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Outside of Ice Rock City, the intense scent of blood has yet to clear away.

Countless vultures are here to hold their own raucous banquet.

The gruesome battle has been over for three days now, with the heavy air still lingering over Ice Rock City.

In the city square, one by one, bodies have accrued, preparing for combustion.

Once, they were all important figures of the North Territory, noble and elegant aristocrats, lords ruling over their own territory. But now, they are dragged about like dead dogs and tossed into heaps of flame.

…This, is the end of traitors!”

In the square, a military officer loudly reads out the offenses of these lords and nobles.

The bystanders observing this scene are filled with both dread and excitement.

They cannot understand why these nobles would betray Duke St. Hilde, to whom they pledged their loyalty. However, seeing these once high-and-mighty aristocrats fall from grace fills them with a strange sense of schadenfreude.

Colin stands among them, faces – some familiar, some not – in the crowd make his heart run cold.

The two brothers of the St. Hilde family are truly ruthless!

Almost a hundred lords, they slaughtered them all like chickens!

“Colin, let’s go. The ennoblement ceremony is about to start, you can’t be late!”

His sister Kaitlin urges him from the side, she cannot bear the smell of blood, covering her nose.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

When some people grieve, others celebrate.

It seems like this world always maintains a sort of balance.

When the old lords die, new lords will naturally be appointed.

Perhaps to alleviate this heavy and murderous atmosphere, Duke St. Hilde decided to hold the ennoblement ceremony in Ice Rock City today.

According to custom, the ennoblement of the North Territory should be carried out at Lion Roar Castle in Winterfell City.

But now, no one dares to oppose Duke St. Hilde, who is still in the heat of killing.

The ennoblement ceremony is held in the main hall of Ice Rock City’s Glorious Church.

Colin has been here once before, to buy holy water.

And now, for this ennoblement ceremony, it clearly has been redecorated.

The colorful glass is particularly shiny, reflecting the dazzling light in the sunshine. The four walls are adorned with various murals, in the center, the statue of the Lord of Glory stands tall, seemingly gazing at each noble in attendance.

When Colin entered, the church was filled with nobles attending the ceremony.

Even though there were many, and it seemed very lively, Colin knew that most of these nobles were officers in the Dark Cavalry.

Actually, they were all feudal lords under Marquis Garcia.

Only a few feudal lords truly loyal to Duke St. Hilde were present because most of them became corpses in the square.

The only ones able to attend, other than Colin, were the group of nobles under the lead of Count Uman, who flipped sides at the last moment.

Colin knew that Uman was not merely “flipping sides at the last moment,” he was a spy that Duke St. Hilde placed in the leaders’ army!

His mission was to stir up the dissatisfaction of the lords, leading them to defy the St. Hilde family.

Finally, they were trapped and buried by the two brothers of the St. Hilde family.

From the start, three years ago, these men, the real big shots of the North Territory, had been planning, eliminating all threats in and out of the North Territory, all until today’s conclusion.

Colin sighed. It seemed the prime suspect of the plot against him will continue to be lawless. He wondered when he would finally be able to eliminate this threat completely.

Accompanied by the melodious ringing of bells, Duke St. Hilde entered the hall.

All nobles immediatelly stand, bending to greet the duke’s arrival.

It is Colin’s first time seeing this lord of the North Territory.

He looked to be around fifty, plump with slightly graying hair. Although he managed to keep his back straight as he entered the hall, Colin could tell that it was much effort for him.

Normally, this would not be the situation for a knight in his prime.

However, Colin knew that this Duke St. Hilde, once a brave man unmatched in the North Territory and even recognized as the most likely member of the present St. Hilde generation to step into the Holy Field as a sixth order knight!

But, five years ago, after dueling with the previous Troll Emperor, the Duke suffered a severe injury.

Ever since then, he not only lost the hope of stepping into the Holy Field but also began to decline rapidly. His hair started to turn grey, his back began to stoop, and his body gradually became fat.

The man who was once a powerful knight had become a chubby middle-aged uncle.

“Honorable Lords, Valiant knights!” Duke St. Hilde stood on the stage, uttered in a resounding voice,

“Conditions in the North Territory have been somewhat unsettled of late, with

Trolls invading and Lords rebelling … but, under the protection of the Lord of Glory, and with all of your full support and brave fighting, we have ultimately achieved victory!”

“Victory!”

“Victory!”

Prompt cheers broke down from the nobles below the stage, all of them clapping in celebration.

Duke St. Hilde motioned with his hand to calm the crowd, and continued, “To honor those who have made significant contributions to this victory, I will confer noble titles upon them!”

Again, there was a cheer from below the stage.

It had been some time since there were new nobles in the North Territory. It seemed that this time, a large number of new nobles were about to be born.

After all, so many old nobles had already vacated their positions and land. Duke St. Hilde had to grant a large number of titles, either to appease the people or to better rule the North Territory.

The first to be honored was indeed the second-in-command of the Dark Cavalry — Earl Dawson.

This confidant of Marquis Garcia was ennobled as a marquis by the Duke.

This was the second marquis in the North Territory.

From now on, Marquis Dawson would break away from the vassal sequence of Marquis Garcia and swear allegiance to Duke St. Hilde.

This also indicated that Duke St. Hilde, after eliminating the two biggest threats in the North Territory, had finally started to deal with the third threat the Dark Cavalry.

And his method was exactly as Colin had expected — divide and conquer.

Afterwards, a large number of mid-tier officers from the Dark Cavalry indeed received titles from the Duke.

These new nobles born from the Dark Cavalry, would they continue to obey the commands of Marquis Garcia? Or would they switch allegiances and serve a new master?

At last, Colin heard his own name.

His sister Kaitlin clapped in excitement, as if she were the one receiving the title.

Amidst the cheering, Colin strode to the center of the stage and knelt on one knee before Duke St. Hilde.

The Duke held up his long sword, and solemnly said:

“Colin Angler, with your courage, wisdom, and faith, you have proven your loyalty and worth to the Lord of Glory and myself!

Hereby, by the name of the Duke of St. Hilde, on behalf of the Lord of Glory and His Majesty, I confer upon you the title of Viscount Angler!

I hope that with your loyalty, your life, you will defend this honor!” After that, the Duke’s sword touched Colin’s forehead and both shoulders.

“I, Colin Angler, swear on the spirit of my ancestors, to devote my loyalty to the Lord of Glory, to Duke St. Hilde!

Your will is my direction, your…”

As Colin recited the oath, he felt an indescribable joy in his heart.

Viscount?

Unexpectedly, a viscount!