Rose Tavern

After Lin Lei finished off the three leaders, the surrounding bandits scattered like birds in flight, fleeing in every direction.

Returning to the caravan that had been struggling to hold its ground, Lin Lei grabbed Faceless with one hand while checking on the casualties with the other.

Although the initial rain of arrows had caught everyone off guard, the soldiers had kept Lin Lei's orders in mind throughout the journey, remaining vigilant and protecting their vital points.

Coupled with their training in the Bronze Chapter, the soldiers were generally stronger than the bandits, who were also at the bronze level. As a result, there were no deaths, only eight injuries.

"Phew."

Lin Lei let out a sigh of relief after hearing Luo Ji's battlefield report; these soldiers were his prized assets, and he could not bear to lose a single one.

"Speak. Why did you attack us? Crouching Dragon Ravine is so remote, and we only just acquired these goods. No one could have told you about this; there is no way you could have known."

Having arrived in an era rampant with thieves, Lin Lei knew well that while there seemed to be many bandits in the wild, the odds of coincidentally running into them were slim, let alone encountering such a blatant ambush.

"Hmph!"

Faceless let out a cold snort and turned his head away, refusing to face Lin Lei.

"Behave yourself and answer the question properly."

Luo Ji, standing behind him, could not stand his arrogant attitude and lashed him with a whip, leaving his skin torn and bleeding.

Lin Lei said nothing more, and a silence fell between them.

After a while, Lin Lei took a deep breath and spoke to Luo Ji.

"It's in your hands. Find out who ordered him."

At heart, Lin Lei was a peace-loving man and had always been repulsed by torture, yet many things in this world did not go as one wished. For the sake of himself and his people, he had to take such measures.

Lin Lei walked to the other side of the carriage and lit a stick of tobacco unique to this world, the white smoke curling into a ring before him.

He had felt a rush of pleasure during the slaughter, but now that the battle was over, the fading dopamine left him filled with guilt, even though he had killed heinous criminals.

He was struggling to adapt to this violent world.

"Baron."

Lin Lei, who was watching the soldiers clear the battlefield, was roused by Luo Ji.

"What is it? Did you find out?"

"No, he's dead."

Lin Lei's pupils contracted instantly as he walked over to where Faceless had been.

Faceless's body was covered in wounds, his eyes, nose, and ears distorted; it was clear that Luo Ji's methods had been brutal, yet even so, Lin Lei had not heard a single cry of pain from him.

"Find a place to bury him. He was a tough man."

Lin Lei did not blame Luo Ji, for he was the one who had given the order.

"Yes, Baron."

With no useful information obtained, the caravan slowly resumed its journey. Having experienced their first ambush, everyone became much more cautious.

As the sunset glow faded, a battered caravan slowly entered the outskirts of Flower Territory; it was the group led by Lin Lei.

After a long trek, they finally arrived at Flower Territory before the sun went down.

"Centurion Lin."

Before they even entered the city, Lin Lei heard a hearty laugh as a city gate guard called out to him.

"Henry, long time no see."

Lin Lei recognized him as a former squad leader under his command; when Lin Lei resigned, he had recommended him for the position of centurion.

"You're here to sell goods, right? Why don't you go ahead and get busy? When I'm off duty tonight, let's go have a drink at the Rose Tavern."

Henry said with a smile, and Lin Lei happily agreed.

Henry was currently on duty at the city gate, and chatting with people would lead to accusations of dereliction of duty. Although he didn't fear such punishment due to his family background, it would still have an impact.

Lin Lei had just arrived at Flower Territory and had many things to attend to; he needed to arrange lodging for his men, scout market prices, and catch up with old friends, so it was indeed not the best time.

With the help of the gate guard, Lin Lei's group quickly passed through the gate, reached the trade market, and found a private courtyard to store their goods.

"Luo Ji, since we've returned to Flower Territory, you should go home first. Return to the team when we are about to leave."

"Thank you, Baron. However, I am quite familiar with Flower Territory and know many of the merchants, large and small. I'd rather find buyers for the team first."

"Very well."

Seeing Luo Ji's firm attitude, Lin Lei agreed.

After arranging for suitable men to guard the cargo, Luo Ji headed straight for the market with a few soldiers, his brisk and efficient manner leaving Lin Lei, who had been observing him, feeling quite gratified.

After Luo Ji left, Lin Lei returned to the Ai Mansion to visit Aierlan's parents. They had entrusted both siblings to him, and he could not simply ignore them.

Over the past month, the Ai Mansion had suffered a significant decline in power following the departure of Viscount Aixing, but fortunately, the lord of Flower Territory was a sentimental man, which had barely allowed them to preserve their family estate.

As for Lin Lei's arrival, Aierlan's parents were as warm as ever, fussing over him and asking about the situation of Allen and his sister, all of which Lin Lei answered one by one.

Aierlan's uncle did not react much to Lin Lei; although Lin Lei was a baron, he was merely a frontier baron with little real power.

