Nancy and Lily (1)
A few minutes later, the manservant roughly explained the specific situation.
As it turned out, just when Green went to the room of Gilmore the horticulturist to investigate, trouble had broken out over at the castle stables shortly afterward. Judging by the estimated timeline, one or two of the banshees must have come to the stables after Green forced the Six Sisters of Xignos to retreat, intending to devour the life essence of the horses to recover some of their energy, only to run into Old Nante and Xihado, who were hiding in a stable utility room plotting to steal horses and run away.
It was also these two men's bad luck. Realizing that the Wilson Family was in big trouble and not wanting to die along with them, they plotted to steal two horses and sell them in another city. The value of the horses bred by the Wilson Family was enough for the two of them to live in carefree luxury for a few years, but they never expected that despite all their precautions, they would be cornered inside before they could even untie the reins by two Xignos Banshees that phased right through the walls...
When the manservant finished speaking, Viscount Paul and Vincent both looked toward Green to ask for his opinion.
Green was about to speak after a moment of deep thought when another manservant rushed in from outside, so flustered that he forgot to even knock, babbling incoherently, "No—something's bad! There are so many people outside, so many people, they're going to burn us to death~~~"
Green and the others were all startled. Vincent immediately ran to the window, just in time to catch sight of the direction of the castle's main gate. Sure enough, hundreds of people had gathered in front of the Wilson Castle gates, confronting the patrol guards stationed at the gate and seemingly trying to break in, though they hadn't succeeded yet.
"What is going on, explain yourself clearly!" Viscount Paul demanded in a majestic, stern voice, startling the manservant so much that he shivered, finally regaining his composure and recounting the situation.
Just a few minutes ago, a crowd carrying banners had gathered in front of the Wilson Castle gates. At the lead was a middle-aged man holding a tin megaphone and shouting a speech, continuously uttering highly inflammatory words. He claimed there was an eerie presence inside Wilson Castle and hinted that it was because the Wilson Family had committed heinous deeds that they had attracted this eerie presence, and that only by burning the castle down could the eerie presence be made to leave Landon City. The people outside the gate were mostly ordinary citizens of Landon City. God knows what had gotten into them; they were stirred up into a frenzy, burning with righteous indignation as if everyone living inside Wilson Castle were unforgivable demons.
"Damn it, it's that bastard Oriland!" Vincent recognized the man at the front. He had once been the patrol captain of Wilson Castle, but Vincent had chased him out of the castle for harassing maidservants and stealing things. He never expected this fellow would seize this moment to kick them while they were down.
"There are more and more people!" Viscount Paul also reached the window. Looking at the situation outside the gate, his expression grew even uglier. Although he tried his hardest to endure it, he was both anxious and furious.
"I'll go take a look, then go check on the stables afterwards once it's settled." At this point, Green took the heavy burden upon himself, causing Viscount Paul and Vincent to let out inward sighs of relief. Facing this kind of situation, only Green had the ability to resolve it.
Green turned around, walked out of the study, and headed straight toward the outside of the castle. As he walked, he used Soul Summoning, summoning all the skeleton soldiers from the graveyard in one breath.
These Gun Skeleton Soldiers were fully armed, marched in neat steps, and emanated a solemn, imposing aura. Emerging from inside the castle immediately subdued the scene, and the people who had been shouting and clamoring outside the main gate were as if suddenly grabbed by the throat, falling instantly silent and maintaining that stillness for over a dozen seconds.
The fellow named Oriland at the head darted his eyes around. Amidst his shock, venomous, chilling light flickered in his eyes as he looked at Green. Secretly gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and shouted loudly, "Everyone don't be afraid! We are all citizens of Landon City, he wouldn't dare do anything to us. Such shocking news of a mages slaughtering the innocent will definitely make it onto the Royal Capital's newspapers, and by then he will definitely be hunted down by the kingdom. He wouldn't dare—"
Oriland's words were deeply agitationary and faintly carried a trace of magic power, which made Green raise an eyebrow and sneer inwardly, He actually used Charm, no wonder he was able to gather so many people. What a pity you came to the wrong place~~~
Just as Oriland secretly cast Charm, attempting to once again rouse the crowd's enthusiasm, Green unhesitatingly ordered the skeleton soldiers to open fire.
