The thrilling assassination attempt was over, a close shave but no real harm done.
Ronin sheathed the Flowing Fla Sword in his Space Ring. The battle had given him a clear understanding of his own combat prowess.
As long as he wasn’t ambushed and didn’t lose the initiative, he could defeat an ordinary Bronze Level opponent with the help of his Magic.
"Lord, are you alright?"
Chahar and the others crowded around him. "We’re sorry, we couldn’t help you fight the enemy."
Ronin waved his hand. "Everyone has their own job to do. Just focus on your duties."
He looked down at himself. After scrambling and rolling on the ground, his clothes were covered in dust and dirt. The hem of his robe was even torn by the shockwave, leaving him looking rather disheveled.
"Go prepare so hot water. I need to wash up and change my clothes."
Ronin said, "Chahar, take so people and tidy up my study. Be careful not to ss up the blueprints."
"Yes, Lord!"
Chahar clapped his hands. "Don’t just stand around! Those on cooking duty, get to the kitchen! Those who need to boil water, get to it! Quickly, everyone, get busy!"
With their Lord safe and sound, everyone’s frayed nerves finally settled. One by one, they returned to their duties.
However, this assassination attempt was bound to be the topic of their conversations for a long ti to co.
"Brother Ronin, are you okay?"
By the ti Erin arrived, most of the others had already dispersed.
Hearing her timid voice, Ronin couldn’t help but smile. "Of course I’m fine. That assassin wasn’t good enough to kill ."
As he spoke, he looked over at her and was surprised to see Erin covered in mud, a large smudge on her fair, delicate face. "What happened to you?"
Erin sniffled. Her eyes were brimming with tears, but she managed a smile. "I was going to find Macken Knight and I fell on the way."
Ronin’s heart ward. He beckoned her over and affectionately ruffled her golden hair. "You’re too careless."
"I was so worried," Erin said, the fear still lingering in her voice.
Ronin wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "You have to believe that Brother Ronin is the strongest and invincible! Co on, have Bella get so water ready for you. Go wash up. You don’t look very pretty like this."
In truth, Ronin was moved by the reactions of his servants, Guards, and Knights.
Their strength might have been lacking, but at least they had the courage to rush forward to protect him. That made them competent in his eyes.
While the tense atmosphere inside the castle gradually dissipated, a different kind of tension was slowly building outside. The assassination attempt had alard many people.
When Civil Servant Wilson heard the news, his face paled. He ca running, practically stumbling over himself in his haste.
Everything he had now was thanks to the Lord. If the Lord were assassinated, it would all be over for him.
In addition to Wilson, village heads, group leaders, and many residents of the town also rushed to the castle to ask for news.
Mountain Forest Town had finally welcod a decent Lord; they couldn’t bear the thought of him being killed by so assassin.
Left with no choice, Ronin had to ascend a tower, raise a torch high to announce that he was safe, and only then was the crowd dispersed.
After dinner, a fire crackled in the living room fireplace, keeping the room warm.
Ronin, having changed into a clean sleeping robe, sat on the sofa and quickly read a note Macken had recovered from the assassin.
The note didn’t contain much valuable information, just a few simple lines:
Assassinate Baron Ronin of Mountain Forest Town. Bounty: One Thousand Gold Coins. Note: he is accompanied by an Advanced Peak Knight with strength comparable to the Bronze Level. Find an opportunity to strike when he is alone.
Ronin couldn’t help but laugh. "I’m only worth One Thousand Gold Coins?"
"They are unaware of your true strength, Lord," Macken said.
Ronin tucked the note into his Space Ring. "Did you get any other information out of him?"
Macken shook his head helplessly.
"Lord, this assassin must have been professionally trained. He’s tight-lipped. No matter how much David and I flogged him, he wouldn’t say anything beyond so basic information about his identity."
Ronin frowned. ’Looks like this assassin is more professional than Pedro was.’ "Alright, tell what you know about his identity."
"He said his codena is ’Shadow,’ and that he’s an official mber of the Skull Society."
Macken replied, "According to him, the Skull Society is an organization of assassins founded by the Black Gold Brotherhood. Their purpose is to target all the nobles in the Wushan Territory. By assassinating them, they create chaos, which in turn creates a favorable situation for the Black Gold Brotherhood’s expansion."
