I'm not a lord

Chapter 329 Preparations for Becoming King
“Oh, my dear Chloris, what are you drawing? It looks like the Northern Crown in Amber Harbor Cathedral?”

In the castle of Kawanuma Prefecture, Queen Katharina of the previous dynasty had just entered her daughter's office when she saw her daughter painting with her head down.

She tiptoed closer and was surprised to find that the drawing paper was actually a line drawing of a crown.

Moreover, the style of this crown is almost identical to that of the Northern Crown, even the placement of the twelve gemstones is exactly the same; it was designed entirely based on the Northern Crown.

Upon hearing this, Chloris stopped writing with her quill, looked up, and smiled brightly. "Oh, Mother, you've come. I was indeed designing a crown."

Katarina was originally enjoying her retirement in a small castle in Green Lake County, but recently the war in White River Territory has become urgent, with small groups of southern invaders occasionally trying to cross the White River to harass the territory.

Just in case, Andrei, the fifth brother in charge of the defense of the Shirakawa Territory, brought Katarina to the River Marsh County.

Lynn's family currently resides in the heavily guarded castle in River Marsh County, so there's no way anything could happen to Katharina living there.

Of course, Green Lake County isn't actually that dangerous.

Andrei built a tight defensive line by constructing watchtowers along the river, and he had a full three thousand troops at his disposal that he could mobilize at any time, so he had no problem defending against the diversionary forces left behind by Count Reiner.

Katarina walked to her daughter's side, carefully examined the crown sketch, and asked doubtfully, "Designing a crown? Whose head is this meant to be worn? Could it be... Lynn?"

Chloris did not answer.

But in these situations, silence is the best response.

"It's really for him? Isn't this a bit too hasty? Although I don't pay much attention to what's happening outside, I know from the maids' conversations that he hasn't even taken down Golden Deer Castle yet." Katarina was genuinely surprised.

Ever since moving into the castle in Green Lake County, she has made up her mind to stay out of worldly affairs.

But the war forced her to leave the beautiful castle that resembled a paradise, and also pulled her back into the dull and cruel arena of power.

Moreover, this matter is indeed quite significant.

A crown is a ceremonial object used during a king's coronation, and this crown was specially modeled after the crown of the North, which shows that Lynn's goal is the title of 'King in the North'.

The question is, does Lynn's current territory deserve this title?
"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." Without sufficient strength, rashly declaring oneself king could lead to immense pressure that could crush Lynn.

Katarina was still hoping to get long-term protection from Lynn and didn't want this rising star of the North to fall like a shooting star.

“Mother, you should not get involved in political matters. Besides, this is just a sketch and cannot prove anything.”

In fact, Lynn assigned the task of designing the crown, scepter, and other ceremonial objects to Chloris.

In White River Territory, besides Katarina, only Chloris had close contact with the complete set of coronation ritual objects in Amber Harbor Cathedral, so she was truly the only one capable of this task.

Katarina reached out and pinched her daughter's plump, delicate cheek, teasingly saying, "I think you're just eager to become queen."

"Of course I want to be queen. What woman in this world could refuse the title of queen?" Chloris never hid her desire and ambition.

She then added firmly, "But I will be Lynn's queen, and he will become the new King in the North, saving the kingdom from war."

Katarina withdrew her hand and sighed softly, "It's not that I want to stop you, it's just that I think this is all happening too hastily."

Chloris suddenly stood up and said seriously:

"Is it too hasty? Mother, this matter must be handled as soon as possible. Don't you think the North needs a true king right now? We can't keep letting Otto steal power in the North. If no one stands up to oppose him, the entire North will fall into the hands of the Southerners sooner or later!"

Actually, Chloris initially thought that Lynn was rushing things a bit too much with the coronation.

After all, Lynn hasn't even unified the Swamp Territory yet, and suddenly he led a large army across the river to the Vale Territory, saying he wanted to eliminate the Southern Invading Army led by Earl Reiner.

Wouldn't that be fighting on two fronts?

However, Lynn explained his reasons for doing so in a later letter, saying that in order to take Golden Deer without bloodshed, he had to first eliminate this Southern Invading Army.

Chloris quickly figured out the key point after a moment's thought.

