It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Compared to the four territories, Blackstone Territory, located in the middle, has a more advantageous geographical location.

The arable land accounts for 30% of the territory's area. It has a small iron ore vein and a small dense forest, which can be considered as combining the advantages of other territories. More importantly, in the middle of Blackstone Territory, not far from the lord's mansion, there is an inland lake called "Star Lake".

The lake is extremely clear, and every night, under the starlight, it shines like a jewel set in the earth, hence its name.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is that Star Lake can produce a very small amount of low-purity magic crystals every year on the "Fruit Festival," which is the second Sunday in September.

This stuff is really good. Even if it's only low-purity, these magic crystals alone are enough to support the consumption of such a large territory and still have some left over.

After listening to Red's explanation, Roy finally understood why the "false information" spread on the black market by the person behind it was that he possessed a high-purity magic crystal.

Blackrock Territory has a Star Lake that can produce low-purity magic crystals, and Roy, as the son of a lord of Blackrock Territory, may have inherited high-purity magic crystals from his father, which may be produced from the Star Lake.

Although there has never been any news of Star Lake producing high-purity magic crystals, who can guarantee that it will never produce them?

Such verifiable rumors are more likely to be believed than unfounded speculations.

Comparing the five territories, Blackrock Territory's geographical environment, resource output, and other conditions are far superior to the surrounding four territories. One wonders what merits the Lord of Blackrock Territory had made to earn the border duke's such affection.

It's no wonder that such a territory with such favorable conditions would attract so much covetousness.

While Lord Blackrock was still alive, things were peaceful, as his strength was unparalleled among the lords of the five territories, and no one dared to provoke him.

But now that Lord Blackrock is gone, the fangs of darkness have appeared.

Perhaps, the person behind the scenes was just testing the waters at first.

From luring the witch to Blackrock Territory, to using the "cursed doll" on Roy, the lord's son, and even the visit of the Temple's Divine Punishment Knight, all of these were tests.

To test whether Lord Blackrock had truly disappeared.

And by the time Roy was actually taken away and imprisoned by the Knights of Divine Punishment, the mastermind behind the scenes was extremely certain that Lord Blackrock had truly disappeared.

Having confirmed this, it's likely that the real move by the person behind the scenes is not far off.

After all, no matter how the scheme is planned, as long as the ultimate beneficiary can be identified, then even if this person is not the mastermind, they must be closely related to him!

A series of thoughts flashed through Roy's mind.

"call……"

He let out a soft sigh and let Red leave first.

Knowing the specifics of the four territories near Blackrock Territory does not directly help with the current situation.

The lords of these four territories, like Lord Blackrock, received their fiefdoms during the Imperial Wars over a decade ago. From a purely economic standpoint, they all had a motive to make a move.

However, unlike the Lords of Blackrock, the lords of these four territories, although they responded to the border duke's call, only sent their squires to lead their cavalry to the border, and did not go there themselves.

This is a common practice among lords who are content with the status quo, and there's nothing wrong with it.

But this means that we can only continue to wait to find out the true identity of the person behind the scenes.

Ultimately, the territory's strength has weakened.

If Roy possessed the strength of the old lord, a Silver Knight, the person behind the scenes wouldn't dare to make a move.

Under the crimson moonlight, Roy sat cross-legged on the bed and began practicing breathing techniques.

The energy he absorbed from the witch was gradually nourishing his body and, through his breathing technique, transforming into wisps of battle qi.

Time is on his side; the longer it drags on, the better it is for him.

Moreover, now that he has gone into hiding with Rami's help, it remains to be seen who the prey is and who the hunter is.

……

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was the next morning.

Thirty kilometers north of the Blackrock Lord's mansion, a prison cart guarded by two Divine Punishment Knights began its journey for the new day.

Two tall horses pulled the closed prison cage, driven by a hired coachman. On either side of the prison cart sat Rami, riding a warhorse, and his squire, Al.

The two men had solemn and cold expressions, their eyes scanning the surroundings. If anyone dared to approach, they would be detected and intercepted immediately.

"Gulu gulu..."

The sound of the turning wheels carried far, and other carriages traveling along the official road, seeing the flag representing the Temple's Divine Punishment Knights on the prison cart from afar, all chose to give way.

The group continued onward without encountering any setbacks until noon.

Under the shade of a large tree beside the official road, the prison cart procession chose to stop and rest for a while.

Although it is late autumn and only a week away from the "Festival of Abundance," the midday sun is still scorching hot, and even farmers who are looking for a good harvest will not choose to harvest at this time.

After a simple meal of dry rations, the coachman found a large tree to lean against and rest, while the two Divine Punishment Knights, Rami and Al, sat cross-legged beside the prison cart practicing breathing techniques, and Al stood guard, patrolling and keeping watch over their surroundings.

Everything was calm and peaceful.

……

Several kilometers away from the prison van, there was a very ordinary big tree.

