I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 269 Assassination and Resentment
……

……

I'm getting ready to head to Griffin City; there are many things I need to arrange.

Rhodes instructed his guards to have Durant come to the lord's manor for a meeting the following morning.

Durant didn't wait until the next morning; he took the initiative to meet with Rod in the evening.

Durant placed his right hand on his chest, bowed respectfully, and asked earnestly, "Sir, regarding the matter of going to the Red Griffin family, which men do you plan to take with you?"

Baron Rhodes raised his head and said without hesitation, "I'm not bringing anyone."

“We’re operating covertly this time, and Vika and the others are more than capable of handling things.”

Rhodes slowly put down the parchment in his hand and instructed, "I will ride Frost and Thunder with Vivian at night, which will allow us to reach Griffin Keep faster."

"You need to take good care of things at Black Pine Ridge."

“It is what I should do, sir.”

Durant nodded in agreement, then said somewhat seriously, "Sir, I think you should still bring some men with you."

Rod didn't rush to deny it, looking at Durant and waiting for him to continue.

“I understand what you mean. In a direct war, even dozens of soldiers cannot change the course of the battle. Your mission this time is mainly a covert war, so soldiers will not play a significant role.”

Durant explained, "But we have to consider Blackpine Ridge's image in front of the Red Griffin family after we succeed."

"If we succeed, there will inevitably be all sorts of trivial matters to deal with."

"More importantly, if you need to have a formal meeting with other nobles, you must demonstrate the dignity and status that you should have as a lord."

"Only with the right attendants will you not be looked down upon."

Durant cleared his throat twice and added, "Vika and the others are capable of completing the tasks you assign them, but in formal settings... they're not really suited to show up."

After listening to Durant's words, Rod seemed to be deep in thought.

As the saying goes, "Respect the clothes before respecting the person."

Especially in front of those nobles, Rhodes should indeed appropriately display his strength.

Beyond etiquette, it serves more as a deterrent.

If necessary, Rhodes may need to leave some people behind at Griffin Keep.

"You've thought of everything."

Rhodes' eyes showed approval. "Then take two squads of knights, led by Sao."

"Bring all the necessary equipment, and set off immediately tomorrow morning."

Riding a horse is naturally not as fast as riding a dragon, so Rod let Sao and the others go first.

"Yes, sir. I'll go and have Sao and the others start preparing in a bit."

Durant breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "Sir, will your affairs in the territory remain the same as before?"

"Yes, if you need to consult Avril, just ask her."

Rhodes nodded and instructed, "Increase patrols on the wasteland. I'll have Sejuani and Gungle cooperate with your plan."

"Also, send someone to tell Chris to come back as soon as possible, and ignore the alien races in other places for now."

"The primary issue now is to develop Black Pine Ridge, Ice Peak Valley, and Razor Plain into actual resources and combat power."

Durant nodded respectfully:

"Please rest assured, sir, I will handle everything."

The next morning.

The sun has not yet risen.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed on the stone path in the courtyard.

Holding a torch, Sao slowly walked in front of the knights, his sharp eyes inspecting each person's equipment one by one.

The scabbards gleamed coldly in the firelight, each longsword was polished to a spotless shine, and there wasn't a trace of rust on the heavy plate armor.

After completing the inspection, São took two steps back.

"Are you all ready?"

The twenty knights straightened their backs in perfect unison and shouted in unison, "Ready!"

“Remember, you represent our great Holy Lord, Lord Rhodes, Baron of Blackpine Ridge.”

São's voice was extremely serious.
"No matter what, we must never bring shame to our Holy Lord."

"Yes, Lord Sao!"

São nodded slightly.

"After a final check of the equipment and confirming that everything is in order, we will set off immediately."

As soon as the words were spoken, the knights immediately sprang into action.

The armor clanged against each other with a crisp sound, and time slipped away quietly amidst the tense preparations.

As the eastern horizon gradually turned a faint, pale white, the first rays of dawn slowly tore through the veil of darkness.

At São's command, the twenty-one knights simultaneously mounted their horses and set off southeastward with the sound of hooves.

Two days later, at dusk, Frost and Thunder flapped their wings and took to the air, heading straight towards Griffin City.

……

……

Outside Red Griffin Castle.

The night wind howled across the empty road, and the middle-aged knight Cortalon, draped in a deep red cloak, hurried along.

Cortalon had just completed his routine inspection of the city wall sentries, at which point the gates of Red Griffin Castle should have been closed.

But just now the bartender came to deliver a message: his lover was beaten by a drunkard in the tavern.

Although Cortaren has many lovers, he has only been looking for this one for half a month.

The two are currently enjoying a sweet honeymoon.

Cortaren could not tolerate this happening and had to stand up for his lover.

This is also a lesson to the drunkards who dared to offend him.

