Even the Strongest Lion Sleeps Sometimes

"Let's go! Hurry, they're running back again!" a child shouted to his companion.

"The knights are back again? It hasn't even been half an hour, and they've already run a lap around Nafu City?"

"Stop talking, let's go quickly. If we're any slower, they'll run past, and we won't be able to see them." The child quickly pulled his companion and ran towards the city gate.

Some of the other idle adults also followed. These days, they weren't woken up by their alarms at home, but by the sound of the knights running outside the city gates. Every day, around five or six in the morning, neat shouting could be heard from outside the city gates.

"One, two, one!"

"One, two, one!"

Outside the city gates, a group of knights in heavy armor were striding forward with strange steps. Although their steps were odd, their speed was exceptionally fast. In the blink of an eye, they had already run dozens of meters.

And behind them, Hant, the Knight Captain, also wore giant, heavy armor and held a whip as he chased them.

"Hurry up, all of you, or you'll get a whip from me if you fall behind!"

After he shouted this, the speed of the brats in front of him increased significantly. Hant also revealed a knowing smile.

This cultivation technique was still the body-movement technique manual that the Lord had given him. Although he knew it shouldn't be underestimated, he hadn't expected it to be so effective. These youths, carrying nearly a hundred pounds of armor, could already match the speed of a horse at full gallop.

If they took off their armor, their speed would be even faster than professional assassins. And it wasn't just their speed; their agility was also not to be underestimated.

Hant licked his lips, looking at the youths running with all their might. He suddenly accelerated and chased after them.

With a flick of his whip, he left several painful but non-injurious lash marks on the few people who had fallen behind.

Then, he retreated and moved backward, suddenly darting to the front of the group and shouting loudly, "Look carefully! I'm faster than you even running backward, so all of you, put more effort into it and keep running!"

The youths said in unison, "Yes!"

Hant nodded with satisfaction and thought to himself, Thank goodness I stayed up late every day practicing this technique, otherwise I wouldn't be able to keep up with you brats.

The youths being chased by Hant's whip harbored no resentment. Most of them had come from villages and were not as pampered as children from wealthy families. Moreover, this was their dream, and they were eager to participate, so how could they feel disgusted?

Besides, the captain had told them that the two cultivation methods they were practicing were specifically researched and developed by the Lord for them to cultivate.

There were no such cultivation methods elsewhere that could allow people to quickly cultivate Battle Qi, nor body-movement techniques that increased speed and agility.

This made them feel immense pride and a sense of honor.

Hmph! What do you guys have? We have two cultivation methods personally researched by the Lord, which not only allow us to cultivate Battle Qi quickly but also increase our speed. Your hick territory definitely doesn't have such miraculous cultivation methods, right?

With this mindset, the pride and sense of belonging the group felt towards the barony gradually increased. Their loyalty to Claire didn't rise much, as it had already reached its peak when they were recruited as knights.

"Da da da da da!"

The knights' footsteps gradually faded, and their figures disappeared from the public's sight.

"Sigh, they ran past again. They're so fast, running so quickly even in such heavy armor," a child's excitement instantly vanished.

"I'm so envious of them. I want to become a knight like them when I grow up!"

"Hmph, you can't do it, I'm the one who can become a knight like them!"

"I can! You can't!"

"No, I can! You can't!"

"Then let's have a duel!"

"Bring it on!"

Two children started wrestling with wooden sticks but were quickly spanked by their mothers who caught up, making the two underage knights cry.

"Wuwuwu, you just wait, when my mom isn't here, we'll duel again!"

"It's a deal! Wuwuwu!" Another child also reached out and wiped his tears.

"One, two, one!"

"One, two, one!"

"Slap!" A loud sound of a table being slammed echoed. Baron Eugene frowned and said, "This is annoying, don't these knights ever get tired of training every day!"

"Hmph, I think he's warning us," Lord Wilbur said coldly.

"He's doing more than just warning us; his little actions have already started," a noble lord sitting opposite him on the sofa also chimed in.

All the nobles and some major merchants in Nafu City were gathered in this room, and even the Steward, who was originally under Claire's command, was present.

"That's right, wasn't Baron Eugene's clinic shut down by him? Everyone in Nafu City knows that clinic was opened by Baron Eugene. He shut it down without giving any face, and even returned the money to those commoners."

After Claire collected the medical fees, she didn't put them into her treasury. Instead, she handed them over to the Tax Official, Robin, to handle, returning the gold coins to those who had visited the clinic for treatment.

"Hmph!" Baron Eugene let out a cold snort. Just mentioning it made him furious. He slammed the table again. "What kind of viscount is he! He doesn't even know how to be a noble. Instead of joining us, he's associating with those commoners. I heard he gave some kind of speech at the city gate the other day, it's hilarious. Nobles are nobles, how can they associate with those commoners!"

"Baron Eugene is right. What kind of viscount is he, he can't even be a proper noble. When he came back, we weren't unwilling to share some money with him, why did he have to oppose us! He even appointed a commoner as some damn tax official. I really don't understand what he's thinking."

These days, the shops and entertainment venues under these nobles had been thoroughly investigated by Robin and his men, forcing them to pay up the overdue taxes. Watching their gold coins flow into someone else's pockets, these stingy nobles wished they could devour Claire alive.

"Let's not talk about this for now," the Steward Frank said. "That tax official has also started investigating me. The previous tax increase decrees were all issued by me, and the collected money was divided equally among everyone. He has taken the account books, and it's estimated that in a few days, it will be revealed how many gold coins we have embezzled. Tell me, what should we do?"

"The decree was issued by you alone, don't try to pin it on us," Lord Wilbur immediately tried to distance himself.

The other nobles also shut their mouths, not wanting to be associated with this matter. After all, the decree was issued by you, and it wasn't us who forced you to issue it. As for the money, how would I know it came from those commoners? If you give it to me, I'll take it, what does the increased tax revenue have to do with me?

"You!" Steward Frank, furious, pointed at the other person's nose and yelled, "So you took the money, didn't you! Now that something's happened, you want me to take the fall alone?! Screw you!"

Lord Wilbur wanted to retort, but Baron Eugene stopped him.

"Enough, what good will all this shouting do! Frank has a point. We all took the money. If something goes wrong, he certainly won't let us off the hook!"

Lord Wilbur wore a pained expression. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

A cold glint flashed in Baron Eugene's eyes. He said coldly, "Since the problem can't be solved, let's solve the person who found the problem!"

The nobles present were stunned and asked, "Are you saying we should get rid of that new Tax Official?"

"Yes! That's right!"

Everyone present exchanged glances, a hint of a smile appearing on their faces.

Frank suddenly interrupted, "No, that will only delay things temporarily. If we want to truly resolve this matter, then we have to…" Frank trailed off, but everyone knew what he meant.

Baron Eugene narrowed his eyes. "Do you know he has that Magic Weapon?"

"Even the mightiest lion has to sleep sometime, doesn't it?" Frank replied with a smile.

"Hahaha, that's true!"

For a moment, the room was filled with a joyful atmosphere. They could almost see themselves returning to the happy lives they'd enjoyed before.