Chapter 103 : Chapter 103

Chapter 103. Runestone City Changes Hands Yet Again

Ron led the Golden Lion Knights at full speed and finally arrived beneath the walls of Runestone City.

The formation remained impressively disciplined, and even beneath the gloomy sky, their golden armor was still striking.

The soldiers on the walls who were responsible for keeping watch were already as nervous as frightened birds.

When they saw this elite cavalry unit clearly belonging to the La Roche Family drawing near, they panicked even more.

Most of them were remnants forcibly conscripted or absorbed by Sabda. As men of the Western Frontier, there was no one who did not recognize that dazzling golden lion crest.

Ron reined in his warhorse and shouted sternly up toward the battlements, “Listen well, men on the walls! We are the Golden Lion Knights!

“Your baron, Sabda Medici, has already been put to death!

“By order of Lucius La Roche, Governor of the Western Frontier, we have come to take over Runestone City! Open the gates at once!”

His voice was thunderous, carrying unquestionable authority as it echoed between the city walls.

The defenders atop the walls looked at one another. In the end, all eyes turned toward an officer who looked to be their leader.

The officer’s expression shifted several times. He struggled inwardly for a moment, then finally let out a defeated sigh and leaned out over the wall to shout down below,

“...Very well! Please wait a moment, honored knights! I... I will have the gates opened at once!”

With the grating screech of the windlass, the heavy city gates slowly opened inward, revealing the anxious and uneasy scene within the city.

Ron waved a hand and rode in first, with the golden torrent of knights following close behind.

The iron horseshoes struck the stone road beneath the gate tunnel, producing a clang that made people’s hearts quail.

The officer who had answered from the wall was now standing just inside the gate with several soldiers, waiting respectfully.

The moment Ron entered, the man immediately threw himself to the ground.

He practically sprawled beneath Ron’s horse’s hooves, his voice full of exaggerated excitement and flattery.

“My lord! You have finally come!

“We... we have endured that brutal Sabda for far too long!

“He was a traitor to the Western Frontier and deserved to die! We have been waiting for you for so long!”

He raised his head, his face plastered with a smile. “I have already sent men to prepare food and wine. Please do us the honor!

“Please, come with me...”

Seated upright on horseback, Ron could not stop the corner of his mouth from twitching slightly. His heart was full of contempt.

He had seen many petty men like this before, men who shifted with the wind and sold out their masters for personal gain.

But for now, stability outweighed everything else. He needed these local snakes to cooperate with him temporarily.

He swung himself down from his horse in one smooth motion and forced a fairly mild expression onto his face.

“Very well. Then I will trouble you. And you are...?”

The officer was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly replied, “Fak! My lord, this lowly one is called Fak!”

“Fak. Very good.” Ron nodded, his tone flat.

“Have your men cooperate with my adjutant and immediately take over the defenses of all four gates.

“Then find a few men familiar with the situation and lead my people to the granaries, the armory, the stables, and the other important sites.

“Take control of them and guard them at once. There must be no mistakes.”

“Of course! Please rest assured, my lord! Leave it all to me!”

Fak thumped his chest in assurance, then immediately turned and barked orders at his subordinates, assigning tasks with extraordinary eagerness.

Ron cast a glance at the adjutant beside him, and the man understood at once.

He immediately led a squad of knights away with the people Fak had assigned, swiftly carrying out the orders.

As for Fak, he gathered the remaining officials and soldiers around Ron and grandly escorted him toward the lord’s hall at the city center.

When they arrived before the tightly shut doors of the lord’s hall, Fak became even more arrogant in order to put on a show before his new master.

He strode forward, kicked the doors open with one blow, and shouted inside, “All of you in there, get out here!

“Kneel and pay your respects to our new lord, the honored knight of the Golden Lions!”

Inside the hall, several officials who had remained behind had originally been gathered together in panic, discussing what to do. They were all startled by the sudden commotion.

An old man with white hair and beard staggered out. The moment he saw Fak’s smug, villainous face, he trembled with rage and pointed at him as he cursed, “Fak! You shameless traitor!

“The baron treated you well and trusted you deeply, yet you... you actually...!”

