Five steeds galloped at full speed along the mountain road. Even as they crossed mountains and valleys, their endurance and strength were astonishing.
This was the charging ability of excellent quality warhorses. Compared to them, common horses were worlds apart.
"Mountain Forest Town is up ahead. There's a faint bloody smell in the air. It looks like Prinster and Luo Ning have already clashed."
The knight at the front was tall and powerfully built. His small, squinting eyes looked especially unnatural on his square face, while the slanted scar across it gave him a menacing aura.
This was Philiton Henry, captain of the Sain Territory Knight Squad.
"I wonder how the battle went." Philiton was somewhat worried.
But his deputy, Knight Unai, looked relaxed. "Boss, there's no need to worry. With the few men Luo Ning brought, Prinster could have dealt with them easily. Why would we need to step in?"
Philiton did not respond. He merely slapped his horse's flank and urged it faster.
After winding through the mountain paths, they finally reached the top of the hill that marked Mountain Forest Town. Yet the sight before them left everyone stunned.
"This..."
The expression on the deputy's face, which had just been relaxed and cheerful, froze. He did not know what words could describe the shock he felt.
No one, including Philiton, had expected to see such a scene.
Dozens of corpses lay strewn across the ground in the distance. At the very front were familiar figures—Prinster, Dyson, Kate, and Malt.
What struck them most was the group standing amid the corpses and pools of blood.
One after another, they held blood-dripping swords, silently staring at the Uninvited Guests who had suddenly arrived, their killing intent unmistakable.
"How could this be! All five of Prinster's Transcendents are dead?"
Knight Unai was the first to speak in shock. "He was an Intermediate Knight. His strength wasn't below mine."
Philiton swept his gaze across the battlefield and reminded him, "Look carefully. Not only did Luo Ning's men kill Prinster, their losses were minimal. You could say this battle was nearly a complete rout."
Wisdom gleamed in his eyes. "The intelligence was wrong. There's an expert beside Luo Ning!"
"What do we do, then? Do we still attack?" Unai asked quietly.
Philiton frowned. Since the Baron could not come personally, many decisions had been left to him.
"We'll test the waters first."
Over there, Luo Ning felt extremely uneasy when he saw them arrive.
What he feared most was that they would charge in without a care. Then there would be no room to maneuver at all.
Fortunately, the situation was quite favorable.
When Luo Ning saw Philiton and the others stop on horseback for quite a while, he knew his display had already intimidated them and made them suspicious.
So he had to appear even more fearless.
Luo Ning held his sword and slowly walked forward some distance, with Macken and Elrond close behind him.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my Mountain Forest Town?"
Philiton and Unai exchanged glances. "It really was a rout. Prinster and the others must have died before they could reveal Baron Leysen's plan."
Only a handful of people knew about the plot to surround and kill Luo Ning. According to the plan, once Prinster and the others succeeded, even the infantrymen involved would all be killed.
As long as they died, Luo Ning would have no way of learning about their plan.
Philiton hurriedly dismounted and put on a smile. "I am Philiton Henry, captain of the Sain Territory Knight Squad. Greetings, Lord Luo Ning!"
Luo Ning's heart stirred. There's a chance.
"Sir Philiton, you know me?"
As he spoke, Luo Ning looked him up and down with suspicion and scrutiny, making the other man feel that he had become wary.
"Why have the knights from Sain Territory appeared in my Mountain Forest Town?"
Philiton was also watching Luo Ning's every move. He became increasingly certain that the other party had not known he was coming.
Thus, he gave the excuse he had prepared. "My lord, I was merely hunting in the mountains with members of my Knight Squad. We happened to hear sounds of fighting from this direction, so we rode over to see what was happening."
As Philiton spoke, his gaze passed over Luo Ning and landed on the corpses behind him. He deliberately asked in confusion, "My lord, what happened back there?"
Luo Ning turned and glanced at the bodies scattered across the ground, unable to stop an awkward smile from appearing.
"I merely killed a few traitors."
He shrugged. "I've made a fool of myself before you."
"Traitors?" Philiton looked surprised and glanced at the corpses again. "I've seen that man before. Isn't he Prinster, Mountain Forest Town's Administrator? He betrayed you?"
"That's right~"
As Luo Ning spoke, he walked back, kicked Prinster's head upright so that it faced Philiton, then continued:
"This fellow served as Mountain Forest Town's Administrator for a few years and thought he had become the lord of Mountain Forest Town."
