Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Chapter 450 - 423: Nothing to Talk About

Although Ronin felt there was nothing to discuss, since an old acquaintance had given everyone a way to de-escalate, he couldn’t just refuse to show them some courtesy.

So, in his capacity as the host, he invited Garrett and his party into the castle’s main hall and had the servants bring out fruit and drinks.

The atmosphere seemed to have eased, but in reality, it hadn’t.

After a moment, Garrett spoke again. "Ronin, what will it take for you to hand over Sophia so I can take her back for interrogation?"

Jesus didn’t speak, instead stroking the porcelain cup in his hand.

He had a curious nature, and this unique cup piqued his interest. As for the negotiations between Ronin and Garrett, he seemed more like an outsider at this moment.

In truth, as far as Jesus was concerned, he had already succeeded just by managing to sow discord between Wushan Territory and the Royal Family, creating a rift and planting the seeds of future instability.

Ronin peeled a fresh grape and popped it into his mouth. ’The fruit from the castle’s orchard is actually quite good.’

"Crown Prince, although I invited you all in for a seat out of courtesy and respect for the Royal Family, some things cannot be resolved through negotiation."

Ronin’s voice was calm and firm. "This ridiculous slander involves the honor of Wushan Castle and my own dignity. I cannot back down in the slightest! Unless the Crown Prince can produce concrete evidence proving Sophia’s involvement, I will not hand her over to anyone."

Garrett’s expression grew darker. He hadn’t expected Ronin to be so unyielding.

Though furious, he knew it wasn’t the right time to resort to force.

After all, the strength of the opposing side exceeded his expectations. Furthermore, with the honor of both Wushan Castle and the Royal Family at stake, if a real fight broke out, the situation would likely spiral out of control.

Just then, Jesus sneered. "Garrett, you’re the Crown Prince, and yet you command no respect at all, do you? Heh, a mere Baron of the Kingdom, soon to be your brother-in-law, and he’s already acting so arrogant..."

"Enough!"

Garrett shot to his feet. "In that case, Broel, you will report the situation here to His Majesty, the King!"

He snorted coldly and turned to leave the hall, his five subordinates immediately following.

Seeing things were going south, Jesus hurried to follow, but Ridder reached out an arm to block him.

"What’s the meaning of this? Wasn’t killing my people enough? Now you’re going to kill me, too?"

Garrett froze. He turned, glanced at Ridder, then shifted his furious gaze to Ronin. "Don’t push it. And don’t think for a second there’s nothing I can do to you!"

Ronin smiled faintly and waved his hand, signaling for Ridder to let Jesus go.

’Keeping Jesus here would only mean detaining a single Golden Level Witch Soul Knight.’

’As long as Mephisto isn’t captured, killing a Golden Knight like him would be pointless. It would only serve to provoke Garrett, who is already on the verge of exploding.’

Ridder stepped aside. Jesus gave a cold laugh, then strode after Garrett and left.

In the hall, only Broel remained, a wry smile on his face.

"Ronin, you may not be familiar with the Crown Prince’s temper. No one has ever disrespected him like this."

Ronin spread his hands. "I had no choice."

Broel sighed and glanced outside. Jesus and the others had already mounted their Griffins and flown away from the castle.

"You’re a Witch Soul Knight, aren’t you, Broel? And about Tars Town... I didn’t see any bodies there. So, the ones you people killed... were they all Witch Soul Knights?"

Ronin smiled slightly and sat back down. "Lord Vice Leader, we’re just honest folk who’ve been living in Shore City lately. We’ve never been to any Tars Town."

"Er..."

Broel was taken aback for a moment, then realized his identity was making Ronin wary. He sighed in resignation.

"Alright, I was out of line."

He stood up as well. "Garrett has already gone south to the border, and I must return to Golden Feather City to report. I don’t know what will happen between the Royal Family and Wushan Castle after this, but there shouldn’t be any problems for at least the rest of this year."

