This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Fine! If it's going to be earlier, then it's earlier. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway.

Having accepted reality, Dick's eyes were calm, yet tinged with a sense of nonchalant collapse.

After confirming the news, Dick immediately convened a meeting with his team of advisors.

It is foreseeable that internal strife within the empire is inevitable. Some are launching rebellions, some are leading troops to defend the emperor, some are using the pretext of defending the emperor to launch rebellions, and others are taking the opportunity to settle personal scores. Everyone is adding fuel to the fire of this chaos.

"We, and indeed the entire North, cannot afford to intervene in this rebellion too soon."

"But the question is, will others really just stand by and watch us stay out of it?"

"What about Richard's faction? What's their situation now? And what about within our Northern Union?"

"Marquis Richard has already assembled his private army in the territory yesterday, and his allies have also taken action, but very slowly. Our intelligence personnel are still monitoring them. As for our own allies, most of their representatives are on their way."

"It's so lively!"

"It feels like a major battle is about to begin."

Inside the meeting room, everyone was talking animatedly, but no one was nervous or panicked. Black Gunner and Black Jeanne, the two warmongers, were especially eager to get started.

At that moment, Hongye appeared beside Dick and whispered a few words in his ear, causing Dick to show a strange expression.

"My second sister is here?"

"Yes, she also brought a lot of boats."

A few hours ago, a huge fleet came from south to north along the east coast of the continent and appeared at the mouth of the fjord. After being intercepted by patrolling ship girls, the people on board raised the flag of the Best family. Dick's second sister, Nora, claimed that she was leading the Best family's shipping fleet to join Dick in accordance with the Duke's will.

She also brought a letter in the Duke's own handwriting, which had to be delivered to Dick in person.

Given the sheer size of the fleet, Belfast, who was in charge of Newport, did not allow them to dock. Instead, he ordered them to anchor in the fjord and sent Red Leaf ahead to inform Dick. He then received Nora, the second daughter of the Duke's family, and arranged for her to travel to the main city by train.

Dick didn't actually dislike his second sister, because among all the children in the Best family, she was the only one who hadn't bullied him when they were young, so their relationship was fairly decent.

However, considering the other party's suspected bisexuality, Dick really didn't want her to have any contact with the women under his command.

However, when he personally went to the train station to pick her up, he found that his second sister, who was usually carefree and nonchalant, was no longer laughing and joking, but looked very worried.

Upon seeing Dick in person, Nora forced a smile and handed him the Duke's handwritten letter, which she had always kept close to her.

"My father asked me to give you this letter. He knew you would have many questions, and all the answers are here. In addition, I have brought you the Best family's fleet and the wealth that the family has accumulated in the south over the years. From now on, you are the new head of the Best family!"

As Nora spoke, she and several of her attendants knelt down on one knee before Dick, then presented him with the sword representing the head of the Best family, placed under the family crest.

Dick never expected that the Duke would pass the position of head of the family to him, a son born out of wedlock with impure blood. It seems that those sensational rumors in the capital were probably true.

Chapter 319: Heading North

Inside the study, Dick carefully read the handwritten letter left to him by the old duke. Rune explained to Dick in detail his reasons for wanting revenge against the empire, as well as a series of plans he had made over the past twenty years.

At the end of the letter, the old duke also told him a secret: he actually had an illegitimate son, three years younger than Dick. When the chaos in the capital began, the other party would come to him with a token, hoping that the two brothers could join hands and seize the Blacksin family's throne. This was a gift that Rune, as their father, left for them.

After reading the Duke's handwritten letter, Dick was deeply disturbed.

Because his inner soul was that of a time traveler, and because of the eighteen years he spent cautiously and patiently enduring hardship within the Duke's mansion, Dick didn't actually have much affection for the Duke, his adoptive father. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so eager to leave and establish his own household.

So even if he were told now that the Duke actually loved him as his son, and that he pretended to be indifferent to protect him, and even sent all his assets over in the end, Dick would still feel a complex mix of emotions, a feeling that was hard to put into words, and all he could say was a sigh of sorrow.

"Why bother..."

After carefully storing the handwritten letter in the safe in his study, Dick summoned all the military and political officials of the lord's manor to the main conference room for a meeting.

The sudden outbreak of unrest in the capital did disrupt Dick's plans to some extent, but fortunately, the main impact was only to accelerate the process and increase the intensity of the turmoil.

According to Dick's previous predictions, given the way those insects in the Imperial high command operate, a large-scale uprising among the people is only a matter of time.

Even many lower and middle-class nobles were driven to the brink of starvation by them, let alone the common people.

However, unlike the bottom-up unrest that was originally predicted, the situation is now reversed. Before the bottom level has even started to erupt, it is the people at the top who have overturned the table first.

The Duke's sword strike shattered the authority of the Black Forest royal family, which had been maintained for nearly a thousand years, and the chaos caused everyone's ambitions to swell uncontrollably.

In this situation, even though the North is far from the central government, it is difficult for it to remain unaffected.

The key point is that the Northern Union, led by Dick, has only completed the integration of most of the northern regions, and it will take some time to digest it before it can fully control them.

