You Can Kneel and Bark Like a Dog Now

Silver Moon Inner Keep, Council Hall.

The Silver Moon Viscount sat alone in the hall, rubbing his brow as he let out a worried sigh.

Ever since the evil spirit incident, he had not had a single night of proper sleep.

Those ignorant commoners merely thought Kubeiro Manor was haunted and treated the matter as idle gossip, but only he knew how severe the real situation was.

That was an evil spirit!

A legendary evil undead creature!

One wrong move, and all of Stone Bell City might turn into a Ghost Domain!

To deal with the evil spirit in the manor, he had already lost one Grand Knight and five knights. The loss hurt so badly it felt as though his heart were bleeding.

Yet despite such a tremendous sacrifice, the evil spirit was still lively as ever. It had even become more vicious and terrifying after devouring the souls of six knights.

If that evil spirit was not destroyed soon, things would only get worse!

At the thought, the Silver Moon Viscount could not help grinding his teeth in hatred for Kubeiro, who had already been thrown into the dungeon.

If that idiot had not failed to keep an eye on his wife, allowing her to be deceived by the Starfire Cult and bring that evil crimson flower into the manor, and if he had not sealed off the news after the deaths occurred out of fear for his reputation, things would never have reached the point of no return.

That kind of fool who harmed both others and himself would not quell the Viscount's fury even if he were killed ten times over!

After taking several deep breaths, the Silver Moon Viscount finally calmed down and asked the secretary beside him, "Has everyone we recruited arrived?"

"They have all arrived, my lord," the secretary replied with a bow. "They are waiting in the reception hall ahead."

The Silver Moon Viscount grunted and rose to leave.

To destroy that evil spirit, the forces under his command alone were certainly not enough. He had to recruit some mercenaries or wandering knights from outside.

When dealing with a powerful and terrifying evil spirit, every additional knight was welcome.

What a pity. It would be nice if he could find a wizard.

Not the frauds who called themselves wizards but could only put on mystical airs, but a genuine wizard.

They were the true professionals when it came to dealing with evil spirits.

Yet wizards had always kept their whereabouts secret, and for the moment, the Silver Moon Viscount had no idea where to find one.

"I heard that the former Shining Baron's second son became a wizard. I wonder if that is true or merely a rumor?"

Lost in thought, the Silver Moon Viscount arrived at the reception hall.

His gaze swept across the room. More than twenty people sat inside, nearly all of them men in their thirties or forties clad in armor.

Knights not born into nobility generally practiced inferior Breathing Techniques and lacked resources, so they usually could not advance to knight until their thirties or forties.

Moreover, knight was generally the limit for them. Unless they encountered some extraordinary opportunity, they would never advance to Grand Knight in their lifetimes.

Thus, it would already be impressive if there was even a Peak Knight among those seated in the hall. There was no point hoping for a Grand Knight.

Still, one person's attire was particularly conspicuous, drawing several extra glances from the Silver Moon Viscount.

The man wore nothing but a thin gray robe and had a Night Owl Mask over his face, making him stand out sharply amid the armored knights.

However, everyone seated here had passed preliminary screening and been confirmed to possess knight-level strength. The Silver Moon Viscount said nothing and went straight to the seat of honor at the far end of the hall. He sat down and gave the secretary a wave.

The secretary immediately stepped forward, looked around the room, and said, "First, thank you all for taking part in the recruitment. The details have already been explained on the recruitment notice, but I must remind you once more that the evil spirit in Kubeiro Manor is extremely powerful. Even knights may die from the slightest mistake. Even so, do you still wish to participate?"

No one's expression changed.

The deaths of several knights at Kubeiro Manor had long spread throughout Stone Bell City. Of course they were aware of it.

Since they had still come to take part in the recruitment under such circumstances, they had clearly prepared themselves mentally.

"I have only one question," a burly man said in a muffled voice. "Is the reward of one thousand gold coins real?"

The secretary glanced at him and nodded. "Of course it is real. The one thousand gold coins will be divided among all of you according to your strength. If anyone unfortunately dies in the manor, we will deliver the money to the family members they designate."

At those words, the knights present all showed delight.

More than twenty people splitting one thousand gold coins—even the weakest among them should receive twenty or thirty gold coins, right?

That was nearly equivalent to three or four years of their income!

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"If I am the only one participating, does that mean all one thousand gold coins will be mine?"

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall froze.

Everyone turned toward the voice and discovered that it was the unconventional fellow in the mask.

"Tch, what a big mouth."

"Do you even know what you are saying?"

"You want to swallow one thousand gold coins all by yourself? Heh, the question is whether you have the strength for it."

"It has been a long time since I saw someone this arrogant."

Numerous hostile, appraising gazes converged on the masked man.

These days, those who became mercenaries or wandering knights were not people to be trifled with.

Seeing someone even more brazen than themselves, many of them immediately took offense.

"Kid, if you want to take the reward for yourself, you will have to get past me first."

A broad-shouldered brute stepped forward, patting the Fine Iron battle-axe on his back as he glared at the masked man.

"You are acting so arrogantly, so you must have some skills. How about we have a match? Whoever loses kneels down, barks like a dog, and withdraws. Do you dare?"

Someone recognized the burly man as a fairly well-known wandering knight whose strength had long reached Advanced Knight. Their gazes toward the masked man immediately gained a hint of schadenfreude.

"That is a good suggestion!"

"Haha, fight!"

"Anyone who chickens out is a coward!"

"Kid, hurry up and agree. You are not scared, are you?"

The knights began clamoring.

The Silver Moon Viscount watched coldly without speaking to stop them.

To be honest, he was also somewhat curious about the masked man's background.

Anyone who dared say such things in a setting like this was either a fool or extremely confident in their own strength.

His instinct told him the masked man was not the former.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the masked man—or rather, Sunan—merely nodded calmly.

"Not a bad suggestion. Let's do that."

Sunan raised his head and met the burly man's gaze. An unusual light flickered in his eyes behind the mask.

"Now, you can kneel and bark like a dog."

The sneer on the burly man's face swiftly vanished, and his features turned blank in an instant.

Amid everyone's stunned gazes, the burly man slowly dropped to his knees and opened his mouth.

"Woof!"

Thanks to sunzhongjie1 for the tip, thank you!