Imperial Crown.

Chapter 121 The Earl's Promise
Eberron believed that no noble could resist the temptation of a fiefdom.

He looked into Raven's eyes expectantly, hoping for a positive answer.

But Raven didn't seem surprised by this. He shook his head and smiled: "I thought you could at least give me a viscount title, but I didn't expect it to be just a fiefdom."

"Baron Raven! Don't be so greedy!" Eberron glared at Raven: "That is a real fiefdom!"

"Oh, don't get excited. I didn't say no." Raven stroked his chin. "How big is this fiefdom?"

Eberron said coldly: "It will not be less than the Eagle Territory!"

"Where is it?" Raven asked again.

"I don't know!" Eberron was asked a little impatiently: "There are so many destroyed families now, who knows..."

Having said this, Eberron immediately sensed something was wrong: "Baron Raven, are you testing me?"

"Just a casual question." Raven's attitude seemed casual, but his tone was quite amusing: "After all, since I'm going to wade into this muddy water, I have to know what kind of danger I'm facing, right?"

Eberron's expression relaxed: "...So, you agree?"

"I have never refused before." Raven's hand was hovering over the transfer order in front of him: "But before that, I need the Slater family to tell me the truth."

"What is the current situation like?"

The muscles on Eberron's face twitched. He had never been so passive before, whether facing Baron Angel or Viscount John.

As a special envoy, his mission is to mobilize more nobles to join the battlefield. Of course, that is to minimize the risks of participating in the war and maximize the benefits, and not to reveal any weakness of the Slater family.

But things are different now. Viscount John and his men have been gone for more than a month, and many things that we wanted to hide are no longer possible.

"The situation is not very optimistic." Eberron took a sip of the wine in the glass. The cool and sweet angel's tears calmed his originally irritable mood.

Even though he had drunk many famous wines, Eberron had to admit that the quality of Angel's Tears was worth its price.

After sorting out his thoughts, Eberron said, "The Death Hand Cult has many necromancers. Their skeleton soldiers can be replenished continuously, but the number of our soldiers is limited after all."

"Eight days ago, the Death Hand Cult's 'Dead Priest', the fifth-level necromancer 'Sachni', used magic to destroy a section of the city wall of Mon'en. Although it was blocked in time, many undead soldiers still rushed into Mon'en City, causing huge losses."

"Since we are unsure of the extent of the Death Hand Cult's infiltration, Earl Tyrone is unable to conduct a large-scale mobilization for safety reasons."

"So, at present, the number of troops that can be mobilized in Meng'en City is less than three legions..."

Raven nodded slowly. With about 15,000 men defending a city wall with a total length of nearly eight kilometers and maintaining law and order in the city, it was indeed a bit stretched.

"What about the Iron Legion?"

"... Baron Raven, your thinking is really clear." Eberron smiled bitterly: "The Iron Legion set out five days ago, but it will take at least twenty days to reach Mon'en City."

No matter how powerful the Slater family is, it is ultimately subject to the order of the Empire. The Iron Legion is directly under the Empire, and any unauthorized mobilization without a royal order is tantamount to treason.

Now that even the Iron Legion has been dispatched, it is enough to show the enormous pressure faced by the Slater family. I am afraid it has reached a precarious point.

Now that it has come to this, Eberron no longer hides anything: "Malagar, Singed, Kumenashin... Currently, there are more than 20 viscounts and barons who have been affected by the Death Hand Cult and completely destroyed."

"In addition, many nobles have fled their fiefdoms. Currently, most of them are gathered in Mon'en City or Hovi City. This number is greater than those who were destroyed. Although it is impossible to count, it is roughly estimated that there are at least 40 families. The fiefdoms they vacated are basically controlled by the Hand of Death."

The imperial nobles not only enjoyed the power and income of their fiefdoms, but also had the responsibility to defend their land. If they abandoned their fiefdoms and fled alone before a war, they could certainly save their lives temporarily. If they had connections and knew how to operate, they might even be able to keep their titles, but they would never get their fiefdoms back.

Fiefdoms are the roots of the nobility. Even the abandonment of their fiefdoms is enough to show how desperate the situation makes these nobles.

Raven drummed his fingers on the table. "In other words, at least one-third of the Nord Province is now completely under the control of the Hand of Death?"

"...That's right." Eberron nodded with a heavy heart.

One third of the lands were completely conquered, which meant that the parts bordering these lands were also under constant threat from the hand of death.

All in all, most of the Nordic provinces are in the midst of war at the moment. The Eagle Territory was not affected immediately because it is located in a remote area, but if the situation is allowed to deteriorate, it will be involved sooner or later.

"I hope the Slater family won't break their promise."

As he spoke, before Eberron could react, Raven grasped the transfer order in his hand: "The Griffith family is willing to go to support Earl Tyrone."

