"My apologies, Your Highness. While the
The Second Prince had originally come with his retinue of around twenty guards hoping to mediate between the Norton Family's caravan and the allied nobles — to help the caravan make minor concessions and reach a peace agreement with those bandit lords, thus avoiding war. First, this was at the request of his lover and most intimate, most loyal subordinate, Krisha. Second, he was hoping to see whether the caravan might buy or sell a batch of grain and supplies. The Anadek Kingdom had been subjected to a commercial blockade — intentional or otherwise — by the Forde Commercial Alliance, and supplies were extremely scarce.
The Second Prince was quite confident the noble alliance would grant him this courtesy. During the imperial civil war, it was he who had led the White Lion Corps and the Gale Corps on campaigns east and west, holding off the First and Second Princes' ambitions toward the imperial capital. Many lords in the noble alliance had been rescued by him at one time or another, and he believed there was still enough goodwill to call upon.
What he had not expected was that while still en route, the news that reached him was that the Battle of the Mana Hill Plains had ended in a crushing defeat for the noble alliance — they had been scattered and routed, while the Norton Family's northern caravan had won a sweeping victory. This news not only surprised the Second Prince but shook him to the core. He had never imagined that the escort forces of this northern caravan would be so formidable. Watching Krisha, who was visibly delighted by the news, the Second Prince began to harbor certain thoughts.
Though the Second Prince had achieved remarkable military merit, he had failed to win the favor of the Anadek Kingdom's territorial lords. "Remarkable military merit" was simply another way of saying he was glory-hungry. It was true that the Third Prince had relied on the Second Prince to lead two corps and repel the First and Second Princes' incursions, but five or six years of civil war had already consumed every resource the kingdom possessed, leaving it in ruins. Moreover, the Second Prince had a rather forceful personality, and nobody wanted a strong-willed king on the throne. As a result, the territorial lords rallied overwhelmingly behind the First Prince as heir. Left with no choice, the Second Prince was ordered by Anadek I to return to his own fief — a remote island off the kingdom's western border.
The Anadek Kingdom had been severely weakened by the civil war and could no longer sustain the existence of three corps. The White Lion Corps was disbanded. The Gale Corps was dispatched to the Merline Grand Duchy under the guise of providing support to help Duke Merline defend against the Second Prince's incursions. As for the Royal Guard Corps, its scale was continuously reduced as the kingdom's revenue plummeted, until only a single battalion remained.
Having lost the military force that could keep the kingdom in check, the territorial lords began to disregard the Anadek Royal House entirely. Then the Third Prince fell ill with a strange malady and took to his bed, while the First Prince — always weak-willed by nature — assumed control of state affairs and proved utterly deferential to the very lords who had pushed him to power, further inflaming their arrogance and overreach. They began flouting royal decrees, exploiting their subjects, building private armies, seizing royal lands, and establishing a Lord's Alliance to stand in direct opposition to the Anadek Royal House.
The Second Prince watched the kingdom's deterioration with anguish in his heart. He harbored a dream of reuniting the former Krisen Empire and restoring the imperial household's glory and legacy. Unfortunately, he had no reliable military force at his disposal. Even combining his personal guards with his fief's garrison, he had fewer than three hundred men. His elder brother the First Prince was incompetent in external wars but an expert at internal maneuvering, and he had always been extremely wary of this younger brother who threatened his claim to the throne — he had even cut off the Second Prince's royal stipend under the pretext of insufficient revenue.
The Second Prince possessed grand ambitions but, without troops, without authority, and without money, he could do nothing but brood. Now, upon hearing that the Norton Family's northern caravan had crushed the noble alliance, a plan began to take shape in his mind. He had come to the caravan for one purpose: to borrow troops and grain, pacify the Anadek Kingdom, destroy the Lord's Alliance, force the First Prince to abdicate, and seize control of the kingdom's military and political affairs for himself. But once Shrade had seen through his intentions, he refused the request.
"Is Aburid the one running things now?" Krisia stepped forward and asked.
"Aburid? Who's that?" Shrade looked at the dark-haired beauty of a knight before him with bewilderment.
