terrestrial Demons and Monsters can only gaze at the river in despair.
