Chapter 003: Phicris

“Haha, well done! I never thought Old Green really had skills—conquering two duchies right away after sending troops!” In the imperial capital of the Gavin Empire, Prince Phicris shouted in joy.
“Your Highness, Duke Green’s rapid advances are surely not a good sign!” Duke Wade said from the side.
“Duke Wade, no matter what, Duke Green is still part of our Gavin Empire. His military achievements are undoubtedly a benefit to our empire. We shouldn’t be overly suspicious,” Phicris said with a smile.
“Your Highness is wise!” Hearing Phicris’s words, Duke Wade naturally dared not say anything else.
“Duke Wade, rest assured. As long as you stay loyal to our Austin family, we will never treat you poorly,” Phicris said, shifting the topic.
“Your Highness, rest assured! The Lionheart family will always stand by your side! If we fail, by the Light God, our family will be doomed forever!” Hearing Phicris’s words, Duke Wade immediately swore an oath in the name of the Light God—a vow that could be considered among the most severe in a world where most people worshipped the Light God.
Seeing Duke Wade swear an oath in the name of the Light God, Phicris smiled faintly, his expression unreadable.
“Duke Wade, I certainly don’t doubt the loyalty of your Lionheart family. If I did, I wouldn’t have sent Randy on that mission in the first place,” Phicris said with a smile. “By the way, Duke Wade, I’ve already asked my godfather, the Pope. He’s agreed to help. Hurry and arrange for Randy to go to the headquarters. The Pope will use his great healing magic to grow Randy’s severed arm back.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Hearing this, Duke Wade knelt down excitedly and exclaimed loudly.
“Get up, get up! Duke Wade, healing Randy is my duty. If it weren’t for my decision, how would Randy have ended up involved with Du Fan?” Phicris said with a smile.
“Your Highness, I’m not being presumptuous, but if the Green family gains half of the Frozen Alliance, they might become too powerful to control!” Duke Wade said, looking worried.

“I know what the Grand Duke is thinking, but he’s overthinking it,” Fisher said with a smile. “Since I dared to let the Green family attack the Frozen Alliance, I naturally have the confidence to control the situation.”
“Yes, Your Highness! I admire your strategic planning! Since You Highness already has a plan, it was presumptuous of this old servant to speak up!” Duke Wade quickly replied upon hearing Fisher’s words.
“By the way, Duke Wade, what are your thoughts on Duke Green’s great victory this time?” Fisher turned to ask Duke Wade.
Hearing Fisher’s question, Duke Wade froze for a moment.
Although he was sitting in front of Fisher at Fisher’s request, he still felt as if he were walking on thin ice. This feeling was even more intense than standing in front of the old emperor. Though the old emperor had a temper, his intentions were easier to guess.
Unlike this present Lord Fisher, Duke Wade had no idea whether Lord Fisher wanted to suppress Duke Green or let him continue to grow stronger.
“Your Highness, this old servant believes that if we allow Duke Green to keep attacking like this, he will likely be able to conquer the Frozen Alliance soon. By then, the Green family’s power will increase significantly, making it difficult to deal with them! The Green family currently has two dukes and control over five provinces. But if we suppress Duke Green now, the war in the Frozen Alliance might be in vain. Handling it poorly could only provoke a stronger reaction from the Green family.” Duke Wade mentioned both possibilities.
“According to the Grand Duke, what exactly should we do?” Fisher frowned upon hearing Duke Wade’s vague answer and asked.
Seeing Fisher’s question, Duke Wade froze again. It seemed this lord couldn’t be easily deceived! After some thought, Duke Wade finally came up with a compromise.
“Your Highness, if You Highness can prepare in advance and take precautions against the Green family, then let them continue fighting! As long as Duke Green achieves the final victory, in any case, we can gain half of the territory of the Frozen Alliance!” As he spoke, Duke Wade secretly observed Fisher’s facial expressions.
Seeing Fisher’s expression gradually relax, Duke Wade secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“According to the Grand Duke, how should I prepare in advance?” Fisher asked.