Lin Lei maintained a smiling face regardless of whether these people's attitudes were good or bad, even presenting the gifts he had prepared—several pieces of beautiful, pristine silver-tier beast fur he had selected from his cargo.

At this, the expression on Aierlan's uncle's face was no longer as cold as before, and Aierlan's mother's smile grew even brighter.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Lei declined the invitation to dinner and left the Ai Mansion.

"Haha, you arrived so early. Were you getting impatient?"

Upon arriving at the Rose Tavern, Lin Lei spotted Henry sitting in the middle of the tavern at a glance. He hadn't taken off his military uniform and was busy flirting with a waitress dressed as a bunny girl.

"Not at all, I just finished my mission and sat down here myself."

Hearing Lin Lei's voice, Henry turned his head to look at him.

"Two Flaming Red Lips, please."

Lin Lei said casually to the nearby waitress, then pulled out a chair and sat down next to Henry.

"Why do you like this kind of tavern now? Didn't you always prefer the rowdy atmosphere of mercenary taverns, and dislike the pink, ambiguous vibes of the Rose Tavern?"

"Did I ever say such a thing? No, no, no, you must have misheard."

Henry defended himself, even patting the backside of a passing waitress as he spoke.

Lin Lei looked at him with disdain, and Henry crumbled under his gaze.

"Fine, I did say that, but there's a reason for my change of heart. I've fallen for someone, and she just happens to work at this tavern, which is why I chose this place."

Lin Lei shrugged, signaling for him to continue.

Henry first glanced around, then leaned in toward Lin Lei, acting like a thief caught in the act.

"Do you see that woman at the very back of the tavern?"

Lin Lei scanned the room with his gaze and, sure enough, spotted a woman drinking alone.

She had dark skin, with exceptionally prominent muscles in her thighs and arms, and her long hair was tied back with a cord, giving her an air of wild beauty.

"I see her, she's a beauty. But if you like her, why don't you just make a move?"

Lin Lei said.

"Do you even know who she is?"

"No idea. I haven't even been in Flower Territory for two months yet."

Henry lowered his voice.

"She is the daughter of the Rose Tavern's owner, the apple of Old Man Kalie's eye. Plenty of guys who tried to hit on her have ended up as fertilizer for the soil."

"That's something else."

Lin Lei picked up the drink the waitress had brought, popped it open, and chugged the whole bottle.

"Let's put that aside. You must have something important to do since you came to Flower Territory this time; you wouldn't have traveled this far otherwise."

"It's nothing much, just that my territory is out of money. I organized my soldiers for a hunt and got some beast hides, so I wanted to bring them to Flower Territory to sell and cover the fiscal deficit."

Lin Lei said nonchalantly, but Henry suddenly perked up.

"How much stock do you have? I might be able to find you a suitable buyer."

"Really? I have three full carts. Are you sure the person you find can handle that much?"

"Don't worry, even if you had twice as much, she could handle it. Wait here, I'll be right back."

With that, Henry left his seat and walked over to the girl's table with a fawning expression.

"Is she the buyer this guy was talking about? How much financial power could this young girl possibly have?"

Lin Lei blinked in disbelief and picked up the bottle on the table to chug again.

Soon, Henry returned with the girl, both of them chatting and laughing as they approached Lin Lei's table.

"Lin Lei, this is Maria, the owner of a leather factory."

"Maria, this is Lin Lei, a Baron of the Kingdom and the supplier of this cargo."

Henry introduced their identities to each other, but Lin Lei pulled Henry aside and lowered his voice.

"You aren't actually saying she can buy all my goods, are you?"

"Relax, Miss Maria is very capable. She's easily in the top five in all of Flower Territory. Trust me."

Henry explained, then dragged the still-surprised Lin Lei back to the table.

"Hello, Miss Maria. Since you want to buy fur, why don't you come with me to see the quality of the pelts at my carts before we discuss the price?"

"That works."

Maria was unexpectedly easy to talk to. Followed by two silver-tier mercenaries, she left the Rose Tavern with Lin Lei and the others and arrived at Lin Lei's courtyard.

"This is the place."

Guided by Lin Lei, the five of them quickly reached the carts.

"Lord Baron."

The soldiers looked at the returning Lin Lei with confusion.

"Open the cargo truck. This is the buyer for our furs this time; I brought her along to inspect the goods."

"Yes."

The soldier saluted and began to move.

Maria watched the discipline and efficiency of these soldiers from the side, secretly astonished.

"Gu'er, what do you think of these soldiers? How do they compare to our family's mercenaries?"

Maria asked the warrior on her left.

"Elite. Our mercenaries could defeat them one-on-one, fight to a draw five-on-five, but twenty-on-twenty, we would undoubtedly lose."

Maria nodded.

"Just as I thought. It seems this Baron is a man of true ability; we must establish a good relationship with him as soon as possible."