I'm not a lord

Chapter 280 The Death of the Duke of the Swamp (Part 2)

"Don't let Lothair get away!"

"Capture Lothair in exchange for territory and a title!"

"Killing him is fine, his head is enough!"

Surrounded by his guards, Lothair hurried through the castle. Hearing shouts coming from all directions, he understood the reason for the rebellion.

Clearly, this was a joint rebellion launched by Arno outside the city and the nobles inside the city. No single force could have broken through the north gate defenses so quickly, nor could they have created chaos both inside and outside the city at the same time.

The thought that the nobles of the Crown Territory in the castle were leading the rebellion made Lothair curse inwardly: How dare you betray me, you reckless and stupid traitors?

I stayed in the Crown Territory to fight Otto for your sake. I have only just been defeated, and you are already eager to offer my head to Otto?

Yes, a large number of royal nobles were indeed captured by Otto, but the war was not completely over. The Crown Territory lost, not the entire Northern Kingdom!

Even after crossing Three Rivers, you still have the strength to resist the southern invaders led by Otto. You are not the only noble group in the North!
With your traitorous behavior, do you still have even a shred of noble honor in your hearts?

Is a family reputation with two hundred years of heritage really so worthless?

With your cowardly nature, you shouldn't be nobles, and you're not worthy of wearing armor and carrying swords!
Go to a brothel, find a dress to wear, and put on heavy makeup—that would be perfect!
To be honest, Lothair was truly frustrated, and even heartbroken because of his grief and indignation.

Previously, he had just entered Amber Harbor when he was defeated by Otto. Although he was upset, he knew that he was not as strong as his opponent and accepted it. At the same time, he also considered retreating to Golden Deer Fortress.

If I can't beat Otto, can't I at least go back and defend my base?
It was Earl of Coldwind who suggested that he stay in the Crown Territory and encouraged him to send envoys to contact the nobles of the Crown Territory.

After careful consideration, Lothair finally adopted the suggestion and, by using himself as a figurehead, managed to unite the nobles of the royal domain.

Although he also longed to use the military strength of these nobles to turn the tide and reclaim the Northern Crown that 'rightfully' belonged to him.

But in Lothair's own view, he was ultimately fighting for the local nobles, and he only reluctantly became their banner in order to defend their territory.

How could they betray us? Are they even human? They're worse than dogs!

These aristocrats are utterly ungrateful! Even a dog knows to wag its tail at its owner.
Despite his grief, Lothair did not stop running. He and his twenty-odd guards raced through the castle, and the golden stag flag fluttering in the night above the west gate was already in sight.

More than two hundred palace cavalrymen were stationed at the west gate.

Lothair was confident that he could break through the encirclement under the protection of the court cavalry, whose loyalty and fighting ability were beyond question.

Once he reaches the West Gate and breaks through the mercenary encampment outside, the Jing River, which is now frozen over, lies to the west. The frozen river is now large enough to support cavalry. Once he reaches land, he can escape completely.

"Sir, be careful!"

Just then, a trusted bodyguard shouted and stood in front of him.

The guard brandished his longsword and deflected three crossbow bolts fired from the front of the corridor.

Seeing this, Lothair cursed, "These bastards have even used crossbows!"

Crossbows are not like swords; once fired, there's no turning back. If someone dies, they're truly dead.

Furthermore, the crossbow has extremely strong penetrating power, easily piercing through chainmail, and at close range, even plate armor cannot completely protect against it.

This shows that the rebels truly didn't care about Lothair's life or death; they only wanted his head.

Seeing the rebels' deadly attack, Lothair's ruthlessness was also ignited.

Although he has lived a life of luxury over the years, he has rarely fought on the front lines.

In his youth, he was a dueling master who was virtually unbeatable in the North. Before inheriting the title of Duke, he repeatedly charged into battle on the front lines, his longsword severing countless heads.

"Follow me and charge out! To the west gate!"

Lothair drew his longsword and took a step to the front of the group. He slashed diagonally with his sword and cut down a rebel soldier blocking his way.

The guards who followed closely behind naturally gained momentum and quickly broke through the rebels' first line of defense with the Duke.

But this was far from enough; as time went on, more and more local minor nobles joined the rebellion.

They all realized that if they wanted to preserve their family's territory, the only way was to seek refuge with Otto.

Because Otto will be attacking the western region of the Crown Territory next February, neither Earl of White River nor Earl of Mirror Iron can quench their immediate thirst.

Moreover, can these two major forces really stop Otto's progress?
Even the strongest Marsh Duke lost everything, and the great nobles of the Crown Territory all became Otto's prisoners. It's hard to say whether these two can save the North.

