Chapter 61

The Portland army slowly marched into the Lian city of the Silan people, with the neighing of warhorses, fluttering banners, and the cold gleam of sword blades. The thunderous footsteps of the soldiers, marching in neat rows, echoed as Baron Hongyu, the former city lord, stood motionless beside the main road inside the city gate, his expression complex.

The city of Lian had been breached by the Portlanders, and it hadn't even lasted two full days. Reinforcements were nowhere in sight.

As a fifth-rank swordsman, the city defense commander, Lei Ze, was killed on the city walls, falling in front of Baron Hongyu's eyes, along with the martial noble, an eighth-rank great swordsman, He Si.

He watched helplessly as the former was beheaded with a single sword strike, and the latter was reduced to ashes by two consecutive fireballs. Then, he became a captive, utterly powerless to resist.

The Portlanders were too powerful. A group of high-rank warriors moved as if they were in a no-man's land. The Silan soldiers defending the city were no match for them, not even able to slow them down.

The fifth-rank earth mage, Master Cui Kelaka, unleashed a fierce fifth-rank spell, "Thorny Rock Spikes," instantly killing hundreds of Portland soldiers and an enemy eighth-rank great swordsman, before disappearing.

As for the royal dragon knight, according to the surviving soldiers, he seemed to have been cut down from the city walls by a Portland sword god and had not been heard from since, likely meeting a grim fate.

These damn Portland bastards!

Baron Hongyu was very concerned about whether he could retain his title and ownership of the city in the future. He did not choose to fight the Portlanders to the death because once a person was gone, everything was gone.

He needed to find a way to ransom himself from the Portlanders as soon as possible.

Hmm, maybe he should write a letter to his uncle in the capital. His uncle would likely help out of respect for his father.

"Lord Baron, I hope you can tell us the whereabouts of Lord Moslig. The Bird family guarantees you will be treated properly."

Yasa, the polite and courteous Portlander, bowed to the captured Silan city lord, his tone respectful, showing no arrogance of a victor.

"I've already told you, haven't you found him?"

Baron Hongyu was clearly taken aback. From the other party's words, it seemed they had come up empty-handed.

The second division commander of the Portland army, the heir of the Bird family, Moslig, was not imprisoned in the baron's residence but was placed in a civilian house in the city.

"Yes, my lord, we did find some of Lord Moslig's belongings there, but not him."

Yasa, Moslig's personal butler, carefully observed the Silan baron's reaction, secretly gauging his expression.

The other party's face showed surprise and suspicion, seemingly not lying.

"Sorry, I only know about that place. I'm not sure about the rest. The city was in chaos, and the guards might have taken Lord Moslig away."

Baron Hongyu shrugged, though he felt a bit of joy and schadenfreude. Seeing that the Portlanders had not massacred the city, he guessed they were concerned about a high-ranking person being held by the Silan people.

"You'd better think carefully."

Yasa was a bit anxious but did not show it, his tone carrying a hint of threat.

The disappearance of Moslig, who led the "Tyrant Lion" corps' second division, put a lot of pressure on the Bird family's servants and warriors.

Besides him, some family warriors and corps warriors were searching the city for Moslig.

It seemed the Silan people were holding something back, making the Portlanders hesitant to act rashly.

"Mr. Yasa!"

A swordsman approached and gave a chest-pounding salute to the butler of the Bird family.

The swordsman glanced distrustfully at Baron Hongyu, then walked over and whispered to Yasa.

---

"Lord Bancroft, I apologize for interrupting your dressing change!"

Vanderkar, the first division commander of the "Tyrant Lion" corps, wearing battle armor, entered the baron's residence, which had become the "Tyrant Lion" corps' command center.

"No problem, Vanderkar. Do you have any news?"

High-quality light yellow linen wrapped around the completely naked upper body of "Tyrant Lion" corps commander Bancroft, his muscular body visible through the fabric. He sat still as a white-robed church nun cast a basic light healing spell on him to promote the recovery of his wounds after changing the bandages.

Last night's explosion was powerful, not only leveling the central command tent but also severely injuring Bancroft. Two of his guards outside the tent were killed instantly.