Now that we’ve grasped Fischer’s thinking, the next steps are much easier.
“Your Highness, I believe that to stabilize the situation, we must send troops to the north. Every time Duke Green captures a new duchy, our troops should take the opportunity to station there. In this way, we can seize the territories that Duke Green has taken. By then, even if Duke Green has any ulterior motives, he’ll have to consider whether he has the strength to wage another large-scale war. So, at that point, we can do as we please!” Duke Wade analyzed.
“Exactly, that’s what I think too,” Fischer quickly said upon hearing Duke Wade’s words.
“Your Highness is truly wise!” Duke Wade added again.
Hearing Duke Wade repeat the same words twice in a row, Fischer’s brows furrowed slightly—though very faintly. Duke Wade, who was loudly praising His Highness’s wisdom, didn’t notice this subtle movement.
“Very well. In that case, I’ll issue an order tomorrow to send troops to the Frozen Alliance to take control of the Bear Duchy and the Leopard Duchy,” Fischer said, then stopped further conversation with Duke Wade.
Hearing this, Duke Wade knew his matter was concluded.
“Yes, Your Highness! If there’s anything tomorrow, please call me again,” Duke Wade said.
As the ruler, Fischer didn’t ask Duke Wade to leave, so naturally, Duke Wade didn’t dare to ask to go first. Instead, he politely suggested it was time for him to leave.
“Very well, Duke Wade, go home first!” With a wave of his hand, Duke Wade hurriedly withdrew.
“Call Phicris here to see me!” Fischer said loudly after Duke Wade left.
“Yes, Your Highness! Please wait a moment!” a voice replied immediately outside Fischer’s door.
As that voice faded, along with a distortion in space, a man disappeared in an instant.
Before Fischer could finish his cup of tea, a middle-aged general with a full beard was brought in.
Although this general appeared rough and bold on the surface, the sharp glint in his eyes from time to time revealed that he was far from what he seemed—instead, he was a rare talent with both strength and finesse!
This Phicris was one of those whom Fischer had promoted directly from mid-level officers after many generals were purged. He was now the commander of the Third Royal Legion.

In the Gavin Empire, the army directly under the imperial family was divided into two parts. One part was the Imperial City Guard stationed within the imperial palace, numbering up to 300,000 troops. The other part was the Royal Legions, directly under the emperor, consisting of ten legions, each with 800,000 soldiers! In total, the Royal Legions numbered 8 million troops, tasked with defending the empire’s vast territories and suppressing internal rebellions.

The Gavin Empire had extremely vast lands, and the royal family, with its own strategies, entrusted the defense of the surrounding borders to the four major families, while leaving the interior areas to be guarded by the Royal Legions. As a result, in the event of war, it would be the armies of the external families that were attacked first. Meanwhile, the Royal Legions would have ample time to prepare before engaging in a life-or-death battle against the invaders once those external armies were defeated.

However, this arrangement meant that the armies of the four major families gained more combat experience, making them far more formidable than the Imperial City Guard.

“Your Highness, Phicris has come to pay his respects,” Phicris said immediately upon seeing Fishe, bowing low to the ground.

Phicris truly bowed out of sincerity. Having served in a mid-level position for over a decade, he was suddenly promoted, which was beyond his expectations.

It was unexpected for Fishe to pay attention to a mid-level officer like Phicris. Normally, a ruler like Fishe would not focus on such a low-ranking general, but Fishe did just that.

“Phicris, I intend to send you with your third legion to the Frozen Alliance to take control of the Bear Principality and Leopard Principality recently conquered by Duke Green. Will you go?” Fishe said with a smile as soon as he saw Phicris.

“I am willing to face any danger!” Phicris replied loudly upon hearing Fishe’s words.

“Good, Phicris. You truly live up to being someone I personally promoted!” Fishe said happily upon hearing Phicris’s response.

After speaking, Fischer moved his wrist, and a gleaming long sword appeared in his hand. “Phicris, this sword is named Kanlu. Although it’s not at the level of a divine weapon, it’s very close to it. I received this sword from my father at the age of thirteen. Today, I’m giving it to you!” With a gesture, Fischer pointed the hilt toward Phicris and said, “Thank you, Your Highness! I will do my utmost to help stabilize the situation in the north!” Upon seeing that Fischer was giving him the Kanlu sword, Phicris didn’t hesitate and immediately accepted it. Seeing Phicris’s reaction, Fischer nodded inwardly. This Phicris was extremely smart—he didn’t act like ordinary people who would always delay accepting gifts from Fischer. Instead, he accepted the sword right away. Clearly, by sending Phicris to the north to take control of the two duchies conquered by theGreene family, Fischer intended to confront them. Phicris quickly understood that Fischer wanted him to go to the north to curb theGreene family’s growing power. By continuously conquering lands under the Icebound Alliance, the victorious side could gain new territories, population, and wealth from the conquered governments, all of which would greatly strengthen theGreene family’s strength.