The next morning, notices were posted all over the streets and alleys of Donic:
"A sixty-day military training course is required for all men aged 16 to 40. They cannot evade or refuse it; otherwise, they will not be entitled to tax relief the following year."
Training in exchange for taxes—this novel order quickly spread to every village in the Donic territory.
At the same time, Sind stared at the notice on the wall and slammed his cane on the ground. He already understood the meaning behind the notice. As for today's meeting with Serena, it had already lost its significance.
But these superficial formalities still need to be done. This must all be Yun Zhe's idea. Yun Zhe…who is Yun Zhe?
Sinde was startled. He suddenly realized a serious problem: after becoming a vampire, he would have to face a law he hated: older vampires would perfectly control him, the newborn vampire.
So, this Yun Zhe...
Glass quickly found Sind and relayed his and the messenger's words.
Sind frowned. He understood what the messenger meant; it seemed it was time for chaos to break out.
Later that day, Duke Field also learned that Serena had begun training soldiers. Upon hearing this news, Duke Field seemed to age ten years in an instant. He stared blankly at the letter in his hand, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh.
Serena, you're courting death.
After slowly uttering those words, the Duke of Field regained his composure. He glanced at his advisors on either side, his imposing manner suddenly rising, and asked loudly, "Gillette, you're in charge of intelligence. What's your opinion on this news?"
“According to the information I have, the population of Donic territory has remained between 30,000 and 50,000. However, due to the war in the direction of the capital in the past year, Donic should have taken in a lot of refugees. If we double that number, the current population should be between 60,000 and 100,000. With this kind of training, we can probably arm an army of 10,000 to 20,000 people.” Gillette looked around and found that apart from the Duke, only Tedler was listening attentively.
“However, training, weapons, and equipment all require a lot of money and time. If His Excellency the Duke wants to take action, then now is the best time.” Gillette abandoned his planned long speech and stated the conclusion directly.
“But we need a suitable reason, and we don’t have the conditions to go on another expedition right now,” Tedler carefully observed the Duke’s expression. “The troops need to rest, and our supplies are also insufficient.”
Duke Sald adjusted his posture; both men's remarks made him very uncomfortable. Suddenly, Duke Sald recalled his steward's advice from a few days ago, "It's best not to fight before spring planting; what we won in the last war wasn't much at all." Connecting this to the two men's current statements, his discomfort intensified.
“Your Grace, perhaps we can test their limits. They’re training their troops, so let’s send some to the border and see how they react!” Tedler quickly added, clearly sensing the Duke’s displeasure.
"Hahaha, Tedler, you've finally figured it out. We not only need to send troops there, but we also need to have a proper fight with them. Of course, not a large-scale battle. The important thing is to express our attitude, yes, express our attitude."
“Yes, they definitely won’t confront us head-on, so maybe…” Gillette rubbed his hands together, clearly excited.
"It's really a good thing that we can achieve our goals with minimal cost." Tedler didn't actually want to go to war with Yun Zhe. Yes, he didn't want to go to war with Yun Zhe. If they could achieve the mining of the mithril mine through intimidation, that would be the best outcome.
"However, their close relationship with the elves might embolden them." Sure enough, some more level-headed people began to raise objections.
"Hmph, elves. They wouldn't dare form a real alliance with the elves. Sind's reply proves it; their relationship with the elves is merely a conflict of interest, a temporary agreement. But they are not the same race as the elves, and they will eventually return to our side." Duke Sald was very confident, believing that those who are not of our kind are bound to have different intentions. In the end, the trust between them and the elves would certainly not surpass the trust between them and humans.
“I think so too. I’m more inclined to believe that their revelation that their backer is the elves is actually an attempt to gain the upper hand in the negotiations. Although they haven’t yet expressed any intention to negotiate with us, they’ve clearly started to increase their leverage.” Gillette put away his notebook and said solemnly.
"Then their military training might just be a show, a way to gain the upper hand in potential negotiations. After all, compared to us, they have far less combat capability." Inspired, Tedler suddenly realized and voiced his thoughts.
"Hahaha!" The Duke was delighted. He had initially thought he was facing a difficult situation of fighting on two fronts, but after this analysis, it turned out to be nothing more than a negotiation tactic by that little girl, Serena. If it were just negotiations and not war, Duke Sald could accept these tricks. Moreover, understanding this made Serena's image in the Duke even more pleasing.
"What a pity, this child doesn't want to marry her own grandson." After muttering this to himself, the duke's eyes lit up. Why not use this negotiation to try and bring them together again? After all, this is a bargaining chip, isn't it?
However, things did not develop as Duke Sald had imagined. A few days later, when reports of the border skirmishes arrived, the results surprised everyone.
The Duke's supposedly elite troops did not gain any advantage in this small-scale conflict. The entire hundred-man unit suffered nearly a third of its men killed or wounded and fled back to its own border in disarray. Meanwhile, the enemy suffered fewer than ten casualties.
If that were all, it could probably be understood as a difference in the army's combat effectiveness, unrelated to the attitudes of both sides. But the messages these soldiers brought back were hard to accept.
"Donic's territory is sacred and inviolable. Your Highness, please keep your troops in check."
Duke Salder slammed his fist on the table, the first time he had been so angry in years. He glared at Tedler, “You’ve chosen a fine army! Hmph, you’ve assembled another force, this time led by you personally. You’re determined to save face for me on the border, or don’t come back to see me.”
As a pure soldier, Tedler was even more astonished by the fighting prowess of Yun Zhe's troops. The hundred-man squad he had selected were all veterans among battle-hardened soldiers, yet they had been defeated in such a state.
Tedler nodded. He was also curious about what was going on and decided to take this opportunity to go to the border to investigate.
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