Chapter 122: 122. Provocation

Following Luoning's departure from Huitu Village some time ago and the cessation of further attacks on the wilder tribes, Ruidar had remained here as a garrison officer.

Aside from occasionally exploring toward the southeast, he spent his remaining time either drilling Tangmu, Zhuweite, and the guards relentlessly, or taking walks north along the Kaolin Mine; to be honest, life was rather boring.

On this day, he was riding his horse on the outskirts of the Kaolin Mine, supervising the carpenters and masons building houses; according to the instructions the Lord left when he departed, this would in the future be a factory area for developing kaolin and making porcelain.

Although Ruidar did not know what porcelain was, since the Lord valued it so much, he naturally had to take it seriously as well.

"Commander!"

While Ruidar was patrolling this area, Zhuweite rode a horse over quickly.

Ruidar could hear a sense of urgency in the other's tone; could it be that those troublesome serfs had caused a dispute again? Or had wild beasts appeared in the mountains?

Over this period, the serfs had indeed quarreled and even come to blows, but it was basically because the family or lovers of Sileiyin were dissatisfied with the hard labor and started the trouble, though they quieted down after Ruidar disciplined them twice;

There had also been one incident of wild boars destroying the vegetable patch, but Ruidar didn't even need to act that time, as Babulin had taken the guards and handled it.

Generally speaking, such minor matters did not require the Commander to handle them, so now that Zhuweite had come over, could it be that the Lord had arrived at Huitu Village?

"What is it?"

Zhuweite pulled on the reins as he neared and said with an anxious face: "My Lord, the people from the Heiling Tribe are actually building a watchtower in front of our village. Tangmu and Babulin just took men to stop them, and it looks like they are about to fight!"

This unexpected news made Ruidar pause for a moment, and he asked in disbelief: "You mean the people from the Heiling Tribe are building a watchtower at our doorstep?"

"Yes!" Zhuweite responded affirmatively.

Ruidar's expression turned cold; this Heiling Tribe was actually building a watchtower right at the entrance of Huitu Village—had they gone mad?

"Let's go, take me to see!"

He had just been lamenting having nothing to do, never expecting that trouble would come looking for him on its own.

The warhorse galloped through the village and soon reached the entrance on the southeast side of Huitu Village.

"My Lord, you can see it once we round that intersection ahead."

Zhuweite pointed to the curved mountain corner intersection ahead.

Ruidar looked back; although that position was five or six hundred meters away from the village entrance and hadn't reached the point of "building a tower at the doorstep," it wasn't far off.

As the two rounded the mountain corner, they happened to see the two sides confronting each other on the small path ahead.

On the Huitu Village side were Tangmu, Babulin, Ximu, and several guards;

The other side had more people, with five just on horseback, and seven or eight workers on the side who had taken materials on the spot and were trying to build the watchtower with tools and axes.

It was unclear when the other side had started working, but the base of the watchtower had already taken shape.

Ruidar's expression was cold as he spurred his horse closer: "What is going on?"

Babulin bowed slightly, "Commander, Fenlisi, the deputy leader of the Heiling Tribe, brought people here to build a watchtower, saying it is to prevent wild beasts in the mountains from harassing the serfs reclaiming wasteland nearby."

This excuse was pure bullshit.

Ruidar had patrolled here many times and had never seen anyone from Huitu Village or the Heiling Tribe reclaiming wasteland nearby.

"Who is Fenlisi?"

A man in the opposing crowd squeezed his horse's belly and stepped forward twice.

He was robust, the muscle lines on his body were clearly visible, and he was wearing Chain Mail and shoulder guards—his defensive gear was decent.

"You are the one Baron Luoning left in charge of Huitu Village? Heh, 'Commander,' what a grand title..."

Fenlisi's words immediately drew a burst of mocking laughter.

The people on the Huitu Village side were furious, but Ruidar was not angry.

Seeing that his words did not provoke the other side into attacking, Fenlisi coldly questioned:

"I heard that the Huitu Tribe has already been conquered by the Baron of Shanlin Town, so you should abide by the agreement between nobles to not invade each other's territories. Are you trying to provoke a war between Shanlin Town and Sain Territory by blocking us from building a watchtower now?"

Fenlisi had a fairly comprehensive grasp of the intelligence regarding Shanlin Town and the wilder tribes; for instance, he recognized Babulin as an Intermediate Knight and knew that Maiken, one of Luoning's subordinates, had golden hair.

Regarding the red-haired Commander before him, he had no relevant intelligence, but even if he were strong, he was likely only an Intermediate Peak Knight, slightly suppressing Babulin.

Ruidar was deep in thought.

It was clear that the fact the Lord had occupied the three tribes was already known to the outside world, so if the other side was deliberately building the watchtower here while knowing this news, they clearly had other motives.

Ruidar said with a forced smile: "This place doesn't seem to be the territory of the Heiling Tribe, does it?"

Fenlisi did not back down, "As far as I know, this place belongs to the Heiling Tribe. Not only that, from this line northward and southward, it all belongs to the Heiling Tribe!"

"Bullshit!"

Babulin cursed angrily; he had lived here for ten or twenty years, how could he not know about this?

"In the past, your Heiling Tribe always expanded toward the Southeast Territory; when did this place become yours?"

Following Babulin's angry curse, Tangmu and the others nearby, including the guards, all began to curse angrily.