Just as Cortalon was thinking about how many bones he could break, he suddenly stopped and his right hand unconsciously pressed on the hilt of his sword.

The next instant, Cortalon's pupils contracted sharply, and he whirled around, drawing his longsword and pointing it straight at the corner of the shadows.

"come out!"

A low growl echoed through the night sky, followed by a long silence.

Only the leaves swaying in the wind and the shadows of the trees responded to him.

Cortaren frowned slightly. Was he overthinking things?

But as an experienced senior knight, his intuition told him that something was wrong.

It felt as if someone was watching me from the shadows.

Cortalon's sharp gaze swept over every shadow around him.

After waiting for a long time without finding anything unusual, Cortalen continued on his way.

But Cortalon didn't head towards the tavern; instead, he turned back to the castle.

Cortalon suddenly felt unsafe going to the tavern and thought he should bring two of his men with him.

In that instant, Cortalen suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck!
His fighting instincts kicked in instantly, and Cortalon instinctively dodged to the right, sparks flying from his helmet!
"Damn it!"

Kotalen cursed under his breath, and then there was another crisp sound. Kotalen felt a sharp pain in his shoulder!

Without time to think, Cortalen quickly jumped behind a tree to hide, cautiously observing his surroundings!
The night fell silent once more.

A wave of fear washed over Cortaren—there was absolutely no one around!
"Damn it! What the hell is that?!"

Kotalen swallowed hard and retreated little by little under the cover of the trees.

Before he could take two steps, another gust of cold wind swept in. Cortalon could no longer bear it, raised his longsword, turned, and swung it horizontally.

"die!"

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and a small piece of Cortalon's longsword blade was instantly knocked away!

At the same time, a smooth, slippery figure flashed by, then jumped behind a nearby tree trunk and disappeared from his sight in the blink of an eye!

"ghost?!"

Cortaren stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he had just seen!
They just vanished without a trace?
Reality left him no time to think; a shriek came from behind him!
An arrow struck him squarely in the lower back!
At that very moment, a bright light flashed, and the arrow slid along the edge of the light and embedded itself in the tree trunk next to it!
"Damn it! They attacked from behind!"

Kotalen cursed and quickly rolled into the surrounding bushes!
At this point, Cortaren was fully aware that the attackers were able to remain hidden in the shadows, putting him in a very unfavorable position!

We can't fight them head-on; we can only run away!

Without hesitation, Cortalen turned and ran, but two sharp blades appeared beside him and attacked from both sides at the same time!
Cortalon immediately held his longsword in front of him, and a dazzling white light suddenly shone!

"Get out of my way!"

The two dark figures that attacked were instantly knocked back several meters!

At this moment, Cortaren also saw the attackers clearly—two short people dressed in black night clothes!
Just then, two figures appeared behind Cortalon and stabbed him in the ribs!

"Thorn-"

A chilling metallic cutting sound rang out as the dagger pierced Cortalon's flesh without any resistance!

The excruciating pain caused Cortalon to let out a muffled groan, and then he swiftly swung his longsword, forcing the two dark figures back!

"Who are you?!"

Cortaren, clutching his wound, shouted angrily, "Don't you know who I am?"

"I am Cortalon Greyblade, a high-ranking knight under Count Red Griffin. You are trampling on the dignity of the Red Griffin family and will be punished severely!"

You can't scare me.

A dark figure stopped, a young voice carrying a hint of a laugh.
"Knight, save your energy and fall down."

Cortaren's expression froze. "What do you mean...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Cortalon felt a numbness in the wounds on both sides of his body, followed by a wave of weakness. "You, you rats in the shadows, you actually poisoned me..."

Cortalon's body completely lost its support and collapsed to the ground.

The shadowy figure beside him immediately stepped forward to check on Cortalon's condition. "Chief, he has indeed fainted."

"I didn't expect him to be so difficult to deal with. The lord is right, these nobles may have some killer moves up their sleeves."

The shadowy figure known as the leader let out a long sigh of relief.

And he was Vika, the lynx-man who worked for Rhodes.

Based on the previous interrogation of Winster, Vika and the Night Whisperers are now taking action against Susanna's confidants one by one.

Cortalon was the most difficult one to deal with, and also the one who controlled the most information.

"Alright, take it with you now."

Vika whispered the order: "Clean up the surrounding area to prevent the city guards from discovering anything."

"Yes, chief."

The two lynx-men quickly lifted Cortalon up and fled into the woods.

After a long time.

Deep in the cellar beneath a dilapidated house in the slums of Griffin City.

Cortalon slowly awoke from his coma, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of cat eyes staring at him in the bright firelight.

Kotalen was startled and instinctively backed away, only to find himself tied to a pillar.

His armor had been completely stripped off, leaving him naked from the waist up, with only his underwear still on his lower body.

"Damn monster, kill me!"