It was clear that the remaining forces in Golden Deer Fort were still putting up a stubborn resistance, even hoping that the Southern Invaders would defeat Lynn.

This is actually a follow-up effect of Otto III's coronation in Amber Harbor.

He now calls himself King in the North and claims the right to claim the entire Northern Kingdom, and is entitled to punish any rebellion that does not obey him.

Both the Southern Invading Army, led by Earl Reiner and Earl Harvey, boldly invaded the Northern Inland based on this logic.

If the native forces in the North do not put forward their own king, they will always be labeled as 'rebels' and will seem to lack confidence in their resistance.

This is the importance of 'reputation'.

While Lynn's self-declaration of himself king would certainly make him a prime target for Otto, it would also establish a legitimate banner for the native powers of the North.

He could use this to declare to the entire continent: We, the people of the North, are fighting the invaders in the name of the King of the North, not as traitors who have started a rebellion.

“You’re right, and I shouldn’t have interfered in these things in the first place; it was my fault.” After thinking it over, Katarina nodded emphatically, clearly convinced by her daughter.

Actually, she felt a little embarrassed, after all, she came from the Southern Border, grew up there, and only married into the Northern Border after reaching adulthood, so she was at least half a Southern Border person.

Her daughter Chloris had never been to the South and, being the daughter of the King of the North, had always considered herself an absolute Northman.

When considering the same political issues, the mother and daughter occasionally disagree because of their different identities.

“Alright, Mother, why don’t you go back to your room and rest for a while? I’ll finish what I’m doing and then we’ll have lunch together.” With that, Chloris sat down again and picked up her quill pen to start drawing and writing once more.

Shortly after Katarina left, Lia arrived at the office.

Chloris picked up several blueprints and solemnly handed them to Leah, instructing, "These are the complete design blueprints, including the crown, scepter, and golden orb. Give them to your brother Leon as soon as possible and have him arrange for craftsmen to secretly produce them."

These three ceremonial objects were all made in imitation of the set in Amber Harbor Cathedral, with the purpose of demonstrating Lynn's 'legitimacy' in establishing himself as king.

Of course, this was only temporary. His ambitions and appetite could not be satisfied by a mere title of king.

For Lynn, all he needed to do now was borrow the claim rights carried by Chloris, and the legacy of the Northern Dynasty behind those rights. "Okay, I'll handle it as soon as possible." Leah accepted the few flimsy design drawings with both hands.

In the castle in River Marsh County, Leah currently acts as Chloris's deputy, assisting her with various tasks within the castle and its territory.

Although she felt somewhat resentful, Leah had no choice but to accept her current position.

Who can blame her when her background is so different?
The thought that the woman in front of her was about to become Lynn's wife and be crowned queen caused Leah unbearable pain in her heart.

However, she quickly began to comfort herself: It's okay, Leah, you still have a chance. If Chloris never manages to give birth to a boy, then everything will eventually belong to Albert!
Albert is the eldest son that Leah gave birth to for Lynn. The little boy is already six months old, strong, and has a good appetite every day.

Leah has won custody of her son, and she will personally educate him and strive to raise him into an outstanding man who can compete for inheritance rights.

Chloris could more or less guess Leah's little scheme, but she wasn't afraid. After all, she was still young and healthy, and she would definitely be able to give birth to a boy in the future.

After finishing her business, Chloris asked, "By the way, is there still no news from the Valley Territory?"

Leah shook her head and replied, "There's no news yet, but I've always believed that Lynn can win every war."

Meanwhile, Lynn was taking stock of his troops in Perch City.

The vast majority of the troops involved in the pursuit have successfully returned to their units, bringing back large numbers of prisoners and spoils of war.

Aside from the small number of troops lost in the pursuit, only Karula and two hundred barbarian archers have not yet returned to their ranks.

The second brother, Hugh, joked, "Could they be lost? Should we send some men out to look for them?"

As a core commander, he naturally knew that the mission of these barbarians was to search the mountains south of Perch City.

Even though the wilderness dwellers are skilled in mountain warfare, they are not immune to getting lost when they come to unfamiliar territory.

“Yes, go find Vasa and borrow a batch of guides to bring these squadrons back as soon as possible.” Lynn clearly agreed with Hugh’s suggestion.

