43 Meet the Marquis

When Cardoj arrived at the headquarters of 2nd Division in the hinterland of the Als Mountains with his personal cavalry, De Sandro happened to be there as well. 2nd Division was a combination of the private armies of the greater nobles, and the relationships within it were complicated. As one of the four margraves of Faustian, De Sandro was naturally the leader of the greater nobles. In fact, among the four margraves of Faustian, De Sandro was the most popular among the greater nobles.

Whether it was the hot-tempered Marmen, the straightforward Margrave Woode, or Margrave Shia, who had a closer relationship with the royal family, none of them were good at socializing with the nobles. In fact, it was also because of the complex social network among the nobles that the three margraves didn't dare to take the initiative to rope in the lesser nobles. To be able to reach the rank of marquis, even if he himself was a brute, he definitely didn't lack a brain trust.

De Sandro, on the other hand, didn't have such concerns. He was the only margrave among the four margraves who didn't have an entire corps under his command. Marmen was the jarl of Falcon, Woode was the jarl of Gale, and Shia was the jarl of the garrison stationed in the royal capital. As for Lion, the jarl was Kenzir.

Perhaps it was to balance the power of the four margraves, compromise between the nobles, or the hope of uniting the greater nobles, the current Faustian Kingdom tacitly allowed De Sandro to rope in the lesser nobles. Fortunately, Marquis De Sandro was powerful and fertile. He had more than 20 children, and apart from a few of his closest children whom he planned to groom into his successors, the rest of his children were all married off to a large number of supporters.

Cardoj was fortunate enough to be one of them. He was also the only lesser noble with the title of baron. In Faustian, only counts and margraves were considered greater nobles. Viscounts were considered a transitional class. Some viscount families had been around for hundreds of years and were comparable to count families. Some viscount families had declined and faded into the ranks of the greater nobles. Barons, lords, and knights below viscount were all lesser nobles. Almost half of the 3rd Division was made up of the private armies of these minor nobles.

De Sandro was discussing matters with several other nobles in the tent. Of course, he noticed Cardoj outside the tent. He smiled and waved at Cardoj. He was very satisfied with his son-in-law. Cardoj was able to support a large army with just a barony, which showed how capable Cardoj was. Moreover, as far as he knew, Cardoj had studied in Aomar with Prince Kenzir. After interacting with Cardoj a few times, De Sandro could be said to be closer to Cardoj than his daughter.

"We are discussing the search in the Bering Mountains. Come and join us. After all, you are involved," the marquis said with a smile.

Cardoj dismounted and acknowledged. He noticed that the people in the tent were all counts with real power. Several counts in the tent also smiled and greeted Cardoj. They had also heard that one of De Sandro's son-in-law had a stronger military force than many viscounts.

After some conversation, Cardoj was surprised to learn that Princess Angelina, the sister of Prince Kenzir, had actually come to the frontline. She came secretly, and the situation of her guards was unknown. They didn't even know where the princess was. Kenzir had ordered the corps to send troops to find Angelina and bring her safely to the headquarters of Lion.

The only information they had now was that according to the princess's schedule, she might have already arrived at Morphey Forest, the southern border between Shalor and Faustian. This rescue operation was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Cardoj and the other nobles thought so, but when they remembered that Angelina was Kenzir's only sister, they were relieved. The prince's love for his sister was well-known in the noble circle. Some even joked that whoever married the princess in the future would have half of Faustian.

"This time, all three corps will be sending troops to the rescue. Gale will enter from the north, Lion from the east, and Falcon from the south through the Bering Mountains. We must find the princess," the marquis said resolutely.

"Yes," everyone answered. The nobles in this tent were the ones who were about to send troops to search and rescue. The mission this time was a lucrative one. There would be no danger involved in the search and rescue mission, and it would be a great achievement if they managed to find it. Most importantly, they could perfectly miss the upcoming siege of Bimore. Although a count's fief did not pose a threat to the overall war situation, Shalor's remaining forces had gathered here. It was a tough nut to crack, and no one wanted to lose their strength here.

After the meeting, Cardoj conversed with De Sandro alone for a while. This time, he spoke as his son-in-law and junior. There was less of a strict hierarchy between them, and there was more of a sense of closeness. Most of Cardoj's cavalry platoon had been established with the support of De Sandro before the war, and the losses they had suffered in the past few years were all due to De Sandro's support. Even when Cardoj was in 2nd Division, it was also due to De Sandro's help. It could be said that one-third of Cardoj's success in the war came from De Sandro. Ignoring Baron Cashel, who was also a baron, he was in the 3rd Division.

