The Herb King

Zachary and Albert arrived to deliver some information to Aethelwolf. Both men were investigating the movements of the Dustin Empire and the Ford Empire. Aethelwolf sent them to monitor the two empires.

"Greetings, Sir Aethelwolf." They greeted respectfully.

Aethelwolf waved his hand and said with a smile. "How are you two? You did a great job in sending us valuable information. By the way, how's your wife, Zachary?"

Zachary let out a smile as he replied. "She's been doing well lately, Sir Aethelwolf. She even said that she wants to join our missions."

"That's good to hear. Anyway, how's the investigation this time?" Aethelwolf changed the topic as he put on a serious expression.

Zachary was the first one to report. "I was responsible for tracking the movements of the Ford Empire. Their army has already retreated, but I noticed a small elite unit going in the direction of the Zion Empire. This unit has eight members and all of them are Level 4 Espers. I believe their motive is to send the information of the Two Lion Sword to the Zion Empire."

The Zion Empire is one of the biggest empires in the Regalis Continent. Its entire territory was four times larger than the Leone Empire and they even had two Level 5 Espers!

Hearing this, Aethelwolf furrowed his eyebrows. He then turned his head to Albert.

Albert cleared his throat before he started speaking. "The Dustin Empire's army has also retreated to their capital. They are now preparing to compensate the Leone Empire as what they had agreed upon with Prince Renz. They are also hinting our envoys about an alliance. I think the Dustin Imperial Family wants to form an alliance with the Leone Empire."

Aethelwolf frowned as he pondered deeply. He didn't know why the Dustin Empire wanted to form an alliance with the Leone Empire even though it was still in a precarious situation. Now that the true power of the Two Lion Sword was exposed, many big empires would be interested in it and they might even send their armies to attack the Leone Empire.

"How many days would it take the Zion Empire to rally their troops?" Aethelwolf asked Zachary.

Zachary narrowed his eyes as he thought for a moment. He then replied in a solemn tone. "The Zion Empire's territory is huge so it would take them some time to gather enough force to attack us. It should take them about a month to prepare their army and if they send a total force of one million soldiers, it would take them another two months before they could reach our borders."

"So we only have three months, huh?" Aethelwolf leaned on his chair as he massaged his temples.

With the current strength of the Leone Empire, they would be decimated the moment the Zion Empire's army arrives. However, the thing that made Aethelwolf more worried was if there are more large empires that would attack them. If that happens, they would become the epicenter of a large-scale war!

"Zachary, Albert, I want you two to increase the number of personnel in our intelligence force, but don't lower the requirements. I don't want some random riffraff to ruin our force." Aethelwolf suddenly said. With the current number of members in their intelligence force, they would have some trouble gathering information from larger empires.

"Sir Aethelwolf, how many members should we add?" Albert asked in a low voice.

"I want our intelligence force to reach five thousand members within two months." Aethelwolf answered in a calm tone, but when the two men heard that he wants to add five thousand personnel, their eyes widened in shock.

Albert and Zachary glanced at each other. They wanted to ask Aethelwolf a few more questions, but when they noticed his calm and cold gaze, they decided to remain silent.

"This is just the beginning." Aethelwolf muttered. "You two may leave. Tell Ramiel to come here quickly."

The two men bowed as they said. "Yes, Sir Aethelwolf!" They felt their blood boil in excitement. They could sense Aethelwolf's huge ambition from his words. From the looks of it, he has huge plans in his mind...

After the two men left, Aethelwolf waited for Ramiel to come.

Soon, Ramiel entered his study.

"Greetings, Sir Aethelwolf." At this moment, Ramiel was no longer an ordinary person. From an obscure hunter of the Hunter Association, he had already become a top figure in the Leone Empire's military force! With his merits in the war, it was certain that he would receive a high position in the army!

Aethelwolf pointed at the chair in front of him as he said. "Take your seat first."

Ramiel nodded his head and sat down. For some reason, he felt nervous when he saw Aethelwolf's serious expression.

"Ramiel, the army of our Lassiter Household has shown their might in the war. It's thanks to your leadership that they were able to accomplish that. However, the Leone Empire is now under a huge threat so we need to strengthen our own force. The Leone Empire only has a little more than one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers and half of that amount are just ordinary soldiers. Soon, the Leone Empire would face much stronger enemies and it wouldn't even have the power to defend itself. I want you to increase the size of our Lassiter Household's army to fifty thousand!" Aethelwolf said as he stood up from his seat.

Hearing this, Ramiel was dumbfounded. "Sir Aethelwolf, the Leone Imperial Family wouldn't allow us to build an army of that size. And if the Noble Faction hears about this, they would use all sorts of reasons to make things difficult for us. Furthermore, His Majesty might even think of it as an act of rebellion!" He said worriedly.

"I know. That's why I want you to keep this matter under wraps." Aethelwolf said as he took out a map from his storage space. He then pointed at a forested area near Barden City before he continued speaking. "Build a secret base here and the new troops must be trained there as well. I will purchase the piece of land surrounding that area to ensure that no one will pry. I will make the arrangements so you don't have to be worried about anything. Just do your best in finding another fifty thousand soldiers for me. Can you do it?" Aethelwolf glanced at Ramiel as he waited for him to speak.

Ramiel was silent for a moment before he asked. "Sir Aethelwolf, please pardon my bluntness, but what do you plan to do with an army of that size?" Training an army that was a third of the Leone Empire's force was something that he never thought that Aethelwolf would do. If the Leone Imperial Family learns about it, the entire Lassiter Household would face severe punishment!

"Ramiel, in this chaotic world, you need to be strong if you want to stay alive. I just want to stay alive." Aethelwolf gave him a simple answer. He was telling him the truth. Aethelwolf merely wanted to live a peaceful life, but since they were now at the center of a storm, he could only do his best to stay alive.

Ramiel remained silent when he heard those words. After a moment, he stared at Aethelwolf with determination as he muttered. "I will do it! I will create a strong army for you, Sir Aethelwolf!"

"Good! Prioritize the marginalized people when you are looking for soldiers. There are a lot of people with strong potential among them. They are gems buried in the sand, waiting for someone to see their splendor." Aethelwolf smiled at him. "Don't cause a commotion and make sure that no one will know about our plans. I don't want our relationship with the Leone Empire to turn sour because of this."

Ramiel nodded his head seriously. This was a huge matter so he didn't want to make any mistakes. "Yes, Sir Aethelwolf! I will be careful."

"Good! I want everything to be ready in three months. I will send you all the resources that you need to train our men next week. It will be enough to promote all fifty thousand soldiers into Level 2 Espers!" Aethelwolf handed him a piece of paper with a list of herbs. "These are the ingredients I need to concoct the pills needed by our army. Send this to Hyacinth and tell her to get everything on that list before midnight."

Ramiel glanced at the paper briefly before keeping it inside his storage ring.

"You may leave." Aethelwolf said as he waved his hand.

Ramiel bowed to him before leaving the room.

After Ramiel left, a seductive figure appeared beside him. "Do you plan to overthrow the Leone Imperial Family?"

The only person who dared to ask him this was Aenwyn.

Aethelwolf stared at the elf and shook his head as he chuckled lightly. "Of course not. I don't want to become an emperor. That's such a chore. I already have my hands full from being the headmaster of an academy."