How dare you!
Just as Mills's filthy hand was about to touch Xian's shoe, Sauron Knight, who had been kneeling on one knee the whole time, finally could not hold back any longer.
Whoosh! The powerful physical abilities granted by becoming an Extraordinary Knight allowed Sauron Knight to cross more than ten meters in an instant, rush behind Mills, and subdue the Greedy Merchant, pinning him to the ground.
Because his actions as a knight maintaining public order were legitimate, the Liar Merchant class ability, Illegitimate Protection, did not activate.
"Your Highness, do you require me to slay this insolent wretch who has offended you?"
With one hand pressing down on Mills's desperately struggling neck, Sauron Knight took the Fine Steel Longsword a retainer had picked up and handed to him with the other, his voice brimming with killing intent.
"Wait, Sir Knight. Before that, I believe I should explain the full story to you first," Xian said calmly.
"Your Highness, it is my honor to hear your sacred words. I will listen with utmost attention."
Like a clown performing a face-changing trick, the icy killing intent on Sauron Knight's face was instantly replaced by a radiant smile. Even the wrinkles on his face seemed to bloom brilliantly like flowers.
"Some time ago, this Clay Merchant paid a considerable deposit and swore before the gods that he would return when the red fruit harvest came. In exchange, he demanded that the villagers refuse all other merchants," Xian said slowly.
A moment later.
"So that was it!"
Sauron Knight exclaimed in sudden realization.
He finally understood why this noble Highness had stooped so low as to rob a merchant.
Mills had actually violated an oath sworn in the name of the gods for the sake of profit. Even by Clay People standards, that was utterly insane! Then Sauron Knight's expression suddenly turned ugly.
He seemed to understand why several villages had failed to pay their taxes this year—and why they all happened to be villages that primarily produced fruit.
"You bastard, you really are a qualified Clay People!"
Sauron Knight gripped Mills's neck tightly, veins bulging across his face as he ground out the words through clenched teeth.
Looking at Mills's flushed, blood-red face as he struggled to breathe, killing intent boiled within him. If not for his concern for the noble Highness before him, he would have already stabbed several holes into Mills with his sword.
"Your Highness, give the order, and I will kill this greedy swindler who disrespects both the gods and you at once. I promise I will not let him die too easily."
Sauron Knight spoke solemnly.
He had learned a few methods from the executioners in his lord's territory. All it took was stabbing certain nonfatal areas to make the condemned suffer until they bled to death.
"Please spare me, Your Highness. I-I'm willing to offer all my coins to you. There are even two Gold Sol hidden in my shoe soles!"
Mills begged incoherently.
He had yet to fulfill his dream of becoming a merchant as wealthy as the revered Franken, nor had he defeated his elder brothers and inherited the enormous family fortune left behind by his father. He did not want to die in obscurity like this! Watching this, Xian fell into thought.
He knew that Mills's life was now entirely in his hands. With a single command from him, this proud knight would take the man's life without hesitation.
Killing someone might be satisfying, but... how could he, a Socialist New Youth and a College Student bearing the responsibilities of a new era, do something so cruel?
Xian smiled faintly.
"Sir Knight, there is an old saying in my hometown: 'Repay virtue with virtue, and repay resentment with justice.'"
"Since Mills did not intend to take my life, I will not take his either," Xian said softly.
The moment those words were spoken, Mills was overjoyed, while Sauron Knight frowned slightly, thinking that this Highness seemed a little too kindhearted.
If it had been his own lord, he would have already stabbed several bloody holes into the man himself.
"Therefore, please help me send him to the Slave Capital," Xian said leisurely.
Mills: "???"
The smile on his face instantly froze, while Sauron Knight looked at Xian with an added trace of reverence.
No matter the time or one's status, those with a strong desire for revenge were the most likely to earn the awe of those around them, even if that awe stemmed from fear.
"No, no! I don't want to be sold as a slave!"
"Kill me! Please, kill me!"
Mills wailed through tears. Having once investigated the Slave Capital's market for profit, he naturally knew the kind of miserable lives slaves lived there. Calling it hell would not have been an exaggeration.
Especially after visiting the collection of a slave merchant from his own people, even someone as bold as him had gone home nauseated, vomiting for days and unable to eat.
His cries sounded utterly miserable, yet the crowd gathered here consisted of villagers whom he had nearly driven to the point of losing their families.
Thus, no matter how pitiful his pleas sounded, he received only the hatred-filled stares of the villagers. Some even threw rotten red fruit at him.
Before everyone's eyes, Mills had his hands and feet bound, a rag stuffed into his mouth, and was thrown into the carriage.
"Respected Highness, please tell me your name. Before long, my lord, Viscount Hughes, will come to pay you a personal visit."
After everything had been dealt with, Sauron Knight and his retainers knelt on one knee before Xian and spoke respectfully.
"Xian," Xian said calmly.
"May the gods bless you, Your Highness Xian."
Sauron Knight reverently traced a circle over the Wolf Head on his breastplate before rising and leaving on horseback with his retainers.
Clop, clop, clop.
Under the lingering glow of the setting sun, accompanied by hurried hoofbeats, the knight's figure gradually vanished into the distance.
Meanwhile, the village erupted into celebration.
"Your Highness, may the gods bless you!"
"Your Highness, thank you for your kindness. Please, you must accept this flower wreath I wove for you."
"Your Highness, thank you for punishing that damned Clay Merchant. My husband was so enraged after being deceived by him that he lost his mind. He slipped while picking red fruit and fell to his death. Thank you!"
Having survived the tax crisis, the villagers surrounded Xian, cheering and thanking him enthusiastically.
"Berg, you damned bastard! Get over here!"
Just then, Village Chief Robert's furious roar struck everyone awake like a thunderclap.
He glared furiously at Berg, his expression so terrifyingly fierce that even his frost-white hair seemed ready to stand on end.
"Y-yes!"
Berg had never seen the village chief this angry before, so he immediately hurried over to Robert.
"You bastard! You actually dared to reveal His Highness's information! Have you forgotten the agreement between the village and His Highness?"
Robert slapped Berg hard across the face, and the youth's somewhat immature face immediately swelled red.
Happy New Year~ Hand over those monthly votes, thanks (ω)
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