The conservatives, led by the Marquis of Richard, are very likely to take advantage of the chaos to launch a counterattack.

Dick's idea was to buy as much time as possible so that the North would be the last to enter the fray. The battle in the capital was already fierce, and joining in rashly would only make them meat grinders.

But if they don't add people, other forces can't just stand by and watch them remain uninvolved.

At this moment, the Crimson Eyes made a suggestion.

"Why don't we head north and fight the orcs first?"

Upon hearing this suggestion, Dick felt enlightened; it was indeed a good idea.

The Northern Alliance could first publicly announce that it would not join the war in the capital, but would concentrate its main forces to first subdue the orcs and protect the lives and property of the people of the North, thus raising the white flag of truce.

In this way, they first seized the moral high ground, and most forces cannot completely abandon their positive image. If any of them were to be foolish enough to launch a sneak attack on the Northern Alliance at this time, they would be morally condemned by everyone!

Moreover, Dick couldn't possibly leave his hometown defense completely undefended.

Furthermore, attacking the orcs first is tantamount to securing the real rear area first.

They're fighting the orcs, but the humans might not necessarily come to fight back.

But if they attack the capital first, the orcs will definitely take advantage of the situation.

So following this line of thought, Dick and his team quickly came up with a feasible plan.

A few days later, Dick convened a lord-level meeting within the Northern Alliance. All allies gathered together, and everyone was more or less aware of the news that the capital had fallen into internal strife, each with their own little schemes.

Some people don't have any grand ambitions; they just want to stay out of it and protect their family's small piece of land.

However, some people see this as a golden opportunity and are eager to make their mark.

However, everyone shared at least one thing in common: the Northern Alliance was a tightly knit community of shared interests. They believed that Dick, as the leader who had repeatedly led them through difficulties, would also point them in the right direction to victory this time.

"Lord Dick, just tell us what to do, we'll do whatever you say."

Seeing that everyone trusted him so much, Dick nodded in satisfaction, then took out the plan he had prepared in advance and explained the reasons for this arrangement.

At first, everyone didn't quite understand, but they soon got it.

We definitely need to take down the orcs first!

"But... in this freezing season, we can't really venture deep into the wilderness, can we?"

"We don't need to venture deep into the wasteland. Just cross the fjord first. We'll adopt an attack posture. On one hand, it will show those forces in the country that we have indeed deployed our main force to the east. On the other hand, it will lure the orcs to attack us. Our magic cannons on the south bank have a range that can penetrate several thousand meters into the north bank."

"What if the orcs don't fall for the trap?"

"That would be even better! We can calmly establish a solid bridgehead on the north bank of the fjord, safely transport troops and supplies there, and then advance when spring is approaching."

"If that's the case, then there's nothing more to say. Let's get to work, guys!"

At Dick's call, the entire Northern Union immediately sprang into action. They first established a joint command headed by Dick to integrate existing military forces.

They had conducted similar integrated exercises several times before, although they were not large in scale, but they were not unfamiliar with this model.

The purpose of integration was to reorganize the originally disorganized and independent private armies of nobles into a unified army that could be dispatched and commanded in a unified manner, which was equivalent to the transformation of the military system from the feudal era to the modern era.

This integration may not yet reach the level of a truly modern army, but it already poses an overwhelming threat to the private armies of other feudal lords.

To conquer the orcs, the entire Northern Alliance mobilized a total of 80,000 elite troops, of which the Ragug family alone contributed 30,000.

At this stage, Dick no longer needed to hide anything. He maximized the military mobilization capacity and military production capacity within his territory. The weapons and equipment coming off the industrial lines were not only enough to arm their own army, but also had the capacity to supply other allies.

Dick never mistreated his own people. Since his goal was to unify the North, he couldn't afford to discriminate and alienate his allies. Dick's generosity and magnanimity truly won over those allies who had witnessed Lagug's true strength, earning them the heartfelt respect of their leader.

Some of the more ambitious individuals have even begun to speculate in their minds whether they will one day need to use a more prestigious title to address their leader!

Chapter 320: Marching Forward and Troubles

The Duke gave many gifts. The Best family, through remote control of multiple merchant guilds, maintained a huge shipping fleet. They sent all the wealth and talent that the Best family had accumulated over hundreds of years to Lagug and handed it over to Dick.

These talents were mainly skilled craftsmen, as well as many civilian personnel with rich experience in internal affairs management. The soldiers consisted of only one guard of two hundred men, led by the second sister, Nora.

Dick learned upon asking that the ducal private army had been transferred to attack the capital!

Obviously! The Duke knew exactly what Dick needed. The people of the North were fierce and the population was not large, but they were high-quality soldiers. They lacked truly skilled technical personnel. Rather than slowly training them themselves, Rune went straight to the point and gave him the entire foundation of the Best family.

These technical talents are not only more useful, but also relatively easier to control.

In fact, many people are reluctant to go to the north because of their stereotype of a harsh and cold place. But once they arrive, they find that apart from the fact that the climate is indeed very cold, life is not as bad as they imagined, and it can even be said to be quite good!

