Imperial Crown.

Chapter 132 Brothers
After the collapse of the coalition, most of the nobles chose to return to Whiterun to rest and regroup.

According to Viscount John's personal soldiers, the area outside Solitude was filled with wounded and defeated soldiers. Due to the lack of medical care and medicine, these people could only wait to die, so the screams could be heard day and night. It was simply a living hell.

Among the more than 30 nobles from the five counties, less than 20 returned to Whiterun alive. Six nobles, including Romney, were confirmed dead, and their bodies could not be recovered. Eight nobles were out of contact and their lives and deaths were unknown.

These tragic situations made most nobles lose the courage to fight against the hand of death.

Some nobles proposed to return to their respective territories and evacuate to the rear to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the Death Hand; others wanted to use the city of Whiterun to conduct a defensive operation, at least to stop the Death Hand's army outside of Hippok County, otherwise all five counties would be destroyed.

Viscount Morgan was dead, and the remaining nobles had difficulty convincing the public in terms of both reputation and title. This resulted in the two sides arguing fiercely but still unable to reach an accurate conclusion.

Upon hearing the news, Viscount John sighed heavily, said nothing, and ordered the troops to set off.

On the other hand, the news of the coalition's defeat and Viscount Morgan's death spread, triggering a new wave of refugees. The refugees then passed the news on to other levels, and the news became more and more exaggerated.

By the time it reached the Eagle Territory, it had become "The God of Death has sent down a miracle. Five death laws have wiped out the coalition forces of the five northwestern counties. More than 30 nobles have all turned into undead creatures and are preparing to return to their own territories, turning the five northwestern counties into a kingdom of death."

The news was placed on Weisdon's desk. The acting lord glanced at it and said sleepily, "Got it."

In the more than one month since Raven left, all kinds of rumors have emerged, many of which are even more outrageous than this.

What Raven is actually the son of the Death Hand Cult, and he already has an engagement with their saint, and this trip is to welcome the bride; the reason why no one in the Griffith family can live past the age of forty is because they are not really dead, but faked their deaths and turned into undead creatures, and are now still working for the Death Hand Cult.

At first, Weisdon was a little nervous, but after hearing it so many times, he didn't care anymore and gave the same old order:
"Tell Link to pay more attention. If anyone is found inciting trouble, follow the instructions of my elder brother and arrest and kill them on the spot. Don't show any mercy."

As the number of refugees increased again, Link was sent to manage the refugees and maintain order. Now Weston's personal guard is a young soldier named "Humphrey".

He is only twenty years old this year, but he is quite strong, and his slightly thin face makes him look smart and capable.

"Understood. I'll go right away." Humphrey lowered his head, looked up at Weston, and asked with a smile: "Lord Weston, do you want to ask someone to come over tonight?"

Weisdong showed a hint of desire, but after touching his neck, he shook his head and refused: "Forget it, let's talk about it in two days."

Just because he called two female technicians from the Pink Mansion last night and Weston was busy all night, he was scolded by Denise this morning. Denise scolded him for half of the two-hour morning meeting.

He was just short of pulling out the sword that Raven left behind.

Thinking back now, Weisdong is still a little scared: "Don't just stand there, go now."

Humphrey took the order and left. As soon as he went out, the smile on his face disappeared.

He really has no good feelings towards the acting lord, Visdon. He is naive, childish, lustful, and has no sense of responsibility!

During the time when Baron Raven was away, Weston first put forward several very unreliable suggestions, including but not limited to - forming an army by himself, opening an inn in Eagle Town, selecting a group of women from the refugees, and building a club funded by Eagle Castle.

These fantastic proposals were refuted one after another, so Visdon gave up the idea and just started to lie down and do nothing every day, becoming a human stamp. Every day he was either enjoying himself or on his way to enjoying himself.

And then this morning's incident happened.

After going to the stable to get his warhorse, Humphrey drove out of the city gate and saw the towering statue outside the castle.

Today, the monument has been completed to a very good degree, and the expressions of the Eagle Army fighting bravely can be seen from the front and the side.

This is Humphrey's favorite building. Every time he passes by, he will stop here and stay for a while. This makes him feel that his comrades who once fought alongside him have not left.

"Humphrey!" Fiona, wrapped in a cotton robe, came over and asked, "Are you going to Goldshire?"

"Yes, Miss Fiona." Humphrey looked at the other party with a smile, a hint of longing in his eyes, and his body stood straighter unconsciously.

