Chapter 34: Felidun's Choice

On the mountain road, five fine steeds galloped at high speed; even when traversing mountains and ridges, their stamina and strength were astonishing.

This is the raiding capability of high-quality warhorses; compared to them, ordinary horses are as different as clouds and mud.

"Ahead is Shanlin Town; there is a faint scent of blood in the air. It looks like Pulinsite and Luoning have clashed."

The lead Knight was tall and sturdy, with a square face and small, squinting eyes that looked particularly unnatural; a slanted scar made him exude a murderous aura from head to toe.

This was the captain of the Sain Territory Knight Squad, Felidun Hengli, the captain of the Sain Territory Knight Squad.

"I wonder what the outcome is?" Felidun was somewhat worried.

But his deputy, Wunai, had a relaxed expression, "Boss, you don't need to worry so much. With the few people Luoning brought, Pulinsite could handle them easily; why would we need to act?"

Felidun did not respond, merely whipping his horse's rump to pick up speed.

As the path wound around the peak, they finally arrived at the top of the hill where the landmark of Shanlin Town stood, but the scene they saw left everyone stunned.

"This..."

The expression on the face of the deputy who had just been joking around stiffened; he did not know what language to use to describe the shock of this moment.

Aside from him, everyone, including Felidun, had not expected the scene before them.

Dozens of corpses lay scattered on the ground not far away, and right at the front were figures they recognized—Pulinsite, Disen, Kaite, and Ma'erte.

What struck their vision most was the group of people standing amidst the blood and corpses.

One by one, they gripped blood-dripping longswords, watching the suddenly arrived uninvited guests in silence, yet full of killing intent.

"How is this possible! Pulinsite and the other four Transcendental, they actually all died?"

The deputy, Knight Wunai, said the first sentence in shock, "He was an Intermediate Knight; his strength was no lower than mine."

Felidun's gaze swept across the battlefield and he warned, "Look closely, Luoning and his men not only killed Pulinsite, but their combat losses were very small; you could say this battle was an overwhelming victory."

A wise brilliance flickered in his eyes, "The intelligence was wrong, there is an expert by Luoning's side!"

"Then what do we do? Do we still attack?" Wunai asked in a low voice.

Felidun frowned; the Baron was not convenient to come over, so many things were left for him to decide.

"Let's test the waters first."

Over there, seeing the other party arrive, Luoning felt very anxious inside.

What he feared most was that the other party would disregard everything and charge straight in; that would leave no room for a buffer.

Fortunately, the situation was quite good.

Seeing Felidun and the others stop on their horses for a good while, Luoning knew his formation had already bluffed the opposition and made them suspicious.

Therefore, he had to appear even more "fearless."

Luoning held his sword and slowly walked forward a distance, while Maiken and Aierlong followed closely by his side.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing in my Shanlin Town?"

Felidun and Wunai exchanged a glance, "It looks like it really was an overwhelming victory; Pulinsite and the others died before they could even reveal Baron Leisen's plan."

Only a few people knew about the plot to surround and kill Luoning; according to the plan, once Pulinsite and the others succeeded, even the Infantry who participated in the matter would be killed to the last man.

As long as they were dead, Luoning would have no way to learn of their plan.

Felidun hurriedly dismounted, a smile replacing the look on his face, "I am the captain of the Sain Territory Knight Squad, Felidun Hengli, greetings to Lord Luoning!"

Luoning's heart stirred; there was a chance.

"Sir Felidun, you know me?"

When Luoning asked, he used a suspicious, scrutinizing gaze to look the other man up and down, making the other party feel that he had raised his guard.

"Knights of Sain Territory, why would you appear in my Shanlin Town?"

Felidun was also observing every move Luoning made, and he became increasingly convinced that the other party did not know he was coming.

Thus, he spoke the excuse he had already prepared: "My Lord, I was originally just leading the members of the Knight Squad to hunt in the mountains, and happened to hear the sounds of fighting here, so I galloped over to see what the situation was."

As Felidun spoke, his gaze skipped over Luoning and focused on the corpses behind him, asking with feigned confusion: "My Lord, what is this behind you?"

Luoning looked back at the corpses lying all over the ground and could not help but show an awkward smile.

"Just killed a few traitors."

He shrugged, "Pardon the unsightly scene."

"Traitors?" Felidun was surprised and looked at the corpses on the ground again, "I have seen that man before; wouldn't that be the Administrator of Shanlin Town, Pulinsite? Did he betray you?"

"That's right~"

As Luoning spoke, he walked back and kicked Pulinsite's head so it stood facing Felidun, then continued:

"This guy served as the Administrator of Shanlin Town for a few years and thought he was the master of Shanlin Town."

