Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Chapter 395: Two consecutive titles (please subscribe, please vote)

Under Carlos's short hair, his steel teeth made a clicking sound, showing his inner determination.

He knew very well that he must not be replaced. This was not only related to his status and personal desires, but also to the safety of the Black Earth Fortress.

Over the past twenty years, he has grown from a small team leader to the deputy commander of the Iron Blood Corps, dedicating his entire life to this land.

His knowledge of the Black Earth Fortress is unmatched, and his military exploits are so great that he is known as the "Blood Lion of the Frontier".

"My Lord Marquis, I have a request."

After Carlos said this, he took a deep breath. This deputy legion commander, who had killed countless enemies, was actually a little hesitant.

"Speak." Marquis Mark responded concisely. He had already guessed what Carlos was going to ask for, perhaps something related to promotion.

However, Carlos' answer was beyond his expectations: "The war in the Black Soil Plain requires more troops."

Marquis Mark stroked his beard, feeling a little surprised: "Oh? How much do you need?"

"At least two hundred thousand." Carlos clenched his fists and spoke firmly.

He was ready to retake the fortress at all costs, even at the cost of lives.

In his eyes, this is his duty and his commitment to this land.

"Impossible. The Empire's other defense lines also need troops, at most 50,000."

It's not that Marquis Mark didn't want to send troops, but that he couldn't. Among his 300,000 troops, 200,000 had already gone to support Hill Grand Canyon, which was the sphere of influence of Duke Edward Hewlett.

According to common sense, Marquis Mark should not send soldiers to Hill Grand Canyon. The Black Soil Plain is almost broken through, so how can he still have the leisure to support others?

Marquis Mark was also forced to do so.

The Duke and the Marquis were not on the same level in status, and he dared not disobey the Duke's orders.

Moreover, many interests and his leverage were involved, so he had to compromise.

Therefore, Marquis Mark only had about 100,000 troops available.

They wanted to retake the Black Earth Fortress with only about 50,000 troops. Not to mention Carlos, even the officials of Marquis Mark around him felt it was outrageous.

The Black Earth Fortress itself is a huge meat grinder. If it is filled with human lives, it will be impossible to attack it without hundreds of thousands of lives.

Giving them only 50,000 troops now is tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

Although Marquis Mark understood that what Carlos said was true, he also had to consider his own political needs and positions.

If he agreed to Carlos' request, the Duke's mission might not be completed, which might bring him serious political consequences.

Therefore, Marquis Mark would rather let his subordinates suffer. After all, they are just a bunch of peasants. Marquis Mark would not feel sad no matter how many of them died. At most, he could ask his nephew to go to the border to capture another group of people after a while.

Hearing Marquis Mark's words, Carlos raised his head with a whoosh, and his armor collided with each other. Marquis Mark was frightened by his momentum and felt a chill in his heart.

"Carlos, what do you want to do!"

Marquis Mark roared in a timid manner, and hundreds of his personal soldiers drew their swords from their waists and surrounded Carlos.

"My Lord Marquis, don't you still have 300,000 troops under your rule? If you don't have enough soldiers, I..."

"No need to say more, at most 80,000, that's it."

At this tense moment, a knight in silver armor came riding at full speed.

He was very agile and jumped off the horse without waiting for it to stop, his movements clean and neat.

The arrival of the knight instantly broke the stalemate.

The silver-armored knight looked around and finally his eyes fell on Marquis Mark. He read out the order in a loud voice: "Lord Mark, Viscount, His Majesty has ordered that in view of the urgency of the Black Soil Plains front and the fact that the Viscount has not been deeply involved in military and political affairs for many years, it has been decided that during the Black Soil Plains War, all military and political affairs will be handed over to Carlos, the Legion Commander, for full management. His Highness has dispatched 300,000 elite troops to reinforce the Black Soil Plains front to ensure the stability of the war situation. Viscount, please return to Holy Dragon City immediately. This is His Highness's handwritten order." After that, the silver-armored knight took out a dagger inlaid with gems from his arms.

This dagger is obviously a token of the royal family, symbolizing the supremacy of imperial power.