Cardoj's attitude was still respectful during his private conversation with De Sandro. Other than these superficial greetings, Cardoj also asked his guards to bring in a sandalwood box. In front of the marquis, Cardoj gathered impetus in the centre of his palm and slapped it on the box. The box opened instantly, and the slightly dim room was illuminated by a gorgeous and soft light. It was a whole box of jewels. The style seemed to be unique to Shalor.

"We seized it from the last attack on Farlans," said Cardoj.

"Is it the territory of the marquis' son? Not bad! " De Sandro smiled in affirmation. His subordinates naturally covered the chest of jewels and moved it away. As for where it was moved to, only the marquis himself knew.

De Sandro's mood was obviously better with the jewels as the conversation between the father-in-law and son-in-law was very harmonious. In fact, the attack on Farlans was also hinted to Cardoj by the marquis. Standing in a wider field of vision, De Sandro had a clearer idea of Shalor's current forces, which places were more fertile, and which places were easier to attack. Farlans had indeed given the two a pleasant surprise. This box of jewels was worth at least two thousand gold derahls, which was also a windfall for a marquis.

The reason why Baron Cashel was part of the attack on Farlans was because he had someone backing him. It wasn't that easy to invite a caster.

After bidding farewell to De Sandro, Cardoj walked to the military headquarters. His brigade belonged to Falcon, after all. His father-in-law was in 2nd Division, so he could just report to them. As for the military headquarters, he had to meet the corps jarl in person.

After reporting, Cardoj walked into Marmen's tent. Marmen had just dismissed a group of reporting clerks and sat down to pour himself a cup of tea. He quietly listened to Cardoj's report on his military affairs, which included the casualties of some troops and the rescue plan for the Bering Mountains. In fact, Cardoj was not qualified to come to Marmen's tent, but because he had participated in the rescue operation in the Bering Mountains, he had to listen patiently to Cardoj's narration. He still hoped that Cardoj could really help him find Angelina.

After leaving Marmen's tent, Cardoj called Wyr, who had just returned, and they walked out of the camp together. They needed to catch up with Solon and the rest again.

Wyr had just gone to the supply office. The cultivation of a high-rank Knecht wasn't something that could be achieved by practicing impetus and exercising every day like Locke and the others. This was the limit of the human body, so special potions had to be supplemented during cultivation. These potions were expensive and could only be found in the logistics department of the military. Only high-rank Knechts like Wyr, who had a record throughout the kingdom, were willing to provide him with potions without hesitation.

Wyr was Cardoj's right-hand man and also his most valued combat power. With Wyr alone, Cardoj could look down on almost all the viscounts. Why did De Sandro value Cardoj so much? Was it really because Cardoj was capable? There was no shortage of capable people in this world. If Cardoj didn't have Wyr as his trump card, he might not have been able to marry the margrave's daughter.

There were also some nobles with ulterior motives and people who urgently needed a high-rank powerhouse to suppress thieves who tried to poach Cardoj. There was no lack of count-level people among them, but Wyr didn't abandon them. Cardoj and Wyr's friendship wasn't just because they had assisted each other for three generations. Cardoj and Wyr had followed the noble's convoy to the Aomar Empire to study alone when they were teenagers. Their friendship was enough to earn them money. The two of them had been through life and death together.

When Cardoj and Wyr walked out of the camp with their guards, they happened to meet Baron Cashel and his party who had just arrived at the Als Mountain Range camp. Cashel was about to greet them and ask why they had changed direction and what they were going to do. Cardoj just nodded in a friendly manner and left.

This made Cashel, who was about to raise his hand to greet Cardoj, feel embarrassed. He could only put down his hand and look angrily at Cardoj, who had already walked far away. Although the two had worked together many times, the more they worked together, the more estrangement there was between them. The quarrel in Farlans last time had caused their relationship to deteriorate further.

Although Cashel was angry, he could only swallow his anger. He couldn't do anything about it since he wasn't as strong as Cardoj. Although he had a low-rank Magister under him, Master Wilson was actually introduced to him by the viscount who had a deep foundation behind him. Master Wilson usually didn't pay much attention to Cashel. At this moment, Cashel was extremely envious of Cardoj for having De Sandro to rely on.

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