Chapter 38: 38 Baron Leysen's Countermeasure

Chapter 38: Baron Rayson's Strategy

The night was wrapped in total silence.

While waiting for midnight to arrive, Romon pondered how to deal with the Thane Fief.

Relying on the fabricated claim that Maken was a peak silver knight was ultimately an unstable solution.

The location of Mountain Wood Town meant that any attempt to leave required passing right by the borders of the Thane Fief; if the opposition chose to intercept them, it would be akin to catching a turtle in a jar, leaving them entirely passive.

"Based on the previous analysis, Baron Rayson fears two things: first, that Wushan Castle will discover he has been pocketing the taxes of Mountain Wood Town; second, that Wushan Castle will discover he tried to kill me."

Pillowing his head on his hands as he lay in bed, Romon turned the matters over in his mind and still felt he needed to borrow the influence of Wushan Castle to deter his enemy.

"First, let Wushan Castle know about the embezzled taxes, and then keep the second matter as a hidden card."

The reason Romon did not want to inform Wushan Castle of Rayson’s plot against his life just yet was that he wished to preserve the Thane Fief for now, waiting to expose it only when the time was ripe.

As for when the time would be ripe?

Naturally, it would be when he possessed the ability to eliminate Baron Rayson himself and annex the Thane Fief under his own name.

Once Wushan Castle learned that the Thane Fief had committed such an act, they would inevitably send people to investigate; at that time, Baron Rayson would be too overwhelmed dealing with the fallout to spare any attention for Mountain Wood Town.

This would buy Romon a substantial amount of buffer time.

"Tomorrow, I must send someone out to deliver a message."

The professional knights needed to remain by Romon’s side and clearly could not be spared, so he could only choose two guards to deliver the letter.

"Equipped with ordinary warhorses, departing at dawn to swiftly traverse the woodlands, the danger shouldn't be too great. Then, have them stop by Lake Town to borrow a messenger bird from the Green family to send a letter to Wushan Castle—surely Baron German wouldn't refuse such a request?"

Messenger birds were the communication tools of this world, somewhat resembling carrier pigeons.

They were about fifty centimeters in length, possessed great speed and high endurance, and were said to be capable of flying a thousand li in a single day.

With one carrying the letter, it would take a mere day to bring the news of Mountain Wood Town to Wushan Castle.

Romon also wished to acquire a few messenger birds, but these creatures required specialized training and could not be used right after capture; they had to be made to remember the locations of both ends.

Time flowed slowly amid his calculations, and soon midnight arrived.

Unwittingly, fourteen days had passed since Romon arrived in this world, and through his daily check-in, he received his second heart-warming gift box.

[Attribute Points +25]

[Energy Essence +25]

Compared to the previous one, this heart-warming gift box offered five more points in both attribute points and energy essence.

It truly was... indeed even more heart-warming.

Familiar with the routine, Romon expended all the attribute points on his mage level, which now brought his progress to 101/150.

With his current amount of mental energy and mana, he could cast the Gentle Breeze spell numerous times.

Regrettably, apart from blowing up a lady's skirt, this tier-one magic seemed to possess no other practical use.

Oh right, it could be used to blow away dust during a thorough cleaning.

"In just over a week, I will be able to max out the mage progress, and at that time, I can break through to the intermediate level."

Once he broke through to the intermediate level, Romon would be able to learn the Wind Blade spell.

That day, Pedro had relied on a sneak attack to directly kill the knight captain of Lake Town using the Wind Blade spell; mastering this spell would immensely elevate Romon’s overall strength.

"Tomorrow, once all the energy essence is invested into Maken, his knight level progress will reach 95/200, leaving him halfway to becoming a true senior knight."

As long as he could stall the Thane Fief and leave the opposition with no time to trouble Mountain Wood Town for a while, Romon still had plenty of room to maneuver.

Meanwhile, in the grand hall of Baron Rayson within the Thane Fief.

The magical crystal lamps shone with a brilliant radiance, illuminating the hall into stark brightness.

Had Romon been present, he might have mistakenly believed he had returned to Earth.

Mages were scarce, and mages capable of crafting magical creations were the rarest of the rare.

Consequently, this caused the prices of magical items to be exorbitant; for instance, Baron Rayson’s magical crystal lamp required at least a hundred gold coins to purchase.

And that was merely for the "lamp shell"—its power sources were magic crystals and monster cores, which also demanded a significant amount of gold coins.

Thus, those who could afford to use magical crystal lamps were usually nobles, and moreover, nobles who were quite wealthy and willing to spend money on such "displays of prestige."

