As they watched the scene through the mirror, they saw a boy was walking around in the area.
"Wait, Aldred. That boy looks like you!" Mareona exclaimed.
"Uhh… That's my clone."
"What? What are you doing in there?"
Aldred scratched his cheek. "I was thinking maybe I could get a Diamond Rank undead, or a Platinum Rank undead. That would be nice to have."
Mary frowned. "Usually, it's impossible for an undead to be above the rank of their master. I am not sure about your power. Maybe you can do that."
"That's what I would like to find out."
Aldred's clone ran around the battlefield, avoiding the dangerous area, and then went to the corpses. These corpses were the enemies Platinum Rank. It could be known from their armor and insignia. He did not want to offend Lord Aleron by turning his subordinates into undead.
As his clone raised his hand and said: "Arise." A notification appeared in front of Aldred.
[Insufficient Level]
That was disappointing. He thought he could get an army of Platinum Rank. If Aldred could do that, this treasure hunt would be so easy for him, but alas, he couldn't have everything in the world.
After confirming that he couldn't turn them into his undead, Aldred decided to take their treasure instead.
"Aldred, what are you doing?" Mareona asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I am taking their magic treasures."
"Why?"
"That's a stupid question, Mareona. It's literally free treasures. Anyone would want that. Besides, we might need it during our adventure to the main continent."
Mareona nodded in understanding. She thought Aldred was turning into a greedy dragon who liked to collect treasures, but apparently it was for practical reasons.
After a while, the battle ended. The enemies were defeated, and some were running away.
Armand Radonvilter was nowhere to be seen.
The fight ended in less than a day. This was a battle against a county which was supposed to have the same power as Lord Aleron. But that attack earlier was so quick and so fast.
Aleron's army literally teleported right inside the enemy's heart and destroyed it from the inside. All the defense mechanisms, facilities, and weapons were all destroyed.
Aldred saw a lot of large crystals that were supposed to activate a special spell that weakened the enemy and empower Arman's army.
But that spell couldn't even be activated before it was destroyed.
That meant Lord Aleron knew everything about Radonvilter County.
Aldred could already imagine the impact of this battle. Destroying a Count in a single day was not something that could be scoffed at considering the immense power and influence they had.
And he was right. The next day, the news of Aleron's wrath spread far and wide throughout the empire. The Dukes, situated on the east side of the Empire, were shocked to hear it. Some already expected this outcome.
"It's that Aleron. It's no wonder he could destroy Armand in a day. The Emperor had long wanted to promote him to become a Duke, but he refused so many times."
Every nobles in Thignia discussed this event with each other and contemplate on how they should behave in front of Lord Aleron.
But the day after that, a news came that said it was the emperor who helped Lord Aleron in destroying Armand, the traitor. With the wisdom, guidance, and support of the emperor, lord Aleron succeeded in defeating Armand in less than a day.
The news made the nobles feel relieved and they all send their praise to the emperor. Lord Aleron also built a tall statue of the emperor within the capital city of the former Radonvilter.
Aleron spread the news that all the civilians were saved under the great effort of the emperor and it was only possible because of him.
The people there were grateful for the emperor and spread the news of his benevolence.
Aldred, Mary, Mira, and the others did not understand why Aleron spread such news. The emperor did not lift a hand at all in this operation.
But they did not know that Lord Aleron was a genius for doing this.
One golden rule that he followed was—never outshine the master.
All the dukes in Thignia were sent far from the capital city because the emperor was afraid that they would rebel against him and take his throne. Aleron noticed this long ago because of how the emperor placed all the dukes and counts.
A count was the most comfortable spot to be, because the emperor did not feel threatened by them. Only when they reached Marquis would the emperor start to become wary.
That was why Aleron never accepted his promotion. The emperor had to offer a promotion to a promising and meritful noble otherwise it would cause chaos, but at the same time, he did not want the powerful nobles nearby.
Aleron stayed as a count for years and achieve a lot of success by becoming the emperor's trusted hand. The battle against Radonvilter was dangerous because he showed his true capability as an excellent planner and strategist. If people praised him more than the emperor, he would feel threatened and would remove Aleron at all cost.
Never outshine the master.
Such was the game of power.
And he had been successful by keeping this rule in mind. While the dukes were left out of favor by the emperor, Aleron received so many benefits and trust.
But he did not do this because he was ambitious and secretly seek the throne. No. He genuinely wanted to protect his country from a terrible civil war that might ensue and keep the peace for as long as possible.
While all of this played out, Aldred was sleeping in his bed with all seven women. He was in peace, and in a tranquil state of mind while the nobles were ever vigilant as the game of power never ceased to end. Even in sleep, you must be wary of your own bed.
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