Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 471 Marriage
Until a group of heavy cavalrymen strolled out of the ranks, proudly brandishing their gleaming white lances.

The adventurers and mercenaries turned pale and retreated silently, eventually scattering like birds and beasts and disappearing from sight.

Those noble private soldiers with ulterior motives scrambled to their feet, not daring to even make a token stop.

After all, the guards in the towns around Gonda are just symbolic, used to fill in the numbers when necessary. Their combat strength is three times stronger than that of the militia, and even the lord has to look at them with more respect.

Soon, a small squad of light cavalry galloped out from the legion, escorting a finely crafted knight clad in silver armor and a dark blue cloak, heading straight for the city gate.

The standard-bearer held aloft a flag representing the North.

The arrival of so many people from the North naturally attracted the attention of the barbarians at High Cliff Fortress. The soldiers on the city walls put away their bows and arrows. The city gates were already open, and the leading barbarian, very familiar with the situation, punched a knight in the chest, denting a small piece of the plate armor. The knight was heartbroken, but for the sake of his pride, he could only pretend not to know.

"Brothers, don't blame us for not letting you in. Our boss has given orders that no one is allowed to enter without his permission."

The barbarians grinned. Although they had fought many battles with the Northerners and were, in their leader's words, comrades-in-arms, military orders were still paramount.

"Can't I go in either?"

A melodious female voice came from the knight surrounded in the middle. The mask was removed, revealing a beautiful and charming face.

The orc barbarian was surprised that Duke Frena had come in person. She was practically a lady of High Cliff Fortress. Just as it was hesitating, a burst of laughter came from behind it.

"This is my old flame, you fool, let her through!" Li Wei appeared out of nowhere like a ghost, waving his hand with a grin, and the barbarians immediately opened the city gate halfway.

Flina was already used to the lord's constant use of local slang. She handed the helmet to her attendant and instructed, "You few stay with me, the rest of you will camp outside the city for now."

“Flinaf…” Levi led the way, gesturing for them to follow.

"Just call me Frena, and don't add 'Madam' or 'Duke' after me." Frena rolled her eyes, her eyes revealing undisguised shock.

She truly hadn't expected that before she even arrived, the Lord of High Cliff Fortress would single-handedly eliminate all the undead in Gonda.

“Alright, Flint.” Levi didn’t mind and said as he walked, “Don’t blame me for keeping you outside. Gonda’s current situation makes it impossible for outsiders to come in.”

"Tell me in detail what exactly happened," Frena asked, extremely curious.

"Anyway, all you need to know is that the world has changed in Gonda," Li Wei said meaningfully, then fell silent and led the group toward the palace.

The spirits of the dead in the palace have been completely eradicated, and most of the buildings are still intact, so it has been used as the garrison of the High Cliff Fortress Brigade.

As the group walked along the street, roars could be heard from the houses on both sides of the road, as if countless eyes were watching the group of a dozen or so people in the shadows.

This made the Northern Knights extremely nervous; if it weren't for the fact that the Dragon Knight was right in front of them, they probably would have drawn their swords long ago.

"Don't be alarmed, they're just some low-level undead." Li Wei waved his hand dismissively, saying, "These guys aren't capable of moving in sunlight yet, but..."

These words relieved the knights, but also made them even more curious about what would follow.

Li Wei suddenly grinned, "But at night, they'll crawl out of the soil, from the sewers, from the outhouses, and from the rooms!"

These words immediately lifted the knights' spirits, which had just begun to relax.

This is why the Lich Kings used the Ring of Ice and Water. By turning the entire Derby into an ice kingdom, these undead could roam freely on this land at any time, without fear of sunlight and only able to come out at night.

"Why not solve it all at once?" Frena asked.

“We have to leave some specimens for the general public to see, that’s called having evidence right in front of them.” Li Wei scratched his head: “Besides, these low-level undead are only slightly stronger than ordinary people. Any regular soldier could kill several of them, not to mention knights. There’s nothing to worry about.”

