Do you have a problem with necromancers?

Chapter 102 The Savage Invasion
At the beginning of the Second Human Empire, the city's citizen legion served as a sharp sword, sweeping across the four borders and conquering the frontiers, ending the era of constant warfare between local nobles.

Therefore, in the capital, the citizens are the ultimate political correctness. Voting thugs can fight each other and even kill each other, after all, that is a "struggle within the citizens," but if the capital's guards or noble knights attack commoners, it will immediately attract strong impeachment from the tribunals.

In the palace, Emperor Nilocas rarely lost his temper with his wife:

“Look at the mess you’ve made! You once promised me you could control this Amazon Association!”

"It was my oversight." Queen Margarita's face was ashen, and she was furious.

Someone in the association took it upon themselves to challenge Igor Florence, which she had actually noticed long ago, but she just didn't take it seriously—from the Queen's perspective, it was like two hunting dogs fighting over the position of the lead dog in front of their master, and she was watching with great interest.

Unexpectedly, one of the hunting dogs made a mistake and accidentally bit her!

“Raine did a good job this time, making a decisive move,” Nilocas said coldly. “If those mobs had really stormed the Golden Gate, the royal family would have been utterly disgraced.”

“But he offended the tribunes,” Mariana said in a low voice. “After all, civilians were killed, and if no one takes responsibility, neither the tribunes nor the legions will let it go.”

Nilocas said unwillingly:

"They've already attacked Kinmen, so why can't it be considered a rebellion?"

“If you insist on doing it this way, then so be it,” Mariana said with a wry smile.

The emperor could, of course, declare the Amazons' attack on Kinmen a rebellion, and the capital's garrison's execution of them legal and justified. But how many people would believe that these women, unarmed and without armor, truly intended to rebel?
If he cannot persuade the citizens of the capital, then Raine's actions constitute a massacre, violating the capital's greatest political correctness. The emperor can openly grant him a reprieve, but he cannot exempt him from punishment; otherwise, it would be unacceptable to the tribunals and the Imperial Legion—both are the backbone of the royalist party, far more important than a commander of the capital's garrison.

“Let him go back to the Reach to lay low for a while,” the Emperor decided again, speaking in a low voice. “After the election season, we’ll find an opportunity to recall him.”

Marianne nodded, feeling slightly disappointed.

She summoned Ryan to the capital hoping he could support the Amazon Association during the election season.

Unexpectedly, Renn faithfully completed his mission, preventing the royal family from suffering humiliation. On the contrary, the Amazon Society went out of control and devoured its master... Thinking about it this way, a sense of guilt arises spontaneously.

As everyone knows, the so-called guilt of important figures is actually closer to the regret of "such a useful tool is now unusable." Therefore, Margarita quickly composed herself, left the palace, called Lady Florence to her side, and asked in a cold voice:

"Who's behind this this time?"

“It’s Jenny Pfor,” Ms. Florence reported, having already ascertained the result.

“Jenny…” Margarita hesitated.

Queen Virtue remembered that the other party was the second young lady of the Pfor family and one of the founding members of the Amazon Society.

The Pfor family hailed from the Rocky City of the East and was a powerful noble family that the royal family needed to cultivate to maintain its rule over the East. Jenny's arrival in the capital to serve the Queen symbolized the Pfor family's submission to the royal family.

No wonder she was so bold; did she think I wouldn't dare kill her?

A cold glint flashed in Margarita's eyes, but she smiled and said:

"This matter won't end here, Florence. I will make her receive the punishment she deserves."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lady Florence neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply gave a slight bow.

She knew perfectly well that if the Empress was truly determined to kill someone, she would never say "let her be punished" beforehand; on the contrary, since she had made a special emphasis on it, it meant that she was likely to raise the paddle high but lower it gently.

Of course, this was to be expected. After all, she was the daughter of the Duke of Pfort. Killing her would be tantamount to severing ties between the royal family and the Pfort family, and the Queen would definitely not have the courage to do that.

This empress was cautious in some ways, but audacious in others. She and the emperor, who was sometimes radical and sometimes timid, were a perfect match.

“Tell Ryan the news,” Margarita continued. “He is a victim in this incident and has the right to know who is behind it.”

Should Raine avenge the Queen? Lady Florence's thoughts raced.

Although she hadn't known Ryan for very long, she was truly impressed by his keen judgment of the situation and his skillful control of timing during this incident.

It's important to understand that unless someone openly raises the flag of rebellion, any mob possesses the status of a citizen of the capital. Rein's blatant order for the capital's guards to massacre the citizens certainly cost him his position as commander, but the royal family also owes him a favor—after all, everyone can see that if the mob breaches the Golden Gate, the royal family's reputation will be utterly tarnished, becoming a laughingstock among the capital's nobility.

In the politics of the royal court, the personal likes and dislikes of the two emperors are far more important than the merits and demerits on your resume. Lady Florence only understood this at a very old age, while Renn, despite being so young, was able to accurately seize the opportunity to act in the midst of chaos. Such a terrifying ability to make decisions is truly not to be underestimated.

The empress wanted to use him to kill someone else, but the outcome may not be as she wished.

But it doesn't matter, what does it have to do with me anyway?

Ms. Florence sent a message to tell Rennes the news.

Raine was also stunned. What, do I have to deal with people who offend Her Majesty the Queen?
"Does Her Majesty the Queen want you to kill that person, Raine?" Dia asked, puzzled.

“Killing him would be a mistake,” Fatin said, frowning. “Her Majesty the Queen would feel incredibly relieved, and when the Pfor family holds her accountable later, she would not hesitate to shift all the blame onto Renn.”

“The problem now is that if we take action against this Jenny Pfor, whether by assassination or some other means, the Pfor family will definitely conclude that Her Majesty the Queen was behind it when they investigate,” Aurora warned. “Then we will have to take the blame for Her Majesty the Queen.”

Renn pondered for a moment, then said:
"Besalia."

"Ok?"

“I need a poison,” Ryan said succinctly. “After being poisoned, nothing will happen for a month, and then one day you will suddenly die as if from an acute illness.”

"The task of making and administering the poison is now in your hands. Don't let me down."

After saying that, he casually got up and left, leaving everyone in the office looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What does this mean?!" Bersalia asked, bewildered. "Didn't he even ask if I could make this kind of poison?"

"Can you make it?" Aurora asked immediately.

"It's okay, it's okay..."

"Tch." Ellina stood up and said, "Then it's your business, it's none of my concern."

"Then it's up to you." The others laughed and left the commander's office one after another.

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Jenny Pfort, the second daughter of the Duke of Pfort, quickly joined the Empress's faction after being sent to the capital, becoming a member of the Empress's camp. Her task was to maintain contact with the Empress as much as possible, thereby preserving the relationship between the royal family and the Pfort family.

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of noble ladies like Jenny in the capital, because for noblewomen of this era, engaging in social activities for their families was an innate duty, a responsibility and mission they had to fulfill.

However, the emergence of the Amazon Association showed her another possibility in life.

Jenny finally realized that being a noble lady could also mean commanding thousands of people to charge into battle, just like their brothers.

We too can build our own grand ambitions and make our enemies tremble and crawl at our feet!

Jenny's first enemy was Ego Florence.

The Amazon Society has now recruited a large number of noble ladies and wives, but their influence can only be realized through their husbands and sons. Once the Society successfully elects its own representative, it means she can easily mobilize these connections and earn a great deal of prestige for herself.

Therefore, he must find a way to get rid of Ms. Florence so that he can have a chance to take her place.

The Queen chose Ms. Florence to run for the position because she was reliable and capable of carrying out the Queen's will effectively. Conversely, by escalating the situation out of control, it can be proven that Ms. Florence is unsuitable to be the executor.

To this end, Jenny bribed many vote-getters, and when Ms. Florence instigated the newspapers to create a stir at the Chamber of Commerce, she brazenly escalated the situation into a bloody conflict, which successfully provoked the Queen's dissatisfaction with Ms. Florence.

Following that, she encouraged everyone within the association to send letters to the newspaper, ostensibly to "speak out bravely for the Amazonians," but in reality, she wanted to fuel the fire until Ms. Florence could no longer control the situation.

As Jenny had predicted, major newspapers rushed to report the story, and various fabricated reports emerged, eventually culminating in a large-scale demonstration.

But clearly, Jenny didn't understand one thing: she could decide how the war started, but she couldn't control how it ended.

After Rennes intervened in public opinion and swayed the narrative, many Amazons developed great resentment towards the royal family, which finally erupted when they passed by the foot of Mount Saint Somar, quickly turning the flames against the royal family.

Then the capital's guards ruthlessly brought down their iron fists, major newspapers were forcibly shut down, and many association members who participated in the protests were arrested or even shot. Jenny Pfor, who had been instigating others from behind the scenes, was soon confessed to by association members.

The Empress ordered her to get out of the capital immediately, without delay.

Leaving the city gates of the capital and crossing the Nerva Bridge, you can see dozens of members of the Amazon Society holding a farewell banquet for their friends.

Leading the group was Dana Dolorzo, Jenny's close friend in the association, and a staunchly radical Amazonian.

The reason why Miss Dana came all the way to see her friend off was actually to take over Jenny's remaining influence in the association.

Jenny was fully aware of this, but knowing she had been kicked off the poker table and was unlikely to return to the capital to resume her old ways, she simply went with the flow, putting her arm around her friend Dana's shoulder, bursting into tears, and choking back sobs. The Amazons around her also wept. Many bit their nails angrily, cursing the capital's guards and the name of Renn Fahr, while others shouted that they would demand an explanation from Her Majesty the Queen. However, since no one paid any attention to them, they awkwardly pretended that they hadn't said anything at all.

"I'm leaving. Keep up the good work, everyone." Jenny took the drink from Dana, took a sip, then turned and boarded the carriage heading east. She threw the rest of the drink on the ground and shouted, "For the Amazons!"

"For the Amazon!" As the carriage departed, the crowd couldn't help but embrace each other and burst into tears once again.

On the Nerva Bridge, watching the carriage gradually disappear from sight, Bersalia shook her head, revealing a somewhat bored and listless expression.

He casually tossed the empty reagent bottle into the moat under the bridge.

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Renn submitted his resignation to the court.

Before leaving, Raine ordered all the guard captains not to hold banquets, not to see them off, and not to accompany them. Everyone had to stay at their posts and wait for the next commander to come and hand over the work.

Then, he led the heroes and the maid Dia, and they too boarded the carriage to return to River Bend Province.

It seems he was made a scapegoat for the royal family, losing his position as commander of the guards and slinking away from the capital, but in reality...

Everything is planned.

As the carriage crossed the southern border of the Empire and returned to the Riverlands, a Nightstalker cavalryman suddenly appeared ahead, charging towards Renn's group and shouting:
"Urgent report! There's a letter for you, Marquis Fahel!"

Raine took the letter, opened it, read it for a moment, nodded to the messenger from the Nightmare Legion, and then turned to instruct the stableman:
"We must reach the north bank of the Changshui River before sunset."

"Yes." The groom, who belonged to the family, shook the reins hard, signaling the horse to go at full speed.

The carriage soon began to shake violently, and everyone inside noticed something was wrong, turning their questioning gazes to Renn.

“The savages have begun their attack on Ravencrest,” Raine said back in the carriage, handing the letter to everyone to read. “Darian has simultaneously requested aid from the Malorne family and the Nightshade Legion. The letter was written to me by Claudius.”

"Then why didn't the family send a raven to inform you?" Ellina asked, frowning.

“They must have missed it,” Aurora guessed. “The family doesn’t know that Rein is on his way back, so Raven probably flew directly to the Imperial Capital military camp.”

"Ravenburg is probably in grave danger this time," Berthalia said in a low voice, clutching the letter. "If the disparity in strength between the two sides weren't so great, Darius wouldn't have rashly sent out a request for help in the name of the family before you had given your approval."

"Will Ravenburg fall?" Dia asked worriedly.

This question was beyond everyone's ability to answer. The Riverlands and the Fertile Lands were separated by a long river, and the situation on the other side was completely unknown. The Nightshade Legion was equally unaware of the frontline battle in the Serpent Mountains.

"We must return to our territory as soon as possible," Renn said in a deep voice.

The carriage sped along, arriving at the north bank of the Changshui River ahead of schedule. Unexpectedly, the Malone family had already sent people to wait there.

"Your Excellency Marquis," the messenger invited everyone to board the ferry, "His Majesty the Duke requests your presence at High Rock Castle to discuss the upcoming battle arrangements. The commander of the Nightshade Legion is also present."

"Hmm." Renn's face was ashen, knowing that this time he was probably in big trouble. He turned to the others and said, "Let's get on the ship."

After crossing the long river by boat, they arrived at High Rock City. In the castle hall on the first floor, Renn saw Legion Commander Claudius standing in front of the command table, with Grand Duke Malorne standing beside him with his arms crossed, talking to the nobles around him.

"Raine, you're here!" Claudius beckoned him over quickly. "Didn't you receive the letter from Ravenburg?"

“I just got back from the capital.” Renn simply shook his head. “I missed the raven’s message. What about you?”

Claudius and Malone simultaneously took out the letter and unfolded it flat in front of the command table.

In his letter to the two men, Darryl did not specify the exact number of the enemy, only saying that "reports from Ravenburg indicate that the advancing enemy is almost everywhere, leaving scouts with no room to investigate."

“If there are so many enemies, then their target cannot possibly be our family,” Renn said decisively. “They are more likely to plunder or even completely seize the Fertile Lands.”

The noble power of the Reach is mainly concentrated in the Fertile Lands and the Riverlands. If the Fertile Lands suffer a major loss, it will immediately shake the prestige of the Malorne family among the nobles of the Fertile Lands.

However, the Grand Duke of Malorne remained silent for a moment before saying:
"But that's just your guess. My vassals wouldn't send troops based on mere speculation unless they saw with their own eyes the savage army actually swarming out of the Serpent Mountain Range."

