"Is that Goldenspike City?" Iron Axe rotated the spyglass, examining a gray-brown city in the distance.

"According to the map, it should be. After all, there's only one Three-Bend River, it's unlikely we'd get the direction wrong," replied Lieutenant Bear Paw. Like Iron Axe, he came from a family of hunters in Border Town and was one of the first to serve the Lord.

"Something's strange..." He frowned.

"What's strange?"

"Goldenspike City is a major city in the Eastern Region and a major trading hub of Graycastle. The old capital, Eagle City, and Goldenspike City form the kingdom's prosperous area. Even when I was in the Far South, I heard of its name," Iron Axe explained. "But these past few days, don't you think we've encountered surprisingly few merchant ships?"

"I wouldn't know about that," Bear Paw shrugged. "Maybe the previous pirate attacks scared the merchants out of their wits, and they dare not come here to trade anymore."

"The attacks were two years ago already. No matter how severe the looting was back then, it should have recovered by now."

In the distance, the city walls looked ugly and bloated. The brown walls seemed to have been deliberately widened. Perhaps due to a lack of stone, the new outer wall was made of red mud, mixed with a lot of gravel and wood, resembling the early rubble walls of Border Town. In addition, the surface of the city walls was covered with a layer of shiny things. Due to the distance, Iron Axe couldn't see it very clearly.

The old and new city walls were stacked together, widening the width of the top of the wall by more than twice its original size. However, such modifications were not very thorough. Some parts were still in their original shape, appearing rough, uneven, and pitted from a distance, completely unlike a city known for its wealth.

"Who cares, as long as we take it down," Bear Paw took out a fire lantern fruit from his pocket and threw it into his mouth. "Even if it's not Goldenspike City, but Silverspike City or Ironspike City, what does it matter? His Majesty's order is to sweep the entire Eastern Region, right? Then it's simple, attack every city we see."

Iron Axe shook his head helplessly. This guy was still the same as before, rarely thinking for more than three breaths. The first thing he did when he encountered a target was to charge straight at it with a javelin. While other hunters were still setting traps and releasing hounds to track prey, he had already returned with his hunting spoils. Legend has it that even the most terrifying black bears in the forest were unwilling to provoke him too much, hence the nickname Bear Paw.

If he thought a little more, he wouldn't still be a lieutenant. Even Vanna is already the commander of the artillery battalion.

"However, the battle process is not the key, the key is how to deal with the aftermath," Bear Paw's next words surprised Iron Axe slightly. "If we mess up the Eastern Region, the City Hall will definitely give us trouble. But if we don't make a big fuss, those officials will have difficulty even standing their ground. Did His Majesty tell you how to act?"

"No, he only instructed me to handle it as I see fit."

"That's a headache. Of course, you're the boss, so you naturally have to consider this matter, I'll do as you say," Bear Paw grinned.

Iron Axe became interested. "Oh? Where's the headache?"

"Are you really asking or testing me?" Bear Paw held his forehead. "Of course, the headache is how to deal with those nobles. The Eastern Region hasn't seen a turning point until now, and His Majesty's power is getting stronger and stronger. They definitely don't have a single voice inside. When we take down the city, most people will surrender, and then the trouble comes. Without Nightingale, how do you tell them apart?"

"Continue," Iron Axe nodded, it seemed that the other party wasn't completely clueless.

"Hey, you didn't really not consider it, did you?" Bear Paw widened his eyes. "The number of troops on the Eastern Front is not large, and the number of teams that can stay behind is very limited, at most guarding the inner city. But this is Timothy's base camp! It would be fine if those nobles are willing to fully cooperate with us after surrendering, but what if they have ulterior motives and are always thinking about seizing power? Even if there's only a small group of such people, it can make the Eastern Region uneasy—once the army leaves, the City Hall will be a mere formality, and the officials sent by the City Hall may have difficulty surviving. Poisoning, assassination, bribery... these methods cannot be prevented by muskets."