As for whether lower-level undead can advance to higher-level undead, it is possible, but the advancement time can be estimated to be more than ten years.

Because these unwise beings won't take the initiative to cultivate themselves.

Of course, there are alternative paths, such as using the Book of the Dead or having the Lich King directly use spells to advance his rank, but the former is in the Lord's hands, and the latter has long been wiped out.

The only remaining heir, a mere surviving member of the family, has also become a slave. Once things are settled here, the lord will take him to the Persian Gulf Empire to make his mark.

"Our destination has arrived."

The group quickly arrived at the palace, where several barbarians rushed out and enthusiastically led the Northern Knights to rest. Only Freyna waved her hand, indicating that they didn't need to worry, and followed the lord towards a large hall without a care in the world.

The moment she pushed open the door, Frena finally understood why Li Wei had been so mysterious all the way, and she finally understood what it meant to be blinded by all that dazzling beauty.

A vast array of gold and silver vessels were piled up in the middle of the hall, dazzling and magnificent. Pearls, agates, and turquoise were almost countless. There were all kinds of extremely luxurious plate armor and weapons, and even some extremely rare magical metals.

Even if someone's brain had been eaten by goblins, they could still easily imagine how enormous this fortune was!
Flina's eyes widened in disbelief. Li Wei subtly supported her slender waist to prevent her from collapsing to the ground.

This is what war profiteering is all about!
Even as a duke, Flina had never seen so much money.

Several frost giants guarded the place. These frost barbarians didn't seem to have much of a desire for money, so the lord was relatively at ease.

If it were Sersni guarding this spot, this little vixen would definitely steal from her.

"You've struck it rich, Levi!" Even Florina had the idea of ​​pulling off a heist and running away.

“We’ve struck it rich!” Levi smiled slightly at Freyna’s incredulous gaze, then held up one finger: “And do you think this is all of Gonda’s wealth? Actually, it’s less than a tenth of it!”

“This wealth is too great. I don’t have enough manpower. I can only collect from the Noble Garden and the Royal Palace. Many places in Gonda City haven’t been touched yet.” “High Cliff Fortress definitely can’t swallow this much, so naturally we need to find some allies to share the spoils. You were the first person I thought of.”

"Now do you know why I didn't let your soldiers in? With so many people, no one can guarantee that all the soldiers inside will be resolute and won't be tempted by so much unclaimed wealth right in front of them."

Flina took a deep breath, the cold air mixed with the metallic scent of gold and silver filling her lungs, barely suppressing the shock in her heart.

She steadied herself, her beautiful eyes still fixed on the golden mountains and silver sea before her, but the bewilderment had been replaced by tranquility.

"To be honest, you dealt with the undead of Gonda City entirely by yourself, so these spoils should rightfully belong to you. Are you really willing to share them with others?"

“You have to break a bun into pieces to eat it; it’s unrealistic to swallow it all at once!” Li Wei thought for a moment and then said the most important thing: “Besides, now all the royal family members have become undead. We haven’t seen the queen and those princes and princesses at all. They’ve probably become undead too, since the undead outbreak probably started in the palace.”

At this point, Li Wei smacked his lips, still unable to forget the queen's allure.

Unfortunately, they've probably become ghosts, and might have died in that corner.

Moreover, even if they met again, Li Wei estimated that even if the other person took off their clothes, he would have no desire for a pile of rotten flesh or a skeleton.

"Anyway, the only people who survived in Debe now are the priests of the Holy Light Church, a few noble ministers, and most importantly, Harland named Ashel as his successor when he died!"

Li Wei led Frena to a study, where two fully armed barbarians stood guard outside the door.

Freya finally understood why Levi was willing to share this fortune with her.

But she felt this was a complete surprise, since she had encouraged Livy to fight for the throne when the frost giants marched south, and she never expected this surprise to come so suddenly.

"I didn't want to take on this mess, but even in death, Harland is still trying to screw me over." The lord scratched his head, full of helplessness.

To be honest, being a local tyrant was so great. If the sky fell, Harland would hold it up. As a pioneering lord, he didn't have to pay taxes for several years. But unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, he became the tall man.