Luoning's tone was full of disdain, "It's just a pity that he overestimated his own strength and underestimated mine; he was separated from his head in a single exchange."

He kicked the head over: "With only this much strength, he dared to provoke the majesty of the Wushan Family; he overestimated his own capabilities!"

The doubts in Felidun's heart vanished at this moment; he was now convinced that there must be an expert by Luoning's side.

To sever Pulinsite's head in a single exchange, this person definitely possessed Advanced strength!

Moreover, in such a scene, looking at Luoning's arrogant attitude, it was clear he did not put him, Felidun, in his eyes.

"In other words, he is not worried at all that the five of us might attack!"

Felidun took a deep breath and could not help but scan the two people beside Luoning; he did not recognize either of these faces, but they both looked like Transcendental.

Especially Maiken, who was as sturdy as a bear and had a calm demeanor, which gave him an unfathomable impression.

"I never expected Pulinsite would betray you!"

Felidun shook his head in disbelief, "I remember he was an Intermediate Knight; since you could win so easily, it seems the Marquis and the Count must have arranged for an expert to protect you in secret."

"I wouldn't call it protection."

Luoning said indifferently: "They only arranged for an Advanced Peak Knight on the surface; I reckon they aren't even as strong as you~"

Felidun's pupils constricted; an Advanced Peak Knight—winning easily against one would likely not be easy.

If he were to make a move here, even if he killed Luoning, this Knight would still have a high probability of escaping.

If what he did were reported to Wushan Castle, then the good days of Sain Territory would come to an end.

Moreover, this was only what was on the surface.

Feilidun kept Baron Leisen's instructions firmly in mind, telling him not to act unless he had absolute certainty.

As for Pulinsite and the others, even if they confessed about Sain Territory, Leisen could forcefully claim that the other party was slandering him.

"Captain, what shall we do?" Wunai asked in a low voice from the side.

Feilidun shook his head slightly, and he performed a Knight Salute to Luoning, "The majesty of the Wushan Family brooks no violation. Honorable Baron, I wonder if there is anything I can do for you?"

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Sir Feilidun!"

Luoning spread his hands, looking as if he held the other party in contempt, "But I have already resolved things here; the only thing left to do is to collect the bodies."

"I would love to have you stay the night, but unfortunately, I don't even know which room I will be sleeping in tonight."

This was a polite way of telling them to leave.

Feilidun was not annoyed; he was very respectful, "Then I wish you a wonderful night, my Lord."

"Many thanks for your blessing, Sir!"

Luoning waved his hand at the other party, "Please also convey my regards to Baron Leisen; as a neighbor, I look forward to paying him a visit."

"Certainly!"

Feilidun remounted his horse and prepared to leave with the members of his Knight Squad.

Luoning turned around and shouted in a deep voice, "Everyone, listen up! Now, clean up the battlefield. Search their pockets thoroughly; don't leave a single copper coin behind!"

"Yes!" the Guards responded loudly.

This uniform sound echoed, giving Feilidun and the others, who were preparing to leave, a start.

They couldn't help but turn their heads to look, only to see that the group of Guards was in such high spirits.

"Let's go!"

Feilidun shouted in a low voice and rode his horse away.

Watching the backs of the departing group, Luoning's back was already soaked with sweat.

As expected, the other party was unwilling to take the risk.

He had gambled correctly.

"Keep lying down!"

He came to Ma'erte's side and whispered, "The others can start cleaning up the battlefield."

On the other hand, Feilidun and his men walked down the hillside, and their speed slowed down once their figures disappeared from Luoning's field of vision.

"Captain, are we really just going back like this?" Knight Wunai asked in disbelief.

Feilidun frowned, pondered for Along while, and looked back in the direction of Shanlin Town.

"Wait for me here!"

Saying this, he dismounted and ran quickly toward the battlefield. This time, he did not take the main road but used the trees in the Shanlin to conceal his figure.

"My Lord, someone is approaching."

Aierlong reminded him in a low voice.

Luoning smiled inwardly; the other party had indeed come back to verify things. Fortunately, he had just instructed Ma'erte to keep lying down.

If Feilidun had come back and seen Ma'erte standing up, he would have judged at a glance that he was acting.

Hidden in the Shanlin, Feilidun watched silently.

He saw that the group of Guards was truly searching the corpses for copper coins, and even Maiken and Aierlong, who were by Luoning's side, were searching Pulinsite and the others for something.

"It really wasn't an act."

The last shred of suspicion in Feilidun's heart vanished, "It seems Baron's plan has fallen through."

He sighed and returned to the team, "Let's go, let's go back and report the situation to the Baron."

(End of chapter)