"Tsk, these nobles are really persistent!" Duke Charles curled his lips.
"Why can't they just stay in their little land? It's not like we heavily tax them," Duke Darwin complained.
"Heh! What can they rely on besides their numbers?" Duke Thomas added.
Although there are more than a dozen tier 3 knights on the noble's side, they are not united.
Furthermore, it's not that there are only three of them who fight.
They also have more than a dozen armies of tier 3 knights.
Unlike the ragtag group of nobles, their army is well-trained.
---
Outside the city:
"Dukes, you should hand over control of the kingdom array quickly."
"Or what?" Duke Charles smiled.
"Or you will die without a burial," Lord Harington said coldly.
Soon, more than 30 tier 3 knights came up on the noble's side.
"So, this is your confidence?"
"Just 30 tier 3 knights? You're underestimating us too much."
With a clap, more than 20 tier 3 knights came to the Duke's side.
"Fight!"
Soon, a clash of swords and magic ensued outside the city.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The deafening sound finally alerted the people in the city, thinking the real battle had begun.
The archers, tribunes, and various projectiles on top of the wall began to fire, consuming more of the enemy's mana and physical energy.
There were also tier 2 great mages on support, but with the lack of inheritance, they could barely damage the tier 3 earth knights.
After a few hours of fighting, just as the dukes were about to win, a tier 4 knight appeared.
"I'm not late, aren't I?"
"Who are you?" One of the dukes asked.
"I'm just a hired mercenary."
With a slash, a tier 3 knight's life was taken out.
"Disgusting! Where did you get the money to hire a tier 4 sky knight mercenary?" Duke Charles asked, preparing to escape.
"Oh, Harington promised to give me all the money in the city," Bartolom, the mercenary, teased.
"What?! Are you crazy?" Duke Charles finally changed his expression.
Because they had just occupied the city, they didn't know how much wealth was inside.
However, according to the rough estimate, there must be at least 100 million gold in it.
Such a large sum of money was enough to buy a tier 4 knight slave if one were for sale.
"Tsk, Unfortunately it can only be given to outsiders…" Harington muttered.
He was also hurt by the amount of money that he needed to pay.
"Go end it quickly!" Harrington ordered.
"I know." Bartolom nodded.
Charging forward, he dived into the battlefield like a war god, killing everyone in sight.
Seeing one after another dying under his cruel knife, the enemy began to panic, running for their life.
With such a commotion, the three Duke took their chance and quietly escape the battlefield.
Soon, as the battlefield began to clear away, Harrington notice the three dukes disappeared.
"Where are they?"
"I don't know; they just suddenly disappeared," Bartolom shrugged his shoulders.
"Anyway, our agreement is only to conquer the city and control the array. There's nothing that says I need to kill the dukes."
"Fine," Harington said coldly.
It seemed he had overlooked this part.
Unfortunately, there is nothing he could do.
If not for their contract, he didn't even dared to order Bartolom
Soon, the enemy knights and the guards either died or surrendered, making the take over of the imperial capital easier.
Bartolom also got the money, but it's only about 10 million.
Apparently, before the prince and princess escaped, they took a lump of the money.
Bartolom still wanted more, but as he was bound by the contract, he could only leave in regret.
After Bartolom left, the knife hanging above their head disappeared, making them sigh in relief.
Overlooking the city, they couldn't help but think of their future.
"Finally, we nobles have conquered the kingdom!"
The nobles celebrated, thinking about how to distribute the land.
What they didn't know is that in the dark, three disgraced dukes looked at the city with coldness.
"This Harington is such a shameless bitch!"
"How dare he bring outsiders into our kingdom!"
"If we can't have it, then they can't have it either!"
The three dukes huddled for warmth as they discussed how to wrest control of the kingdom away from the nobles.
---
As months passed, various tier 2 to tier 3 powerhouses on the noble's side were assassinated.
At first, the noble alliance thought it was only a matter of personal interest.
They were even pleased as there were fewer competitors.
But with the increasing death rate, the noble alliance began to investigate more deeply.
Finally, with some luck, they discovered the traces of the dukes aura, confirming that it was their doing.
Knowing this, the noble alliance became furious, as they send a ten man tier 3 earth knight army.
As long as the dukes were sighted, they would be killed.
But the dukes were also smart, having vented their anger they completely left the sunburnt plateau ready to settle in other parts of the Cursed Continent.
With their strength, they could still lead a carefree life anywhere they went.
---
Soon, hearing the news that the dukes had left, the noble alliance who was fuming with anger had no one to vent.
Initially, they could barely control the kingdom with their strength.
But with the loss caused by the dukes, their control became weak, letting the weaker nobles breed their greed.
---
As the days passed, nobles with some power rebelled and sought independence.
Not having enough power to start another war, the noble alliance agreed and granted independence.
As for those weak cities, they were either conquered or annexed by others.
As the power struggle spread through the Faerie Kingdom, it becomes a mixture of chaos and disorder.
On one side, the noble alliance ruled one-third of the kingdom.
On the other side, nobles with some strengths were fighting all over the place for bits of land.
---
In Moonshadow City:
Maximus looked at the stack of invitations on his desk.
"Tsk, throw these all into the trash," Maximus ordered his butler, Gerald.
"In the future, don't bother sending these things to my desk."
"As you wish, Master," Gerard bowed and removed all the invitation letters.
"Why can't the world be a peaceful place?" Maximus sighed.
The invitations on the table were from various noble groups inviting him to join them in their conquest.
The Faerie Kingdom was only so big so they wanted to eliminate more competitors.
Seeing that Maximus had two Earth Knights at his disposal, the others wanted to invite him.
As for Maximus being a tier 2 great mage, they didn't care.
Although mages are stronger than knights, it's only when compared to the same tier.
After all, a mage had a superior range than that of a knight.
But below their tier? It was a joke; with their defense, a mage spell would barely do them any damage.
Moreover, the Cursed Continent simply lack the inheritance to cultivate a mage that could fight above the ranks.
What they didn't know was that Maximus possess such inheritance.
With the system in place and millions of gold coins, he had bought the strongest meditation manual and the strongest spells he could practice.
Even his equipments from robes, accessories, weapon, potions, and other consumables was top notch.
With his current strength, wiping out an army of tier 3 knights was merely a flick of his finger.
If he were not a pacifist and favored peaceful development, Maximus would have already conquered the Faerie Kingdom.
Of course, more importantly, such a large territory didn't bring him much benefits.
Instead of aiding him, it would only add to his burdens.
Instead of worrying about various miscellaneous things, from balancing the people interest, food, supply, development, etc.
Maximus would rather sit back at home, hugging his wives as he watched his children frolic outside.
With the system providing him gold coins for every wife that he had and children that could increase his potential, even if he sat at home and do nothing, he could still succeed in his life.
Conquering a kingdom that didn't give him much benefits but instead trouble, Maximus was ready to sit and watch beside.
"I hope you don't go too far..." Maximus muttered coldly as he gazed into the distance.