They don't want me to try anymore.

Although he had no real power, he could use Saint Goethe's name to claim that he would spread his terrible experiences among his noble classmates when he returned—Baron Follett could not ignore the issue of public opinion if he wanted to continue to associate with the upper class of Vanderbilt.

Nyon is a small city, and in a few minutes, the group will arrive at the police station next to the main road of Nyon.

This is a common grassroots violent institution within the empire today, somewhat similar to the police in the previous life, but with wider jurisdiction, a more barbaric style, and few rules.

Just then, a carriage stopped in front of them.

“Mr. Richard, it seems there’s been a small misunderstanding between you and my staff.”

The person getting off the bus was Daniel, the owner of all the coal mining companies in Nion. He glanced at Richard and his group and grinned, saying, "It seems we still haven't reached an agreement after our meeting this morning..."

"This was an attack, not just a misunderstanding and a lack of consensus."

Richard twisted his neck and quickly and thoroughly recounted his experience... no, I mean, described it.

Daniel gave a playful smile.

"If Mr. Richard wants to bully a few of my men, that's fine with me, you'll get your way..."

"My lord! My lord, we're innocent!"

Ignoring the shouts of the "gophers," Daniel continued, "But I still want to ask one more time, Mr. Richard, what does everything on Mount Abarania have to do with you? When... did the country bumpkins of Connaught have the right to ask about the internal affairs of the Empire?"

Well, so you're just mocking me, huh?

Richard grinned:

"I'm happy to."

The two sides were deadlocked.

A moment later, more carriages arrived—it seemed Richard had just stumbled upon the local nobles out for a stroll.

Baron Follett stepped out of one of the cars and asked in bewilderment, "By the goddess above, what's going on?"

After each side had spoken, he scratched his head, genuinely puzzled, and asked Richard, "They're just a few mountain folk, what's the big deal about them dying or living?"

Although he had expected it, Richard still couldn't help but sigh, his gaze growing increasingly serious.

Yes, if anyone in this region is responsible for a series of tragedies, then Daniel and Follett might not be able to distinguish who is responsible and who is responsible.

Okay, watch me...

Before he could reply...

"My God!"

A scream suddenly rang out from the last carriage.

The baron's butler was kneeling on the ground, the carriage door was open, and inside sat Follett's son, Leo, the one who had once ridden a man and thrown cakes in the garden...

To be precise, it was his body.

As for his head, it was cut off and hung on the roof of the carriage.

On the carriage door, someone had written a sentence in still-wet blood:

"This is a gift from the mountains."

Chapter Sixty: Simulation! Life or Death on the Brink! (4K)

In the attic.

The hunched figure knelt down and prayed, "Your Excellency, why...why did you kill Leo?"

"Of course it's to speed things up, you good-for-nothing!"

"But don't you think it's a bit rushed? Many preparations haven't been made yet..."

"Urgent? If we don't hurry, all the fungal beasts will be gone! You didn't see how ruthlessly those little brats killed them! There's also a particularly agile and troublesome one that charged straight at me, and I'll have to spend time drawing it away..."

The voice from the shadows was somewhat out of control, which greatly surprised the person kneeling down.

"Sir, didn't you say before that they couldn't possibly..."

"cough!"

The voice paused briefly, then changed its tune, saying, "Well, it's not as serious as you think. Everything is still in the planning stage. Anyway, urge them on and get Follett to send out the troops as soon as possible."

"Understood, sir..."

at the same time.

Richard paced restlessly in his hotel room.

A few hours earlier, Baron Follett had been enraged after discovering his son was dead.

There's not much to say about the case investigation; it's basically confirmed that it was a coordinated assassination and escape operation by a professional assassin. Coincidentally, although the investigation has been short and we don't know for sure, there is indeed a bronze-level assassin leader among the "108" bandits in the Abarania Mountains.

