Chapter 253: Sandro Levi

As the twelfth of June arrived, the nobles and knights of the Marquisate, both great and small, gathered here to convene the Mountain Grand Council.

Compared to the lively atmosphere of the banquet at the start of the year, the counts and barons arriving this time bore, to varying degrees, a faint shadow of melancholy upon their faces.

They did not fear that the Brandt Bandits or the Black Gold Brotherhood would break into the Deep Mountain territory this time to violate their fiefs.

Yet these two conflicts made it clear that the influence and deterrent power of Castle Deep Mountain continued to wane, rendering its position increasingly awkward.

They were all vassals dependent upon Castle Deep Mountain; if their liege lord could not hold, they too would be vastly affected.

Even if they swore fealty anew to another master, they would undoubtedly endure a long period of upheaval.

During such a time, the prestige and wealth of their houses would surely suffer immense blows, and a single misstep might see an entire family become a mere footnote in history.

Among the surrounding great domains, Castle Deep Mountain appeared the weaker, yet however weak it became, it must not fall.

Thus, nearly everyone had answered this call to arms, resulting in a remarkably vast gathering of nobles and knights at Castle Deep Mountain.

"Brother, why do you think the Brandt Bandits and that Black Gold Brotherhood keep choosing to attack our Deep Mountain territory?"

Breton was utterly perplexed; there were other lords around these two factions, such as Moonlight Valley and the Duchy of Vera, and vast expanses of wild mountains they could claim, so why did they always point their blades at the Deep Mountain territory?

"Count Jesus of Moonlight Valley is King Bruno's brother, and the Duchess of Vera is King Bruno's sister, so naturally, they dare not offend them,"

Ronan explained casually. "As for our Deep Mountain territory, we have no backing. The foundation Grandfather Rulance built through martial merit can no longer be defended by his force, and Father's strength is lacking. The outside world senses that the Deep Mountain family will decline within three or four generations, and before that happens, they wish to carve away whatever pieces they can."

During this time, he had thoroughly studied the history of the past few centuries from Rulance and various books.

Though the two kingdoms of the Orlant continent appeared peaceful now, that was only a state of the last thirty-odd years; more often than not, war was the norm.

Today, the two kingdoms remained locked in confrontation, and the lords within the realm were hardly harmonious neighbors, as friction and disputes persisted always.

With a prize as large as the Deep Mountain territory, and seeing that Castle Deep Mountain was losing its grip, the neighbors naturally yearned to divide and devour it.

However, because the kingdom's authority still held, they could only foster endless strife in the shadows while maintaining a veneer of harmonious coexistence in the light, making it impossible for them to intervene personally for now.

Thus, supporting a faction to continually weaken the rule of Castle Deep Mountain, seizing the opportunity to encroach upon territory and plunder resources, became their favored pastime.

Yet Breton did not realize any of this; his political acumen was no better than that of Ronan's former self.

Hearing Ronan's words, Breton clenched his fists tightly.

"In the end, it is because our house lacks a powerful transcendent! If Grandfather's health had not failed and he remained strong, the Deep Mountain territory would likely not face so many troubles now."

This statement was indeed true.

Had such a great misfortune not befallen Rulance, given his talent, he might have already ascended to the rank of a Silver Moon Knight.

Even if those people harbored ambitions, they would have exercised a degree of restraint.

At this point, Breton could not help but turn to look at the profile of Ronan's face, thinking to himself: Fortunately, the Deep Mountain family has hope. Now, besides himself, there was Ronan, who was rising with formidable strength.

In their recent spars, Ronan's strength had already become a mystery to Breton.

"Haha, Ronan, it has been a long time! Have you only just arrived?"

Beneath the steps of the Deep Mountain Fortress, the short-haired Viscount Marvin of Horse City walked forward with a smile, greeting Ronan warmly.

Beside him stood a tall man whom Ronan did not recognize; he did not recall seeing him at the banquet at the start of the year.

