The change in the war situation in the North caught the Third Prince off guard, but it also made him determined to go north as soon as possible and seize the best opportunity to declare war on the North before Castel successfully suppressed the rebellion.
Count Gaston has already betrayed him, and the Third Prince is sure that Castel has probably already known his plan, so he must launch an attack before the opponent's main force returns.
Fortunately, under the pretext of military exercises, the Violet Principality has assembled its army, and even Bold's elite standing troops have been shipped to Violet.
The combined strength of the two principalities was astonishing. Even without mobilizing the nobles, and only mobilizing the conscription and standing troops of the direct jurisdictions, they were able to muster an army of 25,000 people.
Among them, the Duchy of Violet has 20,000 people, and the commander is Count Lint, the heir of Violet; the Duchy of Bold has 5,000 people, and the commander is the third prince Philip, who is also the nominal commander-in-chief of the coalition forces of the two duchies.
In Violet's army, there are 5,000 elite soldiers, and the proportion of extraordinary people reaches an astonishing 40%, which is far beyond the minimum extraordinary proportion standard of 30% that can form an extraordinary military formation. There are more than 40 people who have entered the rank, including five Silver Moon Level 2.
The Principality of Bolder is even more terrifying, with all of its soldiers being extraordinary and well-equipped.
Among them, there are 3,500 former Bold extraordinary regulars, with the same extraordinary ratio of 30% as the garrison of the Earldom of Tulip, and 1,500 personal guards belonging to the third prince Philip.
The standards of the Prince's Guards were consistent with those of the Kingdom's regular army, with the proportion of extraordinary troops even exceeding 50%. Their combat effectiveness was even stronger than that of Bold's elite regular troops.
In addition, the number of people who entered the rank in Bolder also exceeded thirty, and there were three in Silver Moon.
In other words, among the 25,000-strong coalition force formed by the two principalities, there are 10,000 soldiers who can form a magic energy array, and 4,000 of them are true extraordinary people.
The total number of powerful entrants exceeds eighty, including eight Silver Moons.
Except that Chiyang's power was not openly used, this level of mobilization was already a war at the level of a principality war.
In a war at the principality level, extraordinary standing wars are the main force.
Their opponent was just an earldom with only 3,000 standing troops, lacking enchanted equipment, and with less than 20% of the extraordinary people.
Oh no.
Now... maybe we need to add a Tulip garrison with a 30% extraordinary ratio and a strength of 3,000.
But, so what
Even if the North summoned the strength of all the nobles, they would be nothing more than a mob in front of the powerful Principality Changbei.
Castel is rich, but he is still too weak in terms of armaments.
The third prince saw this very clearly.
"Pass the order down. The Castel family has no male heirs for a long time. The previous earl did not designate an heir. The current succession to the title is illegal."
"Charlotte de Castel, the current head of the Castel family, disrespected the lord and refused to swear allegiance to the new duke, openly violating the Sacred Code..."
"According to Article 4 of Chapter 17 of the Sacred Code, the Castel family has seriously violated the noble contract and is no longer qualified to inherit the Earldom of Castel."
"According to Article 11 of Chapter 24 of the Sacred Code, under the premise that the Castel family does not have the qualifications to inherit, the Bolder family, as a clan of the Castel family, has the right to take back the territory and deprive the Castel family of their title."
"In the name of the Duke of Bold, I issue an ultimatum to the Castel family. They must abdicate within five days and hand over control of the territory to the Bold family."
"If you don't obey... it will be considered as rebellion!"
The third prince gave orders to the mage in the Mage Tower.
Five days was actually the estimated time it would take for the allied forces of the two principalities to reach the border.
In other words, the third prince had no intention of negotiating with Castel.
He has already prepared for war. No matter what Castel responds, he will lead his army straight to Castel's capital, North Port!
In other words, this so-called ultimatum is actually equivalent to declaring war.
"also… "
The third prince paused, then continued:
"Send a message to Bold to seal up all of Castel's manors, castles, mansions, and shops in this part of the Principality, and confiscate all of his property!"
As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes, his gaze gradually turned cold:
"From now on, there will be no more Castel in Boulder."
…
The combined forces of the two principalities acted swiftly.
After the third prince decided to march north immediately, the army that had been prepared long ago quickly set out.
Just five days later, the mighty army arrived at the border between the Violet Duchy and the Earldom of Castel.
By this time, ten days had passed since the Battle of Dorne, where Castel rebelled.
The third prince Philip, the commander-in-chief, stood on the hillside, looking at the criss-crossing waterways and scattered towns in the Castel Territory in the distance, with a glimmer in his eyes.
This was his first time in the North.
Although he had not yet seen the rumored North Port, looking at the towns scattered across the distance, he had already felt that Castel was as prosperous as the heartland of the kingdom.
"See, my dear wife, from now on... this place is my direct jurisdiction."
He turned his head and smiled at Eleanor, Duchess of Boulder, who was silent beside him.
After hearing what the third prince said, Eleanor trembled slightly and lowered her head even more.
However, just as the third prince was looking at Castel from afar and imagining the future, Count Lint came hurriedly to his side on horseback, followed by several nobles.
"My uncle, you don't look very well, what happened?"
The third prince glanced at the other's furrowed brow and smiled.
Count Lint glanced at Eleanor, then his eyes fell on the third prince again, with a complicated expression:
"Your Highness, my question may be a little offensive, but considering that we are allies and relatives, there is one thing I would like to confirm with you."
"Do you... have any dealings with the Blood Demon Cult?"
After hearing what Count Lint said, the Third Prince was stunned for a moment, his smile faded slightly, and then he narrowed his eyes and asked:
"Uncle, who told you this?"
"Your Highness, you just need to answer me whether I have one or not."
Count Lint said seriously.
The third prince looked at him for a while, then suddenly laughed and said:
"My dear uncle, many nobles in the kingdom are more or less connected to the Blood Demon Cult. Of course... most of the time it's about transactions."
Count Lint frowned:
"So... you really have had dealings with them?"
"It's just a deal. Don't worry. I know what's important and I've never trusted those lunatics. It's just that sometimes I need to borrow their power to achieve some goals."
The third prince said indifferently.
Count Lint's brows furrowed even deeper:
"Your Highness, you are playing with fire. The Blood Demon Cult is not a good group. Getting too close to them is not a good thing. It will give the Second Prince a handle!"
The third prince's heart moved slightly, and his smile finally faded:
"What happened?"
Count Lint sighed and gestured to the nobles behind him:
"Let your people speak."
The third prince looked at the noble behind Count Lint and recognized that he was the liaison officer responsible for contacting Bold.
Seeing the gaze from the Third Prince, the liaison officer lowered his head hastily, presented a parchment scroll with both hands, and said with a stiff face:
"Your Highness, there's news from Bold that Castel has declared war on us."
"What did you say? Castel declared war on us?"
The third prince was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing:
“Haha. Hahaha!”
"Declared war. She actually declared war on me!"
"This little beauty from the Castel family is really interesting. Does she think that she can compete with me just because she has suppressed the rebellion?"
As he said this, he took the parchment scroll from the noble liaison officer.
But when he saw the contents of the parchment scroll clearly, his expression suddenly changed.