Forty-six dispute

The matter about Ryan ended up being a more gentle deal.

In fact, this matter is completely within everyone's expectations. After all, Ryan has a very good army in his hands. If he really wants to destroy his power and army by force, he will undoubtedly suffer a considerable loss, and this is a meaningless loss. At the same time, everyone also understands that Ryan himself is the knight of St. Gene, and has a very powerful father and a very wide network of contacts in the country. Combining these factors, this final result is formed.

Ryan's title of duke was finally temporarily affirmed, but his fief was to be enthroned to Casillos, who had been ravaged by the war. At the same time, he did not have several important privileges that the duke had, such as he could not gather the army in his own name, and any legal ordinance issued in the territory needed to be recognized by the royal family. At the imperial meeting, this compromise solution was recognized by most people - or at least not opposed.

Ryan accepted everything very obediently, and he handed over the command of the army and came to Loren City himself. For some reason, the princess also listed him as one of the temporary members of the court meeting.

The war seemed to have ended, and the next important work was how to take over and control the war-torn Casillos. The former was not a problem at all. With the last remaining troops of the Paro people withdrawing from the border castle, many Casillos knights began to appear in the city of Loren and were absorbed as middle-level members of the palace. With the addition of these knights, the court quickly learned about Casillos' details, and the capable courtiers quickly made plans for the situation.

In a sense, the post-war reconstruction work was a more complicated, tedious and tiring task than the war itself. Many Casillos Knights wanted the princess to return to Fros, but the fire released by the Paros when they retreated gave the Saint-Gianen an excuse, and this suggestion was not adopted in the end.

Knights were appointed one by one and took His Royal Highness's appointment letter to perform various tasks. Even the originally dull court meeting began to become more relaxed and active. On the one hand, because the war had ended, the general content of the meeting basically became the distribution of the fruit of victory, and Princess Irina has the highest right to make a decision. On the other hand, the newly enthroned Duke Ryan was always the most staunch supporter of Princess Irina. This attitude of Ryan was undoubtedly very popular with the princess.

There seemed to be nothing else big, and the rest was waiting for Thomas to return triumphantly from Paro.

"General Thomas doesn't know where he is now." Princess Irina asked inadvertently as the meeting ended.

"Mr. Thomas should have passed through the border castle. He will arrive at the city within four or five days." A nobleman looked at a map at hand and replied. "Your Highness, it is really a pity for St. Gene to have Lord Thomas. He has finished all the battles, so that no one else can get the chance to show. Also, he has enthroned too many knights, and the court of honor will be busy!"

A burst of laughter rang around, filling the conference hall with a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Suddenly, the door of the conference room was pushed open and a man rushed in. His clothes showed that he was a knight.

"Your Highness, urgent...urgent news!" The knight reported loudly.

"What's the matter?" The nobles at the meeting realized that something big had happened. "The Paro people tore up the contract?!"

"Thomas... General Thomas, unfortunately died due to injury..."

...

There is already Loren City ahead.

The size of the army commanded by Asu Ruffat has been reduced a lot. Many Casillos Knights received the enthronement from His Royal Highness the Princess halfway and said goodbye. Many militia and archers also left--they got enough spoils in the war, and are now eager to go back and reunite with their families or find a good place to spend a lot of money.

Now, there are only more than 3,000 people left in his army. Among them, the Saint-Gianns who set out for an expedition from Loren City are less than 1,000 now. Behind the brilliant victory along the way, are the huge casualties lost by the entire army. Especially the ruthless battle under Derek City, which is like a flesh-and-mill, countless knights sprinkled blood on the battlefield, and all three hundred Holy Grail Knights were destroyed.

A small team sent by Princess Irina was already waiting for them in front. Under their leadership, Ashrufate entered the military camp on the outskirts of the city at dusk. This was a large military camp that could have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers, but only a few thousand people entered at this moment, so it seemed particularly empty.

Even these thousands of people can't stay for a long time. After a short period of time, except for a few knights who have to take on palace duties, everyone else will be disbanded and returned home. Then the barracks are closed and will not be opened again until the next war.

Ashurufat stood outside the tent and looked silently at the city wall in the distance. In the twilight, the city wall in the distance looked like a huge layer of dead black.