If the Wushan Territory was in chaos, the nobles would be too busy handling their own affairs to pay attention to how much land the Black Gold Brotherhood was seizing on the border.
"Did he reveal anything about the number of mbers in the Skull Society? Or the location of their base?"
Macken shook his head. "He didn’t say a word about any of that."
"He’s certainly tight-lipped."
Ronin stood up. "Co, take to him."
There was a secret chamber in the northern part of the Outer Fortress, which in earlier tis had been used to imprison servants. After Ronin took over the castle, the room was rarely used and had been left empty.
Macken was now using it as a makeshift cell.
The assassin, codenad Shadow, was tied to a pillar. His body was covered in bloody wounds. The spot where Ronin had stabbed him was bandaged, but fresh blood had already soaked through, staining the flax wrappings red.
He was in a miserable state, but not on the verge of death. After all, as a Bronze Level Knight, his vitality was far greater than that of an ordinary person.
Ronin rubbed his nose, feeling a bit thoughtful.
’In a typical TV show,’ he thought, ’a scene like this would probably cast and Macken as the villains. But when dealing with an assassin, sotis you have to use certain thods to get what you need.’
"This chamber is too damp," Ronin said. "Wodun, go to the kitchen and get so firewood. Let’s warm the place up for our ’Lord Shadow’ here."
Ronin added, "But rember to ventilate when you light the fire. We wouldn’t want him to suffocate."
The wretched assassin lifted his gaze and sneered. "You don’t have to use such petty tricks on . I’ve told you everything I’m going to say. You won’t get anything else out of ."
He assud Ronin’s sudden concern for his comfort was just a ploy, trying to use a small kindness to pry open his mouth.
"Still so stubborn."
Ronin kept his distance and asked with a smile, "Have you ever considered the possibility that I simply don’t want you to freeze to death?"
David had already picked up his whip, preparing to strike again, but Ronin stopped him.
"With stubborn types like this, the more you use force, the harder it becos to break them."
"Please instruct us, Lord!" David quickly requested.
Ronin crossed his arms, a thoughtful look on his face.
’He knew a fair bit about torture, at least from what he’d seen in historical dramas—things like the tiger bench, branding irons, and so on. But would it be too inhumane to resort to that?’
As he pondered, his brow furrowed, his eyes scanning the wounds on the assassin’s body. Then, an idea ca to him.
"That’s enough interrogation for today. Leave him hanging here for the night. If it gets too cold, cover him with a few extra blankets. Let him get so rest."
Ronin continued, "Tomorrow, have the kitchen prepare a pot of sugar water. Once it’s cool, pour it over him. Then, have the Guards find a few ant nests and bring them here."
Even though it was winter and ants weren’t very active, there were warm places in the castle where nests could surely be found and dug up.
"Ants are quite fond of sweets, you know. Imagine it: the sugar water seeping into his wounds, mixing with his blood and flesh. The ants will absolutely love it."
Ronin grinned, baring his teeth. In the flickering candlelight, his smile was so sinister that even David couldn’t help but shudder.
The assassin, who had been determined to ignore them, couldn’t help but open his eyes, a look of terror dawning on his face as he imagined the scene Ronin described.
Ronin reminded him slowly, "Just imagine it. Thousands upon thousands of ants crawling all over your wounds. Crawling and gnawing, gnawing and crawling. How do you think that will feel?"
"Painful? Or just itchy?"
Ronin’s voice was like a whisper from Hell, laced with an unnatural chill.
"I’ve heard that while an ant’s jaws are small, their biting power is astonishing. I just wonder... how many bites can a Bronze Knight’s body endure?"
Everyone in the dark chamber felt their scalps tingle, unable to bear the thought of such a scene.
Macken and the others felt that, compared to their Lord’s thods of interrogation, their own flogging seed utterly primitive.
"Ronin, you—!"
The assassin panicked. His mind was filled with images of ants eating his flesh and drinking his blood. His scalp crawled with fear!
But Ronin cut him off. "You have all night to think it over. Then, tomorrow, you can experience it firsthand."
With that, he walked out, calling over his shoulder, "After you bring the ants tomorrow, rember to light a fire in here. The little guys will be much more energetic and motivated once it’s warm."
"Y-Yes..." David stamred in response, completely stunned.
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