"Long time no see, Uncle Marvin!" Ronan stepped forward and embraced him.

"Hello, Ronan, we haven't seen each other in a long time either!"

The man beside them also extended his hand, and Ronan shook it, though awkwardly, for he could not recall who the man was, his memory hazy.

Fortunately, the other did not let the silence linger but continued, "After Youssef returned to Riverflow City, he told me of how bravely you saved Princess Blanche and defeated Baron Raisin. I was astonished and full of admiration for you!"

Only then did Ronan realize the man's identity.

Sandro Rivi, the Commander of the Fourth Knight Order and Viscount of Riverflow City.

His former self had met him several times, but Ronan had little recollection.

At the banquet at the start of the year, he had only met the man's son, Youssef Rivi, a refined and advanced mage.

Viscount Sandro's domain, Riverflow City, lay to the north of Castle Deep Mountain, not a great distance away.

Riverflow City sat upon a fertile plain; early on, Rulance had dedicated himself to cultivating it, intending to turn it into the granary of the Deep Mountain territory.

However, it was located in the central part of the Deep Mountain Magical Beast Mountains, and suffered far more from magical beast raids than Mountainwood Town.

To protect the security of this food-producing region, Rulance had directed the Rivi family, then only barons, to lead a small squad of knights to garrison the foot of the mountains.

In the decades that followed, Sandro distinguished himself through merit and strength, rising to become the Commander of the Fourth Knight Order and receiving the title of Viscount of Riverflow City.

"A pleasure to meet you, Viscount Sandro!"

Ronan said with a smile. "Did Youssef not come this time?"

"Haha, he is busy preparing provisions and soldiers in the fief."

Sandro asked with a smile, "I wonder how many men you intend to bring to the battle this time, Ronan?"

Ronan had not expected Sandro to be the first to ask this question.

He smiled and said, "The Northern Mountain territory has only just been established, and my manpower is still severely lacking, so I can only spare a single squad of knights."

Sandro found the first two sentences perfectly reasonable, but he froze instantly upon hearing the final words.

"A full squad of knights?" he asked in astonishment.

When chatting with other nobles, he had speculated on how many men Ronan would bring to the war.

Most guessed that seven or eight knights and a few dozen soldiers would be about right.

He too thought that reasonable, yet he never expected Ronan to offer such a number.

"Yes, a full squad of knights."

Sandro was amazed. "It has been less than a year since you became a baron, and you already possess a full squad of knights?"

Ronan laughed and could not help but glance at Viscount Marvin beside him.

"This is all thanks to the care Uncle Marvin showed me, allowing me to purchase dozens of warhorses at a favorable price."

Viscount Marvin smiled. "I didn't sell them at a loss; being able to buy them was your own capability, Ronan."

Sandro could not help but glance at Marvin; it seemed this fellow harbored great expectations for Ronan, and it was rumored that even his second son had chosen to follow him.

However, in forming a knight squad, warhorses were secondary; the core lay in professional knights.

Did Ronan truly possess so many professional knights under his command?

Aside from McCain, Rydal, and Logna, whom people often heard of, were the rest not merely thrown together to make up the numbers?

Yes, thinking upon it, that seemed the only possibility.

He had not heard that Rulance had allowed knights sworn to Castle Deep Mountain to transfer their fealty to the Northern Mountain territory.

If it were a squad thrown together haphazardly, its combat readiness would be far inferior to a squad trained regularly and seasoned by years of experience.

Sandro could not help but place himself in Ronan's position.

If it were him, he would likely not bring this unseasoned squad of knights into this campaign.

If this squad were entirely wiped out in battle, it would take several years to recover.

Furthermore, with the knight orders of Castle Deep Mountain present, he had no need to bring so many men to deal with the Brandt Bandits.

Yusuf still overestimated Rongning.

Though his son Yusuf said Rongning was composed, to Sandro, the young viscount still carried too much fire. (End of chapter)