After Black Python City was captured, the task of taking control was handed over to Melonika, Kabil, and Sandro, the three Knight Order Leaders.

The Knight Squads under the other nobles also helped search for suspicious individuals, as the threat of Mephisto still lingered.

Lurans and his grandson, Ronin, strolled through the castle, discussing how to distribute the spoils of war once the conflict was over.

On the whole, the war hadn’t lasted long, and the cost was not as high as they had anticipated.

Although the nobles who had come to help suffered some losses, they weren’t significant.

Furthermore, the three Knight Orders from Wushan Castle had been the main fighting force, and Ronin and his companions were responsible for the decisive victory.

Therefore, Lurans planned to give the Noble Alliance Army monetary or resource-based rewards, but he needed to reward the men of the three Knight Orders much more generously.

For now, only Kabil would be granted a new title. After all, Sandro was already a Viscount, and Melonika had only recently become a Baron.

Though he wouldn’t be promoting them in rank, Lurans would slightly expand their domains.

For Melonika, for example, he could grant him some of the territory from Haid’s County near Wushan Town.

In addition to the leaders, he would also select a few men from the Knight Orders who had distinguished themselves and make them Honorary Knights, a much-sought-after title.

As for Ronin, he would naturally receive special treatment. After all, he was the grandson in whom Lurans placed the most hope.

"Your Wubei Territory is already large enough. You also have Giant Stone City and Chishan Town as your domains, and your Knights are guarding Shore City. If I were to give you Haid’s County on top of that, it would be somewhat inappropriate."

Ronin couldn’t help but smile. It was indeed inappropriate. At this rate, his domain would soon encompass a third of Wushan Territory, making it larger than the lands under Wushan Castle’s direct jurisdiction.

"While I won’t give you the Count’s Domain, I will still give you a piece of land."

Ronin was taken aback. "You’re really giving me more land? Which territory?"

Lurans said, "Purple Thunder Territory. Its former master was Taini Purple Thunder. You may know of him—he was Barrington’s father-in-law."

Ronin nodded. Both Taini and Barrington had died on the battlefield outside Splendid City. Normally, the territory would have been inherited by Taini’s son.

However, since Ossen had committed such a grave crime, he was being stripped of his domain, and his vassals would naturally lose their lands as well.

"Haid’s County is not only the third-largest grain producer in Wushan Territory, but it also boasts a supply of horses rivaling that of Pasture City. While most of those resources were controlled by the Hyde Clan, as the only Viscount’s Domain under Ossen, the Purple Thunder Clan’s territory also has a considerable number of horses and a good supply of grain."

Ronin’s eyes lit up.

Horses were a strategic resource, and he would need a great many of them to form his own Knight Squads and Knight Orders in the future.

Although he didn’t lack the funds to purchase them, nothing was as convenient as raising his own.

"Besides grain and horses, Purple Thunder Territory is also quite populous. While the population isn’t a hundred thousand, from what I know, it should be around seventy or eighty thousand. Moreover, the war was fought far from there, so aside from the troops Taini led, it should have suffered no other losses."

Horses, grain, and population—these three were all resources Ronin needed. Lurans’s decision to give him Purple Thunder Territory was clearly a well-considered one.

Even though his grandfather had recovered, it was clear his policy of funneling resources to Ronin hadn’t changed.

Ronin couldn’t help but say from the heart, "Grandfather, you’re too good to me!"

"Hahaha!"

Lurans stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "I’m not finished yet. Don’t celebrate too soon."

"Huh?"

Ronin scratched his head. "What else is there?"

"Purple Thunder Territory is in a rather poor location."

Lurans walked to the side, picked up a branch, and began to draw in the dirt. "On its left, it faces the Count’s Domain, and on its right, it’s backed by the Black Pine Mountain Range. Like the Wushan Mountain Range, this range separates Wushan Territory from the Villa Duchy."

He used the branch to sketch a diagonal line representing the mountain range, then drew a circle at its southernmost tip.

