Asking for Compensation

Chapter 12: Asking for Compensation

Luo Ning naturally knew those guards had not betrayed him at Wiggins's instigation. He had confirmed that the moment the traitors made their move.

The reason he was pinning the blame on Wiggins now was mainly to put him in the wrong, making it easier to "demand compensation" from him.

"Grandfather, those nine guards were personally selected by Father for me. Would Father not know what kind of people they were?"

Rulans cast Wiggins a sidelong glance, only to see the latter shift slightly and avert his eyes.

Luo Ning was right. Those nine guards had indeed been carefully selected by him—only, he had chosen the worst ones.

Laziness, fighting, gambling, and the like—each of the nine had done at least one or two of those things. Their leader, Pierce, was an especially notorious troublemaker.

He had only wanted to find a troublemaker to give Luo Ning a hard time. He had never expected that bunch to betray Luo Ning, much less try to kill him.

"My caravan had only just left Wushan City and stopped in the woods to rest when those nine men attacked."

Luo Ning continued, his tone carrying the lingering fear of someone who had narrowly escaped death.

"Think about it, Grandfather. They were only castle guards, and every one of them was an ordinary man. How could they have had the nerve to attack me? Though I've been stripped of my Right of Inheritance, I am still their master, the Baron of Mountain Forest Town, and a member of the Wushan Family by blood!"

At this point, he glared furiously at Wiggins. "The more I think about it, the more certain I am that they were acting on Father's orders. Otherwise, they would never have dared!"

"I did not!"

"I may hate you—I may not even want to acknowledge you as my son—but I would never go so far as to send someone to kill you!"

Wiggins's beard and hair bristled with rage. What he hated most in his life was being falsely accused, yet whenever others accused and blamed him, he found it difficult to argue back because they always had reasonable evidence.

"If I truly wanted to kill you, why would I have given you so many resources?"

"That was only for the sake of my dead mother!"

Luo Ning shot back, leaving him speechless.

The living room fell silent for a moment. Rulans sighed. "There may have been some unforeseen circumstances in this matter. I believe your father is not foolish enough to kill you."

No one knew a son better than his father. Rulans understood Wiggins well enough. The man might be stupid, reckless, and thoughtless, but he was not stupid enough to do something as foolish as killing his own son.

"Did those people say anything before they attacked?" the Marquis asked.

Luo Ning considered it. Since the question had been asked so directly, there were some things he could not conceal.

After all, the remaining traitors were still alive. If Rulans sent someone to question them, their motives for betraying him would become clear soon enough.

"Before they attacked, they told me they did not want to go to Mountain Forest Town. They said it was remote and dangerous, that going there was the same as waiting to die. They also said the family had already abandoned me, and that I would probably be killed before I even reached Mountain Forest Town."

Chahar, standing behind him, was somewhat puzzled. Had those traitors really said such things? Why had he not heard them?

Then it dawned on him. They had probably said it after chasing the Baron into the woods. At the time, he had fallen to the ground and had not yet gotten back up.

"Child, the family has never abandoned you. I stripped you of your Right of Inheritance only for the family's long-term interests!"

Rulans revealed a little of the reason in an attempt to comfort Luo Ning, then turned and harshly criticized Wiggins.

"The Legitimate Grandson of the Wushan Family dares to go to Mountain Forest Town, yet the family's guards dare to shrink back? Wiggins, how exactly do you train them?"

Wiggins was in the wrong on this matter, so he said nothing.

Luo Ning still wanted to shift some of the blame onto Wiggins. He continued, "Their leader said they wanted to steal my supplies and money, then leave Wushan Territory and live elsewhere."

"Although those motives sound reasonable enough, I still feel that someone was directing them from behind the scenes."

He voiced his suspicion. "Otherwise, they would not have had such courage."

"Heh, my grandson, you are mistaken about that."

Rulans understood. Luo Ning had assumed Wiggins was behind it, which was why he had vented his anger on Wiggins.

"Everyone has ambitions when it comes to pursuing benefits. Guards are no exception. They must have seen that you were an ordinary person with no men around you, so they decided to join forces and rob you."

The old Marquis analyzed, "And I would wager they knew you had a great many Gold Coins, which was why they were tempted."

As soon as those words fell, Holwart, who had followed them over, felt his heart skip a beat. He immediately stepped forward and bowed. "My lord, you are correct. When I handed the Gold Coins you bestowed to Young Master Luo Ning that day, they were watching!"

As he spoke, he apologized to Luo Ning again. "I never expected my carelessness to cause you such great trouble. Holwart is at fault!"

Wiggins spread his hands. "See? I told you it had nothing to do with me!"

Luo Ning looked embarrassed and did not reply, tacitly accepting that conclusion.

His reaction confused the servant Chahar standing behind him once more.

More accurately, he had been bewildered from the moment he stood before the gates of Wushan Castle until now.

He could not understand why the Baron suspected that the Count had ordered those traitors to act. Nor could he understand why, if the Baron believed the Count wanted him dead, he still dared to return to Wushan Castle.

Does the master know for certain that the Marquis will stand up for him? Chahar thought.

At that moment, Rulans's stern expression softened considerably. If a father truly had tried to kill his son, he would have been deeply pained.

"The matter is clear now. Luo Ning, do not be so angry with your father. He may be a little stupid, but he would not go so far as to kill you. We Wushans are not the Hyde Family."

"Also, Holwart was not careful enough. Dock him six months' wages!"

Holwart did not defend himself. Instead, he bowed and accepted the punishment. "Holwart accepts the punishment and will remember this lesson. I hope this can soothe Young Master's anger."

Though Holwart had indeed been somewhat careless, he had also helped him to some extent. Luo Ning felt a little awkward seeing him punished.

"Grandfather, this matter has little to do with Holwart. Let it go."

Yet Holwart insisted on admitting fault. "No, Young Master. This truly was my mistake. Please do not defend or plead for me."

Rulans chuckled. "Since Luo Ning is pleading for you, then let it be waived."

He then said to Luo Ning, "You and Wiggins are Father and Son. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, that is enough."

Luo Ning also gave Rulans due respect and dipped slightly toward Wiggins. "I was too angry just now. Thinking it over carefully, I did wrongly accuse you."

"Hmph!" Wiggins turned away with an angry snort, though he felt somewhat better inside.

Luo Ning turned to Rulans. "Knight Macken killed four of the nine traitors. I have brought back the rest and intend to hand them over to Father. I do not dare keep such traitors by my side any longer."

"Knight Macken?"

Rulans glanced at the unfamiliar-looking knight standing behind Luo Ning. "This is my first time seeing him."

Luo Ning chuckled and casually made up a story.

"Macken is a Wandering Knight. We have known each other for several months. When he learned that I had become the Baron of Mountain Forest Town, he wished to follow me. Thanks to him, I survived safely today."

Macken gave Rulans a Knight's Salute, then returned to his place behind Luo Ning.

Wiggins, on the other hand, looked him up and down. "Though I did not use even a fraction of my strength in that kick just now, you were able to take One Kick from me without falling. You have some ability. Following the Wushan Family will not be a loss for you."

It was true that he had not used his full strength, but claiming he had not used even a fraction was clearly nonsense.

Luo Ning did not expose him and instead began steering the conversation toward the reason he had returned.

"Though Macken is fairly capable, having no guards around me is still extremely inconvenient. I cannot possibly leave every matter to a Professional Knight."

Luo Ning's tone became respectful, completely unlike the way he had spoken to Wiggins earlier. "Therefore, Father, I ask that you arrange a few more trustworthy guards for me."

Perhaps because Luo Ning was being so polite, or perhaps because his grievance had just been cleared, Wiggins was in a rather good mood.

Hearing this, he agreed loudly without a second thought. "Fine!"

Wiggins looked at Holwart. "Go. Find nine new guards for Luo Ning."

"Father, nine is too few!"

Luo Ning stopped Holwart just as he was about to turn and carry out the order. "Mountain Forest Town is too dangerous. If you give me only nine soldiers, they will think the family is sending them to their deaths, and they may develop other thoughts. So I hope you can give me more men. A hundred would be best!"

Rulans, seated nearby, could not help twitching the corner of his mouth.

He suddenly understood why he had felt something strange ever since Luo Ning entered the room.

Meanwhile, Wiggins reverted to his usual hot temper. "What? A hundred? There are not even a hundred guards currently on duty at Wushan Castle, and you are asking me for a hundred!"

"No! Absolutely not!"

Normally, only one Knight Order was stationed around Wushan City. Each day, the Knight Order sent out one Knight Squad to guard Wushan Castle.

A Knight Order had ten Knight Squads. Each Knight Squad consisted of twelve Professional Knights, thirty-six Squire Knights, ten archers, and sixty infantrymen.

The guards Luo Ning had seen at the gate were the infantrymen of one Knight Squad, so Wiggins was not lying. There truly were fewer than a hundred guards on duty.

But Luo Ning did not need to concern himself with any of that. He only needed to ask. Even if he could not get them, he would lose nothing.

"Father, surely you cannot even produce a hundred guards? You are the Count of Wushan City! In my heart, Grandfather comes first, and you come second. Yet you cannot even produce a hundred guards. This..."

"Bullshit!"

Wiggins roared, "It is only a hundred men. Do you think I cannot provide them?"

Rulans directly rolled his eyes and shook his head helplessly. When had this grandson of his become so skilled at provoking people?

"Luo Ning, you are asking for a hundred guards. That number is too large."

The old Marquis immediately extinguished Luo Ning's hopes. "As far as I know, Mountain Forest Town has fewer than a thousand residents. Even if you want to form a defensive force, recruiting ten or twenty militiamen would be enough. Asking your father for a hundred guards—first, you have no use for so many; second, you cannot afford to support them."

Upon hearing that, Luo Ning's burning heart was doused with cold water.

Mountain Forest Town had fewer than a thousand people?

Could that even be called a town?

His territory was far too difficult!

"All right, Wiggins. Arrange twenty guards for Luo Ning, and give him some additional resources. That way, once he reaches Mountain Forest Town, he will be spared the trouble of recruiting militiamen himself."

Wiggins nodded. "Twenty is more reasonable."

"Grandfather, twenty is too few!"

Luo Ning transformed into a Bargaining merchant. With so few people in his territory, he had to find a way to increase the population.

Otherwise, when would he ever reach the three thousand population required for the Prosperous Population achievement?

If he relied on natural reproduction generation after generation, how long would that take?

"Eighty. Grandfather, Father, just give me eighty guards!"

"Not one fewer!"