Lord: I can see loyalty.

"Tal Village, Ander Village, Delro Village..."

Inside the lord's manor, Vio sat in the lord's chair, holding a map that covered the entire southern region.

After eliminating the border wolf Connor, a glance at the map revealed that most of the southern territory had fallen under Vio's rule!

After being found by the militia, most of the refugees in the villages chose to pledge allegiance to Vio, and the number of the refugees was roughly close to eight hundred! The militia, including new recruits and pirates, numbered four hundred and fifty.

Vio suppressed the urge to smirk and turned his gaze toward the northern inland of the Southern Territory, where vast deserts stretched out and, apart from the fortress, the few remaining villages were occupied by bandits.

According to intelligence obtained from interrogating bandits, there are currently six bandit groups in the southern region, among which the three groups led by the Alpha Wolf, the Wolf Rider, and the Wolf Fang are noteworthy.

Each of them had at least two hundred elite soldiers under their command!

Vio looked at the alpha wolf and wolf fangs closest to him on the map, thought for a moment, and then said to Cohen beside him, "Cohen, send someone to gather information about the valley city occupied by the alpha wolf."

"Yes, ma'am."

……

Baron's Castle in the Southern Valley.

The area outside the castle was deathly silent, with only countless bandits in light armor standing guard with weapons in hand; there was no other sign of life.

Inside, a few dim oil lamps were lit, and the bandits guarding the room had changed from light armor to heavy knight armor, silently protecting the "Baron's" room.

Inside the room, a figure draped from head to toe in a yellowish-white cloth sat on a magnificent high chair. His large body appeared slightly uncomfortable, and the cloth covering his face made it impossible to see his features.

Beneath the baron's chair, five men in various poses knelt on one knee, none of them daring to speak.

"Sean and Connor are both dead."

The tall figure above finally spoke, but the people below did not react, as if they already knew.

"Sean only went out recently, so I'm not surprised he failed, but Connor..." The figure's face was covered by a white cloth, only a pair of slightly closed eyes could be seen. "He had a lot of troops under his command, even more than you, yet he lost to the lord of Bordeaux."

"The alpha wolf, it was his arrogance that brought him death." A tall figure below spoke with a hint of disdain.

"Abad." The figure above moved slightly and looked at the other person.

"Don't think I don't know. Connor already sent you a distress call when Bermant and Baikal villages fell." The voice from the baron's chair carried a hint of anger: "But you turned a blind eye."

"We must unite. Don't forget, even if we wipe out the southern border, the capital will eventually turn against us."

Abad snorted and muttered, "Connor and Sean not only indiscriminately killed their subordinates, but also massacred the villages they occupied. This is completely contrary to your wishes, Alpha Wolf."

The alpha wolf on the baron's chair did not respond, its eyes fixed on Abad.

The tall, thin man on the other side laughed and said, "Abad, Connor is the closest to you, right? He was the first to ask you for help. If it were me, I would have stepped in to save him."

Abad ignored the other's words, instead looking up to face the alpha wolf, then stood up and picked up the giant axe beside him.

"Alpha Wolf, I will personally take the head of that Lord of Bordeaux." With that, he turned and walked towards the gate, stopping just before reaching it and saying calmly, "Alpha Wolf, I hope you haven't forgotten your own heart."

Two fully armored bandits made way for him and opened the door, allowing Wolf Fang Abad to step out of the Baron's castle.

call--!

With several whooshing sounds, the wooden swords clashed and collided. Vio stared wide-eyed at Gina's every move.

"An opening!" Vio sidestepped and dodged Gina's straight slash at a tricky angle, then thrust his sword toward her throat.

"Lord Vio, your swordsmanship has improved!" Gina took two steps back, and Vio stepped forward to support her.

Hearing her words, Vio shook his head with a wry smile. His swordsmanship had indeed improved, and he had now reached the advanced level of basic swordsmanship.

In addition to the advanced basic swordsmanship, Vio also recently reached the beginner level of Dune swordsmanship.

However, judging from the results of the previous few matches, he only won two. Although Gina's Dune Swordsmanship is only at the beginner level, it is probably not far from the intermediate level.

knock knock knock.

"My lord."

Just as the two put away their wooden swords, there was a gentle knock on the door. Vio looked up and said, "Come in."

The fraternity members led by Cohen opened the door, bowed, and then spoke.

"My lord, we've found what Connor the wolf hid over there: a set of knight's armor and a spellbook."

"A magic book?" Vio's interest was immediately piqued, and he waved his hand, asking, "Did you bring it?"

The fraternity member whispered something to someone behind him, and soon another member in white robes walked in, carrying a somewhat old book in both hands.

Vio took the magic book offered to him, flipped through a few pages, and couldn't help but frown.

He clearly recognizes every single word in it, so why can't he understand it when they're put together?

Gina's literacy skills have improved after being taught by Vio. She stood aside, looking at the contents of the book, and pursed her lips slightly.

Vio then remembered that the opponent's panel also had a [Magic Talent] option!

"Gina, are you interested in magic?" he asked quickly.

"I don't understand..." Gina hesitated for a moment before finally uttering a sentence.

Vio pondered for a moment. Gina's literacy was indeed far from sufficient, and it was somewhat difficult to expect her to learn from this magic book.

But soon, a figure appeared in Vio's mind—the old mage Valentine!

"Perhaps we could open something like a magic academy..." Vio muttered to himself, looking out the window at the open space under the blazing sun.

"My lord!" Just then, another shout broke the silence of the room.

A burly militiaman, drenched in sweat, rushed into the mansion, running all the way to the door and shouting, "Sir, there are bandits!"

Upon hearing this, Vio quickly put away the magic book in his hand, and Gina, who was standing next to him, also picked up the iron sword leaning against the table.

"Put the spellbook away properly," Vio instructed the Brotherhood member, then led Gina and followed the militiaman out of the mansion, asking questions as he went.

"How many? In which direction?"

"Sir, there's only one enemy! He's right at the entrance to Bordeaux village!" the militiaman replied, panting as he ran.

"One?!" Vio was taken aback. As the servant pushed open the door, Vio mounted the horse brought by the militia and led Gina towards the village entrance.

"what!"

Before Vio could even see the watchtower at the village entrance, a scream reached his ears, and soon he arrived at the scene.

Before them stood a tall, burly man holding a giant axe, surrounded by several militiamen wielding long spears, and several writhing figures lying on the ground.

Vio dismounted and simultaneously swiftly scanned the panel:

Name: Abad

Race: Human

Age: 36

[Faction: Wolf Fang Abad]

[Hobbies: Forging, crafting weapons, and dueling]

【Characteristics: Superhuman strength, speed, bloodlust, strong willpower, great endurance, leadership, robust physique, and rich combat experience】

Loyalty: Not loyal to you