Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Baron Reisen’s Countermeasure

The night was quiet.

Ronin waited for midnight, pondering how to handle the Sain Territory.

The ruse that Macken was an Advanced Peak Knight wasn’t a reliable long-term solution.

Given Mountain Forest Town’s location, anyone leaving had to pass the borders of the Sain Territory. If they decided to intercept, it would be like catching a turtle in a jar, leaving Ronin completely at their mercy.

’I’ve analyzed this before. Baron Reisen is afraid of two things. First, he’s afraid Wushan Castle will find out he’s been embezzling Mountain Forest Town’s tax revenue. Second, he’s afraid they’ll discover he tried to have me killed.’

Lying on his bed with his hands pillowed behind his head, Ronin turned the problem over in his mind. He still felt he needed to leverage Wushan Castle’s power to keep them in check.

’First, I’ll let Wushan Castle know about the embezzled taxes. Then, I’ll keep the second matter—the assassination attempt—as leverage.’

The reason Ronin didn’t want to tell Wushan Castle about Reisen’s murder plot was that he planned to let the Sain Territory be for now, only exposing the truth when the time was right.

’And when would the time be right?’

That would be when he was powerful enough to eliminate Baron Reisen and claim the Sain Territory for himself.

Once Wushan Castle learned what the Sain Territory had done, they would surely send investigators. Baron Reisen would then be too busy dealing with the fallout to worry about Mountain Forest Town.

This would buy Ronin a significant amount of time.

’I’ll have to send someone out with a message tomorrow.’

His Professional Knights had to stay by his side, so they were out of the question. Ronin would have to pick two of his Guards to deliver the message.

’I’ll give them regular warhorses. If they set out during the day and ride quickly through the Forest Land, the danger should be minimal. Then they can go to Lake Town and borrow a Message Bird from the Green Clan to send a letter to Wushan Castle. Baron German wouldn’t refuse such a request, would he?’

Message Birds were this world’s primary means of communication, somewhat similar to carrier pigeons.

They were about fifty centimeters long, fast, and had high endurance. It was said they could fly over a thousand li in a single day.

With a Message Bird, news from Mountain Forest Town could reach Wushan Castle in a single day.

Ronin wanted to acquire a few Message Birds himself, but they required specialized trainers. You couldn’t just catch and use one; the birds had to be trained to remember the locations of both the sender and the recipient.

Time trickled by as he thought, and soon, midnight arrived.

Before he knew it, fourteen days had passed since Ronin arrived in this world. By signing in, he received his second Heartwarming Gift Box.

[Attribute Points +25]

[Energy Essence +25]

This Heartwarming Gift Box contained five more Attribute Points and five more points of Energy Essence than the last one.

’It really is… even more heartwarming.’

With practiced ease, Ronin spent all the Attribute Points on his Mage Level, bringing his progress to 101/150.

With his current Spiritual Power and Mana, he could cast the Clear Wind Skill many times over.

Unfortunately, this First-level Magic seemed to have no other use besides blowing up a lady’s skirt.

Oh, right. ’It could be useful for blowing away dust during a big cleaning session.’

’In just over a week, I’ll be able to max out my Mage progress and break through to the Intermediate Level.’

Once he broke through to the Intermediate Level, Ronin would be able to learn the Wind Blade Spell.

Pedro had used a sneak attack and a Wind Blade Spell to kill the Knight Captain from Lake Town. Learning that spell would be a huge boost to Ronin’s overall combat strength.

’Once I invest all of tomorrow’s Energy Essence in Macken, his Knight Level progress will reach 95/200. He’ll be halfway to becoming a true Advanced Level Knight.’

As long as he could stall the Sain Territory and keep them from focusing on Mountain Forest Town for a while, Ronin would have plenty of room to maneuver.

「Meanwhile, in the great hall of Baron Reisen of the Sain Territory.」

Magic Crystal Lamps cast a brilliant glow, illuminating the great hall.

If Ronin had been there, he might have thought he was back on Earth.

Mages were rare, and those who could create Magic Creatures were the rarest of all.

Consequently, Magic Items were incredibly expensive. For instance, Baron Reisen’s Magic Crystal Lamp would cost at least a hundred Gold Coins.

And that was just for the ’lampshade.’ It was powered by Magic Crystal Stones and Demon Cores, which also cost a considerable sum of Gold Coins.

Therefore, only nobles could typically afford Magic Crystal Lamps—and wealthy ones at that, who were willing to spend money purely for show.

