It felt so good to be close to the witch!

A knight from Iron Mountain Territory arrived, claiming to have brought a "declaration of war" from Lord Denham, Lord of Iron Mountain!

To be precise, the full name of the "declaration of war" is "Declaration of War for Territory Merger".

Upon hearing this word, Red's pupils contracted. He waved for the knight to leave, then quickly went to Roy's room to report the matter to him.

With Red's explanation, Roy also understood what the so-called "Territory Merger Battle Declaration" was.

Under imperial law, there are two ways to deal with a territory that has lost its lord. One is for the empire to directly reclaim it and then grant it to a new noble. The other is for the lords of nearby territories to "merge their territories" by paying a certain amount of "territory fee" to the empire and with the guarantee of a high-ranking noble of at least count rank.

The process of "territory consolidation" has three parts:

I. The territory under declaration of war issues a "Declaration of War on Territory Merger" to the knights of the territory under declaration of war who have lost their lord.

Second, after the declaration is issued, the knights of the original lord family of the territory being declared war upon will have three days to prepare, after which the territory being declared war upon will launch a "merger battle".

Third, if a knight of a territory under war fails to resist, it means that the territory will henceforth belong to the territory under war and be merged into the territory of the territory under war.

If the knights of the territory that has been declared war upon successfully resist or even defeat the territory, then the "territory merger" will fail, or even be "reverse merged".

Can a territory that has lost its lord really resist a well-prepared and aggressively declared war territory?

The answer is obvious.

Chapter 25 Plot

The arrival of the "Declaration of War for Territory Merger" indicates that the person behind the scenes—Lord Denham, Lord of Iron Mountain—has stopped hiding himself and stepped out into the open.

In fact, from Lord Denham's perspective, there was no longer any need for him to remain hidden behind the scenes.

The former lord of Blackrock Territory, Jess Tulumber, has been confirmed missing. His son, Roy Tulumber, has been taken away by the temple for allegedly colluding with the Wandering Witch. The attack on the temple's prison wagon by the Shadow Witch further confirms the fact that Roy colluded with the Wandering Witch.

It's important to know that the Shadow Witch is not a registered serving witch, but a wandering witch.

Even if it's not the same Ice Witch that Roy is rumored to be colluding with, as long as it's the Wandering Witch, it's enough to prove the rumors that Roy, the son of the Blackrock Lord, is colluding with the Wandering Witch.

Therefore, even the Empire would not grant Lord Roy the title of Lord and the lordship under such “conclusive evidence”.

In other words, as long as neither the Blackrock Lord nor Roy, the lord's son with legal right to inherit the title, "disappears," Blackrock Territory is powerless to resist Iron Mountain Territory.

inside the room.

Roy pondered for a moment, his eyes gleaming slightly, a smile playing on his lips: "A declaration of war for territorial consolidation, so this is what you were planning..."

After learning of Lord Denham's purpose, Roy was relieved.

The unknown is the scariest thing.

Things with a clear objective and a clearly defined enemy are not so scary.

Now that the roles of the two sides have been reversed, it remains to be seen who will win and who will lose in this "war for territorial merger".

Lord Denham, the Lord of Iron Mountain, attempted to annex Blackstone Territory through the "War of Territory Mergers," but wasn't he also struggling with how to deal with Iron Mountain Territory in a "legitimate and legal way"?

In Roy's view, the war to merge territories was a golden opportunity.

There is an unwritten rule in the war of territorial consolidation: if the knights of the conquered territories accidentally kill enemy nobles in the process of resistance, the empire will not pursue the matter.

Ultimately, the "war of territorial annexation" was an unjust war of aggression, and it would be unreasonable if the invaded party were even restricted from resisting.

If he kills or captures Lord Denham, Lord of Iron Mountain, in the "Battle for Territory Merger" three days later, not only will he be legally incorruptible, but other nobles will also be unable to criticize him morally.

The reason Roy planned to capture Lord Denham was because he still had some doubts.

He always felt that Lord Denham, the Lord of Iron Mountain, had a purpose in launching a "war of annexation" against Blackrock Territory that was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

A series of thoughts flashed through Roy's mind, and he looked up at Red:

“Uncle Red, could you please deal with the Iron Mountain Knights who came to our door? A ‘normal response’ will suffice.”

"After that, you will lead the knights to 'prepare for battle,' and I will take care of the rest."

“Yes!” Red nodded emphatically, then turned and left.

Roy stroked his chin, walked to the desk in the room, sat down, and began to analyze the current combat strength of both sides.

Excluding witches, there are two Bronze Knights in Iron Mountain Territory: Lord Denham, the Bronze-ranked Lord of Iron Mountain, and his squire, Jax, the Bronze-ranked Knight.

On the Blackrock Territory side, there is only one Bronze Knight, Red, a Bronze II Knight.

As for those below Bronze rank, the number of knights in both territories was roughly the same, around thirty or so. The difference was that Iron Mountain Territory, being backed by a large iron mine, had a thriving forging industry, so the armor and weapons of its knights were relatively better. However, Blackrock Territory also had its own iron mines and blacksmiths, so the difference wasn't that significant.

As for the witches on the surface, the serving witches in both territories are now on the verge of going out of control. If Lord Denham hadn't gone mad, he wouldn't have been able to send the Witch of Light, Vivian, into battle.

After all, if the witch were to go out of control and turn into a monster, it would be nothing but harm to Lord Denham.

Based purely on the data on paper, Blackrock Territory has almost no chance of winning this "war for territorial consolidation".

The biggest gap comes from the severe lack of high-level combat capabilities.

