Chapter 504: Use a Beauty Trap on Him

Leech suppressed the urge to inquire with Three-fork River Castle. Based on the letter’s contents, he guessed their target was Prince Hoffman. He currently maintained friendly relations with Giant’s Foot, and their collaborations in talent recruitment and resource exchange had never ceased.

Recently, he had bought grain at a low price from Chuantou Castle and sold it to them for a tidy profit.

Not to mention, within the nigh-isolationist domain of Giant’s Foot, Leech was one of the few lords permitted to travel deep into the lands south of Burning City, which afforded him considerable convenience.

By the same token, he had no intention of telling Prince Hoffman about this, as his business dealings with Three-fork River Castle were also ongoing.

Of course, that was also because no one had asked. If they were to inquire, Leech would certainly tell them.

He was very sincere with his friends.

On an early morning in November, the air hadn’t grown much cooler.

The thick mountain fog was chased away by the sun, leaving behind dewdrops clinging to the dense leaves.

Although the letter from Tia Cavendish mentioned the weather had turned cool, Leech didn’t feel it. A nobleman’s robes were made to guard against the cold, not the heat.

Leech still had a vivid memory of the blonde young lady who had all but draped herself over him at the Red Rose Ball. He hadn’t expected her to actually write to him. He was happy to indulge in a bit of narcissism, but a glance at the letter revealed its true purpose: she was reminding him that her birthday was on December 15th.

“Why do people even celebrate birthdays? I’m not that fond of celebrating my own.”

As he grumbled, Lily, who stood to the side holding a quill, lowered her head. Beneath the long hair that hid her face, the corners of her mouth curled into a smile.

‘Only a select few, like her, knew what the Lord was truly like in private. He wasn’t imposing, nor was he as ferocious as the outside world claimed. Aside from the occasional incomprehensible word that slipped out, he was a very gentle person—even a little cute.’

‘She only dared to keep that last adjective hidden in her heart. She knew that with her status and appearance, nothing could ever happen between her and the Lord. But she was content with this, quietly basking in his gentleness, watching his adorable moments, and treasuring them in her heart.’

‘It was the motivation for her hard work each day. Even though her back ached from exhaustion every day, she gladly endured it.’

Leech continued, “Lily, remember to arrange for someone to send a silk dress to Miss Tia Cavendish in East Port for me. I recall she’s fond of golden daisies, so make sure it’s custom-made. And include one of our hand-painted, gold-leaf cards.”

‘In the past, in order to cultivate noblewomen and young ladies as his brand ambassadors, he had done extensive research on Red Rose’s circle of friends. As it turned out, Red Rose’s star power alone was more than enough, so he hadn’t paid much mind to the others. This was a good opportunity to use Tia Cavendish’s birthday for a bit more self-promotion.’

“Oh, and pick one or two of the nicer-looking items from Scholar Toma’s pile of alchemical scrap and send them over, too.”

‘To research alchemy and Magic, Scholar Toma had spent a fortune creating a host of useless things. They were perfect for presents. Wasn’t the whole point of a birthday gift to be something that looked expensive, and indeed was expensive, but was utterly useless?’

After some consideration, Leech decided not to palm everything off on Lily. A birthday reply would be more sincere if he wrote it himself.

A completely vacuous letter, full of rambling nonsense, was quickly drafted. In it, he expressed his regret that urgent business would prevent him from attending and apologized profusely. He then handed the letter to Lily; it would be delivered along with the gifts.

Gazing at the busy Lily, Leech kept his plan to have a Magic Potion concocted to heal her face a secret for now. It would be a little bonus for his hard-working subordinate.

At noon, Leech, all packed, set off for Giant’s Foot with a troop of twenty Cavalry. He brought no Corpse Ghosts with him.

His objective was simple: go to the Koso Mountain Range, find the crypt containing the “Black Dragon Fragment,” activate the red and yellow dots, and then return to build it in Iron Valley. However, considering Iron Valley already had the four-headed snake’s waterfall crypt, he might just head straight for the desert after acquiring it.

Needless to say, the journey was a boring affair of silent, hard riding.

Leech made no attempt to hide his movements along the way, entering the territory of Giant’s Foot openly under the Porcupine Banner. He couldn’t have hidden even if he’d wanted to. A party of this size would draw attention anywhere, unless he were to travel as a lone wolf.

‘Sneaking around might lead to misunderstandings with Prince Hoffman. It’s better to adopt an open “I’m just here to see the excitement” attitude, take a look around, and ensure my own safety in the process.’

No sooner had he left Burning City than a raven took flight, heading further south.

「Koso Mountain Range」

The recent appearance of the “Rift Valley” had drawn a massive number of adventurers to the area, each one hoping to strike it rich.

At first, they worried the noble lords wouldn’t allow them near and only dared to sneak in to search. The potential rewards were limited, and the risks were enormous.

Unexpectedly, as more and more people arrived, the nobles of Giant’s Foot simply built a village on the spot. It offered not only a market but also blacksmiths to repair armor, taverns, inns, and even places for… recreation.

Aside from the daily bloodshed caused by the sheer volume of people, it also brought enormous profits to the region.

The profits, however, went to the nobility. Life for the common folk did not improve; in fact, they now had to worry about being robbed or murdered, and the likelihood of such dangerous incidents increased dramatically.

The raven arrived ahead of Leech’s party, flying into a small wooden cabin in the village beside the Koso Mountain Range.

The sky had already darkened.

The cabin’s doors and windows were shut tight, its interior illuminated only by the faint light of a single candle.

Four people sat around a square table.

They wore cloaks to conceal their identities. The person seated at the head of the table, in the north position, opened the letter and read it for a moment by candlelight. “We don’t have much time left,” he said.

“Ponte vanished after entering the cave, and we’ve heard nothing since. But the cave turned into the Rift Valley, so he must have been halfway successful… and the other half must have been a failure, otherwise we wouldn’t have had to make this trip.” He slapped the letter down on the table. “Ed has already contacted several nobles in the East Gorge. They’re all interested in waging war on Giant’s Foot. All we need to do is give them an opening—stir up some major chaos.”

The person to his right spoke. “We all know Prince Hoffman is too powerful. We can’t even get close to him. Even using the monsters in the Rift Valley to cause a commotion is impossible; he would suppress it in no time.”

“…” The group fell silent.

They had lofty ambitions, but the gap in power was just too immense!

They had thought the Rift Valley would be a huge problem, but they never expected Prince Hoffman to suppress it so easily. It hadn’t made a single ripple.

“No, an opportunity has arrived.” The man shook his head and picked up the letter from the table. “One of my spies sent word. Baron Porcupine of the East Gorge is heading for the Koso Mountain Range. All we need to do is ensure Baron Porcupine gets injured or killed in Giant’s Foot, and it will trigger immense chaos!”

“He has a Flying Horse, and he’s a powerful Transcendent himself. We won’t even be able to get close to him.”

No one was optimistic about this plan.

“Then we’ll have a hero save a damsel in distress!” the man said. “Even heroes have a weakness for beauty. A young noble as famous throughout Lu Leiyi as he is will never be able to refuse a beautiful, pitiable woman.”

“But I heard Baron Porcupine isn’t interested in women,” someone objected.

The four of them discussed it for a while and ultimately settled on the plan. Causing even a small commotion was better than complete calm.

But then someone else threw out a new idea. “If we’re going to use a honey trap, why kill Baron Porcupine? Why not just entice him over to our side? He’s a noble from the East Gorge himself. Perhaps he wouldn’t refuse to join us?”

“Why didn’t we ever think of recruiting Baron Porcupine before?!” The four were stunned. The famously ferocious Baron Porcupine had somehow never even been considered a candidate for recruitment.

At last, they reached a consensus.

“Who should we send?”

It was a new problem.

“Caitlin!” said the man in the northern seat.

The person in the eastern seat said, “She’d be perfect for it, of course, but she should be reserved for a greater purpose, not wasted on a minor disturbance.”

The person in the southern seat laughed. “Are you still thinking about sending her to that old lion, Varrion de Storm?”

The person in the east snorted softly. “We know he has a taste for beautiful women, and no one can resist Caitlin’s beauty.”

“We don’t have many chances left. A tool is only useful when it’s needed.”

An argument was inevitable.

“Then let Caitlin go.” In the end, the man in the northern seat made the final decision.

“But Baron Porcupine won’t take the bait that easily. What’s the plan of action?”

“A hero saving a damsel in distress, of course. If you were in the dim Rift Valley and encountered a beautiful, pitiable lady fleeing for her life, would you just stand by and watch?”

“…If she looked like Pearl, yes.”

The person in the western seat, who had been silent until now, suddenly burst out cursing. The voice was a woman’s, somewhat hoarse. “May the four gods strike you dead, you motherfucker!”

The target of her curse wasn’t the least bit angry. On the contrary, he laughed and said, “Haha! But if it were Caitlin, I definitely wouldn’t just stand by!”

“Keep a close watch on Baron Porcupine. Let’s hope nothing goes wrong. Once this is done, we can report back to that bastard Ed.” The atmosphere suddenly lightened.

The four stretched out their hands and chanted in unison, “The giant’s bleached bones shall forge our staircase; the giant’s flesh and blood shall cast our throne.”

“The thunder is relentless!”