Chapter 279: Chapter 278: The Knights of Moonlight Valley

Ronin had chosen to ride his dragon to Shore City first precisely to prevent Jesus of Moonlight Valley from beating him to Amicus’s assets.

He had assumed he was overthinking it, figuring the King’s own brother, a Kingdom Count, wouldn’t bother with such a small fortune. But he never expected the man to actually send people—and three Griffin Knights at that.

“If I remember correctly, Moonlight Valley has a total of five Griffins, right?”

“That’s what the outside world says, my lord.”

Elron elaborated, “However, those five Griffins were a gift from His Majesty Bruno when Jesus became a Kingdom Count. That was over twenty years ago, and there are no clear reports from the outside world on whether they have bred since.”

Ronin raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you knew so much about these things.”

“Haha, I was traveling around a while ago to collect ingredients for Magic Potions. I heard quite a bit about the outside world while staying in taverns.”

All three of them had been summoned. Although they each held a lot of information in their memories, they didn’t know much about the current era.

Now, as their range of activity expanded and their knowledge grew, the three of them were gradually integrating with this world.

Ronin watched the figures in the sky grow clearer, a glint of greed in his eyes. “What do you say we take these three Griffins for ourselves?”

Ridder was tempted. “My lord, I’d like to get a flying mount, too.”

Macken nodded in agreement. “If we can get them, I want one, too.”

There were generally only two ways for a Knight to obtain a flying Magical Beast mount: either form a contract with one, or purchase a captive-bred one.

Both methods were extremely difficult.

First, only a Seventh-level Great Mage of the Dark Attribute could possibly create a Magic Beast Contract Scroll. A single scroll cost at least ten thousand Gold Coins, and they weren’t mass-produced.

Second, the price of a captive-bred Magical Beast was just as high, and they weren’t something just anyone could buy, even if they wanted to.

Take Griffins, for example. Generally, only those who had made significant contributions to the Royal Family or had special connections could hope to purchase one.

An ordinary person, even with money, wouldn’t have the right channels.

Ronin’s mind raced as he analyzed the feasibility of the idea.

Without a doubt, to claim these three Griffins, they would have to eliminate the three Griffin Knights.

Leaving aside whether Ronin’s group of four could even kill the three of them, even if they succeeded, they had to consider the consequences.

Many of the servants who had fled Shore Fort had seen him arrive, and plenty of people must have also seen the three Griffins land inside the castle.

If these three men turned up dead, Jesus would definitely find out during his investigation. Then he would have the perfect excuse to attack Wushan Territory.

Furthermore, if a war truly broke out, His Majesty Bruno would probably have a difficult time mediating.

No matter what, Jesus was of royal blood. If Ronin openly did something like this, it would not only be a slap in the face to Jesus but, to some extent, would also make the entire Royal Family lose face.

“Look at you all, getting so tempted.”

Ronin laughed. “Now is not the time. When the opportunity comes, I’ll get each of you a flying mount.”

The three could only sigh. ’What a pity,’ they thought.

In the time it took to speak, the three Griffins descended from the sky.

The tall Knight in the lead had intended to take control of Ronin’s group and have them lead the way to Amicus’s private warehouse. But after landing, he discovered that these four were out of the ordinary.

Facing the Fourth-level Magical Beast—the Griffin—they showed not the slightest hint of fear.

Suddenly, Idrisa’s gaze sharpened as he noticed Ronin’s hair color. “A member of the Wushan Clan?”

Ronin smiled faintly. “If I’m not mistaken, you must be Knights under the Count of Moonlight Valley, correct?”

Idrisa’s heart sank. ’Damn it,’ he thought. ’We’re too late.’

However, his expression remained calm as he bowed and said, “Idrisa Seck, Leader of the Moonlight Valley Second Knight Order, greets you.”

He paused, then looked up and asked, “Are you Viscount Ronin of Wubei Territory?”

Ronin nodded.

He didn’t know how many Knight Orders Moonlight Valley had, but anyone who could become a Knight Order Leader had to be at least a Silver Knight—and a top-tier one at that.

