Chapter 126: 126. Negotiation

On the wilderness outside Huitu Village, two groups of men stood in confrontation.

Baron Leisen, relying on his high skill and bold heart, rode his horse forward alone, "Luoning, if you have the courage, come forward alone and speak with me."

"My Lord, you..."

Maiken, Ruidar, and the others wore expressions of worry, fearing there might be a trap if their lord stepped forward.

"It is fine."

Luoning was, after all, an Advanced Peak Mage and an Advanced Mid-stage Knight; although a Bronze Knight was formidable, the opponent was not strong enough to take Luoning down in an instant.

However, just in case, Luoning whispered a reminder: "Aierlong, be prepared."

"This subordinate understands!" Aierlong said solemnly.

Luoning pulled the reins, and his Tayunjv walked forward with steady steps, "Baron Leisen, you have brought the Knight Squad of Sain Territory here today—could it be that you wish to start a war with me?"

Leisen narrowed his eyes; he had not expected Luoning to actually dare to come forward alone. This was completely different from the good-for-nothing heir in his memory. Could it be that he had truly changed his nature as Lady Daianni had said?

But this only made him feel surprised; it did not change his disdain—

A lord who did not know his own worth and rushed forward blindly was a display of stupidity.

For a moment, Leisen wanted to leap out and snap Luoning's neck, but in the end, he held back.

Wait a little longer.

"Baron Luoning is joking. Although you and I are equals and I have no need to pledge loyalty to you, you are, after all, the Count's son. I am not stupid enough to start a war with you directly over a small dispute."

"But you captured my men without cause; you must give me an explanation for this matter!"

The Tayunjv stopped, the heads of the two horses less than two meters apart.

Luoning glanced at the opponent's warhorse; even if it lacked Magic Beast blood, it was surely a warhorse of excellent quality.

Since the opponent was not attacking, he had come for the sake of threats and warnings.

As long as there was no fighting, Luoning had nothing to fear.

"Leisen, you are not speaking correctly."

Luoning said with a forced smile: "You have already built your watchtower right into my home, yet you still say I captured your men without cause?"

"I will not waste any more breath on you. Produce one hundred gold coins, and I will return everyone, including Knight Fenlisi, to you."

"Pah!"

Leisen had never been a man of good temper. Hearing this, he flew into a rage, the Battle Qi on his body erupting and whipping up a gale, carrying with it a murderous aura.

"Luoning, do you really think I dare not lay a hand on you?"

He threatened: "With just this handful of men you have, I tell you the truth, I could wipe you all out with a single breath! While it is inconvenient for me to kill you, I can take you to Wushan Castle and hand you over to the Marquis and the nobles for judgment, to see who is truly in the right regarding your intentional capture of my men!"

"Now I give you a choice. Release my men immediately and promise that from today on, your people are not allowed to cross this mountain corner, and I will barely consider this offense of yours as having never happened!"

Luoning sneered in his heart.

If he were still a Primary Knight, he might have felt nervous or timid facing such pressure, but to be honest, he now considered it nothing more than a passing warm breeze.

He looked back at Ruidar and Maiken, signaling them not to be nervous.

Then, he turned back calmly to look straight into Leisen's eyes, "Leisen, I know your goal; it is nothing more than wanting to compress my space. But this land in the north is vast enough to accommodate both of us in our normal operations."

"But if you truly think I am easy to bully, then at worst, I will report this matter to Wushan Castle and have my grandfather arrange for someone to draw a boundary for these villages that were once savage tribes."

His tone turned somewhat playful, "At that time, don't talk about expanding toward my side; even if you move east or south, as long as you cross the line even slightly, I will report you to Wushan Castle, causing you to face fines or even the confiscation of your operating rights for the Heiling Tribe!"

Leisen's expression turned gloomy. Whether he admitted it or not, Luoning's argument was correct, and this course of action was indeed disgusting.

At this moment, he thought about how wonderful it would be if he were the only noble in the north; he could do whatever he pleased.