"That's perfect. I ordered some things in Goldshire. Can you bring them back for me?" Fiona took out her purse and poured out three silver coins. "Go to the Goblin Ear Pharmacy and mention my name. I'll buy you a drink with the rest of the money."

This was not the first time Fiona had made such a request, and Humphrey knew that the ointment was for Mr. Gordon, whose bones would ache terribly in the winter.

As usual, Humphrey blushed and waved his hands to refuse, but Fiona stuffed the silver coins into his horse bag without saying anything, turned around and left to continue supervising.

Humphrey rode towards Goldshire with a smile on his face.

If you want to reach the Town of Shining Gold, you must pass through the Town of Eagle.

The Eagle Town today is very different from what it was six months ago. No one throws waste outside the door anymore, but instead piles it up outside the fields.

In a while, it will be time to reclaim the land, and everyone is preparing for that moment.

Occasionally there are snowmen on the street, which is a sight never seen in previous years. Most of the snowmen are shaped like soldiers, holding branches as weapons in their hands.

The children were running back and forth, playing snowball fights. One side played the role of the Eagle Army, and the other side played the role of horse thieves. The fight was very intense. The side playing the role of the Eagle Army was in high spirits, while the side playing the role of the horse thieves, although tall and strong, could not demonstrate any strength and was suppressed to the point where they could not raise their heads.

After leaving Eagle Town, the situation in Shining Gold Town became much worse. Due to the severance of trade routes, most taverns had no customers and supply and closed down. The few that were still open also had very poor business.

Moreover, due to the large number of refugees received, the street environment has become dirty and muddy. Every passerby has a vigilant look on their face when walking, and patrol soldiers often pass through the streets to maintain public order.

Soon, Humphrey arrived at the western outskirts of the town of Shining Gold. This was the temporary stop for the refugees. There were tents of all sizes standing in rows, and a row of sheds were open, with hot air and smoke rising from them.

In the shed, "wheat porridge" with scattered wheat grains was being cooked. The refugees lined up and walked up with broken bowls. They were served a bowl of clear porridge and a fist-sized piece of gray bread. Many of them would eat everything they got and then continue to line up at the end of the line.

With more than a dozen shacks and dozens of stalls, six or seven thousand refugees can have to queue up three or four times a day. They won’t starve to death, but they won’t have extra energy to do other things.

A nobleman from the city, or an inexperienced and compassionate young man, might have condemned such treatment, but Humphrey envied them a little.

You know, in previous winters, it was difficult for people like him in Xiongying Town to even have enough food and clothing every day.

Otherwise, these refugees would not have spontaneously begun to express gratitude to Baron Raven without anyone urging them to do so.

Link was sitting in the shed. As the only extraordinary person in Eagle Territory, he was the only one who could control the situation.

After giving Link the order from Weston, the two chatted for a while before Humphrey said goodbye and left.

When he returned to the study on the third floor of Eagle Castle to report, Weston was lying on the table catching up on his sleep.

Hearing the footsteps, Weisdong straightened up dazedly, wiped the saliva from his mouth, and looked at the sky outside: "Why did it take so long?"

"Brought Ms. Fiona a dose of ointment for Mr. Gordon."

"Oh, okay, I understand." Weisdong stretched and said, "You go down, I still need to, uh... read for a while."

Humphrey did not move, but asked in a low voice: "Lord Weisdong, do you really not have to arrange anything tonight?"

This sentence immediately reminded Weisdong of the happiness of last night. He smacked his lips and felt a little itchy in his heart: "But you also know what happened this morning. My mother almost drew her sword and killed me. If she knew this..."

"We can go to Gray Mountain Town quietly, and no one will know." Humphrey suggested.

Gray Mountain Town, located at the junction of Ironforge Territory and Eagle Territory, is the territory of Baron Angel.

"This..." Weisdong sat up straight. "After all, I am the acting lord. It would not be good to cross the border without permission. Besides, I heard that the cost of living there is also very high."

"You don't have to worry about that." Humphrey said, "...In fact, Baron Angel has long wanted to meet with you in private, but he has never found a suitable opportunity. This time, Baron Angel will book the venue and pay for all the entertainment expenses."

"Angel?" Weston frowned slightly: "He invited me? Is there any conspiracy here?"

"Don't worry, your safety is absolutely guaranteed." Humphrey continued, "He has long heard of your reputation, Lord Vesdon, and knows that you have made great achievements in the campaign against the Heleti. He has always admired you."

"Besides, the Eagle Territory is becoming more and more prosperous now, and he is also interested in easing the relationship with us. If Baron Donald's funeral had not been so unpleasant, he would definitely invite you personally."

