The Carnation Knights weren’t entirely reliable, but people tend to follow the crowd. When the elite mbers of the knights stepped up, the rest could follow suit and still unleash considerable strength.
In front of them, the two thousand deserters couldn’t form any effective resistance and quickly scattered in defeat.
In reality, only 1, 500 knights were attacking head-on, while the remaining 1, 500 had already completely encircled the area, ensuring that no one could escape.
Alia had to execute all these n to establish her authority, which would help her control Wales Castle.
For a considerable period, Wales Castle would likely need her to manage its affairs.
In three days, the letter she had sent to Silverleaf Castle had reached Duke Francis. The duke had also used an alchemical tool, a flying ssenger bird, to send a response, instructing Alia to maintain order in Wales Castle without further arrangents.
Perhaps for the Duchy of Francis, finding soone qualified to manage Wales Castle in such a short ti wasn’t easy. In comparison, letting Alia temporarily manage it might be the right choice.
Alia scanned the battlefield.
The knights advanced, their long swords slashing down, accompanied by shrill screams as many deserters fell in pools of blood.
Many of them regretted their actions and begged for rcy, but they cried and couldn’t save their lives. When they chose to beco deserters, many things were already decided.
Everyone, no matter who, must pay the price for their choices, even if it’s an unbearable one.
Life was like grass, being harvested in swaths.
Alia watched for a while, and seeing no issues, she turned her gaze away.
She approached Carlotta and said, "Carlotta, you did well this ti. If it wasn’t for your deduction that the two largest groups of deserters had united, we might have lost many more people. Plus, with the intelligence you gathered on the deserters, you’ve already made a significant contribution."
Carlotta smiled, "You ntioned a contribution. Are you going to reward ?"
Alia looked at Carlotta aningfully, "Before that, shouldn’t you tell what you left unfinished in Kestholm?"
"What?"
Carlotta couldn’t recall what Alia was referring to.
Alia didn’t beat around the bush and said leisurely, "In Kestholm, when you insisted on following , I asked why you had to co to . Didn’t you say you’d tell after you earned rit on the battlefield? Now, you’ve successfully earned that rit."
Hearing this, Carlotta couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
If Alia hadn’t brought it up, she might have forgotten, as it was just an excuse she made on the spot.
Now, facing Alia’s crystal-clear eyes, Carlotta felt a bit overwheld.
"Why did you insist on following back then?"
"This... this..."
"Why was it?"
Alia asked, moving closer as if afraid she might not hear Carlotta’s soft voice.
Seeing Alia’s increasingly close, beautiful face, Carlotta even felt a bit nervous.
She couldn’t tell the truth. If she said she felt safe staying by Alia’s side, would Alia think she was trying to pursue her? Would that make their relationship awkward?
Having Alia as a girlfriend seems like a wonderful idea, but are you sure opening your mouth will get you a girlfriend and not a broken friendship?
Just as Carlotta was unsure how to respond, a voice suddenly chid in, "Isn’t it obvious? Miss White just wants to be with you, Alia. No matter where you go, she’ll follow, afraid you might run off with soone else."
Calla had also approached.
She had initially kept her distance, but noticed the strange atmosphere between the two, she moved closer and overheard so of their conversation.
Seeing Carlotta being so hesitant about her feelings, Calla couldn’t help but speak up, giving what she thought was the answer.
"Why are you butting in?"
Alia looked at Calla helplessly.
Calla pouted, "I couldn’t stand it. White is too timid to speak her mind."
Alia was both amused and exasperated, "Are you sure that’s what Carlotta thinks?"
"Of course. Right, White?"
Calla asked Carlotta.
With Calla’s interruption, Carlotta relaxed a bit.
She smiled and said, "I think arguing is pointless, so you can think whatever you like."
Carlotta and Alia had long agreed that there was no need to seriously argue with Calla over misunderstandings.
Unaware of Carlotta’s thoughts, Calla said to Alia, "See, she just wants to be with you. I wasn’t wrong, was I?"
"Alright, alright."
Alia nodded, not wanting to delve further into the topic.
In truth, she wasn’t insisting on figuring it out. She wasn’t the type to interrogate soone relentlessly. It was just that she happened to think of it and asked.
Seeing Carlotta’s cute face showing a nervous expression was quite amusing to her. Even she had a playful side occasionally.
Carlotta breathed a sigh of relief.
Under the knights’ assault, not a single deserter was left; all were captured and dealt with.
Even leaders like Cassian and Yorimund couldn’t escape, though they were briefly interrogated by the knights before their deaths. However, no useful information was obtained.
Alia had wanted to ask about the pirates, but these two had been imprisoned for many years, and the information they knew was outdated and of no reference value.
On the Starlight Sea, pirates roam freely, with new pirate forces erging and old ones falling every so often. The pirates that could truly last had backgrounds that were everything but simple.
Information on pirates would have to co from the garrison, who had been stationed in Wales Castle for years and were surely familiar with the situation at sea.
With the deserter issue settled, Alia felt it was ti to focus on the pirates. If she could find a suitable target, she could set sail on the Moonlight and plunder so goods, which would help alleviate their urgent needs.
Well, stealing from pirates doesn’t count as stealing.
After dealing with the deserters in the Thorn Mountains, Carlotta and her companions returned to Wales Castle.
