Book 3, 34

Halted

Fresh blood spurted out of Charles’s headless body like it was a fountain, splashing on the faces of everyone nearby.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The amber light faded from the dagger as Richard put it back in its sheath, taking large strides towards the castle past the dumbstruck crowd.

It took everyone some time to recover from the shock, realising that there were two arms on the ground as well! Two mournful shrieks rang out as those that had reached for their weapons realised their arms had been chopped off by Richard.

The two paladins exchanged looks, following Richard to the castle.

The chaos and the bloodcurdling screams caused by the portal area alarmed the entire island. Batches of soldiers brandished their soldiers and charged towards the gate, a few nimble silhouettes even overtaking the average soldiers and knights to appear in front of Richard in the blink of an eye. Hundreds of warriors were stood before Richard in no time, their swords pointing straight at him!

If one had a bird’s eye view of the situation, they would see three tiny dots in the empty space around the portal opposed by a black mass of enemies, surrounded in an arc. Two powers that were nowhere close to each other were in the midst of a confrontation.

Doubt, fear, resentment, malice, and hesitation. Richard could read the expressions of everyone, whether they looked familiar or were complete strangers. The whispers were getting louder.

“It’s Richard!”

“The young master is back, what should we do?”

Despite hundreds of people watching him attentively, Richard still remained calm. He didn’t even unsheathe his blade, icy glare sweeping across the enemies in front as a calm, cold voice resonated through the area, “Do you want me to exterminate your entire families?”

The brief sentence was like a block of ice thrown into a fryer, causing the crowd to erupt in a flurry of noises. The chaos over the past few days, the successful looting, and the enticement of some conniving figures and wealthy families had caused all of them to completely forget their identity and status. These slightly troubling yet peaceful days made many assume they were the real owners of this island and its wealth!

It was only now, with Richard in front of them, that they considered the consequences.

The Archerons were never lenient with traitors. In fact, every noble family in Norland had records of shedding blood to suppress rebellious branches. The extermination of entire families was only inevitable, but the process could be as long and painful as one wanted it to be.

“This guy is trying to pass off as Young Master Richard!” someone suddenly shouted from the crowd, “K-Kill him!” If his voice wasn’t so hoarse, if his words didn’t break at the end, perhaps he would have been a little persuasive.

Without waiting for the imminent uproar, a tall lady suddenly appeared in front of Richard. “Shut up!” she shouted furiously, her voice loud and clear like dragon’s roar or phoenix cry. Almost everyone was left with their heads buzzing, their minds instantly blanking out.

Done shouting, the lady took two steps towards Richard and fell to one knee, “I am Fuschia, Earl Alice’s right hand. It is my humble pleasure to meet you, Young Master Richard.”

Fuschia’s behaviour startled Richard slightly. This was extremely formal etiquette; even if she wanted to express her goodwill, she was still a servant of Alice and didn’t have to behave like an underling with him.

On the other end, Baron Sua’s expression darkened significantly, his features seemingly shrouded in the ashen haze of Floe Bay’s sky. Earl Goliath’s representative was indifferent as usual, only observing and recording the incident with no intent to participate.

The crowd was slowly becoming restless. Countless pairs of eyes swept across these three representatives. All three had acted completely differently, leaving them on tenterhooks.

Richard furrowed his brows and went forward to help Fuschia up, “You shouldn’t salute me like this, should you?”

“My Lady ordered that I was to become your subordinate when you return. I will listen to your instructions until she commands otherwise.”

“Alice...” Richard muttered, unable to figure out the intentions of his generation’s goddess of war.

Fuschia was an unexpected assistant, and a formidable one at that. A quick detection spell indicated she was level 19, armed with six runes from head to toe. Although half those runes were only elementary, she still had astonishing might.

However, Richard wasn’t in a confrontation with hundreds of people from the branch families just because he was dauntless. He had some tricks hidden up his sleeve, one of them the presence of the two paladins behind him.

Baron Sua spoke up leisurely, “Young Master Richard. You killed a few people the moment you returned, and you’re about to exterminate the hundreds of Archerons here. Truly impressive!”

Richard’s gaze finally landed on the man. “Who the hell are you?” he asked coldly.

Sua’s expression changed instantly. The guards behind him grew indignant at Richard’s rudeness, a few already reaching for the swords at their waists.

Richard’s gaze immediately fell on the hands that were on the hilts, his gaze freezing over. Baron Sua suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, promptly raising his hand to stop his subordinates from making any further moves.

Richard narrowed his eyes and said insipidly, “Very timely. If anyone dared to pull their sword out, I would have chopped them to pieces and fed them to the wyverns.”

Baron Sua froze and replied coldly, “Richard, you’re being far too savage! This place is—”

“Marquess Gaton’s island,” Richard interrupted him.

Sua’s expression changed again. He snorted heavily, correcting Richard, “This is the Archeron island!”

Richard started to raise his voice as well, “This island belongs to Marquess Gaton Archeron. The island, and everything on it, has nothing to do with anyone not of his blood.”

This declaration immediately set off intense protests.

Richard laughed coldly, “If any of you object, you can appeal to the royal family or the Church. Go, right away!”

The clamour instantly quieted down.

Appealing to the royal family or the Church of the Eternal Dragon? Nobody in their right mind would do that. Alas, the actions of these branch families couldn’t be made public. If not for their powerful backers being considerate enough to keep the information under wraps, it would have created a ruckus long ago.

“We can’t let him take what’s ours!” someone yelled out from the crowd. At the thought of the immense fortune they already possessed, the fortune they were yet to attain, the mob grew furious as they gripped their swords and closed in. A single spark would send everything into chaos!