Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Beaten to the Punch

Ronin read the words on the sheepskin parchment, anger slowly welling up inside him.

If he were on Earth right now, he would have long since spat out a certain four-letter word.

But in front of Lurans, he managed to restrain himself, though an unnatural expression still flickered across his face.

To be honest, he hadn’t expected Sain Territory to report the matter of the Black-collar Tribe, and to do it so quickly.

’Good,’ he thought. ’This Baron Reisen has just made me despise him even more.’

“Whether you came to Wushan Castle today or not, you can no longer attack the Black-collar Tribe now.”

Lurans noticed the change in Ronin’s expression.

’Seeing his grandson’s frustration, he couldn’t help but feel a little amused. Suffering a small setback like this isn’t a bad thing for Ronin. It will help him better understand the nature of power struggles.’

“Since Baron Reisen has already taken the Black-collar Tribe, it is no longer a Wilderness Tribe. Until Wushan Castle reassigns it, it is temporarily under Reisen’s control.”

“If you were to attack the Black-collar Tribe, it would be tantamount to unilaterally declaring war on Sain Territory. Baron Reisen could then, in accordance with the laws of the nobility, file a formal denunciation against you in Wushan City. At that point, you would face a joint tribunal of many nobles, including those from Wushan Castle.”

Ronin suppressed his anger and considered Lurans’s words.

It was true. Now that the Black-collar Tribe had fallen into the hands of Sain Territory, he had lost the initiative.

Whether he had come to Wushan Castle or not, and whether Baron Reisen had sent this letter or not, a reckless attack by Ronin would mean war.

He was also glad that after conquering the Grey Soil Tribe, he hadn’t led his troops to launch a direct assault on the Black-collar Tribe. Otherwise, he would be in a very passive position now.

Lurans continued, “Therefore, I can only grant you the rights to manage three tribes. But by the same token, I will also temporarily grant the management rights of the Black-collar Tribe to Sain Territory.”

He smiled. “However, since the Black-collar Tribe is the most powerful of the Wilderness Tribes, with vast lands and a large population, I will be charging Baron Reisen an annual management fee of Five Hundred Gold Coins.”

Uh…

Ronin was stunned for a moment, then he almost laughed. The anger in his heart gradually subsided.

For a Baron, coughing up Five Hundred Gold Coins would be quite painful. Baron Reisen would probably have to sell a lot more cattle.

’Putting myself in his shoes, Reisen is probably furious with me too.’

After all, he had likely controlled the Black-collar Tribe for a year or two and was planning to gradually devour the other three tribes. He definitely hadn’t expected someone like Ronin to show up in Mountain Forest Town.

He further hadn’t expected Ronin to act so quickly, occupying those three tribes before he even had a chance to react.

If Baron Reisen had the chance, he would have undoubtedly led his army to seize the three tribes in one fell swoop.

Now, just as it was difficult for Ronin to attack him, it was also difficult for him to attack Ronin. For the time being, they could only maintain the status quo.

For Ronin, the feud between them was already set in stone—a grudge of life and death. When the time was right, he would topple Baron Reisen in a single move, perhaps even swallow up Sain Territory, leaving him as the sole noble in the northern part of the Wushan Territory.

Moreover, there was another matter worth noting.

Baron Reisen had sent this letter in a very interesting way. He first sent a message to his son, who then had it delivered to Lurans through his connection with Bretton.

’In other words, is Bretton behind Baron Reisen? Or rather, is it the Hyde Clan?’

In any case, it was a message to Lurans or Ronin that Sain Territory had powerful backers.

With this matter concluded, Ronin had accomplished half of his purpose for coming to Wushan City. He began to chat about family matters.

“Grandfather, what’s the full story behind what happened to my father?”

He asked, “It’s been over a month now. Have you found out who did it?”

“It was an assassin’s organization called the ’Skull Society.’ You’ve heard the name before.”

Ronin nodded. The Mage, Pedro, who had tried to assassinate the siblings from Lake Town on the road to Mountain Forest Town, was from the Skull Society. He hadn’t expected that Wiggin’s incident was also connected to this assassin’s organization.

“Like the Black Gold Brotherhood and the Polante Thief Gang, it operates out of the chaotic southern region of the Wushan Territory.”

Lurans added, “This was the result of the Hyde Clan’s investigation. They believe the Skull Society is a branch of the Black Gold Brotherhood.”

’The Black Gold Brotherhood…’

Ronin had heard this name many times since he’d crossed over to this world. He was somewhat surprised.

“What kind of organization is this Brotherhood, that we haven’t been able to eliminate it after all this time, and it keeps making a comeback?”

