Chapter 267: Luring the Snake Out of the Hole

"Bang!"

Warwick was thrown heavily onto the ground once again; this time, his bones felt as if they had fallen apart, and no matter how he tried, he could not crawl back up.

"Babulin," Luoning called out.

Babulin, who had been keeping watch on the hilltop, ran over, "My Lord, you have returned. Do you have any orders?"

As he spoke, he snuck a glance at the stranger lying on the ground, bruised all over from the beating, and secretly guessed the fellow's identity.

"Go notify Tolu, Mawen, Feilipu, and Suo'ersitan. Tell them to come here; say that I have urgent matters to discuss with them."

"Oh, and if Baron Keruien is also in the camp, call him over as well."

"As you wish, my Lord!" Babulin immediately went off to summon them.

After Luoning moved out of Jushi Castle, Tolu and the others had also left the castle, all preparing to spend the night in the camp.

Babulin soon found them.

"It's so late, what other business does Luoning have?" Tolu asked in surprise.

Babulin shook his head, "The Lord did not say explicitly, but I think it must be a very important matter. I must trouble Sir Tolu to make the trip."

Tolu did not ask further, "Fine, I'll come right away."

Next, Babulin found Mawen and the others; they were equally puzzled, yet none refused the invitation.

Not long after, everyone gathered in Luoning's large tent.

Luoning looked around the circle, "Keruien didn't come?"

"My Lord, Baron Keruien has already returned to his castle."

Luoning nodded and waved his hand, signaling for Babulin to withdraw.

Only then could Mawen not help but ask, "Luoning, what business do you have summoning us so late?"

"There is a very important matter I wish to discuss with you all."

He first turned his gaze toward Tolu, "Sir Tolu, as the Regiment Commander of the First Knight Order of Wushan Castle, would you betray Wushan Castle and betray Marquis Lulansi?"

Tolu frowned, not understanding what Luoning meant by this.

"Please do not doubt my loyalty, Luoning."

He said solemnly, "From the day I began following Lord Lulansi, my longsword has only ever been wielded for him!"

Luoning's gaze then shifted to Feilipu and Suo'ersitan.

These two wore stern expressions and spoke the same words as Tolu.

Mawen had also prepared his own speech, but unfortunately, Luoning did not ask him.

Luoning, of course, did not need to ask; he was familiar enough with Mawen. He had a passionate side and a wise side, but sometimes he was too hot-blooded—simply put, he was reckless.

"I know of your loyalty to the Marquis, but not everyone is like that."

Luoning looked around at the four of them and said slowly, "As far as I know, Baron Keruien is already a traitor to Wushan Ridge."

Boom!

A single sentence instantly shocked the four people present.

"Impossible!"

The first to say this was Tolu, "Luoning, although Keruien's performance in the battle at Chishan Town was very poor, I have seen the wounds on his body; they were indeed left by recent combat. Furthermore, I have inspected the wounded of the Knight Order; they all know the intensity of that night's battle. They cannot be traitors!"

"That's right, Luoning, you can't just talk nonsense about such things."

Regarding such an issue, even Mawen had to be cautious.

Unfounded slander against a noble is a small matter if treated as such, but it is a big matter if treated as such; at the very least, it would have a negative impact on Luoning's own reputation.

Although Feilipu and Suo'ersitan were only Deputy Commanders, they also held a skeptical attitude toward Luoning's claim.

They might believe it if he said Keruien had secretly embezzled Wushan Castle's assets, but the word "betrayal" was too severe.

Unless Lulansi died and the Wushan Family completely collapsed, the price of a failed betrayal was too high.

Besides, even if there were a betrayal, it would be an extremely private matter.

Luoning and they had arrived at Giant Rock Ridge at the same time; they hadn't heard any news, so where did Luoning find out?

"Did you hear some news?" Tolu calmed down.

His reaction just now had been a bit agitated, mainly because he was the Regiment Commander and felt deep pain seeing the defeated and wounded soldiers of the Fifth Knight Order; he did not want to see this group of people who had fought in a bloodbath be wrongly accused.

"It's more than just hearing news; I have even captured a witness."

Luoning clapped his hands, and outside, Qiaofuli dragged the injured Warwick in and threw him onto the ground.

"This is?"

Tolu and the others looked at each other, feeling somewhat bewildered.

"One of the core figures of the Bolante Bandit Group, the Silver Knight Warwick."

"What?"

Everyone looked in shock at the injured man lying on the ground unable to move—a person from the Bolante Bandit Group?

