Philiton's Choice

On the mountain road, five fine horses galloped at top speed. Even traversing mountains and ridges, their stamina and strength were astonishing.

This was the charge capability of Excellent Quality warhorses. Compared to them, ordinary horses were like the difference between clouds and mud.

"Mountain Forest Town is ahead. There's a faint smell of blood in the air. It looks like Prinster and Luo Ning have clashed."

The leading knight was tall and burly, with a square face and a pair of unnaturally squinting eyes. A slanted scar made him exude a fierce aura.

This was Philiton Henry, the captain of the Sain Territory Knight Squad.

"I wonder what the outcome is?" Philiton was a little worried.

But his deputy, Unai, had a relaxed expression. "Boss, you don't need to worry too much. With the few people Luo Ning brought, Prinster can easily handle them. Why would we need to act?"

Philiton didn't respond, just whipped his horse's flank and increased speed.

Turning a corner, they finally reached the top of the hill that was the landmark of Mountain Forest Town, but the scene they saw stunned everyone.

"This..."

The expression on the face of the deputy, who had just been laughing and talking easily, froze. He didn't know what words to use to describe the shock of the moment.

Besides him, no one, including Philiton, had expected the scene before them.

They saw dozens of bodies lying scattered on the ground not far away. Among the ones closest were figures they recognized—Prinster, Dyson, Kate, and Malt.

What impacted their vision the most was the group of people standing on the blood and among the corpses.

One by one, they held dripping longswords, silently yet full of killing intent, watching the sudden uninvited guests.

"How is this possible! Prinster and the other four Transcendent, they're all dead?"

The deputy knight, Unai, said in shock, "He was an Intermediate Knight, his strength was no less than mine."

Philiton's gaze swept across the battlefield, reminding him, "Look carefully, Luo Ning and his men not only killed Prinster, but their casualties are very small. You could say this battle was almost a crushing victory."

A wise light flickered in his eyes. "The intelligence was wrong. Luo Ning has experts by his side!"

"What do we do then, are we still going in?" Unai asked in a low voice.

Philiton frowned. Baron Leysen found it inconvenient to come over, so many matters were left for him to decide.

"Let's test the waters first."

Over there, Luo Ning felt very apprehensive when he saw the other party arrive.

What he feared most was that the other side would disregard everything and charge straight in, leaving no room for buffer.

Fortunately, the situation was quite good.

When Luo Ning saw Philiton and the others stop their horses and stand there for a while, he knew that his formation had intimidated the other side and caused them to have doubts.

So he needed to appear even more "confident and fearless."

Luo Ning was seen holding his sword and slowly walking forward a distance, with Macken and Elrond closely following beside him.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my Mountain Forest Town?"

Philiton and Unai exchanged glances. "It really looks like a crushing defeat. Prinster and the others were almost dead before they could even reveal Baron Leysen's plan."

Only a few people knew about the plan to surround and kill Luo Ning. According to the plan, once Prinster and the others succeeded, even the infantry involved in the matter would be killed.

As long as they were dead, Luo Ning would have no way of knowing their plan.

Philiton quickly dismounted, a smile replacing his expression. "I am Philiton Henry, captain of the Sain Territory Knight Squad. Greetings, Lord Luo Ning!"

Luo Ning's heart stirred. This is working.

"Sir Philiton, you know me?"

As Luo Ning asked, he scanned the other party up and down with a suspicious, scrutinizing gaze, making the other side feel that he had become wary.

"Knights from Sain Territory, why are you appearing in my Mountain Forest Town?"

Philiton was also observing Luo Ning's every move. He became increasingly certain that the other party did not know he was coming.

So, he offered the excuse he had already prepared: "My Lord, I was originally just leading my Knight Squad members on a hunt in the mountains. I happened to hear sounds of fighting here, so I rushed over on horseback to see what was happening."

As Philiton spoke, his gaze skipped over Luo Ning and focused on the bodies behind him, asking with feigned confusion, "My Lord, what is this behind you?"

Luo Ning looked back at the bodies lying all over the ground and couldn't help but show an awkward smile.

"Just killed a few traitors."

He shrugged. "Made you see a joke."

"Traitors?" Philiton was surprised and looked at the bodies on the ground again. "I've seen that person before. Isn't that Prinster, the Administrator of Mountain Forest Town? He betrayed you?"

"Yes~"

As Luo Ning spoke, he walked back, kicked Prinster's head so it faced Philiton, and then continued:

"This fellow served as the Administrator of Mountain Forest Town for a few years and thought he was the lord of Mountain Forest Town."

