Outstanding Treatment

The Starlight Calendar year 1251, the month of Flowing Flame.

Marquis Jin Yan instigated a rebellion and declared independence.

Following suit, twelve influential lords, including Earl Storm, Earl Winter Frost, Viscount Black Swamp, and Viscount Feathered Serpent, echoed his declaration and formed the Goldstone Alliance.

The next day, the Goldstone Alliance dispatched troops to subjugate the noble lords in the Jin Yan Province who opposed the declaration of independence.

This included three barons and one viscount.

The flames of war were about to ignite.

Shining City, Council Hall.

Ke Yi, Su Nan, three lords, and a contingent of knights gathered in the hall, deliberating on how to confront the Goldstone Alliance.

“According to the intelligence, Marquis Jin Yan has already led his army to Dreamlight City, which lies precisely near the intersection of the borders of the Soman Province, Purple Bamboo Province, and Jin Yan Province. I suspect Marquis Jin Yan intends to oversee there personally to prevent a surprise attack from the Soman and Purple Bamboo provinces.”

In the center of the hall stood a long table, on which a detailed military map of the Starlight Kingdom was spread.

Blade was explaining to those present the strategic intentions of the Goldstone Alliance.

With every statement, he would point out the corresponding location on the map.

“Apart from Marquis Jin Yan, the coalition’s other noble forces are divided into four routes.”

“Viscount Black Swamp leads one force to attack the Red Horn Territory.”

“Viscount Feathered Serpent leads one force to attack the Bright Heart Territory.”

“Viscount Fang Wolf leads one force to attack the Pan Mountain Territory.”

“Earl Storm and Earl Winter Frost have combined their forces to attack our Shining Territory.”

The last statement caused everyone present to twitch their lips in unison, and they all glanced at Su Nan.

The other three territories facing assault each had only a single viscount leading the attack.

But the Shining Territory was facing a joint assault by two earls!

Importantly, the Shining Territory was merely a baron’s domain; such treatment was far too extraordinary!

Everyone understood that the Shining Territory received this peculiar treatment from the Goldstone Alliance solely because of Su Nan’s presence.

Perhaps, in Marquis Jin Yan’s eyes, Su Nan alone was more troublesome than an entire viscount’s territory!

Facing their gazes, Su Nan remained calm and undisturbed.

Ke Yi coughed lightly and asked: “How many troops do Earl Storm and Earl Winter Frost have?”

“Preliminary estimates suggest at least thirty thousand,” Blade replied solemnly.

This number caused the rest of the commanders to frown deeply.

Although the Shining Territory had been expanding its military strength and possessed two trump cards in the Dragon’s Blood Fruit and the Sub-dragon Blood Elixir, its military power had grown rapidly, as of now without counting the militia, their battle-ready forces amounted to only about eight thousand.

This level of military might already surpassed most viscount territories, but it was still somewhat arduous to contend with two earls.

“Where are they now?” Ke Yi asked again.

Blade glanced at the map and replied: “In at most ten days, they will enter the Shining Territory.”

“Judging from their marching routes, Earl Storm’s target should be Firefly City, while Earl Winter Frost’s target is Qilin City. They intend to stretch our defenses and dilute our forces.”

Ke Yi frowned and pondered briefly, then suddenly called out: “Jordan, Starly.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The two lords immediately stood up.

“I allocate three thousand troops to you. Go and hold Qilin City; stall Earl Winter Frost for at least two months!”

“Yes, my lord!” Jordan and Starly replied without hesitation.

Qilin City is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with steep terrain. Only the plain at the front is relatively suitable for deployment, with lesser defensive pressure. It is known to be easy to defend and hard to attack.

With three thousand troops in hand, they are quite confident in holding Qilin City for two months.

“I will personally lead the troops to hold Firefly City,” Ke Yi said in a deep voice.

Blade instantly understood Ke Yi’s intention, hesitantly asking: “Do you intend to defeat Earl Storm’s forces within two months? Will the timeline be too tight?”

Ke Yi shook his head.

He knew this truth well.

Jordan and Starly with their three thousand troops could already be considered to hold off Earl Winter Frost for two months.

If they couldn’t defeat Earl Storm’s forces within this period, once Earl Winter Frost breached Qilin City, being attacked from both fronts would worsen the situation.

Although the disparity between five thousand against more than ten thousand troops is remarkably vast, Ke Yi also had some hidden aces.

First is the Black Rock Cavalry.

Thanks to the Dragon’s Blood Fruit, the Black Rock Cavalry has expanded to five hundred members.

Though only about two-thirds are knights, their combat prowess is impressive.

Throughout the Jin Yan Province, no second cavalry like the Black Rock Cavalry could be found.

With the Black Rock Cavalry, Ke Yi was confident in confronting Earl Storm’s troops head-on.

Next is, naturally, Su Nan.

Ke Yi turned to Su Nan with a serious expression: “Su Nan, what suggestions do you have?”

Su Nan calmly replied: “I need a batch of gems and a large amount of granite.”

The others were momentarily stunned and displayed puzzled expressions.

Ke Yi immediately comprehended and said with bright eyes: “Are you planning to craft Stone Golems?”

He had seen the Stone Golems at Su Nan’s base, each possessing the combat power of a formal knight.

Although they are only beginner knights, their fearless nature and immunity to pain make them formidable war machines on the battlefield.

In possession of a hundred Stone Golems, combined with the Black Rock Cavalry, Ke Yi had full confidence in overcoming Earl Storm’s forces.

Su Nan nodded lightly, confirming Ke Yi’s speculation.

Due to the recent rapid expansion of the Black Rock Cavalry, black stone iron had become scarce.

Thus, Su Nan had to temporarily suspend the plan to craft the limited version of iron golems, naturally leaving no extra iron golems for the war.

It is worth mentioning that Su Nan attempted to synthesize using gem soul cores. Unfortunately, the end product could not replace the soul crystals.

After all, the essential quality of soul crystals lies in the soul energy contained within.

The gem-made soul core itself doesn’t contain soul energy, no matter how synthesized, it could never produce soul energy.

However, the limited version of iron golems didn’t work, but Stone Golems could.

The materials for Stone Golems, including gems, granite, and silver, can be gathered in large quantities within a short time.

As for the financial aspect, although the territory’s current finances were extremely tight, it wasn’t without solutions.

At worst, they’d request an advance on potion sales profits from the Fire Fox Merchant Guild.

Surely, Mu Zhuo would agree to their request.

Unless he wished to see the Shining Territory defeated, severing the potion trade route.

“Excellent!” Ke Yi said with enthusiasm, “With the Stone Golems, we can surely win this war!”

The other knights, now understanding the combat potential of the Stone Golems through Jordan’s explanation, displayed excited expressions.

As expected of Lord Su Nan, his remarkable methods indeed emerged one after another, endlessly!

With Lord Su Nan present, even if faced with the coalition of two earls, they had no fear.

“Deliver all the materials to Firefly City, and I’ll bring the Arcane Crystal Forge over there to forge the golems on-site.”

Su Nan smiled slightly and said:

“We must give the ‘guests’ who traveled so far a little surprise.”