Chapter 523: Scoring Twice

Chapter 523: Chapter 339: Scoring Twice

However, the amount of Dragon Blood this would consume was far more than Sophia could bear alone.

After all, the Barbarians weren’t as frail as Old Neil the Kobold. Strengthening them would require an exponentially greater amount of Dragon Blood.

“And the second matter?” Just as the Lord stepped through the entrance of the dining hall, a gray shadow lunged forward with lightning speed and clung to his leg.

He looked down to see a Rabbit Person, thin as a skeleton and covered in so much filth he looked as if he’d just been fished out of a refugee camp.

With tears and snot streaming down his face, the figure wailed while clinging to the Lord, “My Lord, I’ve finally met you!”

He looked just like one of those obsessive fans from Levi’s past life finally meeting their idol.

“Lord, this is the second matter,” the Giant Goblin said, his expression calm. With a wave of his hand, two Rabbit People Guards hurried over and pulled their tactless kinsman off the great Lord of High Cliff Castle.

“Go on. Tell our Lord everything you saw one more time.”

“My Lord, someone is plotting against High Cliff Castle!” Pitius cried, his voice choked with sobs.

This Rabbit Person was none other than Pitius, who had impulsively rushed to High Cliff Castle from his own tribe.

It was called impulsive because he had never imagined the journey would be so long and so dangerous.

He had nearly been eaten by wild beasts on several occasions. Fortunately, as if blessed by the Gods, he managed to reach High Cliff Castle shaken but unharmed. The price was that he was now about to faint from hunger and stank like a Goblin’s loincloth.

However, to leave a good impression on the Lord of the Wilderness he admired so much, he suppressed his hunger and recounted everything about the three strange humans and his own suspicions.

“You’ve been through a lot.” Levi offered what he considered to be an impeccably kind smile. “Every Warrior who sacrifices for High Cliff Castle deserves to be rewarded and remembered.”

“I will shelter you, grant you new clothes and delicious food, and in return, you need only offer one insignificant thing—your loyalty.”

“My Lord, I am willing!” Pitius was ecstatic. This was precisely why he had braved the dangers on the road to come to High Cliff Castle.

“They will take you to bathe, get you some clean clothes, and see that you have a hot meal,” the Lord said with a wave of his hand.

The two Rabbit People Guards looked at their lucky kinsman with envy as they led him out of the dining hall.

Only after the Rabbit Person’s figure had completely vanished from sight did Leiden speak again. “Lord, is it possible that he’s lying?”

As High Cliff Castle’s strategist, he was conditioned to never take things at face value, but to guess and deduce carefully. After all, the hearts of men are treacherous; any carelessness could lead to disaster when least expected.

Thus, he had to wonder if this Rabbit Person might have been sent by that group of people, or perhaps was just a diversion.

“No, he’s telling the truth.” The Lord tapped his fingers on the table, making a crisp sound.

Leiden nodded and said no more.

His Lord’s judgment had always been uncannily sharp, his ability to read people so strong it was almost like Magic.

How could he have known that Levi had just received a clear notification that this Rabbit Person could join his ranks? That was why he had asked if the other was willing to pledge his loyalty and join High Cliff Castle.

The system would never send a recruitment notification for any spy or traitor with malicious intent.

“What I’m wondering is, are there Black People in Debei?” Levi asked.

In the Rabbit Person’s description just now, of the three humans who suddenly appeared in his tribe, two of them—the guards—were built like bears and had skin as black as charcoal.

The person in the lead, by contrast, was much thinner. The Rabbit Person had never met any great personages, but he could sense an air of pampered luxury about this man that was completely beyond compare to the merchants who usually visited the tribe.

“Only the Persian Gulf Empire on the other side of the sea has Black People.” Leiden shook his head, carefully explaining what he knew. “It’s said that Black People are regarded as beasts in human skin. They have a human appearance, but in all other respects, they are considered no different from Goblins. Thus, throughout the Persian Gulf Empire, these people are kept as slaves. They’re either sent by Slave Masters to pick cotton on farms or trained to become Unblemished Warriors.”

“The Persian Gulf Empire once tried to bring these slaves to Debei to sell them, but they were stopped by His Majesty Harland in a decisive and shocking act of slaughter.”

“A merchant ship filled with tens of thousands of slaves had just docked when Griffin Knights arrived and intercepted it. They then rounded up all the Black People and buried them alive in a massive sinkhole.”

“Ever since that day, no merchant from the Persian Gulf Empire has dared to transport Black slaves to Debei, because it’s a guaranteed and catastrophic loss. His Majesty Harland’s stance on the matter is unyieldingly firm.”

“On this matter, His Majesty and I are in complete agreement,” Levi remarked casually, then frowned. “So, does that mean those three are from the Persian Gulf Empire? And they most likely snuck in through the part of the Wilderness bordering the sea?”

“Why would they come to the Wilderness instead of the more prosperous Eastern or Western Territories?”

Levi had many questions, but they vanished in an instant. He snapped his fingers. “Tell everyone to assemble. We’ve got work to do!”

‘If I can’t figure it out, I’ll just go and deal with them myself!’

In name, the Wilderness was now his territory. For outsiders to arrive without first coming to greet him, the Duke of the Wilderness, meant they surely had malicious intent.

This mobilization didn’t alarm the common folk; it was simply the Lord convening a military council in the great hall.

Besides dealing with the three people of unknown origin, it was also meant to address other matters.

The leisurely days had to end sometime. It was time for him to get down to business.

All of High Cliff Castle’s leaders, with the exception of Tina and Heather, were present. Si Kai and Miriel attended as guests.

Levi first told everyone about the matter concerning the Persian Gulf Empire. The others couldn’t make sense of it, but Miriel, the president of the Secret Silver Commerce Association, frowned. “Those three are definitely not part of a merchant caravan. To bring Black Slave Warriors from the Persian Gulf Empire to the Wilderness, they can only be noble Slave Masters from the Persian Gulf Empire.”

“His Majesty’s iron-fisted methods have long since scared the merchants of the Persian Gulf Empire away from bringing Black People onto Debei’s soil.”

“But what would a noble want, coming all the way to the Wilderness?”

“I remember that before His Majesty Harland granted the Wilderness to you, Lord, it was always an Unclaimed Land, was it not?” the Giant Goblin said after a moment of contemplation. “Right now, news of the enfeoffment has only circulated within Debei. This noble probably intends to use the Wilderness as his personal backyard.”

“After all, Debei was never able to control the Wilderness in the past. Even if he were to do something here, no one would know. And even if they found out, by the time they managed to dispatch troops, he’d have more than enough time to return to his own country.”

It had to be said, Leiden hadn’t read all those books for nothing. Though it was just a guess, he was already very close to the truth.

“I don’t care what he wants. The Wilderness is my territory now,” the Lord said, slamming his hand on the table to set the tone. “Anyone who offends us without reason will be severely punished!”

“They most likely landed directly on the coastline of the Wilderness. For them to dare come to the Wilderness on their own, we have to consider the possibility that they have an organized army,” Leiden continued. “Therefore, Lord, I suggest we first send people to investigate their situation clearly before we decide how to respond.”