"From what I heard over there, it seems that they are interested in learning from Viscount John and returning Eagle Beak Mountain and Thousand Needles Jungle."

Weisdong's eyes lit up and he stroked his chin, "I see. If I can get these two pieces of land back, my elder brother will definitely look at me with new eyes!"

"Well...very good. Tonight, when the cooks have all left, you wait for me in the kitchen and we'll set off together!"

Humphrey bowed his head and saluted: "Yes, Lord Weston!"

The sun sets and the moon rises, the night gradually deepens. The last cook cleans up the kitchen and leaves, and Humphrey appears in the kitchen.

He sat on a bench, staring blankly at the ashes in the stove.

As time passed, Humphrey became more and more anxious.

At this moment, the door suddenly opened and Humphrey stood up: "Wes...Brother, why are you here?"

The man who came in was named Humpherson, one of Raven's personal soldiers and Humphrey's biological brother. "I'm hungry, come get something to eat." Humpherson walked around his brother, walked to the shelf, grabbed two pieces of white bread, took out two strips of bacon, poked the ashes in the stove and started a fire.

Finding a clean pot and brushing it with butter, Humpherson put the bread and bacon in and started frying. The aroma immediately filled the air.

While flipping the bread, Humpherson sighed, "It's better to follow Baron Raven!"

"Yes." Humphrey also sighed, crossed his arms and looked at the table. "When Baron Donald was in power, we couldn't eat white bread."

With a thump, Humpherson placed the plate in front of his brother and sat down opposite him with his own portion. "White bread? Ha, we couldn't even have gray bread back then."

"Do you still remember that incident? It seemed to be five years ago, also in winter, around this time, the two of us went to the Thousand Needles Jungle and worked for most of the day, trying to get some firewood back."

Humphrey smiled bitterly. "How could I not remember? We were both barefoot at the time and wore all the clothes we had at home, but we were still shivering from the cold. Our ears were almost frozen off."

"Since I didn't have an axe, I could only pick up some scattered branches in the forest. After working for most of the day, I only had a bundle of firewood that was not big enough to hold in my arms. When I wanted to go back, I encountered a blizzard."

"We ran into a cave to hide from the snow. Who knew that was where brown bears hibernate? We stayed with the bears for more than two hours."

"You could have escaped by yourself." Humpherson gave his brother a long look. "I was so scared that my legs were weak and I couldn't move. I told you to leave but you refused. I hit you with firewood and you hit me back. You almost woke the bear up!"

"Luckily the bear was fast asleep, so we both survived."

At this point, Humpherson changed the subject: "In fact, for a long time after that, I thought, what if the bear really ate us?"

Hearing his brother's words, Humphrey's expression became a little sad: "...Me too."

His thoughts seemed to go back to that day.

The reason why the two brothers went to the Thousand Needles Jungle was that their mother was ill and had not recovered. They wanted to get some firewood and exchange it for some money to buy medicine for their mother.

After escaping from the bear's mouth, the two of them took the remaining firewood home. In fact, there was not much, only about 50 pounds in total. However, no one cared when they left. When they came back, they met a "forest ranger" who told them that they must leave the firewood behind because it was Baron Ingres' property.

"That damn old fellow!" Humphrey spat angrily, "He had seen us a long time ago and was just waiting for us to help him collect firewood. What a beast!"

They said all the nice things they could, but it was of no use, and the two brothers could only return home empty-handed.

Then the two brothers saw a tragic scene that they would never forget in their lives.

The door of their house was broken and blood was splattered all over the ground. Their mother's arm was clinging to the door frame and was chopped off at the root. Her stiff body was dragged onto the street. Her naked body was covered in dirt and blood, as well as scars from being trampled by horses' hooves.

Horse thieves are usually only active in the summer, but if they have not stored enough food for the winter, they will attack villages and towns from all over the Bloody Heights.

The two brothers were lucky to have escaped the horse thieves who came to rob them, but neither of them wanted such luck. They wished they were at home at the time and could protect their mother.

Or, simply be eaten by the hibernating bear and reunite with their mother in another world.

It was for this reason that they eagerly joined the army when Raven was recruiting soldiers, and never wavered in their determination to go on the expedition to the Bloody Highlands.

They want to avenge their mothers with their own hands!
Under the leadership of Baron Raven, they succeeded.

Especially when the kidnapped women were rescued, the nightmare that had been haunting their hearts finally subsided, and they finally had a reason to live.

Move out of the past and into the future.