At this point, more than a full day had passed since the pursuit began, and the pursuing troops should have returned to Perch City by that evening at the latest.

Therefore, the possibility that these archers from the wilderness got lost cannot be ruled out.

Count Vasa of Mirror Iron has now left Perch City and is stationed with his troops in the camp south of the city.

But before the order could be given, a messenger brought good news:
"My lord, all four detachments of barbarians have returned, and they brought Earl Reiner back with them!"

Reiner did come, but he wasn't a living person; he was a corpse.

In response, Carula explained: "I definitely wanted to capture him alive, but the old man was too stubborn. He had a dagger hidden in his waistband, and even after I knocked his longsword away, he still resisted fiercely. In the chaos, two stupid kids killed him, and there was nothing I could do."

According to Karula, her two squadrons ran into two other squadrons while searching the mountains. The two sides joined forces and found traces of the enemy entering the mountains in the afternoon.

They then pursued him throughout the night, finally catching up with Count Reiner late at night as he prepared to spend the night in the mountains.

The Earl of the Southern Border was accompanied by about fifty men, all of whom were skilled fighters.

These enemy troops refused to surrender and resisted to the bitter end.

The two sides fought fiercely in the mountains late at night, and the barbarian side ultimately won a great victory, almost annihilating the enemy army and capturing only five seriously wounded soldiers.

These seriously wounded prisoners all died on the way, so not a single one was left alive.

After learning what had happened, the third brother, Yang, commented, "This Leiner has quite a reputation among the people of the Southern Territory; he actually manages to gather so many assassins around him."

The second brother, Hugh, scoffed, "They all know that even if they surrender, they won't live long, so they might as well fight to the death."

The conflict between the North and the South has already reached a boiling point. Returning prisoners? That's definitely not going to happen.

Lynn has decided to throw all the captured Southerners into the mines. Their treatment will be determined by the Wastes who manage the mines, and how long they live will depend on their luck.

For the next two days, Lynn stayed in Perch City. On the one hand, he needed to reorganize his troops and distribute the spoils of war, and on the other hand, he needed to arrange ships to transport prisoners of war.

In this battle, he captured over 1,500 prisoners of war, even after accounting for the seriously wounded.

With the addition of these high-quality laborers, the production capacity of the salt mine in Baixiong County and the iron mine in Chixi County should be able to increase again.

During this period, Count Vasa of Mirror Iron sent people into the city several times to invite Lynn to join forces in attacking Count Harvey, who was entrenched in Mirror Iron Territory, but Lynn declined each time.

After all the prisoners of war had been transported away, Lynn boarded a ship heading north. There were still several forces in the Swamp Territory waiting for him to deal with.

As for Count Mirror Iron, well, he can only hope for the best.

Just as Lynn boarded the ship, Earl Harvey was leading his troops in a rapid retreat.

"Your Excellency, you can't leave! Earl Reiner hasn't come in yet. You should at least send some troops to search for his whereabouts, shouldn't you?"

Antoine knelt on one knee, pleading with Xavi to wait a little longer; he was practically begging him to kowtow.

Harvey sat on a small marching stool, munching on his rations, and replied between chews:

“Antoine, Reiner said in his letter to me that you are a smart man. You should understand that I have no power to save Reiner right now. If he can gain the saint's mercy, he can save his life. If he cannot gain mercy, then I can't help him.”

Harvey had led 5,000 core troops from Mirror Iron Territory to Perch City at Leiner's request.

But he encountered Antoine's retreating troops halfway there.

After traveling for half a day, he encountered scattered remnants of defeated soldiers and learned that Leiner had already been defeated.

Upon receiving the devastating news, Harvey did not hesitate for a moment and immediately led his troops back the way they came.

Support? Support my ass!
Harvey only has 5,000 troops at his disposal. How could he possibly defeat the combined forces of Lynn and Vasa?
If he had left a couple more steps later, he would have died here too, and he wouldn't have cared about whether Reiner lived or died.
Antoine pleaded again, "Count Reiner is your friend. Are you really going to disregard his life or death?"

Harvey scoffed, "Friend? Bah! If I ran into him on the battlefield in the Southern Territory, I'd gladly chop off his head myself!"

(End of this chapter)