Ryan had already returned to Loren City one step ahead, and had obtained himself the title of Duke. This was told by the knights who greeted him.

He heard footsteps behind him, and turned his head to find that it was Leo. For some reason, Leo was wearing a full set of armor and weapons at this moment and came behind him.

He wanted to ask why Leo was dressed like this, but he didn't know why he couldn't say it.

"Ashu Rufate, have you heard about Ryan?" Leo asked him.

Ashu Rufa nodded. Ryan killed Thomas directly and William Daly indirectly. After doing these things, he could still run back shamelessly and really turn himself into a duke?!

"You want to avenge Thomas, right?" Leo asked. Ashurufa nodded. He knew it would be useless to deny it. Leo already knew him well, and lies could not be deceived.

"I want to tell you that if you want to take revenge, I have priority over you." Leo's voice was cold and not at all like usual.

Ashurufate suddenly looked at Leo's eyes. There was a terrifying cold light in his eyes, but Leo was unmoved.

"Thomas is your mentor, but he can also be regarded as my mentor. And the time I spent with him far exceeds the time you spent with him. At the same time, he is my lord. So, if I really have qualifications, I should be more qualified than you." Leo continued.

"I don't want to discuss this topic!" Ashu Rufate replied word by word. Although the light was dim, Leo could still see Ashu Rufate's eyes were bloodshot. He knew that Ashu Rufate's emotions were restrained and intense, he looked calm and rational, but in fact he was impulsive and fanatical, and had a nearly lawless action. If Ryan hid in a corner, perhaps Ashu Rufate would have endured it. But now Ryan was so shameless that he had obtained the title of duke by betrayal and lies. Ashu Rufate would never allow it!

The key to the problem is that Ashu Rufate has an iron will - he will not give in easily.

"But I think, and I want to declare my rights!" Leo suddenly drew his sword.

"I don't want to fight you, Leo. You can't beat me!"

"Fighting cannot prove who is right or wrong, but it can determine who can survive." Leo replied. "If you want to fight for this right, it's very simple, just knock me down."

“…”

"Ashu Rufate, there is only one Ryan, and you and I are eager to avenge Thomas. Both of us must have one to make a concession, and I have enough reason to think that the concession should be you!"

Ash Rufate tightly grasped the hilt of the sword, but in the end he did not make any moves.

"Leave everything to me, Ashu Rufate." Ryan walked past him and said softly. "You just need to watch from the side!"

...

The news of Thomas' death spread throughout the city the next day.

St. Gene lost his most powerful knight and defender. Many citizens automatically held mourning ceremony for Thomas. Even the princess publicly issued an order to ban any entertainment activities within three days to show her deep condolences and deep remembrance for the veteran general.

However, within the palace, the news of Thomas' death did not cause much surprise. In fact, in a sense, everyone knows that Thomas will not last a few years - after all, Thomas is over 80 years old and looks strong, it is not surprising if he suddenly falls down one day and never gets up again. The impact of this news is mainly reflected in another aspect, that is, Thomas' death left a huge gap in power.

That is the position of the general.

The general is a very important position within the palace and is a key position in the control of military power. Of course, the general only has the greatest power in the war years, but this position cannot be ignored in peacetime. According to tradition, in non-war years, the country generally only retains a not-extremely large standing army, and this army is commanded by the general. At the same time, any nobleman who wants to gather troops to prepare for a small-scale war (usually a small border conflict or bandit suppression) must also obtain the permission of the general.

The general also usually receives the power to enthrone the knights granted by the royal family. This is a very important power, which means that the general will have great say and influence among the low-level nobles in the country. Such a position will be very eager for by anyone, and Princess Irina will inevitably hand over this position to her most trusted minister.

The problem is that now the princess is no longer simply facing the country of Saint Gene, but Casillos and Saint Gene. It is not a simple matter to get a candidate who is both loyal and can be accepted by both knights. Even if it is added with the "temporary generation", it is quite difficult to only play a transitional role.

...

Tonight, the city of Loren was particularly quiet. His Royal Highness had promulgated a ban on any entertainment activities, so even the dances, cocktails or dinners that had been prepared before, can only be cancelled. The people in the city were very sad, but fortunately, there was only sorrow. Because the war had ended, General Thomas devoted his efforts and finally completely solved the Paro people before his death.
Chapter completed!