```
In the southern part of the kingdom, within Earl Joyce's domain.
The joyous merchants and minor nobles who had been expecting Archduke Rickman's triumphal return had never imagined that Ryder, whom they believed would surely be crushed by the grand army, would come back the very next day with a large group of followers.
This time, Ryder had no intention of holding back. He looted the homes that needed to be looted and purged the ones that needed to be purged. After several days of turmoil, he truly occupied the entire territory.
The subsequent taking over of various towns and villages also went smoothly. The private armies and resistance forces of the local nobles often lost their ability to resist after a few rounds of musket fire.
In the Kingdom of Hadlatar, territorial disputes and wars of annexation among the nobles were not uncommon, and the Earl's domain had also experienced several wars before.
