While a triangular power struggle was taking place in the Boll Dukedom, signs of internal unrest were also beginning to show in the Fano Dukedom to the east. However, these two dukedoms didn't share a border as they were separated by the ruler's territory of the Fulway Empire. Around 300 kilometers to the south of Finklan was the Grand Warandele Canyon that stretched for several hundred kilometers from east to west, separating those two dukedoms.

In a rather theatrical twist of fate, this natural barrier was exactly what was separating Erwin and Lana.

The eastern exit of this sparsely populated canyon was Fort Roten.

On the surface, this fort was under the control of the Dario Family, but in reality, it had already been seized by an organization known as the freemen, and the leader of the freemen was a man by the name of Ewen Joe. Using the Loonies in his possession, he recruited the jobless mercenaries and traveling warriors around Fort Roten, and at this point, he had already gathered an army in excess of 10,000 people. Ewen was always proclaiming that the freemen had no religious beliefs, nor any lofty status, so they had nothing to lose, and this slogan had swayed many people into joining them. Thus, more and more of the impoverished people around Fort Roten began to join this organization, and these were the people who truly had nothing to lose.

The City of Freedom that was led by Erwin and Lia had a complete set of core agendas, which culminated in the concepts of universal equality and freedom. The City of Freedom also had a clear objective, which was to abolish the nobility system and return the land to the people. Due to the support of the Universal Church, the City of Freedom also had a religious enemy in the form of the Holy World Church. Hence, the plight of the City of Freedom wasn't just one that was related to power, it was also related to religion. Lia and Erwin were both people with very clear objectives, so under their leadership, the City of Freedom knew exactly what it was fighting for.

In contrast, the freemen had no set agenda, nor any clear objective, and they seemed to be acting solely on passion. In fact, it could even be said that they were a little thuggish. However, even though they didn't have any clear objective, Ewen was still able to recruit many people to his cause, and that was a clear indication of just how lacking in direction the people of the north were.

Aside from commoners who were unable to get by, there were also many opportunists who had gathered under Ewen's flag. Ewen was an opportunist himself, so he wasn't opposed to taking in those people.

His initial idea was also quite simple. He had simply been of the opinion that the world shouldn't have been like this. Why was it that nobles were born with silver spoons in their mouths, while people like him could toil away for their entire lives without amounting to anything?

With this idea, Ewen was able to gather more and more people with the same mindset, and as a result, his ambitions also began to inflate.

Ambition was a very mysterious thing. It wasn't something that would swell significantly in a short time. Instead, it grew in a slow and subtle fashion. In the beginning, Ewen only had a small band of people around him, so he naturally hadn't thought about doing anything significant. However, more and more people began to join his cause, and with over 10,000 brothers around him, he naturally began to develop an urge to conquer some territory.

The problem was that once the elderly, sickly, and weak were discounted, he only had around 10,000 men who could actually be effective in battle. This number of men was sufficient to defend Fort Roten, but if they were to attack the nearby cities, then that would be no different from suicide attacks.

Hence, Ewen knew that at the moment, his objective was to kill Aike Dario.

Aike was the only heir to the Dario Family, and only with him dead would the internal turmoil within the Fano Dukedom reach a peak.

Only then would he have the opportunity to achieve greater things.

...

He had just received reliable news, informing him that Aike had already returned to Intelar from Kenon. While Aike was still in Kenon, Ewen hadn't dared to do anything as Kenon and Fort Roten were separated by the Acer Mountain Range. Hence, in order to get to Kenon from Fort Roten, he would've had to travel northeastward around 100 kilometers to Intelar, then travel southward for a further distance of close to 100 kilometers before finally reaching Kenon. If they were to attempt that, Ewen's army of over 10,000 men would've been decimated by the Fano Dukedom's army well before they had a chance to reach Kenon.

However, now that Aike had returned to Intelar, Ewen's chance had arrived.

The terrain of the land between Intelar and Fort Roten was very flat and level, so it would only take three days of urgent travel from Fort Roten to reach Intelar. If they could successfully carry out this surprise attack, then Aike's death would be all but assured.

However, was there really a need to deploy such a large army just to kill a young noble who was a very mediocre martial artist?

The answer was yes. Ewen had sent people to assassinate Aike in the past, but Aike was constantly being protected by powerful guards from the shadows, so all of the assassination attempts had failed miserably. It seemed that the Aike's father and the ruler of the Fano Dukedom, Duke Soleil, was certainly no idiot.

Seeing as assassination wasn't a viable option, his only choice was to employ another method.

Ewen wasn't a prudent individual who was content to bide his time and only strike once the perfect opportunity arose. Instead, he was a complete and utter gambler. The 10,000 men under his command were nothing more than gambling chips to him, and he certainly wasn't reluctant to use them as such. In his eyes, no sacrifice was too severe in order to achieve his objective.

A place like Fort Roten was too small to hold his ambitions.

