Death's Favorite Child

19. Aftermath

Two weeks have passed since the battle where the Duke's forces were annihilated. Only a handful of servants survived from the Duke's troops, carrying back the horror they witnessed and the head of the Duke's son.

The noble society of the kingdom was shocked for so many reasons. A battle between a Duke and a Baron always led to the same result. If the Royal family didn't interfere, the Barony was absorbed. Moreover, the Duke of Argaka had the largest army in the Kingdom besides the Royal Family. He had a standing military of 50,000 men, well-trained and battle-hardened for the constant skirmishes in the South. How could a Baron have won?

Rumors circulated based on testimonies from the Duke's survivors, the Baron soldiers, and unknown spies sent by other territories to assess the Duke's strength. More than one source mentioned that Lord Thanatos had unimaginable powers and single-handedly eliminated the enemy troops without a single casualty on his side. It was said that the Duke lost 1/5 of his soldiers in a single battle, as well as his eldest son. A devastating defeat.

This was another shock for the nobles. It was well-known that in battles between nobles, the enemy noble was always captured alive and traded for ransom. When nobles went to combat, they never feared for their lives. Even with inter-kingdom wars, it was rare for the enemy to kill the noble generals. In this battle, the Duke's son was decapitated by the Baron, and his head was sent to the Duke in a crate. On the other hand, the enemy soldiers' bodies were treated respectfully and given a proper burial. Merchants passing from the area verified thousands of marked fresh graves in the battlefield area.

In all of this, the Royal Family remained silent.

"This is absurd, Your Majesty! We need to mobilize the Royal Knights. We cannot let this stand!" yelled one of the unlanded nobles in the court.

The King was holding one of his regular court hearings. Many nobles would attend these hearings trying to sway the Royal Family on their side or stir other nobles to their cause. There were also professional lobbyists, usually unlanded nobles living in the Capital and surfing on the Royal stipend and donations from other nobles.

"He closed the temple in his Barony and kicked out all the priests and clerks!" shrieked the bishop, "He is clearly a blasphemer!"

"Your Majesty, this Baron is a loose cannon; we need to deal with him before it's too late," another noble added to the fray.

"Silence," Geddes, the Head of the Royal Knights, boomed.

Everyone turned to the King to hear his words, but Geddes continued,

"The Royal Knights will not interfere. This was a conflict between nobles. The Duke of Argaka sent a letter before the battle and asked the Royal Family not to interfere. If the Duke wants to seek vengeance for his son, he is entitled to. If any of the esteemed nobles want to join him, then go ahead".

The Royal Family was privy to information that the rest of the nobles did not have. Lord Thanatos' powers were uncharted and out of the norm. He eliminated 10,000 soldiers in 15 minutes. But they didn't know if that was his limit. If he was against 20,000-30,000-100,000 soldiers, would the results be different or the same? If the army had more mages or more knights, would it make a difference? Did he get injured? How often can he use this power, and at what cost? How could they counter those powers? Until they knew this information, they couldn't act recklessly.

At best, if the Royal Family could somehow get him on their side, he would act as a detergent and shield for the kingdom. While they were peaceful in the south, the northern parts of the country were in constant turmoil. They were still at war with the Kingdom of Rampia in the northeast, and several groups of dissidents showed up in the north. His powers could prove invaluable. They had to build an amicable relationship with this young Lord.