These guys were usually polite to Luoning, but when they really started cursing, every foul word came out.

Ruidar sat on his horse in silence; he roughly understood that the other side was here to occupy territory, and judging by this attitude, they seemed completely unafraid of provoking a dispute.

"Perhaps the struggle between the Lord and that Sain Territory is about to be brought out into the open."

The aura on Ruidar's body became dangerous; he raised his hand, and Tangmu and the others immediately stopped cursing upon seeing this.

But the other side did not have this kind of discipline and still cursed a few more times; when they realized the other side's cursing had stopped abruptly, they also stopped, but the noise was a bit chaotic.

"Fenlisi, is it?"

Ruidar's tone carried a warning: "To avoid causing conflict between the two Barons, I demand that you retreat fifteen miles back, otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

Fenlisi laughed; following Baron Leisen's instructions, he was here today to stir up trouble, and they wanted to let Luoning know that Sain Territory was not so easily pushed around.

He placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, "I warn you, if you come to obstruct us from building the watchtower again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Ruidar snorted coldly, raised his hand, and threw a punch; Battle Qi condensed into a massive fist radiance that bombarded the base of the built watchtower, directly shattering the pieces of wood stacked together.

"Fuck!"

Fenlisi did not expect the other side to dare strike first; he pulled on the reins, squeezed his horse's belly hard, and charged directly toward Ruidar.

Ruidar was not afraid in the slightest and spurred his horse to meet the enemy.

The two sides' longswords clashed and collided; Fenlisi, who had been insufferably arrogant just a moment ago, saw his expression change drastically, and the terrifying force of the impact sent him flying backward, sword and all.

"Trash!"

Ruidar leaped into the air, soared over the heads of the crowd, and charged toward Fenlisi.

Seeing their commander so valiant, Tangmu and the others were suddenly as if injected with chicken blood and charged toward the opposing crowd.

For a time, the men of both sides were locked in a chaotic melee.

Fenlisi was panicking now; he had not expected this red-haired man to be so strong.

Was it not said that there was only one Advanced Peak Knight in the entire Shanlin Town? How could the person before him easily best him?

"No, no, impossible!"

Fenlisi's Battle Qi formed cold armor on the surface of his body, and surging Battle Qi condensed on his longsword, seemingly brewing some kind of technique.

But at this moment, Ruidar descended from the sky, carrying Along, flaming Sword Radiance that slammed into Fenlisi, directly stripping away the opponent's Battle Qi Armor and blasting him to the ground.

Fenlisi only felt his chest cavity explode, and a mouthful of blood surged out of his mouth. He wanted to stand up, but he found that a cold blade was already pressed against his neck.

"Everyone, stop!"

With a roar from Ruidar, the men of both sides gradually separated.

He scanned the area; although the battle had ended quickly, both sides had sustained injuries, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

"Those who don't want to die, throw away the swords in your hands and lie on the ground!"

Ruidar moved the longsword in his hand and gave Fenlisi a fierce look.

The latter was terrified and hurriedly said, "Quick, quick, do as he says!"

"You have a bit of brains, Knight Fenlisi."

Ruidar chuckled, "Ximu, go to the village and call the Guard to bring hemp ropes over. Tangmu, come over here and strip his clothes off."

"You got it~"

Tangmu trotted over; fighting alongside a strong commander was satisfying, as he had won without having to exert much effort at all.

"Knight, you are provoking a war between two nobles!"

Fenlisi panicked and began to struggle violently; the arrogant appearance he had at the beginning was gone, but the sword held against his neck was too sharp, and he felt something warm flowing at his neck just from moving slightly.

He was bleeding...

Ruidar looked down at him with contempt: "You are the one who provoked this."

Soon, the Guards stationed in Huitu Village poured out in full force, bringing ropes to bind everyone from the Heiling Tribe from head to toe, wrapping them up so tightly that they could not stand up or exert any strength.

"Arrange for the Guards to keep watch day and night."

Ruidar instructed: "If anyone tries to escape, stab them directly with your sword."

After saying this, he looked at the only craftsman from the Heiling Tribe who had not been tied up and was kneeling on the ground trembling.

"Go back and tell your leader to pass a message to the Baron of Sain Territory: if he wants his people back, bring enough sincerity in three days to redeem them. Go!"

Upon hearing this, the craftsman felt as if he had been granted an amnesty; he stood up tremblingly and ran toward the Heiling Tribe like a madman.

"My lord, will Baron Leisen refuse to redeem them and bring people to attack us directly?" Babulin asked from the side, looking somewhat worried.

"That is possible."

Ruidar nodded, "Strengthen patrols these next few days. Also, Tangmu, return to Shanlin Town now, inform the Lord of the situation here, and ask for instructions on how to respond."

He could indeed have chosen temporary forbearance just now, led his men back to Huitu Village, and then asked Luoning how to respond.

But since Luoning had appointed Ruidar as commander, the latter had the right to handle matters on his own.

In Ruidar's view, there was nothing to discuss regarding territorial disputes like this; might made right.

Ruidar knew Fenlisi's strength, and he was certain his own fist was bigger, so he did just that.

As for the subsequent negotiations, that was a matter for the Lord to lead.

Since his side was in the superior position, they would not suffer any losses in the negotiations.

As for who started it and who was in the wrong, who could really say?

(End of chapter)