A Kingdom Count like Jesus was bound to have many followers.

For Idrisa to stand out among them, he either had connections or formidable strength.

Ronin leaned toward the latter; the man was likely a Golden Knight.

Moreover, at Lurans’s birthday banquet, Jesus had been accompanied to Wushan Castle by two men. One was the Meteor Knight, Ramsay, and the other was not among the three men present now.

Although Griffins could be tamed, not just anyone could ride one. Much like a rider and a horse need to train together to get accustomed to one another, a Knight and a Griffin required the same kind of bonding and training.

From this, it was clear that Moonlight Valley had far more than just five Griffins.

Ronin watched him with a wide smile. “I wonder, what business do the Knights of Moonlight Valley have in my Wushan Territory?”

Idrisa felt a wave of embarrassment.

’I don’t get it,’ he thought. ’Wasn’t Ronin supposed to be in Chishan Town? How did he get to Shore City so fast?’

Faced with this question, he certainly couldn’t admit he was under orders to take Amicus’s assets.

After a moment of frantic thought, he could only force a laugh and offer a very flimsy excuse.

“I’d heard the scenery at Shore Fort was quite lovely, but unfortunately, with it being occupied by a Thief Gang, I never had the chance to see it. I just so happened to hear that your army had annihilated the Polante Thief Gang, and as Leader Angus, Leader Trip, and I were passing by, we thought we’d stop in for a look.”

The excuse sounded incredibly flimsy, but at least it was an explanation.

Idrisa quickly changed the subject. “I must also congratulate Viscount Ronin on this great victory, for ridding Wushan Territory of a terrible menace!”

Ronin smiled and glanced discreetly at the two men behind Idrisa.

’I didn’t expect all three of them to be Knight Order Leaders,’ he thought. ’Their strength must be considerable. It’s a good thing we didn’t attack. Otherwise, we might not have been able to take them all down.’

“I, too, am a lover of fine scenery.”

Ronin followed up on the man’s words with an invitation. “Since that’s the case, why don’t we tour Shore Fort together?”

Idrisa was in no mood to tour a castle. He politely declined the invitation and departed in a hurry with his two men.

“My lord, those two Knights behind Idrisa just now were hostile toward you.”

Ridder reminded him. “If Idrisa hadn’t shown any intent to attack, they very likely would have made a move.”

Ronin was the one who had foiled the joint plan of the Polante Thief Gang and Coren. As their backer, Jesus must have hated Ronin to the bone.

If the three of them could have eliminated Ronin here, it would undoubtedly have been a way to vent Jesus’s anger.

“Idrisa is more level-headed. I suspect that, like us, he’s afraid of personally provoking a direct war between Moonlight Valley and Wushan Territory.”

Ronin felt a lingering fear. “It’s a good thing it wasn’t Ramsay who came this time. Otherwise, they might have really attacked us outright.”

Considering how difficult a Meteor Level opponent like the exhausted Amicus had been to deal with, if a Ramsay at full strength had shown up, Ronin would have had no choice but to flee on his dragon.

“Shore City is a troublesome place. Let’s leave as soon as possible.”

A war between Wushan Territory and Moonlight Valley, one where both sides personally took the field, seemed inevitable.

When Idrisa returned to Moonlight Valley with the news that Ronin had taken Shore Fort, Jesus smashed the Crystal Cup on his table to pieces.

The annihilation of the Polante Thief Gang was one thing; after all, he hadn’t been personally involved.

But this time, he himself had given the order to retrieve Amicus’s inheritance, yet Ronin had still intercepted it. Jesus could not accept this.

“This Ronin… he must have calculated that I would send people to Shore Fort!”

Murderous intent flared in Jesus’s eyes. “Shore Fort is undefended right now. Ramsay, sneak in tonight and kill Ronin!”

Ramsay wanted to advise against it, but on second thought, as long as he was discreet, it shouldn’t be a problem at all.

Unfortunately, he was destined to make the trip for nothing.

By this time, Ronin was already riding Carlos back to Chishan Town.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep