57: The lord is a lone commander.

"Your Majesty, we have been played by a Space Mage. All of our grain disappeared overnight!" Jian said, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Don't push everything onto the Space Mage. Find out where the grain went! Before you find out, none of you are allowed to die. Do you understand?" Emperor Alexander pointed angrily at Alice and said.

"As you command, Your Majesty!" Alice, Jian, and the group of magicians replied.

"Also, the expeditionary army is looting and killing in Fite City. How are you serving as Commanders? You are all good-for-nothings! Everyone is demoted three ranks and fined one year's salary! All Government Troops who participated in the burning and looting are to be executed!" Emperor Alexander's temples throbbed as he thought about this.

"The hundreds of thousands of soldiers have no food to eat, which is why they started robbing the common people. If there is still no food, more troops will join in. I hope Your Majesty can mobilize supplies as soon as possible to appease the soldiers; only then can we prevent such incidents from continuing," Alice said calmly.

"Where am I supposed to get food to give you! The army went on an expedition and used up the grain for one million people, yet you lost soldiers and generals for me, and didn't bring back a single grain!" Emperor Alexander roared, venting his frustration.

"All civil and military officials in the country will donate and take pay cuts to stabilize the army first. If there's nothing else, you may all leave!" Emperor Alexander calmed down and said slowly.

"Your Majesty, news came from the Lingshu Kingdom the day before yesterday. The Demon Race has been silent for many years, but recently they have started invading our borders again. They want to form an alliance with us to fight against the Demon Race!" Grand Duke William said promptly.

"The Demon Race has never given up on the desire to destroy us after all these years. Tell them we are willing to form an alliance with them to fight against the Demon Race together!" Emperor Alexander felt incredibly exhausted at this moment.

"Your Majesty, what should we do about Wei He? Should we continue to suppress the bandits? Now that there is a food shortage in the country, fighting on two fronts is very disadvantageous for us!" Grand Duke James asked.

"Your Majesty, I believe that fighting the Demon Race is the top priority right now. As for that Wei He, we can offer amnesty first, appoint him as a Lord, give him an appropriate official title, and temporarily paralyze him. We could even invite him to send troops to resist the Demon Race. It won't be too late to eliminate him after defeating the Demon Race!" Grand Duke William said slowly with an unperturbed expression.

"Hmph, do as you say!" Emperor Alexander regained his calm, indifferent gaze and said coldly, "Let Grand Duke William go and offer amnesty to that so-called Commander, Wei He!"

"I disagree! My son died at the hands of that little thief Wei He. If I don't kill him, I swear I am not a man!" Carlos glared, his eyes appearing as if there was a sea of fire, as if he wanted to burn Wei He to death.

"Carlos, this is for the sake of the big picture. Currently, the national finances and grain are stretched thin, and the national treasury is empty. Even the grain and equipment needed to fight the Demon Race are insufficient. I guarantee that offering amnesty to Wei He is only temporary. Once the war with the Demon Race ends, I will personally deliver Wei He's head to you!" Grand Duke William said earnestly.

"That's right, Carlos. Wei He even has an existence as heaven-defying as a Space Mage under his command, which must be very beneficial for fighting the Demon Race. We must prioritize the big picture and temporarily cooperate with him for the sake of the Magic Empire!" the buck-toothed general beside him tried to persuade Carlos.

"Hmph! I just don't agree!" After saying this, Carlos walked out of the palace without looking back.

"Alright, Grand Duke William, you go handle this matter! Everyone, leave!" Emperor Alexander said calmly.

Wei He was unaware of all these calculations. He was currently taking stock of his own strength. If it weren't for the geographical advantage of the Ande Valley this time, Wei He would have been in a miserable state against the Magic Empire's hundreds of thousands of troops plus High-level Magicians. Although the Red Alert Troops were relatively powerful, he was currently too poor, and the number of troops was still too small.

While Wei He was still calculating, Grand Duke William, riding a bull-like white high-level magical beast, with a dusty ceremonial team following behind him, headed towards the Harsh Forest.

As an envoy, Marcus had to notify Wei He about the amnesty before Grand Duke William arrived at the Harsh Forest.

Marcus was riding a professionally trained, leopard-like black high-level magical beast. It was three meters long and extremely fast, with a luxurious blue-gold saddle on its back. This was a Gale Thunder Leopard, exclusively used by the Magic Empire's royal family.

Ordinary people rarely even get to see such a mount. While Marcus was excited, he was more afraid. He was just an ordinary envoy. This time, to let him deliver the message to Wei He as quickly as possible, they had actually even let him ride a Gale Thunder Leopard, which was enough to show how important this mission was.

Marcus felt uneasy about the Commander he was about to meet. After all, just a few days ago, he had wiped out tens of thousands of the Magic Empire's troops, and had burned and destroyed the grain and grass meant for one million soldiers. He even had an existence as heaven-defying as a Space Mage, causing the reserve grain to disappear overnight.

It was easy to imagine how terrifying Wei He was. As Marcus rode on the Gale Thunder Leopard, the beast hadn't even broken a sweat, but he was already sweating profusely. Others might not know, but Marcus knew that the army sent to conquer Wei He this time was the elite force of the Magic Empire's Northern Province, and they had died or were wounded without even seeing Wei He's face.

Marcus nervously passed through the Ande Valley. Fortunately, no large army was passing through now, and he guessed that Wei He had not set an ambush there. After several days of travel, he finally arrived at the post station at Phoenix Mountain, changed his clothes at the station, and prepared to head towards the Harsh Forest.

In Northwest Town, Wei He was lying on a recliner in the courtyard, leisurely drinking tea, when suddenly, a soldier of the Magic Empire walked in from outside and said respectfully, "Reporting to you, Commander, Lord Junzhen just learned that the Magic Empire's envoy has arrived at Phoenix Mountain and will soon be heading to the Harsh Forest!"

"The Magic Empire's envoy, what is he coming here for?" Wei He asked in confusion, his brows furrowed.

"This subordinate does not know. In short, Lord Junzhen is very anxious and hopes that you, Commander, will rush to the Harsh Forest as soon as possible!" the soldier replied truthfully.

"Alright, I know. You may leave!" Wei He suddenly felt speechless; not knowing anything, yet still coming to tell him.

"Yes!" After the soldier exited, he saw a night hawk helicopter appear above the tall mansion and fly towards Phoenix Mountain.

In the Phoenix Mountain military jurisdiction, Ravich was processing various documents in his office when Wei He walked in slowly.

"Commander, why are you here?" Ravich stood up respectfully after seeing Wei He walk in.

"Your people told me that the Magic Empire's envoy has come. What is he here for? To persuade me to surrender?" Wei He said straightforwardly.

"He is here to convey the amnesty mission. The envoy will arrive first, and soon after, Grand Duke William will also come to the Harsh Forest. From now on, you will be the Lord of the Harsh Forest!" Ravich said embarrassedly, "I have too many things to deal with here. I have to settle the taxes for the Magic Empire and the Red Alert Troops without letting superiors find out, so I didn't notify you personally!"

"If I become a Lord, doesn't that mean I can collect an extra tax? Hahahaha!" Wei He said happily when he heard there was such a good thing.

"Uh, ever since the last war, there haven't been many residents left in the Harsh Forest. Moreover, Carlos slaughtered the people of an entire city. Although you are now the Lord of the Harsh Forest, you have no subjects. You can be said to be a Commander without troops!"