Fak’s gaze instantly turned vicious. Before the old man could finish speaking, he yanked out the saber at his waist.

He stepped forward and, without the slightest hesitation, drove the blade straight into the old man’s chest!

The old man’s words cut off abruptly. He stared at Fak in disbelief, then his body crumpled limply to the ground.

The entire scene unfolded in a flash.

The other officials in the hall turned deathly pale with fright.

They looked at Fak, standing there with a blood-dripping saber and a savage expression, then at the silent yet imposing Golden Lion Knights at the doorway.

Their legs gave way at once, and they all dropped to their knees, not even daring to raise their heads.

Fak turned back around, and in an instant his face was once again piled high with a fawning smile as he bowed to Ron and said,

“My lord, as you can see... this was one of Sabda’s diehard remnants, stubborn to the bitter end.

“There was no need for you to dirty your own hands dealing with him personally.”

Ron looked at the old man’s corpse lying on the ground and frowned.

In Ron’s heart, Runestone City had long since become his future domain, the foundation on which he would establish himself in the years to come.

This Fak may have had a bit of ability, but he had betrayed his former master far too easily.

And his methods were so ruthless and decisive, so utterly without principle, that he would surely become a future menace.

Such a man absolutely could not be kept.

But now was not the time.

Stabilizing the situation and completing the transfer smoothly were the top priorities.

He needed this local snake to help him sort out the relationships and soothe the remaining troops in the city, at least for the time being.

So he suppressed the disgust in his heart and even forced a trace of approval onto his face.

“Mm, well done, Fak.

“In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are sometimes necessary. You have done well.”

Receiving Ron’s “praise,” Fak’s face instantly filled with wild joy.

He bent even lower at the waist and said repeatedly, “It is this lowly one’s honor to serve you, my lord! A glory!”

Ron did not look at him again. He stepped over the trembling officials kneeling on the floor and walked straight into the lord’s hall.

Fak and the others hurriedly rose and followed cautiously behind him.

Inside the council hall, Ron sat down in the seat of honor without the slightest ceremony.

His gaze swept across the officials standing below, who had yet to recover from their fright, and he casually pointed to a few who still looked relatively composed.

“You few, tell me about the city’s current state.

“The population, grain stores, finances, and... what exactly Sabda had been doing before this.”

His tone permitted no refusal.

The officials who had been singled out felt as though they had been granted a pardon, though they were still terribly nervous. Cautiously, they began to speak.

They reported in detail the number of registered households presently in Runestone City, the meager grain left in the warehouses, the treasury that was nearly empty,

and the brutal, merciless forced levies and exactions Sabda had carried out in preparation for war.

Every word was filled with denunciation of the former lord, and each of them desperately tried to distance himself from him.

Ron listened quietly, calculating rapidly in his heart.

After hearing the general report, he asked directly, “Which of you knows the exact location of the city treasury and vault, as well as the state of their accounts?”

“My lord! I do! I do!” A thin, scrawny official instantly rushed forward to volunteer, practically trembling with eagerness.

“Very good.” Ron nodded in satisfaction and gestured to another of his guards.

That guard immediately stepped out and said to the scrawny official, “Lead the way.”

The two of them left at once.

At that moment, Ron seemed suddenly to remember Eli’s instructions. He rose to his feet and gave an order to those who remained.

“There is one more matter.

“Go and bring me a priest from the city at once.”

He paused, then added, “Have him... properly bury the two dead men.”

The kneeling officials froze for a moment, then quickly understood. Delight appeared on their faces at once, and they hurriedly bowed their heads in acknowledgment.

“Yes, yes, yes! My lord is merciful! We will do it at once! At once!”

Watching the officials hurry away under his orders, Ron sat back down in the seat of honor and turned his gaze toward the darkening sky beyond the hall.

Although he did not know why Baron Pendragon would show such respect to a defeated man...

Ron’s heart still overflowed with gratitude and... admiration for that extraordinary baron.

He looked around the hall.

The first step of taking over the city had, at least, been completed.

But there were still many troublesome matters ahead.

And... perhaps it was time to think of a surname and a family crest for himself.

At that thought, Ron finally revealed a joy he could no longer suppress.

As for that Fak...

A cold light flashed through his eyes.