Of course, some local nobles did not participate in the rebellion, but they did not stop the rebels either; they simply stood aside and watched the battle silently.

At this moment, the fluttering snowflakes gradually stopped, and a lone moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the River Bend Fort, which was in chaos.

The Duke of the Marshland finally broke out of the main castle building and arrived at the central castle grounds with his personal guards.

However, since the north gate had been breached, a large number of rebels, led by Arno, rushed into the fortress.

Lothair and his guards were met with a surge of more rebels coming from all directions.

They are like insects caught in a spider web; the more they struggle, the tighter the web becomes.

Lothair stopped shouting and simply kept swinging his longsword to kill any enemy in his sight. He was highly skilled in martial arts and had amazing strength. His longsword was forged by a master craftsman. Combined with his plate armor and steel helmet, he was like a human Gundam. Almost no rebel could withstand his attack.

No matter how many enemies he killed, the rebel lines remained unmoved. Every time someone fell, someone else immediately filled the gap, keeping Lothair and his personal guards pinned down and unable to advance an inch.

Both sides involved in the war were well aware that this was a struggle with no way out.

There can only be one winner; whoever backs down dies!

Lothair was still holding on, but his personal guards were falling one after another.

And a hint of despair gradually appeared in his bloodshot eyes.

The more rebels were killed, the more there seemed to be; it was as if they could never be killed off.

But what about our own reinforcements?
Are the palace cavalry at the East and West Gates deaf or blind?
Don't you know to come and protect the commander?
In fact, the two palace cavalry units had already been held back by mercenaries sent by Arno.

The rebels inside the castle also launched an attack on the east and west gates, forcing the palace cavalry to hold their ground at the gate towers and walls.

Even more deadly, Arnaud also launched a psychological offensive against these cavalrymen who had been away from home for a long time.

“Once Lothair is dead, you can return to Golden Deer, think of your wives and children waiting for you to come home, lay down your weapons, we are not the enemy.”

The mercenaries attacking the city gates chanted the lines Arno had prepared, stirring up homesickness in many of the court cavalry.

They had been away from their homeland for almost a year and a half, following the Duke of the Swamp in his campaigns across the Crown Territory.

If he doesn't go back soon, his wife at home might have a child with them.

Before the Second Battle of Amber Harbor, these court cavalrymen were undefeated in battle, and wherever they went, all surrendered at the mere sight of them. Almost every cavalryman had plundered enough wealth to last several lifetimes, so their homesickness was not yet intense.

But the loss to Otto in Amber Harbor was too fatal.

In those days, there were no banks, so the cavalrymen would carry the looted goods with them.

In their hasty retreat from Amber Harbor, they abandoned most of their valuables, hoping to escape as quickly as possible.

At the same time as the defeat, bad news also came from his hometown.

The Duke of Meadows' bandit army stormed the area around Golden Deer Castle, plundering extensively. The Earl of White River's army forcefully captured Turbulentshire, threatening the heartland of Oakshire.

From that time onward, the call to 'return home' spread rapidly among the court cavalry.

Duke Lothair of the Marsh had no choice but to send his eldest son back to Golden Deer Castle with a thousand cavalrymen in secret.

But the five or six hundred people who stayed behind only felt increasingly homesick.

Tonight, Riverbend Fortress has been plunged into chaos, and they know it is a rebellion against Lothair.

However, many cavalrymen were not motivated to rescue their commander, and some mid- to low-ranking officers also harbored resentment towards Lothair.

Two consecutive crushing defeats caused Lothair's prestige among these cavalrymen to plummet.

They no longer believed that their leader could lead them to continued victories.

They longed to return to their long-lost homeland more than the endless war.

Out of professional ethics and respect for the Duke, these court cavalry did not lay down their weapons and surrender on the spot.

However, they did not take the initiative to rescue the enemy; they simply followed orders to guard the city walls and did not let any more rebels in.

The passive resistance of the court cavalry became the final straw that broke Lothair's back.

He fought for an unknown amount of time, but the reinforcements he longed for never arrived.

Arnaud's appearance dealt him the most fatal blow.

"Lothair, stop. You've already lost. Look around you. How many guards are still standing? Look up to the west. Has that golden deer banner been moved?"

Arno pushed through the crowd, stood before Lothair with a smile on his face, as if victory was assured.

Lothair braced his longsword against the ground with his right hand, raised his head, and his once dignified face was now contorted with rage. A caged beast roared from his throat: "Arno! You treacherous villain! Without me, would you have your current status and title?"

Before the war, Arno and the Power Mercenary Group were stationed near Three Rivers City, mainly serving Lothair and the Three Rivers City Council.

Without Lothair's permission, how could Arno have gained a foothold in Rivers?

