Chương 656: Chapter 655: Death of Duke

Lord of Deerpond"The god of war, help us!" I swore and placed my hand on the wall of my bedroom as I felt the earth collapsing under my feet. My general had just woken me up, and I expected the bad news, like I had been receiving every day, but not this. These bastards are conquering city after city since their offensive began. They had even attacked from the sea. Destroying the Emperor's fleet. If not for the lightning clouds appearing over the sky. They would have captured Haltiv as well.

After all, the Emperor's navy couldn't hold them for even an hour. It wasn't at full strength, but it was a powerful force, but it was not enough.

"It is terrible," said Silva, my general. He didn't have to tell that. I know it's terrible; it's even worse news than the news about losing the last bit of my territory. All the news has been bad until five days ago, when Tabes captured the last of my territory. Though my army, people, and everything valuable had already left before they attacked, I had lost the territory. I only have Deerpond, but this will worsen things for us. It was as if things weren't bad enough.

There are the undead –hell bent on swallowing the whole region, Silver with his growing strength, and now this. Losing the last bit of territory was the worst news, but this is terrible. Duke of Blackwell was fighting on the mainland, but his death would affect us just as much as the mainland. The man was a military leader; he didn't choose a side, but was handling a front alone and had the support of both sides. Now, with his death, there is no effective leader to hold that front.

Those who are powerful and capable are busy with the other fronts. That means they will need someone to handle it. Someone who is just as powerful, capable, and not already leading a front. In the whole empire, there is only one person of that power –Marquess Gats! The imperials had been trying to get him, but seeing the way negotiations were going. The region would have at least two years if we were lucky. I had planned to use that time to build an army big enough to resist the undead. Now, I won't have that time.

I was thinking what to do when I noticed a change appearing on Silva's face, and I looked at him.

"Both of them declared the truce!" he informed.

"Fucking hell!" I cursed loudly. My voice was loud enough that all the guards heard it, but I don't care. The Emperor and the Princess's declaration of a truce is good for the empire, but it is bad news for the region because it reveals the dire state of affairs. They didn't declare the truce, even when the new offensive of the four kingdoms began, but they did now. If they could declare a truce, they could work together to bring Marquess Gats into an empire. That is the condition the man had.

Once he leaves, it will be an open season for the undead, and we are far from ready to deal with them. … Ashton Harbor"Hahaha…" The man with the staff started laughing as he heard the news. When he heard it for the first time, he couldn't believe it. He had contacted his sources and the island to confirm, and they confirmed. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The Duke of Blackwell is truly dead.

It was a massive battle, and the other party was barely able to survive, but he killed the duke, one of the pillars of the empire. Making the empire even weaker.

"Now, it won't be long before the region will be ours," said the man with the staff as he finally stopped laughing. There is no doubt in his heart that the bastard at Dustorn Fortress would leave soon. Once he does, there will be no one in the whole region capable of stopping them. He is the reason I had not dared to let my forces cross the river. He is powerful enough that even if I personally led with every undead and powerhouse under my command, I would receive a swift defeat.

Even coming out alive will be a distant possibility. I was warned to stay on this side of the river as long as he was in the region.

"Yes," Said the armoured man, before sighing.

"It's such a regret that we won't be able to lead the armies ourselves." He added Hearing that, I sighed as well. We are still trapped here and unable to go out.

"Not for long. I've heard that secret negotiations are underway with the merchant state. If they succeed, we will get a free hand in the region," I replied.

"Really?" he asked, and I nodded. I didn't tell him that merchants are demanding a lot in return, but the region is critical for some reason, and the higher-ups are willing to agree to many conditions. I hope they succeed. I want to lead the armies and crush everything that comes our way till we conquer the whole region. … Port Midlet Bam! The vase crashed into the office wall hard and loudly, shattering into hundreds of pieces. It was an expensive piece of art, but now it lies in ruin.

The mage in the room looked hesitantly at it. Wanting to cast reconstruction, but didn't. It is better to lie quiet when the lord is in his moods or there are consequences.

"We are fucked!" cursed Zanav as he calmed down.

"Soon, Gats will leave, and we will be alone with the undead and at their mercy," he added. For a minute, nobody spoke before his most trusted adviser stepped forward.

"Yes, the conditions are terrible, but not as much as we think them to be." Replied the middle-aged man.

"How is this not terrible? It is so terrible, I am thinking of escaping," said Zanav.

"Because, my lord, it will take time for the Marquess to leave, even if negotiations begin immediately. Which is enough time for us to get the forces that your father had promised,""Besides, we won't be the first target of the undead. It will be Silver, and seeing how madly buying those bombs, he might make the undead pay a little,""Even after they captured his cities, I don't think we will be their second target,""They will go for Deerpond first before coming at us. That gives us enough time to prepare.

Think deeply about that alliance proposal with Deerpond," he said. It made the man somewhat relieved.

"The undead could divide the forces and come all of us at once?" he asked, and a middle-aged man smiled.

"They could, but I don't think they would do this; they had failed the last two times with that strategy," replied the man. To which the man couldn't help but nod.

"Still, we are in grave trouble," he said, and the middle-aged man smiled. … Reja Harbale, Dustorn Fortress"They had finalised the negotiation team; they will be here in a week," I informed. It had been a few hours since the Duke of Blackwell died, but the effect was such that they had declared a truce and formed a negotiating team. I looked at the Marquess. He was silent. He is a man of few words, but in the past hour, he barely spoke.

"Who are they planning to use to lead the front temporarily?" he asked after a few seconds of silence. The Duke of Blackwell had died; someone must temporarily assume his role. They do not need to be as powerful as the duke, as the victory came at a cost to the enemies. It would take them at least a few months to recover, especially General Kalamazar of Edruin and another Lv. 50. Both of them had been seriously injured. It would take at least a few months before they would return to the battlefield.

That doesn't mean enemies remain idle.

"It's either General Lyndom or Count Norvin," I replied, and he nodded.

"Tell them to select Bass. He isn't as powerful as Lyndon, but he is an excellent defensive general," instructed Marquess.

"As you command," I replied and immediately sent the suggestion. Hun! I had just done it when information came, surprising me.

"It seemed like Tabes had started pulling back their forces?" he asked, and I smiled. I didn't even ask how he knew, because he had not received the message.

"Yes," I replied. The action has a clear meaning; that we could leave without worrying about them attacking us. If the negotiations are successful, then the likely front, led by the Marques, would be the one that the Duke of Blackwell had been leading, which is against Edruin and Geim. It is what Marquess desires. Those two may be allies of Tabes, but it will help Tabes a lot if Marquess keeps Edruin and Geim busy.

With us leaving, Tabes wouldn't have much difficulty capturing the region if they committed the serious forces.

"I have been receiving messages from the people. They want you to suggest their names for the fortress and the cities," I informed. We hadn't even started the negotiations, but people had already started eyeing the fortress and the cities we controlled. Some are willing to pay a massive price for it.

"Leave that to the imperials," he replied." I would have liked us to have a say in who replaced us here, but since Marquess said, I will not do anything. Still, I pity those people. Even if they get it, it will be hard to keep it. We are the reason; the undead hadn't crossed the river; they wouldn't have been so hesitant after we left. There is also Tabes. Sooner or later, they will come for it.