Chapter 445: Nothing to Talk About

Although Ronin felt there was nothing to discuss regarding this matter, since an old acquaintance had given everyone a way out, he couldn’t refuse the gesture.

So, as the host, he invited Garrett’s party into the castle hall and had servants bring out fruit and beverages.

The atmosphere seemed to ease, but in reality, it hadn’t.

After a while, Garrett spoke again: “Ronin, what exactly will make you hand over Sophia so I can take her back for interrogation?”

Jesus didn’t speak, instead he rubbed the porcelain cup in his hand.

He had a curious personality, and this special cup caught his interest. As for the negotiations between Ronin and Garrett, at this moment he seemed more like an outsider.

In fact, for Jesus, he had succeeded by stirring up the relationship between the Wushan territory and the royal family, creating a rift and planting seeds of instability for the future.

Ronin peeled a fresh grape and ate it whole; the quality of these fruits from the castle orchard was indeed excellent.

“Crown Prince, although I invited everyone to sit here out of courtesy and respect for the royal family, some matters cannot be resolved through negotiation.”

Ronin’s voice was steady and firm, “This baseless accusation involves the honor of Wushan Castle and my dignity; I cannot yield even a little! Unless the Crown Prince can provide concrete evidence proving Sophia’s involvement in this matter, I will not hand her over to anyone.”

Garrett’s expression grew increasingly grim; he hadn’t expected Ronin to be so stubborn.

Though angry inside, he knew it wasn’t appropriate to act now.

After all, the opponent’s strength exceeded his expectations, and it concerned the face of both Wushan Castle and the royal family. If they truly fought, things might spiral out of control.

Jesus sneered at this moment: “Garrett, as Crown Prince, you have no dignity at all? A baron of the kingdom, about to become your brother-in-law, is becoming so arrogant…”

“Enough!”

Garrett stood up abruptly, “If that’s the case, Brohl, report this situation to the King!”

He snorted coldly, turned and left the hall directly, followed immediately by his five subordinates.

Jesus saw the situation deteriorating and hurried to follow, but was blocked by Ridale extending his hand.

“What’s the meaning? Killing my subjects isn’t enough, now you want to kill me too?”

Garrett paused, turned to glance at Ridale, then directed his angry gaze at Ronin: “Don’t push it, don’t think I won’t deal with you!”

Ronin smiled slightly, waved his hand, signaling Ridale to let Jesus leave.

Keeping Jesus was just keeping one gold-level Soul Knight.

As long as Mephistopheles wasn’t captured, killing such a gold knight would not only be useless but would also provoke Garrett, who was already nearing the brink of eruption.

Ridale stepped aside, Jesus sneered coldly, then strode after Garrett and walked out.

In the hall, only Brohl remained with a bitter smile.

“Ronin, perhaps you don’t yet know the Crown Prince’s temper; no one has ever treated him with such disrespect.”

Ronin spread his hands: “I have no choice.”

Brohl sighed, glanced outside; Jesus and his group had mounted their griffins and flown away from the castle.

“Brohl is a Soul Knight, right? And in Tals Town, I didn’t see any bodies, so those killed by you were all Soul Knights?”

Ronin smiled slightly and sat down again, “Deputy Commander, we have been living as honest folk in Border Town lately and never visited any Tals Town.”

“Uh…”

Brohl paused, then realized his identity made the other wary and sighed helplessly.

“Alright, I was presumptuous.”

He also stood up, “Garrett has already headed south to the border, and I’ll return to Golden Feather City to report. What happens between the royal family and Wushan Castle afterwards, I don’t know, but at least this year there’s no issue.”

“Then, goodbye!” Ronin rose to bid farewell.

Once everyone had left, Sophia spoke with deep regret: “Sorry for causing trouble for you.”

Ronin seriously replied: “As a partner, ensuring your safety is necessary. Moreover, even if it wasn’t the flaw left by the Flame God’s Roar, they would find other excuses to shift conflict onto me.”

“Sir, when will we attack Moonlight Valley?”

Ridale had asked this question many times already, “Keeping them will only cause more innocent humans to suffer.”

Ronin frowned slightly; he was pondering this issue too.

His covert attack with Sophia had already caused such trouble; openly attacking Moonlight Valley would render any excuses like today useless.

As for secretly attacking with only Meteor-level and above members—how could they take down such a vast Moonlight Valley with just a few people?

Ronin thought briefly, “I’ll go to Wushan Castle to ask what the old man thinks. Until then, you should focus on training. Quickly shape the Sixth and Seventh Knight Orders, and pass on the experience Sophia and others brought, ensuring minimized losses when battle starts.”

He still had Wushan Castle behind him; he needed to hear Ruans’ opinion.

At this moment, two figures hurried in—Petro and Hamon had finally returned to the castle.

Both had excellent horses, but compared to griffins, their speed was inevitably slower.

If Moonlight Valley was captured and Jesus’ griffins seized, they could assign one to Sophia and her group.

“Why did you return?” Sophia asked.

Petro and Hamon explained roughly that they had rushed back worried about Sophia’s safety.

In their hearts, Sophia’s safety was top priority, followed by other matters.

Ronin frowned slightly, “So you don’t trust me?”

Uh…

Petro and Hamon felt somewhat embarrassed; the former explained: “We didn’t mean that, just…we didn’t think too much at the time.”

Ridale spoke gravely: “Your current responsibility is safeguarding the border, yet you left arbitrarily, leaving a huge risk. If that griffin team had enemy forces behind them, our camp would face danger of being overrun!”

He said sternly: “If you were my subordinates, you’d be punished!”

Petro shrank back, Hamon’s face also turned awkward.

Though they acted out of concern for Sophia’s safety, they had to admit Ridale’s point was very plausible.

Ronin smiled: “Ridale is always serious; don’t take it personally.”

He looked at Ridale and added: “Petro and his group are still new from the Crescent Continent and haven’t adapted to their current roles and duties; don’t demand too harshly.”

“No, strict requirements are justified!”

Sophia spoke, addressing Petro and Hamon seriously: “Since you’re assigned as Ridale’s deputies, follow his commands in everything. Leaving without orders during critical moments equals abandoning territory, a grave offense!”

“Don’t think there are few strong people here and be careless; remember, our opponents aren’t ordinary humans—they are Soul Clan! We’ve only moved the battlefield to Orlant; our enemies remain unchanged.”

Petro and Hamon bowed their heads like students scolded by a teacher.

Sophia’s tone softened slightly, gently saying: “Don’ worry, here we have our hero, the Radiant Knight Ridale, so my safety is well assured.”

“Understood, Princess!”

Both bowed with hands on chests: “We admit our mistake and accept punishment.”

Ronin patted their shoulders: “Alright, punishment is waived. If you’re not tired, return to the defense line early; prevent them from doing something drastic after returning disappointed.”

“Yes!”

Petro and Hamon replied seriously, nodded to Ridale, and strode out of the hall.

Ronin also walked outside: “I’ll go to Wushan Castle to discuss with Grandpa. Ridale, I leave matters here to you.”

"Rest assured, Your Excellency!" (End of this chapter)