Chapter 150: Misunderstanding

On the highest arrow tower of Blue Goose Castle, a desk and chairs were placed alongside the weapon racks, making the fifteen-square-meter space instantly appear exceptionally cramped. Count Chapman stood on the tower, drawing his heavy longbow. With a twang, a heavy arrow sliced through more than six hundred meters of air and pinned an ant-man to the ground. The ant-man did not die immediately, struggling and screeching desperately, which only tore its wound wider. Green blood gushed out, provoking the other ant-men into howling frenzy.

"If it were a Wind-attribute Great Knight, this arrow could have been shot over eight hundred meters," Count Chapman said, lowering his longbow and turning back to see his precious daughter ungracefully resting her legs on the desk. He could not help but shake his head.

"Father, although I have only just been promoted to a Great Knight, I am not so foolish as to misjudge people. I saw with my own eyes Victor shoot and kill that Silver-tier ant-man, and he used a military heavy crossbow." Gillian examined the tall leather boots on her legs. The boots designed by Victor were very much to her liking, and she intended to have the family's leatherworker craft even more styles for her.

Count Chapman was somewhat surprised. He knew his beloved daughter's strong-willed personality well; she never wore noble ladies' attire, especially semi-high heels. Gillian's unusual behavior today brought a secret delight to Count Chapman, who felt it was time to discuss marital matters with the heir of his house.

While secretly resolving to find a suitable husband for Gillian, Count Chapman said nonchalantly, "Wind-attribute Great Knights are called the most terrifying knights precisely because they can use ranged weapons to kill Silver-tier monsters—and of course, Silver Knights as well. If Viscount Victor can use a heavy crossbow to kill a Silver-tier ant-man, his lethality is already comparable to that of a Wind-attribute Great Knight."

"What is so strange about that?" Gillian asked in surprise.

Count Chapman sighed, "I merely find it a pity. I have long known that Viscount Victor possessed the Gale talent, but I never expected him to reach this level in less than a year. This shows that his ancient bloodline is exceptionally pure, which means his descendants are bound to become knights, or even Great Knights."

"In that case, won't that woman Sophia regret herself to death?" Gillian said with schadenfreude.

"Sophia concealed herself too well—so well that everyone forgot her origins. In essence, she is still a wild knight who detests her family and bloodline. Wild knights are all outcasts who worship freedom and despise authority. Until they smash their heads against the wall and bleed, these unruly fellows will never submit to the family." Count Chapman paused, then continued, "What puzzles me is this: Sylvia and Sophia are on intimate terms, yet why would she make a secret deal with us? It doesn't make sense."

Gillian curled her lip and said unhappily, "If you doubt my judgment, do you also doubt Dewitt's assessment? The soldiers by Victor's side are absolute elites among elites. They were undoubtedly sent by the York family to protect Victor."

Count Chapman pondered and said, "Gillian, tell me the situation back then once more."

"At the time, Victor proposed trading mithril with us. Those soldiers were right around him; Victor didn't avoid them, and every single one of them maintained a blank expression, with no one showing any surprise. The only explanation is that they had known about this all along." Gillian repeated resignedly.

Count Chapman paced back and forth. He still could not believe such good fortune had fallen upon his head, but Gillian said impatiently, "Father, you are thinking too much. The York family took in the entire population of the Centaur Hills; the supplies they accumulated have likely been exhausted, and they need new channels to replenish them. Obviously, we southern lords are one of their options.

"It is said that Sophia has already personally led a trade caravan toward the Teutonic Duchy to attend the barbarian tribes' annual grand bazaar. The York family would have to wait at least half a year to obtain supplies from Sophia's hands. Therefore, they want to establish a connection with us through Victor. Anyway, it's a secret transaction—who would know? Even if others find out, it is merely an affair between free citizens, and we are completely unaware."

Count Chapman nodded and said, "What you say makes a lot of sense, but I always feel there is something odd about this. Why does Viscount Victor want fifty thousand gold solars? And what do 'unaware, not taxing, not obstructing, and not harming' mean?"

