Chapter 476 317: The Surprising Queen

"That's right, I'll go to Mother first. She'll definitely know what to do!" Bedoyel's eyes lit up. He scrambled into his clothes, boarded a carriage, and sped toward the Royal Palace in Gonda.

Bajin straightened up and took out a handkerchief to wipe the spit from his face. He watched Bedoyel's figure disappear into the night, a glint in his eyes, before taking a different path into Gonda himself.

...

As the Royal City of Debei, Gonda was truly a city that never slept. Even late at night, the streets remained brilliantly lit, and commoners would head to the taverns for a cheap mug of ale to wash away the day's fatigue.

A squad of Long Halberd Guards patrolled the streets, keeping the peace in Gonda.

Although petty theft was still rampant and impossible to eradicate, violent incidents were at least kept to a level the public could accept.

At this very moment, however, the seemingly peaceful capital was roiling with undercurrents. Countless "little birds" scurried through dark, narrow alleyways, delivering the latest news to the various factions.

But deep in the night, the Silver Moonlight Academy was filled with the sounds of wretched screams.

Strenuous activity and high-strung nerves could drain one's stamina in a flash. After fighting two brutal battles against the odds in a single day, even a powerfully built man would be exhausted. But that certainly didn't apply to the mountainous Barbarians and Centaurs of High Cliff Castle.

These inexhaustible brutes were still eagerly watching the spectacle, Levi among them.

In an open space in the middle of the academy grounds stood two pillars with a log laid across the top. Three water-soaked hemp ropes dangled from the log, suspending one Knight and two Attendants.

This wasn't the Lord settling a personal score. To find the vile insects working to subvert the Debei regime, he first had to pry the information from the mouths of these three scumbags.

Levi, having just finished a long chat with Filo as night fell, stood before the various commanders of High Cliff Castle. With hands on his hips, he struck a commanding pose and issued his ultimate directive:

"

Use any means necessary to pry these bastards' mouths open. Let His Majesty Harland know that the Lord of High Cliff Castle has zero tolerance for anyone who tries to sow discord between us.

Anyone who dares to cross the Debei Lion Hunter Knight will pay for it in blood.

"

As veterans who had followed the Lord from the very beginning, they all implicitly understood this kind of official-speak. "Use any means necessary" meant to use every trick in the book short of killing them. A "zero-tolerance attitude" meant their Lord was furious, and the consequences would be severe.

Following these guidelines, Zat flogged them with a brine-soaked whip. Sam, that old bastard, was even more vicious—he'd found a large black dog in heat from who-knows-where.

Sam had originally planned to get some Goblins, but he had to scrap that idea, considering that Advisor Leiden—High Cliff Castle's quartermaster and the Lord's second-in-command—was a Giant Goblin.

The pair had no qualms about torturing criminals their Lord had condemned. After a long night of work, the two men were perfectly fine, but the black dog was exhausted, panting heavily with its tongue hanging out.

Combat Qi also had the ability to strengthen the body. It just wasn't as famous because its effects weren't as exceptional as those of the Holy Word Treasure Manual. Still, even a less exceptional power made its user several times stronger than an ordinary person.

That was why these three were still holding out. They endured the torture, so wracked with pain that they no longer had the strength to scream, yet they stubbornly refused to talk.

"Are you going to talk?!" Zat cracked his whip again, instantly splitting skin and tearing flesh.

"MMPH! MMPH!" Gagged with stinking socks, the three burly men were filled with tearless despair.

"A real bunch of hard-asses. Looks like I'll have to break you in proper!" Zamanzi gave a sinister laugh and pulled a bamboo tube from his pocket. It was filled with red ants he'd gathered from the garden earlier. He hadn't expected to use them so soon. His gaze drifted down toward the men's groins, his intention unmistakable.

No matter how horrified the men were, or how wildly they thrashed in mid-air, they couldn't change their fate.

...

"Marquis, is there anything we can do?" Margery asked tentatively, looking at the Lord of High Cliff Castle before her. He was casually crossing his legs, enjoying a massage from a Maid.

The wretched whimpering from nearby was truly bone-chilling.

She knew that invoking her backer wouldn't save her now. Her best bet was to play along with the Lion Hunter Knight; she might even emerge unscathed.

Even the prostitutes who had been arrested with her had lost their usual arrogance from the Red Velvet. They cowered in a corner like quails, terrified of drawing any attention to themselves.

They knew he was an absolute magnate, someone they couldn't possibly afford to offend.

"All you need to do right now is stay here quietly until this is over," Levi said calmly.

Although the Lord suspected this brothel madam of having enjoyed the spectacle, he wasn't petty enough to make an issue of it.

Even those three men wouldn't be suffering such brutal torture if all they had done was beat up Sam. The real reason was that after Sam had invoked the name of High Cliff Castle, they had cursed the Lord of High Cliff Castle in public—and the Lord himself had found out.

Whether to make an example of them or for some other reason, their fate had been sealed from the very beginning.

"Marquis, to be frank, the Red Velvet is owned by Her Majesty the Queen. I was once one of Her Majesty's Maids. A commotion this large is bound to drag the Queen into it." After a long moment of deliberation, Margery decided to honestly reveal her connections.

"You're clever. You know how to read a situation." Levi drew his Longsword and, before the still-attractive woman could react, severed the ropes binding her hands with a flick of the blade.