Davion calmly met Raymond's gaze.
"You must be joking, Lord Raymond."
"All I know is that this land is House Whent's fief. Without House Whent's favor, who knows where you would be herding pigs right now, Lord Raymond!"
"You..."
Raymond's expression changed sharply, and the fury in his chest flared in an instant.
Only then did he fully realize that Davion really intended to break with him openly.
He clenched his fists, his heart pounding with doubt:
What exactly was this little bastard relying on? It had only been a few days, and he was already talking so tough.
Davion had long since lost the patience to argue with him:
"Lord Raymond, shouldn't you be going back to raise the money right now? Why are you still dragging your feet?"
Davion's words interrupted Raymond's thoughts.
Raymond took a deep breath and asked in a low voice.
"My lord Earl, must you force House Vance's hand today?"
Davion hurriedly waved his hand, an "innocent" smile appearing on his face.
"No, no, no, how can you say that, Lord Raymond? This is hardly coercion!"
"Repaying a debt is only right and proper."
"Besides, I haven't even included the medical expenses for Sir Willis Wode and myself. I've already been very considerate of House Vance."
"Rather than wasting time on this nonsense, you should hurry and gather the money, my lord. Otherwise, your heir might bleed to death!"
With that, Davion lightly drew his longsword across Elton's neck, leaving a thin cut. Blood immediately flowed out.
Raymond's heart lurched, and his fists tightened.
The reason he was so fond of this eldest son was that the boy's way of doing things was so much like his own.
But he loved those glittering gold dragons even more than his son.
If his eldest son died, his second son, Kalen, could still inherit the title.
But losing his money would be a hundred times more painful than being killed.
After weighing his options, Raymond gritted his teeth and took a step back.
His face instantly assumed a look of righteous indignation as he shouted to the guards around him:
"Earl Whent injured the lawful heir to my Grey Stone Keep without any justification!"
"His conduct is deranged and insolent. I have reason to suspect that he has lost his senses!"
"Guards, seize him! In a few days, I will personally deliver him to Riverrun to face the duke's judgment!"
A trace of mockery flashed in Davion's eyes, and he sighed inwardly:
There really was no limit to how shameless a person could be!
Compared with this Raymond, Wes of Harrenhal wasn't even fit to lick his feet when it came to shamelessness.
"Raymond Vance, I thought you were pretending to be stupid. I never imagined greed had truly blinded you enough to commit such treachery against your liege lord!"
Davion shook his head, his voice full of resignation.
"Then let me, your liege lord, teach you the duties of a noble!"
The moment he finished speaking, Davion charged at Raymond Vance.
His speed was already beyond anything anyone present could comprehend.
All they saw was a figure flashing before their eyes.
Then Davion was already standing before Raymond.
Along with him came a size 42 foot.
Thud.
His foot slammed hard into Raymond's broad chest.
Raymond flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground, instantly spraying a mouthful of blood.
Davion had not put his full strength into that kick.
After all, his first objective was the gold dragons. House Vance's lives came second.
Rather than pursuing Raymond, Davion attacked the guards beside him.
A shield was meant for defense.
But in Davion's hands, it was deadlier than spears or swords.
Every swing sent a guard flying, knocking down others nearby as well.
By comparison, the longsword in his right hand was even more brutal.
With every swing Davion made, a body part was severed from its owner.
Sometimes it was a head, sometimes an arm, sometimes half a body.
Ten seconds.
It took only ten seconds.
Davion had already killed eleven guards.
His experience points reached 185/300.
When the remaining guards came to their senses, their first thought was to flee.
"Earl Whent isn't human. He's a devil."
"I've never seen anyone kill as effortlessly as Earl Whent!"
Most of the guards had already broken down.
They threw down their spears, turned, and ran.
They did not even have time to figure out which way they were going, simply ducking their heads and sprinting.
Davion watched their retreating backs and thought for a moment.
"Nine men. Five times nine is forty-five. That's forty-five experience points!"
"Sorry, but forty-five points is a little too tempting!"
He casually picked up a spear.
With a little force from his arms and a sharp crack, he snapped the sturdy spear in half.
Davion adjusted his stance.
He raised his arm and hurled the half with the spearhead.
Immediately afterward, he threw the other half, which had no spearhead, as well.
Two sharp whistles cut through the air.
The guards had not even run twenty meters yet.
The first half struck a guard squarely in the back and pierced through his chest.
The second shaft followed close behind, striking with a dull thud and driving the wounded guard two meters forward.
Seeing another five experience points added, Davion nodded in satisfaction.
Then he repeated the same motions.
Whistles sounded through the air without pause.
Every throw struck a fleeing guard with precision.
About a minute later, the last guard fell into a pool of blood.
Davion's experience points reached 230/300.
"Hmm! Looking at it this way, leveling up is pretty easy! Come to think of it, House Vance shouldn't be the only lesser noble house that disrespects House Whent!"
Davion turned back, picked up his shield, and walked over to Raymond, looking down at him.
There was some pity in his eyes.
Raymond retched up a mouthful of blood.
His finger trembled as he pointed at Davion.
He knew that House Vance might be finished.
Davion sighed:
"Lord Raymond, you may be stupid, but the way you do things fits certain truths very well."
"As long as you're strong enough in a fight, some rules can't bind you."
"Just like when Aegon landed. Because he had those three dragons, he could ignore the law and take two wives!"
"And both those wives were his own sisters!"
Davion waved his hand.
"Why am I telling you all this? You wouldn't understand anyway!"
Davion bent down and drew the longsword at Raymond's waist.
The sword was superbly maintained, its blade polished to a mirror sheen. Intricate patterns were engraved on its crossguard, and those patterns were gilded.
Most striking of all was a ruby the size of a pigeon's egg set into the pommel.
It practically embodied the taste of the nouveau riche.
Davion nodded in satisfaction, then unfastened the scabbard from Raymond's waist and strapped it onto himself.
Once he had finished, Davion looked toward Grey Stone Keep again.
A thin figure stood atop the wall, craning his neck to look their way.
Davion remembered him. This was Raymond's second son, Kalen.
His original plan had been to kill several male members of House Vance, leave one alive, and then demand a ransom for the survivor.
But as he looked at Kalen on the wall, a new idea suddenly flashed through Davion's mind!
Whether it would work depended on whether Kalen was smart enough to recognize the situation.
Davion beckoned to Kalen.
Kalen hesitated for a moment, then hurried down from the wall.
Davion raised his eyebrows and nodded.
"It seems House Vance does have someone with brains after all!"
Before you continue