Krisia's expression changed, and she demanded sharply, "Who exactly are you? Why are you impersonating the Norton Family?"
Her hand had already come to rest on her sword hilt.
"We really are Family Knights of the Norton Family. We're acting under the orders of Baron Norton. Oh, the current Baron Norton is Norton
Krisia froze, hesitating for a long while before she finally asked, "Lorist? You mean Little Rock? That crybaby? That snotty little brat? Wasn't he exiled to
"Pfft…" Everyone in the large tent burst out laughing — so their lord had these two nicknames back when he was a child.
Shrade suppressed his laughter and answered, "Yes, miss. Rock was exiled to Morant City by the family, but last year we received word from the family that he is now the only one left of the Norton bloodline, so he had no choice but to return home to inherit the fief and the title. Many of us here were his friends back in Morant City — he took us on as Family Knights and ordered us to escort the caravan north. May I ask who you are, and what your relationship to the Norton Family is?"
"
"My respects to you…" Shrade and everyone in the large tent gave Krisia a knight's salute.
"You must have been talking about the Eldest Young Master and the Third Young Master?" Shrade said. "The thing is…"
Shrade recounted everything he knew about the Norton Family's situation in full, and Krisia wept without end. The Second Prince stepped forward and embraced her in comfort.
"I thought losing our father was already painful enough. I never imagined the family's situation was even more wretched…" Krisia choked out through her sobs.
"Miss Krisia, please contain your grief. Trust that under Rock's leadership, the Norton Family will walk the path to prosperity. This caravan is the foundation of the Norton Family's revival, and so I cannot agree to His Highness's request. I must ensure the supplies and personnel arrive safely in the Northland," Shrade said.
"Then you should agree to the Second Prince's demands all the more. Those lords who oppose him — with your caravan's military strength, you could easily wipe them out, raze their estates and castles, and seize their stockpiled supplies. That way, far more goods can be transported to the Northland. I've been to the family's territory; it's extremely remote and lacking in everything. The more supplies you bring back, the greater the help to the family," Krisia said.
"If you are willing to help me, once I take the imperial capital I will immediately elevate the Norton Family's rank to Count," the Second Prince made his promise at just the right moment. "And I won't take your grain and supplies for nothing. I can trade with you. I propose using the standard-issue weapons and equipment of the disbanded White Lion Legion to fully repay the grain and supplies you lend me, as well as compensate you for your aid. And if the Norton Family obtains this batch of weapons and equipment, I believe they will surely accomplish great things."
Shrade hesitated. He couldn't bring himself to refuse. If it were merely a title promotion, it wouldn't matter much — but adding the White Lion Legion's standard equipment changed everything. The White Lion Legion — the former Krisen Empire's renowned main legion — had its weapons, armor, and equipment all painstakingly crafted by the empire's finest artisans. Whether in the offensive power of its weapons or the defensive capability of its armor, everything was a cut above comparable products. The iron armor he wore was simply garbage compared to the White Lion Legion's standard-issue plate. More critically, the White Lion Legion's roster had been eighty-nine thousand strong, organized into four army corps with complete equipment sets. Including reserves, that came to a hundred thousand sets of weapons and equipment.
If they could obtain the White Lion Legion's hundred thousand sets of weapons and equipment, the Norton Family would have nothing to worry about in terms of equipment for the next decade. As long as they assembled a single army corps, sweeping through the Northland would be effortless. While flames of war raged and conflict raged across the land, the Norton Family could peacefully develop their production in the Northland, farm and recuperate, and watch the world's upheaval unfold with a quiet laugh.
The Second Prince had no choice in the matter either. Back when the Andinac Kingdom had been unable to maintain the White Lion Legion, it was forced to disband the unit. The soldiers departed, but the weapons and equipment remained. However, years of civil war had depleted far more than Shrade imagined — rather than a hundred thousand sets, only about seventy thousand remained, counting both intact and damaged pieces. Originally, Andinac I — the Third Prince — had wanted to sell the equipment at a high price to raise urgently needed funds and grain for the kingdom, stabilizing its dire situation. But the Forde Commercial Alliance had maliciously driven down the price; they couldn't even get a tenth of the equipment's cost. The Third Prince refused to sell at such a pittance, and in a rage cut off all trade dealings with the Alliance entirely.
