Such a thing like war was really independent of human will.

  Though they were reluctant to send their most capable generals, the big bosses of the aristocratic party were at least not stingy with their money. The aristocratic party formed its rapid-mobility troop of 200 men, all of whom were indeed well-equipped. They could even be described as “equipped to the teeth.”

  These men donned identical enchanted armors, and all that they used were enchanted weapons. They brought with them all kinds of spagyric items, especially things like the blazing fire glue for setting fires and the glitter dust for escaping. Almost everyone had a dozen of these things with them. Their mounts were pure-bred horses of demon beast bloodline. These carnivorous animals could gallop continuously for most of the day, rest for a night, and then run as wildly as before in high spirits and vigor. These were horses that were far more superior as compared to the ordinary warhorses. With such equipment, the soldiers could still easily retreat even if they encountered a strong enemy that they could not defeat.

  Their leader, Earl Hauss, rode in a special carriage that was drawn by a mount that was nearly double the size of an ordinary warhorse. This mount had a dark red mane and flaming hooves. When it came to a halt after running about wildly, it would give off a dark red mist along with its heavy breathing. Normal people would feel intense fear by breathing in a tad of this mist and would have nightmares for the next few days. Breathing in a little bit more would instantly drive one crazy. And breathing in even more, like a few mouthfuls continuously, that would be, on the contrary, instant silence—death by poison.

  This strange demon beast was said to be a product of the hybridization of a devil and a horse. It was also said to be a devil sealed in the body of a horse…… anyway, it was not a good thing. They were called “Nightmares.” Though they were not as scary as the real nightmare demons, they were scary enough for the average person.

  The horse pulling the carriage was already so special, the carriage itself was naturally just as extraordinary. This carriage might not seem big, but in truth, there was a lot more than what meets the eye within it. Even if eight to ten people were to be seated inside, it would still be very spacious, much less for a single man. There might even be enough room to hold a little banquet or something likewise inside the carriage.

  Of course, Earl Hauss would not allow as many as ten people to ride in the carriage. This carriage only carried two passengers, himself and a middle-aged maidservant, who was still very beautiful in spite of her age.

  Where this maidservant came from was unknown, and her identity was also a mystery. She did not even have a formal name, and she paid no attention to anyone but the earl. Usually, she would just sit in a little empty room next to the earl’s study, in a daze, sometimes eating or sleeping. There was no regularity in her life at all. But that was something very bizarre. Every time the earl needed her to do something, she would always happen to be around, or she would have gone up to the earl just as he was about to speak. There was no precedence of her turning up late.

  If it had not been for the fact that this woman was always dressed as a maidservant and had never shown any signs of knowing skills like martial arts or magic spells—nor did she carry any bit of a transient nature of fighting spirit or magic power—everyone would have thought that she was the earl’s bodyguard.

  \r \r \r

  But there was no doubt a maidservant was a maidservant, not a bodyguard.

  The present earl was a very careful man. He hardly ever let anyone near him. He even kept whatever he ate and drank as simple as could be. Most of it was to reduce the possibility of being poisoned—there were rumors saying that this was related to the sudden death of the former earl. It was said that the reason why the present earl was so afraid of poisoning was because the former earl was poisoned to death.

  However, it was also said that there was a “thinking in detail incurs profound fear” factor behind the death of the former earl……

  In the face of all these rumors and gossip, Earl Hauss had never made any comments. He was neither angry, nor did he seem to show any guilt. After his loyal knight had finished the report, albeit indignantly, he simply said with much indifference, “Let them say what they want. The civilians are always ignorant. You’ll never be able to guess what strange notions may pop out of those fools’ minds. We can’t just chop off their heads because they are letting their imagination run wild, can we? As useless as those brains are, they will still need those useless brains to eat and drink if I want to get them to work for me.”

  When it came to such matters, the earl was a very generous man. But when it came to political and military affairs, he was extremely stern. After his accession to the throne, he personally presided over the training work. And in the first month, there were three times where he had personally hung up three soldiers who were slacking off and beat them to death alive.

  As for political affairs, he would often conduct sudden spot checks on the territory’s accounts. And the moment he found any problems, he would always make sure to get to the bottom of matters. Since his enthronement, he had executed almost a dozen officials, big and small alike. Among them, there were old courtiers who had followed the Hauss family for several generations. There were also members of second generations of reputable families with exceptional backgrounds. But before this new earl, they would come to the same end.

  Hung up and beaten to death.

  Yes. The new earl punished those who violated his rules rather severely. Basically, just one line said it all—beaten up and hung. The severity of punishment was solely dependent on the severity of the situation. It could be just hanging the person up and lashing them twice as many times as the normal punishment. Or it could be hanging the person up, then lashing them over and over again in an unhurried manner, till the person was whipped to death.

  Simple and clear. Clear and simple.

  He had used the same method when organizing that rapid-mobility troop that was assembled on the spur of the moment.

  He had beaten three people to death since the beginning, and so, the remaining ones were all humbled as a result.

  For instance, they were now strictly following the army system laid down by the earl himself. Scouts were sent as far as at least 50 miles away, so they always had enough time to deal with whatever bizarre situations that cropped up.

  “Your method is way too hasty,” said the maidservant, who would not even breathe a word to outsiders when they were in the carriage.

  Her tone was calm. There was no trace of reverence that should be present when one was talking to one’s master.

  “There’s no time,” said the earl. He was half-laid on a soft blanket made of beast skin, with an exhausted look on his usually stern face. “I can feel the anti-devouring force against me getting stronger and stronger. If I don’t hurry to get this done, I won’t die in peace.”

  The maidservant sighed and said, “There’s no need for you to be so anxious.”

  “It’s necessary. We must take this opportunity to launch a vicious attack on the Goddess of Wealth. This will help in promoting the people’s belief in the human gods,” said the earl. There was an evil look in his eyes as he said, “People in a human’s country should believe in their human gods!”

  “But honestly, I don’t think just a single war can affect the Goddess of Wealth.”

  “So I want to amplify the intensity of this war. How can it be enough to just lay the battlefield full of dead bodies? We must make their people shed enough blood to flow as rivers and make the voices of grievances and discontent be heard all over. Then we must make it impossible for the Goddess of Wealth to control the belief in her and create the opportunity for the churches of human gods to grow and strengthen,” the earl said. With a sneer, he added, “For one god to dominate all the people’s belief, would there be something that good?”

  His maidservant was silent for a moment, then with a sigh, she said, “You are still…… too hasty. This matter could have been taken slowly. We have all the time in the world.”

  “No time. We don’t have much time left,” the earl said and shook his head. “There are certain things that I can’t say. Anyway, time is really running out, and we can’t afford to wait.”

  He was silent for a moment, then said, “The situation in the South is relatively easy to handle. After all, we have a trump card in our hands. But the situation in the West is the most troublesome. The Church of the Goddess of Wealth over here is much too powerful and influential. If we don’t hit them hard and make them suffer from the chaos of natural and man-made disasters, there’s really no way we can find any good opportunities in a short time.”

  “I keep having this feeling that things won’t go so well this time.”

  “If things aren’t going well, then let them be. Anyway…… I don’t think I’m going to succeed,” the earl smiled. His smile was fearsome and vicious. And then he said, “So long as there are many dead people, which side they are from doesn’t matter. In fact, it makes no difference to me at all!”