"Master, the entire battlefield has been cleaned up, and we have not found Chait de Legris’s body..."
"The captured nobles have also confessed that Commander of the Legris Family did not directly participate in the battle, presumably he fled along with those retreating Isaac Cavalry after realizing the tide of the battle was turning against them."
Inside the occupied camp, after tallying the bounty of the battle, Sebastian approached Charlotte and reported respectfully.
"He escaped quite quickly..."
Charlotte raised an eyebrow but did not seem too concerned.
The main forces of the Legris Family had been completely decimated in the battle, so even if their commander had escaped, it was not a significant issue.
The rebels did not have a deep foundation, and a standing army wasn’t sothing one could gather like cabbages.
Even though the Legris’s army wasn’t like the regular Transcendent forces of the Bold Duchy, it would not be easy to replenish their forces in a short period of ti.
It could be said that Castel’s rebel force was no longer a threat, and it was almost a natural course of action for Charlotte to send her troops to capitalize on the victory and reclaim the lost lands.
"What about the Northern Territory’s Cavalry? Why would the Northern Territory’s army turn to the rebels?"
Charlotte asked another question that puzzled her.
Sebastian’s expression turned sowhat strange:
"Master... the captured Northern Territory nobles have confessed that they were hired by the Legris Family with a hefty sum."
"Hired with a hefty sum?"
Charlotte was montarily stunned.
She had heard that the nobles of the Northern Territory Dukedom liked to operate as rcenaries, but the Legris Family was apparently wealthy enough to hire as many as eight or nine thousand Cavalry rcenaries.
"What was the Legris Family’s compensation to them?"
Charlotte inquired.
Sebastian answered honestly:
"It was Mithril, a lot of Mithril."
"A lot of Mithril, you say..."
Charlotte narrowed her eyes and scoffed:
"It seems, more accurately, it wasn’t them but the Blood Demon Church behind them that hired the Northern Territory’s Cavalry."
In the Northern Land, there was practically only one source of Mithril, the Castel Secret Silver Mine.
The Castel Mining Workshop had been undermined for the past decade, and it was very likely penetrated by the Blood Demon Sect, which probably was the only organization that could suddenly produce such an amount of Mithril.
Additionally, combining the information provided by Viscount Roman Fuer and Count Gaston regarding the Third Prince, Charlotte could almost certainly confirm that the Third Prince must have collaborated with the Blood Demon Sect.
"Master, how should we process these prisoners?"
Sebastian continued to ask.
Charlotte pondered for a mont and then said:
"As for the nobles, lock them up for now, take them back to North Port for custody, and deal with them uniformly after the war ends."
"For the Isaac Cavalry, confiscate all their horses and equipnt, keep the Cavalry for labor, and after the war, negotiate with the Northern Territory Dukedom regarding their return or stay."
"For the rebel soldiers... those who can be integrated into the Allied Forces should be disbanded and assimilated, and those who cannot be integrated should have their weapons and equipnt confiscated and be given so travel money to disperse."
The Holy Code has clear provisions on how to deal with rebellious nobles.
Apart from the non-Legris nobles who were loyal to the Legris Family, Charlotte had the right to strip the titles and reclaim the lands of the other sa-tier nobles, as well as those of the Legris Family.
Charlotte did not intend to act unilaterally, planning to proceed according to customary practices, but even by customary practices, it would have to wait until after the war.
She still did not know the role that the Blood Demon Sect played in the rebellion, nor how deeply the Northern Land nobles were entangled with the Blood Demon Sect.
If there really was involvent, Charlotte had the power to strip them of their titles and reclaim their lands, no matter who they were.
As for the Northern Territory Dukedom... Charlotte currently had no ti to deal with them, so she would just detain the captives for now and extort a hefty sum later on.
As for the soldiers of the rebellion, most of them were conscripted, and they were essentially peasants, so Charlotte had no intention of making things difficult for them.
The rebellion was instigated by the nobles and had nothing to do with these commoners.
In the end, they were rely acting upon the words of the nobles; they too were Charlotte’s subjects.
Charlotte quickly drafted a plan for dealing with the captives.
"Count Castel, what do you plan to do next?"
Count Gaston, who was nearby, asked.
Charlotte pondered for a mont and then turned to Baron Angus beside her, who imdiately understood and after thinking, said:
"Count, the main force of the rebels has been annihilated, and there is no longer a need for such a large army for the counter-insurgency."
"I suggest we divide our forces, one heading south to defend against any potential attacks by the Third Prince, while the other continues north to crush the remaining rebels in one fell swoop."
After hearing Baron Angus’s words, Charlotte gave a slight nod of approval.
After reflecting for a mont, she said:
"Lord Angus, I assign you as the Commander of the counter-insurgency Allied Forces, taking one thousand five hundred Cavalry and eight thousand infantry to continue north and quell the rebellion in the Northern Lands once and for all."
"Sebastian, you will also accompany Lord Angus, acting as his deputy for the ti being."
At this point, Charlotte looked aningfully at the Fla Elf:
"Sebastian, if during the counter-insurgency you encounter a formidable enemy... you know what to do."
Sebastian felt a small stir in his heart and understood imdiately, knowing that Charlotte was hinting at invoking her na and borrowing her power should they encounter the Blood Demon Church.
"My Lord, I understand,"
he said respectfully, bowing.
Charlotte then turned her gaze to Count Gaston:
"Count Gaston, please join in leading the remaining troops and captives south to et any potential invasions from the south..."
Hearing Charlotte’s orders, Baron Angus placed his right hand over his chest and respectfully bowed in agreent.
Count Gaston also gave a slight nod to indicate his compliance.
"Furthermore..."
Charlotte paused, her eyes narrowing as she smiled:
"Let’s make public all the information we have about the Third Prince’s conspiracy, spreading it far and wide; moreover, draft a proclamation, formally declaring war on the Third Prince under the banner of independence and resistance against a tyrant!"
Upon hearing Charlotte’s speech, the surrounding nobles were briefly taken aback.
Baron Angus hesitated slightly before speaking:
"Count, are we... really going to declare war proactively? Isn’t it a bit too soon?"
Charlotte shook her head and said:
"It’s not too soon anymore."
"The Third Prince will inevitably make a move against us. Even if we don’t declare war on him, he will probably soon declare war on us."
"Since that’s the case, let’s strike first and seize the moral high ground."
...
After Charlotte issued her orders, Castel’s Allied Forces began to divide and mobilize.
Five days after the battle by the Don River ca to an end, the Third Prince Philip also received the news that the main force of the Castel rebels had been utterly destroyed...
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