Chapter 48: The Baron’s Surprise, Part 1

In the eastern district of Tier Town, within the tallest building, wails and complaints echoed from within. Although the corridor was long and deep, the crying was unusually clear—allowing one to imagine how piercing the sounds must have been inside the room; in fact, even outside the room in the corridor, people frowned at such sobbing.

“Is that guy even a man? He only knows how to cry and whimper!”

A middle-aged man in steel armor paced restlessly as he heard those wailing sounds.

“After all, two of his retainers died!”

Another middle-aged man, wearing clean clothes and a cowhide belt with a Longsword hanging from it, said in a calm voice—although the two men were not far apart in age, compared to the former’s somewhat rugged beard, the latter had kept his grooming meticulous. Coupled with his fairer complexion, the latter looked more like a scholar or a Noble.

“Two retainers? They were just two sycophantic villains. It’s better that they are dead! But that little noble…”

The man in armor let out a cold snort at the end of his sentence—clearly, as the Guard Captain of the Baron, Allenor looked down on the stepson of the Lord Baron’s distant aunt.

In fact, after Weibor had made several mistakes and refused to correct them, this Guard Captain had developed no affection for Weibor whatsoever; indeed, one could even call it disgust.

It was precisely because of this that he had agreed to his good friend Ikes’s proposal.

However, the result was still somewhat unexpected—in Allenor’s mind, the other party would at most give Weibor a whipping with a Whip, but he did not expect the other party to be so bold as to hang both of Weibor’s retainers to death.

Of course, Allenor was very satisfied with this result.

Yet, the other party’s bold and reckless behavior made this Baron’s Guard Captain feel dissatisfied; after all, this was Tier Territory, and the Lord was Baron Tier.

“Nobles must have the honor and dignity of nobles!”

Seeing his good friend’s slightly dissatisfied expression, Ikes immediately said very seriously; and seeing his friend in this state, the Baron’s Guard Captain couldn’t help but roll his eyes—being his friend, he was very clear about what his friend would be like once he entered such a state.

Therefore, the wise Baron’s Guard Captain did not choose to argue again.

“And conversations between Nobles also require rules!”

However, clearly, Ikes had no intention of stopping; he continued to speak slowly there; and this made the Baron’s Guard Captain even more helpless. He could only choose another method to stop his friend’s endless chatter.

“Rules? I haven’t seen any rules!”

The Baron’s Guard Captain said.

“This is a process of building friendship between two parties, which requires a shared intention—”

As Ikes spoke, he looked at his friend; clearly, he was waiting for his friend to say the answer in his heart.

“What?”

The Guard Captain asked, not understanding.

“Alright!”

Ikes felt helpless at having overestimated his friend’s thinking ability again; he shrugged and was about to explain to his friend.

But before he could even open his mouth, a Baron’s Guard ran quickly from afar—

“My Lord, Ike, the Militia Captain of the Ferrchelen Knight Order, is waiting with a gift card!”

The Guard reported truthfully and took out the gift card wrapped in gold leaf paper, handing it to the Guard Captain.

“Tch, what a extravagant style!”

Looking at the gift card that radiated bright light even at night, the Guard Captain couldn’t help but squint his eyes; you had to know, it was morning at this time, when Sunlight had just penetrated the thick fog of Tier Territory and covered the whole earth. The sunlight reflecting off the gold leaf was absolutely dazzling.

While the Guard Captain and the Guard only focused their gaze on the gold leaf, Ikes paid more attention to the handwriting and wording on the gift card. Seeing the flowery handwriting and the extremely standardized language between Nobles, this rigid Advisor couldn’t help but smile.

“Leave it to me. Go invite Captain Ike in!”

After giving an order to the Guard, Ikes signaled to his friend and then walked towards the room deep in the corridor; the Guard Captain only hesitated for a moment before following his friend’s signal; after all, in this Guard Captain’s view, his friend’s signal was a good omen.

At least it was better than standing here listening to the wailing of someone who was worse than a woman, right?

