Chapter 162: Dirty Trick (Part 2)

“Then what is your intention in trying to stop me from proving my innocence?”

A smile spread across Dean’s face as he looked at Defendi. The latter stalled for a moment, and then Defendi feigned toughness and said: “I was just saying that there is a gap between a drill and reality!”

“A gap? Don’t worry, I will make that gap disappear completely!”

As Dean spoke, he walked towards Baron Janel. He signaled the other party to stand in the room again, then pointed at the two corpses on the ground and asked: “Did these two possess Knight-rank strength?”

In fact, Dean was asking this despite knowing the answer.

Baron Janel only had two Knight-rank guards under his command. One was the Regiment Commander of the other party’s Knight Order, and the other was the Guard Captain. The former stayed in the Janel Territory, while the latter had followed him here and was now standing at the very front of the Janel Territory guards.

“No, they were only close to Knight-rank, but there was still a gap in strength!”

At Baron Janel’s signal, the other party’s Guard Captain stepped out and explained.

“Very well. Then I need Your Excellency the Guard Captain to act as one of them… Baron Defendi, surely you would not mind letting your Guard Captain act as the other one?”

Dean turned his head with a smile and looked at Defendi.

“Of course!”

Defendi said this, then signaled the Guard Captain beside him. The other party walked towards the other side of the door with a cold expression.

Immediately, the Guard Captains of the two barons replaced the original guards.

Moreover, compared to the strength of those close to Knight-rank, guards of true Knight-rank obviously raised the defensive power by more than just one level.

“I am still missing someone to play the role of that attendant. Is anyone willing?”

Dean said this.

“I will do it!”

The young lady from the Tier Baron Family, who had arrived last, stepped out.

And when this young lady entered the room, the general scenario of Baron Janel being attacked earlier was revealed. However, the strength of the guards obviously caused the people around to whisper among themselves.

After all, none of those present were commoners. They knew very well the gap between a Knight and someone close to Knight-rank—

“Is this Regiment Commander Dean Ken being a bit overconfident from time to time?”

“Who knows? Anyway, it has nothing to do with us!”

“That’s right, we aren’t those two unlucky ghosts who died!”

Several subordinates of Baron Janel whispered in low voices like this.

Undoubtedly, with a good-for-nothing baron, his subordinates were also tainted with a good-for-nothing air.

Meanwhile, the young people of the Ferrchelen Knight Order stood there with full confidence, waiting for their Regiment Commander’s performance.

As for Baron Defendi?

He frowned, deliberately walked around the area twice, then turned to look at Dean and asked: “Regiment Commander Dean Ken, do you really plan to start like this?”

“Do you have any other doubts?”

Dean asked with a smile.

“No, I just clearly remember that before, I only heard Baron Janel let out a scream. The rest were killed without making a sound!”

Baron Defendi reminded him with a show of kindness.

“Of course, I know… Theron, find me a wooden sword. Remember to dip it in lime!”

Dean instructed his subordinate.

“Yes, Regiment Commander!”

Theron ran back quickly. Not long after, he ran back holding a wooden sword dipped in lime.

Dean took the wooden sword but did not start immediately. Instead, he said apologetically to the Guard Captains of the two barons: “In a moment, my apologies!”

“Mhm!”

“Hmph!”

Baron Janel’s Guard Captain nodded, while Baron Defendi’s Guard Captain let out a cold snort. Moreover, Dean clearly saw him look at Baron Defendi and then give a slight nod.

Undoubtedly, Baron Defendi’s Guard Captain would absolutely not let his drill proceed smoothly.

Dean could even be certain that the moment he moved, the other party would move too, and would shout loudly—after all, this was a drill, so Dean could not truly infiltrate or assassinate.

Therefore, all actions were right before their eyes.

And Baron Defendi’s seemingly well-intentioned reminder earlier was undoubtedly a signal to his Guard Captain.

Of course, the ‘trap’ in the other party’s words went far beyond that.

If Dean really made Baron Janel let out a ‘scream’, then the other party would obviously frame Dean again—saying things like ‘He didn’t succeed before, so it’s similar now!’ ‘Sure enough, attacking openly, Regiment Commander Dean Ken, your strength is far greater than we knew!’ or ‘Having one actual combat experience, this drill was indeed much easier!’

Such words would definitely come from the other party’s mouth.

Then, they would try their best to downplay the difference in the guards’ strength levels, focusing instead on Dean’s ‘yet another’ attempt.

To counter this, Dean had to make Baron Janel ‘die without a sound’!

