After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Instead of a touching reunion, Oswald directly ordered the dejected Luna to refrain from physical contact and to maintain a distance of at least three meters.

After bidding farewell to old George, Oswald rose and returned to the Duke's mansion, with Luna following him like a little tail, pouting.

To avoid causing a disturbance along the way, Oswald chose to put his hood back on, but Luna was still too conspicuous.

So, as the two sneaky individuals passed by the square, several children who had come to play with Luna accidentally bumped into Oswald's leg.

Oswald quickly helped them up, and the children, looking up, met his gaze...

After a brief moment of calm, they pointed directly at Oswald and cheered, "Ah, it's His Highness the Duke!"

A single sentence shattered the calm of the lake, unleashing a tsunami-like impact. When several questioning glances were cast upon them, they instantly transformed into shouts of delight.

"His Excellency the Duke is back! His Excellency the Duke is back!"

The rapidly spreading news caused an uproar throughout the city. Just hearing the dense sounds of running from all directions made Oswald feel immense pressure.

Even celebrities in their past lives didn't get this treatment. Can't you just treat me like I'm on a business trip? Tell me, is someone spreading rumors that I'm dead?

Fortunately, Oswald had been warned of this, and he leaped onto the giant python skull placed in the square, avoiding the crowd's scrambling.

He wasn't pretending to be aloof; he was just afraid that older women might still have some charm.

"Okay, stop pushing."

Oswald took off his trench coat and gestured for the crowd below to regain their composure.

After silently surveying the surroundings, Oswald was certain that most of the residents of the Ice City had arrived...

He's never given a speech in front of so many people before. What should he say? Should he say that Seele will protect everyone? West Sea!

Soon, his silent gaze finally quieted the entire square.

Meeting their eager gazes, Oswald said, "You are very good, really very good. Perhaps you don't know what has happened in this world."

"This accident led me to the Elven Kingdom by chance. The Elven capital has already been destroyed by the Undead Legion."

"Some evil beings, who call themselves messengers of the goddess, are using the lives of elves to make weapons. Unfortunately, I was also stabbed by such weapons and suffered severe emotional pollution as a result."

Hearing gasps and concerns from below, Oswald quickly waved his hand and explained, "It's nothing serious, just that lust has been exaggerated to an extreme."

Ok? ? ?

Standing directly beneath the skull, Luna was startled and immediately summoned a soldier, ordering him to rush to Ironlake City and report the matter to Lady Elene.

Your home is in danger, return immediately!

After doing all this, Luna finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought her brother disliked her, but it turned out he just couldn't resist his younger sister's charm.

"After leaving the Elf Kingdom, I arrived in the Central District, where many areas were in chaos, and nobles from all over were actively preparing for war against our Northern Territory..."

"Gentlemen, we will face many difficulties together from now on. There are no victors in war, but we must not lose it. When the winds of freedom and equality blow in the North, neither you nor I will have any reason to back down."

Oswald closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them and proclaimed loudly, "To win this battle, I first need you to renounce your faith in the goddess. Free beings do not need to offer sacrifices to gods. From the moment life is born, our mission is only one: to fight!"

"Fight! We must recognize our own strength. Our lives are not a gift from anyone! Our destiny does not need a high and mighty planner!"

"Fight! Overthrow all the powers that control this world! The shackles of today are before us, but only a united bloodline can secure our future!"

"From this moment forward, I, Oswald, as your Duke, solemnly declare to all my subjects: Winter has come to the Northern Territory, and we will not cease our journey until the last piece of land is buried by blizzards."

Looking up at her brother's murderous eyes, Luna felt a surge of pride. However, the residents of Ice City reacted even more enthusiastically than she did.

They had finally waited for this day. The Duke's words had pointed the way for the Northern Territory. No one doubted the Duke's resolve, and only he could lead the people of the Northern Territory to conquer the entire world!

The impassioned speech ended, but the unified shouts from the square lingered for a long time.

Back at the Duke's mansion, Oswald leaned back in his armchair and lit his pipe, his expression incredibly solemn beneath the smoke. The declaration was not merely a choice of war, but also a declaration of his resolve to shoulder the fate of humanity.

"I hope you will keep your word, Duke Oswald."

The head on the desk suddenly made a sound, and Oswald turned around sharply, almost flinging the lightning element from his fingertips.

He was startled; he thought the human head on the table was a decoration Luna liked, but... uh, isn't that Mr. Medivh?

How come she's even worse off than him?

Medivh sighed deeply. "Don't look at me like that, Duke Oswald. I've messed everything up..."

After hearing Medivh's story, Oswald shook his head. "No, there's nothing we can do about it. We can't blame a savior."

The two looked at each other and smiled, but their smiles were filled with resentment and regret.

After finishing his own business, Medivh turned his attention to Oswald's speech. "Is that weapon really as powerful as you say? That it can even affect your soul?"

"I will explain this matter in detail after everyone arrives. The most urgent task right now is to deal with the Central District, which is clinging to the Northern Territory."

Oswald dispersed the smoke. In terms of overall military strength, the Northern Territory was not afraid of the Central District. The trouble lay with the ever-watchful demons.

Behind the demon race, a new god is hidden.

What made Oswald particularly anxious was that he had brought the Mechanical Church with him, and provided them with the theories and environment for development, yet the God of Machines remained completely silent.

Surely the so-called god of machines won't descend until the day when technology is highly advanced?

Then you came for nothing, didn't you?

Medivh nodded. It was a pity he didn't have a complete body; otherwise, he could have resolved the matter simply by going to the royal city.

"What are your plans regarding military matters?"

"Before I came here, I had already arranged for the Third Division to launch an attack from the east. In addition, I also planned to have Count Rondo lead the Fourth Regiment back to his territory to use it as a base to train new recruits and expand the Fourth Regiment into the Fourth Division."

Oswald pondered for a moment, then took out a map from the table and spread it out between the two of them.

"The Western Territory is an easy target. With autumn approaching, Rondo can launch a rapid attack on several cities in the Western Territory from the Southwest Earl's Territory, thereby seizing a large amount of food and supplies."

"Since they want war, we'll launch a multi-pronged attack and drag the entire human kingdom into it. The Third Division in the east will serve as the flank, and can cooperate with the Eastern Territory to tie down our forces in the central region."

"As for the main battlefield, I've already instructed Luna to make arrangements. I need to mobilize the First Division and the Veterans Regiment from Broad Valley City, and then quickly reinforce Green Canyon City to annihilate Benjamin's forces in one fell swoop!"