The teams sent by Alia to other areas to clear out the deserters also encountered no issues. Since the intelligence on the deserters had already been gathered, they knew the extent of their forces. The teams Alia dispatched had overwhelming combat power, so there was no chance of failure.
Five thousand deserters were completely killed or detained!
When this news reached Wales Castle, everyone gained a deeper understanding of Miss Fenwick. She was definitely not soone who could be compared to the likes of Baron Wales.
The two thousand deserters who had chosen to return in the previous three days felt extrely fortunate. If they hadn’t returned, the fate of the five thousand deserters would have been theirs. This made them not only more respectful of Alia but also more loyal, not daring to act out of line in the slightest.
Next, Alia gathered a number of people, including Carlotta, in the council hall of the baron’s residence to discuss the matter of pirates.
Alia didn’t share the financial issues with more people, only stating that as a coastal city, Wales Castle had always faced the threat of pirates, and it was necessary for her to understand the situation regarding them.
Opinions on this matter varied among the people of Wales Castle. Ralph even said, "Miss Fenwick, now that the war in the duchy has begun, the defenses in various regions have significantly increased. Pirates generally wouldn’t dare to attack."
On the Starlight sea, there were many islands, providing plenty of targets for pirates to plunder. With the increased combat power on land, pirates usually stayed away from the mainland.
Alia smiled slightly, "Being cautious is never wrong. The last person who wasn’t cautious enough has already bid farewell to this world forever."
Everyone knew Alia was referring to Baron Wales, and they felt her words were justified.
At that mont, everyone shared the information they knew. Since Alia had previously given orders, during the clearing of the five thousand deserters, the garrison and the knights had interrogated so deserters and gathered so information about pirates.
However, after compiling all the pirate information, Alia still felt it was scattered and couldn’t extract any useful intelligence from the fragnted details.
Throughout this process, Carlotta didn’t share her own intelligence.
In the past few days, besides gathering information on deserters, she had also obtained so information on pirates and understood their strength. However, she felt it wasn’t enough because the information wasn’t sufficient for her to accurately locate the pirates at sea.
’The intelligence from these past few days only tells about the strength of various pirates, but it doesn’t tell their locations,’ Carlotta thought to herself.
She now has a good understanding of the many pirates on the Starlight Sea, even more than many locals in the coastal city of Wales Castle.
The discussion about pirates lasted about an hour before everyone was completely disappointed.
In the blink of an eye, only Carlotta, Alia, and Calla remained in the council hall.
Alia said seriously, "Carlotta, Calla, I plan to go out to sea to get a better understanding of the situation and assess whether it’s possible to take action against the pirates. If not, I’ll have to find other ways to address the financial issues."
Calla, who was already aware of Wales Castle’s financial problems, changed at Alia and then at Carlotta. She then said, "You two go ahead. I’ll stay in Wales Castle and try to interact with the local rchants to see if I can get them to contribute so funds."
Alia nodded, "That works. Carlotta, let’s go."
Ti was running short for her, so she acted without delay.
...
At the port.
Carlotta once again saw the Moonlight, which glead brilliantly under the afternoon sun, exuding an air of mystery.
Since they were going out to sea, Alia naturally took control of the Moonlight. Besides her and Carlotta, she also brought along a hundred mbers of the Carnation Knights. The hidden guards will follow as well.
Standing on the solid deck of the Moonlight, Carlotta felt a surge of excitent. She walked around the deck, admiring its various features.
This was an alchemical ship, highly valuable and rarely seen in ordinary tis.
As everyone boarded the ship, the Moonlight sailed into the sea under the watchful eyes of the port, quickly disappearing from view at an astonishing speed.
At first, Carlotta was full of curiosity, enjoying the sea breeze and looking around. However, after a while, the endless view of the sea in all directions bored her.
She initially thought of chatting with Alia but found her studying the alchemical arrays on the Moonlight, so she didn’t disturb her.
Alchemical arrays were a fascinating form of alchemy that could permanently embed certain functions into objects.
Carlotta thought this was sowhat similar to card magic, although their principles were entirely different.
Carlotta had once been interested in alchemy. During her ti at Caerwyn Academy, she had read so related books but gave up on pursuing alchemy after finishing them.
It wasn’t that it was impossible, but rather that it was too ti-consuming. Alchemy requires a significant amount of ti and effort, and truly excelling in it would leave no ti for studying knight skills and magic.
After walking around the ship twice, Carlotta entered the training room on the Moonlight.
The training room was spacious, with complex patterns engraved on the ceiling, walls, and floor, forming a massive alchemical array.
Carlotta approached the wall and pressed a button, causing a light screen to appear before her. This allowed her to generate different illusions in the training room and assign them various functions.
Originally, this place was an entertainnt venue, not a training room. Its purpose was to create illusions of beautiful girls and assign them functions like dancing, allowing them to pose and entertain.
When Alia inspected the Moonlight and discovered this place, she renad it the training room and, using her captain’s authority, restricted so of its functions. For example, the entertainnt functions like making the girls dance were no longer usable in the training room.
Carlotta chose to create an illusion of a beautiful girl, but due to the restricted permissions, she could only configure it for combat. She could choose whether the girl would use knight skills or magic, with 24 knight skills and 12 types of magic available.
"This function is quite interesting," Carlotta said with interest.
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