…

Standing in the front hall of the Lord Baron’s Mansion, Ike dared not even breathe heavily. After handing over the Regiment Commander’s gift card, he stood obediently in place, waiting—in fact, for a weak Militia Captain, this state was already the best performance. After all, it was a real test for a young man, who at most passed by the entrance of the Lord Baron’s Mansion, to act as an Envoy and enter the Mansion.

After all, everyone he met here seemed like a Big Shot to that young man back then.

Scrape, scrape, scrape…

The sound of metal rubbing against the stone floor rang out. Ike, who had been standing in place, had just begun to get used to it, but his heart immediately tensed again—because he was very clear that in the entire Baron’s Mansion, only one person wore steel Boots; or rather… steel Armor.

The Baron’s Guard Captain: My Lord Allenor!

A Big Shot who held a Knight title; even the original Regiment Commander, Potts, would pay respectful respects when seeing him—it was said that at first Regiment Commander Potts was not like this, even facing this Guard Captain with a provocative attitude. But after several closed sparring sessions where the outside world did not know the process, Regiment Commander Potts became very well-behaved after meeting this Guard Captain.

As for the result?

Anyone could guess by looking at the difference in Regiment Commander Potts’s attitude before and after.

Moreover, it was rumored that this Guard Captain had once killed a Snow Bear!

Thinking about the legends surrounding this Guard Captain, the weak Militia Captain, with a nervous heart, trembled as he watched the approaching figure—the first thing to enter his sight was naturally the Armor; a series of repair marks were obvious, showing that this Guard Captain was as brave in battle as the legends said. As for the signature beard, it made this Guard Captain look a bit older than his actual age, of course, and the whole person looked quite rugged.

“My Lord Allenor!”

The weak Militia Captain bowed respectfully.

“Ike? Follow me this way!”

An unusually gentle voice came from this Guard Captain’s mouth, causing the timid Militia Captain to let out a long sigh of relief in his heart—at least, this Guard Captain did not seem as strict as the legends said.

“Yes, My Lord!”

The weak Militia Captain nodded immediately and followed behind the other person into the courtyard of the Baron’s Mansion. When he passed through the long corridor, the weak Militia Captain saw Weibor, whom he had seen in the Military Camp before—but at this time, in Ike’s eyes, Weibor did not look too good.

Not to mention the messy coat, the red palm prints on his cheeks were enough to explain everything.

Thinking of Dean’s confident and calm demeanor when he left the Military Camp, showing no respect for Weibor, while they themselves looked anxious, this Militia Captain respected his Regiment Commander a little more again—clearly, his Regiment Commander had already foreseen what would happen here.

And not only for Weibor; his Regiment Commander had also foreseen that the Lord Baron would treat him with courtesy.

And this made Ike become even more cautious.

After all, he knew that such courtesy was only because he represented his Regiment Commander, not himself!

If it were for himself, he probably wouldn’t even get close to the front door of the Lord Baron’s Mansion before being chased out by those Guards.

“Come in!”

Seeing the respectful demeanor of the young man behind him, the Guard Captain felt even more satisfied; he thought this was a specific manifestation of the Lord Baron’s majesty; however, this Guard Captain did not forget what his duty was. He pushed open the door in front of him and said to the young man behind him,

“Yes, My Lord!”

The weak Militia Captain walked in slowly. Immediately, his feet went soft; he saw a red carpet spreading on the floor of the hall, under his feet.

Immediately, the weak Militia Captain became a bit at a loss—he didn’t know whether to move forward or go out to clean his shoes before coming back in.

Fortunately, a voice came from ahead—

“Is this Captain Ike? Please come here!”

This was a clear voice, and the weak Militia Captain recognized who the owner of this voice was at the first moment; the Baron’s Advisor: Ikes.

“Yes, My Lord Ikes!”

The weak Militia Captain took two quick steps and came to the middle of the hall. Then, as if remembering something, he immediately stopped his steps and respectfully greeted a middle-aged man sitting to the side, who was wearing a common linen shirt with only a white Shield emblem embroidered on the chest: “I pay my respects, My Lord Baron!”