Chapter 7: Lu Hao

The halo behind Dominic's head was almost entirely gray. Less than a tenth of it was purple. It looked far less intense than the disgust many of the Li family's own Contracted Servants and Guards in the manor held for Kaios. While this level of favorability was certainly not friendly toward Kaios, and he could potentially be bribed into acting against him, it was highly unlikely that he was a mastermind.

However, among the Punishment Knight Order that had accompanied Dominic, several Knights had halos that were predominantly purple. One of them even had a halo that was two-thirds purple, with the remaining one-third being crimson red. Although this was his first time seeing a red halo, based on the purple foundation, it was undoubtedly on the negative spectrum. If purple was defined as dislike, fear, or disgust, then red definitely reached the level of hatred and hostility.

Because the Punishment Knights all wore identical standard-issue visors over their faces, Kaios could only secretly memorize the characteristics of that "Red Circle" Punishment Knight's armor, mount, and weapons. He would have someone look into it later to see if they could determine his identity. His attitude toward him... no, rather, toward the original owner of this body, definitely had a reason. And this kind of one-third Red Circle Level malice absolutely gave the man a reason to stab Kaios in the back.

After Dominic arrived at the manor, he couldn't even be bothered to exchange pleasantries. He immediately used his Magic Power from a distance to quickly probe and check Kaios's physical condition. Then, he frowned and asked, "Baron Li, how is your body feeling now?"

"Not bad. As long as I rest for a few more—"

Dominic did not wait for him to finish and interrupted directly, "Baron Li, you have now inherited the title, the territory, and the Soul Subordination Contracts. You are a proper Great Lord now. Taking good care of your body is your fundamental responsibility. You carry the livelihoods and even the very lives of the entire territory, all the Contracted Servants, and your Subjects on your shoulders."

His words seemed normal enough, appearing as though he was being considerate of Kaios. In reality, his tone was far from polite. It sounded like an elder giving a lecture, tainted with a hint of sarcasm, especially with the heavy emphasis placed on the word "proper." Although Dominic was essentially a Contracted Servant as well, the Contracted Servants of the Holy Protection Palace were fundamentally different from those of ordinary nobles. They practically held an "official status." Kaios, who already understood this point, naturally could only play along for now and deal with him superficially.

However, this "re-examination," which was supposed to be a mere routine procedure, met with a sudden complication right as it was ending. Dominic had originally intended to leave after checking Kaios's condition and saying his piece. Unexpectedly, a Punishment Knight approached and whispered something in his ear. Dominic stopped, looked at Kaios thoughtfully for a moment, and said, "Baron Li, as a noble who has already inherited the title, you should first prepare a will for the allocation of the Soul Subordination Contracts. It just so happens that we are sending someone to deliver the review report this time, so it can be sent to the Holy City together. This would be a safer approach and good for everyone."

That was a ruthless move! Kaios had a bad feeling the moment that Punishment Knight whispered to Dominic, because that Knight was the very same guy with the one-third red halo. Sure enough, after the whispering, Dominic turned back and delivered a fatal blow.

Asking a noble in very poor health to draft a Soul Contract will seemed to have a highly justifiable reason. Moreover, the Li family's Contracted Servants present would also silently agree in their hearts. After all, if he were to suddenly die a violent death without a Soul Contract will, they would all be buried alongside him. But whether it was the body's previous owner or the current Kaios, neither had anyone who met the inheritance qualifications and was trustworthy enough. If he randomly wrote down a name, it would definitely lead to endless troubles in the future.

With that one-third Red Circle Punishment Knight around, Kaios did not believe for a second that his Soul Contract will could arrive safely in the Holy City and be stored in the Saintly Heart Hall without its contents being leaked. Once those plotting against him learned the identity of his heir, he would probably have no way of surviving.

But if he made excuses right now, claiming he had no suitable heir, Dominic would surely take the opportunity to bring up his uncles and their children. Old Pete had mentioned earlier that when Dominic first visited, he had come with Trist Li; they were definitely in contact. If he then refused to draft the Soul Contract will, he would have no choice but to eliminate the inheritance rights of these collateral blood relatives one by one in front of Dominic. The scene would be extremely ugly. It would also completely push all his collateral relatives to the opposing side, making the other Lords realize that even within the Li family, he was utterly isolated with no support. After quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Kaios, though reluctant, had no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils and refuse to draft the will.

But to his surprise, before he could speak, Guard Commander Lu Hao, who had been standing silently behind him like a clam, suddenly stepped forward and said to Dominic, "Whether my Master drafts a will, and when he decides to do so, is it your place to dictate?"

Dominic stared in bewildered shock at the gray-haired Lu Hao. "Who are you to dare speak to me like this?!"

"I am the Guard Commander and Chief Guard of the Li family's North Mountain Manor. You are nothing but an advisor and a Magic Master of the Holy Protection Palace. We are all Contracted Servants here, so who is nobler than whom? Oh, are you implying that because you are a Level 12 Top Tier Mage, you are stronger than me, a Level 10 High Level Spiritual Energy Warrior? In that case, let's have a duel. A fight to the death. Do you dare?" Lu Hao did not back down in the slightest.

These words left not only Dominic, but also Kaios, Old Pete, Juan, the surrounding Guards, and the dozen Punishment Knights with looks of utter shock on their faces.

"You..." But after pointing his finger at Lu Hao for several seconds, what Dominic actually said was, "Do you not see the Punishment Knights behind me? I am here representing the Holy Protection Palace. Does the Holy Protection Palace not have the authority to supervise a noble in drafting a Soul Contract will?"

Although his words were a response to Lu Hao's earlier questioning, his apparent intentional ignorance of the life-and-death duel invitation inevitably gave off the impression that he was showing weakness. Meanwhile, the Punishment Knights behind him, including the "Red Circle" Knight, all remained completely silent. None of them stepped forward to confront Lu Hao, nor did they show any intention of accepting the challenge on Dominic's behalf.

This struck Kaios as somewhat strange. According to what Harvey, Sharvella, and the others had said, wasn't Lu Hao's actual combat prowess much lower than his Tier? The Dominic he was facing now was a Level 12 Top Tier Great Mage, with a Tier much higher than his on paper. Why was Dominic acting like he was avoiding the fight?

Lu Hao maintained his ferocious demeanor, raising his voice a bit higher. "That authority belongs to the Chief Judge of the Holy Protection Palace in Yulang City! Since when did an advisor like you possess the same power?"

"You..."

Just as Dominic was flushed with anger from Lu Hao's rebuke, Kaios suddenly noticed Old Pete winking at him, seemingly urging him to say something. Even Lu Hao, while confronting Dominic, was constantly making some sort of hand gesture behind his back toward Kaios. Was this... a signal for him to stop Lu Hao? To have them play good cop and bad cop?

Just as he was about to put on a show of reprimanding Lu Hao, Dominic suddenly turned to him and said in a tone full of threat, "Baron Li, if you don't give me a satisfactory explanation today, I'm afraid I won't have the energy to write the review report."

Kaios's eyes widened. Although Dominic didn't say it explicitly, Kaios knew very well what this so-called "explanation" meant—he was demanding Lu Hao's life as an "explanation"! Furthermore, he was blatantly using the refusal or delay of the review report as blackmail. If things were delayed here, causing the Holy City to make a resolution and send people down, it would definitely result in a mountain of troubles. Even though the resolution would highly likely be canceled in the end—after all, Kaios was alive and kicking right here, and they couldn't forcibly strip away his Soul Subordination Contracts—there would certainly be plenty of complications, and who knew what other nasty curveballs might arise.

Hearing him say this, the look in Lu Hao's eyes when he turned back to glance at Kaios suddenly became calm, as if he had already gladly accepted a certain fate.

However, the moment Kaios opened his mouth, a look of shock washed over Lu Hao's face again. His expression was even more exaggerated than when he was lashing out at Dominic earlier.

"Should I call you Dominic the Great Mage, or Chief Judge Dominic?" Kaios looked at him blankly.

"What do you mean by that..." Dominic was in disbelief. In his eyes, his previous words had already offered a huge way out for Kaios, making it blatantly obvious that he was stepping down.

"My Guard Commander has already stated that the authority for supervision and review belongs to the Chief Judge of the Holy Protection Palace. You are nothing but an advisor acting on his behalf; what right do you have to use this matter to threaten me? The Li family may not be an exceptionally high-ranking noble family, but we have managed our affairs for nearly ten generations. We are not without connections, even in the Holy City. If you refuse to review, that is a dereliction of your duty. Later, I will go straight to Yulang City to ask the Chief Judge exactly whose idea this was, or I will simply send a letter to the Holy City and invite them to judge for themselves!"

After Kaios finished speaking, the entire hall fell dead silent. Everyone was stunned.