Chapter 131: Robbing While the House is on Fire? A Disgraceful Departure!

As for the rest, most of them remained neutral, or rather, were wavering fence-sitters.

They were waiting, watching.

Waiting for the outcome of this game, then deciding which side they would ultimately stand on.

Right in this eerie silence.

A steady sound of footsteps came from the side door of the hall.

Everyone's gaze subconsciously turned toward the direction the sound came from.

They saw Roko, dressed in a simple black martial outfit, walking slowly into the hall.

Behind him, no guards followed.

Only Fula, like a shadow, followed closely by his side, never leaving an inch.

A faint smile hung on Roko's face, as if he had only come to attend an ordinary banquet.

He scanned the people present, his gaze lingering on each person's face for a moment.

Then, he walked to the head of the long table and sat down slowly.

"It is a great honor for Vanguard Valley that you have all traveled so far."

Roko's voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"You have had a difficult journey."

"Baron Roko is too kind."

The Viscount's envoy, named Borton, spoke with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

His voice carried a condescending tone.

"We have come this time, first, to represent our respective lords and congratulate Master Baron on achieving a glorious victory in Vanguard Valley."

"To single-handedly annihilate five hundred of the Purification Army of the Temple of Light—such a feat is enough to make the entire Xin Feng Province look on in awe."

His words sounded like flattery.

But the sarcastic tone made it clear to anyone that he was mocking.

The smile on Roko's face did not change.

"You flatter me."

"Vanguard Valley's victory was merely due to the terrain; it was just luck."

"Luck?"

Borton laughed exaggeratedly, as if he had heard a funny joke.

"Hahaha, Master Baron is too humble."

"As far as I know, your Storm Knights are equipped with a type of black armor never seen before, impervious to blades, spears, water, or fire. Is that not why you were able to easily crush the Temple Knights?"

As soon as his words fell.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became heavy.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Roko.

It was coming.

Finally, the truth was revealed.

Obsidian Gold Equipment—this was one of the true purposes of their visit.

"I believe Master Baron would not be stingy about sharing such powerful forging technology with us, your 'neighbors' here in Xin Feng Province, would you?"

Borton leaned forward, his shrewd eyes staring fixedly at Roko.

"After all, the stability and prosperity of Xin Feng Province require us all to maintain it together."

"Only when we all become strong can we better defend against potential threats from the Orc Wasteland or elsewhere in the future, don't you agree?"

His words sounded high-sounding and righteous.

He directly elevated the act of demanding technology to the level of maintaining the safety of the entire province.

A typical case of moral kidnapping.

Roko had not yet spoken.

Martina, beside him, sneered and stepped forward.

"Mr. Borton is joking."

Her cold voice rang out in the hall like ice beads falling onto a jade plate.

"The forging technology for Obsidian Gold does not belong to Vanguard Valley."

"It is the unique, secret heritage of our allies, the Stone Hammer Tribe of the Dwarf Mountains."

"We have only exchanged for the right to use a portion of the equipment through fair trade."

"We have no right, and certainly no qualification, to give away our allies' technology privately."

"Dwarves?"

Borton's brow furrowed.

He clearly had not expected the other party to bring up the dwarves directly.

"How is it that I heard Baron Roko seems to possess a type of fine liquor that even dwarves would go crazy for?"

He quickly adjusted his strategy, pointing the spearhead at another target.

"I think using this fine liquor to exchange for the dwarves sharing their technology shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"If Master Baron feels it is inconvenient to come forward, we would be very happy to do it for you."

"Of course, in return, we can provide Vanguard Valley with sufficient grain and gold coins."

The implication of his words was very clear.

Either hand over the recipe for the Strong Liquor.

"Either that, or hand over the agency rights for the Strong Liquor."

Their greed was undisguised.

"Mr. Borton."

Roko finally spoke.

His voice remained calm.

"Are you saying you want me to trade the trust of an ally for that bit of grain and gold coins you speak of?"

