Execution of Levin

With the arrival of Count Hardy's personal guard, the unrest caused by the Wild Wolf Bandit Group was quickly quelled.

Most of Cole and the others who had fled were captured and brought back by the cavalry, then subjected to harsh interrogation.

Levin's family was also arrested and interrogated because Duke mentioned that he had seen members of the Wild Wolf Bandit Group leaving their home.

The interrogation revealed that after Levin had given up on joining the Militia, he had followed his father into trade.

During that time, Levin came into contact with members of the Wild Wolf Bandit Group, who had their own motives.

After Duke had beaten him badly that day, Levin had always harbored hatred toward Duke.

But Duke was a member of the Militia, and Levin could not afford to provoke him.

By extension, Levin bore a grudge against the entire Militia.

After contacting Levin, the Wild Wolf Bandit Group used both threats and inducements, and the two sides reached an agreement.

Levin had the bandits disguise themselves as members of his family's merchant caravan and hide in their home, waiting to coordinate from within when the time came.

By the time Levin's father learned of it, it was already too late. There was no way to undo it, and he could only be dragged aboard the pirate ship.

In the end, the Wild Wolf Bandit Group suffered a crushing defeat and revealed Levin's family's involvement during the interrogation.

Even before they confessed, Levin's family had already been locked up.

They were ordinary commoners at heart. How could they withstand interrogation? A little torture was enough to make them confess everything.

Count Hardy's judgment came swiftly: death for all.

Five days later, Enderland Town was unusually lively in the early morning.

A large crowd had gathered before the town's gallows. They were residents of the town, along with quite a few people who had come from distant villages and towns.

They had come to watch the hanging. For many of them, it counted as entertainment.

The gallows in Enderland Town was not the long-drop kind. A long-drop gallows could snap a person's neck instantly, bringing a quick death with less suffering.

The town's gallows killed by suffocation. The process could last several minutes, or even half an hour, and was exceedingly painful from start to finish.

After the criminals died, their bodies would remain hanging from the gallows for a time as a warning, letting others know the consequences of offending Count Hardy's authority.

In this era, hanging was considered a humiliating punishment reserved for commoners. Nobles sentenced to death were usually beheaded.

The members of the Wild Wolf Bandit Group and Levin's family were already standing beneath the gallows, ropes looped around their necks, about to be hanged.

Duke stood below the platform, maintaining order while watching the people above.

He met Levin's eyes. Levin's originally vacant gaze seemed to come alive upon seeing Duke, and then anger and regret flooded his heart.

Duke remained expressionless, standing there and watching Levin the entire time.

A burst of rage immediately surged through Levin. He knew this bastard wanted to watch him slowly suffocate to death.

Even now, he did not believe he had done anything wrong. He felt that he had fallen to this point entirely because of Duke, blaming everything on him.

But there was nothing he could do now. Duke simply stood there watching him, even watching his entire family be sent to the gallows.

As Levin was consumed by anger and regret, the ground suddenly vanished beneath his feet. Pain shot through his neck, and he instantly found himself unable to breathe.

He desperately clawed at the rope, but with his feet dangling in the air, there was nothing he could do. The rope only tightened further around his neck.

During his struggle, Levin saw Duke in front of him open his mouth and say something.

He could no longer hear what Duke said, but he could tell from the shape of his lips.

Duke had said, "Good riddance."

After the Wild Wolf Bandit Group's attack came to an end, life in Enderland Town gradually returned to peace and normalcy.

That day's attack had not caused much harm to the town's residents. Most of the casualties had been members of the Militia.

Count Hardy provided generous compensation for every death, enough to ensure that their families could live comfortably for a long time.

Count Hardy was also generous with rewards for the militiamen who had distinguished themselves in the chaos, granting them substantial wealth.

As the second greatest contributor after Wood, Duke received a reward of thirty Gold Coins.

In truth, he rather wanted the silver-white suit of full-body armor Cole had worn, but he could only think about it. Something of that caliber was basically impossible to grant him as a reward.

Looking at the heavy bag of Gold Coins in his hand, Duke suddenly felt like he did not know how to spend the money.

With this money, he could eat cured meat every day, enough to last him a very long time.

After receiving the money, Duke not only improved his own life but also took out five Gold Coins and forcibly gave them to Uncle John's family.

He was someone who repaid kindness. He was never stingy toward those who had helped him, and as long as he was capable, he would certainly return the favor.

Aunt Anna had originally wanted to marry Loy to Duke, but Uncle John stopped her.

It was not that he looked down on Duke. Rather, Uncle John knew that his daughter was no longer worthy of Duke.

Uncle John understood far more than Aunt Anna did. He knew that Duke would only go farther and farther in the future.

How could Loy, the ordinary daughter of a farmer, possibly be worthy of such a man?

When the difference in status was too great, being together was not necessarily a good thing.

Duke did not know he had nearly faced pressure to marry. Right now, he was busy with something else.

In Enderland Town, Wood looked at Duke with a smile and asked, "Duke, do you want to become stronger?"

"I do," Duke answered without hesitation.

Wood nodded. "Good. Then you have an opportunity now. The Count is recruiting personal guards, and I have already put your name forward."

"Recruiting personal guards?" Duke had already expected it.

A noble's personal guards were extremely important. Loyalty and trust came first.

Only those trusted enough could have a chance to become a noble's personal guard.

Duke's background was exceedingly simple, as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

Combined with his outstanding performance during this time, he was more than qualified for Wood to recommend him.

Wood nodded. "That's right. More importantly, you have a chance to become a knight."

"There will be a selection process for the personal guard recruitment, and you will be taught the Breathing Technique. Those who can master the Breathing Technique can become knights and be given important positions. Of course, even if you cannot learn the Breathing Technique, working hard to become a personal guard would still be excellent."

In truth, this personal guard recruitment was essentially a knight selection process.

It was also one of Count Hardy's methods of selecting and cultivating talent: choosing from among outstanding young people recommended from various places, then screening again for those with the potential to become knights.

Personal guards were secondary. Knight Level powerhouses who had mastered the Breathing Technique were a noble's true foundation.