"So... why?" Humpherson looked into his brother's eyes. "Why did you betray Baron Raven?"

In fact, the moment his brother entered the room, Humphrey realized that he had been discovered, but when he heard this, he immediately raised his voice: "I didn't!"

"I have never, will not, and will never betray Master Raven!"

Humpherson responded sharply: "Then why did you let Master Weisdong meet with Angel!?"

"Because he is not Lord Raven!" Humphrey raised his voice: "Brother, when we came down from the Bloody Heights, you said that everything was over, but that's not true. In my opinion, many things will never be over!"

"I will never forget what that bastard Donald did!"

"If Donald hadn't been so wasteful, the Eagle Territory's army wouldn't have been disbanded, and our mother wouldn't have died; if he hadn't handed over the Thousand Needles Jungle to Angel, we wouldn't have had to deal with the forest ranger's harassment, and maybe we could have protected our mother! If Goldshire Town hadn't been ceded, we wouldn't have had to pay that damn city gate tax, and we would have had money to buy medicine for our mother!"

Humpherson shouted, "Donald is dead!"

"But Weston is still alive!" Humphrey stood up and stared at his brother: "Look at his appearance and his behavior. How is he different from Donald back then!?"

"Since he became the acting lord, all his decisions have been his own, except for eating and drinking and having fun. All the right things he has done were arranged by Lord Raven!"

"Lord Raven doesn't have any children yet. Even if he does, if he dies first in the future, leaving behind such an elder, it will be a disaster for the Griffey family! It's better to kill him now!"

"And once Visdon dies at the hands of Angel, the Baron will have even more reason to take back the Thousand Needles Jungle and Eagle's Beak Mountain! Push the defense line to Eagle's Beak Mountain instead of Eagle Town. Then Eagle Town will no longer be disturbed by horse thieves!"

Hearing these words, Humpherson's eyes revealed a complicated expression. It turned out that his younger brother had grown so much when he was not paying attention.

But the more this happened, the more distressed he felt: "Humphrey, can't the Baron think of things that you can think of?"

"The reason why I am here now is because the Baron had anticipated this moment a long time ago. He said that anyone who wants Master Weisdong to meet with Angel and guarantees his safety is a traitor!"

Humphrey was stunned for a moment, then slumped in his chair with a relaxed smile on his face: "Is that so... So that's the case, then I have nothing to worry about."

"Please confess your guilt." Humpherson said bitterly, "If the Baron can forgive Bent, he will surely be able to forgive you as well!"

but

Humphrey, however, drew out his enchanted sword at this moment: "It's too late, brother."

"If the Baron hadn't left yet, I would still be able to survive. But the entire Nord Province is in chaos now. If I survive, the already limited prestige of Weston would be gone, and the entire Eagle Territory would be in turmoil."

"So, I must die!"

Humphrey stood up with the tip of his sword on the ground, and pointed the tip of his sword at his brother: "Brother, I have never been able to beat you since I was a child. Today, don't show your weakness!"

As he spoke, he slashed with his sword.

Humphrey felt his brother's determination to die, so he also drew out his enchanted sword and with just an upward thrust, he knocked Humphrey's sword away.

But when the sword tip was placed on his brother's shoulder, he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he could only throw the sword to the ground, making a clanging sound.

Humphrey picked up the enchanted sword, walked to his brother, put the hilt into his hand, and put his forehead against his:

"Brother, I'm sorry..."

As he spoke, he had already grasped Humpherson's hand, exerted great force, thrust the sword tip into his abdomen, and twisted it hard!
Hot blood splattered on Humpherson's hands, and Humphrey's body slumped and leaned against his brother.

Humpherson stood there in a daze, tears streaming from his lifeless eyes.

Until my brother's palms began to grow cold.

Ten minutes later, the kitchen door opened and Humpherson walked into the hall in a daze.

At this time, old Gordon, Denise, Weston, Link and other personal soldiers were all present. When they saw Humpherson covered in blood, they all understood what had happened.

"Hanverson..." Weston's expression was complicated.

Although he was a young master, he had fought side by side with these people and had developed a deep relationship with them. It was because of his strong efforts that Humpherson persuaded Humphrey instead of arresting him directly.

"I'm sorry..." Humpherson's steps were shaky and his face was pale.

Weisdong's pupils suddenly contracted: "Link, stop him!"

late.

Humpherson suddenly turned the sword upside down, held the blade with both hands, pointed it at his lower abdomen, and knelt down straight.

"Do not--"

……

(End of this chapter)