Chapter 425: 423 Stop_1
The harbor of Alfalfa City had long been abandoned, but after some simple repairs, it was reopened today.

As the sun set, the vast fleet of the Pegasus Navy slowly sailed into this simple and dilapidated harbor. Orlando, president of the Alfalfa Brotherhood, stood respectfully at the dock with a group of his men, welcoming the Navy officers and soldiers disembarking for some rest.

The Angry River and the Crystal River converged in Alfalfa City, so for the Pegasus Navy to deliver the warships to Silver Moon City in exchange for Marquis Vincent, this place is a must-pass.

However, Alfalfa City was, after all, the territory of the Half-Elf Kingdom. Theoretically, the Pegasus Navy could not dock here without the consent of the Half-Elf Kingdom. Yet, seeing the densely packed warships in the harbor, the lord of Alfalfa City did not dare to say much.

This couldn’t really be blamed on Ron Lute for not being diligent since the Half-Elf Kingdom simply did not have an aquatic force to compete with the Pegasus Navy, so they could only watch the Easterners come and go as they pleased.

Even the Crystal River, the “mother river” of the Half-Elf clan, often saw the warships of the Pegasus Navy visit. If it weren’t for the water gate blocking their path, the Easterners’ fleet might even be able to sail directly up the Crystal River into the Half-Elf Palace.

This time, the Pegasus Navy was merely stopping at Alfalfa City. To be fair, this was already quite polite considering the Pegasus Navy had to redeem Marquis Vincent next and did not want to provoke any unnecessary clashes.

The sudden flood of more than 30,000 navy officers and soldiers into Alfalfa City immediately stirred up a lot of liveliness.

Luckily, the Pegasus Navy brought their own supplies; otherwise, given the poor state of Alfalfa City, it might not have been sufficient to feed all these people.

Though Alfalfa City didn’t need to provide food and drinks, they need to cater to other physiological needs of the navy officers and soldiers.

Count Evan, who saw the soldiers indulging in wine and women didn’t restrict any of it. After all, a big battle was on the horizon, and it was good for the soldiers to relax a bit, and more so, considering they were stationed on the east bank of the Angry River, which was considered to be absolutely safe in the subconscious of the Easterners.

Howell, Count and fleet commander, had no intention of restraining his subordinates either. He was drowning in a mood of tragic despair.

For the warships chosen for delivery to Silver Moon City, Count Evan asked that each one only be manned by the bare minimum amount of crew necessary to maintain normal operations and navigation. After all, he did not want to sacrifice all these elite water soldiers in Silver Moon City.

So, at this time, Count Howell was in a dilemma on whom to leave on the warships.

Count Howell looked at the list of navy officers and soldiers in front of him, hesitating for a long time but still did not select anyone.

Unquestionably, those who were left to carry out the mission in Silver Moon City would be facing a situation where survival chances were slim, and Count Howell felt that this was perhaps the toughest decision he had to make in his life.

Thump! Thump!

“Come in.”

Count Howell looked up and saw his deputy officer, Knight Holmes, walk in and discreetly shut the cabin door behind him.

“Sir, aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’m not hungry yet.”

Count Howell answered casually. Seeing that Knight Holmes still hadn’t moved, he asked, “Is there anything else?”

Knight Holmes hesitated for a moment, but gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, “Sir, are we really going to hand over our family warships to the North Territory as per Count Evan’s orders?”

At this point, Count Howell’s officers and soldiers still did not know that their upcoming trip to Silver Moon City was not to deliver warships, but to blow open the city’s water defenses.

Count Howell understood that if he revealed the truth to his subordinates now, there would inevitably be a large number of deserters and even mutinies.

Only when they were about to drive the warships to Silver Moon City and had no place to retreat, could the death of Marquis Vincent stimulate them, or the safety of their family be threatened, forcing them to carry out nearly suicidal missions, in order to continue performing their tasks as per Count Evan’s mandates, fighting for a glimmer of hope for the Howell Family.

