Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

The Marquis’ Domain’s income was actually quite substantial. The revenue from its large iron mine alone was immense each year, and that didn’t even include taxes from the various regions.

But while the earnings were high, so were the expenses.

Aside from maintaining five Knight Orders and paying the salaries of numerous officials and servants across the land, Lurans himself had to spend a vast sum of Gold Coins annually on Magic Potions from the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce to ease his pain.

This expense alone cost more than a Hundred Thousand Gold Coins annually.

The Hundred Thousand Gold Coins Ronin had just mentioned was the exact sum Lurans had prepared to pay Miroslav for the next year’s supply of potions.

He just never imagined that Elron would completely cure his Soul-Devouring Surge, which meant this enormous expense could now be saved entirely.

“A Hundred Thousand Gold Coins? Not a problem!”

Lurans declared with a grand wave of his hand, “I’ll have Mosite bring the chests of Gold Coins to your room tonight.”

He didn’t hesitate for a second.

To him, a Hundred Thousand Gold Coins was nothing compared to regaining his health and escaping his constant torment.

Besides, this wasn’t just a gesture of thanks; it was a way to help his grandson.

If he hadn’t been forced to save up for the potions, his previous financial support wouldn’t have been so meager.

Ronin profusely thanked his generous grandfather, and the two began a detailed discussion about the Soul-Devouring Surge.

Ronin wanted to know who was behind this “poisoning.”

But the incident had been quite unexpected, and Lurans couldn’t figure out where his attacker had obtained that Black Scroll.

He speculated that, much like how he had found the Contract Scroll years ago, his enemy had likely stumbled upon the Black Scroll by chance.

As they continued to talk, the conversation eventually turned to the two Griffins from Shore City.

Ronin didn’t hide anything. After all, now that Lurans had recovered, the Old Marquis needed to understand the geopolitical situation surrounding Wushan Territory.

So he told him everything, including how Ramsay had infiltrated the castle to assassinate him and how he had killed the attacker in turn.

“Wait!”

Lurans quickly raised a hand, cutting Ronin off. “You’re saying you killed Ramsay? He was a Meteor Knight… Are you a Meteor Knight as well?”

His eyes widened. “And your retainer, Ridder… he’s a Meteor Knight too?”

Ronin gave a slight nod. “Yes. To be precise, I’m not just a Meteor Knight. I’m also a Great Mage.”

’There was no need to hide anything from Lurans.’

Besides, as Ronin’s power grew, the need to deliberately conceal his strength diminished.

Upon learning the extent of Ronin’s power, Lurans sucked in a sharp breath. ’Seventh-level in two classes? How is that even possible?’

In his daze, he recalled the last time he had asked about this. Ronin had said, “Just assume I have a Divine Artifact hidden inside me.”

’Lurans had thought Ronin was just being evasive, but now it seemed he truly possessed a Divine Artifact.’

He then glanced at Elron, who was sitting quietly to the side with his short, gray-white hair. ’And this man is an Eighth-level Mage!’

’For a mere Count’s Domain to have three such powerhouses… It’s simply unheard-of.’

“I’ve never heard of anyone reaching your level of power at such a young age. If Jesus knew Ramsay died because of his own foolishness, he’d probably be angry enough to spit blood, wouldn’t he?”

Ronin didn’t know if he’d actually spit blood, but given Jesus’s personality, he was sure to be furious.

Lurans frowned slightly. “From what I know of Jesus, he shouldn’t just pretend this didn’t happen. Even if he doesn’t declare war, he should have contacted you in private, trying to ransom Ramsay back and, in the process, confirming whether he’s actually dead or not.”

He paused before continuing, “Having no reaction at all… that’s not like Jesus.”

Ronin nodded slightly. He also felt something was off.

Setting aside the fact that Ramsay was a Meteor Knight, he was also Jesus’s son-in-law. For reasons both personal and political, Jesus, as the lord of Moonlight Valley, should have made some inquiries.

“How do you plan to deal with Moonlight Valley?” Lurans suddenly asked.

