Watching Kaslai brazenly steal the credit right in front of him, Rayleigh lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the strange glint in his eyes.
"Thank you so much, sir! I've prepared a welcome banquet and rooms for everyone — please follow me back to the castle to rest..."
Baron
Following the baron into the castle, Rayleigh saw a large number of refugees inside, their faces all bearing expressions of panic.
"Sigh... with these damned Beastkin showing up, our harvest for this year is completely ruined..."
Baron Andrew grumbled somewhat resentfully as he led the way.
He then instructed his butler and wife to prepare for the upcoming banquet.
In the great hall of the castle, a lavish banquet was already underway.
Roasted chicken browned to a golden crisp, red wine that glistened like crystal, and thick slabs of white bread — one could say that in order to properly host Rayleigh and his companions, Baron Andrew had brought out every last bit of his finest provisions.
Of course, no matter how the world changed, the material comforts of the upper class were always a cut above those of the common folk.
Rayleigh swirled his goblet, watching the deep crimson wine spin gently within, a peculiar smile playing across his face.
"Rest assured, Baron Andrew! Silver Moon City will not stand by and do nothing about these Beastkin. As for matters like tax exemptions, you'll need to take that up with the city hall..."
At the head of the table, Kaslai chatted and laughed with the baron, his dignified bearing causing Baron Andrew to nod repeatedly, his face alight with admiration.
Even the several young women nearby — clearly the baron's daughters — had strange flickers of emotion in their eyes.
"Mage Rayleigh!"
At that moment, Kaslai called out Rayleigh's name.
"Sir Kaslai! Go ahead!"
Rayleigh remained seated, offering only a slight nod of acknowledgment. The gesture clearly drew displeasure in Kaslai's eyes.
"This guy... should have been dead long ago!"
Kaslai roared internally,but maintained his previous smile:«As per the military command,I will organize the nobles here in the rear to establish defenses. As for the battle at the front,that will rely on you!»
Baron Andrew glanced at Kaslai,then at Rayleigh,a look of surprise in his eyes.
He was no fool and could already discern the difference.
«That mage Rayleigh seems to have considerable status,yet he has a conflict with High Mage Kaslai...»
Under normal circumstances,Baron Andrew would already be considering how to exploit this relationship for his own benefit,but now he felt only apprehension.
«At a time like this,internal strife will only accelerate our own losses. What exactly are the people of Silver Moon City thinking?»
Baron Andrew complained inwardly,while recalling his own earlier actions. Only after confirming he had shown no disrespect toward Rayleigh and his people did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
But he also resolved not to meddle in matters between Kaslai and Rayleigh.
«Of course. That is originally my duty!»
To Kaslai’s surprise,Rayleigh agreed readily to the request. This left him somewhat astonished.
«Then,I require you to proceed to Vorne Village and garrison there!»
Kaslai said,as if it were the most natural thing.
«You’ll have to forgive me for that!» Rayleigh refused with a smile,yet his words caused Kaslai’s face to flush red. «The frontline troops are under my command. You have no authority to interfere!»
«Fine...» After taking several rough breaths,Kaslai barely suppressed the urge to strike out immediately. «But,to maintain contact,I need to assign a liaison officer to you. After all,your battalion’s grain supplies still require support from my side...»
This was a restriction,and a silent threat.
«Well,I can agree to that!» Rayleigh considered for a moment before consenting.
……
From atop the castle,Kaslai watched Rayleigh’s column slowly depart. The expression on his face instantly turned ferocious.
Two days later,within Rayleigh’s column.
«Lord Rayleigh!I believe we should not proceed to Cardi Village!»
The fellow who looked like a garishly decorated rooster strutted up to Rayleigh, his expression dripping with arrogance.
Seeing him approach, Rafinia's face twisted with disgust, and she quickly urged her horse away.
This was Malfoy, the liaison that Kaslai had force-fed into their group. He reportedly held a hereditary knight's title and wielded certain influence in Silver Moon City, and with Kaslai backing him, he feared no consequences whatsoever.
He didn't even show Rayleigh the bare minimum of respect.
"Is that so? And what's your suggestion?" Rayleigh regarded him with a calm, indifferent gaze.
"I believe that, in accordance with Lord Kaslai's earlier proposal, marching to Vorne Village to station ourselves would be the correct decision!" Malfoy showed absolutely no fear.
In his mind, he had a powerful faction behind him, he himself was a knight of Silver Moon City — what could this backwater noble from who-knows-where possibly do to him?
"I refuse." Rayleigh looked at the fellow with mild amusement. The power of political influence might be effective in peacetime, but in wartime, the one who controlled military force held the true authority! A man who couldn't even grasp this much might as well be dead.
