Conspire

Damian really didn't expect that Bishop Maged would be willing to pay such a high price to win him over and Conosa.

It seems Weimar County, due to relative wealth and peace, has a very strong Reformist voice. People are tired of noble clergymen who can't even read the Bible, driving conservative bishops like Maged into flustered positions.

"One city, two systems? That's an interesting notion, but that's indeed what I'm thinking," Bishop Maged had his own thoughts.

In any case, Milhouse Castle had already been breached. Whether it's the town or the castle, taking it back from Damian would be impossible for Bishop Maged.

If he could regain half simply through words, it would be a significant achievement. Leveraging this to lure Damian into joining his conservative alliance was a highly beneficial transaction.

For the shrewd Bishop Maged, although he had some feudal obligations to Count Arendse, his priority was to protect the monastery from being taken over by a bunch of rural peasants.

"Fine, I'll negotiate with Count Arendse to allocate half of the town for the Schmalen family. After all, he is the brother of my Countess," Damian nodded with a smile.

Maged was secretly delighted and agreed.

Thus, Damian wrote to Arendse, demanding the cession of Milhouse Castle and stating that he would not bear any feudal obligations like Arendse did. But if Arendse was dissatisfied, he could pay a ransom to permanently redeem the feudal obligations of Milhouse Castle.

Bishop Maged was not surprised by this.

This is the nature of a deal: you must first state demands far higher than your expectations to achieve results closest to your expectations during negotiation.

Watching the Bishop leave, Damian was somewhat surprised.

Initially, Damian thought that Arendse came to punish and establish authority, but it turned out he just wanted to share the spoils.

Damian certainly wouldn't give up control of Milhouse Castle. Controlling the castle and threatening the town to pay ransom each year is better than directly managing the town.

In fact, "one city, two systems" is not particularly new. Many knights couldn't control a village alone, often sharing it with three or four others. This was a primitive version of one city, two systems. Furthermore, in cities, it was common for several noble families to share governance.

After returning, Bishop Maged discussed the city's affairs with Count Arendse.

Feigning fear, he said, "I saw the young Damian organizing a massive number of peasant mobs. He also controls many knights of Gothingen Castle and numerous brigand knights who have pledged allegiance to him. Hundreds of soldiers and elite longbowmen—trying to attack them would come at a great cost!"

Arendse nodded repeatedly. He was here to press Damian for some concessions, not to sacrifice his troops.

"What price did he ask for?"

The Bishop replied, "He demands the cession of 30 villages and the surrender of Milhouse Castle. He also wishes to buy out the feudal obligations, nearly splitting Milhouse Castle out of Weimar County."

"That's impossible!"

Arendse would never allow such a powerful enemy to appear in his northwest. More importantly, as the strongest count in Weimar County, always proclaiming himself its master, being stripped of significant territory by a woman would be humiliating.

Maged quickly added, "So I have strongly persuaded him, and we have made good progress."

"Alright, keep persuading him," Arendse trusted Maged's words.

He couldn't have guessed that his trustworthy Bishop had already colluded with the enemy, aiming to take his interests.

However, thanks to Maged's diplomacy, the conflict between the two parties eased. Many of the nobles captured by Damian had their relatives secretly pay ransom for their freedom, swearing before God that they would abstain from further combat in this war.

Later, Damian conveyed his demands to the imprisoned Schmalen, which made him was terrified, fearing that Damian would seize all his property.

Amid such anxious torment, Bishop Maged visited again.

After small talk with Damian, he suggested, "I think we can openly request now, but I hope to cut five more villages as a token of our cooperation."

So it would be 25 villages and a castle, still profitable.

After a moment's thought, Damian decided that, given the Church's wealth, he was more eager to gain the support of the Church in Weimar County than the additional five villages.

So Damian agreed, but added, "If that's the case, I want to strip 10 knights of their village holdings and replace them with my own men."

Maged also agreed.

Then, the Bishop went to the dungeon to intimidate and deceive Schmalen, forcing him to agree to cede the castle and 25 villages, ultimately preserving his town and most of his vassals.

Schmalen had no choice but to agree. He was already captured; what else could he do?

Many lords who didn't comply with post-war agreements were imprisoned until death, with their lands held by usurpers until universally acknowledged.

Count Arendse, upon hearing the news, was satisfied, feeling that the Bishop did a good job. After all, only half the territory of Milhouse was ceded.

With the agreement signed by all three parties, the contract took effect.

Through his efforts, Damian successfully secured his first territory.

Congratulations! You have unlocked [Lord of Milhouse Castle]

Unlocked common unit [Castle Guard]

Common unit: Castle Guard (base number 40, monthly salary 5 gold. They are well-trained warriors who can reliably protect the castle and strike fiercely in defense. However, sending them into battle requires higher costs.)

Unlocked elite unit [Novice Knight]

Elite unit: Novice Knight (base number 20, monthly salary 20 gold, recruitment cost 100 gold. Though they have not received the full knight title, they possess basic war skills. Consequently, they are also expensive. Attributes: Pack Charge, the charge of knights is incredibly powerful.)

To Damian's delight, he gained his first knight unit.

Although these units were expensive to recruit and maintain, acquiring novice knights quickly could significantly turn the tide in battles.

However, Damian was starting to worry about reporting back to Conosa.

Once she heard of his achievements, Conosa would likely come to Milhouse Castle in person, which would limit Damian.

Therefore, he had to prepare some tricks for this.

…

That night, Count Arendse hosted Earl Schmalen, celebrating his escape from prison.

But at the banquet, Schmalen lamented the loss of the war and the cession of Milhouse Castle.

Arendse craftily advised, "What's there to be upset about? Just build another castle nearby. I'll fund it for you!"