The Forde Commercial Alliance was furious in turn. For over a century, the Krisen Empire had repeatedly invaded the Mana Hill Plains, and on every occasion the White Lion Legion had taken part, racking up an impressive record of battle honors — and each of those campaigns had been a heinous crime against the Alliance! "We're willing to buy this equipment at scrap prices, which is already exceedingly generous! Originally, we decided to melt the lot down and forge a commemorative statue celebrating our victory in splitting apart the Krisen Empire, with the White Lion Legion's emblem cast at the very base to mark our final triumph. You think the price is too low? Won't sell? Fine — then you can't sell anything at all, and you needn't bother buying anything either."
Without commercial circulation, the imperial capital — once a thriving hub of trade — fell into ever deeper decline, with the common people suffering terribly. The Forde Commercial Alliance's stranglehold on trade with the Andinac Kingdom also drew the furious complaints of the kingdom's lords. Now, many territorial nobles had set their sights on those sealed-away military supplies.
The Second Prince had no other recourse. The Andinac Kingdom's coffers were empty; if he wanted the Norton Family's northbound caravan to help him, he had to offer sufficient incentives and attractive terms. After much deliberation, he could think of only two approaches. The first was to grant a hereditary fief — that is, to elevate the Norton Family's rank of nobility and carve out a hereditary territory for them within the kingdom. This was something the Second Prince was very reluctant to do. The Andinac Kingdom's territory consisted of only three provinces from the former empire; land was scarce and lords were plentiful, with over a hundred territorial nobles already carved up even the royal demesne. The Second Prince's plan had been to eliminate the troublemakers, keep the obedient and loyal ones, consolidate the kingdom, and quietly build toward prosperity — laying the groundwork for one day restoring the Krisen Empire. Granting the Norton Family a hereditary fief would be like driving off a pack of wolves only to invite a tiger. Given the caravan's track record, the Second Prince found it hard to believe the Norton Family would be compliant. Better not create that kind of trouble.
The second approach was to leverage the White Lion Legion's weapons and equipment. From the escort soldiers of the Norton Family's caravans, it was clear they placed great importance on protecting their family's armed forces — even their ordinary soldiers wore iron armor. The standardized equipment of the White Lion Legion would surely be a powerful temptation.
Lake. All three men were veterans of the White Lion Legion, commoners who had risen to officer rank. The Second Prince had met them before but no longer remembered them. When they heard the Second Prince was willing to hand over the White Lion Legion's standardized equipment in exchange for the caravan's assistance, their hearts soared with joy — though they couldn't let it show. They gazed at Shrade with eager, pleading eyes, hoping he would agree to the Second Prince's terms.
Shrade finally nodded.
The terms of the agreement were as follows: the caravan would provide one hundred thousand gold Forde in cash, plus assist the Second Prince in raising an army of twenty thousand men, supplying all provisions, materials, weapons, and equipment. They would deploy the Norton Family's armed escort forces to sweep away and destroy all rebellious territorial nobles, splitting all seized supplies equally between both parties. This would continue until the Second Prince assumed power. In return, the Second Prince pledged that once he took the throne, he would elevate the Norton Family's rank to Count, with their territory remaining the original family holdings in the Northland. Additionally, all of the White Lion Legion's standardized equipment would be handed over to the caravan, with the Second Prince guaranteeing no fewer than seventy thousand sets — any surplus would be given to the caravan free of charge.
On the surface, the agreement seemed like a bad deal for the caravan — the Second Prince was making nothing but empty promises while the caravan would have to risk their lives in battle. But Shrade signed for three reasons: first, out of consideration for Kricia's feelings; second, because he had his own plan that wouldn't cost the caravan a thing; and third, because he believed it would earn the Second Prince's goodwill, allowing the Norton Family's influence to extend into the Andinac Kingdom and ensuring that future trade caravans organized by the Norton Family could travel unimpeded from the Andinac Kingdom through to Viscount Tim's territory in the Redelis Kingdom.
