Chapter 14

"Is that the bell... The bandits are here again?"

Not far northwest of Eldington, at the foot of the Ambrose Mountains, Aberton, who had just arrived outside a small wooden cabin, paused and frowned.

He turned around, and the ground behind him suddenly trembled.

"Again... The commotion has been getting bigger these past few years..."

Aberton muttered to himself, gritted his teeth, and forcibly suppressed the urge to return to Eldington. He turned around again and entered the small wooden cabin.

The tremors gradually subsided.

At the Lord's Manor in Eldington,

Fiona casually flipped through the ledger left by the tax officer of the Lord's Manor, feeling a headache coming on.

"Such a poor town, yet it can still yield ten thousand gold coins a year. Hog is really ruthless..."

Fiona even doubted the authenticity of the ledger. According to her understanding of tax officers, these guys would definitely manipulate the numbers.

In other words, Hog must be getting at least fifteen thousand gold coins a year from Eldington...

This is the impoverished Eldington!

"There must be a problem with the tax rate... What's that sound?"

Fiona suddenly froze. The urgent bell ringing outside the window gave her an uneasy feeling.

Then she heard a loud bang from downstairs, followed by a wild roar: "Where is Dunn? Come out and face your death!"

Fiona's face changed dramatically. "Oh no!"

She hurriedly pulled the curtain and saw that the Lord's Manor was surrounded by bandits.

She panicked immediately. If Dunn were here, she wouldn't be afraid, but Dunn was out fighting the bandits, and the bandits had come here. What should she do?

All the militiamen in Eldington had left. Now, Eldington was like a defenseless lamb, vulnerable to the bandits' bullying.

"Treasure room? No, that's too dangerous. Closet? No... Secret room... Is there a secret room here?"

Fiona began frantically feeling the walls. Generally, the Lord's Manor would have many secret rooms for escape in case of danger.

However, footsteps were quickly approaching.

Fiona, who was extremely frightened, suddenly calmed down. Her gaze fell on the table, and she quickly ran over, rolling a piece of parchment into a scroll and clenching it in her hand.

"Bang!"

The door was kicked open, and Fiona turned and shouted, "Who are you!?"

"Huh? A woman!"

Buck was stunned for a moment, then laughed wildly. "This little beauty is far prettier than any of Buck's concubines. Girl, you're mine now!"

"Ridiculous!"

Fiona feigned mystery and said coldly, "I'd like to see who dares to touch me!"

"Girl, are you trying to test Buck's patience?"

Buck's single eye stared at Fiona. He had traveled far and wide for many years and had never seen a girl as beautiful as this one.

He was determined to have her!

"No one dares to touch me in Alinx. Do you think a country bumpkin like you is worthy?"

Fiona raised her long, white neck disdainfully and looked at Buck with contempt. "I won't hide it from you. I'm wearing four pieces of exceptional magic equipment. Each one has enough defensive and counterattack power to instantly kill your group of scum. It will trigger automatically if anyone with ill intentions touches me."

Exceptional magic equipment!

Buck's heart tightened, and he subconsciously stopped, even calling his subordinates to a halt.

His gaze swept over Fiona, especially her earrings and necklace, and he finally relaxed a bit.

"I may have only one eye, but I'm not blind."

Buck stared at Fiona and sneered, "Exceptional magic equipment would have very bright elemental light. You don't think I can't recognize it, do you?"

This time it was Fiona's turn to feel nervous, but she still forced a cold laugh. "That's because you're too ignorant. You've never heard of the spell 'Permanency.'"

Spell Permanency?

Buck was confused. He really hadn't heard of it.

However, after a moment of hesitation, Buck snarled, "Who cares about your spell permanency? We'll see if it's real or not. Finger, go and test it!"

"Ah!?"

The subordinate named Finger was startled and almost cried. "Big Brother Buck, why me?"

"You wanted to get your hands on Elsa, didn't you? Now there's a girl just as beautiful here. As your big brother, I'll take care of you."

Buck sneered, "Stop talking nonsense and go!"

Under Buck's urging, Finger had no choice but to approach Fiona.

Fiona became even more nervous. She could almost hear her heart pounding.

It's almost time...

Fiona silently calculated, and with a slight tremor of her right hand, she revealed a bit of the scroll.

"Stop!"

Buck immediately called out to Finger, his single eye fixed on Fiona's right hand. "What's in your hand? Show it to me!"

Fiona met his gaze for a moment, then slowly and carefully brought the parchment scroll to the front, her left hand resting on it.

Buck took a deep breath and sneered at Fiona, "You're a clever girl! I'm afraid the exceptional magic equipment is fake, and this magic scroll is your real trump card!"