Rayson was precisely such a man of display.

Displaying his own magnificence at every moment and flaunting his wealth were among the things he loved to do most.

"My Lord, our intelligence was flawed. Romon is protected by a peak senior knight. We could not guarantee an absolute kill, so we did not make a move."

Knight Philton was delivering his report. "Furthermore, the group of guards under his command do not seem like ordinary rabble. I suspect that Lord Lulance still holds his own lineage in high regard."

Seated above, Baron Rayson twirled the massive dark-blue emerald ring on his finger, absorbing the outcome brought back by the knights.

To be honest, he had not anticipated this.

"You speak truly. That fellow Wiggins clearly detests Romon, but Lord Lulance places great value on the family bloodline."

Speaking up to this point, he could not help but chuckle. "Lord Lulance was so heroic and formidable in his youth, yet who would have thought that in his old age he would be left without a proper successor, to the extent that he wouldn't hesitate to arrange a senior knight to protect even a useless grandson like Romon."

Philton chimed in, "After all, Romon carries the blood of Wushan in his veins. Perhaps there is a chance he might sire a powerful transcendent?"

"Heh, then he ought to treat Romon like a breeding stallion, keeping him lingering in bed all day to sire more children."

The deputy, Unai, laughed. "Isn't Romon exactly that kind of person? Though I do wonder, since he has bedded so many women without siring a single child, could it be that he is already as useless as his father?"

"Hahaha~"

Inside the hall, Rayson and several knights burst into a chorus of laughter.

As the laughter gradually subsided, Philton adopted a rather anxious expression.

"My Lord, although Romon did not learn of our plot to murder him from the mouths of Prynster and the others, once he settles into Mountain Wood Town, he will certainly realize that we have obtained a great deal of benefits from there over the years."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Should he report this matter to Wushan Castle, it might not be a favorable turn of events for you."

"I have already anticipated this matter, and I have a strategy to deal with it!"

Baron Rayson showed not a shred of panic, carrying an air that suggested the problem was easily resolved.

"Philton, tomorrow at dawn, you shall depart for Mountain Wood Town to negotiate with Romon. Tell him that we are willing to compensate him for the things we have taken from Mountain Wood Town over the years, and ask him not to disclose this matter to Wushan Castle."

"Compensation?"

Philton pondered this method, then slowly nodded. "This plan of yours is indeed viable, My Lord, but I do not know if that fellow Romon will agree to it."

"Only a fool would refuse!"

Rayson began to laugh. "If he chooses to report this matter to Wushan Castle, I will simply look for some connections at that time, have the high nobles speak on my behalf, and then pay some gold as compensation to Wushan Castle to settle the matter."

"But with that approach, the one who receives the gold is Wushan Castle, not his Mountain Wood Town. However, if Romon agrees to settle this matter privately with me, the one who receives the coin is Romon himself, not Wushan Castle."

Having spoken, he looked around at the knights present and asked with a chuckle, "Tell me, would Romon be so foolish as to reject such compensation?"

The crowd all nodded in agreement; Romon surely wouldn't be that foolish, right?

"In Romon’s eyes, our relationship with them is not one of life and death. Rather than letting Wushan Castle take the money, it is better for him to take it himself."

Knight Philton praised, "Your Lordship’s method is utterly brilliant!"

The reason they concluded there was no deep-seated animosity between the two parties was mainly because they had coexisted peacefully for a while during the afternoon.

If there had been a deadly feud, given Ronin’s temperament, conflict would have certainly erupted under the protection of a high-level knight.

"Alright, the matter of Forest Hill Town will be left to you to handle. The follow-up will wait until I return."

For Baron Resen, Forest Hill Town would ultimately belong to him. Previously managed by Prince on his behalf, it was now merely passing through Ronin’s hands for a while.

He stood up and instructed, "Lord Ossen’s birthday is approaching soon. I will depart tomorrow for Black Serpent City. This time, Una, you shall bring two knights to accompany me. Feredon, you and the others will remain in the territory."

The "Lord Ossen" he referred to was Border Count Ossen Hade. Black Serpent City was the central city of the Hade family, located quite a distance from the Sen territory.

Baron Resen’s attendance at the count’s birthday banquet was partly due to the invitation and partly because he wished to seize this opportunity to meet friends, forge connections, and engage in meaningful exchanges with certain figures.

Compared to attending the birthday banquet, the affairs of Forest Hill Town were of a significantly lesser priority.

"Alright, let us disperse. Feredon, come with me to retrieve the agreement."

Baron Resen strode out of the hall.

(End of Chapter)