Shrade's plan was straightforward. All field battles and reconnaissance missions would be handled by the caravan's escort forces — the Norton Family's armored cavalry could crush any resistance, and it would serve as combat training. The siege battles with the heaviest casualties would be carried out by death battalions composed of captured prisoners, supported by the family's ranged units. This way, the northbound caravan would suffer minimal losses, and the seized supplies would replenish the caravan's expenditures — a win-win.
Over two months of campaigning, the caravan's forces swept through the Andinac Kingdom's Hansdemos Province and Central Province. Shrade hanged forty-eight territorial nobles and forced thirty-five more to kneel before the Second Prince and swear fealty, earning himself the title of "Demon Shrade." Using able-bodied men from among the prisoners and refugees, he raised an army of twenty thousand for the Second Prince, successfully besieging the former imperial capital and forcing the First Prince to step down, ceding control of state affairs to the Second Prince.
True to his word, the Second Prince handed over all seventy-three thousand six hundred and forty-five sets of sealed White Lion Legion equipment to the caravan, along with a document stamped with the Krisen royal seal elevating the Norton Baron to Count, which he gave directly to Shrade. He also expressed his sincere hope that several members of the caravan would join him in building a great enterprise, working together for the restoration of the Krisen Empire.
Shrade and the others declined the Second Prince's recruitment without hesitation, and the Second Prince merely smiled, not minding in the slightest. However, when Shrade and the others indicated that the caravan would not be staying any longer and was about to embark on its northward journey, the Second Prince said he had a favor to ask — the caravan's next destination would be the Andinac Kingdom's final province, Verbasia Province. The territorial nobles of this province were the backbone of the Lord's Alliance and a place the Second Prince had never been able to penetrate. The Second Prince had it figured out nicely; he hoped the caravan would, while passing through, conveniently clean up those rebellious nobles just as it had done in the previous two provinces.
Shrade shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Your Highness. Our caravan has already been delayed for far too long and must make for the Northland immediately. As long as those lords don't obstruct the caravan's route, we will not move against them."
The Second Prince chuckled and said, "That province has plenty of grain..."
The two parties parted on friendly terms. Chrisya even wrote several letters and entrusted them to Shrade to deliver to Lorist.
The caravan continued northward, and before long, Shrade and the others sensed something was off. By the time the caravan reached Verbasia Province, nearly a hundred thousand refugees were trailing behind them...
When Shrade finally got to the bottom of it, he realized he had been played. The Andinac Kingdom had little land and far too many people, with insufficient food production and refugees everywhere. At some point, a rumor had spread throughout the kingdom that following the caravan meant food, and that reaching the Northland meant a chance to settle down in peace. Every refugee who heard the rumor joined the caravan.
Shrade was furious and wrote a letter to the Second Prince demanding an explanation. The Second Prince's reply was succinct: "There are roughly three hundred to four hundred thousand refugees in the Andinac Kingdom. Thanks to the caravan's clearing of the previous two provinces, a large amount of land was freed up, but even at his best, the Second Prince could only resettle around a hundred thousand of them. He was powerless over the rest who chose to follow the caravan. However, if the caravan were to clear out Verbasia Province as well, he might be able to resettle another hundred thousand or so refugees..."
Everyone's scalps went numb at the thought. The prospect of another hundred thousand or even two hundred thousand refugees continuously arriving was terrifying. If they ignored them, the thought of those hundred thousand refugees, driven by famine, storming the caravan to seize food was frightening enough. If they did deal with them, the caravan's food reserves — enough to feed fifty or sixty thousand people for three months — would be stretched so thin they might not last even one month. The only option was to attack the lords' estates and castles, seize their grain and supplies to feed the refugees trailing behind, and assist the Second Prince's efforts to resettle them.
This was exactly why Shrade felt he had fallen into a trap with no choice but to play along with someone else's scheme — a realization that left him seething with frustration.