Reisen was a man who lived for such displays.

Constantly flaunting his extravagance and parading his wealth were among his favorite pastimes.

“My lord, our intelligence was wrong. Ronin has an Advanced Peak Knight protecting him. We could not guarantee we could kill him, so we did not act.”

Knight Philton continued his report. “Moreover, those Guards under his command don’t seem to be mere rabble either. I suspect Lord Lurans still places great importance on his own bloodline.”

Seated on his high chair, Baron Reisen twirled the massive, deep-blue Jade Ring on his finger, processing the news his knights had brought back.

He had to admit, he hadn’t expected this.

“’You’re right. That Wiggin fellow obviously despises Ronin, but Lord Lurans places great value on his bloodline.’”

He chuckled at the thought. “Lord Lurans was so valiant in his youth. Who would’ve thought he’d be left with no worthy successor in his old age, forced to assign an Advanced Level Knight to protect a useless grandson like Ronin.”

Philton chimed in: “After all, the blood of Wushan flows in Ronin’s veins. Maybe he has a chance to father a powerful Transcendent?”

“Heh, in that case, he should be using Ronin as a stud, keeping him in bed all day to sire more children.”

His second-in-command, Uunei, laughed. “Isn’t Ronin already that sort of man? Though I have my doubts. He’s been with so many women yet hasn’t fathered a single child. Could it be he’s become useless, just like his father?”

HAHAHA!

Reisen and his knights erupted in laughter in the great hall.

When the laughter finally subsided, Philton’s expression grew worried.

“My lord, while Ronin may not have learned of our assassination plot from Princest and the others, once he’s settled in Mountain Forest Town, he’s bound to discover how much we’ve profited from the town over the years.”

He paused before continuing, “If he reports this to Wushan Castle, it will not go well for you, my lord.”

“I have already considered that, and I have a solution!”

Baron Reisen was completely unfazed, looking as if the matter were trivial.

“Philton, first thing tomorrow morning, you will go to Mountain Forest Town and negotiate with Ronin. Tell him we are willing to compensate him for what we’ve taken from the town over the years. In return, he is not to report the matter to Wushan Castle.”

“Compensation?”

Philton mulled over the plan, then slowly nodded. “My lord, your plan is viable. The only question is whether that fellow Ronin will agree.”

“Only a fool would disagree!”

Reisen laughed. “If he chooses to report this to Wushan Castle, I’ll just pull some strings, have some high-ranking nobles put in a good word for me, and then pay a fine to Wushan Castle. The matter would be settled.”

“But in that scenario, Wushan Castle gets the money, not his Mountain Forest Town. However, if Ronin agrees to settle this with me privately, *he’s* the one who gets paid, not Wushan Castle.”

Finished, he glanced around at the knights, asking with a smug grin, “Tell me, would Ronin really be foolish enough to refuse that compensation?”

The men all nodded in agreement. Ronin couldn’t possibly be that stupid, could he?

“In Ronin’s eyes, our relationship isn’t a life-or-death struggle. He’d much rather take the money for himself than let it go to Wushan Castle.”

Knight Philton said with admiration, “My lord, this plan is brilliant!”

They based this judgment—that there was no mortal enmity between them—on the fact that their encounter that afternoon had been peaceful.

If there were true mortal hatred, a man of Ronin’s character, with an Advanced Level Knight for protection, would have absolutely started a conflict.

“Alright, I’m leaving the Mountain Forest Town situation for you to handle. We’ll discuss any further developments after I return.”

As far as Baron Reisen was concerned, Mountain Forest Town would belong to him eventually. Princest had managed it for him before; now, it was merely in Ronin’s hands for a short time.

He rose to his feet and commanded, “Lord Ossen’s birthday is almost here. I will depart for Black Python City tomorrow. Uunei, you will accompany me with two other knights. Philton, you and the rest will remain here in the territory.”

The “Lord Ossen” he mentioned was the Border Count Ossen Hyde. Black Python City was the central city of the Hyde Clan, a considerable distance from the Sain Territory.

Reisen was attending the Count’s birthday banquet partly because he was invited, and partly because he wanted to use the opportunity to see friends, network, and have ’meaningful conversations’ with certain important figures.

The situation in Mountain Forest Town was nowhere near as important as the Count’s birthday banquet.

“Alright, you are all dismissed. Philton, come with me to get the agreement.”

Baron Reisen strode out of the great hall.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep