At the sound of the bell, fully armed guards rushed onto the wooden wall. Nalant estimated that there were at least twenty of them on the stretch directly ahead.
"With this many men, there must be at least forty or fifty guards in that camp!" Nalant's expression turned grave. At the same time, he grew even more curious about what was inside.
Under normal circumstances, a baron could afford to maintain about seventy or eighty soldiers. A wealthier one might have as many as a hundred.
Any more than that would be beyond a baron's means. After all, a barony usually had a population of just over ten thousand, and even supporting a hundred guards was no easy feat.
Yet Quinte had placed half his forces in a camp in the Buffer Zone. There was clearly something suspicious about it.
"Who are you?" Just then, a burly, middle-aged man appeared on the wall.
The man wore iron armor and had an imposing air.
Nalant studied him carefully and discovered that the man was not only a Title Knight, but also stronger than him—a Mid-Rank Bronze Knight.
"I'm the newly appointed lord of Storm Territory. Who are you?" Nalant stepped forward and called up to the man on the wall, feigning ignorance as he asked in a deep voice.
"So you're the lord of Storm Territory. I'm Sir Dili, a vassal of Baron Quinte! Lord, you've already trespassed into Baron Quinte's territory. Please withdraw at once!"
Dili's lips curled into a false smile, but his words were dripping with arrogance.
"Baron Quinte's territory? Sir Dili, I thought this was the Buffer Zone. Since when did it become part of the Barony of Quinte?" Nalant's expression darkened. They were shamelessly twisting the facts.
"Besides, this is the Buffer Zone, and most of it belongs to Storm Territory!"
It had taken only four or five minutes to reach this point from the border. Nalant had kept track of the distance, and they had traveled no more than four or five hundred meters.
By his calculation, Baron Quinte had not only violated the rules by building a camp and stationing troops in the Buffer Zone, but had also encroached on the part belonging to Nalant.
"Sorry, Lord, I don't know what you're talking about. This is part of Baron Quinte's territory. Furthermore, Baron Quinte has ordered that no one may approach this camp. Leave at once, or you'll bear the consequences!"
At Nalant's words, Sir Dili's face darkened, and his false smile vanished.
As he spoke, the guards on the wall raised their bows.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Seeing this, Quick and the others reacted immediately, drawing their swords and moving to shield Nalant. Vivian and the other guards swiftly nocked their arrows and aimed them at the men on the wall.
"Lord, I advise you to stick to being a lord and enjoy what little time you have left before the Dark Creatures break through your castle. The Buffer Zone isn't yours to meddle in! Besides, this is the dense Blazing Forest, where magical beasts often appear. If you stay too long, you might find yourself in danger!" Seeing that Nalant and his men were not afraid and looked ready to fight back, Sir Dili spoke again.
This time, he made no effort to hide his hostility. He even deliberately roused his Battle Qi, and the powerful glow of a Mid-Rank Bronze Knight spread around him.
The two sides stood in a tense standoff. The silence lasted for more than ten seconds, and throughout it, Nalant's gaze never wavered as he stared at the arrogant Dili.
"You're right. This place is different from the others!" After more than ten seconds, Nalant suddenly broke into a broad, cheerful smile. "Quick, Vivian, lower your weapons. We're leaving!"
With that, Nalant led his eighteen subordinates back the way they had come.
Watching them leave, Dili grinned in delight. "Haha! I didn't expect him to be such a coward. I said a few words, and off he went! That certainly saves us some trouble!"
"Sir Dili, you provoked him like that just now. Are we sure there won't be any consequences?" the captain of the guards beside him asked cautiously.
"What consequences could there be? The baron sent word to warn us not to worry if we ran into this lord. We just had to scare him off. Apparently, he's only a pitiful second son of a baron!"
As it turned out, after learning a few days ago that Storm Territory had a new lord, Quinte had sent people to investigate. Once he discovered that Nalant was only a baron's second son, he had relaxed and thought little of him.
"I see! Sir Dili, you were so imposing just now!" The guard captain immediately showered him with praise.
"Haha, he's just a green boy. Never mind the fifty guards in our camp; I could take them all on by myself!"
"Exactly! Exactly! Sir Dili is a Mid-Rank Bronze Knight!"
"Mm. I'm heading down. Keep the guards alert in case the lord of Storm Territory tries anything. And when that guard who went on watch comes back, give him ten lashes. He was probably sleeping in the woods." With that, Dili went down from the wall!
"This is outrageous, my lord! We should report this to the earl at once. He'll surely demand an explanation from Earl Blackiron!" On the way back, Quick spoke angrily. Dili's arrogance had left every guard seething.
"Quick, Dili was so confident even after we discovered what he was doing. Do you really think telling the earl would help?" From what Nalant remembered of the previous owner, a dispute like this would likely drag on for a long time.
The Blazing Forest was on the edge of the duchy. The situation affected Nalant, but it had little impact on the earl or the king.
Even if the king eventually ordered Earl Blackiron to deal with it, they would probably find some excuse to stall. The place was too remote. Unless the two earls made a serious issue of it and blew things up, the king wouldn't pay it any attention.
Besides, Nalant had his own reasons for keeping quiet. The camp had been built in his Buffer Zone, which meant that, if things went his way, whatever benefits lay there could belong to him.
But if the king or the earl found out, he could only watch from the sidelines.
"But, my lord, they're violating Storm Territory's rights!" Quick said, reluctant to accept it.
Ding! The mission to locate the camp has been completed. The mission reward, a new plant species, has been issued! Ding! Baron Quinte is determined to seize your interests and has even threatened you, damaging your dignity as a lord. You should strike back hard at the enemy! System Side Quest: Destroy the camp in the Buffer Zone and kill the enemy or drive them out of the Buffer Zone. System Reward: One copy of the Basic Battle Qi Manual and information about two Sprites!
"Two Sprites' information?" Just then, the system's chimes rang out in Nalant's mind. When he heard the reward, he nearly jumped on the spot. It was incredible.
Nalant wasn't particularly interested in the Basic Battle Qi Manual, but information about two Sprites was a rare treasure that could help him develop his territory.
The system's quest was also exactly what he had been thinking about.
He remembered Dili's threat, and there were also the serfs they had captured.
More importantly, Quinte had been willing to fall out with his neighbor to seize that place. Nalant didn't need to think twice to know there had to be something valuable there. It was in his Buffer Zone, and even if the Sprites belonged to Quinte, that wouldn't matter.
Seeing Quick still looking indignant, Nalant suppressed his excitement and said, "Quick, have you forgotten that the earl doesn't have to be the one to defend our territory's rights?"
"My lord, you mean..." Quick's eyes widened.
"Didn't Sir Dili say it himself? This place is different from the others. This is the Blazing Forest, where magical beasts often appear! If one day they're all dead, that would be perfectly normal!" Nalant smiled faintly.
Waaah, rolling around and begging for recommendation votes and investments~~