Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
The commanding officer of Ebonflow’s garrison was Chester Murray, a former officer under Dominic. In fact, Dominic had once nearly taken him in as an adopted son. After earning merit in battle, Chester was recommended by Dominic to oversee the garrison at Ebonflow, where he was tasked with maintaining order and preventing bandits from disturbing the peace.
Though Rafael and Chester had little direct interaction, the former knew enough about him. Chester, influenced by Dominic’s principles, was a man of honor and loyalty. There was no way he would ever join Yuvan’s faction. If Chester had been swayed, Yuvan would not have needed to waste his resources on recruiting soldiers.
Chester came personally to collect the prisoners.
After greeting Rafael and Sophie, both of whom bowed in return out of respect for Dominic’s legacy, Chester wasted no time on pleasantries. His first question concerned the state of Dominic’s affairs in the capital.
Back when Dominic had been summoned back to the capital, Chester wanted to return too. But as a garrison commander, he had been forbidden from leaving without orders. Although he sent agents to gather information, he could never learn everything. Even the letters he sent to Dominic were carefully filtered, with good news reported and bad news withheld.
Rafael mentioned the important things, emphasizing that Salvador had shown special leniency and didn’t pursue the matter further.
Rafael’s words were carefully chosen, as Chester considered Dominic to be a father figure. If Rafael failed to mention it, resentment might stir in Chester’s heart, making him vulnerable to manipulation.
Rafael wasn’t afraid of Yuvan-it was the person behind Yuvan that gave him pause.
Chester heard that Dominic had spent his 70th birthday alone in Sullivan Estate and couldn’t help but feel tears well up in his eyes.
“It was his 71st birthday a few days ago, and I still couldn’t be there in person to wish him. I can only hope to be granted a favor next year, that they allow me to visit Victory Pass just once.”
Dominic’s birthday was on the 19th of February. Back when Sophie was in the capital, she had already arranged for a gift to be sent in advance.
But a gift was just a gift-it could never replace being there in person.
Hearing Chester’s words, she replied with sincerity, “Yes, I hope next year you can be there with him to personally wish him well.”
After sharing pleasantries, Rafael finally shifted the conversation to business.
When Chester heard the prisoners being handed over were actually rebel soldiers, he was taken aback. “Could the private soldiers part of Eleanor’s rebellion have been holed up in Lunvale all this time?” “Eleanor has been maintaining them, but the true mastermind behind the rebellion is Prince Yuvan. General Murray, there are several locations you need to be wary of. Be cautious and watch for signs of rebellion.”
Rafael handed Chester a list of places. These were the locations mentioned by Randall-places Rafael could no longer investigate himself, and so he entrusted them to Chester.
“Prince Yuvan?” Chester murmured, recognizing the name. He had heard whispers, but had never truly believed it. Although he didn’t interact with Yuvan much, he always thought the man was weak and ineffective.
But it was hard to say. Some people were masters of deception, hiding their true nature behind a facade. “If he harbors such rebellious intentions, why not simply kill him? Why allow him to return to Valken in the first place?” Chester asked.
He was aware of the suicide soldiers he had heard of their deployment when Dominic was returning to the capital. Back then, however, he had no idea they were Yuvan’s men.
But no matter how many suicide soldiers there were, could they really not have killed Yuvan? And if Salvador knew of his betrayal, why would he have allowed Yuvan to return to Valken?
Rafael had intended to mention the person behind Yuvan’s actions, but upon reflection, he chose to hold back. He didn’t want to plant wild suspicions in Chester’s mind.
Instead, he said, “At the time, there was no concrete evidence. If Prince Yuvan had been killed without cause, the king would have earned the reputation of mercilessly slaying his own kin.
“That would have only fueled the rebellion further. After all, rebellion is never the work of one man. With the reach Prince Yuvan’s power has gained, someone would inevitably step forward to carry his banner. As for allowing him to return to Valken, it was to prevent him from reconnecting with those who had ties to Eleanor.”
Chester hadn’t thought too deeply before Rafael’s explanation. “I see.”
“If my suspicions are correct, they’re planning to rise. They’ll find some excuse to incite an uprising in various places. Once chaos erupts in Starhaven, they’ll rally their forces under the pretext of quelling the unrest. That’s why you must remain vigilant, General Murray. Ebonflow is the heart of Starhaven’s food supply and trade. If it falls, the consequences will be dire.”
