Chapter 267: Lulance's Countermeasure

Chapter 267: Rulans’s Response

“Lord, Warwick has vanished!”

Haldan, deputy leader of the Polant Bandits, reported with grave seriousness.

Amicus frowned, pacing back and forth in the room. “What do you mean, vanished?”

“It means he’s gone.”

Haldan himself was puzzled. “The captain in charge of the iron ore transport came looking for Warwick tonight but couldn’t find him anywhere. According to the miners, Warwick left the mine before dusk.”

“Didn’t he have several mistresses in Red Mountain Town? Did you check there?”

“We checked everywhere. No trace.”

Haldan’s expression grew heavier. He had originally dismissed the matter entirely, assuming Warwick had simply gone off to indulge himself. But after hours of searching, not a single sign of him remained.

As a newly promoted core member, Warwick always inspected and tallied the day’s excavation progress every evening. His sudden disappearance was deeply abnormal.

“Do you think Warwick might have betrayed us?”

Haldan voiced his unease. Though Warwick had been promoted only recently, he had learned enough to be dangerous.

Amicus paused his pacing, then shook his head firmly. “That man is timid, with no cunning or depth. For him to plot betrayal is impossible.”

He stood still, voice sharp as steel. “Find him. Send out more men. We must have results before dawn.”

In ordinary times, even a disappearance of one or two days would not have drawn much attention.

But now was no ordinary time. The noble coalition from Wu Mountain had encamped at Giant Rock Ridge. Though Baron Corien was their inside man, they could not afford carelessness.

The sudden disappearance of Warwick, one of the new elite, could not be ignored.

Night had passed its midpoint; silence reigned within Wu Mountain Castle.

On the rear mountain, Thunderwind Steed rested comfortably in its den—until suddenly, an oppressive, unsettling pressure descended from the heavens, and a massive shadow loomed before its tiny shelter.

It sprang up in terror, eyes fixed on the monstrous dragon head outside.

Callos muttered indistinctly, then opened his claw and dropped something pouch-like.

Thunderwind Steed seemed to understand Callos’s words. It snatched up the pouch and bolted downhill, arriving swiftly at Rulans’s courtyard.

The guards stationed there were startled by the unannounced arrival and immediately went on high alert.

These soldiers were not all permanent members of the First Knight Order stationed in Wu Mountain City. Though they had heard rumors of the Marquis’s powerful beast mount, none had ever seen it.

Then a towering figure appeared, instantly dispelling the tension.

“It’s the Marquis’s bonded beast. Stand down.”

The man was broad-shouldered and muscular, radiating unwavering steadiness even without armor.

Meyronica, commander of the Third Knight Order of Wu Mountain Castle, currently guarding the fortress.

He frowned at the beast before him, baffled by its late-night visit—and even more so by the object clutched in its jaws.

Meyronica didn’t care whether Thunderwind Steed understood; he said, “Wait here. I’ll notify Lord Rulans.”

“No need.”

Rulans had emerged from the house without warning. Leaning on his cane, he walked slowly to the beast and took the pouch from its mouth.

“I sensed its approach.”

He spoke as if explaining to Meyronica, unfolding the pouch as he spoke and reading the letter within.

It was, of course, from Ronin—reporting on the situation along the western front and warning Rulans to caution Kabir and others on the eastern front against possible treachery.

“Hmph!”

For the first time, anger darkened Rulans’s face. He glanced around. “Come with me.”

Meyronica was bewildered. When had the Marquis’s beast become a messenger?

Logically, it couldn’t possibly outpace a carrier bird.

They entered the study. Rulans laid the parchment on the desk.

“Corien has betrayed us.”

“What?”

Meyronica thought he’d misheard. He snatched up the letter, scanned it quickly, and still could not believe it.

“My lord, how reliable is this letter?”

There was no signature, no identifying mark—only Rulans could know who had written it.

“This is Ronin’s writing. The credibility is unquestionable.”

Meyronica hesitated, then nodded.

He knew the Marquis held great faith in this grandson—and Ronin’s actions had so far justified that trust.

“What will you do, my lord?”

Rulans pondered a moment, then picked up his pen and began writing on a sheet of parchment.

“Ronin says he can handle Red Mountain Town. Let him take full charge. As for the east, I’m sending you.”

He looked at the knight commander. “You are the strongest among us, on the verge of becoming a Star-Class. Your presence alone will deter Balinton.”

Meyronica frowned. “That’s not advisable. If I leave, who will defend Wu Mountain Castle?”

With the knight orders split between two fronts, only three small squads remained to guard the fortress.

Sufficient against common assassins—but lacking in high-end power.

With Meyronica here, matters were manageable. If he departed, the strongest remaining forces would be one Silver and one Bronze.

Oh, and Thunderwind Steed—the fifth-rank beast.

“I will move into Wu Mountain Fortress. Even a Gold Knight would not break through.”

Rulans spoke with calm certainty. “As for Star-Class assassins—after what happened to Auson, none will risk it without overwhelming incentive.”

Auson had not died—but Rulans had crippled him with a strange, horrifying method. Worse than death.

Any Star-Class seeking to kill Rulans would risk the same fate.

Without sufficient motive or certainty, none would dare.

“Perhaps,” Meyronica said, “but I still think sending word would suffice.”

Rulans shook his head, resolute.

“Kabir and Sandro are roughly equal to Gold Knights—but they are no match for Balinton or Nigen, true Gold Knights of the Order. You must go.”

Rulans folded the parchment, slipped it into the pouch, and handed it to Meyronica. “Give it to Thunderwind Steed. Prepare yourself—you must depart at once. Kabir and the others likely haven’t arrived yet.”

“I understand, my lord.”

Meyronica accepted the pouch, bowed, and left the room.

Rulans leaned back in his chair and sighed.

He was heartbroken by Corien’s betrayal.

The man had once been the youth Rulans most admired. He never imagined he would end up like this.

He had once wondered if Ronin had made a mistake, but recalling the sudden fall of Chishan Town and the death of Knight Hahn, he felt something was amiss.

“I’ve grown old indeed—if I were still in peak condition, I might have sensed Corien’s unease.”

As one grows old, one places unwavering trust in those once favored, just as first impressions leave deep imprints upon the soul.

Over the years, Rulans had known of the clandestine ties between Corien, Hahn, and Viggins, and had chosen to turn a blind eye.

But he never imagined Corien would betray him.

“Thankfully, Ronin discovered it in time, averting disaster.”

He was grateful that Ronin had gone to the battlefield this time.

“Most, prepare—tomorrow, have Viggins, Dianne, and Bretton move into Wushan Fortress.”

“Yes, my lord.”

That night, many events unfolded in Chishan Town and Wushan Castle, yet the encampment of the Stonecliff nobles’ alliance remained as quiet as ever, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

At dawn the next day, Ronin summoned a knight left behind by Stonecliff Castle and ordered him to deliver a message to Corien, instructing him to come to camp immediately to discuss the new battle plan.

Since Toru, Marven, and others had taken no action, Corien’s men received the order without the slightest suspicion.

This would prevent the latter from growing wary.

Riedal, Taren, and the others began deploying troops to guard against any uprising by Stonecliff’s knightly squad.

All was set—now they waited only for Corien’s arrival.

(End of Chapter)