"What?!" Sir Malfoy was overcome with fury. "You dare to..."
His fingers trembled as he glared at Rayleigh as though staring down a mortal enemy.
Malfoy simply could not fathom that such an insolent person could exist — someone who didn't even care about Kaslai. Did this man not realize his life was in Kaslai's hands?
Under these circumstances, how could Rayleigh possibly dare to resist?
Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
At that very moment, a massive plume of dust billowed toward them from the distance — the cloud raised by a huge column of men and horses.
"All units, alert!" The alarm blared, nearly sending Malfoy crashing to the ground. His face drained of color in an instant, and the sight drew sneers of contempt from the knights around him.
The thunderous hoofbeats grew closer and closer, and then a massive caravan emerged into the soldiers' line of sight, the purple banner bearing the Roland crest blazing even more brilliantly atop the carriages.
"That's the Violet Banner! The crest of the Brigade Commander's family!"
The soldiers erupted in cheers.
"This... this is..."
Malfoy stood trembling, watching as the enormous caravan on the other side slowly merged with their own column. A butler-like elderly man even came over in person to pay his respects to Rayleigh.
"Nearly five hundred private soldiers, and this many grain carts..."
Among the other party's caravan, besides a large number of elite soldiers, there were also enormous wagons, their sacks of wheat all bulging to capacity.
"This means the other party's strength..."
Malfoy's face grew ever paler. With these reinforcements added to Rayleigh's original two hundred professionals and three hundred auxiliary soldiers, his forces now numbered over a thousand — and with grain supplies that were entirely self-sufficient, there was absolutely no need to rely on Casle behind them anymore.
"What's even more terrifying is that these people only listen to that one man. This kind of strength would be more than enough to launch a rebellion..."
Malfoy grew increasingly frightened, his voice even becoming shrill: "No... impossible! How can there be this many people!"
"Have you forgotten that my Violet Fiefdom is also over here?"
A mocking smile played across Rayleigh's face.
"Violet Fiefdom?" Malfoy froze, then immediately recalled the other party's fief — but that was nothing more than a vast stretch of wasteland, where even savages were few and far between.
Watching Malfoy's dazed expression, Rayleigh chuckled inwardly.
Although the Violet Fiefdom truly had nothing on it, it served as the perfect identity and cover.
With this noble title in hand, Tifa and the forces under him could instantly transform into Rayleigh's own private soldiers of nobility — they could even move all the grain, weapons, and other military provisions they had accumulated before over here for safekeeping.
Now, revealing everything at once had indeed produced a decisive effect.
"Young Master! We've received word..."
At that moment, Tifa's expression was grave as he whispered urgently in Rayleigh's ear.
"Is that so? I understand..."
Rayleigh looked at Tifa before him. The man had already quietly crossed the threshold, becoming a [Legendary]-rank powerhouse! Perhaps even Rayleigh's own Pontiff.
"Pass my orders — everyone, move out to the west! Target: the Nesser Mountains!"
Rayleigh issued the command directly.
"What? What?"
Malfoy was the first to shout: "Lord Rayleigh! Please mind the orders you're under! Are you truly trying to defy Silver Moon City's military command?"
"So what if I defy them?"
Rayleigh grinned mockingly, watching the blood drain from Malfoy's face.
"Did you really think those military regulations and Silver Moon City's noble titles could truly bind me?"
Originally, all of Rayleigh's subordinates had been Silver Moon City's people. Even if he had some plan, it would have been impossible to carry out — unless he left alone and became a fugitive with a warrant out for his arrest.
But things were different now. A noble's private soldiers were absolutely loyal to their master. With this force in hand, Rayleigh could easily bring all of his former subordinates under his control.
After more than a year of command, he had already secretly brought most of these troops under his sway. Now there would be no issue at all.
"What?! You dare disobey orders?!"
Malfoy at this moment was like a little girl facing impending doom, her voice shrill enough to make one's eardrums ache.
"Mm! Also, I've found you quite the eyesore for a long time now. Drag him away and behead him!"
Rayleigh waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly.
Two burly private soldiers immediately seized Malfoy by the arms on either side and lifted him up like a helpless chick.
"For the sake of you about to meet the god of death, I'll let you in on one more piece of news..."
Rayleigh leaned close to Malfoy, a malicious smile on his face: "The Beastkin army has already launched a surprise attack on Silver Moon City, and I'm afraid they're about to complete the encirclement... That is to say, the noble status you're so proud of, along with all your privileges, are about to vanish..."