Compared to 1448, the upper reaches of the Nao'an River in 1449 have widened considerably.

On both sides of the river, there are countless marshes and puddles.

Visible to the naked eye, the areas flooded last year show better growth of golden grass. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The shepherd dogs chase the flocks, while the shepherds of Shattered Stone Plain sit around on grass mounds, boiling goat's milk mixed with wild garlic and rye in tin pots.

In the early morning of late May 1449, Horn arrived near Ladan Castle with a total of eight thousand troops, including five thousand Imperial Guards and three thousand Defensive Army soldiers.

By noon that day, the battle report "Andre's Intelligent Luring Knight Order, built a false bridge and annihilated nearly three thousand enemies" had reached the Imperial Guard.

Before dinner, Bether was summoned to the command post, saying that His Majesty wanted to meet him personally.

The transcription room of Ladan Main Castle had been cleared out, replaced by a huge long wooden table and several bookshelves filled with texts.

The Pope of Thousand River Valley sat behind the wooden table, dressed in a black casual outfit, unlike his usual flamboyance during marches.

Upon seeing Bether's arrival, Horn first sized him up and then asked, "Are you from the mountains?"

"South Mangde County."

"Have you studied?"

"I have, previously the Great Duke hired and assigned teachers to the mountain nobility in various places, and I studied with those teachers."

Horn pulled out a document from the pile of texts, lowered his head while reading and asked, "Have you seen the latest battle report?"

Bether's face flushed from chin to ear; how could he not have seen this battle report?

Since noon, this report had already spread throughout the army, and had even been confirmed by the Senior Pastor.

Earlier, he had been bragging to his attendants about Horn's incompetence, and now it's unclear who is truly incompetent.

Uneasy, he rubbed his fingers behind his back: "I saw it, Lord Andre achieved a great victory."

"Did you feel I was arrogant when I ignored you before?"

Bether hesitated, not knowing how to respond, and after a moment of being at a loss, his temper flared up: "It's my mistaken judgment, incompetence, and ignorance, I know it myself, why should you humiliate me this way?"

Upon hearing this, Horn looked up at Bether's flushed face, his hands trembling slightly: "You lacked information, so misjudgment is normal. When I lack information, I often make errors in judgment too.

If you had judged correctly, I would have had to investigate you."

Bether's complexion improved; he hadn't expected Horn to excuse him, and felt much better.

"This matter was meant to stay secret, otherwise it would be troublesome if detected by the Border Knights.

You know, many nobles are up to secretive actions, disregarding the emergency facing Thousand River Valley.

If they had tipped off the Border Knights, we might not have had the current results."

"These plain nobles have the title of nobility but lack the ability to act or make decisions; they only drag us down," Bether couldn't help but agree.

Bether, bearing the title of Mountain Knight, nevertheless differs significantly from real knights.

Most of them have an aristocratic ancestor, yet their mode of living, production methods, and cultural customs lean toward the common folk.

Though they retain a noble mindset, as agricultural producers, they don't mingle well with the nolaborer group of Thousand River Valley aristocrats.

Simply put, Bether considers the plain nobles as degenerate bad nobles, while they view themselves as good nobles with an ancient aura.

The Thousand River Valley war, in the narrative of the Mountain Knights, was a war where good nobles led the common priests to drive away the bad nobles.

The main point of contention between the Mountain Knights and Horn lies in Horn's Holy Alliance narrative, which diminishes, or even denies, the nobility.

Currently, the Holy Alliance officially dismisses the concept of "good nobles and bad nobles."

This leaves many Mountain Knights feeling aggrieved, believing Horn wants to monopolize the shared spoils of victory.

They also sacrificed, bled, and fought for Thousand River Valley People, yet have earned comments like "Nobles are the devils and the devil's lackeys."

The evil deeds of the bad nobles weren't their doing, why should they all be tarred with the same brush?

Just because of the bad nobles' crimes, must they too be implicated?

All have shed blood and sacrificed, so why is it that the ones who contributed the most also end up the most aggrieved?

Hearing Horn dismiss nobles with one broad stroke, Bether had no option but to speak out and clarify the boundary.

Horn, aware of the Mountain Knights' character, instead of disputing with him, asked, "What do you think the Border Knights' next move will be?"

Stunned by Horn seeking his advice, Bether took two seconds to react.

It's rare for Horn, an anti-noble, to solicit advice from him, a Mountain Knight.

In Horn's decision-making circle, after Moliat was "detained," there hasn't been any presence of Mountain Knights.

Or perhaps it's just a test? Or maybe he was overthinking, and the Saint's Grandson was casually asking?

After a moment of hesitation, Bether tentatively spoke: "Your Majesty, my ideas surely differ from most people."

"Go ahead, when have I ever sentenced someone for their words?"

Bether cautiously replied: "I believe the Border Knight Order has a significant likelihood of continuing to attack Ladan Castle, your visit is timely."

"What is the rationale?"

"Your Majesty, the Border Knight Order lacks territorial enfeoffment, and their rewards are far inferior to those at the Empire's center, their cohesion is solely maintained through honor.

Thus, for the Knight Order, simply retreating now would certainly damage their common honor.

They likely choose to attack again, as they have over ten thousand horses, with rapid mobility.

Moreover, the local nobility in Shattered Stone Plain supplies them with food, though scant, it compensates well for the food losses during long-haul transport from Thorn Garden."

"Good, despite differing perspectives, your viewpoint aligns with my staff's judgment." Horn calmly stood up and began searching for something on the bookshelf.

Seizing the opportunity, Bether expressed his doubts: "Your Majesty, I have one more question: how exactly did you cut off the plank road?

I mean, beneath that plank road's soil is solid rock, even turning fossil into mud wouldn't get it done in two weeks."

Horn pulled a tattered booklet from the bookshelf and replied without looking up: "It's no problem telling you now, since the stuff has been taken back anyway—

This time, aside from grain and Falan warhorses, the most crucial cargo I brought were four star-cast gears."

Bether, who has visited ry Court Barracks, immediately realized that these spring mechanism engineering machines were probably used.

Though occasionally lamenting that these spring machines might one day replace them knights, in reality, they're exceptionally useful at present.

Understanding this, Bether sensed Horn had no further business and bowed to take his leave.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Horn called him to stop.

Something flew through the air, Bether caught it with his hands—it was the booklet Horn had extracted from the texts earlier.

On the booklet was written "Staff Monk Workbook" in bold lettering.

What does this imply? Bether raised his head in confusion, looking at Horn.

"I have a staff monk who broke his leg falling off a horse, and you've just been dismissed; are you interested in taking up a role as a staff clerical advisor?"