News (Seeking Collection)

"My apologies, Knight Yiman. I shall have someone send over compensation for the burning of your forest and the mobilization of your militia later..."

Because this was a large-scale operation, Knight Yiman had ultimately arrived as well.

Aaron spurred his horse forward, speaking with a hint of apology.

The vegetation, animals, fish, and even the commoners within a territory were all the wealth of the local lord; even the goods of passing merchants became the lord's property once they touched the ground.

Therefore, any damage required compensation.

"You are too polite, Baron. You did this out of concern for the safety of my men."

Knight Yiman laughed first, though he felt quite dismissive in his heart.

According to his experience, so-called bandit groups were just a bunch of people with no food, perhaps possessing some crude weapons and the nerve to kill, but that was about it.

Casually dispatching a squad of soldiers would surely be enough to wipe them out!

Making such a grand display was being far too cautious.

It even bordered on being cowardly.

However, these thoughts only muttered in his mind; his face revealed absolutely nothing.

Soon, the flames engulfed the small hill, then died out on their own once there was nothing left to burn.

Half a day later, the temperature dropped, and Eight-Fingers volunteered to go and clean up the battlefield.

Knight Yiman dismounted, clearly showing some interest.

Aaron accompanied him with an indifferent air. The surrounding land was scorched black and still held residual heat.

Before long, they saw a tall corpse.

"I've inspected it; it should be a Wild Wolf."

Eight-Fingers said with a hint of excitement, followed by a touch of fear: "And these..."

Knight Yiman looked at the refined weapons and leather armor... his expression gradually changed. Finally, when he saw the wreckage of the three crossbows, the bitter smile on his face could no longer be hidden.

Crossbows were military supplies, and strictly controlled military supplies at that; a wandering Wild Wolf Bandit Group could absolutely not have obtained them.

The Black Curtain behind this was enough to make one's hair stand on end just thinking about it.

He suddenly regretted why he had insisted on coming to take a look.

"It seems this Wild Wolf Gang is indeed well-equipped... I must write to my father and have him investigate this thoroughly."

Aaron said solemnly, glancing at Yiman beside him.

He had brought him here to be a witness, and at this point, they were already in the same boat and could be counted as a source of support.

Knight Yiman smiled bitterly. With no other options, he could only say: "I will testify alongside you..."

"In that case, I shall leave the remaining cleanup to you, Knight Yiman. I am a bit tired and must return to get some sleep."

Aaron laughed.

In reality, Lin had also started causing trouble in the dream world recently, forcing him to keep an eye on things just in case.

After all, it was only through the existence of the Light of Redemption cult that he could continuously receive sacrifices and occasionally gain extraordinary power in this world.

Sothos Territory.

Elaine Villa.

A raven flew over and landed on the windowsill.

Elaine took out the note, glanced at it, and her expression shifted slightly before she took it to the study.

Inside the study, Colin and Feli sat opposite each other, clearly having been there for some time.

"News has arrived from Blackstone Territory!"

Elaine handed the letter to Colin, stepped quickly out of the study, and closed the door behind her.

Bang!

Sure enough, the sound of things being smashed erupted from the study the next moment.

"Didn't you say your men would definitely succeed? How could it end like this?"

Colin grabbed Feli by the collar, losing his composure as he asked in a hoarse voice.

"There was nothing to be done about it. Didn't you see? That brother of yours gathered hundreds of men... what could I have done?"

Feli broke free, straightened his collar, and said quite calmly: "Now... you should carefully consider how to cover this up. After all, that batch of military supplies was provided by you."

"You... you did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Colin roared: "It could have been transported from outside! The armaments of the Kagash Kingdom are far superior to those of the Green Forest, so why did you insist that I provide the weapons?"

"My lord, you misunderstand me... Although the Kagash Kingdom has armaments, the Green Forest has checkpoints, and the transport of supplies is strictly inspected..."

Feli spread his hands: "The fact that we could mobilize the Wild Wolf Bandit Group was already the greatest support the kingdom's intelligence network could provide..."

In reality, transporting armaments inside was not particularly difficult, but Feli had not come to help Colin secure his title.

Seeing him at odds with Aaron, or even breaking out into open warfare, would be the most ideal outcome.

Colin's momentum faltered, and he slumped back into his chair: "Tell me... what should I do?"

"Is there any possibility of covering this up?"

"Impossible!" Colin shook his head: "Once Father takes inventory of the armory, there is no way to hide it..."

"Then what would happen if you went to confess to The Count right now?" Feli continued to ask.

"I don't know..."

Colin's eyes were vacant, yet he shuddered.

He desperately hoped his father would suppress the matter for his sake, but he felt it was unlikely.

If he were truly punished, the consequences would be impossible to predict.

"Lord Colin, you still have one chance!" Seeing this, Feli's gaze turned dark: "Your younger brother is simply too outstanding. If things continue this way, your father will waver sooner or later. Why not... strike first!"

"What did you say?"

Colin stood up abruptly, nearly drawing his sword to kill the man.

But in the end, he did not act, instead shouting: "Get out!"

Feli was not flustered in the slightest and rose to leave.

Only after stepping out of the room did he exchange a glance with Elaine.

A smile appeared on Elaine's face, and she nodded.

A moment later, Elaine walked into the study and saw Colin chugging wine.

"My dear... I have good news to tell you."

A maternal smile appeared on Elaine's face as she placed Colin's hand on her lower abdomen: "I'm pregnant!"

"A child? My child?"

Colin jolted, suddenly much more sober, his face filled with emotion.

He couldn't help but lean down, resting his head against Elaine's bosom, as if listening to the child's heartbeat.

He had never done such a thing with Sylvie.

Not long after, Colin suddenly felt droplets of water landing on his face.

He looked up and saw that Elaine's face was already covered in tears.

"Why are you crying?"

Colin couldn't help but ask.

"I'm afraid..." Elaine snuggled gently against Colin: "And Lady Sylvie... she won't tolerate me."

"Don't worry about her, she's nothing but a whore! And that bastard, he isn't my son either; I wish I could strangle him to death!"

Colin's face suddenly turned ferocious, yet carried a sense of resolve: "Believe me, Elaine... everything will get better."

In that moment, the news of Elaine's pregnancy, along with the existence of Xia Ya, became the final straw that broke Colin's resolve.