Chapter 8: 8 Betrayal

Outside the castle, everything for Luoning's departure had been prepared.

Aside from grain, the six cargo wagons were loaded with books, bedding, and the like, with the weight distributed just right so as not to overload any single horse.

If not for the limited carrying capacity of the wagons, Luoning would have wanted to pack up and take the murals from his room; after all, they were things from Wushan Castle, and selling them would surely be worth something, right?

"Lord Baron, the Marquis asks that you return to visit often when you have time."

Lulansi's servant, the castle's old Steward Moste, was there to see him off on behalf of the old Marquis, and standing beside him was Huoerhuate, though the latter represented not Weijinsi, but Daianni.

"I will."

Luoning looked up at the magnificent castle, wondering what state it would be in when he returned.

After waving to the two stewards, he had Chahaer drive the carriage, and under the escort of nine Guards, he began the journey to Shanlin Town.

Wushan Castle was not built within Wushan City, but rather on a hillside to the southwest, with Wushan Avenue connecting the castle to Wushan City.

Along both sides of the avenue were some manors (somewhat similar to villages).

Some of these manors belonged directly to the castle and were left to Servants to manage, while others had been bestowed upon Conferred Knights (the lowest rank of nobility) who had rendered meritorious service.

Walking five or six li to the northeast along Wushan Avenue led to Wushan City.

This was a large city with a population approaching one hundred thousand; if the commoners in the surrounding manors were included, the population of Wushan City definitely exceeded one hundred thousand.

Because his predecessor rarely frequented the city, Luoning very much wanted to see an otherworldly city with his own eyes.

Yet, as he drew closer to Wushan City, the stench in the air grew increasingly intense.

"What's going on? Is there a pig farm nearby?" Luoning subconsciously thought.

Soon, he was stunned by the scene before him.

The end of Wushan Avenue connected to a wide but winding long street, with houses of varying styles sitting unevenly on both sides; they were basically all one-story, with two-story buildings being very rare.

If one only looked at that, it was just a bit backward and dilapidated, but what Luoning found most unbearable was the hygiene!

On this dirt road, all kinds of excrement could be seen everywhere—thin, hard, yellow, black, small lumps, large piles, all sorts.

Luoning had the misfortune of seeing an old horse step on a pile of dung, which was instantly flattened and pressed tight against the mud.

Such a scene directly triggered Luoning's visual nerves!

"Is this a place for humans to stay?"

Although some houses in Wushan Castle were damp and dilapidated, the hygiene was passable; at least there wasn't excrement everywhere, but here... it was truly beyond words.

"Why build the castle five..."

Luoning pinched his nose and withdrew his gaze. "Chahaer, why is it so dirty here? Does the castle not manage it?"

Chahaer, who was driving, found the question strange. "My Lord, why would the castle manage the hygiene here?"

Chahaer's wise counter-question left Luoning at a loss for how to answer for a moment.

That's right, why would the castle manage the hygiene here?

Would they gain any benefit from it?

Nobles only cared about their own lives, and lords only cared about their own taxes.

Commoners or Serfs were merely tools for the nobles; as long as they didn't die, it didn't matter if they lived well or poorly, or if the sanitary environment was filthy or clean—they didn't care.

Just like someone raising pigs wouldn't care if it was inappropriate for the pigs to live in pig manure.

For a moment, he felt distressed.

If a large city like Wushan City was like this, what kind of scene would his small Shanlin Town be?

Luoning didn't even dare to imagine.

"Hurry and leave Wushan City; I can't stand this smell at all!"

"As you wish, my Lord!"

Chahaer cracked the whip, and the carriage picked up speed.

From the perspective of Luoning's Earth, what kind of large city was one with a population of over a hundred thousand? It didn't even have the population of a single county.

However, the area of Wushan City was not small, and it took the caravan over three hours of stopping and starting to completely leave the territory of Wushan City.

The further they got from the city, the more uneven the road surface became.

Luoning raised the carriage window and discovered that both sides of the road were already dense forests, unlike before when manors and fields were still visible. Now, they had arrived at a mountain road in the wilderness.

Considering the horses had been walking for over an hour straight, Luoning ordered, "Chahaer, stop and rest. The horses are tired, and we need to prepare lunch."

"Very well, my Lord!"

