Reaction

The night passed quickly. The next morning, Leian acted as if nothing had happened, rising early to practice his swordsmanship as usual. However, it wasn't long before a guard knight hurried over to summon him.

The man was Edwin, a level four warrior serving under the guard captain, Kelun.

Before Edwin even entered the courtyard, he shouted from a distance, "Captain Leian, Lady Tina requests your presence!"

Tina was Benson's wife, and the two had a son named Randy—full name Randy Rachel—who was not yet three years old.

As for Laman's wife, she had passed away long ago.

Now that both Laman and Benson were dead, the title and territory would naturally be inherited by Randy.

"Isn't it Kelun's turn to be on duty today?"

Leian sheathed his longsword unhurriedly, feigning ignorance as he spoke casually.

His guard squad had been on leave for the past few days, with duty rotations handled by Kelun's squad. If something happened at the manor, it should normally be reported to Kelun.

"Captain Kelun has disappeared, and so have the Baron, Master Benson, and the butler, Mr. Ryan!"

Edwin spoke at a rapid pace, his expression anxious and tinged with panic.

After hearing this, Leian put on a fitting look of astonishment, asking with feigned disbelief, "What did you say? Everyone is missing? What exactly is going on?"

With that, he strode out of the courtyard and headed toward the manor.

"It happened like this..."

Edwin trotted alongside Leian, spilling everything he knew in a rush.

It turned out that before Benson left last night, he had told his wife he had business to attend to and would be back very late, telling Tina not to wait up for him.

Tina didn't ask further and went to bed early with her son, only to wake up this morning and realize Benson hadn't returned all night.

Out of curiosity, she checked the study and the training grounds where Benson usually spent his time, but found no one. She then intended to ask the butler, Ryan, only to find him missing as well, followed by the discovery that her father, Laman, had also vanished.

By then, Tina realized the gravity of the situation. She immediately found the manor's patrol guards to ask for Captain Kelun, only to be told that Kelun had been summoned by Master Benson last night and had never returned.

With her husband, father, butler, and guard captain all missing overnight, Tina was shocked and anxious. She immediately issued orders to search the town while summoning Leian and Cal.

Edwin's task was to notify Leian.

Hearing this, Leian nodded without saying much, and soon, the two arrived at the manor.

Upon entering, Leian decisively blew his whistle to assemble the guards before rushing to the main hall.

Inside the hall, Tina sat motionless, lost in thought. Seeing Leian enter, she looked up and asked, "Leian, do you know where the Baron and Master Benson went?"

Leian was about to speak when a guard knight rushed in, shouting, "My Lady, it's terrible! Commander Cal is missing too!"

Tina seemed prepared for this; she merely nodded upon hearing the news. "I understand."

After dismissing the man, she looked back at Leian, seemingly waiting for his answer.

Seeing this, Leian shook his head and said, "My Lady, I do not know where the Baron is. He has not sought me out at all these past few days."

Tina did not press further. In truth, as Benson's wife, she had a vague awareness of the schemes Laman and his son were involved in, especially since her husband had specifically mentioned it to her last night.

She hadn't thought of it before, but now, looking at the identities of those who had gone missing, she could easily guess the reason.

However, Benson had clearly said he would return late, yet there was still no sign of him; something must have gone wrong.

Thinking of this, Tina felt increasingly uneasy. After a moment of reflection, she gave further instructions:

"Leian, go arrange the Green-Eyed Demon Falcon and notify the other six captains. Tell them to each bring half of their guard knights and return as quickly as possible. As for your own squad, have them search the outskirts of the town to see if there are any clues."

Leian maintained the persona of a loyal guard captain, responding without hesitation, "Rest assured, My Lady, I will see to it immediately."

With that, he turned and left the hall, quickly returning to the training grounds in front of the manor.

By now, the twelve guard knights under his command had all gathered at the sound of the whistle, and even most of Kelun's guards had arrived.

In the training grounds, Leian methodically relayed Tina's orders, after which he personally led a group to begin searching the surrounding area.

At the speed of the Green-Eyed Demon Falcon, it would take only minutes to reach the various towns; the captains should be able to return before noon.

However, events always took an unexpected turn. Less than an hour after the Green-Eyed Demon Falcons were released, Guard Captain Lev suddenly returned to town with his men.

Even more shocking was that he did not return empty-handed; he brought back five coffins.

When Leian received the news and rushed to the manor, the remains of Laman and his son had already been placed in the main hall. Tina stood to the side with a haggard expression. Her son, Randy, had not appeared; presumably, she didn't want the child to witness such a scene.

Lev stood guard at the door. Seeing Leian, he merely nodded without saying a word.

Leian went in to take a look, and seeing that Tina had no further instructions, he stepped out of the hall to join Lev and ask about what had happened.