Cortaren shouted angrily, "You dark, filthy rat, kill me!"

"You can die if you want."

Vika sat down by the fire. "If you tell me everything about Susanna, I can let you die a quick death."

"You want to get any information out of me."

Kotalen sneered, seemingly having found a handle on Vika, and raised his head high.

"I knew this would be the result."

Vika smiled, turned to the person beside him, and ordered, "Bring the person out."

As soon as he finished speaking, a boy of about twenty years old was pushed out and pressed to the ground.

"Kent!"

Cortalon's expression changed drastically, and he struggled desperately but to no avail.

The boy, known as Kent, looked at Cortalon with a bitter expression and helpless eyes, "Father, save me..."

"Release my son!"

Cortaren shouted sternly, "Otherwise I'll tear you all to pieces!"

"Knight Cortalon, I don't want to waste my time."

Vika remained calm and slowly said, "Tell me everything I want, and I will release your son immediately."

Kotalen remained silent.

Vika nodded. "I understand your decision."

Vika waved to his subordinates behind him.

The other Lynxmen immediately drew sharp daggers from their robes.

They roughly tore at Kent's clothes and quickly pulled off the young man's pants.

Vika said calmly, "We've done our homework and know what you care about most."
"You haven't had any children with your other lovers."

“You only have this one son, and even though Kent can’t become a knight, you still haven’t given up on him.”

Vika stood up and slowly walked towards Kent, who was being held down, the dagger twirling in his hand.

"He represents your family heritage."

He placed the dagger against Kent's groin, the cold blade pressed against the young man's skin.

"so."

Vika's voice carried a threat, "You only have one chance to consider it, Cortalon."

"Father! Father, save me!"

Kent struggled desperately, his voice filled with fear and despair.

"I can no longer cultivate, but I can't be unable to even be a man!"

Kent's voice had turned into a sob, and tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Father!"

"Don't you even care about your own son?"

"My mother has passed away, and she doesn't even care about me anymore?"

Kent cried and screamed as he backed away until he was in a dark corner.

He cried out, looking both disheveled and pitiful.

Cortalon bit his lip, his face contorted in pain.

Blood seeped from Cortalen's tightly clenched lips, but Cortalen still refused to speak.

Seeing this, Vika immediately stepped forward and grabbed Kent.

"Hold him down and use the knife."

At Vika's command, the other Lynx people surged forward.

Just as the dagger was about to strike, Cortalen's voice finally rang out.
"Stop! I'll talk!"

……

……

After a long while, Vika looked at the information recorded on the linen and nodded in satisfaction.

Combined with the information obtained from the Night Whisperers, Red Griffin Castle was completely transparent to Vika.

The number of guards, their deployment map, and the frequency of troop rotations were all clearly known.

Most importantly, Vika knew who should be killed and who could be spared.

I've said everything I needed to say!

Cortalen urged, "You can release my son and send him away from here!"

Vika nodded.

The other Lynxmen immediately released Kent.

In that instant, the tension and fear on Kent's face vanished.

He casually wiped away his tears, calmly stood up, and patted the dirt off his clothes.

At this moment, Kent's entire demeanor changed; he was no longer the child who had been crying and begging for help.

"Sir, I have finished my work."

Kent respectfully asked Vika, "What reward have you promised me?"

Vika nodded, her voice tinged with amusement.

"Don't worry, I will definitely keep my promise."

"I will give it to you as soon as the adults arrive."

"Thank you, sir."

Kent bowed.

"You, you..."

When Cortaren saw his son talking to Vika, he was instantly stunned.

Clearly, Kent was very familiar with the man in front of him.

"No, you're lying to me!"

Cortaren immediately realized that his son and the people who arrested him had put on a show!

I've been completely fooled!

"Why?!"

Cortalen looked at his son in disbelief.
"Kent, why did you do this?"

"why?"

Kent looked at Cortalon without the slightest fear or remorse.

Anger gradually surfaced in his eyes.
"It's because you've been hanging out with Susanna that you've neglected your mother, even when she's sick!"

"Just because you didn't shed a single tear after your mother passed away! You didn't even attend her funeral!"

"It's because you change lovers every month, you're like a boar that only goes into heat, and you don't care about my feelings at all!"

Kent grew increasingly angry, his voice almost roaring.

"Just because I can't become a knight, this sir promised to let me become one!"

Kent's hands trembled as he glared fiercely at Cortalon.

Vika, standing beside Kent, sighed softly and patted him on the back in a comforting manner.

Kent let out a long sigh, calmed himself down, and slowly said:
"Also, sir, promise me that if you tell me, I will spare your life."

"It's all Susanna's fault that you turned out this way."

Kent's expression was serious, his tone calm yet carrying an undisguised ruthlessness.
"I will make that usurper who turned you into a stud pig die."

(End of this chapter)