CHAPTER 693: CHAPTER 19: TRAINING OF THE HOUND

Sir Kieren and Silver Hand watched as those nobles who once prided themselves on their status and looked down upon them now all offered smiling faces, with some even secretly slipping Gold Coins into their pockets.

Kieren swatted away a hand that was clutching a purse and looked at the hand’s owner, a certain Imperial Earl, and said with a grave expression.

"What are you doing, what do you think you’re doing? Let me tell you, I am the most upright person there is and will not accept bribes."

Silver Hand had already pocketed a Ruby but upon hearing what Kieren had said, reluctantly pulled it out again and chimed in, "Exactly, exactly."

The Earl, somewhat embarrassed, said, "Sir Kieren, you misunderstand, this isn’t a bribe. It’s just a little specialty produce I brought along."

"Is that so?" Kieren’s expression softened somewhat. He took the bag and weighed it in his hand for a moment, feeling that the specialty produce had a considerable heft, and then, satisfied, accepted it.

"I heard the cherries from Wolf Ridge are quite delicious, so I’ll deign to try some."

"Ah, please enjoy, and if it’s not enough, I will have more sent over," the Earl said, smiling in appeasement, while cursing under his breath.

"Eating cherries in the dead of winter, how about a more heartfelt lie? Do you take everyone for a fool?"

However, these words he could only keep to himself, daring not to speak them out loud. Because today was different from the past, although Kieren and Silver Hand were merely Barons of the lowest rank.

But they were Barons knighted by Lord Solomon, while this Earl was a vassal of the Vespasian Family, which didn’t carry much weight anymore.

In this comparison, his status was actually less than that of the two minstrels he had completely disregarded before.

The Earl had never imagined that he would one day need to grovel before such individuals and couldn’t help but feel a sense of inexplicable sadness.

But before he could continue wallowing in his emotions, he saw Kieren gesture for him to come closer, "I know what you want to inquire about. Come here, and I’ll tell you."

Overjoyed, the Earl hurried over without a second thought for how the world had deteriorated and people’s morals were no longer what they used to be.

Kieren quickly whispered a sentence in his ear, and a look of bewilderment spread across the Earl’s face. He wanted to ask more, but then Kieren waved him away, "Alright, off you go, don’t hold up the next person."

Afterward, Kieren and Silver Hand continued taking money while giving pointers to the confused nobles.

In just a short while, they had made almost a thousand Gold Coins. The rest either found it too expensive or, seeing that those who had paid and heard the advice looked dazed, felt that the information wasn’t that valuable.

So they gave up on the idea of bribing the two minstrels.

Kieren, holding a bunch of local specialty produce, looked around and seeing that no one else was coming to give money, he gave five hundred Gold Coins to the squad of Wing Clan Warriors guarding the gate.

Then he and Silver Hand walked away with the remaining money.

The nobles who had come to pledge their loyalty waited with anxiety until the seventh day when Solomon set the location for the tournament next to Junlin Tower.

Looking at the ruins scattered across the ground, the Empire’s nobles had mixed feelings and, moreover, did not see Solomon appear. Instead, they saw a group of Wing Clan Warriors bringing around a dozen captives.

As they approached, some noticed that all of the captives had red hair, though the shades varied.

Without a doubt, they all came from the same family, members of the Imperial Family.

With them also came the former intelligence head, Ivan.

Ivan looked somewhat distressful; despite having experienced many crises, the thought of the forthcoming events still made his skin crawl.

But, recalling Solomon’s orders, he had no choice but to speak up firmly.

"Welcome everyone... to watch this tournament. To prevent hunger from overcoming you later, Lord Solomon has specially prepared an... appetizer for all."

"Where’s the appetizer?" a Noble asked, looking around without seeing any trace of food.

But then they saw Ivan draw a small silver knife from his waist and approach one of the captives.

The prisoner appeared to be the oldest among them, easily over two hundred years old.

As he saw Ivan approaching, his face showed no fear, but instead, he began to curse loudly, "Traitor! You shameless traitor, you’ve betrayed your liege, you and the family behind you will all be cursed by the gods!!!"

Ivan sighed, "Prince Solman..." The former spy chief seemed to want to justify himself once more, but opening his mouth, he didn’t know what to say.

In the end, he could only place the small silver knife on the old man’s left arm, exerting slight pressure to slice off a bloody piece of flesh.

Ivan pinched the piece of flesh, put it into his mouth, and forced down the urge to vomit.

Then he handed the small knife to an imperial noble who was standing closest, with his mouth agape in shock.

"Please, help yourself."

"No, I’d rather not, I’m not hungry," the noble said in fear, stepping back two paces.

However, Ivan did not retract the knife, saying seriously, "This is an order from Lord Solomon, if you wish to serve him, you’ll need to prove your loyalty.

"Eat this appetizer to show you truly intend to stand with him."

"No, this is too cruel," a noble face revealed an expression of unwillingness, "I can’t do it."

After speaking, he tried to leave but found the path by which he had come blocked by a squad of Wing Clan Warriors.

And unbeknownst to them, Wing Clan Warriors had already surrounded them, encircling them in the very center.

The noble stopped in his tracks, then turned back to look at Ivan.

The latter had by then regained his composure, "If you don’t want to die, do as I say."

The nobles fell silent upon hearing this.

Solomon was generous with the conditions set for recruiting new allies, and when they arrived at Lion Heart Castle, although Solomon did not entertain them, he arranged accommodations and food for them.

So much so that some of them even had the illusion that Solomon needed them very much and that they had the capital to negotiate with him.

But in truth, it was the Wing Tribe who were the conquerors of the Continent, and rather than looking for allies, it would be more fitting to say Solomon was training hunting dogs.

And as hunting dogs, loyalty to their master was always of utmost importance.

A moment later, a noble stepped forward, took the small silver knife from Ivan’s hands willingly and approached a young boy.

The boy looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old, not as tough as the older man before, and as someone approached him, he shook all over, wet himself in fear, and kept begging for mercy.

The noble’s hand holding the knife was trembling too, but in the end, he hardened his heart and made the cut, a scream rang out, making everyone’s skin crawl.

Then the third person, the fourth one... one by one, the nobles who had come to pledge allegiance advanced, and in the end, only six remained where they were.

They included the noble who had earlier planned to slink away, thinking of quietly leaving after the tournament, but the next moment, an arrow struck his neck, precisely piercing it.

At the same time, the other five beside him were also hit by arrows, dying with their eyes wide open and faces filled with unwillingness. Someone wanted to recant, but before they could speak out, they were shot dead.

The remaining nobles were chilled to the bone, still hearing the death wails of Vespasian Family members in their ears.

Every cry reminded them of their predicament at that moment.

Only after everyone had taken part did Ivan step forward again, announcing the start of the battle tournament. But when everyone was curious as to where the contestants were,

The former spy chief continued, "The tournament has already begun, gentlemen. You are free to choose your opponents, and those who kill their opponents can not only serve Lord Solomon but can also take their opponents’ land.

"Let me remind you once more, for those who intentionally avoid participating in the tournament, you’ve just seen what happens to them."