"Clatter-snap!" With bullets chambered, a skeleton soldier beside Green neatly raised its gun and took aim. With a bang, a gunshot rang out, and Oriland's head exploded instantly. His blood and brains burst forth, splashing all over the faces and bodies of the people nearby.
The crowd froze for a split second, then let out screams.
Because of Oriland's death, the source of Charm vanished. Some of the bewitched citizens regained clarity, their minds filled with heavy doubts—why had they come here? Furthermore, seeing the line of skeleton soldiers waiting in strict battle-readiness inside the castle gate heightened their feelings of fear and panic even more. Starting from goodness knows who, they quickly scattered and fled in all directions, and in the end even a few slow-reacting old men and old ladies took to their heels and ran.
In the blink of an eye, the grand and imposing protest ended in the form of a farcical comedy. The patrol guards guarding the gate looked at Green and those skeleton soldiers, swallowing hard one after the other, feeling even greater terror and awe in their hearts. At the same time, the decisiveness and ruthlessness Green displayed refreshed people's inherent impressions of him.
Green didn't say much. His stepping forward to drive away these troublemakers wasn't to establish his authority, but simply to avoid complications. What he needed most right now was time to deal with the other five Xignos Banshees; it would be troublesome if these messy people broke into the castle to set fires and loot.
As for the one scheming and agitating behind the scenes, it wasn't actually hard to guess. Within Landon City, Viscount Paul had quite a few enemies, but there were only two or three people who had the ability and the guts to pull off this kind of tactic.
Green didn't want to bother with these wretched, messy troubles. After scattering the crowd, he ordered the patrol guards, "Keep a good watch on the gate for me. If there are any more provocations, open fire directly. If anyone is killed, Lord Viscount will take responsibility."
"Yes! My lord!" A dozen-odd patrol guards replied unevenly, feeling extreme awe toward Green, especially regarding the dozens of loaded skeleton soldiers.
Ordinary people knew that necromancers could manipulate skeletons, but skeletons capable of shooting firearms were quite rare, making people unable to help but cast a few extra curious glances.
Green walked a few paces and arrived beside Oriland's corpse. First he absorbed the psychic energy, then he searched the soul, completely squeezing out its remaining value before finally walking toward the stables beside the castle.
Seeing Green walk away, the patrol guards all let out long sighs of relief. Oppressed by the pressure from Green and the skeleton soldiers, just now they hadn't even dared to draw a full breath.
Meanwhile, inside the castle's study, Viscount Paul and Vincent watched the whole affair. Especially Green's appearance with dozens of skeleton soldiers split into two squads, along with him shooting Oriland to death, left the deepest impression on them and filled their hearts with complex emotions.
"What a pity, after all he is not a direct-line descendant of our lineage." Viscount Paul sighed once more, wishing so badly that Green were his own biological son.
"Could a mage's power truly change a person's inner heart!" Vincent also let out a sigh, though from a different perspective: "If it were in the past, no matter how ruthless Green was, he wouldn't just kill people casually. Yet just now, when he ordered the skeleton soldiers to shoot Oriland, it was like squashing an ant—indifferent, calm, and unmoved."
"My son, this has nothing to do with mages. Cold-blooded ruthlessness is simply a by-product of power. Whether it is a mage, a knight, or an official holding a high position—magic power, fighting aura, authority, money—the moment you possess any kind of power, you must prepare yourself for your inner heart to be eroded by that power." Viscount Paul felt quite deeply moved, recalling back when he had first inherited his viscountcy, grasping the family's wealth and power. How was he any different from Green at this moment—resolute in his killings, swift and decisive, treating human life like blades of grass?