Lurans twirled the cane in his hand. Mentioning this matter caused his own mood to fluctuate.

“There are many rumors. Most people believe it’s an organization founded by powerful Knights who refuse to pledge allegiance to any noble. Their goal is to use military force to create chaos on the border between the Wushan Territory and the Villa Duchy and then establish their own domain.”

He gave a cold laugh. “Heh. But I know that’s all just a facade. Behind the Black Gold Brotherhood, there is definitely the support of the Villa Duchy!”

Ronin was secretly alarmed.

The Villa Duchy neighbored the Marquis of Wushan. Count Ossen Hyde was called the Border Count, and this border was the area adjoining the Villa Duchy.

However, the relationship between the Wushan Territory and the Villa Duchy was extremely poor; they had even gone to war thirty years ago.

The eventual armistice was only reached through the mediation of the Oduin Royal Family.

The grudge between Wushan and Villa could be traced back to the Battle of Mist City.

That was during the war for the “True Throne” between the Oduin Royal Family and the southern Tricia Royal Family. At the time, both the Wushan Clan and the Villa Clan were Counts, and both had distinguished themselves in battle.

In the final battle to save the king, Andrea Villa provided false intelligence, causing the Kingdom’s Commander to make a critical misjudgment. As a result, Lurans’s forces in Mist City were surrounded by the enemy.

Although he ultimately fought his way out of the encirclement, Lurans was gravely wounded and has never fully recovered to this day.

More importantly, the heir to the Wushan Clan, a young man who had already become a Bronze Level Knight—Wiggin’s older brother, Gremes—was killed in action.

Although Andrea vehemently argued afterward that he had nothing to do with it, claiming he had only submitted the intelligence and never guaranteed its accuracy, the final outcome was that Lurans became a Marquis, while the Villa Clan was ennobled as a Duke.

This was the source of Lurans’s hatred for the Villa Duchy. When speaking of this matter, his heart, which should have been as still as an old well, was stirred.

The Old Marquis sighed. He didn’t want to delve deeper into this matter, so he changed the subject.

“After learning this piece of intelligence, both Wiggin and Bretton advocated for launching a new war against the Black Gold Brotherhood next spring, to avenge his crippled leg and simultaneously display Wushan Castle’s strength to the outside world.”

He looked at Ronin. “Do you think we need to do this?”

’Is he asking for my opinion?’

Ronin thought about it seriously before finally saying, “I’m not too familiar with the situation regarding the Black Gold Brotherhood, but launching a large-scale war before the spring planting is not a good choice.”

“Besides, Father was assassinated on Count Hyde’s territory. Even if we were to launch a new punitive expedition against the Black Gold Brotherhood, the Hyde Clan should be the ones to commit the main force. That is what they should do as a Vassal of the Wushan Clan.”

As for displaying Wushan Castle’s strength, to be honest, the heir of Wushan Castle had been assassinated, his leg crippled, and he had nearly died. Everyone knew what the situation was.

This battle would not be enough to boost morale unless Lurans himself took action.

But he hadn’t taken to the field in over twenty years.

’He’s sick, he’s old, he can no longer lift his sword.’

At Ronin’s suggestion, Lurans gave an almost imperceptible nod.

In truth, he was reluctant to wage consecutive wars, because the ones who profited most from war were not the Wushan Clan, nor his loyal Vassals, but the people on the Hyde Clan’s side.

“Your proposal… I will consider it.”

Lurans slowly stood up and whistled towards the mountain.

The whistle was crisp and loud, echoing through the mountain forest. Ronin’s keen senses detected a sound from the woods above, accompanied by a faint but immense sense of pressure.

“AWOOO~”

With a resounding roar, a Magical Beast that looked like a velociraptor leaped down from the mountain. It carried the power of thunder and lightning, making Ronin feel as if the very air had been ionized, a slight tingling, electric sensation pricking at his skin.

This was the first time Ronin had seen a Magical Beast with his own eyes since crossing over, and a Fifth-level Magical Beast at that. The surging Energy emanating from it was startling.

Even though he was now a Dual-Profession Advanced Level, his chances of winning a direct confrontation with this Magical Beast were practically zero.

Lurans raised a hand and stroked the head of the Thunderbolt Wind Chasing Beast. The beast lowered its head slightly and nudged him affectionately, like a gentle puppy.

“I’ve been resting for so many years, this old partner of mine has been cooped up for too long.”

Lurans chuckled. “Back when I rode it into battle, the ferocious aura it radiated was enough to scare an ordinary Transcendent witless.”

He then smiled at Ronin and said, “What do you say I give it to you?”

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