The next day, news that the King would be holding a tournant at Princess Blanche’s birthday banquet swept through Golden Feather City.
In principle, the tournant was only open to the scions of noble families attending the banquet.
However, perhaps to display a more approachable side, Bruno specifically allocated a few spots to the Extraordinary Knight Academies of Golden Feather City and Horn Bay. At the sa ti, Professional Knights from the Knight Order who t the requirents were also given special permission to participate.
A tournant was always an opportunity for a Knight to showcase their prowess.
The greater the prestige of the tournant, the more opportunities it presented.
For a Knight of common birth but uncommon strength, winning the favor of a great personage at the tournant could be a life-changing opportunity.
Thus, many people were preparing for this tournant.
Early in the morning, seething with resentnt, Cros Villa returned to his family’s manor in Golden Feather City.
Just then, Hamande had finished breakfast and was adjusting his clothes, preparing to go to the Royal Palace. He never expected his nephew to be helped back.
"Good heavens, Cross, what happened to you?" he asked in alarm. "How did you get injured in the Royal Palace?"
Cross was injured and hadn’t slept well the night before. Even for a Silver Knight, he looked terrible.
The first words out of his mouth were a demand for money. "Uncle Hamande, I need gold coins!"
Hamande’s expression changed.
As the Duke’s eldest grandson, Cross was not short on gold coins. He could easily produce several thousand, or even ten thousand, without issue.
But for him to ask for money now, it was obvious he needed more than just a small sum.
"What exactly happened?"
Cross then recounted the entire series of events.
Hamande’s brow furrowed as he listened, and he finally couldn’t help but curse, "That brat from Screaming Island is such a coward! All he had to do was stand his ground and deny everything. Would His Majesty the King really have thrown him in prison? Even if it went to a public trial, with you so severely injured, not only would we have avoided paying a single gold coin, we might have even had a chance to cause Ronin so trouble!"
Cross looked vexed. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he beca, feeling as though he’d been subtly outmaneuvered.
But what was done was done. They had all admitted their guilt, so it was impossible to overturn the previous night’s decision.
He said resentfully, "It’s only thirty thousand gold coins. We can just consider it money for Ronin’s dicine."
After their discussion the previous night, it was decided that of the eighty thousand gold coins, Cross and Facundo would each pay thirty thousand, while the Gregor siblings and Sally would each contribute ten thousand.
"Thirty thousand gold coins is a small matter."
Their four families were all long-established noble houses. Such a sum of money was nothing in their eyes.
"It’s just that now, if we try to spread more negative rumors about Ronin to disrupt the marriage alliance between Bruno and the Wushan Clan, our chances of success are much slimr."
After last night’s commotion, word was sure to get out today, and it might even be favorable to Ronin.
The actual situation was just as Hamande had predicted.
Right now, the most prevalent rumor was that the four great families were sponsoring the tournant.
Although the fact that the four families had to open their purses was spun as a sponsorship, the nobles who had witnessed their clash with Ronin the day before had their suspicions.
After all, the tournant had been arranged on short notice, and the ones footing the bill were the troublemakers. Who wouldn’t connect the dots?
As for Ronin, with more stories circulating about him, public attention was now divided.
Although so were still discussing the negative rumors about him, many others were praising his feat of taking on a group by himself and erging undefeated.
So were even speculating that Ronin might beco the champion of this very tournant.
Under these circumstances, if Hamande and the others continued to press the issue of Ronin’s past philandering and his role in driving Selena to her death, it would be far less effective.
Just like Cross, Facundo and the others returned to their respective family manors in Golden Feather City.
Hearing his son’s report, MacLaren snorted. "You fool. This is one of Bruno’s little ploys, and you couldn’t even see it?"
Facundo lowered his head and weakly defended himself. "I was afraid His Majesty would place all the bla on , which would have led to even greater trouble. So, when I heard the penalty was just a fine, I agreed."
"You certainly overthink things, don’t you?"
MacLaren gave a wry smile. The thought that the mbers of the other three families were just as foolish as his son suddenly brightened his mood.
"Forget it. It’s only thirty thousand gold coins. What’s paid is paid."
He wasn’t concerned about the money either. He was more interested in Bruno’s uncharacteristic behavior.
"It seems His Majesty the King is determined to support the Wushan Clan this ti. ’But can a family that has lain dormant for thirty years truly be propped back up?’"
He gazed at the map of the Kingdom hanging on the wall.
Many of the islands in the Screaming Sea now belonged to the Fleming Clan.
As for the small portion that remained, even on the islands under the Kingdom’s direct jurisdiction, his family still had a presence and influence.
