Chapter 006: Wolfish Ambitions

“Randy, I’m going to the palace. I think you should hurry up and break through to the Saint level. Once you do, I’ll grant you that item! Even at just the beginning of the Saint level, you’ll be able to compete with those who possess domain powers!” Before leaving, Duke Wade turned to Randy and said.
Without waiting for Randy to respond, Duke Wade left immediately, got into a carriage, and slowly headed toward the palace.
Randy stood up abruptly and went to a very remote area in the duke’s mansion. After releasing several bursts of blue energy, stairs leading underground appeared instantly. He descended along the stairs.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa. I won’t disappoint you!” Randy said softly, his face showing determination.
Soon, Randy arrived in front of a particular room. The guards inside saw him coming down and rushed forward to greet him.
“Young Master Randy, here to train in the training room again?” one guard asked obsequiously.
“Open the top-tier training room for me! I want to go in!” Randy demanded loudly.
“That’s… a bit inappropriate, isn’t it?” The guard hesitated upon hearing Randy’s request to enter the top-tier room.
“Stop talking nonsense! I’ll show you how to open it—just do it!” Randy glared, and the guard immediately felt a chill in his heart.
“Then, Young Master Randy, be careful inside. According to family rules, those below the Saint level are not allowed to enter the top-tier training room.” Pressured by Randy’s aura, the guard carefully opened the door while speaking.
“Hmph. Do I really need to be reminded of that?” Hearing the guard’s words, Randy snorted coldly. “This time, I’m entering the top-tier room to train. I won’t leave until I reach the Saint level.” With that, he dashed into the room.
…
“Your Majesty, your humble servant bows!” Upon seeing Fischer, Duke Wade immediately tried to kneel in a deep bow.
“Duke Wade, get up! Get up! This isn’t the time for such formalities. You’re old now—there’s no need to bow to me like this!” Fischer quickly helped Duke Wade up when he tried to kneel.
“Your Majesty summoned your humble servant alone. What matters could it be?” Duke Wade stood up and replied respectfully.

Facing Fischer, Duke Wade remained cautious. In his eyes, this young prince was even more dangerous than the old emperor.
“My lord, the Green family has already conquered seventeen duchies of the Frozen Alliance. Reports of the battles have arrived, and they are requesting the empire to send troops to garrison there,” Fischer said calmly.
“That’s good news!” Duke Wade immediately replied upon hearing this.
“Hmph! That old fox, Duke Green—since he took the initiative to invite me to join the Frozen Alliance, there must be some scheme behind it!” Fischer said with a snort.
“Your Highness, Duke Green is utterly loyal. It’s only natural for him to invite you to station troops there,” Duke Wade said, bowing his head deeply. With such an attitude, Fischer couldn’t even tell what expression was on Duke Wade’s face.
“Duke Wade, last time you were tasked with dealing with Du Fan, you failed. This time, I’ll give you another chance—make sure you seize it!” Fischer said sharply upon seeing Duke Wade’s unshaken demeanor.
“I wonder what you want us to do this time, Your Highness?” Hearing that Fischer wanted them to deal with Du Fan, Duke Wade became as energetic as if injected with stimulants and quickly asked eagerly.
“First, I want to ask you—your Lionheart family has been operating in the south for so many years. How many troops do you have now?” Fischer pressed Duke Wade.
“According to the empire’s estimates, our Lionheart family has assembled a Southern Army of two hundred thousand regular soldiers!” Duke Wade replied loudly at once.
“Oh, and what else?” Fischer asked with a smile upon seeing Duke Wade’s reaction.
“There are also one hundred thousand private troops trained by our Lionheart family,” Duke Wade replied calmly, without any expression.
“That’s still not enough! According to my intelligence, Du Fan has already trained four hundred thousand troops in the four southern provinces!” Fischer said sharply.
“Hmm. Well, Your Highness, with my modest connections in the south, it should be possible to get those lords to mobilize three hundred thousand troops,” Duke Wade said, slightly lifting his eyelids after hearing that.

“Very well, since that’s the case! Duke Wade, I will assign another 200,000 troops to you, bringing the total to 800,000 soldiers. You must make thorough arrangements in the four provinces of Du Fan. The moment there’s any sign of movement from Du Fan’s army, you, Duke Wade, must eradicate their forces immediately!” Fischer said with great authority.

“Your Highness is truly wise! The Green clan disrespects the royal family—such people deserve to die!” Hearing Fischer’s words, Duke Wade immediately showed deep gratitude, knelt on the ground, and cried out loudly.

“Enough, enough! At your advanced age, you are also my elder. In such a private setting, there’s no need for such formalities!” Fischer smiled again and quickly helped the duke up.

“The Lionheart family is willing to fight to the death for the empire!” Duke Wade said, trembling slightly after being helped up by Fischer.