Luo Ning's tone was full of disdain. "Unfortunately, he overestimated his strength and underestimated mine. His head was separated from his body in one encounter."

He kicked the head over. "With just this much strength, he dared to challenge the dignity of the Wushan Family. Overestimating himself!"

Philiton's doubts vanished at this moment; he was now certain there was an expert by Luo Ning's side.

To cut off Prinster's head in a single exchange, this person definitely possessed Advanced Strength!

Moreover, in this situation, seeing Luo Ning's arrogant attitude, it was clear he didn't put Philiton in his eyes.

That means he's not at all worried that the five of us will make a move!

Philiton took a deep breath and couldn't help but scan the two people beside Luo Ning. He didn't recognize either face, but they both looked like Transcendent.

Especially Macken, who was built like a bear, steady and composed, giving him an even more unfathomable impression.

"I didn't expect Prinster to betray you!"

Philiton shook his head in disbelief. "I remember he was an Intermediate Knight. You were able to win so easily. It seems the Marquis and Count must have arranged experts to protect you in secret."

"It's not really protection," Luo Ning said indifferently. "They just arranged an Advanced Peak Knight in the open, and I estimate he's not even as strong as you."

Philiton's pupils contracted. An Advanced Peak Knight wouldn't be easy to defeat so casually.

If he were to make a move here, even if he killed Luo Ning, there was a high probability this Knight could escape.

If he reported what he had done to Wushan Castle, then the Sain Territory's good days would be over.

Furthermore, this was only what was on the surface.

Philiton kept Baron Leysen's instructions in mind: don't make a move unless you have absolute certainty.

As for Prinster and the others, even if they confessed about the Sain Territory, Leysen could simply claim they were slandering him.

"Captain, should we?" Unai asked in a low voice from the side.

Philiton shook his head slightly. He bowed to Luo Ning in a Knight's salute. "The dignity of the Wushan Family is not to be violated, esteemed Baron. Is there anything I can do to be of service to you?"

"Thank you for your consideration, Sir Philiton!"

Luo Ning spread his hands, looking down on the other party. "But I've already handled things here. All that's left is to clean up the bodies."

"I'd love to have you stay the night, but unfortunately, I don't even know which room I'll be sleeping in tonight."

This was a clear dismissal.

Philiton wasn't angered. He was very respectful. "Then I wish you a wonderful night, sir."

"Thank you for your blessing, Sir!"

Luo Ning waved his hand at the other party. "Please also convey to Baron Leysen on my behalf that as neighbors, I look forward to visiting him."

"Certainly!"

Philiton remounted his horse and prepared to leave with his Knight Squad members.

Luo Ning turned around and said in a deep voice, "Attention everyone, clean up the battlefield now. Search their pockets thoroughly, don't leave a single Copper Coin behind!"

"Yes!" the Guards responded loudly.

The uniform sound echoed, startling Philiton and the others who were about to leave.

They couldn't help but turn their heads to look, only to see that the Guards' spirits were surprisingly high.

"Go!"

Philiton shouted in a low voice and rode away.

Watching the retreating figures, Luo Ning's back was soaked with sweat.

As expected, the other party wasn't willing to take the risk.

He had gambled correctly.

"Keep lying down!"

He came over to Malt and instructed in a low voice, "The others can start cleaning up the battlefield."

Meanwhile, Philiton and the others walked down the slope. Their speed slowed down as soon as their figures disappeared from Luo Ning's sight.

"Captain, are we really just going back like this?" Knight Unai asked in disbelief.

Philiton frowned, deep in thought for a moment, then looked back in the direction of Mountain Forest Town.

"Wait for me here!"

With that, he dismounted and quickly ran towards the battlefield. This time, he didn't take the main road but used the trees in the forest to conceal his figure.

"Sir, someone is approaching."

Elrond reminded him in a low voice.

Luo Ning smiled inwardly. As expected, the other party would come back to confirm. Fortunately, he had just instructed Malt to keep lying down.

If Philiton had come back and seen Malt standing up, he would have immediately concluded that he was faking it.

Philiton, hidden in the forest, watched silently.

He saw the Guards genuinely rummaging through the bodies for Copper Coins. Even Macken and Elrond, who were by Luo Ning's side, were searching Prinster and the others for something.

It's not an act.

Philiton's last trace of suspicion vanished. It seems the Baron's plan has failed.

He sighed and returned to his team. "Let's go. We'll go back and report the situation to the Baron."