Count Chapman could understand being "unaware"; a transaction involving sensitive supplies naturally required distancing oneself first. As for "not taxing," Count Chapman was somewhat baffled. Trading mithril, refined iron, copper ingots, raw sugar, snow sugar, and coffee was something he would be too happy about—how could he possibly levy a tax? "Not obstructing" and "not harming" were even more inexplicable; if all the merchants were blocked, how could trade take place?

"Father, what Victor wanted was one hundred and fifty thousand gold solars; I am the one who saved you one hundred thousand gold solars. Remember to reward me—at least ten thousand gold solars, no, twenty thousand gold solars," Gillian pointed at her own nose and said triumphantly.

"I cannot figure it out either—why would Victor propose four meaningless conditions? But I see nothing disadvantageous to the family in them, and that is enough, is it not?"

Count Chapman smiled self-deprecatingly and nocked a long arrow onto the bowstring. This type of armor-piercing iron arrow, used for longbow plunging fire, was 1.3 meters long, with both the arrowhead and shaft mixed with refined iron. Heavy and sharp, each armor-piercing iron arrow was worth ten silver solars. This iron arrow prepared for centaurs was exceptionally ferocious, and any ant-man struck by it would bleed endlessly. To lure the ant swarm into attacking the castle, Count Chapman had ordered the cessation of cheap fire arrows in favor of these high-cost long arrows.

"Twang."

Another ant-man was pinned to the ground, and a smile appeared at the corner of Count Chapman's mouth. His elite cavalry were already in position and could lure the ant swarm to the riverbank at any moment. By then, the merfolk would gladly take care of these detestable pests in his stead.

"That fellow Victor only knows how to stir up bizarre and eccentric schemes."

Count Chapman could not figure it out and decided not to dwell on it anymore. However, by the time he finally understood, he was already aboard Victor's runaway carriage and could not get off—though by that time, he no longer wished to.

——————————————————

In the capital of Gampis, at the residence of the Minister of Interior, Marquis Ludwig.

Viscount Tennis sat on the sofa in the living room. He had come to visit Marquis Ludwig. The marquis was not only Tennis's direct superior and an old friend of his teacher, but also the grandfather of his fiancée. Therefore, Tennis could move almost unimpeded throughout the marquis's estate.

Today, Marquis Ludwig still had unfinished business to attend to, leaving Tennis with no choice but to wait in the living room. When the door to the marquis's office opened, Tennis stood up, preparing to pay his respects to the marquis's guest.

"Jacob? What is wrong with you?" Tennis asked in astonishment, seeing that the person walking out was none other than his fiancée's older brother, Jacob Ludwig. Yet Jacob's expression was one of sorrow and indignation, and his eye rims were red; clearly, something had happened to him.

Jacob nodded at Tennis and passed by him in absolute silence without uttering a word.

Frowning, Tennis walked into the marquis's office and was shocked to find that Marquis Ludwig's expression was similarly gloomy and dark.

"My lord, what has happened?" Tennis asked with trepidation.

Marquis Ludwig sighed, "Jacob's fiancée, Michelle, has been murdered."

"How could this happen?" Tennis was struck dumb with horror.

Jacob's fiancée, Michelle, was the second daughter of Count Deerwill. Only sixteen years old this year, she was a peerless beauty who had awakened the Moon Elf bloodline. Jacob was utterly infatuated with Michelle, and he never expected that she would be murdered.

Tennis could understand why Jacob had lost his composure just now. As the marquis's future grandson-in-law, it was only proper and reasonable for him to show some reaction.

"My lord, who did this?"

The marquis shook his head and said, "We do not yet know who the mastermind is. Michelle was assassinated while out on an excursion. From the method used, it strongly resembles that notorious Throat-Slitter. Duke Peter is absolutely furious and is thoroughly investigating the matter."

Tennis fell silent. Count Deerwill was a famous commercial noble in the Borel United Kingdom and also a supporter of Duke Peter. The count's wife was of the Wimbledon bloodline and was a cousin of the Duchess of Peter. Michelle's assassination was most likely an action directed against Duke Peter.

