Let's temporarily shift our gaze to Pedarson—
The core region of the Jandener Province is situated at the junction with Anlek and the Flada Territory. Initially, it was to prevent the mountain people from disturbing the north, but as the kingdom's control over the south gradually stabilized, it beca more of a political symbolic center.
Presently, the largest fortress in Jandener is at Balasso Castle, but Count Jandener still prefers to place the administrative center in Pedarson Castle.
Pedarson Castle has a history of nearly one hundred and thirty years. Its style stems from the revival of elven aesthetics during the Year of Radiant Return. Today, this castle is considered one of the few surviving artworks from that era.
It is also one of the Jendener Family's proudest possessions—symbolizing the distinguished family's respect for tradition, which has earned them high reputation among the upper nobles.
Of course, this complents the current Count Jandener's 'good reputation' of duplicity among the Erune nobles.
Just like the old gatekeeper, Hude, who has guarded this castle for most of his life, but since the November War, it was the first ti he saw a knight charging towards the gate at such speed.
The horse's hooves shook the ground, and the old soldier almost thought he was mistaken. Isn't the world relatively peaceful right now? Could it be that the north has already started fighting?
The old soldier imdiately recognized the intruder's attire—it was one of their own.
There is urgent intelligence!
Experienced Hude firmly pushed aside the slow newbie. His gnarled hands gripped the winch, and the gate creaked open instantly.
The knight did not pause at all, dashing across the drawbridge like a stream of lightning, heading straight into the castle.
The intelligence in his hand quickly reached the eunuch inside the castle, and was then handed over to the housekeeper. The step-by-step delivery did not waste much ti. Count Jandener had established three ergency levels for the letters he received, and this one was classified as Level 1.
This level of intelligence had not appeared for nearly ten years.
Because most of it is military reports.
Soon, the housekeeper rang a bell connected to Count Jandener's room—nobles could use magic devices, but this Count had a quirk—he himself knew so spell, and he always believed that magic was unreliable.
If a chanism could do the work, he would never resort to magic.
This was a well-known oddity in noble circles.
When the bell rang on Count Jandener's left side, he was conversing with his guest.
This count was now graying, but no one could precisely tell his age. He had participated in the November War—though for the upper nobles, the brutality of the November War was almost unrelated to them, it was just that the war had indeed severely weakened the kingdom and left an indelible mory on these nobles.
Today, the count wore a monocle, dressed in neat and fitting attire, and over his black mink fur coat was a silver-frilled ruff—he sported a neat mustache, with a slight, barely perceivable smile on his face.
But to others, this smile implied unpredictable emotions.
Especially the guest sitting below him—this guest was not a Cruz person. In fact, many like him did not even recognize themselves as Erune people.
In the language of Erune, these people had a common na—mountain people.
Mountain people, as the na suggests, are the children of the mountains, but many tribes in Vorn are called mountain people, most of them being barbarians. The mountain people of Erune should belong to a branch of the Thais. Two hundred years ago, they were indeed considered uncivilized tribes, but after the kingdom's rule, they gradually integrated into the civilized world.
However, one thing never changed; the mountain people have always pursued their own independence—which importantly the kingdom never tolerates, hence the Jandener region's borders have never been peaceful, with all kinds of conflicts and border wars occurring throughout the year.
Of course, not all mountain people are like this. So are willing to accept the kingdom's rule—such as the guest sitting below the count at this mont. He ca from the count's governed region, and his purpose here was simple.
He hoped that Count Jandener would reduce the southern tax.
Due to the invasion by Madara—indeed, it was an open secret that Madara's army still occupied the south—the war has had a devastating impact on local agriculture and production. Many regions had almost no harvest, and heavy taxes made it hard for people to survive.
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