“I naturally know of your loyalty, Duke Wade,” Fischer said with a smile.

After giving some final instructions, Duke Wade left.

“600,000! They can mobilize 600,000 soldiers! The Lionheart family! Hmph, all of them are full of ambition!” After sending Duke Wade away, Fischer slammed the table angrily.

“And then there’s the Locke family in the east and the Karl family in the west! Hmph, aren’t all of you known for being mercenaries with great ambitions? If it weren’t for you all being afraid of weakening your own military strength for the sake of the empire, would my father have suffered repeated defeats militarily?” Fischer said fiercely.

……

“Du Fan, do you see how mighty our Green clan’s warriors are?” Standing on the high city walls and looking at the 300,000 brave soldiers in Tiger City, Duke Green said to Du Fan.

The losses among the northern soldiers who had already died were made up through various means. Many of these newly added soldiers were originally from the Frozen Alliance. These soldiers, selected from among the captives, were of extremely high quality! The soldiers of the Frozen Alliance already had strong combat skills, and after selecting over 20,000 from more than 300,000 captives, these 20,000 were undoubtedly the elite among the elite! Still, Duke Green wasn’t willing to select too many soldiers from the Frozen Alliance, after all, they had once been enemies. With 20,000 soldiers scattered across various units, even if they tried anything, it wouldn’t cause much trouble!

“Extremely magnificent and imposing!” Du Fan immediately added.
The 300,000 troops below, after going through fierce battles, exuded such a deadly aura that even a powerful figure like Du Fan felt slightly uneasy.
These 300,000 were all soldiers who had emerged from bloody fights; their hands were stained with blood, and they had taken lives!
The deadly and bloody aura of these 300,000 was no small thing!
“Du Fan, my child, in the future, these 300,000 troops will be under your command!” Duke Green said with a smile.
“Father, that’s absolutely impossible!” Du Fan quickly replied upon hearing Duke Green’s words.
“Silly child, before, I decided to let your elder brother inherit the position of head of the Green family because, under those circumstances, our family didn’t have the strength to challenge the royal family. So, I had to prepare a backup by having you establish your own branch outside. Even if our Green family faced difficulties, your branch would still allow us to rise again,” Duke Green explained.
“But look now! With such a powerful army at our disposal, why should I fear Prince Fischer? If Fischer dares to turn against us, I’ll immediately lead the Northern Army straight into the capital!” Duke Green declared fiercely.
“Child, actually, you deserve the greatest credit for winning this war! Without your 100,000 elite soldiers, without the substantial funds supporting the operations of those 300,000 troops, and without you leading numerous experts to suppress the experts of the Icebound Alliance, we would never have been able to win this war.”
“That’s why, Du Fan, I’ve made up my mind: after me, you will inherit the position as head of our Green family!” Duke Green said firmly.
“Father, what will my elder brother think if you do this?” Du Fan hurriedly asked.
“Hehe, my child, so you’re worried about that! Don’t worry. Before telling you, I’ve already discussed this with your elder brother, and George also fully agrees that you should become the head of the Green family. However, I’ll pass on the hereditary title of duke to him,” Duke Green said with a smile.
“Actually, what’s so special about a hereditary duke title?” Duke Green suddenly burst into laughter. “Du Fan, one day, our Green family will also sit in that supreme position! Hmph, if the emperor is decent, we’ll pretend to obey him. But if he dares to look down on us, we’ll overthrow him and become the emperor ourselves!” Duke Green declared loudly.

Hearing Duke Green speak so loudly, Du Fan quickly activated a silence barrier to block out all of his words.
“Father, such matters shouldn’t be discussed in public!” Du Fan said right after setting up the silence barrier.
“Haha, Du Fan, what are you afraid of? Everyone below are loyal warriors of my Green family. They’re eager for us to lead them into the palace so they can leave the harsh northern lands and enter the prosperous capital,” Duke Green said loudly with a laugh.
“What if this gets to Fischer’s ears? There might be trouble!” Du Fan said.
“Hmph! If someone told Fischer that I declared in the hall that I intended to kill him, do you think he’d believe it?” Duke Green asked.
Indeed, in the eyes of ordinary people, how could someone like Duke Green utter such blatant rebellion?
If someone told Fischer such a thing, his first reaction would likely be to think that person was a fool, a madman!
How could the esteemed Duke Green say such things!
“If Fischer hears this, even better! I’d prefer him to attack me!” Duke Green said seriously.
“I’m just waiting for him to give me an opportunity to rebel!” he continued.
“It seems my father really does want to rebel!” Du Fan thought to himself.
Recalling Fischer’s outstanding demeanor and his air of control over everything, Du Fan felt a hint of doubt.
Was that person really as easy to deal with as his father described?