Lev seemed reluctant to talk, only telling Leian that someone had suddenly arrived at the town he was stationed in that morning, claiming to have found Baron Laman dead by the roadside.

Upon receiving the news, he immediately led his men to the location and discovered the bodies of Laman and the other four. Knowing the gravity of the situation, he had immediately brought the remains back to Qingshi Town.

Leian listened without asking further questions, then stood guard at the door just like Lev.

As noon approached, the other five captains arrived at the manor one after another. Soon, everyone gathered in the hall to ask Tina how to handle the matter.

Tina already had a plan. She said slowly to the group, "The Baron was, after all, from the Rachel Family. We should wait until we have notified the City Lord of Hashan Prefecture."

Just as Laman had told Elvis last night, his Rachel Family was no small fry; Laman's ancestors came from Hashan Prefecture City, and the Rachels of Hashan were a branch of the Rachel Family from the provincial capital.

As for the Rachel Family in the provincial capital, they possess a powerhouse of the Saint Realm, and this Saint Realm powerhouse is none other than Rachel himself!

Facing a Saint Realm powerhouse, even the emperor of the Byron Empire must treat them with great deference, which is why the Byron Emperor at the time handed over the entire Southwest Province, where Hashan County is located, to this Lord Rachel to manage.

Of course, a Saint Realm powerhouse would never manage a territory personally; the true administrators of the Southwest Province are the descendants of Rachel.

The entire Southwest Province consists of eleven counties, and the lord of each county is a branch of the Rachel Family, while Baron Laman is considered a branch of a branch.

To the Rachel Family in the provincial capital, the death of a Laman is nothing, but for Hashan County, some sort of gesture must be made.

In the hall, no sooner had Lady Tina finished speaking than Lev stood up abruptly, not waiting for the others to deliberate, and gave an order:

"Since the lady has said so, Leian, I will trouble you to make a trip and report the news to the county capital."

Those seated were all guard captains, and logically speaking, their status and standing were equal. Even if Lev's strength was greater than the other five captains besides Leian, Leian was no worse than him; both were level six warriors. Yet, Lev's posturing clearly showed him assuming the role of guard commander.

His ambition was plain for all to see.

Seeing this, the others revealed expressions of bewilderment.

Leian had not expected Lev to be so impatient. He had no interest in being a territory's guard commander, but he found Lev's attitude highly disagreeable.

Moreover, he was in a hurry to switch his cultivation technique so he could fuse with the magic crystal core; he had no time to go to the county capital to report news.

Furthermore, in his view, Lev's move was clearly wishful thinking. Given the current situation, it was highly likely that the county capital would personally dispatch a guard commander to oversee Qingshi Town until Randy came of age.

Thinking of this, Leian replied without hesitation: "Captain Lev was the one who discovered the Baron's remains, and he is the most familiar with the details of the matter. I think it would be best if Captain Lev went himself."

With Lev's ambition so obvious, Leian was genuinely worried that the man might do something to his parents while he was away.

"You..."

In front of everyone, Lev had not expected Leian to refuse so bluntly. He felt he had lost face, and projecting his own thoughts onto others, he began to suspect that Leian also had designs on the commander position.

Seeing that a conflict was about to erupt, Warren, the oldest among the guard captains, suddenly stood up to mediate:

"The Baron's death is somewhat suspicious. Leian is a level six warrior, so it is safer for him to guard the manor. Let the matter of reporting the news be left to me."

Among the seven guard captains, Warren had the most seniority; several of the captains, including Leian, had even been taught the path of warrior cultivation by Warren.

Seeing him take the initiative to shoulder the task, everyone agreed, and Lev found it difficult to say anything more.

The matter of reporting the news was best done sooner rather than later, so Warren departed immediately. After some discussion, Lev and the others adopted a posture of preparing against outside retaliation.

They not only strengthened the patrol teams but also guarded each corner of the manor, keeping Lady Tina and young master Randy tightly protected.

The people within the manor were already anxious due to Laman's death, and now, seeing the guard team's posture, they were all incredibly nervous.

Only Leian knew the truth of the matter and felt no tension at all; however, the Cleo Family would likely face significant trouble ahead.

Come to think of it, although Laman had taken the initiative to ambush Elvis, to the Rachel Family in the county capital, Laman was still one of their own.

In this world where strength is supreme, how many people would favor reason over kin?

If Elvis's wife and child were smart enough, they should abandon their surname, leave the territory, and go into hiding immediately.

-

ps: I got carried away writing this, and only after finishing did I realize this transitional chapter was a bit tedious. I hesitated over whether to delete it, but after thinking it over, since I've already finished typing it, I'll just leave it as is.