Action

The night was deep. Aside from a few scattered lights, most of the residents in the town were already asleep.

Leian easily slipped outside Laman Manor. Timing his movements, he vaulted over the wall and precisely avoided the patrolling guards, quietly lurking outside the study in the backyard.

As a baron, the Laman Family study was quite large—a standalone two-story pavilion with a very rich collection of books.

After Leian became the captain of the guards, he had gained the qualifications to borrow books, so he was very familiar with the layout of the study.

He quietly climbed to the second floor, bent his waist, and moved along the corridor for a distance before stopping at a window.

In his memory, behind that window was a private room. In the past, whether Baron Laman was reading or discussing matters with his son, he would come here.

At this moment, candlelight flickered in the room. Through the paper window, three silhouettes were vaguely visible.

Leian swept his gaze over them quickly, knowing that if he wasn't mistaken, these three people must be Laman, Benson, and the guard commander, Gari.

As the thought flashed through his mind, he pressed his ear against the windowsill, held his breath, and began to eavesdrop.

"Baron, should we reconsider this matter? If it is discovered, I fear it will be difficult to answer to the Empire!"

Judging by the address, the person speaking must be Gari. His voice was low, his tone trembling, and his worry was evident.

"Gari, rest assured. I have arranged everything. As long as you follow my instructions, there will be no slip-ups."

The speaker's tone was firm and full of confidence. Leian was very familiar with the timbre of his voice; it was indeed Baron Laman.

"Alright, fine. I hope things go as you say, my lord, and everything goes smoothly!"

Gari seemed to realize that the Baron had already made up his mind and could only grit his teeth and agree.

"It certainly will!"

Seeing that he had handled Gari, Laman was in a great mood. He took the opportunity to bolster the other man's confidence, then added:

"By the way, Gari, I have neglected my combat training over these years. When the fighting starts, it will be up to you. I trust you won't let me down, will you?"

Mentioning combat, Gari was full of confidence. Upon hearing this, he immediately guaranteed: "Please rest assured, Baron. As a fellow seventh-rank warrior, I will certainly not lose to Elvis!"

"Good!"

Laman patted Gari on the shoulder lightly and instructed: "Then go back and prepare now. Tomorrow night at this time, we will meet at the river beach outside the town."

"Understood, Baron!" After making up his mind, Gari's attitude became much more decisive.

Seeing this, Laman was even more satisfied and chuckled in a low voice: "Benson, go and see our Commander Gari out!"

"Understood, Father!" Benson, who had been silent until now, also laughed.

Next came the sound of the door being pushed open.

Seeing this, Leian quickly moved away from the window, avoided the stairs, and did not stop until he was hidden in a shadow, at which point he finally had time to think about what he had just heard.

From the conversation just now, it was clear he had arrived too late and missed the specific details of what they were discussing.

However, based on the mention of "Elvis" by Gari, Leian already had some guesses in his mind.

This Elvis was also a lord, but his family had fallen on hard times. Now, he only had a small town left, and his life was almost worse than that of Linley's family.

Linley's father could at least buy some stone carvings and antiques to get by, but the Elvis family had sold off their assets generations ago.

To maintain the standard of living of a lord, Elvis's father had started organizing the family guards to hunt magical beasts in the Youquan Mountain Range to sell magic cores for money since he was young.

The Youquan Mountain Range was the largest mountain range on the Youquan Continent and the only place where magical beasts resided. It had many branches, like tentacles, and one of these branches was located in Hashan County, where Qingshi Town was situated, less than three days' journey from the town.

Over the years, the hunting operations of the Elvis father and son had always been smooth sailing. Even at their most dangerous, they only lost a few family guards, and the two of them were at most severely injured.

But flowers do not bloom for a hundred days, and people do not always have good fortune. Just half a month ago, during a hunting operation, the Elvis father and son unfortunately encountered a severely injured ninth-rank magical beast.

Both father and son were only seventh-rank warriors. Even if that ninth-rank magical beast was severely injured and dying, it was not something the two of them could handle.

But people die for wealth, just as birds die for food. A ninth-rank magic core was worth millions of gold coins; how could the Elvis father and son watch it slip away?

After a great battle, Elvis's father and all the guards he led were killed in action, leaving only the severely injured Elvis to return to his territory with his father's corpse.

Afterward, this matter spread rapidly throughout Hashan County.

At this moment, hearing Baron Laman suddenly order Commander Gari to deal with Elvis, Leian thought:

Is this Baron planning to take advantage of Elvis's severe injuries to ransack his family?

But even though the Elvis father and son had sold many magic cores over the years and the family had some small savings, was it really worth committing such a despicable act for that little bit of money?