Even on Rapids Island, which was used to imprison criminals, they were now in the process of establishing their own influence.
But there were only so many large islands in the Screaming Sea. Once those were all claid, one would eventually have to turn back to the vast mainland.
But the Kingdom’s territorial layout was now largely fixed. Without a large-scale war or a way to accumulate sufficient rits, there was no good thod to acquire new land besides encroachnt.
Wushan Territory was vast and sparsely populated. Its master was frail and incompetent, and while the younger generation had potential, they had yet to mature. It was clearly an excellent target.
「Wushan Castle.」
"My Lord, Baron lonika is here," Mosite said respectfully.
Lurans put down the letter in his hand and straightened his posture. "Let him in."
A tall, burly figure strode into the study. "My Lord, you sent for ."
Lurans smiled and gestured for him to sit. "Congratulations, lonika. After so many years of arduous cultivation, you’ve finally broken through!"
At these words, lonika also smiled. Breaking through to beco a teor Knight had always been his dream.
In front of Lurans, however, he remained humble.
"I only reached this stage at nearly fifty. Compared to you, My Lord, I am still far behind."
He wasn’t exaggerating.
Thirty years ago, at the age of forty-five, Lurans was already a renowned teor Knight who had even created his own Secret Skill.
By comparison, the gap between the two was indeed quite large.
Lurans went on to ask about lonika’s condition after his breakthrough before slowly explaining the reason for the summons.
"I called you here today for two main reasons."
He took a thick, heavily bound book from a drawer and handed it over. "First, a congratulatory gift."
lonika paused, stunned. As he looked at the book, a guess ford in his mind, and his heart leaped.
He took the book and opened the cover. Written on the title page was the na of Lurans’s original Secret Skill: *Fire Dance Thunder Strike Slash*.
"This is for ?" lonika asked, his voice filled with excitent.
Lurans nodded. "You share the sa Attribute as I do, and you’ve shown a remarkable talent for learning Combat Skills. You should be able to master this Secret Skill."
lonika closed the book and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your generous gift!"
In truth, he didn’t care much for the pursuit of a Noble Title.
What he truly valued were things that could increase his strength.
Not everyone could create sothing like a Secret Skill. Such resources were often monopolized by the great noble houses and major powers, and learning one required a hefty price.
Even a Lord one had followed for many years would not bestow such a gift casually.
Lurans had rescued him as a child, and he had received many favors over the years. His heart was filled with gratitude.
"Mastering a Secret Skill is not done overnight. It will test your patience and perseverance; you must grasp every minute detail to succeed. During your cultivation, you must also prevent your Fighting Qi from running amok and injuring you."
"I understand!"
lonika was eager to go and try it out imdiately.
"The second matter is that I need you to take a trip to Golden Feather City."
Perhaps because he had been detached from the world of strife for too long, or perhaps because he knew Ronin had a Dragon, Lurans had not been worried about him encountering danger at sea.
But he had never expected that Ronin would be targeted by assassins on his way to Golden Feather City.
"Ronin was attacked by assassins at sea. The leader was the sa Golden Level assassin who tried to kill Blanche in the Beast Fighting Arena."
lonika was startled. "How is Ronin now?"
"He’s fine. He’s at the Golden Feather Palace. But just in case, I need you to go protect him."
"No problem!"
lonika replied without hesitation. He knew how important Ronin was to the old man.
"Good."
Lurans nodded. "I’ve already arranged for Vitorino’s ship to wait for you. You should depart first thing tomorrow morning."
"There’s no need to wait until tomorrow."
lonika smiled. "My Fla Steed moves as swiftly as the wind, even at night."
Lurans nodded. "The decision is yours."
lonika had arrived quickly, and he left even faster.
Lurans’s thoughts turned to Golden Feather City. He hadn’t set foot there in a long ti. Even Wushan Castle’s liaison station in the city had fallen into disuse.
In fact, basically all the great nobles of the Kingdom had a liaison station in Golden Feather City.
On one hand, these stations were responsible for communicating with the Royal Family. On the other, they were needed for interacting with other Ministers and nobles, building connections, and gathering intelligence.
But over the years, with Wushan Castle’s decline and Wiggin’s indifference to matters in the Royal Capital, Lurans had been powerless to do anything. In addition, they had to spend a massive amount of money each year on Magic Potions to suppress the Soul Devourer.
Now that Wushan Castle had a rising star, they could indeed consider rebuilding the liaison station.
’Oh well, I’ll leave this matter to Ronin.’
Lurans sighed.
He probably wouldn’t have any use for the liaison station in his lifeti, and his son, Wiggin, had even less need for it.
It would be better to let Ronin be the one to consider how to establish it and decide how it should be used.
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