So, when he saw Knight Holmes being reluctant to part with the family warships, Count Howell suddenly felt some pity and heartache.

“This is the Duke’s order, and we must obey!”

Knight Holmes straightened his neck and still looked unwilling. “Sir, it is clear that Duke St. Prowse wants to weaken the supporting force of Marquis Vincent! If they send away these warships, it will be unknown who will inherit the position of the Duke of the East in the future!”

At this point, the sadness in Count Howell’s eyes could no longer be hidden. He longed to tell his deputy officer that Marquis Vincent was already dead, and the title of the Duke of the East was bound to belong to Count Evan.

But as the words were about to leave his lips, Count Howell still didn’t say them.

Count Howell’s hesitation evidently led Knight Holmes to misunderstand, so this faithful knight of the Howell family stepped forward and whispered,

“Count, we can secretly detain Count Evan and use the St. Prowse Family’s warship to redeem Marquis Vincent in Silver Moon City!”

Count Howell shuddered, lifting his head to gaze into the eyes of Knight Holmes.

Knight Holmes met his gaze fearlessly, continued to persuade him:

“Count, you don’t need to worry that doing so would bring disaster to the Howell Family. As long as we get Marquis Vincent back, he will definitely support the Howell Family!

Moreover, as long as all the warships of the St. Prowse Family are handed over to the North Territory, the Pegasus Navy will be completely controlled by the Howell Family! Duke St. Prowse, if he does not want the North Territory to seize this opportunity, he will not only dare not blame you but also has to soothe and sway you!

Moreover, in this way, even if Duke St. Prowse wants to change the heir, he must consider the attitude of the Howell Family!

As long as we successfully push Marquis Vincent to the position of Duke, the family’s status in the east may even improve further!”

Count Howell was still silent.

He knew very well that what Knight Holmes said was correct.

But this plan had a premise – that Marquis Vincent must be alive.

Only then does the Howell Family have a future.

Otherwise, all that the Howell Family has done to Count Evan now, even if it temporarily avoids punishment for resisting the North Territory, once Count Evan inherits the title of Duke of the East…

No, even before Count Evan inherits the Duke’s title, once the situation stabilizes and the North Territory’s threat is eliminated, the Howell Family will be purged!

Knight Holmes, seeing Count Howell’s silence, thought he couldn’t make a decision, so he spoke again: “Count, I have quietly probed the attitudes of the majority of the Howell Family’s officers. They all say they will support you unconditionally!

So, as long as you give the order…”

“Enough,” Count Howell interrupted Knight Holmes, “The Howell Family won’t disobey Duke St. Prowse’s command, you go out, I’ll pretend I never heard this.”

“Count…”

“Out!”

Knight Holmes, full of regret, left reluctantly, not daring to disobey Count Howell’s order.

Count Howell watched Knight Holmes’ back, his heart filled with more sorrow.

Lowering his gaze to the list in front of him, Count Howell found himself unable to pen down names.

Actually, who to assign for the mission was already decided by Count Evan — choose those who had families.

Only those with attachments would fight desperately when faced with dead ends, instead of fleeing.

Count Howell closed his eyes, upon reopening them, they were filled with determination again. He picked up the goose feather pen and began to mark names on the list.

A moment later, when he had confirmed the list of people to carry out the mission, an endless sense of exhaustion washed over Count Howell.

He staggered out of the cabin to the deck, stood alone watching the deep river, lost in thought.

The sky was already dark, apart from a few soldiers on duty, the rest of the crew had gone ashore for rest and relaxation.

The brightness and noise on the shore contrasted sharply with the quiet silence on the ship.

Count Howell silently watched his reflection in the water, lost in thoughts.

As time passed, as if through an illusion, his reflection in the water began to resemble Marquis Vincent.

But then, the reflection in the water climbed out onto the surface, showed a toothy grin to Count Howell, and said:

“Count Howell, are you enjoying the view?”