Sarah had clearly spotted that pretty boy too. She rode over and said to Li Ang, "That's Juan! The leader of the Crimson Brotherhood... My lord, he's the rogue knight the Horton Family has hidden in the shadows—Foucher had him keep watch on me before..."
Well, what a coincidence!
"Rogue knight" was not a title or troop type. It specifically referred to textbook-grade old scoundrels under noble employ who committed every evil imaginable. They usually really were lower-ranking knights, just without fiefs, making them the scum of the nobility.
Knights with fiefs did not have that much spare time to play thug...
He had underestimated that pretty boy before. Who would have thought he was a noble?
His performance when he had screamed and bolted out of the tavern had probably been far too convincing.
But back in Lion City, had Juan been ordered by the Crimson Brotherhood to hunt down this body, or had he been ordered by Duke Alma to attack him?
Or perhaps... both?
"Sarah, is the Crimson Brotherhood in Lion City entirely made up of Duke Alma's people?"
Sarah nodded, then shook her head. "Not the Duke's... To be precise, they're all Foucher's people. Foucher is the sponsor behind Lion City's Crimson Brotherhood. He has always handled Duke Alma's unsavory business, and Juan is one of Foucher's trusted subordinates."
So that bastard son was actually a crime boss!
Or rather, the protector behind the criminal underworld!
No wonder Duke Alma valued that bastard son so highly.
Li Ang found himself looking at Foucher in a somewhat new light. That idiot who had seemed so clumsy in the arena probably possessed unusual talent when it came to handling the sordid affairs lurking in society's shadows.
Everyone had some use, after all.
Why had Lyon Griffin been hunted relentlessly by the Crimson Brotherhood across both continents?
Li Ang had considered that question many times, but he had never had a chance to verify it.
Now, looking at the battlefield where they held every advantage, Li Ang felt this was the perfect chance to get a clear answer. He had to solve this problem whenever possible; it was not pleasant to live with a band of assassins watching from the shadows.
He looked over the battlefield. His side already held the overwhelming advantage, and Kloze and the others had begun ganging up on the enemy's few remaining infantrymen.
The battle would probably end soon.
"I need to have a proper talk with that guy... Sarah, watch yourself. I'm going to catch Juan."
Li Ang spoke over his shoulder as he swiftly put on his helmet.
He pulled a hammer from his saddlebag. Li Ang planned to rush over and knock that pretty boy Juan unconscious before he could escape again—Juan's extraordinary agility when fleeing Lion City was still fresh in Li Ang's mind.
That was why he was using a blunt weapon rather than a longsword—Li Ang did not want to accidentally kill him.
Sarah cried out when Li Ang spurred his horse straight ahead, but she could not stop him. Then she gritted her teeth, drew the throwing knives from her waist, and rode after Li Ang.
Sarah probably thought Li Ang was standing up for her. There was a distinct warmth in her gaze as she looked at him.
After all, Li Ang was leading troops in battle, yet the moment he heard that Juan was Foucher's man and had been watching Sarah, he charged forward bravely without hesitation. It certainly looked chivalrous...
Juan was looking around in panic when he quickly spotted Li Ang charging toward him.
He merely turned his head for one glance before urging his horse into a mad dash with astonishingly quick reactions. Without hesitation, he rammed down two of his own men in front of him, drawing several cries of pain and curses—the kind involving plenty of mothers.
That created some obstacles for Li Ang's pursuit. Kloze and the others had lunged at empty air, and the burly men waving hammers ended up blocking Li Ang instead.
Li Ang circled around his own men, but by then Juan had gained some distance.
Naturally, the camp had no walls. Juan soon escaped beyond it, and he chose his route cleverly, riding up the nearby mountain along the gentle slopes beside the river.
There were no roads here, only mostly barren hills, which made it difficult for Li Ang's superb horsemanship to shine.
When it came to fleeing, Juan truly was extraordinarily nimble. Li Ang could not catch him for the moment.
Sarah, on the other hand, overtook him from behind. She weighed less, so her horse carried a lighter burden and moved much faster on the slopes.
When she was still twenty or thirty meters from Juan, Sarah threw two knives while galloping at full speed.
One struck Juan squarely in the buttocks...
The other embedded itself in the horse's rump.
The horse bucked in pain and flung Juan to the ground before running far away.
Juan lay flat on his back, howling in agony. He struggled to get up, but he seemingly could not even turn over.
Li Ang let out an impressed whistle and praised Sarah sincerely as she rode over. "That was miraculous! You don't often see throwing-knife skill like that!"
Indeed, from nearly thirty meters away, while riding a jolting horse and facing an enemy constantly fleeing, she had casually thrown two knives and landed both hits with such precision!
Moreover, both knives had struck the most scientifically appropriate places—they would not cause enough damage to kill him, yet would leave him unable to flee.
Li Ang even wondered whether Sarah's ancestors might also have been surnamed Li.
Sarah, however, looked a little embarrassed. "Uh... I was aiming for his neck..."
Fine then. That meant she was a child of destiny. Good luck was part of one's ability too.
Why was everyone under his command luckier than he was?
Li Ang felt that was terribly unfair...
Still, they had caught the man, and Li Ang was in a good mood.
Li Ang dismounted and walked over to the constantly howling Juan, waving a war hammer with a spiked head before his eyes.
Clear fear appeared in Juan's eyes, and his agonized cries gradually stopped.
"You're with the Crimson Brotherhood, right? If you don't want to suffer, answer my questions properly."
Li Ang did not want to waste words and went straight to the point.
Juan's eyes rolled wildly before he spotted Sarah walking over nearby.
"Sarah!... Sarah is Young Master Foucher's fiancée! You actually abducted her? And you attacked Horton Family territory! Have you considered the consequences? You'll be captured, subjected to every terrible torture in this world, and then crushed like an insect..."
Oh?
He still dared threaten someone in this situation?
Who would have thought that beneath that outwardly fierce but inwardly weak expression lay the heart of a tough guy?
Li Ang stared at Juan in surprise for a moment, grabbed his hand, placed it on a rock, and then brought the hammer down on his little finger...
The finger visibly flattened. The sound of bones shattering was followed by a sharp, agonized scream, startling the birds in the mountains into flight.
Sarah watched with great interest from the side, seemingly appreciating the scene.
"Whether I'll suffer every torture in this world is uncertain, but you'll certainly get to enjoy them very soon... Are you going to talk or not?"
Li Ang raised the hammer again.
Tears burst from Juan's eyes. His entire body convulsed as he wailed ceaselessly, shaking his head wildly. "No... don't..."
Huh?
He really was a true man?
Li Ang even felt a little admiration for him.
There was no helping it. The interrogation had to continue. The hammer fell heavily again, harder than before. Juan's ring finger flattened as well, and droplets of blood even spattered from beneath his nail.
This was absolutely not torture an ordinary person could endure.
Juan's deathly pale face was streaked with tears and sweat. The pain left him unable to make a sound for a long time, his entire body taut.
Li Ang could not help staring for a while. This kid really could endure it... Were even the thugs of the Crimson Brotherhood true men forged from iron?
That made no sense...
Just as Li Ang shook his head and raised the hammer once more, Juan finally broke down—he had probably finally recovered enough to feel it. He burst into tears and desperately shielded his hand. "No... don't do this... What do you want me to say?... Ask me something already!!"
Hmm?
Seeing Li Ang's baffled expression, Sarah offered praise from the side. "My lord, your method of interrogation is very unique..."
Li Ang scratched his head and bared his teeth.
It seemed he really had not asked anything...
Before you continue