He had considered the possibility that Aike could escape during his surprise attack, but even then, he'd be able to take the opportunity to conquer the city of Intelar. Even though Intelar wasn't a large city, if he could seize control over it and maintain his stranglehold on Fort Roten, he'd have the southern half of the Fano Dukedom in his grasp.

Even though Ewen hadn't been born into a military family, he was quite innovative when it came to his tactics. Instead of choosing to cower in Fort Roten, he was striking at the jugular of the enemy as soon as he emerged. The courage and ambition required to hatch such a plan were quite remarkable.

...

Meanwhile, Aike was still trying to think of a way to win Lana's heart, completely oblivious to the fact that he was in life-threatening danger.

He had heard of the organization of freemen before, but he had thought that they were just a group of bandits that weren't worthy of concern.

Upon receiving news that there were around 10,000 men rushing toward Intelar at a breakneck pace, Aike immediately began to panic. He had never led soldiers into battle before, and he had no idea what to do.

The only course of action that he could think of was to send someone to Fasentate to request reinforcements. For a young noble who had never been through any adversity or hardship, it was inevitable that his first thought at the sign of any trouble was to run to his parents for help. However, the problem with that plan was the time that it would've taken to travel from Intelar to Fasentate. Even if they could request reinforcements from Duke Soleil, it would've taken five or six days for them to arrive, and by then, Aike would've already been well dead.

At the moment, there were around 30,000 troops stationed at Intelar, so Aike didn't need to panic at all. All they had to do was hold on in defense for a few days, and the enemy soldiers would've definitely retreated. Once that happened, they'd be able to set off in pursuit, and there was a very good chance that all of Ewen's men would've been wiped out.

However, Aike was a completely blank slate when it came to warfare. In fact, he hadn't even ever killed anyone before, so it would've been a very tall task for him to command an army.

Standing atop the city wall, Aike's complexion was rather pale as he watched the army approaching from the west. "What do we do, Quinton?"

At this point, it was still very early in the morning, so much so that even the sun hadn't completely risen yet.

"There's no need to worry. Those freemen are just a group of bandits who won't amount to anything." Quinton was also carefully watching the approaching army, but he was a lot more relaxed than Aike was.

"Indeed, there's no need to be concerned, Young Master Aike," the commander of Intelar's troops chimed in in reassurance. "We have over 30,000 men, and I'm willing to swear on my life that we won't allow even a single enemy soldier to set foot on the walls of our city."

The commander of Intelar's forces couldn't be blamed for taking the enemy so lightly. All of the regular armies in the world had an innate sense of confidence when facing other ragtag unofficial armies and mercenary legions. After all, there was simply a huge advantage in equipment, personnel, and training.

"Ready the magicians and archers!" the commander said to the herald beside him. "Once the enemy soldiers enter our range, open fire right away."

"Yes!" The herald immediately rushed away to relay the instructions.

...

However, the freemen army appeared to be quite structured and disciplined, and they didn't look inexperienced on the battlefield in the slightest.

All of them stopped around 200 meters away from the city wall and refrained from advancing any further from there.

After looking at the city for some time on horseback, Ewen turned to a man beside him before asking, "What do you think, Moustache?"

"What's there to look at? All we need to knock down this place is a single arrow." The reply came from a man with a very ordinary appearance, but a meticulously groomed mustache that was undoubtedly the reason for his nickname.

"Should we have a match then?" Ewen asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, why not?" Moustache replied in a calm manner.

"Alright, then we'll start from this point. You go north, while I go south, and we'll see who can kill the most," Ewen proposed with a smile.

As soon as his voice trailed off, a figure had already leaped up into the air.

The figure flew through the air toward the north, casting an azure streak behind him.

He drew his bow and nocked an arrow in a swift sequence, and in the blink of an eye, a streak of white light was already flashing through the air.

Before anyone had a chance to react, the head of one of the magicians on the city wall had already been punctured.

This was from 200 meters away!

For normal archers, it was already an extraordinary display of skill to be able to strike an enemy from 150 meters away.

However, Moustache had just done the same over the course of 200 meters, and it seemed that he hadn't expended much effort at all, so this was a truly remarkable feat.

With Moustache seizing the initiative, Ewen quickly followed suit as he also rose up from the back of his horse.

Unlike Moustache, who was moving swiftly through the air, Ewen remained still on the spot in mid-air, and his body was enveloped within a cloud of purple mist.

All of a sudden, Ewen let loose a loud roar, and purple light began to revolve around his fingertip. Immediately thereafter, the purple light traveled along his body through his meridians, forming a network of purple lines that converged at his shoulder.

Furthermore, he was holding three arrows between his fingers!

The three arrows were fired at once, and three streaks of purple light sped through the air like three purple leopards that had been let loose from their cages.

Three loud thumps rang out in rapid succession, and purple flames exploded on the city wall of Intelar.

With each explosion of fire, several dozen lives were taken.