Warm sunlight illuminated the land.

Under such fine weather, the streets of Bolay City would normally be filled with many pedestrians, but today, the streets were unusually quiet.

Although the common folk didn’t know exactly what had happened, they could sense the grim mood, and instinctively avoided going out. Those nobles and wealthy merchants who had noticed the anomaly, meanwhile, had locked their estates, unwilling to take any chances.

Outside Sade Castle, thousands of guard soldiers had surrounded the fortress. The streets in the distance had been cleared of pedestrians, and some of the taller rooftops were already filled with archers from the guard.

The guard had arrived without warning, but the defenders of Sade Castle reacted swiftly; they had lowered the iron gates at the first sight of the guard approaching and stood ready for battle.

“Sir, this is the Sade family’s castle. The Sade family has been in business for generations, and they have more money and a larger armed force than any of the twelve noble families.”

On the open field outside Sade Castle, Darnell, following behind Sol, introduced the Sade family to him.

After taking control of the guard, Sol ordered his soldiers to move boldly, following Darnell’s directions, and surrounded the Sade estate without meeting any resistance.

Sol was in a hurry and had no interest in killing a monkey to scare chickens. He wanted to find the strongest chicken and kill it, thereby crushing the spirit of resistance in the River Valley’s nobles once and for all.

As Dane explained the situation of the Sade family, Sol carefully studied the castle before him.

Viewed from a purely military perspective, the castle was indeed as impenetrable as a tank.

Its walls were nearly twenty meters tall, almost half again taller than the outer walls of Bolay City, and constructed from solid limestone with a base nearly fifteen meters wide.

The castle’s walls were also equipped with numerous watchtowers, providing ample firing positions for the archers defending the walls. There were no blind spots, allowing defenders to concentrate their fire on attacking enemies, should they manage to breach the walls.

Of course, the most important aspect of successfully defending a castle wasn’t the height of its walls or the strength of its fortifications, but the people within. Even the most impregnable fortress could be overtaken if its defenders lacked skill or fighting spirit.

The warriors currently standing guard on the walls were arrayed in full battle array, expressions wary but without a hint of fear.

These soldiers had been fattened up on gold pieces, and most of their families worked in the Sade family’s industries. They were long bound to the Sade family and would fight to the death to protect them.

“What a pity.” After observing the troops, Sol shook his head and sighed.

What Sol pitied were, of course, these professional warriors of the Sade family. With his discerning eye, he could tell that the warriors stationed on the castle were extraordinary; their battle prowess far surpassed that of the guard soldiers. Even Sol, with all his pickiness, would call them elite troops.

Unfortunately, these troops were fiercely loyal to the Sade family. In order to kill this monkey and scare the other nobles of the River Valley, he would need to eliminate this elite force.

It was a pity that these elite troops weren’t being deployed to fight alongside the northern lands against the orcs, but instead had to be wasted on internal conflict within the River Valley.

“Kutz.”

“This subordinate is here!”

“If you were to command the guard attacking Sade Castle, would you be confident?”

“That would depend on how much time Your Lordship grants me.”

“Twenty-four hours.”

“Twenty-four hours?” Kutz frowned, deep in thought.

Kutz shook his head. “This subordinate is incapable. It would be difficult to capture such a well-fortified castle even if we had an abundance of siege machinery. To force our soldiers to attack such a fortress, swarming it like ants, would only waste the lives of our men. We would need to lay siege for several months before we had a chance to breach its walls.”

Kutz knew his weapons. He understood the difficulty of capturing a small, well-fortified castle with a steadfast garrison, even with his own modest forces. The castle was so small that it would be difficult to take advantage of the attacking army’s superior numbers, and the defenders’ elite training was yet another hurdle.

Even if Kutz brought the Imperial Capital’s personal guard, it would still take days to build siege machinery in sufficient quantities to lay siege from every angle. Only then might they have a chance to take the castle, but even then, it wouldn’t be easy.

Against such a fortress, the most practical strategy was to lay siege for the long term, until the enemy’s morale crumbled and their stores ran dry. In such circumstances, the enemy would likely collapse before the besiegers ever laid a hand on them.

Therefore, given that no preparations had been made to build siege machinery, Kutz considered it unrealistic to expect to take Sade Castle within twenty-four hours.

“You’re not wrong, but we must take this castle within a day. We can afford to wait, but the northern lands cannot.”

As the two men conferred, Viscount Sadde appeared atop the castle walls alongside his men. Rarely donning armor, he raised his sword and shouted, “Dane, come out here! Do you really want to be blamed for laying siege to a castle officially bestowed upon a viscount of the kingdom?”

Viscount Sadde, still unsure of the situation, instinctively sought to seize the moral high ground, as was his habit. Whether he was in the right or not, he always tried to put others on the defensive first.

Upon hearing his name shouted, Dane felt an urge to step out and rally his troops, striking a blow against their morale—but as soon as he lifted his foot, Sol waved him back, taking charge.

“I’ll handle this.” Dressed in golden dragon scale armor, Sol strode forward from the crowd and stood at the front of their party. “I am Sol, dragon knight and temporary governor of the River Valley.

The Sade family has usurped farmland, encroached on military territory, and neglected their tax obligations. We have evidence beyond reproach; therefore, I order you to open the gates immediately and accept punishment.”

Sol’s voice was clear and resonant, and his words carried far. Almost all those in the castle could hear his speech, which caused an uproar among the crowd.

It wasn’t the accusations that shocked them; the affairs Sol mentioned were commonplace in the River Valley. In fact, they could have applied to nearly any lord in the region. What truly surprised them was Sol’s claim to be a dragon knight.

In the Golden Dragon Kingdom, dragon knights enjoyed a special status, and Sol himself was renowned far and wide, leaving the nobles astounded.

“This has to be a lie. A dragon knight without a dragon.”

“That’s right, if he really had a dragon, I see no reason why Viscount Sadde wouldn’t just order his gates opened for surrender. This man dares to call himself a dragon knight without even having a dragon, and he wants us to believe his story.”

“Lord Sol resides in the Imperial Capital, how could he possibly appear in the River Valley?”

“This is likely the work of that little scoundrel Dayne, always greedy for more. Even daring to target the Sade family.”

A man’s reputation precedes him, as does a tree’s shadow.

The nobles at the castle were momentarily flustered by Sol’s declaration, but soon, someone caught a “loophole.”

This man claiming to be Sol didn’t even have a dragon. What kind of dragon knight was this? After entertaining this thought, several nobles began to chatter away, picking out a number of clues that the Sol before them was an imposter, just like in a game of “Where’s Waldo?” Their initial panic subsided.

Viscount Sadde, the only one present in full martial attire, frowned deeply, without the slightest trace of relaxation. Compared to the other noble families, Viscount Sadde had lived longer and was more widely read.

As a young man, he had been fortunate enough to witness a dragon knight at the Imperial Capital. He could tell that the golden armor worn by Sol was indeed the scale armor unique to dragon knights.

If this man truly was Sol, then all of Dain’s actions up to this point made sense. Only someone as formidable as Sol could suppress Dain’s rebellious thoughts, to the point where even the king himself might not have the same effect.

Though he did not know why the Golden Dragon had not appeared alongside its rider, Viscount Sadde was already ninety percent certain of Sol’s identity.

Yet Viscount Sadde kept his suspicions to himself, for the Golden Dragon’s absence presented too many variables. He gambled, betting that his castle could hold out for a few days, and that by joining the eleven other noble families, he might earn an opportunity to bargain with Sol…