"No, no, no, you misunderstand, Baron."

Borton hurriedly waved his hands, that hypocritical smile still hanging on his face.

"How can this be called betrayal? This is called win-win cooperation."

"It is for the common future of our Xin Feng Province."

"Is that so?"

A cold arc curled at the corner of Roko's mouth.

"But why do I feel that you are more like robbers taking advantage of a fire?"

This sentence caused the smile on Borton's face to freeze instantly.

The atmosphere in the hall also dropped to freezing point all at once.

"Rocco Raymond!"

A young envoy behind Borton slammed the table and stood up.

He pointed at Roko and scolded him angrily.

"Watch your language!"

"We came with good intentions; is this the attitude you use to treat your guests?"

"And don't forget!"

The young envoy became more agitated as he spoke, his voice growing louder.

"You formed an alliance with the dwarves without authorization and interfered in their civil strife!"

"You waged war against the orcs without authorization and slaughtered their warlord!"

"You even dared to openly make an enemy of the Temple of Light, murdered Bishop Marcus, and captured the entire Purification Army!"

"Which of these things you have done is not destroying the hard-won stability of our Xin Feng Province?"

"You are dragging us all into the quagmire of war!"

"We didn't come here today to beg you; we came to question you!"

"You must give us an explanation for your actions!"

These words rang out in the hall like a thunderclap; he had piled almost every charge he could onto Roko.

He even placed Roko in opposition to the entire Xin Feng Province.

"An explanation?"

Roko slowly stood up.

The moment he rose.

A pressure so powerful it was suffocating erupted from his body with a boom.

The terrifying aura of a Bronze Rank Knight Peak pressed down on everyone's heart like an invisible mountain.

The air in the entire hall seemed to have frozen.

Those envoys who had originally wanted to join in the clamor instantly turned pale, and even breathing became difficult.

The young envoy closest to him, who had been clamoring the loudest, felt his legs go soft and he sat back down on his chair with a dull "thud."

He looked at Roko in sheer terror.

That look was as if he were staring at a primordial beast waking from its slumber.

Bronze Peak!

This Rocco Raymond had actually broken through to Bronze Peak!

The intelligence was wrong!

This thought popped into everyone's mind simultaneously.

The latest intelligence they had received still placed Roko at the Bronze Mid Stage level.

But now, how many days had passed?

He had actually broken through again?

This cultivation speed was simply unheard of!

"What kind of explanation do you want?"

Roko walked toward the young envoy step by step.

With every step he took, the pressure on his body grew heavier.

The floor of the hall seemed to tremble slightly.

The young envoy was already scared out of his wits, trembling like chaff in the wind, unable to even utter a complete sentence.

"I, I—"

Just at this moment.

"Clang!" A sound rang out.

At the entrance of the hall, a rhythmic sound of metal rubbing against metal echoed.

Knight Captain Hart, leading a squad of Storm Knights clad in full sets of Obsidian Gold Armor, blocked the hall's entrance.

They did not speak, but simply watched the people in the hall quietly with cold gazes hidden beneath their helmet visors.

The iron-blooded killing intent gathered from over a hundred battle-hardened elites combined with Roko's pressure.

It formed a terrifying sense of oppression that made one feel a shudder from the depths of their soul.

At this moment, these pampered noble envoys truly felt the threat of death.

"Baron Roko, what is the meaning of this?"

Borton forcibly suppressed the horror in his heart, managed to stand up, and asked with a fierce-looking but cowardly tone.

"Could it be that you intend to kill us?"

"Kill you?"

Roko walked up to him, looked down at him, and a look of disdain appeared on his face.

"You overestimate yourself."

"Killing you would only dirty my sword."

"You!"

Borton was trembling with rage, his face turning the color of a pig's liver.

As the Chief Advisor to a Viscount, he had never suffered such humiliation.

Just as he was preparing to disregard everything and say a few face-saving remarks to recover his dignity.