Ronin thought for a moment. “For now, I have no plans to move against Moonlight Valley.”

He spread his hands. “After all, my domain needs to develop; it can’t afford a large-scale mobilization and the resulting attrition. Besides, while Ridder commands the Fifth Knight Order of Wushan Castle, Jesus has four Knight Orders under his command, so we don’t have an advantage. What’s more, if we were to attack Moonlight Valley using the assassination attempt as a pretext, His Majesty Bruno would likely intervene and mediate.”

Since Ronin had killed the man and seized the Griffins, the Royal Family would probably try to downplay the whole affair to save face, turning a major incident into a minor one, and a minor one into nothing at all.

“There’s no problem with using the assassination as a pretext for war. Even if the King intervenes, we don’t have to worry about him siding with Jesus.”

The King would rather his vassals fight and cause trouble amongst themselves than let them all build up their power in peace.

Lurans said, “But you’re right. Wushan Castle and your Wubei Territory have enough top-tier combatants, but the number of Knight Orders under your command is too small.”

Wushan Castle may have five, but they can’t all be deployed to deal with Moonlight Valley; at least half must be left behind for defense.

“As for high-level combatants, to be honest, a lineup with a Silver Moon Knight, a Magic Master, plus yourself, Ridder, and Melonika… if that were revealed, it would inevitably make other powers wary.”

“Never mind the Villa Duchy or Screaming Island—even the King himself might become suspicious.”

Lurans had learned this lesson the hard way; his eldest son had been targeted for being too exceptional.

Now, he didn’t want Ronin to suffer the same fate.

The mere thought of the past made hatred flare in the old marquis’s eyes.

“For all these years, Moonlight Valley, the Villa Duchy, and Screaming Island have treated Wushan Territory like meat on a chopping block, always making small moves, looking for a chance to take a bite. It’s a pity for them they didn’t devour us while I was ill, because now they’ve lost their chance for good.”

“What do you plan to do?” Ronin asked.

“The first step, of course, is to wait until I’ve fully recovered—and perhaps even broken through to the Silver Moon Level—before announcing it to the world.”

Lurans decided to keep up the facade for now, to avoid making waves.

“The second step is to build more Knight Orders.”

In past years, the enormous expenses had limited the number of Knight Orders in the Marquis’ Domain.

Now that Lurans no longer had to spend over a hundred thousand Gold Coins, that money could be invested in his forces.

They could form at least three more.

Then, Wushan Castle would possess eight Knight Orders.

In truth, that number still wouldn’t be enough to fight a war on two fronts. But if they waited for Wubei Territory to develop and joined forces with Ronin and other nobles, the power of the Wushan Territory would reach a whole new level.

At this thought, Lurans couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh.

Not only had he recovered his strength, but he also had a chance to avenge his past disgrace. Today had been one pleasant surprise after another.

“First, we build our strength, then we find the right moment for revenge. That’s the path I intended to take as well.”

Ronin smiled. “I didn’t expect us to be on the same page.”

“Haha, what do you expect? We’re grandfather and grandson, after all.”

The more Lurans looked at Ronin, the more pleased he felt. “I’ll have no worries handing Wushan Territory over to you in the future.”

But Ronin shook his head. “With your strength, you could easily live for another seventy or eighty years. By that time, I’m afraid I’ll already be at the Proud Sun level.”

’After seventy or eighty years, Proud Sun was just a conservative estimate. Who knew? He might even become Legendary by then.’

Lurans stared blankly at Ronin.

’A Proud Sun Knight, a Great Mage… a being of that caliber could change the fate of the entire continent.’

’If his grandson truly became a powerhouse of that level one day… forget becoming a king, securing the title of Duke should be no problem at all, right?’

’At that moment, he finally understood why Ronin had so little interest in the title of Marquis.’

’His ambitions lay elsewhere.’

Lurans couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up. “You are the pride of the Wushan Clan, my boy. No matter what you decide to do in the future, your grandfather will always be your staunchest supporter!”