"Then what do you think we should do?" Iron Axe asked curiously.

"Boss, this is your business," Bear Paw rolled his eyes and spat the chewed fruit pit into the rolling river.

"Just hypothesize, as if you were the commander of the Eastern Front Army now, just say whatever comes to mind."

"Um..." The other party pondered for a long time before sighing, "There's no good way, if Nightingale can't come, we can only rely on time to tell them apart. Or buy more rats, take precautions, and follow the method of Neverwinter, create some kind of police force to maintain order, use as few surrendered nobles as possible, and drag it out until the end of the war."

"As expected..." Iron Axe murmured.

"What?"

"No, nothing," he put away the spyglass. "This is none of your business, go and inform the others on the ship, prepare to land, we are approaching the suburban dock."

"Understood!" As soon as war was mentioned, Bear Paw perked up. "After drifting on the river for so long, we can finally have a fight!"

Watching the lieutenant's excited departure, Iron Axe exhaled and leaned over the porthole of the command room, lost in thought.

The scene of Edith talking to him the day before the army set off couldn't help but reappear in his mind.

The meeting place was in the private room of the tavern opened by Evelyn. It was not a place to discuss serious matters. Iron Axe originally thought that the other party intended to, as an official of the Ministry of Defense, wish the operation success and get familiar with the army, but he did not expect that there was only Edith alone in the private room, and what she said was shocking enough.

The content of the conversation between the two was exactly the "headache" that Bear Paw was nagging about.

He still remembered every word the other party said clearly.

"Why do you think His Majesty would let you be responsible for the Eastern Front Army?" Edith's opening remarks surprised him.

"I only obey orders and don't ask why."

"But orders won't explain every detail clearly, especially when it comes to things that are not convenient to mention," the Pearl of the Northern Lands said methodically while sipping a mixed drink. "The answer in your heart is that there is no one else who can be responsible except you, but is that really the case? You should know better than me the strength of the people in the Eastern Region. Any regular army of five or six hundred people can crush them. In other words, a commander at the battalion level is enough to cope with the Eastern Front war. On the contrary, the Western Front has to deal with the Holy City of Hermes, which is not only complicated but also potentially more dangerous. If it weren't for a special reason, it would be appropriate to let you assist His Majesty in commanding the Western Front Army and hand over the Eastern Front Army to others."

"..." Iron Axe didn't answer at the time, but he vaguely agreed with Edith's statement.

"As for this special reason, it's actually very simple, that is your attitude towards the nobles." The other party continued, "As a Mojin sandman, you will not have inexplicable fear and tolerance towards the nobles of Graycastle, and the key to recovering the Eastern Region is how to deal with the rebellious nobles."

After that, her analysis was roughly the same as what Bear Paw said, but it was much more detailed—so detailed that Iron Axe couldn't help but believe that relying on ordinary methods alone, it was impossible to make the Eastern Region return to stability.

His Majesty needs population and resources, and he doesn't have so much time to waste on a bunch of scum.

The only problem is... "His Majesty didn't say so."

"Of course not, His Majesty is the Lord of Mercy after all, so we can only do some things," Edith said slowly, "But he is not without hints - the City Hall sent a total of two hundred and sixty-five people to accompany the army on this operation. They are all managers that His Majesty has worked so hard to cultivate, and they are used to take over those lands that are in urgent need of recovery. And the Eastern Front Army accounts for more than two-thirds of the total number of people, you should understand the reason."

Iron Axe remembered that at that moment, a bolt of lightning flashed through his heart.

"Don't let His Majesty down," Edith said finally.

"Sir, the First Army's landing preparations are complete, the fleet is ready to dock at any time!" Suddenly, his subordinate's report interrupted his thoughts.

Iron Axe took a deep breath and ordered in a deep voice, "Set up camp on the shore and prepare to attack the city!"