A little sparrow fluttered its wings from afar, intending to land on the bird's nest in the fork of this big tree. However, when it entered within three meters of the tree, it suddenly froze, as if it had been corrupted by some kind of polluting energy, lost control of its body, and fell straight down.

A pale, sickly hand reached out from the tree canopy, caught the falling sparrow, and then gently tossed it away.

After moving three meters away from the tree, the little sparrow quickly recovered. Its dark little eyes were filled with terror as it fluttered away hastily.

Ignoring the sparrow, a slender, short figure appeared in the shade of the tree canopy, facing the direction of the prison cart.

The shade of the trees obscured her face, making it impossible to see her features clearly.

Compared to late at night, people tend to feel more tired, have less concentration, and are less alert during the hot afternoon.

This is the perfect time to launch a surprise attack.

Chapter 19 Attack and Kill

Under the scorching sun, even birds have to find a shady place to hide temporarily.

In the afternoon, as the food was digested, the fatigue and the high temperature caused even the Bronze Knight Al to lose some of his focus and vigilance.

"rustle……"

Just then, a gentle breeze blew by, causing the branches and leaves to sway, and the shade on the ground to ripple slightly.

This perfectly normal scene had happened so many times during this break that it didn't even catch Al's attention.

Beneath the prison van, the shadows twisted slightly, seemingly about to flow towards it.

Suddenly, a cross around Rami's neck, which he was sitting cross-legged beside the prison cart, emitted a faint golden light. As the light spread, it reflected a semi-illusory figure.

"Qiang!"

The sword rang out as it was drawn, its blade covered in a tangible, silvery-white energy.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the silver-white and pitch-black colors collided violently, scattering leaves from the surrounding trees.

Beside the prison cart, Rami, who had already stood up, stuck his knight's sword into the ground. He placed his hands on the hilt and stared intently at the half-illusory figure in the shadows more than thirty meters away.

"Witch."

A look of doubt and contemplation flashed in Rami's eyes beneath his bright silver helmet.

After meeting with Roy yesterday, he was quite certain that Roy had not been in contact with the witch at all during this period, and the so-called collusion with the witch was simply a fabrication.

The corrupted magical aura emanating from the witch is undetectable to ordinary people and even ordinary knights, but how could a temple that has dealt with witches for hundreds of years not have any means of detection?

The Divine Punishment Knights are a violent organization within the temple responsible for hunting down and capturing witches, so they naturally possess this special method. Rami, as the captain of the Divine Punishment Knights, is particularly proficient in this area.

He was certain that Roy didn't have even the slightest trace of corrupted magic on him.

How could someone who has never had any contact with the witches serving in their own territory possibly collude with a wandering witch?

But now, a witch has appeared and is trying to sneak into the prison van where "Roy" is being held?

It seems that the person behind the attack on Blackrock Territory is actually the one who is in cahoots with the witch...

Thinking of this, a sharp glint flashed in Rami's eyes.

Thirty meters away, a slender, semi-illusory figure in the shadows stared at the knight beside the prison cart, a look of shock flashing across his mind.

Silver Three-Star Knight?

No, it's not that simple. The strength of the knight's fighting spirit has already surpassed that of a typical silver-three-star knight!

He is a Silver Peak Knight, just one step away from becoming a Gold Knight!

How could a knight of divine punishment with such power appear in such a remote territory, personally escorting the son of an "unknown" lord?

The witch in the shadows couldn't understand.

But there was no time left for her to think, because Rami on the other side had launched another attack.

……

Blackstone Territory, the lord's residence.

Roy, who was practicing breathing techniques, was awakened by a soft knock on the door and Red's gentle call of "Young Master Roy".

"call……"

He exhaled deeply, feeling his body fill with a lot more fighting spirit, now amounting to 386 strands, and his physique becoming stronger. He nodded in satisfaction, then got up and opened the door to let Red in.

"Uncle Red, what happened?"

Roy poured Red a cup of tea and gestured for him to sit down.

"Thank you, young master." Reid took the teacup but didn't drink it. Instead, he said with a slightly excited tone, "There's new information!"

“An hour ago, Mr. Rami’s convoy was attacked by an unknown witch.”

"She was a witch who used dark energy."

"The attack caused a great commotion, and many pedestrians witnessed it from a distance."

"The motorcyclists we sent to follow the convoy immediately sent the message back via carrier pigeon. I estimate that many people will know about this soon."

Roy stroked his chin: "Uncle Rami won, right?"

“Yes, Mr. Rami repelled the attacking witch.” Red’s tone was filled with admiration and longing: “Mr. Rami’s nickname is ‘Golden Lion.’ To earn the praise of ‘gold’ with a silver body is quite remarkable.”

"The strength of witches fluctuates greatly. The weakest are no more than bronze, while the strongest are even no match for the Gold Knight. But normally, the strength limit of wandering witches is within the Silver Knight range, and there are very few cases that exceed it."