Lord: I can see loyalty.

Frido Port, Frido Stone Tower.

Vio had just returned to his lodgings and hadn't even had time to take off his coat, which was soaked by the seawater, when several messengers rushed in.

"My lord! Urgent report!"

Vio took the letter, his eyes quickly scanning it, his brows gradually furrowing.

"Derek... he really can't wait."

He handed the letter to Jimmy beside him, and after reading it, Jimmy's expression also became serious.

"Nearly a thousand people? Two hundred of them are elite pirates, and eight hundred are mercenaries? This first operation is much larger than Philip's."

"Philip didn't take us seriously at first, but Derek is different." Vio walked to the window and looked at the gray sea in the distance. "He was testing us with Philip's life. Now that he's done testing us, he's going to get serious."

"Sir, then we..."

"Let's meet him." Vio turned around, his gaze resolute. "Have the Knights assemble and the militia prepare for battle. Since he's coming, let's play along."

…………

Three days later, at the border of the former Philip territory.

Dark clouds hung low, and the sea breeze howled.

On the horizon, a dark mass of people was approaching.

At the forefront were elite pirates, all dressed in uniform chainmail, wielding scimitars and spears, marching in unison, exuding a murderous aura.

Behind them were even more mercenaries, their equipment a jumble of items, their expressions varied, but all gripping weapons, their eyes gleaming with greed.

In the center of the group, on a tall black horse, Derek stood tall and proud, a confident smile on his face.

He was clad in fine chainmail, covered by a dark red battle robe, and a broad-bladed longsword hung at his waist, its hilt engraved with unusual and strange patterns.

"My lord, the Southern Army's defensive line is just ahead." Karl rode closer and pointed to the formation that was faintly visible in the distance.

Derek squinted and looked in that direction.

The formation in the southern border is not complicated.

At the very front are shield-wielding spearmen, their shields tightly joined together to form a wall of steel.

Behind the shield wall stood rows of archers, their bowstrings drawn, the arrows gleaming coldly in the dim light.

The most eye-catching were the group of blue-crowned knights on the two flanks of the formation.

They were dressed in uniform half-plate armor, with the emblem of the Southern Territory engraved on their breastplates, and held longswords in their hands, the blades of which seemed to gleam faintly in the damp sea breeze.

Those are magic ore weapons.

The knights' eyes were calm and focused, without fear or panic, only a solemn silence awaiting orders.

"That's the so-called Order of the Azure Peaks?" Derek murmured.

"Yes." Karl nodded. "According to intelligence, they also possess some kind of knightly swordsmanship, making them formidable in combat."

Derek sneered, "Knightly swordsmanship? It's all just for show. Pass down the order to let the mercenaries go first and wear them down."

"The elite pirates will hold the line, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"yes!"

The call to attack soon sounded.

The mercenaries swarmed forward like a school of sharks that had caught the scent of blood, roaring as they charged toward the southern border defenses.

"Release the arrows!"

Within the southern border formation, at a command, arrows rained down.

The mercenaries at the forefront were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, their screams echoing one after another. But there were many mercenaries to begin with, and as those in front fell, those behind stepped over the corpses and continued to charge.

The distance is getting closer and closer.

"Shieldbearers, prepare!"

The shield wall parted slightly, and a long spear emerged from the gap, its tip gleaming coldly.

"kill!"

The moment the mercenaries crashed into the shield wall, a brutal melee began.

Spears pierced flesh and blood, and scimitars struck shields, sparks flying, but to no avail. Screams and roars soon echoed through the crowd.

But the defenses in the south remained unshaken.

Although these spearmen were just militiamen, they had undergone countless training sessions and worked together seamlessly.

The shields were tightly linked, and the spears thrust out in neat rows. Each attack could take a life. The mercenaries charged frantically, but they could not tear open the steel wall.

"Knights, prepare!"

At Jimmy's command, the knights on both wings started moving simultaneously.

The thunderous sound of hooves rang out as two hundred knights, kicking up dust, fiercely charged into the flanks of the mercenary army!

Swords flashed, blood splattered.

The mercenaries were horrified to discover that these knights possessed astonishing strength!

With a single slash, the wooden shield in his hand shattered; with a sweeping motion, those who couldn't dodge in time were sent flying.

Those seemingly sturdy leather armors were as thin as paper under the knights' swords, and were easily torn apart.

"Damn it! How is this possible!?"

"Run! Run!"

The morale of the mercenaries collapsed instantly, and they wanted to scatter and flee.

Derek's face was grim, but he didn't panic.

"Elite pirates, charge!"

The elite pirates, who had been waiting impatiently, roared and charged forward, colliding with the knights.

The mercenaries who tried to escape were kicked back by the rushing pirates and fell to the ground to be trampled on.

Seeing this, the remaining mercenaries had no choice but to abandon their escape and turn back to face the knight.

These pirates are indeed much stronger than mercenaries.

They were fearless and skilled with their swords, never retreating even when faced with a knight's charge.

However, the difference in equipment was too great. The knights had excellent plate armor, while the pirates only had leather armor. The knights had longswords forged from magic ore, while the pirates only had ordinary scimitars.

More importantly, the power changes brought about by the initial stage of the Serpent Eagle Sword Technique made every strike of the knights powerful and heavy.

Like the mercenaries, with each strike from the knights, the pirates' arms were severed along with the blades they tried to parry.

The battle once again became one-sided.

"My lord!" Karl cried anxiously, "At this rate, all the men we brought will be lost!"

Derek gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on the distant battlefield.

He saw that person.

Earl of the South, Vio Ross, stood at the rear of the formation, coldly observing everything.

He didn't make a move; he just watched, as if he were watching a play that had nothing to do with him.

"Damn it..." Derek cursed under his breath, then abruptly turned his horse around.

"Retreat first!"

Karl was stunned: "My lord?!"

"I said retreat!" Derek roared. "Let those mercenaries cover our retreat! Tell them that if they hold off the Southern Army, each one will get an extra ten gold coins!"

While ordering the pirates to retreat, Derek coerced and lured the mercenaries to advance.

He understood how Philip's elite pirates had all fallen to Vio's clutches, and naturally wouldn't make the same mistake.

Then, he spurred his horse and galloped away.

Karl gritted his teeth and began to command the elite pirates to follow.

On the battlefield, the mercenaries didn't realize they had been abandoned until the pirates boarded their ships and started sailing.

To their horror, they discovered that the pirates who had promised them a large sum of money had vanished without a trace, leaving them alone to face the longswords of the Southern Territory.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

Someone shouted first, and then a whole group of mercenaries threw down their weapons and knelt on the ground.

The battle is over.

Vio rode forward slowly, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield toward the port of Soldato, where Derek's lair lay.

"Sir, shall we give chase?" Jimmy rode forward, his body covered in blood, but his eyes remained sharp.

Vio shook his head.

"No rush." ​​He gazed in that direction, a slight smile playing on his lips. "He can't go far, as long as he's still in the Western Territory."

He paused, his voice growing fainter in the wind.

"We need to get rid of Derek before Finn and the others make a move. The West... will soon be without Derek."