Cunning is a Virtue

Aside from the exquisite statue of the Goddess, the Noble Council truly looked no different from the private residences of nobles nearby...

There was not even a stable outside.

Li Ang tied Alice to the stone hitching post at the entrance himself and climbed the steps. A young attendant standing guard with a sword across his chest glanced at him, then sauntered over with a polite but distinctly unenthusiastic smile. "Sir, this is the Noble Council."

Generally speaking, anyone who came alone to a place like the Noble Council was either a down-and-out noble or someone hoping to mooch off distant relatives. That was why the smile looked so perfunctory.

"Li Ang Griffin. I am here to register a territory."

Li Ang pulled a wax-sealed scroll from his filthy saddlebag. After some thought, he put it away again and instead took out a wrinkled sheet of parchment, handing it over.

The attendant seemed somewhat surprised. He raised an eyebrow as he accepted the parchment, studying Li Ang again while reading it.

"Please follow me, Lord Li Ang."

After returning the parchment to Li Ang, the attendant's smile seemed a little more sincere, though there was clear puzzlement in his eyes.

Those who served as attendants at the entrance of the Noble Council were usually well-trained knight squires, the sort qualified to carry swallowtail banners.

In fact, they were all sons of noble families—mostly illegitimate sons or members of collateral branches who could not inherit the family estate—and had come here to learn a lesson called "humility."

Thus, most of the time, they wore only those faintly polite smiles.

Of course, that humility was reserved solely for other nobles.

That included Pioneer Lords as well. Anyone daring to register as a Pioneer Lord was either the child or nephew of a great noble, or a wealthy magnate commanding formidable troops. They were generally people of considerable power.

But someone like Li Ang, arriving alone and looking neither wealthy nor noble, yet intending to register as a Pioneer Lord, was exceedingly rare—either an arrogant fool tired of living and planning to die in the wilderness, or someone whose family had power but chose to keep a low profile.

Either way, in the eyes of these guards, he was the sort of person best neither offended nor approached too closely.

The attendant led Li Ang to the second floor of the Noble Council and knocked on a wooden door carved with elaborate patterns.

A calm voice came from within. "Enter!"

The attendant pushed the door open, bowed politely from the waist, and gestured inside. "Sir, please enter."

It was a simple room. Apart from a tall bookshelf against the wall, there was only a mahogany desk and two high-backed chairs facing one another.

An elderly, frail man with graying hair sat in the chair directly opposite the door.

"Please sit, my lord."

The old man did not even raise his head. He was focused on pouring sealing wax over the closure of a parchment scroll.

Li Ang sat quietly and placed the certificate bearing the Furious Lion crest on the desk, waiting.

He watched the old man remove his ring and press its face into the wax, leaving behind the emblem of a shield flanked by twin lions.

Seeing this, the guard outside came in and respectfully received the parchment scroll with both hands. "Is this a reply, my lord Earl?"

"Yes."

The old man waved the guard away, put his ring back on, and fiddled with the Pioneer Baron Certificate on the desk without opening it. He looked at Li Ang with keen interest.

"I am Oden. Young man, do you intend to become a Pioneer Lord?"

Li Ang froze for a moment.

Oden...

He had heard that name before—in fact, it was one of the few noble names Li Ang remembered clearly.

Count Oden Fletcher had risen from the Gatu Grasslands in the northeast of the kingdom thirty years ago as a Pioneer Lord.

He had built the formidable Brave Shield Fortress on the edge of the Gatu Grasslands, using it as a foundation to expand the Lionheart Kingdom's territory by a hundred miles and repel repeated attacks by Gatu armies and barbarians from the Misty Mountains.

On one occasion, he had even held off a siege by several thousand Gatu soldiers with fewer than five hundred men, achieving a glorious victory.

It was precisely because Brave Shield Fortress existed that the grassland peoples of Gatu could not launch large-scale raids into the Lionheart Kingdom.

For the past thirty years, he had been the benchmark for all Pioneer Lords.

His name was renowned even in Mistveil City, a thousand miles away.

Li Ang had assumed that such a general of outstanding military merit would be fierce and powerfully built. He had never expected him to be so slight, with such a kindly face that he even seemed somewhat benevolent.

But why had such a famous general become an administrator at the Noble Council?

"Young man, I was once a warrior full of ambition, just like you. But opening up a new territory is difficult... exceedingly difficult."

Perhaps noticing the confusion in Li Ang's eyes, Oden smiled faintly. "I have been through it, so I know the hardships involved. Of course, I also received the rewards I deserved. But once a man grows old, some things always become different..."

"What do you mean?"

Li Ang grew even more puzzled. He had a feeling that something was amiss.

Oden's smile deepened. He folded his hands on the desk, his eyes bright as he stared at Li Ang, and his tone became direct. "The reply I just sent was to my son-in-law, Ryman."

Furious Lion Knight Ryman? His opponent in the Fieltzwe finals! He was Oden's son-in-law?!

Li Ang rose to his feet in astonishment.

"Please sit down, young man. Do not be so impatient... Ryman told me about the unexpected circumstances you encountered. In fact, he greatly admired your swordsmanship."

What did that mean? Li Ang felt even more uneasy.

"I had hoped Ryman would build a good relationship with Duke Alma. It concerns his future, as I am sure you understand. But Ryman and I are both men who respect the rules. Since the result is what it is, we will congratulate you. However..."

That single "however" made Li Ang's heart, which had just settled, leap back into his throat.

Oden revealed a strange, mocking smile before continuing, "However, considering the Alma family's vicious habit of holding grudges over every slight, I believe you may need some additional help?"

As an outstanding swordsman, Li Ang's powers of observation were exceptional, no less sharp than those of the old general before him.

From Oden's odd smile just now, he had caught a trace of complicated emotion.

"Do you have a conflict with Duke Alma?" Li Ang keenly detected the hidden meaning in Oden's words.

Oden froze and stared fixedly at Li Ang.

Several seconds later, he shook his head and sighed. "No wonder Ryman called you a cunning fellow... Yes! Alma and I have some differences. Surely you can see that I do not enjoy staying in a place like this, surrounded by paperwork... But Alma recommended me to the king, and it was not easy for me to refuse the king's trust and invitation."

That made sense. Unless he intended to intimidate Li Ang before recruiting him to work for him, there was no reason for Oden to say so much nonsense.

It seemed that Alma had tied down this famous general, who ought to have been leading armies into battle, with the Noble Council's administrative affairs.

"Thank you for the compliment. To a Pioneer Lord, cunning is a virtue—what can I do for you?"

Li Ang went straight to the point.

Oden nodded as well, looking at Li Ang with admiration. "Cunning truly is a virtue..."

"You have two choices... Become a Pioneer Lord and establish your own territory at the border, but it must be near Long River Forest. Or become a knight under my command and garrison Brave Shield Fortress. In return, I will grant you a village as a Knight's Territory."

Becoming a Pioneer Lord might offer greater prospects in the future, but everything would have to begin from scratch. Moreover, Long River Forest was not far from Brave Shield Fortress, and the surrounding region was extremely dangerous... Oden probably intended to register his territory in Long River Forest—any land conquered outside the registered territory would not be recognized.

Becoming a knight under Oden, on the other hand, meant acquiring the lowest rank of formal nobility. His future prospects would depend on how far the Fletcher family could go. Yet he would gain Count Oden's protection and directly receive a Knight's Territory.

They truly were difficult choices.