Later, when Lothair went to war against his illegitimate son Maurice, the Arno Force mercenary group marched eastward with the army, responsible for incorporating various ragtag armies along the way and procuring provisions for the main force.

During this period, he was able to continuously expand his mercenary group thanks to Lothair's support and tacit approval.

Before the final battle with Otto, Lothair even went so far as to bestow upon Arno the title of Earl.

Although it was just an empty title, he was the first mercenary leader in the Northern Territory in two hundred years to receive the title of Earl.

What Lothair values ​​is nothing more than Arnaud's ability and ruthlessness; he needs a henchman who can do the dirty work and the hard work.

Regardless, Lothair had done everything he could to take care of and promote Arno, this down-on-his-luck nobleman from the south.

In response to Lothair's insults, Arnaud responded with a disdainful snort:

"Now you dare to accuse me of betrayal? What a joke! If you hadn't wanted to kill me and then take over the Power Mercenary Group, would I have even bothered to launch a rebellion?"

Arno also has his reasons. It was clearly Lothair who broke his promise first, and I was just acting in self-defense!
"You!" Lothair was so enraged that he was speechless for a moment.

At the same time, he looked around and found that most of his personal guards had fought to the death, and only less than five people were still standing.

Meanwhile, the Golden Deer Flag still fluttered in the moonlight towards the west gate.

Arno said no more, simply waving his hand: "Kill them all."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a large group of rebels rushed forward with their weapons. In their hungry eyes, Lothair's head was not a head, but a genuine noble title!
Sometime later, the snow stopped completely, and the crowd in the center of the fort gradually dispersed, leaving only a glaring bloodstain on the snow.

In Kawanuma Prefecture, Lynn entered his third year in White Bear Territory.

Over the past two years, he has transformed the once barren Baihe River basin into a truly prosperous land.

The region's permanent population has more than tripled, while farmland yields have generally doubled.

By this autumn, the territory's overall agricultural output will rise further, and the 50,000 newly surrendered peasants are ready to go and start production as soon as spring planting begins.

At the same time, Lynn also built a powerful army capable of protecting his territory and expanding outwards.

With the arrival of the new year, this army will surely be able to conquer more territory and population for him.

On the very first day of the new year, Lynn received an absolutely shocking message.

Victor had just received an urgent report from Three Rivers City when he hurriedly found Lynn, who was playing with his eldest son in the living room.

Because the situation was so urgent, he disregarded the presence of women and went straight to Lynn's side, whispering urgently, "My lord, Duke Lothair of the Marshland is dead, he died in River Bend, reportedly from a rebellion!"

Lynn calmly handed his eldest son back to Leah, who tactfully carried her son out of the living room, closing the door behind her.

Once the door was closed, Lynn immediately asked, "Is the information reliable?"

Victor handed over the intelligence with both hands and replied, "Absolutely reliable. A troop of Lothair's court cavalry has hurriedly arrived in Three Rivers City from the east, bringing this message. A councilor recognizes the commander of this troop, so there is absolutely no problem with his identity."

Lynn took the book and examined it carefully. Finally, he sighed, "Lothair's death was too sudden. Just half a year ago, I thought he was very likely to seize the crown and was prepared to confront him for many years. How could he be dead in just a few months?"

Ever since the assassination of Roman, who was impersonating Baron White Bear, Lynn has regarded the Duke of the Marshland as his number one enemy.

After all, this guy has both skill and strength, and was once very close to winning the crown of the North.

In Lynn's initial plan, he might need to fight hard for two or three years before he could completely defeat this formidable enemy.

Unexpectedly, Otto of the South intervened in the struggle for the throne in the North, easily defeating Lothair twice and completely shattering the king's dream of this number one man in the North.

Now Lothair is completely offline, with no chance of a comeback.

But for Lynn, this may not be good news.

He had hoped that Lothair could entangle with Otto for a while longer, giving him more time to develop.

However, with Lothair's sudden death, Otto will undoubtedly be able to easily take over the vast majority of the Crown Territory's land and population.

At the same time, Otto also has the southern border as a backing, from which he can obtain a continuous supply of soldiers and resources.

This is undoubtedly an enemy far more terrifying than Lothair.

Moreover, there is almost no buffer zone between him and Lynn.

When spring comes next year, Lynn will face immense pressure from the East.

Lothair's death will also affect the diplomatic situation in the entire North.

Otto will inevitably intensify his efforts to win over Count Mirror Iron and Duke Grassland.

If these two can't withstand the pressure, Lynn may be attacked from three sides.

The only good news might be that resistance from Golden Deer Fortress might be less intense, allowing Lynn to potentially take control of the vast lands north of the Jinghe River more easily.

(End of this chapter)