Chapter 10: 10 Urgent Problems to Solve

Although some of the five remaining guards were followers, the seeds of betrayal had already been sown and had even sprouted once.

Although Luoning nipped it in the bud this time, who could guarantee there wouldn't be a second time?

Therefore, as for traitors, it is best not to use them if possible.

But just kill them like this?

Luoning frowned slightly; if he killed these five people, who would drive the carriages?

One couldn't expect Chahar to drive five carriages alone; the other party didn't have the ability to clone himself, so it couldn't be done.

Luoning thought for Along while before saying, "Since you have already realized your mistakes, as a merciful lord, I can spare you once."

These words were like a barrel of fine wine, making the guards intoxicated; their pleas turned into excited expressions of gratitude and vows to never betray him again.

As for such vows, Luoning just listened, "Now I order you, pick up your swords and get enough fodder for the horses."

"Yes, yes, yes, my lord, we'll go right now!"

The guards kneeling on the ground kowtowed while hurriedly picking up their weapons to join the grass-cutting effort; they were now afraid that if they were a moment too slow, they would anger their master.

Luoning withdrew his gaze from this group; with Maiken, a Knight, present, they wouldn't dare to run away even if no one was watching them.

This group no longer had the courage to gamble on whether they could escape from a Professional Knight.

"My lord, are you just going to let them go like this?"

Chahar was indignant on the side; as guards of the Wushan Family, they actually dared to assassinate their master—this was something he couldn't even imagine.

What he couldn't understand even more was that the Baron had actually let them go.

"If I kill them all, can you drive five carriages by yourself?" Luoning asked with a smile.

"Uh..."

Chahar was stunned; he scratched his head, racking his brain for a solution, "Perhaps we could tie the carriages together front to back with ropes?"

After he finished speaking, he let his head droop, "But we don't have ropes that long."

"Then let's spare their lives for now."

Luoning said, "Chahar, go and collect the weapons and belongings of the dead; don't let them go to waste."

The guards used inferior iron swords; although the quality was poor and they wouldn't sell for much, they were iron swords after all, and it would be a pity to lose them.

"Very well, my lord!"

Chahar endured the discomfort caused by the sight of blood, collecting the iron swords while searching the corpses.

The Baron said not to waste anything; this group of guards should have a few copper coins on them, right?

"Maiken, come with me."

Luoning called out and led Knight Maiken back to the main road.

The six carriages and the one steed were all grazing by the roadside, not having wandered off.

"Maiken, tell me your story."

Maiken, following two steps behind Luoning like a loyal guard, was a bit confused when he heard his master's question: "Master, what do you mean by 'story'?"

"You should call me 'my lord' or 'master' just like them."

The term "Master" was only used in specific contexts and occasions; although Maiken calling him that was understandable, it felt a bit abrupt.

"I want to hear about your experiences and such, like where your home is, your life story, and so on."

Luoning explained, "This way I will understand you better."

Maiken fell silent, clearly thinking about how to answer this question, but soon he shook his head.

"My lord, I only know that you are my master, and I will be loyal to you forever. As for where my hometown is or my life experiences, I have no such memories in my mind."

Luoning was stunned for a moment, then slowly nodded, "Oh, is that so~"

He could feel the contract relationship between himself and Maiken; this contract should be the Master-Servant Contract signed with a Magic Beast, where if the master dies, the servant cannot live.

"Not a single memory? I feel your combat experience shouldn't be low."

"When I fight, I seem to have an indescribable intuition," Maiken explained, "Oh, right, it's not that I have zero memory; at least I know daily writing, communication, and combat movements."

Luoning roughly understood.

The characters summoned from the Seven-Day Login Reward were flesh-and-blood, real existences, but they seemed to be newly born individuals; apart from having strength and some basic knowledge, the rest was like a blank sheet of paper.

"Welcome to the team, Maiken Salidun!"

Luoning's tone was very formal, "From today on, you are my Guard Officer, responsible for protecting my safety; at the same time, you are also my instructor and sparring partner, helping me improve my combat experience."

Maiken knelt on one knee, placing his right hand on his left chest, "I am willing to serve you, my lord!"

"You don't need to be so formal in the future."

Luoning helped him up and checked Knight Maiken's longsword, Shield, and Leather Armor.

These three items appeared along with the summoning, and judging by their quality, they were at least several grades higher than the inferior iron swords used by the guards.

In this way, he didn't have to spend money to buy a set of equipment for Maiken.

According to his understanding of the prices in this world, each knight's sword for a knight would cost at least 5 gold coins, and with the shield and armor, a set would cost nearly 20 gold coins.

