While a triangular power struggle was taking place in the Boll Dukedom, signs of internal unrest were also beginning to show in the Fano Dukedom to the east. However, these two dukedoms didn't share a border as they were separated by the ruler's territory of the Fulway Empire. Around 300 kilometers to the south of Finklan was the Grand Warandele Canyon that stretched for several hundred kilometers from east to west, separating those two dukedoms.

In a rather theatrical twist of fate, this natural barrier was exactly what was separating Erwin and Lana.

The eastern exit of this sparsely populated canyon was Fort Roten.

On the surface, this fort was under the control of the Dario Family, but in reality, it had already been seized by an organization known as the freemen, and the leader of the freemen was a man by the name of Ewen Joe. Using the Loonies in his possession, he recruited the jobless mercenaries and traveling warriors around Fort Roten, and at this point, he had already gathered an army in excess of 10,000 people. Ewen was always proclaiming that the freemen had no religious beliefs, nor any lofty status, so they had nothing to lose, and this slogan had swayed many people into...