Chapter 149 - 123: The Northern Territory Changes Hands, The Limitation of the Breathing Technique

Chapter 149: Chapter 123: The Northern Territory Changes Hands, The Limitation of the Breathing Technique

With the Green Forest Duke missing, the fall of the Southern Territory was inevitable.

Once the Southern Territory fell completely, the armies of the Kalin Kingdom would appear on the Morning Star Plain.

Then, his forces and those of the other two Dukes would be the ones facing the Kalin Kingdom’s assault.

The Ironblood Duke had considered withdrawing the troops stationed in the Royal Capital and on the Morning Star Plain.

But he could never bring himself to make the decision.

Withdrawing the troops would only be a temporary measure to avoid war with the Kalin Kingdom. It wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem.

More importantly, a retreat would mean surrendering the greatest prize won from the rebellion: a quarter of the Royal Capital and the Morning Star Plain.

He could grit his teeth and give up other territories.

But the Royal Capital and the Morning Star Plain were no ordinary territories.

Even just a quarter of the Royal Capital and the Morning Star Plain had economic and strategic value that far surpassed any single province in the Northern Territory.

’A retreat is absolutely out of the question!’

Just as the Ironblood Duke was agonizing over whether to order the troops in the Royal Capital and on the Morning Star Plain to defend to the death, or to dispatch reinforcements from the Northern Territory to strengthen their defenses, a deafeningly loud explosion erupted from the castle gate.

BOOM!

The sudden, massive explosion instantly echoed through the entire Iron Blood Castle, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Ironblood Duke dropped the documents in his hand, rushed to the window, and looked toward the castle gate.

Although the light was far worse at night than during the day, he could still clearly see the wreckage of the shattered gate scattered across the square.

As well as the culprit who had shattered it!

A white mask with red stripes, armor as black as ink, and an ostentatiously large Fighting Qi Two-Handed Sword!

The one who had shattered the castle gate was none other than Roy, dressed in his Dark Night Knight attire.

Iron Blood Castle was less than five kilometers from Ice Wind City.

Roy had reached the vicinity of Iron Blood Castle with little effort.

After returning to Chaos Square and changing into his Dark Night Knight attire, he began his assault on Iron Blood Castle without hesitation.

With a single, casual Fighting Qi Slash, he easily shattered the gates of Iron Blood Castle, which had never been breached since the day the fortress was built.

Under the gazes of all present, he walked unhurriedly into the castle square, wielding the Fighting Qi·Destruction Sword.

Although many Official Knights and soldiers were nearby, not a single one dared to make a move against him.

Reputation precedes the man.

The Ironblood Duke’s previous Captain of the Personal Guard, James, hadn’t even lasted three blows against him. Of course, the others wouldn’t dare attack him recklessly.

When they saw him make no attempt to conceal his approach, instead shattering the castle gate with a Fighting Qi Slash, everyone guessed his purpose.

Clearly, he had no intention of settling his grudge with the Ironblood Duke through assassination. Instead, he planned a direct, face-to-face confrontation.

Realizing this made the nearby Official Knights and soldiers even less likely to attack him on their own initiative.

The Ironblood Duke was indeed their Lord and superior.

But they weren’t his die-hard loyalists.

To put it simply, their loyalty was situational.

If the Ironblood Duke held the advantage, they were loyal subordinates.

But if the Ironblood Duke and the Reilly Clan were on the verge of collapse, no one could expect them to keep fighting to the death for them.

Lords come and go, but the land remains!

Even if their original Lord was overthrown, the new Lord generally wouldn’t slaughter all the Ordinary Knights and soldiers!

When he saw that the one who shattered the gate was the Dark Night Knight, the Ironblood Duke’s expression turned as ugly as it could be.

Although he hadn’t expected the Dark Night Knight to come tonight, he was certain of one thing: he had not come to negotiate peace.

Without another thought, he immediately left the study.

Before long, the Ironblood Duke, now clad in his Golden Armor, arrived at the square before the castle gate with a large and imposing entourage.

As the Ironblood Duke and his entourage arrived, the nearby Official Knights and soldiers retreated a short distance with a tacit understanding.

"Dark Night Knight, do you seek a fight to the death with the Reilly Clan?"

The Ironblood Duke said in an icy tone as he sized Roy up.

"A fight to the death?"

"If I recall correctly, you were the one who sent men to provoke me first."

"Didn’t you order James to bring you my head? Well, I’m right here. Come and take it, if you have the guts."

"Oh, and by the way, that old geezer you sent to kill me? I’ve already taken care of him."

Roy said slowly, watching the Ironblood Duke with a calm expression.

Just as he had predicted, upon hearing that Thomas had been dealt with, the Ironblood Duke’s expression changed instantly. He stared at Roy, his face full of astonishment.

’How is that possible?’

’Thomas was a Third-class Apprentice who had fought and scraped by in the Wizarding World for decades!’

’Even I can’t easily break his Defense Spells! How could he possibly have been killed so easily?’

When he sent Lucas to Yorkshire, the Ironblood Duke had already had a bad feeling.

But he had chosen to delude himself, thinking that Thomas had only failed to find the Dark Night Knight for the time being, and that was why he hadn’t yet made his move.

Furthermore, the intelligence from the Blood Bat Marquis had also misled him to a certain degree.

’The Dark Night Knight had run off to the Iron Armor Turtle Domain, so it was only natural that Thomas hadn’t acted immediately.’

In truth, if the Ironblood Duke had thought about it more carefully, he would have realized that something was amiss.