In fact, Baron Janel was the biggest flaw in Defendi’s entire crude plan—

If Baron Janel had really died, with no witness to testify against him, the other party’s plan might have made some sense. But the other party let Baron Janel live.

This obviously left Dean with an opportunity to ‘counterattack’.

As for why the other party didn’t truly assassinate Baron Janel?

First, the death of an attendant and two guards was a completely different concept from the assassination of a real baron. Moreover, given the previous attack on Vauban Castle, if his subordinate’s lord was also assassinated, Marquis Vauban’s fury could be easily imagined; he would definitely investigate thoroughly without hesitation.

And none of the people present at this residence could escape such an investigation; all would be suspects.

Clearly, Baron Defendi was not confident that he could hide his secrets under such an investigation.

And once exposed, he would undoubtedly be in a very disadvantageous position.

This was the first point. As for the second?

This Baron Defendi was clearly worried that if he messed up, Dean might really become the master of the Janel Territory and form an alliance with the Tier Territory to attack him.

Although the probability was small, Baron Defendi did not dare to take such a risk.

Especially since the first point existed.

Of course, more importantly, Baron Defendi clearly wanted to win over Baron Janel, making him hostile towards the Tier Territory and forming an alliance with him.

However, this Baron Defendi had clearly misjudged the degree of incompetence of the target he was trying to win over.

Look at Baron Janel; facing the young lady of the Tier Baron Family before him, he had completely forgotten what he was supposed to do, leaving only a face full of fawning smiles.

“Cough, cough, Baron Janel, we are about to start. Do not forget, you are in a drill!”

Baron Defendi frowned, then coughed a few times to remind Baron Janel.

“I know!”

However, in response to the kind reminder, Baron Janel’s reply carried a thick tone of impatience.

This made Baron Defendi’s frown grow even tighter.

If there weren’t other people around, Dean was certain that Baron Defendi would curse out loud, or even directly slap Baron Janel across the face.

For this, Dean had to thank that young lady of the Tier Baron Family.

Clearly, this clever young lady had long seen the key point, which was why she ‘stepped forward’ like this—otherwise, given this young lady’s disgust towards Baron Janel, she would never have let him come within three feet of her.

Taking a light breath, Dean tucked his gratitude for her into his heart, then looked around and said in a loud voice: “Is everyone ready?”

The people around nodded.

“Shall I call the start?”

Baron Defendi stepped forward again with a show of kindness.

“Of course!”

As Dean spoke, he tossed a Gold Pulton to the other party.

Dean certainly would not let the other party call the start in the true sense. After all, there were too many tricks they could play—dragging out a syllable slightly, then coordinating with his Guard Captain could cause Dean to fail at the last moment.

And this drill allowed no second chances.

Catching the Gold Pulton, Baron Defendi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately did not speak.

After all, the practice of flicking a Copper Coin, Silver Horn, or Gold Pulton and using its landing as the start signal was prevalent throughout the Emerald, especially among knights.

He could not raise any objection to this.

Ding!

With a hint of reluctance and a cold snort in his heart, Baron Defendi flicked the Gold Pulton into the air, then signaled his Guard Captain.

The latter, after nodding again, focused his attention entirely on the falling Gold Pulton.

Ding!

A crisp landing sound rang out as the Gold Pulton fell.

That Guard Captain was about to shout out loud instinctively, but a powerful aura rushed towards him. It felt as if the gaze of an ancient fierce beast had landed on him. Instantly, this Guard Captain, who had seen his share of battles, instinctively gripped his longsword, and the shout stuck in his throat.

Then, he felt a chill on his neck.

This chill immediately brought the Guard Captain back to his senses.

However, when he turned his head to shout, he discovered that Dean had already walked out of the room again.

And on the necks of himself, the Guard Captain of Baron Janel beside him, the young lady of the Tier Baron Family, and Baron Janel, there was a mark of lime.

Clearly, if it had been a real sword, they would have lost their lives long ago.

Instantly, Baron Defendi’s Guard Captain was covered in cold sweat, and his gaze towards Dean contained shock and wariness.

The other Guard Captain of Baron Janel was the same.

The young lady of the Tier Baron Family subconsciously touched the lime on her neck, looking a bit dazed.

As for Baron Janel?

This good-for-nothing baron still hadn’t figured out what had happened.

“Baron Defendi, do you have anything else you wish to say?”

Dean tossed the wooden sword to his subordinate, looked at the other party, and asked slowly.