Chapter 380: Chapter 129: Count Sriphine’s Predicament

Count Sriphine hadn’t been having an easy time lately.

A horde of bandits had appeared out of nowhere in the north recently and suddenly began raiding his territory.

Actually, it wasn’t entirely "out of nowhere." He was fairly certain they were either from Earl Uman to the west or the Ehrlichland Nobles to the east.

After all, Sriphine could understand bandits having a couple of swords, but for them to have armor? That was just absurd.

As for why these people were targeting him, Count Sriphine was no fool. He didn’t even have to think to know who was behind it: his "good neighbor" to the east, Viscount Robson.

The only thing that surprised Count Sriphine was how quickly Robson had acted. He had previously thought it would take at least two or three years for the conflicts beyond the pass to gradually escalate.

It was one thing that the "bandits" were well-equipped, but they were also incredibly elusive, clearly battle-hardened veterans. It was as if they weren’t even trying to hide it.

This had left Count Sriphine utterly exhausted these past two days.

Back in his castle, having removed his armor and padding, Count Sriphine was dozing off when a sudden noise from the staircase startled him awake.

"Who’s there?" Count Sriphine looked toward his bedroom door.

His room was guarded by soldiers. No one but a trusted confidant could have possibly reached his bedroom door so silently.

"It’s me! Max! Earl, something terrible has happened!"

"Max? Come in," Count Sriphine said, getting out of bed.

With a CREAK of the door, Viscount Max walked in.

Just as Claude was to Robson, Viscount Max had always been by Count Sriphine’s side.

It couldn’t be helped. Count Sriphine simply lacked a political mind.

Whether it was back in the Royal Capital or the series of moves that followed, it was actually Viscount Max pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

A good-natured man alone can’t handle politics.

"What’s happened? Why are you in such a panic?" Count Sriphine asked, looking at Viscount Max curiously.

"It’s a disaster! A disaster in the south!" Viscount Max exclaimed, his face etched with anxiety as he looked at Count Sriphine.

As he spoke, Max pulled a letter from behind his back and placed it where the moonlight would illuminate it.

Count Sriphine frowned and walked over.

"There’s big trouble in the south! A horde of Beastmen has suddenly appeared in Vidom County, and even Chris County has been hit!

The Beastmen seem to have come from the direction of Sri County, and we have very little military strength in the south! Many nobles have already lost their lands," Viscount Max said, looking at Count Sriphine.

"Beastmen?! How could this be? Where did they...

No, wait. Beastmen! It must be the scattered remnants from the last war!" Though politically dull, Count Sriphine was exceptionally sharp when it came to military matters.

Within the military faction, you could be disliked, but you had to have a few tricks up your sleeve when it came to warfare. Count Sriphine hadn’t reached his high position just by being a nice guy.

"Damn it! That Robson! He has no shame! It’s one thing to send troops to attack my territory, but to manipulate Beastmen to attack his own kind!

I must report this and have the Marshal intervene on our behalf!" Count Sriphine said fiercely.

"Sigh... that’s where the problem lies!

Take a closer look at what this letter says!" Viscount Max said, shaking his head and sighing.

Frowning, Count Sriphine began to read the document on the table by the moonlight.

Count Sriphine’s face first flushed red, then turned deathly pale.

"How could they do this? How dare they?" Count Sriphine could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Count Sriphine was, of course, referring to the matter of the County Governors of Auric driving away the Beastmen.

Regarding the incident in Vidom County, Count Sriphine had been thinking about how to use the advantage in public opinion to make Robson concede.

Only after reading the letter did Count Sriphine belatedly realize the truth.

It turned out public opinion was on their side.

And just like that, he, Sriphine, was now completely on the defensive.

The military faction was already out of favor in domestic politics. Even if Robson had truly been the first to act in Vidom County, with the great mountain of Oscillate backing them, the most the military faction could do was stir up some public opinion.

But now, his own people had made the first move. Forget about causing trouble for others; Count Sriphine should be grateful if Robson didn’t come looking for trouble with them.

Count Sriphine even connected this to the recent rise of bandits on the border. ’So, in their eyes, I was the one who struck first.’

"Worse than useless!"

"What do we do now?" Count Sriphine looked to Viscount Max.

At that moment, Viscount Max was also sweating bullets.

Unlike Count Sriphine, Viscount Max had some political foresight and had dealt with Robson before.

He had never truly faced him before, and now that he had, he was shocked.

In the past, Max had thought that Robson was just a wet-behind-the-ears kid; no matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t be that much better than himself.

But now, having truly gone up against Robson, Max was learning just how terrifying a prodigy could be.

Across the entire region beyond the pass, Count Sriphine had barely made a move, yet Robson, with just a few chess-like maneuvers, had completely checkmated the military faction’s position.

Go back and rescue them? Setting aside the bandits in the north, the sheer distance between Count Sriphine’s territory and Vidom County was a headache in itself.

Don’t rescue them? This wasn’t just about Vidom County. There had never been a precedent for a military faction member joining another party beyond the pass. If Vidom set that precedent, the days ahead would be difficult.

What’s more, what if that band of Beastmen moved on to the next place? After a few more incidents like this, wouldn’t the southern part of Auric Province fall right into Robson’s hands?

Viscount Max frowned and walked over to the map hanging on the wall.

"We... will attack here!" Viscount Max said, pointing to a spot.

That spot was Earl Uman’s territory.

Count Sriphine watched Max, his eyes filled with confusion.

’At a time like this, he’s still thinking about getting revenge?’

Viscount Max looked at Count Sriphine.

"We attack here to force Robson to send reinforcements.

Coincidentally, Uman has probably had a big hand in the recent troubles within our territory!

Yes! If Uman can’t hold out, Robson will definitely go to his aid!" Viscount Max declared decisively.

"Robson will go back? Why?" Count Sriphine asked Viscount Max, intrigued.

"Uman was the first to wave the white flag to him. For the sake of that precedent alone, Robson can’t afford not to go!

And if he doesn’t, even better! The nobles in the south of Ador Province have long hated Uman, and their feelings toward Robson aren’t much better!

They aren’t causing trouble now only because Uman and Robson are keeping them in line, and there’s no one to lead them. If we beat Uman into submission, you just watch and see if Robson can still be so arrogant beyond the pass!"

The more Max spoke, the clearer his thoughts became, and the brighter his eyes grew.

Listening from the side, Count Sriphine nodded repeatedly.

"It’s just..." Max glanced at the letter on the table.

Count Sriphine opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

He understood, of course, what Max was hesitating about.

If they led their army to attack Earl Uman, and Robson led his to reinforce him, then no one would be left to deal with the Beastmen.

This was what Viscount Max had to admire about Robson’s brilliance. In the current situation, even in the best-case scenario, the nobles within Auric Province would become estranged from Sriphine.

"Hmph! Those fools! How dare they drive the Beastmen towards the lands of their own kind! I ought to give them a good lecture.

For now, let them suffer a little!" Though a good-natured man, Count Sriphine could still grasp the situation.

It couldn’t be helped. When things reached this point, it was the common people who had to suffer.

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