Chapter 37: A Battle of Life and Death

  The dark curtains were heavy and oppressive, just like Windsor's mood. Last night, Windsor's grandfather passed away, which was a great blow to him. After finally coaxing his cousin Sen to sleep, he rushed over to see him.

  "How is your mother?"

  "I'm going to sleep."

  Watching Windsor's spirit wane, Sen was somewhat reluctant to utter the words of urging him on, but now the situation is different from usual. Although Grandfather's death will not shake Windsor's position in the south, it is still not as good as before. They must seize the time to win the support of the several vassals who were divided by the former king and solve the problem of the royal army, so as to maintain peace in the south. Only then can they proceed to the next step.

  "In a few days, all the lords will arrive, and your grandfather has passed away. You must work harder to win their support!"

  He remained silent for a while, so Sen thought he hadn't heard and repeated it again.

  "Forest, is it worth all this effort?"

  Is it worth it? No matter how hard you try, you'll still lose everything! What is eternal after all?

  "It's worth it! Windsor, we are all ordinary people, happy, angry, sad, joyful, greedy, resentful, foolish, and complaining are all human nature. Follow your heart, as long as you have no regrets, everything is worth it!"

  Sen knew that Windsor was always calm on the surface, but in fact his heart was already a mess of tangled hemp, hoping he could think clearly and get over this hurdle, saying what he wanted to say most. Sen left the room, leaving Windsor with a quiet environment.

  This gathering was held in secret, with only a handful of top officials from the South knowing about it. The seven great lords of Windsor invited only four of them, all of whom arrived quietly and stayed within the walls of Airell Castle.

  Entering the conference room, I indeed saw several weathered faces. These four old men should be from the territories divided by Father. No wonder they are still loyal to me today.

  Steadily walking to the main seat, the four elderly participants, although physically weak, still insisted on performing the courtesy of bowing and kneeling. Windsor sympathized with them and hurriedly stretched out her hand to support them, while Sen pulled out chairs for the four lords and invited them to take their seats.

  Windsor waited until they were seated before slowly opening his mouth,

  "This time I've asked everyone to come, is because I've encountered a difficult problem and really can't make up my mind. All of you are elderly people with high virtues, please help me decide."

  Several people looked at each other in dismay, hadn't the Duke of Windsor decided whether to fight this battle or not? No, he should be testing them. The old men had experienced all sorts of storms throughout their lives and appreciated the steady and conservative approach of Windsor, without feeling that they were being distrusted.

  "Duke, we came to Nandih just to show our stance. The former king was very fond of us a few years ago. This kindness we must repay!"

  The old man who spoke was also the lord of Dals, a coastal region on the border of the kingdom, and he had been the captain of the king's personal guard in his father's day.

  When he finished, Dass nodded to the other three to express their opinions. The other two roughly meant the same as Dass, all of whom were willing to support Nandi. The last lord bowed his head and thought for half a day, only speaking up after everyone else had finished.

  "Duke, I suppose you've been eager to attack the palace for a long time?"

  Windsor did not deny it, he hesitated, but his inner desire for the palace never disappeared.

  Several people looked at the lord waiting for his next words, but he remained silent, forcing Windsor to admit.

  "That's right, the throne was mine all along!"

  Windsor finally said the deepest words in her heart, which she would be ashamed to think of even in the quietest night, but today they burst out, and after a moment's shame, she felt extremely relaxed and at ease!

  The four masters were shocked, and they all clapped their hands and laughed loudly.

  "You old fox, you've finally forced our Windsor to tell the truth."

  When they finished laughing, Dars said to Winsor,

  "Duke, as long as you think so, we can rest assured. Otherwise, the few of us would risk our lives to oppose the palace, and when the time comes, you will all be relatives, and with just one word from you, we would become sacrifices!"

  Windsor smiled slightly and said,

  "This will be the battle that decides life and death!"

  Hearing the determination in Windsor's tone, the lords along with Sen let out a sigh of relief. Sometimes it's not possible to be merciful just because you want to. In Windsor's position, he has to harden his heart to take responsibility for so many hopes.

  After a dance party, the four lords signed an alliance treaty with Windsor, leaving several generals to follow Windsor's deployment, and the four lords returned to their respective territories to prepare troops to coordinate with Windsor's actions.

  Although they were careful in their comings and goings, Wang Jun had almost cut off all the traffic routes into and out of Nandou, but the news that the four lords would meet secretly in Nandou still reached Princess Ero.

  Aro was furious, and ordered the generals besieging the South to be put to death. He commanded that no one leave the palace gates, but Moses intercepted him and rushed to the Ganlu Palace. A stone ink bottle hit him on the head, causing blood to flow, and he waved his hand to drive away the palace maids. Moses made his way through the chaos to Aro's side, and Aro saw that Moses was injured and bleeding, wanting to say some words of comfort but unable to speak.

  "Princess,"

  "What's the use of raising servants! At critical moments, they bite back at their masters. It's better to raise a dog! Go, dispatch troops to capture those traitors who betray their masters!"

  This sentence is so harsh that even Moses was scolded.

  "The princess is right, they are indeed worse than a pack of dogs. But the princess must not overestimate them, our main enemy is still the Duke of Windsor, and dealing with them would be a distraction."

  Airo exaggeratedly raised his tone and sneered.

  "Deal with Windsor? Thousands of royal troops surrounded and intercepted him, but he still returned to the south unscathed. Now that the south is as solid as gold, how can I deal with him?"

  Moses shook his head. The princess was ruthless enough, but she lacked the ability. If it were the prince, he would definitely listen to his own opinions and focus on dealing with the Duke of Windsor.

  Knowing that Ero was already annoying enough, Moses reluctantly retreated and left the Palace of Ganluo. On his way back, he pondered on how to continue searching for Prince Wangzi.