sovbooks Chapter 7 The victor is king, the loser is villain.
Chapter 7 The victor is king, the loser is villain.
Just as Lin Wei was at his wit's end, Luo Ti took out a letter and handed it to Lin Wei.
"This is the last letter the old count wrote. If you break through to become a knight, I will give it to you."
"Oh? Bring it here quickly."
The envelope was unfolded, and only one short line of text was written inside.
"Child, please go ahead and do it."
Lin Wei fell silent.
He originally wanted to cooperate and achieve a win-win situation, to see if he could find a balance point where the three brothers would each do their own job, and he could focus on his cultivation. They would pretend not to know his thoughts, and then go far away, letting whoever wanted to be the count could do it.
In his previous letter, Linwei had mentioned his ambition to become the head steward to his elder brother Victor, but it has been like throwing a stone into the sea, with no response to date.
Lin Wei was deeply uneasy because his second brother, Simon, had been out of the loop for so long.
Lin Wei gritted his teeth and said, "In that case, I'll take the position of Earl of Chengshi!"
"Please lead your soldiers to surround the Earl's mansion. I will personally go to negotiate with my elder brother. Anyone who obstructs me will be killed without mercy."
Lin Wei found himself addicted to cultivation; cultivation was far more interesting than scheming against each other.
"Remember, speed is of the essence in war! I still need to continue my training."
"Yes, sir!"
The commanders deeply admired Lin Wei's decisiveness; this was truly the demeanor of a knight.
Lin Wei also had Ham imitate the old Earl's handwriting to write a letter and put it in his pocket.
……
Things went much more smoothly than expected. With the concerted efforts of commanders such as Roti, they successfully occupied the Earl's mansion after losing nearly a hundred soldiers.
One of the commanders loyal to Victor was killed on the spot, and all 100 of his soldiers died in battle. The traitorous commander Tyson was captured alive, while the newly appointed Earl of Chengshi, Victor, and his head butler were trapped in the hall, unable to escape.
Victor was furious: "Lin Wei, what are you doing? Are you trying to rebel? I'm your elder brother, the new Earl appointed by Father himself!"
"You've lost nearly two hundred soldiers in our territory. How will you maintain your rule in the future? There are Earl Heron and Earl Grizzly next door, both of whom are stronger than us."
The head steward, however, looked bitter. His trump card lay with the stewards throughout the territory; they were all his men.
Lin Wei's sudden attack was something he hadn't anticipated.
Lin Wei remained expressionless and said calmly, "I gave you a chance, but why didn't you reply to my letter? I told you, the head steward is treacherous and must be eliminated first."
"But he's still alive and well, and you don't believe me!"
Victor glanced at the ashen-faced head butler: "I...I won't believe your side of the story."
Lin Wei shook his head: "This is what Father instructed. Since you didn't listen, don't blame me for putting family aside for the greater good."
He took out a letter he had written, which listed dozens of charges against the head steward, and read them aloud one by one.
Of course, these were all ideas that Lin Wei and his group came up with on the spur of the moment. Sending troops out must be justified, otherwise it will only cause turmoil in the territory.
The head steward nearly coughed up blood in anger: "You...you're talking nonsense! This handwriting is extremely poor; it's obviously a forgery."
"You still want to argue! Considering your many years of contributions, I'll be lenient with you."
Lin Wei jumped behind the head butler in a few steps, picked him up, and threw him out the window.
"Splash!"
The glass shattered, and the head butler turned into a black dot, falling outside the castle, utterly dead.
"Ham, go check if it's still breathing. If it is, bring it back and I'll throw it away again."
"The evidence is conclusive. The head steward fled to avoid punishment and fell from a height in the castle, where he died from his injuries."
"Does everyone have any objections?"
Everyone present was stunned. Whether it was the eldest brother Victor or the commanders like Roti, they were all shocked by Lin Wei's decisive actions.
Lin Wei muttered to himself, "I've finally experienced what it means to be a winner and a loser in this lifetime. History books are indeed unreliable; most of them are written for posterity."
"As for you, elder brother, Father also said in his letter that you are unwell, so I will temporarily manage the territory for you. Once you have recovered, I will return the rights to you."
Victor was so angry he fainted.
Lin Wei imprisoned him and assigned people to monitor him around the clock, forbidding him from contacting anyone except for necessary food and drink.
Finally, in Victor's name, he ordered the stewards from all parts of the territory to return to the Earl's mansion to report on their duties.
A week later, at the Earl's mansion.
Lin Wei rubbed his throbbing temples and sat down at the table to draft a list.
"What a hassle, cultivation is so much more enjoyable!"
In the past few days, he used his spiritual purple mask to probe all the hundreds of stewards who came to report on their duties. He killed those stewards whose attitudes were obviously hostile, and reorganized the rest, redistributing management authority according to their attitudes.
Some of the more powerful stewards listened to the "heartfelt words" as well, and selected those with high loyalty.
"Although there are still quite a few flaws, as long as the territory remains stable, we can't ask for more."
Only those who have actually traveled through it know that managing a territory of nearly 100,000 people is no easy task.
"I wonder if Roth and his group's interception went smoothly?"
Lin Weiyi, not wanting to go any further, sent them to pose as a band of thieves and use arrows to kill his second brother, Simon, at the entrance to the territory.
Soon, the door was knocked open, and several of Roth's commanders carried in a large sack containing Simon's body.
Looking at his second brother Simon, who was already dead and whose face showed a hint of resentment, Lin Wei didn't feel much; he just breathed a sigh of relief.
Simon, who is in charge of the economy and has a deep mind, wants to cooperate with the head steward to carry out a daring scheme, and has long been on Lin Wei's kill list.
Lin Wei threw his body into the roaring fireplace, a look of regret on his face: "Damn it! My second brother is unlucky. He was intercepted by a band of robbers on his way back and his whereabouts are unknown. I will report this to the kingdom and condemn it."
"Second brother, home is here, your little brother is waiting for your return."
Luo Ti and the others looked at each other, deeply impressed by Lin Wei's shamelessness.
Lin Wei then rewarded the commanders and sent them to patrol the territory, hoping to find Simon's private army and dismantle and assimilate his hundred-man force.
As long as these people's attitudes and true feelings remain under control, Lin Wei is not worried that they will betray him.
As for Simon's secret stash, Lin Wei had Ham and the others search his castle for several days and successfully found more than a dozen chests of gold coins.
Although it wasn't all of his personal savings, Lin Wei was in a hurry to cultivate and couldn't do any more.
Lin Wei instructed Luo Ti and others to use these gold coins to intensify conscription and replenish the army lost in the war.
Thus began a new chapter in Earl Chengshi's territory.
……
Two months later, in the basement of the Earl's mansion.
[Experience points for the Lion Breathing Technique: +2. After being tripled by the Deep Blue Face, experience points: +6]
……
[Experience points for the Lion Breathing Technique: +3. After being tripled by the Deep Blue Face, experience points: +9]
……
[Experience points for the Lion Breathing Technique: +5. After being tripled by the Deep Blue Face, experience points: +15]
【Chengshi Breathing Method: Level 2 (735/1000)】
"Phew! The success rate has improved a lot. It's rare to have a complete failure that only results in gaining 3 experience points now."