Initially, Follett was hesitant to take on the task of eliminating the bandits due to fear of another defeat, but now everything has changed. With Daniel's encouragement, he has decided to immediately mobilize his forces and launch an attack!

Richard was now conflicted.

For now, there's no further news about the gophers.

Since Follett's son had died and he had no evidence to prove that the murderer was not a bandit, the purge was destined to be unstoppable.

On the other hand, he generally sympathized with the bandits and did not think that simply suppressing them would solve the problem—at least a combination of suppression and appeasement should be used.

Specifically, he didn't want David and the people of that small mountain village to be drawn into the war—but that seemed unlikely.

Moreover, to be honest, this sudden assassination attempt seems suspiciously like a conspiracy...

Looking out of the hotel room at the oxcarts constantly carrying equipment and supplies, and sensing the tense atmosphere permeating the conversations of the residents, Richard felt a mix of emotions.

Recalling the conversation he had with Luna not long ago, he couldn't help but feel a sense of self-deprecation.

Just then, Daniel, riding a tall horse, passed by below the hotel.

After Follett decided to launch the expedition, the coal mine owner took on the task of raising military supplies.

Knowing that Richard was staying at the hotel, he looked up and gave a provocative smile toward the window, as if to say: Look, what will you get out of your shameless antics?

The anger and grief over his nephew's death were not visible on his face at all.

Richard raised an eyebrow and murmured, "This brutal pleasure will end in brutality..."

"Richard?"

Turning my head, I saw that it was Zoe who was speaking.

"what happened?"

"I...I'm a little worried about you."

She came over, grabbed Richard's sleeve with her small hand, and said, "Sometimes I don't understand why you do those things, but aren't we getting too involved in Nyon's situation? Isn't it dangerous?"

Looking at the little girl in front of him, who was only 14 years old both mentally and physically, and recalling how she had gone up the mountain and into the forest without complaint in the past few days, he couldn't help but pat her head tenderly.

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing."

"Okay, anyway... I'll go wherever you go."

"You're getting more and more clingy."

"Ouch! Be gentle!"

Richard pinched Zoe's plump, collagen-filled cheeks, which made the little girl scratch them.

After the laughter subsided, he called Katyusha over and told them not to worry unnecessarily and to get some rest.

Returning to the window, he gazed at the setting sun gradually disappearing behind the mountains and summoned a sparrow.

He hid a note under a sparrow's feather, hoping it would tell David what had happened that day—but to be honest, he figured that given the close ties between the bandits and the mountain people, David should have received the news as soon as the city of Nyon was mobilized.

After the sparrows disappeared into the horizon, Richard lay down on the bed.

That's all he can do for the time being. As for the outcome...

Let's try a simulation!

[Hardcore Ruthless Simulator Now Launched]

In the year 3541 of the Caesar calendar, you find yourself in Nion, a city at the foot of Mount Abarania, awaiting the outbreak of a conflict.

We can't just wait around.

We must get a closer look!

You summoned a falcon and, following Baron Follett's army, left Nyon and headed towards the mountain pass at the edge of the basin.

Just as you were cosplaying as an Assassin's Creed character, a sudden storm carrying "mud and sand" swept in, killing the falcon and cutting off your vision.

Is this a joke?

In the mountains, a storm is blowing, carrying mud and sand? Is this normal weather?

Is it the army preventing spying, or some clumsy mage...?

Soon, a large number of disheveled and blood-covered people came running from outside the city; they were all soldiers led out by the Baron.

They claimed they were ambushed and wiped out! A terrifying monster, devouring the corpses, is closing in on the city…

At first, no one believed them, but soon everyone saw the monster.

[It was a fungal beast... but it was tens of meters tall, like a small mountain, and its body was covered with sticky threads that were covered with humans, most of them mutilated corpses, and a few were still alive, their faces full of despair, their mouths wide open, but their throats were blocked by surging mucus, and they could only let out silent howls to their compatriots on the city wall.]