"Is Your Excellency questioning whether I am lying?" Renn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m just telling you the facts,” Grand Duke Malorne said, turning his gaze to Claudius beside him. “Sending troops is not such a simple matter.”

Claudius said seriously:

"The Nightmare Legion's duty is to ensure that the River Bend Province of the Empire is free from all security threats. But my concerns are exactly the same as His Excellency the Duke's; we cannot send troops south to provide support based solely on a letter from the Faher family."

Raine's expression remained unchanged, but he lowered his head and examined the terrain model of River Bend Province on the command table, his mind racing.

The current situation is clearly consistent with the original timeline, in that neither High Rock City nor the Nightshade Legion is willing to send actual support.

but why?
Without understanding the reasons, forcing them might not make them agree. Without the aid of the River Bend Province and the Legion, the military strength of the Fahr family alone would soon bring them back to the dilemma faced by the old Marquis in the original timeline:
They either died at the hands of savages or faced retribution afterward.

“I would like to stay in High Rock Castle for a few days,” Renn said calmly. “While I’m at it, I’ll send some ravens to the capital and have them forward the letters from the Faher family.”

“Very well,” Grand Duke Malorne nodded. “I will have the butler arrange rooms for you.”

Renn gave Claudius a look before turning around and taking his leave.

After nightfall, everyone gathered in Renn's room to discuss their next move.

“Because the situation at the front is uncertain, it’s not good to send troops,” Bersalia analyzed. “It sounds reasonable, but it’s just an excuse. The Faher family would never allow another’s army to set foot on their territory unless they were powerless to resist this savage invasion.”

The reason is simple: the guest army comes from afar to provide support, and the host must provide food and supplies. Some poor nobles may even be eaten into bankruptcy in a single battle. Therefore, they would rather let the bandits plunder their territory repeatedly than let a single soldier from outside come in.

“There’s no need to elaborate on the obvious,” Ellina said coldly, arms crossed. “The key question is why.”

When it came to matters of conspiracy and intrigue, neither Aurora nor Fatin spoke, but simply looked at Berthalia.

"Why don't we just ask the guests later?" Bersalia said with a smile.

"Who is the guest?" Dia asked curiously.

Berthalia did not answer, because soon there was a knock on the door.

"You all go into the bedroom." Renn ushered everyone into the inner room, then went to the foyer to open the door for them.

The visitor was indeed Legion Commander Claudius, who came to explain things to Renn.

“I cannot send troops this time,” Claudius said with a grim expression. “The newly arrived tribunal of the legion, Rosa, has already colluded with the Malorne family and plans to cause trouble for me by manipulating the accounts.”

"There's something wrong with the Legion's accounts?" Renn poured him a glass of wine. "Then you just need a war to settle things."

“The accounts aren’t really a problem.” Claudius took the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. “The problem lies in the number of troops in the legion.”

“Oh…” Renn immediately realized, and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

Claudius's problem was essentially the common practice of "ghost soldiers" in the army. They would falsely report the number of soldiers to the imperial higher command, allowing a single soldier to receive multiple salaries, while mid- to high-ranking officers would then take their share from the salaries.

This strategy is not usually a concern because the Nightshade Legion has its own castle and barracks, making it a small, independent kingdom that is impenetrable to wind and rain. All the factions and factions within the legion now follow the legion commander's lead.

Even if the newly arrived tribunal called out all the soldiers to count them, he could simply arrange for another batch of soldiers to register them again. It was impossible for the tribunal to remember all the tens of thousands of faces.

However, if soldiers leave the barracks to participate in expeditions, the wear and tear on their equipment, the consumption of food, and even the number of barracks and cooking stoves... if they encounter a high-ranking officer of the legion who is deliberately targeting them, there are too many places where they can easily give themselves away.

Seeing Claudius's resolute attitude, Ryan swirled his wine glass and suddenly asked:

"How about we get rid of this tribunal?"

"It's easy to take him down," Claudius said with a wry smile. "The problem is that in less than a year, the Nightshade Legion has lost two Legion Tribunals. What will the higher-ups think of me as the Legion Commander?"

“We can let him die tragically on the battlefield against the savages,” Renn said casually.

“No matter how he died, the higher-ups will definitely suspect me.” Claudius rejected the suggestion. “It’s too risky, no way.”

"What if, under the watchful eyes of a large number of Reach nobles, the brave and fearless tribune of the legion fought desperately against the enemy and unfortunately died a glorious death?" Renn poured himself a glass of wine. "Would the higher-ups suspect that you conspired with the wildlings to assassinate the tribune?"

“That’s somewhat feasible.” Claudius paused for a moment. “But that guy is very wary and would never accept any proposal that might be dangerous to him, unless a covert assassination is used… but then I would be a suspect.”

“I don’t think so,” Ryan said slowly as he drank his wine.

(End of this chapter)