Upon seeing this, all the people around fell to their knees and expressed their highest respect to the dagger and to the Emperor who was far away in Holy Dragon City.

"What did you call me just now?" Marquis Mark swallowed hard, as if he wanted to confirm whether he had heard it wrong.

"Lord Viscount Mark." The silver-armored knight repeated it clearly, and every word hit Mark's heart like a hammer.

These words seemed to drain all of Marquis Mark's strength, and he fell off his horse and landed in the dust on the ground.

The surrounding soldiers and bodyguards looked at this scene in astonishment, and no one dared to step forward to help him.

The Knight in Silver Armor continued, "Also, Lord Viscount, His Highness has personally sent people to investigate the renovation of the Black Iron Fortress 14 years ago..."

However, Viscount Mark could no longer hear anything. His ears were buzzing and his heart was filled with panic and despair.

For a hereditary marquis, demotion was an extremely rare punishment, usually only in the case of serious crimes, such as embezzlement of military funds.

And now, he is facing demotion due to embezzlement of funds for the renovation of Black Earth Fortress.

Viscount Mark's crime was exposed and his title was demoted two levels, from the prestigious Marquis directly to Viscount. This severe punishment was rare in the history of the empire.

Normally, a marquis's title would only be reduced to an earl. However, because what Marquis Mark did this time was so unkind, the dean of the Holy Dragon Academy couldn't stand it anymore, and even used his influence to reduce Mark's title by one level, completely excluding him from the core circle of the nobility.

You should know that the gap between a marquis and a viscount is as huge as heaven and earth. Among the five major titles of duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron, the first three are hereditary titles, but the last two can basically be obtained as long as one has made enough contributions.

The once high and mighty Marquis Mark is now only Viscount Mark, and his status and reputation have collapsed overnight.

What is more serious is that the relevant departments will conduct an in-depth investigation into his past deeds. I am afraid that his status as a viscount alone will not be enough to protect him from legal sanctions.

At the same time, the fate of Blood Lion Carlos was completely opposite.

He was promoted directly from deputy corps commander to corps commander. This leap not only made his status soar, but also gave him real military power.

In the official system of the empire, the position of the commander of the Iron Blood Legion is already higher than that of the count. Carlos' current power and status are no longer comparable to the past.

"When will the 300,000 soldiers arrive?" Carlos took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement.

This sudden change caught him off guard, but his years of military career enabled him to adjust quickly.

"It will take at most one day. They are elite troops drawn from the Hill Grand Canyon." The messenger replied.

"Very good." Carlos nodded. This batch of reinforcements will greatly enhance their combat effectiveness, and the hope of retaking the Black Earth Fortress will also be greatly increased.

"Your Majesty has another oral order," the messenger continued, "Because Viscount Mark is old and dim-sighted, he mistakenly brought Lin Yi, the young apprentice of the dean of the Holy Dragon Academy, into the army. Your Majesty orders Commander Carlos to send him back within three days."

After hearing the messenger's words, Carlos suddenly realized why Marquis Mark suffered such a terrible end this time.

It turned out that he not only offended the emperor, but also offended the dean of the Holy Dragon Academy. He really brought this upon himself.

The silver-armored knight bowed to Carlos, indicating that the order had been read out, and then rode on his tall horse towards the capital, Holy Dragon King City.

Carlos pulled the adjutant next to him and whispered a few words to him.

The adjutant hesitated and said, "Commander, isn't this too hasty? The reinforcements will be here soon. Should we wait until they arrive before taking action?"

Carlos shook his head and said firmly: "Don't wait for reinforcements. It would be a good thing if those tribal bastards were stationed in the fortress. What I am most worried about is that they will sabotage the fortress from inside. Don't forget, their goal is to invade us, and they will not give up the fortress easily."

Carlos sighed. Although attacking the fortress would cause an astonishing number of casualties, and hundreds of thousands of lives would be killed on the battlefield with just one order from him, the war had developed to the point where it was no longer a matter of casualty rate. As the saying goes, a merciful army cannot be commanded. Carlos was ruthless enough, otherwise he would not have been able to climb to such a position.

(End of this chapter)