Mawen even squatted beside the man, pulled up his sleeve, and kneaded his flesh.

"There are clear signs of strengthening in the skin and flesh; he is indeed a Silver Knight!"

Tolu realized the gravity of the situation, because even if Luoning were talking nonsense, he could not possibly use a Silver Knight as a witness.

He also hurriedly squatted down and, after an inspection, confirmed Mawen's statement; this injured man was indeed a Silver Knight.

"Luoning, what exactly is going on here?"

Luoning chuckled, "Warwick, tell us about your identity, and about the things Keruien has done."

Lying on the ground, Warwick trembled involuntarily when he heard Luoning call his name.

That battle in the woods just now was the most thrilling and also the most helpless fight he had ever experienced in his life.

He had thought victory was within his grasp, but he had fallen into a disadvantage in the very first exchange of blows, followed by being completely crushed in every aspect.

Warwick discovered with horror that Luoning was actually a Silver Knight!

Such a young Silver Knight overturned his understanding.

He desperately wanted to tell Amikusi, Keruien, and the others that everyone had been deceived by this young man, and that this guy was the greatest conspirator of all.

"I, I am indeed a member of the Bolante Bandit Group..."

Warwick began to recount what happened in Chishan Town in a disjointed and feeble manner.

Inside the An'an, apart from his voice, there was only the sound of Tolu and the others' increasingly heavy breathing.

When Warwick revealed the purpose of this war—to annihilate the entire Noble Allied Forces—the hot-tempered Mawen could not help but let out a string of curses.

"Damn Keruien, I want to kill him!"

Tolu also gritted his teeth: "Damn traitor!"

Feilipu and Suoersitan even directly requested: "My lord, why not let us lead the Knight Squad to surround his castle and capture him alive!"

"Yes, let's surround his castle overnight!" Mawen also agreed strongly.

Tolu also nodded and said: "Although Jushi Castle has strong defenses and Keruien has three Knight Squads in his hands, two of them are currently in the camp. We can control these two groups of men, then take people to surround Jushi Castle and end the battle as quickly as possible."

Of the two deputy commanders, Tolu's thinking was clearer, while Mawen was more like a battle general.

At this moment, the curtain of the An'an was pulled open, and Ruidar walked in.

He first nodded to the others, then reported to Luoning: "My lord, in the evening, more than half of Keruien's two Knight Squads were transferred away, supposedly to maintain the defense of Giant Rock Ridge."

At this, everyone became even more convinced of Keruien's betrayal.

These two Knight Squads had already been conscripted; Keruien had no command authority at this time, and certainly could not transfer them away without notifying the commander and deputy commanders.

Luoning frowned slightly; he had not yet captured Warwick in the evening, so Keruien's transfer of these people should not have been due to being "exposed."

"Ruidar, how many of his troops are left in the camp?"

"Six Professional Knights, and half of the cavalry and Infantry remaining each."

Luoning nodded, "Qiaofuli."

Qiaofuli, who was guarding outside the tent, walked in.

"Go notify Maiken and Knight Talun that tonight, no one, especially Keruien's people, is allowed to leave the camp."

"Yes!"

Tolu watched Qiaofuli stride away and suddenly realized that this war's command did not seem to need his assistance; perhaps Lulansi still did not understand his grandson well enough.

Perhaps this battle against the Bolante Bandit Group in Chishan Town would be Luoning's rise to fame.

"Luoning, how do you plan to deal with Keruien?"

Tolu could not help but ask, "We will follow your arrangements."

Mawen and the other two also looked at Luoning; since the strongest knight of the allied forces had said this, it meant the latter would have full command of this war.

Luoning thought for a moment and said: "Attacking at night is already hasty, and with the poor visibility, unfamiliar terrain, and the sturdy defenses of Jushi Castle, it is clearly unwise to go and besiege Keruien now."

"And don't forget, we still have an enemy in Chishan Town. If we suffer too many losses because of capturing Keruien, that is something I do not wish to see."

"You are right; we were just blinded by anger."

Mawen took a deep breath to calm his mood: "I have observed Keruien's Jushi Castle; the city walls are very thick, and even using a Battle Technique, it is impossible to blast them open easily. It is indeed not a simple matter to attack inside."

He looked at Luoning: "What do you plan to do?"

"We don't need to go in."

A look of calculation flashed in Luoning's eyes: "We just need to act as if nothing has happened, and summon him to the camp to discuss matters tomorrow morning. We can then join forces to capture him."

A glimmer of light flashed in Tolu's eyes: "That is a good plan!" (End of chapter)