"The Bird family found clues about the second division commander near the south gate of Lian city."

Vanderkar's neck was wrapped in linen.

In last night's explosion, he also suffered a severe but superficial flesh wound on his neck.

"That's good news, Vanderkar. Send some of your strongest from the first division to help the second division and the Bird family bring Moslig back!"

Hearing news about his second division commander, "Tyrant Lion" corps commander Bancroft's expression improved.

"As you command, Lord Bancroft. Two sword gods and a sixth-rank mage have already set out to the south gate, and I believe they will find Lord Moslig soon."

In fact, Vanderkar had already made the same arrangements without waiting for the commander's order.

Besides his relationship with Moslig, the first division commander also wanted to curry favor with the Bird family, given their significant baron title.

After this incident, the favor owed by the other party could bring him many benefits.

"Good job! I'm waiting for your good news. Have the soldiers clean up this city and find all the threats. I have a feeling the Silan army will be here soon."

Capturing this Silan city gave Bancroft no sense of achievement.

The Silan people relied on the Ice Rock Mountains and the Green Fog Forest as a natural defense against the Portland Republic, so this border area was almost completely undefended. Whether it was the villages swept through or this city, the resistance the Portlanders faced was extremely limited.

"Hehe, we'll give the Silan people a memorable lesson!"

Vanderkar bared his white teeth, his smile full of killing intent.

"Lord Morin, as the heir of a Portland Republic baron, the Bird family is willing to pay 100,000 gold coins for my freedom. I can write you an IOU or have my butler deliver the money!"

Untying the ropes, Moslig rubbed his numb limbs but did not forget the etiquette and dignity of a noble.

"You talk too much. Drink some water! We have a long journey ahead!"

The dragon knight threw a bag of water to the young Portland division commander. Removing the bindings did not mean he could escape.

Although his light elemental battle aura was depleted and his injuries not fully healed, losing most of his combat strength, subduing this young division commander, who was only a third-rank swordsman, would not take much effort. Besides, he still had a 92-style combat pistol and other lethal weapons.

Feeling his warm face meet a cold response, Lin Mo's indifferent attitude made Moslig's expression stiffen. He awkwardly picked up the water bag, his throat parched from being thrown in the cart for half a day.

He gulped down a few mouthfuls, then forced himself to stop, resealing the water bag. As the heir of a noble family, he must always be moderate; a full stomach would not affect his reaction time.

Lin Mo sat there, eyes half-closed, pretending to be asleep, slowly releasing his mental power, which spread like silk threads into the sky.

The nearby light elemental energy seemed to respond to some call, gathering and rushing into the dragon knight's body.

The "Radiant Flame Battle Aura," a secret light elemental battle aura cultivation manual from the Silan Empire's royal collection, had an immediate effect. The dry and depleted light elemental battle aura in his body began to reappear, like dewdrops, gradually stirring and flowing again.

Visible light points appeared like a mist, and Moslig looked at the dragon knight, who was quickly recovering his battle aura, with envy. This scene could only be seen in those with at least four-star elemental affinity.

He himself only had two-star elemental affinity, not even close to comparing with the other party.

The human race's elemental affinity is divided from the lowest zero-star to the highest nine-star. Zero-star is mostly commoners, and at least one-star elemental affinity is required to qualify for cultivation.

One to three stars indicate the ordinary, with most warriors and spellcasters lingering here, their strength capped at the ninth rank of the human level. Four to six stars are the elite, who can reach the sixth rank of the human level with enough effort and opportunity. Seven to nine stars are extremely rare supreme geniuses, who can even reach the third rank of the celestial level.

If the Portland sword god, Marton, who knocked Lin Mo off the city walls, saw this scene, he would likely look at him with sympathy and regret.

The dragon knight's four-star elemental affinity would forever be capped at the ninth rank of the human level, with no hope of advancing further. The Silan Empire's royal dragon knight corps' hasty cultivation methods, using potions to force high-level human strength, had completely destroyed his future hope of advancing to the celestial level.

"Someone is coming!"

The dragon knight's ears twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze shifted to his captive, and he said coldly, "If you dare to make a sound or try to escape, don't blame me for being ruthless. I mean what I say and do what I say."

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