"You can always trust the Earl's promise!" Seeing that Raven finally accepted the transfer order, Eberron quickly asked: "When is the Baron going to leave?"

"I need some time to prepare and arrange in advance." Raven hesitated for a moment and said, "One week. I will set off on time in one week!"

Hearing this, Eberron breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the first good news he had heard in some time. A week might seem like a long time, but for the noble army of this era, it was short enough. Didn’t you see that John and Angel had been preparing for more than half a month before this?
"Excuse me, how many soldiers do you plan to bring?" Eberron asked enthusiastically.

Raven thought about it carefully. "Well, about... thirty-five."

"Ah?" Eberron seemed to have a bucket of cold water poured over his head: "You... don't make such a joke." Raven spread his hands and said innocently: "I'm not kidding, I only have so many soldiers under my command."

"This, this, no..." Eberron's lips trembled, and he finally didn't say the word "shameless".

Indeed, Raven had said that he didn't have many soldiers left, but Eberron had always believed that was a modesty. In addition to his personal soldiers, Raven had already left a lot of militia in Eagle Territory, and there were more than fifty patrol soldiers in Goldshire.

According to Eberron's judgment, in a case like Raven's, it would not be a problem to form two detachments with about fifty elite soldiers and at least three hundred serfs.

Who would have thought that he only wanted to bring such a small number of people!

Eberron felt so aggrieved, just like a girl who was deceived by a sweet-talking young man and only realized she had been cheated after they slept together!

But a promise is like a woman’s virginity, once it’s given, there’s no reason to take it back.

Moreover, he was the one who communicated and reconciled between the Slater family and Raven in letting Raven send out troops. If they really fell out, he would not end up well with the Slater family!

"Then... I will wait for the good news from the Baron about sending troops!"

Eberron left with an even more dejected expression than when he came.

"Congratulations, Baron, for cutting a piece of fat meat from the Slater family." Old Gordon said excitedly.

There was no contract for this "transaction", not because of oversight, but because of a tacit understanding between the Griffith and Slater families.

It's okay for a lion to ask for a big request, but forcing someone to sign a document or a contract is like shitting on the other party's neck, especially when the strength and status of both parties are not equal.

The fact that the Slater family could offer such conditions showed that someone within the family was fanning the flames, and Hyde and Eberron were the people most directly involved.

When everything is over, they will be the two people who most want the promise to be fulfilled and will do their best to promote the realization of this promise.

"Now I'm just dragging the meat onto the plate." Raven's eyes were deep: "Whether you can really eat it depends on your performance next!"

"Go ahead and start preparing supplies and food. Make sure you have enough. It's better to have more rather than less."

"Yes, Baron!" Old Gordon took the order and retreated.

The news that Raven was about to go on an expedition quickly spread throughout Eagle Territory, making the people there somewhat uneasy.

They don't care how chaotic it is outside, but if Raven takes too many people away, their own safety will be difficult to be effectively guaranteed.

This is also a common problem among most serfs, freemen and even nobles in today's era. They don't feel pain unless the knife hits their neck.

Even if the robber was already standing outside their door.

In addition to ordinary subjects, merchants, free people, as well as Philip, Denise, Baron Angel, and Viscount John's only son Jonathan, were all paying attention to Raven's movements, wanting to know how Raven would make decisions, who to leave behind and who to take away.

But there has been no definite news yet.

Raven was waiting, but also busy.

During this time, he distributed the only four remaining divine potions in his hand, allowing Otto and Wade to awaken their fighting spirit.

In addition, the two newly promoted team leaders, Bobby and Boris, also successfully completed their awakening after the reorganization.

Today, Raven has forty-five elite men and seven extraordinary people, which is considered outstanding among the barons.

On the fourth day before departure, Margaret had finally recovered enough that at least there were no flaws on her body.

Raven selected another death row inmate who had caused trouble before and asked Margaret to make a new substitute.

Margaret didn't like becoming a man, but Raven's order made her unable to refuse.

When Raven told her that he was going to let her go with the team as a civilian, Margaret reluctantly told Raven a fact:
If undead creatures are drug addicts, then the essence of corrupted souls is like a drug, which has a natural, irresistible and fatal temptation to them.

So she suggested that Raven should never expose the existence of the Essence of Corrupted Souls, otherwise it would definitely attract a huge number of undead.

This is not good news, because it means that if Raven wants to replenish his magic power on the battlefield, he will most likely become the target of the skeletons.

On the third day before departure, the outline of the monument at the castle gate was built.

The day before departure, Raven finally received news from the Riverside Workshop.

Volaf walked up to Raven holding a box about one and a half meters long in his hands:

"My Lord Baron, the sword you requested is ready!"

……

(End of this chapter)