Even if the Elvis family had declined, and even if the continent respected the strong, Elvis was still a lord and under the protection of the Byron Empire. Just as Gari said, once the matter was leaked, it would be difficult to answer to the Empire.

Perhaps I guessed wrong! Leian thought to himself.

Just as Leian was pondering, Benson had returned to the second floor of the study. Seeing that the father and son seemed to have more to say, he crept over again.

This time, just as he reached under the window, Benson's voice came from inside.

"Father, that Elvis has experienced life and death. Is it really enough to take only the people you mentioned for this operation? Why not bring Leian along? He is also a sixth-rank warrior and should be able to play a significant role!"

Hearing Benson mention him, Leian immediately held his breath and listened intently.

"Benson, my son, you are timid in your actions, and your thinking is too simple."

"Although Elvis has rich combat experience, he is ultimately just a seventh-rank warrior, and he is still suffering from severe, unhealed injuries. With me and Gari, two seventh-rank warriors, plus you, Ryan, and Kelun, three sixth-rank warriors, it is enough!"

"As for Leian, I admit that with his strength, he would be an asset, but he has been the guard captain for too short a time. You must consider his loyalty. This operation must not leak even the slightest trace."

Baron Laman seemed somewhat dissatisfied with his son's suggestion, offering a denial and criticism without the slightest hesitation.

Hearing this, Leian finally confirmed that his suspicions were correct. He just hadn't expected that they would also bring along the butler, Ryan, and the captain of the guards, Kelun, for this operation.

The entire Laman Family had eight guard squads, each consisting of twelve guard knights. Usually, six of these squads were stationed in the other six towns under Baron Laman's command, while the remaining two squads were garrisoned in Qingshi Town.

Speaking of the guard squads, their strength was not to be underestimated; every guard knight was at least a Level 3 warrior, while the squad captains were at least Level 5 warriors.

Currently, among the eight squad captains, there were five Level 5 warriors and three Level 6 warriors, the latter being Kelun, Lev, and Leian.

Above the squad captains, there was a commander, who was none other than Carl Albert.

Inside the study.

Facing his father's merciless criticism, Benson seemed unable to save face and immediately retorted, unwilling to give up:

"I actually think you are being overly cautious, Father. With the Heart-Eroding Potion, Leian will have no choice but to obey!"

The Heart-Eroding Potion was a type of alchemical magic potion; as long as one mixed their own blood into the potion and had the target drink it, they could control the target's life and death at will.

Leian often browsed the Laman Family's library, so he naturally knew about this magic potion, but he had not expected the Laman Family to actually possess such a thing.

Thinking of how Benson wanted to force this control potion upon him, a trace of killing intent could not help but rise in his heart.

At the same time, recalling the attitude of the commander, Carl, just now, as well as the fact that the guard captain Kelun was able to participate in this operation, he had to suspect that the reason these two had gained the Laman Family's trust was likely because they had both been dosed with the Heart-Eroding Potion.

As if to verify Leian's guess, Baron Laman let out a cold snort:

"It's not that simple. The Heart-Eroding Potion is only a basic control potion; an Level 8 Light-element Magus could easily purify it with a Purification Spell.

"That Leian is too young, and youth means being reckless and extreme, making him difficult to control. Once he loses his head, he might sell us out to escape control, or even drag us down with him to the grave.

"To control such a person, you cannot leave him any leverage. Instead, you must treat him like a slave: one hand holding the whip, the other holding food. You must provide hope and respect, but never forget the threats and warnings.

"Just like how I, your father, tamed Carl and Kelun back then. Benson, my son, you are still too green; you still need to study the wisdom behind this for a few more years."

After the round of criticism and instruction, Laman sent his son away, and shortly after, he left the study himself.

Under the cover of night, Leian returned to his small courtyard with a complicated mood.

In his bedroom, he uncharacteristically did not practice his meditation techniques. It was clear from the conversation between the Laman father and son that they definitely harbored ill intentions toward him.

Perhaps after this operation, they would dose him with the Heart-Eroding Potion and then slowly carry out their so-called "taming." Of course, it was also possible they had already done so, and simply hadn't initiated the "taming" process yet.

Thinking of this, killing intent boiled in Leian's heart, almost to the point of being uncontrollable. Fortunately, this Heart-Eroding Potion was not like a "Master-Servant Contract" that could only be undone by the master.

If he were truly poisoned, as long as he could find a Level 8 Light Magus, it could be removed. It could be said that heaven had not left him without a way out.

However, getting a Level 8 Magus to act was no easy task; at the very least, it was something Leian could not do right now.

But Leian was not the type to sit and wait for death. After thinking for a long time, he felt that this secret operation by the Laman father and son might be his chance to break free from their control.

After all, besides the Purification Spell of a Level 8 Magus, killing the person who administered the poison was another way to break the control.