Martina spoke again.

In her hands, she held several parchment scrolls that had been prepared in advance, tied with exquisite ribbons.

"Gentlemen, before discussing how to maintain the stability of Xin Feng Province, perhaps you should first take a look at what kind of friends we in Vanguard Valley have."

She stepped forward and threw one of the scrolls onto the table.

"This is the long-term cooperation agreement we signed with Earl Adrian regarding grain and ore trade."

"The agreement clearly stipulates that both parties will support each other and jointly deal with all external threats."

Hans, the envoy of Earl Adrian, stood up at the right moment, smiled kindly at everyone, and tacitly acknowledged Martina's statement.

Borton's expression changed slightly.

Martina ignored him and threw out a second scroll.

"This is the military mutual aid alliance treaty we signed with the leader of Red Leaf Forest, Mr. Zewen Brick."

"I think you all must have heard of the prowess of those three hundred marksmen from Red Leaf Forest, right?"

Sweat had already begun to appear on the faces of some envoys.

Although that group of jungle hunters from Red Leaf Forest were not nobles, their tenacity was famous throughout Xin Feng Province.

Following that was the third one.

"This is the exclusive strategic cooperation agreement we signed with the Patriarch of the Stone Hammer Tribe in the Dwarf Mountains, Lord Bagelumu, regarding Obsidian Gold Equipment and Strong Liquor."

【150】 (Continued from above)

"In the agreement, the Stone Hammer Tribe promises to regard Vanguard Valley as their only and most prioritized partner in the human world."

3

When the words "Stone Hammer Tribe" and "exclusive" were spoken by Martina.

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

A look of disbelief appeared on everyone's face.

They could never have imagined that Roko had already achieved such a deep bond with the dwarves.

This meant that their idea of obtaining Obsidian Gold Equipment from the dwarves through other channels was completely shattered.

Unless they could come up with something that tempted the dwarves more than the Strong Liquor of Vanguard Valley.

But was that possible?

"Finally."

Martina slammed the remaining stack of nearly ten scrolls in her hand onto the table.

"These are the handwritten letters from various lords who have recently taken the initiative to express their intention to form an alliance with our Vanguard Valley."

"I don't think I need to introduce them one by one, right?"

Those small noble representatives who had previously stood by the side of Earl Adrian's envoy puffed out their chests one after another.

At this moment, they were incredibly glad that they had made the right choice.

The situation reversed completely in this instant.

The expressions of Borton and the small group around him had turned ugly to the extreme.

They had originally thought they were the side that had united and held the numerical advantage.

But now it seemed that it was they themselves who were truly isolated.

Just in this oppressive atmosphere.

Mike, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up.

He straightened his collar and walked to Hans's side.

Then, he turned around and faced Borton.

"Mr. Borton."

His voice no longer had its usual laziness, but instead carried a composure and pride unique to a noble.

"I, Mike, in the capacity of Earl Adrian's son, formally notify you."

"Vanguard Valley is the ally most valued by my father, and by myself."

"Any provocation against Vanguard Valley will be regarded as a provocation against our family."

"We will accompany you to the end."

These words from Mike were like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely into the hearts of Borton and the others.

This was no longer a hint, but a naked warning.

If they dared to persist any further, then what they would face would not just be a rising Vanguard Valley.

There would also be a long-established Count family with deep roots in the western borderlands.

"Good, good, good!"

Borton said the word "good" three times in a row.

His face turned green, then white, and finally, it twisted into a ferocious expression.

He knew that today, he had lost completely.

Lost in a crushing defeat.

"Rocco Raymond, you are very good!"

He cast a venomous look at Rocco.

"I hope you will not regret what you have done today!"

"Neither the Temple nor the Kingdom will let you off!"

After speaking, he flicked his sleeves violently and, without looking back, led his men out of the hall in a dejected manner.

That retreating figure was as pathetic as it could possibly be.