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The night passed quickly. The next morning, Leian acted as if nothing had happened and rose early to practice his swordsmanship as usual. Before long, however, a guard knight hurried over to summon him.

The man was Edwin, a fourth-level warrior and one of the guard knights under Kelun, the captain of the guards.

Before Edwin even entered the courtyard, he shouted from afar, "Captain Leian, Madam Tina requests your presence!"

Tina was Benson's wife. They had a son named Randy, Randy Rachel in full, who was not yet three years old.

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

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

"Isn't Kelun on duty today?"

Leian calmly sheathed his sword, pretending not to know anything as he casually replied.

For the past few days, his guard squad had been on leave, while Kelun's squad was responsible for watch duty. If anything happened at the estate, Kelun should normally have been summoned.

"Captain Kelun is missing! So are Lord Baron, Young Master Benson, Steward Ryan—they've all disappeared!"

Edwin spoke rapidly, looking extremely anxious and even somewhat panicked.

After hearing this, Leian put on a suitably shocked expression and asked doubtfully, "What did you say? They've all disappeared? What exactly happened?"

As he spoke, he strode out of the courtyard and headed toward the estate.

"This is what happened..."

Edwin jogged alongside Leian and quickly spilled everything he knew.

It turned out that before Benson left the previous night, he had told his wife that he had business to handle and would return late, so Tina did not need to wait for him.

Tina had not asked further. She had gone to bed early with her son, only to discover upon waking that Benson had not returned all night.

Out of curiosity, she went to the study and training grounds where Benson often stayed, but found no trace of him. Then she intended to ask Steward Ryan, only to find that Ryan was missing as well. After that, she discovered that her father-in-law, Laman, had also vanished.

At that point, Tina realized the seriousness of the matter. She immediately found the estate's patrolling warriors and asked where Captain Kelun was, only to be told that Kelun had been summoned away by Young Master Benson the previous night and had never returned.

Overnight, her husband, father-in-law, steward, and captain of the guards had all gone missing. Alarmed and anxious, Tina immediately ordered people to continue searching the town while gathering Leian and Carl.

Edwin's task had been to notify Leian.

Hearing this, Leian nodded without saying much. Before long, the two arrived at the estate.

After entering the estate, Leian decisively blew the assembly whistle before heading to the main hall.

Inside the hall, Tina sat motionlessly, lost in thought. When she saw Leian enter, she quickly raised her head and asked:

"Leian, do you know where Lord Baron and Young Master Benson went?"

Leian was about to answer when a guard knight rushed in frantically and shouted, "Madam, this is bad! Commander Carl has disappeared too!"

Tina seemed to have been prepared for this. Upon hearing the news, she merely nodded. "I understand."

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

Seeing this, Leian directly shook his head. "Madam, I don't know where Lord Baron is either. These past few days, he has not summoned me."

Tina did not press further. In truth, as Benson's wife, she had vaguely known about the plans of Laman and his son. Especially last night, when Benson had specifically spoken to her beforehand.

She had not connected it to that before, but now, seeing the identities of those who had disappeared, how could she fail to guess the reason?

Still, Benson had clearly said the previous night that he would return later. Yet there was still no sign of him now. Something must have gone wrong.

The more Tina thought about it, the more uneasy she became. After a brief consideration, she gave another order:

"Leian, arrange for the Green-Eyed Demon Falcons to notify the other six captains. Have each of them bring back half of their guard knights as quickly as possible. As for your own guard squad, have them search around the town and see if they can find any clues."

Leian continued to play the role expected of a guard captain and immediately replied without hesitation, "Rest assured, Madam. I'll make the arrangements at once."

With that, he turned and left the hall, quickly returning to the training grounds before the estate.

At this time, the twelve guard knights under his command had all assembled at the whistle's call. More than half of Kelun's guards had arrived as well.

At the training grounds, Leian methodically relayed Tina's orders. Afterward, he personally led people to search the surrounding area.

At the speed of the Green-Eyed Demon Falcons, they could reach each town within minutes. The captains should have returned by noon.

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

Even more shocking, he had not returned empty-handed. He had brought five coffins with him.

By the time Leian received the news and rushed to the estate, the bodies of Laman and his son had already been placed in the main hall. Tina stood nearby with a haggard expression. Her son Randy, however, had not appeared at all. Presumably, she could not bear to let such a young child witness this sight.

Lev remained by the entrance. When he saw Leian, he merely nodded and said nothing.

Leian went in for a look. Seeing that Tina had no instructions for him, he left the hall and approached Lev to ask what had happened.

Lev did not seem willing to say much. He only told Leian that someone had suddenly arrived at the town he was stationed in that morning, reporting that Baron Laman had been found dead by the roadside.

Upon receiving the news, he immediately rushed over with his men and discovered the bodies of Laman's group of five. Knowing that this was a grave matter, he promptly brought the bodies back to Qingshi Town.

After hearing this, Leian did not ask further. Like Lev, he stood guard at the entrance.

Near noon, the other five captains from the various towns arrived at the estate one after another. Before long, everyone gathered in the main hall and asked Tina how the matter should be handled.

Tina had already formed a plan. She slowly said to everyone, "Lord Baron was, after all, from the Rachel Family. We should wait until the lord of Hashan Prefecture City has been notified before deciding anything."

Just as Laman had told Elvis the previous night, the Rachel Family was no insignificant force. Laman's ancestors had come from Hashan Prefecture City, while the Rachels of Hashan County were a branch of the Rachel Family in the provincial capital.

As for the Rachel Family in the provincial capital, they possessed a Saint Realm expert. That Saint Realm expert was named Rachel!

Before a Saint Realm expert, even the emperor of the Byron Empire had to court their favor. Thus, the Byron emperor of that time had handed the entirety of the Southwest Province, where Hashan County was located, over to Lord Rachel's management.

Of course, a Saint Realm expert could not possibly manage a territory personally. The true rulers of the Southwest Province were Rachel's descendants.

There were eleven counties in the entire Southwest Province, and the lord of each county was from a branch of the Rachel Family. Baron Laman was considered a branch of a branch.

To the Rachel Family in the provincial capital, the death of one Laman meant little. But Hashan County still had to make some gesture.

No sooner had Madam Tina finished speaking than Lev suddenly stood up before anyone could discuss the matter and directly ordered:

"Since Madam has said so, Leian, I'll have to trouble you to make a trip to the county city and deliver the news."

Everyone seated there was a guard captain. By rights, their status was equal. Although Lev was stronger than the other five captains besides Leian, Leian was no weaker than Lev. Both were sixth-level warriors. Yet Lev's manner clearly showed that he had already cast himself in the role of commander of the guards.

His ambition could not have been more obvious.

The others exchanged strange looks.

Leian had not expected Lev to be so impatient. He had no interest in becoming the commander of a territory's guards, but he greatly disliked Lev's attitude.

Besides, he was in a hurry to change his cultivation technique and fuse with the magic crystal core. How could he have time to go to the county city to deliver a message?

More importantly, in Leian's view, Lev was clearly indulging in wishful thinking. Given the current situation, there was a very high chance that the county city would personally send a guard commander to oversee Qingshi Town until Randy came of age.

Thinking this, Leian answered without hesitation, "Captain Lev was the one who discovered Lord Baron's body. Captain Lev knows the details best. I think it would be better for Captain Lev to go himself."

Lev's ambition was so obvious that Leian truly worried that he might do something to his parents while Leian was away.

"You..."

Before everyone, Lev had not expected Leian to refuse so bluntly. He immediately felt humiliated and even began to suspect, judging Leian by his own standards, that Leian might also have designs on the commander's position.

Seeing that conflict was about to erupt, Warren, the oldest among the guard captains, suddenly stepped forward and volunteered to defuse the situation.

"Lord Baron's death is somewhat suspicious. Leian is a sixth-level warrior, so it would be safer for him to remain at the estate. Leave the task of delivering the news to me."

Among the seven guard captains, Warren had the greatest seniority. Several of the captains, including Leian, had even received their first instruction in warrior cultivation from Warren.

Seeing him take the task upon himself, everyone voiced their agreement. Lev could no longer say anything.

The news had to be delivered as soon as possible, so Warren immediately set off. After discussing matters, Lev and the others promptly adopted the posture of guarding against retaliation from outsiders.

Not only did they strengthen the patrols, they also each guarded a corner of the estate, keeping Madam Tina and Young Master Randy under close protection.

The people in the estate had already been somewhat panicked by Laman's death. Now, seeing the guards' stance, every one of them became exceedingly nervous.

Only Leian knew the truth of the matter and felt no tension at all. The Cleo Family, however, would likely face considerable trouble next.

After all, although Laman had taken the initiative to ambush Elvis, to the Rachel Family of the county city, Laman was one of their own.

In this world where strength reigned supreme, how many people would uphold reason over kinship?

If Elvis's wife and children were smart enough, they should abandon their surname, leave the territory, and quietly hide themselves away.

P.S. I got carried away writing. Only after finishing did I realize this transition chapter was a little cumbersome. I kept hesitating over whether to delete it, but after thinking it over, I had already finished writing it, so I'll leave it as it is.