"Then, farewell!" Ronin stood to see him off.

Once everyone had left, Sophia said apologetically, "I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble."

Ronin said seriously, "As partners, ensuring your safety is my responsibility. Besides, even if it wasn’t for the trail left by the Flame God’s Roar, they would have found some other excuse to drag me into this conflict."

"My lord, when are we attacking Moonlight Valley?"

Ridder had already asked this question many times. "Letting them be will only cause more innocent humans to suffer."

Ronin’s brow furrowed. He had been pondering this question himself.

’Just one stealth attack with Sophia brought this much trouble. If we were to openly attack Moonlight Valley, the kind of excuses we used today would be useless.’

’As for sending only those at Meteor Level and above on a secret assault... how could a handful of them possibly take down a place as vast as Moonlight Valley?’

Ronin mused for a moment. "I will go to Wushan Castle and ask the Old Man for his thoughts. Before that, you all should focus on training. Form the Sixth and Seventh Knight Orders as soon as possible, and pass on the experience that Sophia and the others have brought with them. We need to ensure we minimize our losses when war does break out."

After all, he had Wushan Castle behind him; he had to ask for Lurans’s opinion.

Just then, two figures strode in quickly. It was Petro and Harmon, just now returning to the castle.

Their warhorses were of fine quality, but compared to Griffins, they were significantly slower.

’If we could take Moonlight Valley and seize all of Jesus’s Griffins, we could give one to Sophia and her people.’

"Why are you back?" Sophia asked.

Petro and Harmon explained that they had rushed back because they were worried about Sophia’s safety.

After all, in their hearts, Sophia’s safety was their top priority, above all else.

Ronin frowned slightly. "Does this mean you don’t trust me?"

Er...

Petro and Harmon were suddenly a bit embarrassed. The former explained, "We didn’t mean that. It’s just... we weren’t thinking clearly at the time."

Ridder spoke with a grave expression. "Your responsibility right now is to ensure the security of the border, yet you abandoned your post, creating a huge potential vulnerability. If that group of Griffins had been followed by a batch of enemies, our camp could have been overrun!"

He said in a low voice, "If you were my subordinates, you would be punished for this!"

Petro flinched, and Harmon’s face was also extremely embarrassed.

Although they had acted out of concern for Sophia’s safety, they had to admit that what Ridder described was a very real possibility.

Ronin said with a smile, "Ridder has always been a serious person. Don’t take it to heart."

He looked at Ridder and added, "Petro and the others have only just arrived from the Crescent Continent, after all. They haven’t adapted to their new roles and responsibilities yet, so you don’t need to be so strict with them."

"No, strict standards are necessary!"

The one who spoke was Sophia. She looked at Petro and Harmon and said sternly, "Since you were assigned to be Ridder’s deputies, you must follow his every command. Leaving your post without a Transfer Order is tantamount to abandoning a city and ceding territory—a grievous offense!"

"Don’t get complacent just because there are fewer powerful experts here. Don’t forget, we aren’t facing ordinary people, but the Witch Soul Race! We have merely shifted the battlefield to Orland; our enemy remains the same!"

Petro and Harmon both lowered their heads, like students being scolded by a teacher.

Sophia’s tone softened a little as she said gently, "Don’t worry. Our hero, the Proud Sun Knight Ridder, is here. My safety is well-assured."

"We understand, Your Highness!"

The two of them placed their hands on their chests and bowed. "We were in the wrong. We are willing to accept punishment."

Ronin clapped them on the shoulders. "Alright, punishment is waived. If you two aren’t too tired, head back to the defensive line. We need to prevent them from doing anything drastic on their way back out of disappointment."

"Yes, sir!"

Petro and Harmon replied with serious expressions, then nodded to Ridder and strode out of the hall.

Ronin also headed outside. "I need to make a trip to Wushan Castle to discuss things with my grandfather. Ridder, I’m leaving things here in your hands."

"Don’t worry, my lord!"