"Lord Hel is wise."
All the knights bowed in unison. Though they still harbored doubts about Hel's judgment deep down, they outwardly expressed absolute loyalty.
"Bring the other knights as well," Hel ordered.
Soon, the remaining twelve knights were brought in.
Hel again separated out those who were loyal to other princes, keeping only the ones faithful to the old Duke.
After this round of screening—plus the six knights he had already "won over"—only fifteen knights remained.
With Layman, a mid-level Tier 2 Knight, and nearly half the junior knights turned to his side, the rest couldn't stir up any real trouble even if they disagreed.
After securing control of the knights, Hel summoned the remaining two hundred soldiers to the castle courtyard.
He again picked out those loyal to rival princes—thirty in total, most of them from squads commanded by the five captured knights.
The rest of the soldiers, however, had little to no loyalty to the Duke.
Unlike the knights, they hadn't joined the army for honor or fealty to their liege—they were there to earn their bread.
In other words, whoever paid them, they served.
With that, Hel had effectively seized full control over the military power of Heim Castle.
But beyond the castle, two garrison units were stationed inside Heim City's inner district.
Each consisted of one mid-level knight and two hundred regular soldiers.
Compared to Layman's elite troops, these men were far less capable—barely fit to deal with bandits.
What complicated matters was the makeup of these units:
many of their officers and senior soldiers were the sons of local nobles.
If Hel didn't want to cause an uproar, he couldn't deal with them the same way as before.
He needed an excuse—something that would let him act while keeping his hands clean.
After ordering Lily to secure Heim Castle, Hel set off with Arvin, Layman, and fifteen knights—escorting a group of "traitors" toward the city's training grounds.
Currently in charge of the training grounds was Knight Benn, a seasoned Tier 2 Intermediate Knight.
In his youth, Benn had followed the old Marquis—Hel's grandfather—on campaigns defending the Watchwall.
Upon returning home, he'd risen to command a garrison through military merit.
His status in the Heim domain was on par with that of the old butler.
However, after the old Marquis's death and the new count's succession,
Benn betrayed the Heim family in secret—marrying into the household of the powerful local noble, Viscount White.
Over the past decade, Benn's unit had become filled with noble scions planted by local aristocrats.
These nobles, much like the old hereditary clans of ancient Huaxia, commanded private armies and held vast wealth and land.
Worse still, they maintained intricate ties with other nobles across the duchy.
If Hel openly moved against them, it would be tantamount to exposing his growing strength to every power in the region.
And with his wings not yet fully grown, he had no intention of revealing his hand too early.
Still, that didn't mean he intended to let them live.
He just needed to eliminate them without drawing suspicion to himself—and that was precisely why he had come in person.
The meeting with Benn went smoothly.
With Layman—one of the Duke's trusted men—at his side, Hel borrowed the Duke's authority to his advantage.
He ordered Benn to escort the captured "traitors" to Minetown for labor.
Minetown lay southeast of Heim City, near the Monster Forest.
It was garrisoned by Viscount Gray, long regarded as one of the Heim family's most loyal vassals.
He had always worked diligently, sending wagonloads of iron ore to the city every year.
Both Lily and Sebastian trusted Viscount Gray completely.
But after the "everyone's a traitor" incident at Heim Castle, Hel had grown wary even of him.
Thus, sending the prisoners to Minetown wasn't truly about putting them to work.
He had other intentions entirely.
As Hel's party departed, Knight Benn stood in the training yard, his expression shifting between confusion and unease.
Wasn't the Duke supposed to despise this son of his?
Then why had Knight Layman publicly supported him today?
Could this be a signal from the Duke himself?
Doubts swirled in Benn's mind.
But after mulling it over for a while, he gave up.
Thinking had never been his strong suit.
Better to discuss it with his good in-law before doing anything rash.
An hour later, Benn emerged from Viscount White's manor in the inner city.
With him were one mid-level knight and ten junior knights—half of the viscount's armed force in the city.
Viscount White had already heard rumors of turmoil at Heim Castle.
He believed Hel now commanded only two hundred soldiers—
or rather, one hundred seventy, since the "clever" young lord had crippled himself by imprisoning thirty of his own men.
And if Hel tried to mobilize any larger force, these local nobles would know immediately.
No matter what happened to Benn, they would have justification to act against Hel.
Even if the matter reached the Duke's ears, they would still hold the moral high ground.
After all, the Duke wasn't omnipotent—he needed noble support for everything.
But fate, as it turned out, would not favor them.
Night fell.
On the official road twenty miles outside Heim City, Knight Benn and his entourage rode in silence.
Having been warned by Viscount White, Benn was cautious every step of the way, wary of an ambush at any moment.
Yet the expected attack never came.
When they finally reached a narrow bridge near a small river—the last obstacle before Minetown—Benn allowed himself to relax a little.
"Sigh… I wonder what truly happened at Heim Castle.
These must be soldiers from the castle's guard.
To think the Duke's own troops would end up like this… it seems Heim City is on the brink of change."
Benn looked at the chained soldiers trudging ahead—hands and feet bound, tongues cut out—and couldn't help but sigh.
"But perhaps this isn't so bad for us nobles. That brat Hel has weakened his own forces.
Handled right, these thirty men could even become our allies.
Though, of course, we'd need Viscount Gray's cooperation first…"
As he was musing, the column ahead suddenly halted.
Benn frowned and turned to his adjutant.
"What's happening up front?"
"Sir Benn, someone's blocking the road."
A chill ran down Benn's spine.
So, Hel really did plan to move against me.
But then he looked around—his group was well-armed and outnumbered any possible attacker.
He steadied himself and asked grimly:
"How many of them?"
"Just one."
"Just one?" Benn's face twisted in disbelief.
"Who the hell has the gall to block our way alone?"