Flina didn't know what to say. The throne that everyone dreamed of was, in the eyes of this Lord of High Cliff Fortress, a troublesome thing.

As Freya listened to Levi's complaints, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

She gracefully strolled to the window of the study, her gaze sweeping across the silent palace outside before finally settling on Li Wei.

"So," she turned around, "what do you plan to do?"

Li Wei felt a headache coming on. "What does that little brat Ashelu know? Harland only designated her as his heir for legal reasons. Anyone with eyes can see that in the end, I'll still have to shoulder this burden. That old fox Harland, even in death, still schemes against me. I don't know if he's really crazy or just pretending."

He scratched his head in frustration. "How wonderful it was to be a pioneer lord! Collecting taxes, bickering with Tina and the others, lying down whenever I wanted, strolling around whenever I wanted. Now, all of that is getting further and further away from me."

"But after thinking about it, being a king isn't bad either. At least I can legally marry a bunch of wives. At most, I'll be criticized by scholars as a lecherous ruler, which is no big deal." In the blink of an eye, the lord chuckled again.

“What we need to do now is to act decisively and let Aishilu inherit the throne. But I can’t do this alone. Even if I’m a dragon knight, even if I’m a legend, there will still be a lot of people who will risk everything for the throne.” Li Wei continued, then stared intently at Flina.

Their gazes were so wild, so undisguised, as if they wanted to strip a person bare.

This gaze, however, captivated Flinna, who hailed from the North.

“Li Wei.” Flina looked at Li Wei across the table: “I agree to what you said. I can ally with you. I had advised you to make preparations earlier, but I didn’t expect the accident to happen so suddenly. Instead, it was the undead that brought this together.”

"Just a verbal agreement?" Li Wei looked down at the snow-white expanse before him with great interest.

When she entered the study, Frena took off her plate armor, wearing only the lining, since no one would like to wear heavy armor all the time.

"Regarding our alliance, I can swear to the Goddess of Ice and Snow, and at the same time, I will draft an alliance treaty." Frena said solemnly, raising her hand to swear the oath first.

"No need, no need." Li Wei waved his hand, indicating to Flina that there was no need to be so serious: "It's not as complicated as you think."

“This is a country, with countless riches. Aren’t you afraid that I will join forces with others?” Flina was taken aback, as if she were meeting this Lord of High Cliffs for the first time.

"Remember the marriage alliance you mentioned back then? It's indeed one of the most reliable ways to solidify a relationship, I can't deny that, so I'm choosing this method now as well." Li Wei finally withdrew his gaze, shrugged, and said with a helpless expression, "Now, High Cliff Fortress will be formed through a marriage alliance between you and me, forming an alliance. What do you think, Freya?"

Looking back, when Flint proposed the marriage, Livi did not agree because his status was not high enough at the time. Agreeing would have meant becoming a prince consort and joining the North.

But things are different now. He has soldiers and status, and with the marriage alliance with the North, the North can only rely on him as a vassal state.

With her arms crossed and her body leaning slightly forward, her full breasts outlined a stunning curve under the tight lining. It was somewhat amusing to look at the lord's innocent face; she didn't know what to say.

Unexpectedly, the other party remained as shameless as ever, choosing to take everything, including the entire Northern Territory, and not even sparing her.

"Don't blame me for this. You yourself said it: this is the throne and the wealth of an entire city. No one could resist it. I didn't kick you out outright because of our past relationship; that's more than enough." The lord shrugged.

"I need to think about it, after all, it concerns the future of the entire Northern Territory." After a long silence, Frena's red lips trembled slightly.

Flina firmly believes that things that come too easily are not cherished, so she plans to leave Li Wei out of the loop for a while.

"Let me be frank, my marriage proposal also involves the Southern Territory. I think if I bring it up, Lia would be more than happy to agree," the lord continued, trying to sow discord.

Thinking of her niece, who was known as the "Highland Tulip," Frena's expression froze, and she inexplicably felt threatened.

(End of this chapter)