As for the Throat-Slitter, he was a renowned assassin within the dark underworld. No one knew his name, his appearance, whether he was male or female, old or young. However, every time he killed, he would slice open the victim's throat and leave behind a jagged scar, which had become his unique trademark. The Throat-Slitter had rampaged for over twenty years, and no fewer than thirty nobles had died at his hands; even a knight had once been assassinated by him. Therefore, everyone believed that the Throat-Slitter was very likely a knight himself.

Several families had been hunting the Throat-Slitter unceasingly, and the bounty on his head was said to exceed two hundred thousand gold solars. The Throat-Slitter had vanished for a long time; who would have thought that upon his reappearance, he would murder a marriage partner of the Ludwig family.

"My lord, our House Sike is willing to assist you with all our might in finding the mastermind behind the scenes," Tennis said, pressing a hand to his chest to show his stance.

"Tennis, take some time to comfort Jacob when you are free. That child will not let this rest," the marquis nodded with gratification and said, "Now, tell me about what you saw and heard during your trip to the Centaur Hills."

"Yes."

Tennis described his experiences in detail to Marquis Ludwig.

After listening patiently to Tennis's account, the marquis asked, "What did you gain from this mission to the York family?"

Tennis thought carefully before replying, "My lord, I have worn away my arrogance."

"Worn away your arrogance—very good!" The marquis clapped and laughed. "We court nobles are arrogant on the surface but humble in our hearts; local lords are humble on the surface but arrogant in their hearts. We are merely dogs raised by the royal family—we can bark, and we can bite. The local lords, on the other hand, are wolves under the royal banner—they do not bark, but they eat people. That is the difference between the two. With such an awakening, you have already succeeded by half. Do you know what the other half is?"

"We also wish to become wolves; therefore, we must help the Wolf King and make him even more powerful. Only when the Wolf King acquires more territory can we ourselves become wolves," Tennis said with burning eyes.

"Good! Good! Good! Tennis, I have not misjudged you. In the future, your achievements will surely surpass mine." Tennis's performance drew repeated praises from Marquis Ludwig.

"My lord, this is the direction in which I strive," Tennis bowed his head in respect, then asked the marquis, "My lord, do you think the York family will become a calamity for the kingdom?"

"The possibility is extremely slim. First, they must face the attacks of the ant swarms; even if they build a fortress at the entrance, every war consumes a massive amount of supplies. Second, there is very little stone in the Centaur Hills; they have no way to build more castles to control their territory. Finally, the current strength of the York family is built upon the foundation of a Golden Knight. However, a Golden Knight always has a day of decline. Without a Golden Knight, without sufficient castles, and while having to face the attacks of the ant-men, how could the York family ever become a calamity?" After explaining, the marquis looked strangely at Tennis; there was no reason Tennis could not have figured out such a simple logic.

"Did you discover something?"

Tennis pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, I discovered that the York family has extremely professional cooks whose culinary skills are exquisite. Furthermore, they possess elite soldiers—soldiers even more elite than the finest ones in the royal capital. This is somewhat abnormal."

"There is nothing abnormal about that. The York family has a history spanning a thousand years; they were once lords of the Rant Empire alongside the Augustus family. There are three such families in Gampis, and the foundations of these great houses are beyond what we court nobles can imagine," Marquis Ludwig said enviously.

"By the way, is there anything special about Viscount Victor's territory?"

"Viscount Victor said he wishes to serve the kingdom with utter loyalty and become a barrier for the northern Centaur Hills," Tennis said with a peculiar expression.

"A barrier? Heh, nothing more than a nail planted by the York family in the north, used merely to keep an eye on the movements of Viscount Solon's territory," the marquis shook his head and smiled.

Tennis's eyes shifted, and he ultimately decided not to inform the Minister of Interior that Victor possessed Silver-tier strength.

"My lord, Viscount Victor requested to adopt an installment payment method to pay off the thirty thousand gold solar annuity within one year. I agreed to it. If you find it troublesome, I can advance this sum of money first," Tennis said with trepidation.

"This is merely a trivial matter; handle it as you see fit."