This only deepened his hostility toward Luoning.

"Luoning, don't forget, by doing this, you won't be able to expand either!"

Luoning spread his hands, "It makes no difference to me. Shanlin Town is enough for my development, not to mention the three villages of Qingzhu, Purple Fruit, and Huitu. I am very content."

"Heh!"

Leisen gritted his teeth and sneered, "I never would have guessed; after only a few months, the former heir of Wushan Castle, spurned by outsiders, has undergone such a massive change!"

He questioned in a low voice, "Shanlin Town only has two or three thousand people, yet your appetite, Luoning, is so large—are you not afraid of choking to death?"

"That is not for you to worry about."

Luoning stated his proposal directly, "So I suggest that you and I take the midline between Huitu Village and the Heiling Tribe as the boundary and agree to non-aggression. How about that?"

Leisen did not answer immediately.

The conversation just now and Luoning's attitude both displeased him. He needed to vent and needed to display his strength to intimidate this junior and make him behave.

"Territorial disputes are never settled by words alone."

Leisen placed his hand on the longsword at his waist, "The ownership of territory has always stemmed from strength."

"Come, a duel!"

He drew his longsword and pointed it at Luoning, his killing intent deepening the winter chill, "You and I shall each send out three people. If you have more wins, then I will pay you one hundred gold and retreat fifteen miles away. If I have more wins, then you will unconditionally let it go, and from today on, you and your people are not allowed to cross this line!"

Simply put, best of three, and the loser agrees to the winner's proposal.

"Then I am curious, as a Bronze Knight, will you enter the field yourself?" Luoning asked.

"Of course!"

Leisen had never thought of standing by; on the contrary, he wanted to vent his anger toward Luoning.

His sword tip shifted, pointing at Ruidar in the group, "My opponent shall be him. Those who offend Sain Territory must pay the price!"

Ruidar heard the opponent's words clearly and could not help but place his hand on his sword hilt; he was already prepared for battle.

Luoning's thoughts raced.

He did not know where Ruidar's limits were, but Maiken could fight the Bronze-level Jialier to a four-six split, so Ruidar should be even stronger.

After all, he was a Knight with Blazing Sun Aptitude; challenging someone of a higher rank was entirely possible.

It was just that he was even less certain of Leisen's strength level; once Ruidar lost, he had to ensure victory in the next two rounds.

Maiken will fight in the second round; regardless of whether he faces Feilidun or the Heiling Tribe leader Qiaofuli, Luoning has confidence in Maiken.

The key is the third round; who should fight in the third round?

Looking at the entire team, the remaining Advanced Professionals are Luoning and Aierlong.

Even if Aierlong learned the "Punishment Art" brought from Wushan Castle, his damage output would still be very limited.

Clearly, Luoning is more suitable.

But once Luoning makes a move, it means exposing his strength.

He does not want to expose his strength yet.

"What, Baron Luoning, are you afraid?"

Seeing Luoning hesitate, Leisen assumed the kid before him had turned cowardly, and a brilliant smile could not help but appear on his face.

"It is not easy to recruit an Advanced Knight; if you are afraid of him getting hurt or even being killed by me, you only need to obediently release the people and abide by the agreement."

"Fine!"

Luoning narrowed his eyes; he had not gambled like this since he transmigrated, so today he would gamble once that Ruidar would win.

"But I want to add one condition: if you, a Bronze-level, lose to my Advanced Knight Ruidar, then there is no need to continue the subsequent duels, and Sain Territory will directly concede."

"Haha, hahahaha!"

Leisen acted as if he had heard some kind of joke, "What are you saying, child? Do you think an Advanced Knight can win against me?"

Luoning did not smile at all and earnestly asked in return, "What if?"

Such an expression made Leisen put away his smile and turn gloomy instead; this was clearly the other party looking down on him and also subtly insulting him.

"Fine, I agree!"

(End of chapter)