Luoning had less than 180 gold coins in total; spending one-ninth of it all at once was not a small expense.

Thinking that he still needed to save money to buy six Magic Crystals to obtain the First Recharge Reward, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Truly, one only regrets having too little money when it's time to use it~"

Now that he had become independent from Wushan Castle, it was no longer feasible to rely on playing the emotional card to get money and resource support from Lulansi and the others.

If he wanted to make money, he had to think of other ways.

"My lord!"

Maiken's voice pulled Luoning's thoughts back, "My lord, during the previous battle, I suddenly felt my strength increase; what exactly is going on?"

This question had been lingering in his mind for Along time, and he finally couldn't help but ask.

"This is a secret between us; remember to keep it confidential."

Luoning gave a mysterious smile, "I can improve your strength, just like this."

As he spoke, he used the 20 points of Energy Essence he had just obtained from completing the 【King of Slaughter】 achievement on Maiken, increasing the progress of the other's Knight Rank from 60 to 80.

With just another 20 points of Energy Essence, Maiken would be able to advance to an Intermediate Knight.

An Intermediate Knight is capable of projecting Battle Qi, with combat power several levels higher than a Primary Knight; at that time, Luoning's safety would have a better guarantee.

Of course, for a territory to have something presentable, one still needs an Advanced Knight.

Only an Advanced Knight has the possibility of accumulating enough merit to be enfeoffed as a noble knight.

From Wushan City to Shanlin Town, Luoning estimated it would take eight or nine days; by the time they reached the territory, Maiken would definitely have the level of an intermediate-stage Intermediate Knight.

"My Lord, I've become stronger again!"

Maiken felt the suddenly increased power and had an expression of disbelief; in his heart, he became even more certain that a master capable of such abilities was definitely extraordinary!

"Go and adapt to this power; that horse is yours now."

Luoning pointed at the black steed that was not pulling the carriage, "This is a fine-quality warhorse, and also the best horse I currently possess. I hope you will use it well and not let down my expectations!"

Knights all love warhorses, and they all love good warhorses.

Think of Guan Yunchang in the Three Kingdoms, who hung up his seal and returned the gold, wanting nothing, yet he accepted only the Red Hare; this shows the extent of his love for a good horse.

Maiken was no exception.

His eyes went straight as he looked at the black horse, "Many thanks for your grace, My Lord!"

Luoning watched as the Guard Officer excitedly went to interact with the horse and couldn't help but smile.

A fine-quality warhorse is worth over a hundred gold and is one of Luoning's great assets, but he should not have many opportunities to use it for charging into battle.

Bestowing it upon the Guard Officer Maiken was a good choice.

Moreover, taking a step back, Maiken would not abandon him, so if Luoning really needed to use the black horse, he could do so at any time.

He withdrew his gaze and began to seriously ponder this betrayal incident.

After coming to this world, Luoning had thought that the servants here would not easily betray a noble.

But after experiencing this betrayal, he understood that it was the same in any world; as long as there were sufficient benefits and possibilities, those with ambition would take the risk.

And whether they were nobles, commoners, or Serfs, they all had ambition, it was just that the probability of the latter two biting the hand that feeds them was a little smaller.

Drawing inferences, Luoning thought of Shanlin Town.

Would the residents of the territory there welcome him, this lord?

No, to be more precise, would the "local bullies" there welcome him, this lord?

One must know that no lord had been willing to go to Shanlin Town for over ten years, and the family had only arranged for an Administrator to maintain the annual tax collection.

After staying there for Along time, would this Administrator treat Shanlin Town as his own territory?

This was still possible.

Although Luoning had not experienced it personally, he had heard of similar things back on Earth.

For example, a nanny who had worked for a family for several years would subconsciously treat herself as the master of the house and then start ordering the employer around.

Who could guarantee that this Administrator was not such a nanny?

Luoning prepared for the worst: if the local bullies of Shanlin Town did not welcome him, and the other party had lived in that backwater for many years, they would inevitably have a force of men.

Then he would need to consider the size of the other party's force and their combat level.

He was not afraid that there would be any powerful knights there; anyone who was an Intermediate or Advanced Knight would not choose to be trapped in Shanlin Town, which had no lord, as there was no future there.

Luoning was only worried that the other party had many people.

"The people under my command are still too few."

Even adding the Light Mage from the Seven-Day Login 7th-day reward, Luoning only had three people he could trust: Maiken and Chahaer.

"I must find a way to solve this problem!"

(End of this chapter)