Chapter 135: New Baron: Vili Ferren

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: New Baron: Vili Ferren

’So this is the leader of the reinforcements sent by Count Lumbar...’

As he approached Kirk, Vili felt an inexplicable pressure.

Back when he wasn’t yet a Knight, he had never felt anything like this, not even when facing Senior Knights on the border defense line.

But now, as a Middle Knight, he felt an intense, oppressive aura from this man, Kirk.

’If I’m not mistaken, Kirk must be an existence beyond the Knight Level—a Grand Knight!’

Kirk sat before the desk and slowly raised his eyes to look at Vili.

In that instant, Vili felt as if he had been seen through completely.

"Huh?"

Kirk’s gaze had been as placid as an ancient well, but the moment he saw Vili, a flash of intense surprise crossed his face.

"Hephar, you may leave for now. I’d like to have a private word with Knight Vili."

Kirk gestured with his hand, giving the order.

Hephar nodded in acknowledgment and withdrew.

"I heard you were commissioned by Baron Enton to eliminate the Pirates on the nearby islands?"

Kirk sat up straight, a slight smile on his face. He seemed to have a very favorable impression of Vili.

Vili nodded, also sensing Kirk’s goodwill toward him. "That’s right. I..."

Vili was about to tell Kirk his whole story, but Kirk suddenly cut him off.

"A Middle Knight and a One-Engraving Hanged Man this young... Truly a rare sight..."

Kirk suddenly chuckled.

Vili heard this and knew that with just a single glance, Kirk had seen right through him.

And because of that, he guessed the reason for Kirk’s goodwill.

The Hanged Man. This Extraordinary Profession possessed an inherently positive nature.

By common logic, only a person who had awakened a Heart of Justice could become a Hanged Man.

Since Vili was already a One-Engraving Hanged Man, it meant he was a person filled with a sense of justice, brave and honest, and possessed a spirit of self-sacrifice. Apart from the wicked, almost everyone held a natural fondness for such people.

And at this moment, Kirk most likely saw Vili as exactly that kind of person.

In reality, however, Vili possessed no such dauntless, sacrificial spirit.

"Just a lucky break."

Vili was telling the truth. If he hadn’t been lucky enough to cross over with the Title Attribute Panel, he would never have his current strength.

Upon hearing this, Kirk let out a hearty laugh. ’Righteous and humble,’ he added another label to Vili in his mind.

"How did you awaken the Hanged Man ability?"

It seemed he was more concerned with Vili himself than with the current situation in Blue Whale Town.

To have such strength at his age, and to be a Hanged Man on top of that—even among the Count’s direct subordinates, Vili would be an outstanding figure.

"I awakened it yesterday when I killed the Pirate Yavira."

Vili quietly altered the reason for his advancement.

According to the latest memories granted by the Title Attribute Panel, the awakening of a Hanged Man usually occurred when killing a wicked person, which would ignite the sense of justice deep within one’s heart and coalesce it into a Heart of Justice. As a rule, the more heinous the target, the greater the stimulus for the awakener to form a Heart of Justice.

"As expected..."

Kirk smiled. The reason was quite conventional; the few Hanged Men he knew had similar awakening experiences.

"Wait..."

Kirk suddenly frowned again. He felt that the name "Pirate Yavira" sounded somewhat familiar.

"Are you saying you killed Yavira, the leader of the Shell Pirate Gang?"

Kirk subconsciously leaned forward, his eyes once again filled with surprise as he looked at Vili.

Vili nodded without much explanation, untied the bundle of clothes he was carrying, and placed the heads of Yavira and Casli on the floor.

Kirk immediately stood up, walked over to Vili, picked up the two heads, and held them unceremoniously before his face.

"Yavira..."

Looking at the female head, Kirk confirmed her identity.

He then looked at the other head, and after a brief examination, asked with a strange hint of doubt in his voice, "This is... Casli?"

"Yes, Lord Kirk."

Vili replied with a nod.

Kirk opened his mouth, but then closed it without saying anything.

He tossed the two heads onto the ground and pursed his lips. ’These were the primary targets of my mission, and this young man has already beaten me to it.’

After a long moment, Kirk looked at Vili with a puzzled expression. "How did you do it?"

"It’s like this. Before his death, Baron Enton commissioned me to eliminate two small pirate forces..."

Vili gave a detailed account, slightly altering the details of his awakening as a One-Engraving Hanged Man but otherwise telling the truth.

Hearing this, Kirk nodded silently.

’It’s no wonder he could awaken the Hanged Man title, being brave enough to fight evil deep within an enemy camp.’

"Do you know about the latest bounty issued by the Count?"

Kirk looked at Vili with a cryptic smile.

Vili shook his head; he truly didn’t know.

"The one who kills Casli and Yavira will be enfeoffed as... the new Lord of Blue Whale Town."

Kirk said, enunciating each word clearly.

’The new Lord of Blue Whale Town?’

Vili was suddenly dazed.

’Wait... I just happened to bring back two Pirate Leaders with high bounties, and now I’m going to become the new Lord of Blue Whale Town?!’

’Am I about to become a noble?’

Although his goal since arriving in this world had been to become a noble—to realize his ambitions while providing a better life for his family—this noble status seemed to have come a little too quickly.

It seemed he hadn’t even been in this world for a full year.

"Congratulations, Baron Vili."

Kirk congratulated him with goodwill.

He himself held the noble title of Viscount, with a fief near Golden Flower City, the central city of Dawei Province. His fief was very wealthy, so he had no intention of stealing Vili’s merit.

"Ah..."

Vili still found it a bit sudden, but he thanked him politely nonetheless, "Thank you, Lord Kirk."

Kirk nodded. He held Vili in high regard.

Kirk knew better than most that a Knight Level Transcendent, even a Senior Knight, could remain a Baron his entire life—or even a commoner with no noble status at all—if he never had the opportunity to perform meritorious deeds.

But for a young man with the Hanged Man’s aura, his future was bound to be a smooth path.

To a certain extent, the status of a Hanged Man was a form of political capital.

Nearly all nobles prided themselves on their integrity and courage. Therefore, even if only for the sake of political correctness, nobles held Hanged Men in the highest esteem.

Therefore, in Kirk’s eyes, Vili’s future was incredibly bright.