Finally, he's taken the bait...

Fiona secretly breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Buck coldly without a word, as if ready to tear the scroll at any moment.

The scroll...

Buck stared at the scroll, which was slightly yellowed at the edges but well-preserved, indicating that its owner often carried it but never used it.

There were only two reasons: either its owner never needed to use it, or its power was so great and valuable that they were reluctant to use it.

Neither reason was good for Buck.

If Buck were a mage, Fiona wouldn't have fooled him, as there was no magical aura on the scroll. Unfortunately, he wasn't.

Moreover, compared to Fiona, his intelligence was lacking.

"Girl, are you threatening me—"

"Inferno Storm."

Fiona thought of the Inferno Storm Dunn had cast yesterday. It was the only spell she knew, so she said coldly, "I have a fourth-level spell scroll of Inferno Storm. If I tear it, the entire Lord's Manor will turn to ashes. I'm just a commoner and will die too, but I don't want to die. Don't force me!"

Buck's face changed dramatically. "What—"

Buck's subordinates became even more nervous. Although they didn't know what a fourth-level spell Inferno Storm was, they knew that a first-level Fireball spell could easily burn a person to ashes.

A fourth-level spell...

Heaven, how terrifying must its power be?

Buck's expression was uncertain. He didn't know if he should take the risk.

Winning would just get him a beautiful woman.

But losing could cost everyone their lives.

"Girl, who are you?"

How could an unknown person possess such a precious magic scroll? Moreover, when did this girl appear in Hog's Lord's Manor? Clearly, she was with the new lord, Dunn.

It seems... I can continue the bluff...

Fiona's mind raced, and she said proudly, "Alinx, the Golden Rose family, Fiona Golden Rose, a noble council inspector, here to confirm if the new lord, Dunn, has taken office. If I die here, the noble council's knights will raze all of Eldington! You won't survive either!"

Buck took a deep breath. Although he didn't know the Golden Rose family, he knew the noble council...

He could also recognize the natural nobility in Fiona, a quality cultivated from a young age through noble education and lifestyle.

Buck was starting to have second thoughts.

"Miss Fiona, you win."

Buck put away his weapon, his face dark. "But Dunn must die."

"Lord Dunn is not here."

Fiona wished Dunn were here. This kind of enemy, he could easily handle with a finger.

Buck was furious. "What!? Did he know I was coming and run away!?"

"Run away? Only cowards run away."

Fiona said sarcastically, "Lord Dunn is no coward. He has already led the militia to raid your hideout."

"Militia?"

Buck was stunned for a moment, then laughed wildly. "What? The new lord plans to raid my hideout with the militia? How naive, too naive!"

Naive? We'll see who's naive.

Fiona sneered inwardly. If Lord Dunn were serious, he wouldn't need anyone else. A wave of his hand could destroy the entire bandit hideout.

"Since that's the case, I'll wait for him to return. Before I kill him, you'll have to stay in this room, Finger!"

"Here..."

Why me again? Finger was about to cry.

"Find another brother. The two of you watch her and prevent any trouble."

Buck said, then gave Fiona a cold look before turning and leaving with the others.

Fiona was so scared that she broke out in a cold sweat. She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but Finger and another person were still watching her, so she had to maintain her previous demeanor and continue the standoff.

Meanwhile, Dunn and his group had arrived at the bandit hideout ahead of schedule.

"How so fast?"

Elsa was puzzled, feeling unusually light on her feet while walking on the mountain path.

Of course, she didn't know that Dunn had secretly used a spell to speed up their journey. Otherwise, they would have arrived much later.

"Up ahead is the bandits' hideout. They've been there for years. We've tried to storm it before, but they always beat us back."

Elsa said indignantly, "If only we could fly up there."

Fly up?

Dunn looked at the several hundred-meter-high slope. For ordinary people, such a strategically advantageous hideout was indeed hard to breach.

But...

"Ronnie, do you have a plan?"

Dunn called Ronnie over.

"A plan? What plan?"

"No plan?"

Dunn frowned and scolded mercilessly, "We're right in front of the enemy, and as the captain of the militia, you have no plan? How did you become captain?"

Ronnie was indignant. "Our job is to maintain order in Eldington, not to fight bandits! That's the soldiers' job! We're just militia!"

"Now," Dunn said expressionlessly, "I declare that you are conscripted into my private army. Now, soldier, I want you to lead the charge!"

What!?

Ronnie was stunned. How could this guy be so shameless!?

The reason Aberton chose to live in seclusion in Eldington

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