Chahaer shouted, conveying Luoning's order.

The six carriages in front and back stopped one after another.

Luoning stepped out of the carriage and took deep breaths of the fresh air outside; it was much more refreshing than when he was in Wushan City.

He looked at the distant mountains and ordered, "Let everyone eat their fill before we get back on the road."

"Very well, my Lord!"

Chahaer walked toward the wagon loaded with sundries, preparing to take down the only iron pot to boil some meat soup.

Having finished his instructions, Luoning stepped into the forest.

He prepared to take this opportunity to claim the reward for Day 1 of the Seven-Day Login.

In this way, he would have one more Knight among his subordinates, and the safety of the team would be better guaranteed.

But before he had taken two steps, Chahaer's cry of alarm came from behind him.

"What are you trying to do!"

Then came the sound of the iron pot hitting the ground.

What was going on?

Luoning turned back in shock, only to see Chahaer had fallen to the ground with the iron pot dropped to one side, while those Guards who should have been busy were actually drawing their swords and walking toward him.

Was this... a mutiny?

Luoning had seen big scenes in television dramas, so he realized what this group of guys wanted to do immediately.

However, he still subconsciously asked sharply: "What do you want to do?"

"What do we want to do?"

The leading man had a playful look on his face, completely lacking the respectful attitude that should be shown to a master.

"My lord, Shanlin Town is too remote and too barren. We don't want to go with you, so we want to borrow some money from you to leave."

"You are betraying, betraying!" Chaha'er understood, and he became even more furious.

"Not only are you betraying the Baron, you are also betraying the Wushan Family! Are you not afraid of death?"

Not only him, but even Luoning had not expected these nine "elite soldiers" to betray him.

In this world, being able to serve the nobles in the castle is something many people dream of; betraying a noble is something that generally only happens among those with power or status.

What do these people have?

Luoning narrowed his eyes: "You want to kill me?"

This statement directly shocked Chaha'er so much that he forgot to accuse them. Kill a noble? They actually wanted to kill a noble?

How could this be! How dared they?

"Hehe, everyone says the Baron is a stupid donkey; now it seems you aren't that stupid."

The leading Guard revealed a cruel smile, "If you want to blame someone, blame your father for looking down on you; he gave you so much money but didn't choose a loyal Professional Knight to protect you."

Hearing this, Luoning actually laughed instead, "Then I can rest easy."

Luoning was naturally relieved.

When he had just seen the Guards wanting to kill him, he subconsciously felt this was Weijinsi's arrangement; for a Count to be determined to take his life was a very terrifying thing.

However, judging from what this group of people said, the other party was just moved by greed and was not acting under Weijinsi's instructions.

That kind of melodramatic plot where a father is bent on killing his son did not happen.

That was why he said he was relieved.

But this sentence made the traitors feel baffled; in their view, Luoning was about to die, so what was there to be relieved about?

"I think you've been scared silly and are just babbling nonsense, right?"

The backstabber raised the longsword in his hand, "Brothers, kill him, and the supplies and gold coins on the carriage will all be ours!"

With a shout of encouragement, whether they were hesitant or timidly trembling, the Guards all steeled their hearts for betrayal; they roared and charged at Luoning to kill him.

"My lord, watch out!"

Chaha'er did not know where he got the courage, but he drew the Dagger he carried with him and wanted to rush up to help, yet he fell to the ground before he had run two steps; he wanted to stand up, but his legs would not listen to him at all.

He was just too nervous.

Luoning was also nervous; he had never seen such a scene in all his years of growing up.

But as a Dual-class Transcendent, he was not yet at the point of losing his ability to act due to an excess of adrenaline.

He sneered, turned around, and ran toward the forest; his speed was so fast that none of the nine Guards reacted.

"How is he running so fast?"

The Guards were puzzled; wasn't it said that the Marquis's eldest grandson had been hollowed out by wine and women and was very weak?

The speed he had just burst out with was something they could not compare to at all.

At this moment, he felt something was wrong in his heart.

But since they had already shown their hand, there was no turning back; today, Luoning must die!

"Kill, kill Luoning!"

The traitors gathered all their strength and roared as they charged into the Shanlin.

A burst of light suddenly erupted in the mountains, and a steady, resonant voice rang out:

"Maiken Salidun greets you, my master!"

(End of this chapter)