Chester took the warning to heart, his expression hardening. “Rest assured. Even if it costs me my life, I won’t allow them to take Ebonflow.”
With the matter settled, Rafael knew it was time to return to the capital. Not a moment could be wasted now.
Meanwhile, Tiberius was being escorted back to the capital. Throughout his lifetime, he had always been concerned with appearances, with making a show of his position. Now, surrounded by an impenetrable ring of guards, he was finally getting the kind of display he had always craved-though it was hardly the victory he had envisioned.
As they stopped to rest, Sophie carefully placed the steel needles back into her bracelet. When they had been clearing out the private soldiers, she had used up all the needles. She had to admit, they were incredibly useful especially in mountain warfare, where enemies were scattered.
Once they were spotted, she didn’t even need to use Lightfoot Skill to chase after them-the steel needles could shoot quite far.
They worked really well.
However, she had fallen a few times on the mountain, which caused the bracelet to get a little bent. So, Rafael asked the people in the garrison to borrow some tools and helped her fix it.
If it wasn’t fixed, the angle would be off, making it hard to accurately shoot.
As they neared the capital, word reached them that Blake, in the Southern Frontier, had finally arrived at Victory Pass.
It was an order from Oliver, who had personally tasked Blake and his companions with delivering birthday gifts to Dominic. The three people who went with Blake were all familiar with him from their time in the Southern Frontier.
Blake had been reluctant to go at first, but Oliver’s word had been final. Despite efforts from Louis and Timothy to intervene on his behalf, Oliver would hear none of it.
Blake sighed, resigned to his orders. There was little he could do but comply.
He knew exactly why Oliver had sent them to Victory Pass. The four of them had been quietly investigating Oliver’s embezzlement of military funds. Blake had confided in Timothy about what they had uncovered, and Timothy had instructed them to continue looking into it.
However, it seemed Oliver had caught wind of their suspicions and decided to remove the threat by sending them away.
Blake had handed over everything he had gathered to Timothy. It turned out that Oliver had inflated the number of soldiers under his command, pocketing the excess military funds meant for the soldiers he had claimed but never had.
The Southern Frontier army was composed of the original Southern Frontier troops, the Devin Army, the Hell Monarch Army, and various temporary soldiers recruited during the war.
Many of these temporary soldiers had long since returned home, but Oliver continued to report their numbers as if they were still in service. This allowed him to claim much more in military funds than was rightfully his.
Timothy and the others hadn’t been aware of the full extent of the fraud-after all, they never had access to the accounts. Now that Blake had uncovered the truth, Timothy and the others became more alert and continued to investigate.
Amid their investigation, Timothy received urgent news from Rafael. He was to be wary of Oliver and, even more so, to watch out for Sandoria’s movements.
The old generals in the Southern Frontier had already grown disillusioned with Oliver. It was clear he hadn’t come to the Southern Frontier to defend it. Rather, he was there to enjoy the spoils of his position. In the past, his behavior had been terrible-he had seduced several Southern Frontier women, promising them that if they followed him, they could return to the capital and become noble wives. His actions had caused a great deal of scandal and turmoil at Redstone Manor.
Now, with Cece-Madam Spencer-by his side, he had toned down his antics, but only in the public eye. Behind closed doors, he lavished her with extravagant gifts. Since she had borne him a son, there was nothing he wouldn’t give her he would have plucked the moon from the sky had she asked for it. The soldiers called Cece a siren, a temptress who had ensnared Oliver with her charms. However, Timothy believed that Oliver must have had some fault or weakness for Madam Spencer to have gotten involved with him.
After all, Oliver was never a good man to begin with.
What was concerning was Cece. Blake had already seen her acting suspiciously in the past, meeting with people in secret.
Cece Spencer, of course, was none other than Celeste Kingsley.
After the birth of their son, she had blossomed anew. Her figure was as slender and graceful as ever, untouched by the weight of motherhood. Despite the harsh winds and biting cold of last year’s winter in the Southern Frontier, she had flourished. Her complexion was as smooth as silk, and she radiated a delicate allure that made it impossible to look away.
In the estate, everything of value seemed to be reserved for her. Each day, she indulged in camel’s milk stews and royal jelly soup, soaking in sheep’s milk baths-luxuries she had no qualms about enjoying even after the flow of money from the capital had dried up.
To Oliver, she seemed almost impossibly delicate. Holding her soft, fragile hand stirred something deep in his chest.