Gilded Fang Merchant Guild Eastern Branch Headquarters.
The once castle-like building now lay in ruins.
All valuable goods from within the association had been moved to the square outside.
A large number of conscripted wagons were lined up neatly, ready to be loaded and transported to Fruitvale Village.
A crowd of serfs gathered in the square—Fessen, having arrived from Fruitvale Village, was carefully checking their identities with a registry scroll.
As a show of goodwill, all the serfs in Keystone Town's territory had been officially transferred to Fruitvale Village.
With this massive boost in population, the village would be able to reclaim even more barren land for farming.
"By now, the public execution in Keystone Plaza should be over, right?"
Aven stood in the square of the former association, holding Petilil and Ralts in his arms, gazing west toward the town center.
"Yeah, it's done," Sutter nodded, looking at Aven with admiration.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Aven to have such boldness—he had directly ordered the attack on Keystone Town and flawlessly handled all the aftermath.
"Now all that remains is the reinforcements from Ironblood Fortress. Those rats hiding in the city must've sent the news back by now, right?"
Aven frowned in thought. Even though he was fully prepared for a clash with the Ironblood Knights, he still hoped to avoid open conflict.
Fruitvale Village was still in a phase of rapid development. Especially after looting so many resources, their strength was set to grow substantially in the short term.
That would be the right moment to engage Ironblood Fortress head-on. If they clashed now, he had confidence they could win—but not without a cost.
…
Border Between Northern and the Eastern Territory of Aspiration City.
The Ironblood Knight Order was riding rapidly on armored Rhyhorns.
They were less than two hours away from reaching Keystone Town and entering Eastern Territory.
Chirp, chirp, chirp—
Suddenly, bird calls echoed from above.
A Starly swooped down from the sky. Its leg was tied with a red string—the official symbol of Ironblood Fortress messengers.
"Go fetch some berries," the Knight Captain ordered his adjutant, then rode forward to receive the Starly on his armored Rhyhorn.
After retrieving the message, he gestured for the Pokémon to collect its reward, then quickly opened the letter.
His face changed dramatically the moment he finished reading it, his expression turning grim.
"All units halt—rest here!"
He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth as he gave the order.
The knights were confused but obeyed without hesitation due to their strict discipline.
"My lord, what's going on?" the adjutant asked.
The captain exhaled again before replying slowly, "Viscount Kilton has betrayed us. President Reagan and the others have already been executed."
The adjutant's face changed just as drastically. He took the note and read it carefully, clenching his fists.
The message was brief: Fruitvale Village had captured Keystone Town with minimal effort and annihilated the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild.
Viscount Kilton had betrayed them, placing all the blame on the guild, then personally conducted the trial and walked away clean.
Though it was obvious to them that he'd been coerced, the fact remained—he had made his choice. From now on, they were enemies. If they got a chance for revenge, they wouldn't hold back!
"My lord, what should we do now? Do we still head for Keystone Town?"
The adjutant looked hesitant. Ironblood Fortress had dispatched nearly a thousand knights for this mission.
Since they also had to guard against magical beast attacks from Aspiration Mountains, they couldn't send their entire force. A thousand was already the strongest they could afford.
While such a force could sweep through most territories, in the Eastern Territory—against Fruitvale Village—they weren't so confident.
Originally, they had planned to join forces with the Keystone Town knights. But now, with Keystone Town switching sides, their strength was vastly outmatched.
If the Keystone Town and Fruitvale Village forces formed a coalition, and with the added advantage of city walls and pre-laid traps and tactics, the Ironblood Knight Order's odds of success were extremely low.
"We'll fall back to the northern border and wait for the marquis's next instructions."
The knight captain closed his eyes—this situation had clearly escalated beyond his control.
…
Within Ironblood Fortress...
Marquis Hormay held a glass of red wine, savoring the crimson liquid inside.
A Golbat perched on his arm, its eyes filled with greed as it stared at the wine glass.
Knock knock knock—
Just then, the door to the study was knocked on urgently.
Marquis Hormay frowned slightly, clearly displeased by such a rough intrusion.
"Come in," he said indifferently.
Upon hearing the order, the study door was pushed open swiftly, and the president of the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild quickly stepped inside, holding a slip of paper.
Lowering his head slightly, he raised the note high with both hands and said, "My Lord Marquis, something has happened!"
Seeing this, Marquis Hormay suddenly stood up, quickly walked to the president, and took the note from his hand.
"Viscount Kilton!"
His face instantly turned grim, and with a heavy hand, he threw his wine glass at the wall, causing the Golbat to dart over and begin licking it greedily!
"My Lord Marquis, what should we do now?" the president asked cautiously, lifting his head with care.
He knew that a marquis in anger was the most dangerous, and anything said at this time must be weighed carefully. The best approach was absolute obedience.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Hormay did not answer immediately. Instead, he returned slowly to his desk with the note, closed his eyes, and appeared deep in thought.
Though consumed by rage, he had not lost his reason. It is only the beast that waits silently, ready to strike, that is truly fearsome.
"Have the Ironblood Knights withdraw first," he said, tapping his fingers against the desk. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if something was brewing in his mind.
Half a day passed.
With the conclusion of the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild's tribunal, the lockdown on Keystone Town was lifted.
As soon as the seal on the city gates was removed, the merchants associated with the beast trade chose to leave this now-unstable place as quickly as possible.
And as these people departed, the events in Keystone Town began to spread across Aspiration City.
The lords of the various territories of the eastern dominion of Aspiration City received the news within half a day.
Upon reading the report, they all fell into silence once again.
None of them had expected the situation to be resolved in such a manner—shifting all the blame onto the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild was indeed a clever move.
However, by doing so, they had thoroughly offended both the Ironblood Fortress and the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild, and a retaliation from the fortress was inevitable.
At the same time, they would have to reconsider their own relationship with Fruitvale Village.
The order that once governed the eastern territory of Aspiration City had now completely collapsed. A new order was bound to emerge—but whether this new Earl Aven could withstand the pressure from the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild remained to be seen.
(End of Chapter)