Chapter 11: Negotiation

Sharvella's dashing posture and expression lasted for less than a second before she immediately turned and ran back to Kaios's side. With the look of a mother cat who had just retrieved her lost kitten, she asked with concern,

"Master, it seems I made too much of a commotion. Were you startled? Are you alright? Oh dear, I should have escorted you back into the house first..."

Kaios waved his hand. Just as he was about to speak, the deafening thud of horse hooves echoed from outside the manor.

Two groups of people arrived this time. One group consisting of several knights stopped at the manor's entrance. The person at the front dismounted, took a glance at the situation inside, and whispered a few words with an anxious expression to a nearby manor Guard. The Guard immediately ran toward Kaios and the others.

The other group, consisting of twelve riders, charged in without a moment's hesitation. They were moving too fast to dodge and even trampled directly over an injured contract Guard lying on the ground.

Taking one look at the armor style of the twelve intruding riders, Kaios knew they were Punishment Knights from the Holy Protection Palace. However, judging from the halos behind their heads, they weren't the same group that had arrived with Dominic that morning.

The Punishment Knights had just entered and were scanning their surroundings. The messenger Guard from the entrance was still sprinting over. At this crucial moment, Housekeeper Pete moved close to Kaios and whispered at lightning speed,

"Master, the person Sharvella killed was Cares, the Chief Guard of Lord Mills Kendall from the neighboring manor. Standing at the entrance over there is Mills's other Chief Guard, Fanduo. Cares most likely went mad due to his Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain, but it's a bit suspicious that he ran over to our side. If you want to blow this matter up, we can report the situation to the Punishment Knights. If not, this old servant will tell them that we will resolve this matter privately with the Kendall Family..."

Just as Pete finished speaking, the leading Punishment Knight rode up nearby, stared at Kaios, and shouted, "Who is the master or Steward in charge here? Who was fighting with Spiritual Qi just now? Was there an invasion?"

After thinking for a mere two seconds, Kaios nodded to Pete. "We will resolve this ourselves."

"Yes, sir," Pete replied. He then turned around, straightened his back, and told the leading Punishment Knight, "I am the Li Family's Housekeeper, Pete Noke. This is my master, Kaios Li. We will negotiate and resolve the matters here with the Kendall Family."

"Very well," the Punishment Knight replied. Without asking any further questions, he reined his horse around and swiftly galloped out of the manor with the rest of his men. The Guard who had been trampled earlier was being quickly dragged to the side of the road by Harvey and was nearly trampled again.

At that moment, the manor Guard who had received Fanduo's message at the entrance finally ran over and reported to Kaios.

"Master, that over there is the Kendall Family's Chief Guard Fanduo. He came chasing after... that mad Spiritual Energy Warrior from earlier. He said that the man was also a Guard of the Kendall Family who might have gone mad from his Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain. He wants to come over to apologize and discuss compensation."

Kaios didn't respond immediately. Instead, he turned to look at Lu Hao, who had just leaped down from a tree. "Old Lu, how are your injuries?"

"It's nothing serious. Having Grossman cast a few healing spells later will do," Lu Hao said with a limp.

The Grossman he mentioned was the Li Family's resident Physician, who was actually a Mage specializing in Healing System-related Magic. The higher their Tier, the greater the variety and effectiveness of their healing. However, for a Top Tier Great Mage like Dominic, even if he didn't major in healing Magic, he could still serve as a formidable Physician.

While the two were speaking, Grossman had already been notified. He came running over with two servants to treat the injured Guards. Flashes of white light flickered, and those with minor injuries recovered at a visible rate, which was quite miraculous.

"Go speak with Grossman. Tell him to do everything in his power to save them and not to spare any expense. He must try his best to save every life and prevent anyone from being left permanently disabled," Kaios told Lu Hao.

He had read descriptions of relevant magical healing in books before, so he knew that for this kind of first aid administered to multiple people, relying solely on one's own Magic Power reserves definitely wouldn't be enough. It required a large amount of consumable materials and would incur high costs.

Hearing this, Lu Hao gave him a somewhat surprised look, but still nodded and left to follow his orders.

Kaios then said to Pete, "Go and talk to the people from the Kendall Family. Their Chief Guard came straight to my doorstep to assassinate me. Even if we don't report this matter to the Daoist Holy Protection Palace, it's still worth having a serious discussion over."

In fact, judging from the entirely gray halo behind the "Mad Knight's" head, he could be certain that the guy wasn't here to assassinate him.

But arriving at this exact moment? He didn't believe it was a pure coincidence either.

Of course, under normal circumstances, even if that "Mad Knight" was the Kendall Clan's Chief Guard, if there was truly a conspiracy involved, it most likely didn't have much to do with the Lord of the Kendall Family. Otherwise, such a move would simply be far too stupid.

However, knowing it in his heart was one thing; he still had to hold them accountable. Even if he were to eventually do them a favor, he had to take the moral high ground first. This way, he could advance to attack or retreat to defend.

Over an hour later, Kaios had just finished checking on the Guards who had received treatment for their injuries and returned to his study when Pete rushed over to see him.

Pete hadn't just spoken with the Kendall Family's Chief Guard Fanduo on this side; he had also followed him back to the Kendall Family's territory, the neighboring Baisheng Manor, and met Lord Mills Kendall.

"Are you done talking?"

"Yes. Master Miles is extremely apologetic about what happened, and he is very grateful that you didn't let the Punishment Knights handle the matter. He repeatedly stated that this was absolutely not an assassination attempt against you, but merely an unforeseeable accident..."

As Pete spoke, he slowly recounted the situation he had learned from Lord Mills.

According to Mills, his family's Chief Guard Cares had received orders to run an errand in Yulang City that morning, accompanied by four Full Armor Guards.

To travel from the Kendall Family's territory to Yulang City, one had to pass the main road outside the Li Family's manor. It was right when Cares was passing outside the Li Family's North Mountain Manor that he suddenly exhibited abnormalities. He entered a manic state, showing symptoms consistent with the "Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain" commonly seen in Spiritual Energy Warriors.

Cares was a Level 10 High Tier Spiritual Energy Warrior. In the prime of his life and equipped with Fine gear, his combat power was extremely terrifying. The closest accompanying Full Armor Guard, who tried to approach and check on him, was instantly killed.

The highest Spiritual Energy Level among the other three was only Level 6. Even working together, they were no match for him, let alone the fact that Cares was about to enter a berserk state where he'd lose all self-control. Under the effects of a Spirit Burst, his lethality was even greater than usual.

While the three fled back to their territory to report, Cares charged directly into the nearby North Mountain Manor of the Li Family.

The Kendall Clan currently remained without a noble title. They had been actively striving to meet the requirements for a Two-leaf Baron to apply to the Holy Protection Palace for a title. If Cares's rampage in another Lord's manor were handed over to the Holy Protection Palace to handle at this time, there was no doubt that the Kendall Clan's conferment would be delayed over and over again.

Therefore, Lord Mills was extremely grateful that Kaios had agreed to let the two families resolve it themselves, and he offered a compensation of the utmost sincerity.