Dick handed all these people over to Ruby Eyes for her to manage, while he himself focused more on military matters.

Because it is currently winter, military mobilization will inevitably encounter many difficulties. A heavy snowfall can close all roads in the entire territory, greatly slowing down the speed of personnel assembly.

Fortunately, the initial stage of this troop movement was more for show than for actual purposes, so a slower pace is acceptable.

During the troop buildup across Lagug, Dick issued a public statement announcing that he and dozens of other northern lords would remain neutral and advising the various factions involved in the turmoil in the capital to exercise restraint and, ideally, to sit down and resolve the issue through negotiations.

His well-intentioned advice was naturally ignored by the various parties involved.

Dick didn't seem to care much about it; as long as he said it, that was enough.

Soon, the first advance team of 5,000 people crossed the sea and arrived at the north shore of the fjord. The commanders in charge of leading the army were Bai Zhen and Bai Qiangdai, the two most reliable female generals under Dick's command.

Upon arriving at the north bank, the advance team was almost immediately harassed by small groups of orcs. White Spear led elite cavalry to drive them away from the perimeter, while the infantry built positions on the spot to prepare for a large-scale orc counterattack.

In fact, the orcs' counterattack was indeed swift. Their strategic deployment was clearly aided by Earthlings, who had set up some barracks far from the range of the heavy magic cannons on the south shore. Not long after the human army landed, they received a report from the sentries and launched a counter-offensive at night, attempting to drive the human army, which had lost its foothold, back into the sea.

However, what awaited them was Lagug's "all-star lineup"!

That night, the entire wasteland on the north shore was as bright as day, and the holy-level magical flames burned thousands of orcs to a crisp.

After that, the orcs learned their lesson and did not launch a second large-scale attack, because they knew that it was no longer possible to drive the human army back into the sea.

They even withdrew from nearby barracks and settlements, seemingly fleeing into the depths of the wilderness.

Seeing this, Dick didn't rush to send troops to pursue them. Instead, he methodically built a bridgehead on the north bank and gradually transported the army and supplies needed for the expedition to this side.

"Even if we can't completely wipe out the orc race in this battle, we must cripple the country Ramon created, so that they won't be able to recover for at least twenty years!"

Inside the conference room of the bridgehead military camp, Dick pounded the table menacingly.

The conflict between humans and orcs is irreconcilable; at least until the orcs are willing to change their diet, there is no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides.

Dick was a very "saintly" person, so he ordered that cruel killings be strictly prohibited and that the orcs be made to die without pain.

After the meeting, Dick returned to his tent and saw Belfast making his bed. He walked straight up to her and tackled the tall, white-haired maid to the ground.

"Owner?"

Belfast, who was tackled, did not resist. Instead, she obediently shifted her body a couple of times, allowing Dick to more comfortably play with her two large breasts. The maid gently stroked her young mistress's head, her voice gradually revealing a hint of affectionate charm.

The understanding Belfast knew that Dick had been feeling very irritable lately, but as the leader of the camp, he couldn't show it outwardly, so he could only temporarily suppress these negative emotions with heavy workload and intense sex.

For Belfast, her master was everything, and everything she had belonged to him. She was more than happy to use this body to help Dick solve his problems.

Soon, the sounds of passionate lovemaking filled the tent. Belfast actively responded to Dick, who was usually a bit rough, displaying her composure as the perfect maid.

"I'm sorry, Belfast, I've been under a lot of... stress lately."

“It’s alright, Master. It’s nice to enjoy a different experience every now and then. But… besides dealing with your desires, I can also be someone you can confide in. Or would you prefer me to invite Miss Resentment, the legitimate nun, over?”

"Give me a break, what kind of legitimate nun is that succubus!"

Dick pursed his lips, which made Belfast chuckle. The naked master and servant snuggled together, Dick leaning against the fragrant, soft pillows, finding the pleasant milky scent calming.

Just as Belfast said, he really needed someone to confide in.

Dick's irritability stemmed from his father, Duke Rune.

Because he had lived two lives, the transmigrator already found it difficult to accept his biological parents in his second life. To make matters worse, he was stuck with a seemingly cold and ruthless biological father. This made Dick live a cautious and timid life until he was eighteen, and he had become accustomed to forbearance and hiding.

More than twenty years later, the Duke suddenly pulled this stunt, and before his death, he sent the Best family's estate and a letter, saying that Dick was his favorite eldest son and that he would pass the position of head of the family to him.

All of this didn't exactly have a profound impact on Dick, but it certainly didn't leave him unmoved either!

He felt somewhat irritable and wished he could have some time to process things, but he had so many things to do right now that he didn't have much free time.

So Dick could only keep himself busy as much as possible so that he wouldn't think about those distracting thoughts.

After listening to Dick's story, Belfast embraced her master gently and tightly. She could understand his distress; it was Dick's deep-seated longing for a complete and healthy family, and the Duke's dramatic death and his will left Dick with a sense of loss and regret.

Chapter 321: When the Tree Falls, the Monkeys Scatter