Chapter 12: Compensation

Beyond covering all medical expenses for the injured, the Kendall Family would also pay 10,000 Magic Coupons in compensation, along with items worth around 1,000 Magic Coupons.

Magic Coupons were the primary currency among the nobles of the Holy Protection Alliance. Officially known as "Holy Protection Magic Coupons," their value was pegged to one of the world's absolute hard currencies: the Magic Rod. A Magic Rod was a standard form of encapsulated and stored Magic Power.

Anyone holding Magic Coupons could exchange them for Magic Rods of equal value at the Holy Protection Palace in any major city of the Holy Protection Alliance. This gave the currency nearly absolute credit across all territories controlled by the Alliance.

Kaios knew the concept of Magic Coupons from books he had read, but he didn't have a clear idea of their actual purchasing power.

Fortunately, when Pete presented the Kendall Family's compensation plan, he thoughtfully mentioned the Chengluo Factory. This was one of the more profitable factories Kaios currently owned, managed by Juan, the manager who had visited that morning. The factory brought the main family a net profit of 3,000 to 4,000 coupons a year.

"This compensation and apology plan is not yet finalized," Pete said. "It requires your nod of approval, Master. Only then will I go and finalize it with them. When that happens, Lord Mills might personally visit you."

"Mm, you can go ahead and finalize it. I trust your judgment," Kaios said.

In truth, his split-second decision to bypass the Punishment Knights and settle the matter privately with the Kendall Clan came down to one specific detail.

When the people from the Kendall Clan arrived, they had stopped at the manor's entrance despite their anxiety, respectfully asking the manor's Guards to relay their intentions first.

In contrast, when the Punishment Knights arrived, they rode straight in, trampling a Guard who was already lying injured on the ground. If that Guard hadn't been a Spiritual Energy Warrior with some level of Cultivation and relatively minor injuries, that stomp would have killed him on the spot.

As a result, Kaios instinctively disliked the Punishment Knights. Combined with his belief that Lord Mills was highly unlikely to be the mastermind behind the incident, he had made his decision.

"Master, there is something rather peculiar that I must bring to your attention," Pete said carefully. "Lord Drew, the father of Lord Mills, used to have a very good relationship with the Old Baron. Back then, Cares was still young and often sparred with Chief Guard Philo. Because of this, he has basic guard privileges within our North Mountain Manor's Grand Array. Even if he uses Spiritual Qi within the manor's grounds, the Array won't classify him as an intruder and automatically attack him.

"Why was it Cares who went mad from Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain? Why did it happen right outside our North Mountain Manor? And why did it happen at this precise time? Master, this matter is indeed quite unusual."

In fact, aside from allowing Kaios to witness a real battle between High Tier Spiritual Energy Warriors, today's sudden incident had answered one of his previous lingering questions.

After learning about the existence of the Soul Subordination Contract, he had immediately realized that conflicts between families and factions would easily lead to assassinations. Thus, the personal security of the Lords should have been of utmost importance.

Yet, from what he could observe, the strongest Contracted Servants of the Li Family didn't seem to be kept close by; they had all been dispatched elsewhere.

For instance, the highest Spiritual Energy Tier currently present in the North Mountain Manor was Lu Hao at Level 10. Given his age, one could even call his Level 10 a False Marking. Compared to the overall strength of the Li Family, this level of security seemed far too weak.

But now he understood. This was all due to the existence of the Guardian Array. If a Mage or a Spiritual Energy Warrior without guard privileges used Magic or Spiritual Qi within the active range of the Grand Array, they would be attacked by its preset defense mode.

The instantaneous burst attack power of such a Grand Array could reach the Top Tier. Unless an intruder was at or near the Top Tier, or possessed powerful defensive equipment, it would be extremely difficult for them to resist.

Furthermore, the Grand Array offered advanced guard privileges that could directly amplify the lethality of their own Guards' Magic or Spiritual Qi by one to three levels. However, a person could only receive this buff once within a short period; receiving any more would overwhelm their body.

During the fight against the Mad Knight Cares today, Lu Hao, Harvey, and Sharvella had all utilized this buff.

The Guard Badges worn by the Guards served as the "ports" to receive these buffs, and different levels of Guard Badges granted different degrees of enhancement.

The buff received by Sharvella, as a Personal Guard, was of the highest possible level.

That was why Sharvella's final strike, despite her being only at a Level 8 Spiritual Energy Tier, delivered a blow comparable to Level 11, nearing the Top Tier.

Beyond the Grand Array within their own manor, there were also many Punishment Knights patrolling the outskirts of Yulang City. In the event of an illegal intrusion or unauthorized battle, they would quickly join the fray.

Once they engaged, the experts of the Punishment Knight Order stationed at the Holy Protection Palace in Yulang City would be alerted, and reinforcements would pour in from all directions.

Therefore, when all the nobles of the Holy Protection Alliance set up their Guardian Arrays, the badges worn by the Punishment Knights of the Holy Protection Palace were granted basic guard privileges by default. This ensured they wouldn't be attacked by the Array when using Spiritual Qi or Magic.

In Kaios's eyes, the Grand Array was like a home security system, while the Punishment Knights acted as patrolmen. It was no wonder that when he looked at the map of Yulang City, he noticed all the surrounding noble manors and territories expanding outward in concentric circles around the city.

However, the territories of Noble Lords in this world were not always contiguous. For a Three-leaf Baron family like the Li Family, Kaios had discovered over a dozen different land deeds and territorial boundary maps.

The territories located right next to the main city were not particularly valuable in terms of economics. Instead, their residential and symbolic value took precedence. The closer a territory was to the main city, the better it was considered, and the more powerful the Lord who occupied it.

After realizing the immense power of the Array, Kaios couldn't help but wonder—if this thing could automatically attack and buff targets, there had to be a way to operate it manually.

If an Array could be inscribed on the ground for ordinary people to control, wouldn't it be logical to streamline it into a weakened version as a Magic Weapon?

Yet, based on what he had seen, there was no widespread adoption of Magic Weapons for ordinary people. Why was that? Was it because of the cost? Was equipping commoners with Magic Weapons far less cost-effective than training a Mage or a Spiritual Energy Warrior?

Returning to the present, he was highly satisfied with Pete's reminder. Not only was the yellow portion of the halo behind the old Housekeeper's head growing increasingly prominent, but his handling of affairs was also becoming more meticulous. Whether it was his ability to read the room, adapt to changing circumstances, or his control over the manor's management and information network, he excelled in every aspect. It was no wonder he had served three generations of Lords and remained the Housekeeper.

"I know. The fact that the Kendall Family's Chief Guard went mad and charged straight at us is highly unlikely to be a coincidence. I want you to look into something for me. Check who left their posts or acted suspiciously after I decided to have lunch in the garden. The madness caused by Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain shouldn't allow someone to accurately control who the victim assassinates. Furthermore, given our security forces, he wouldn't have succeeded anyway. I believe the mastermind's goal was simply to give me a severe fright, hoping to force me back into the comatose state I was in before yesterday."

A flash of surprise and admiration crossed Pete's eyes. He bowed his head and said, "Rest assured, Master. I will definitely root out that damned traitor."

Clearly, he fully agreed with Kaios's deduction and judgment.