Although the Bronze Knights are insignificant in the eyes of the witch, they are actually extremely powerful beings, capable of easily defeating ten regular knights in a one-against-one fight.

Red's combat strength is not weak. Now that he has the secret technique of breathing, his combat strength will definitely be even higher after he masters it. However, Iron Mountain Territory has two Bronze Knights. Among them, Lord Denham is a veteran knight who has been immersed in the Bronze Three-Star level for nearly ten years.

Even in a one-on-one situation, Reid would have a hard time being his match, let alone in a two-on-one situation.

This is also the source of Tieshan Territory's confidence in defeating Heishi Territory.

If the old lord of Blackrock Territory were still alive, the Silver Knights' formidable strength would have deterred all, and no one would have dared to harbor any ambitions. But now…

Roy tapped his fingers lightly on the desk as he pondered silently.

Blackrock Territory's biggest trump card right now is him, along with a few witches.

If a suitable opportunity could be found, and the Ice Witch Ais made a move, Lord Denham could be dealt with quickly. However, such an opportunity is hard to find, and there is a high possibility of exposure, so it is not worth it.

Secondly, there's himself.

After the declaration of the territory merger battle was issued, there were three days to prepare. At his current pace, as long as he maintained at least 11 hours of breathing exercises a day, it would be enough for him to advance to the Bronze rank before the battle began.

Of course, his "quickly trained" bronze knight was far less powerful than those who had trained hard. The difference in weapon skills alone was not something that could be made up for in a short time.

But he wasn't a pure knight.

His talent, [Infinite Desire], is currently very weak. It requires physical contact to activate and has a very low capacity, only enough for one strand of battle qi.

But once he advances to the Bronze rank, the situation will be very different.

At that time, the even more powerful [Infinite Desire] will have the possibility of being used in actual combat!

Of course, Roy taking action himself was a last resort. After all, it was best not to expose the talent [Infinite Desire] to others, otherwise it would be troublesome if the temple got involved.

Therefore, to win this "war for territorial consolidation" and capture or kill Lord Denham, other methods must be used as much as possible.

Roy has already begun planning this approach.

Inside the room, a deep glint flashed in Roy's eyes.

……

Iron Mountain Territory, Iron Mountain Fortress.

Inside the study, Lord Denham listened to the report from the knight who had returned with the "Declaration of War for Territory Merger" that "Captain Red of the Iron Mountain Territory had forcefully expelled him." He nodded expressionlessly, then waved for the knight to leave.

After the knight left the study, Lord Denham was about to do something when suddenly his expression changed, and his gaze fell on the shadow in the corner of the room.

Chapter 26 The Eve of the Breakthrough

Under Lord Denham's gaze, shadows rose up like a fluid, intertwining and converging into a black-haired, black-eyed girl with a tear in the side of her black bodysuit.

—Shadow Witch Lilia.

"It seems you didn't succeed."

Lord Denham's tone was flat, neither warm nor cold, as if he were talking to a stranger.

At the same time, he made no attempt to conceal his actions by pulling out the "Witch Controller" that he always carried with him. If the Shadow Witch Lilia showed any intention to attack him, he would not hesitate to press the "Witch Controller" to detonate the control necklace around the neck of the Light Witch Vivian.

Lord Denham's undisguised actions were naturally observed by Lilia, but she did not react to them, as similar scenes would play out every time she met Lord Denham during this period.

"'Golden Lion' Rami is stronger than rumored, and with the 'Anti-Invisibility Cross' on him, I couldn't get past him to infiltrate the prison van."

Lilia clutched the wound on her ribs, blood seeping from between her fingers, making her already pale face even paler.

"Time is running out. You've already seen it yourself. Your sister, the Light Witch Vivian, won't last much longer. If she really loses control, don't blame me for handing her over to the temple."

Lord Denham said something indifferently.

"..." Lilia remained silent for a long time before finally speaking in a slightly hoarse voice, "I'm going to see Vivian."

Without a reply, Lord Denham stood up and led the way, while Lilia followed silently behind him.

They continued downwards until they finally arrived at the heavy metal door to the basement.

The two guard knights bowed respectfully to Lord Denham, but ignored the Shadow Witch Lilia who was following behind him, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

The heavy metal door slowly opened, and the image of the curled-up girl inside the cage, seemingly trapped in a nightmare, was reflected in Lilia's dark pupils.

Lilia pressed her lips tightly together and approached the edge of the cage, while Lord Denham stood at the entrance to the basement, his expression growing increasingly cautious.

To him, witches were not trustworthy.

Kneeling down beside the cage, Lilia saw her sister inside, her limbs bound by thick chains, and her brow furrowed in pain.

Lilia could sense that Vivian's aura of pollution had become even stronger.

In the later stages of the corruption, even if the witch stops using her innate abilities, the degree of corruption will gradually deepen.

This situation caused the Shadow Witch Lilia even more heartache, and at the same time, her hatred for Lord Denham deepened.

If Lord Denham hadn't possessed the "Witch Controller" and been bound to it, and if the control necklace around Vivian's neck hadn't exploded immediately upon his death, she would have killed Lord Denham and rescued her sister long ago.

As for the imperial pursuit?

Hasn't she faced enough assassinations over the years?

I no longer care.

For her before, the only person she cared about was her younger sister.

As for now...

The cold, metallic bars of the cage reflected Lilia's dark pupils.

If someone makes eye contact with her and observes closely, they will notice that the black lines in her pupils, which indicate the degree of pollution, have decreased by a barely perceptible amount.