Luo Ning's tone was full of contempt. "Unfortunately, he overestimated his own strength and underestimated mine. In a single exchange, he was separated from his head."
He kicked the head back down. "With such little strength, he dared challenge the dignity of the Wushan Family? He didn't know his own limits!"
At that moment, all doubts in Philiton's heart vanished. He was already certain that there was an expert beside Luo Ning.
Anyone who could cut off Prinster's head in a single exchange definitely possessed Advanced Rank strength!
Moreover, judging by Luo Ning's arrogant attitude in such a situation, he clearly did not take Philiton seriously at all.
"In other words, he isn't worried in the slightest that the five of us might attack!"
Philiton drew a deep breath and could not help glancing at the two people beside Luo Ning. He did not recognize either face, but both looked like Transcendents.
Macken in particular, built like a mountain and carrying himself with steady composure, seemed unfathomable to him.
"I never expected Prinster to betray you!"
Philiton shook his head in disbelief. "I remember that he was an Intermediate Knight. Since you won so easily, it seems the Marquis and the Count must have arranged for experts to protect you in secret."
"It can hardly be called protection."
Luo Ning replied blandly, "They only arranged one Advanced Peak Knight openly. I reckon he might not even be stronger than you~"
Philiton's pupils contracted. An Advanced Peak Knight—defeating him easily would probably not be simple.
If he attacked here, even if he killed Luo Ning, there was a high chance that this knight would escape.
If that man informed Wushan Castle of what he had done, Sain Territory's good days would be over.
And that was only the expert in the open.
Philiton remembered Baron Leysen's instructions well: if he did not have absolute confidence, he was not to act.
As for Prinster and the others, even if they exposed Sain Territory, Leysen could simply insist that they were slandering him.
"Captain, should we...?" Unai asked quietly from the side.
Philiton shook his head slightly. He gave Luo Ning a knight's salute. "The dignity of the Wushan Family cannot be violated. Respected Baron, is there anything you require of my service?"
"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Sir Philiton!"
Luo Ning spread his hands, looking as though he held the other man in contempt. "But things have already been settled here. What remains is nothing more than collecting the bodies."
"I would have liked to keep you for the night, but unfortunately, I don't even know which room I'll be staying in tonight."
It was a clear dismissal.
Philiton did not get angry. He remained extremely respectful. "Then I wish you a pleasant evening, my lord."
"Thank you for your blessing, Sir!"
Luo Ning waved to him. "Please also convey to Baron Leysen that, as neighbors, I look forward to paying him a visit."
"Certainly!"
Philiton mounted his horse again and prepared to leave with the members of his Knight Squad.
Luo Ning turned around and shouted in a deep voice, "Everyone, clean up the battlefield now! Search their pockets thoroughly and don't leave behind a single Copper Coin!"
"Yes!" the guards answered loudly.
The unified shout echoed through the area, startling Philiton and the others, who had been about to leave.
They could not help turning back, only to see that the guards were in exceptionally high spirits.
"Move!"
Philiton shouted quietly and rode away.
Watching their retreating figures, Luo Ning's back was already soaked with sweat.
Sure enough, they were unwilling to take the risk.
He had gambled correctly.
"Keep lying down!"
He went over to Malt and quietly instructed him, "The rest of you can start cleaning up the battlefield."
Meanwhile, after Philiton and the others descended the slope, they slowed down as soon as they disappeared from Luo Ning's sight.
"Captain, are we really just going back like this?" Knight Unai asked incredulously.
Philiton frowned and pondered for a long while before turning to look in the direction of Mountain Forest Town.
"You wait here!"
With that, he dismounted and quickly ran back toward the battlefield. This time, he did not take the main road, instead using the forest trees to conceal himself.
"My lord, someone is approaching."
Elrond gave a quiet warning.
Luo Ning smiled inwardly. The other party had indeed returned to verify things. Fortunately, he had just told Malt to keep lying down.
If Philiton came back and saw Malt standing up, he would immediately know they had been putting on an act.
Hidden in the forest, Philiton watched silently.
He saw the guards genuinely searching the corpses for Copper Coins. Even Macken and Elrond, who stood beside Luo Ning, were searching Prinster and the others for something.
"They really aren't pretending."
The last trace of suspicion in Philiton's heart disappeared. "It seems the Baron's plan has failed."
He sighed and returned to the group. "Let's go. We'll report the situation to the Baron."
Before you continue