"It’s situated at the foot of the mountains, and a major road to the south leads directly into the Villa Duchy."

Ronin understood at once.

He had thought Lurans meant the location was poor because of the Black Pine Mountain Range, which wouldn’t have concerned him.

But upon hearing that last sentence, he understood the real problem.

The reason the location was considered poor was its neighbor: the Villa Duchy.

When Ossen was in power, he had friendly relations with Andrea, so the two sides were relatively amicable. Taini naturally didn’t have to worry about any threats from the Villa Duchy.

But things were different now. The enmity between the Wushan Clan and the Villa Clan ran deep.

"So, you’re saying that if I become the Lord of Purple Thunder Territory, I’ll face invasions from the Villa Duchy?"

Lurans shook his head. "They won’t invade you openly, but they might resort to some underhanded tactics. For example, stirring up bandit raids along the border and so on. Isn’t that what they’ve been doing for all these years?"

"I understand."

Ronin rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought. He was wondering whether it would be better to send Ridder or Macken to manage Purple Thunder Territory once he took over.

Since it would be his own domain, its defenders naturally had to be his own men.

Although he was the Leader of the Fifth Knight Order, he couldn’t just use its forces for his private affairs.

So, even if he transferred Ridder over, the Knight Order would still have to remain in Shore City.

’Giant Stone Territory is deep within our lands, so there’s little risk. Joffrey is in the process of forming a Knight Squad anyway, so it would be most appropriate to leave him in charge of it.’

After some consideration, Ronin decided to send Macken.

Macken was now a mid-rank Silver Moon Knight, a level of strength that was considered top-tier. He would be more than enough to defend Purple Thunder Territory.

"What, you don’t dare to take it on?" Lurans asked with a smile.

Ronin snapped out of his thoughts. "Haha, Grandfather, you have a strange sense of humor. If you dare to give it, I dare to take it. I’m certainly not going to complain that the territory is too small!"

"Such big words!"

Lurans chided with a laugh, "But your strength is more than enough to back them up."

’Across all of Wushan Territory, only in Ronin’s hands would Purple Thunder Territory be truly secure, and only then would the chaos on the border diminish.’

"You have too few Knight Orders under your command,"

he said. "You need to establish them quickly. In the beginning, don’t be too selective about the Knights who join; as long as they follow your orders, that’s enough. Build up their combat strength first, and then you can vet their backgrounds and character later, weeding out anyone unsuitable."

"I’ve already had people start the recruitment process!"

The recruitment had been ongoing for some time. To be honest, he wasn’t even sure how many Knight Squads he had now.

"Oh, right. Grandfather, there’s something else I need to talk to you about."

Lurans turned his head to look at Ronin. For Ronin to bring it up himself, it probably wasn’t a trivial matter.

"Dianey came to see me. She hopes we can spare the Hyde Clan. I remember Barrington’s son and daughter are still at the Extraordinary Academy in Wushan Town. How about we let them go?"

The siblings were in a strange position. One could say they were fortunate, as being in Wushan Town had allowed them to escape the fate of being transformed by Mephisto.

But one could also say they were unfortunate, for they were no longer nobles and had lost nearly their entire family.

Lurans smiled faintly. And here he’d been wondering what it could be.

"You’re the one who killed Barrington. Aren’t you afraid they’ll seek revenge on you in the future?"

Ronin shrugged. Even if he gave them all the time in the world, they’d never be able to catch up to his level of strength. Revenge was out of the question.

"Rest assured, even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have made suitable arrangements for them."

Lurans thought of Dianey. Her recent performance had been satisfactory.

After all, the Hyde Clan was Dianey’s family by birth; he had to show his daughter-in-law some consideration.

What he hadn’t expected, however, was that Ronin would speak up on Dianey’s behalf.

’It seems the relationships among the members of the Wushan Clan are quite harmonious after all.’

At this thought, Lurans smiled and patted Ronin’s shoulder. "All right, you’ve been working hard lately. You can take a good rest for a couple of days, and then prepare to take over Purple Thunder Territory."