Transmigrated with a Demon-Refining Pot: Hehehe, Refine in an instant

Half an hour later, the battlefield had been cleaned up.

This time, a total of thirty-one Stone Creek soldiers were killed, including one high-ranking knight squire, one mid-ranking knight, and four low-ranking knights. The serfs were captured one by one and brought back to squat in the open ground.

The remaining prisoners have been interrogated, and faced with this torment, they only wish for a quick death.

When the interrogation results were presented to Ron, it was already dawn.

The basic situation of Shixi Ridge has been investigated.

Peter had only one high-ranking knight squire.

The man killed last night was Peter's own captain of guards, who had always been by Peter's side.

Peter wasn't having an easy time during his monopoly on the salt mine, facing harassment from all sides.

He had to send high-ranking knights to oversee the situation, which benefited Ron.

Peter brought five mid-level men to the settlement; two died this time, leaving three. There were also a dozen or so low-level men; four died last night, leaving seven or eight.

There were over a hundred guards in total, but more than thirty died last night, leaving about a hundred and thirty or fourteen.

The money was brought from the Red Maple Earl's mansion, which is said to have a fortune of over ten thousand gold dragons and nine spirit insects.

It has to be said that, although he was just an ordinary earl's son, his wealth far surpassed that of Ron, the poor bastard.

But the expansion has been incredibly expensive, with half the money already spent on building castles, buying serfs, and recruiting soldiers.

Peter dared to come and seize the salt fields because he thought Ron was an easy target.

News of the fire set on River Bend by bandits spread far and wide, and the surrounding lords were all laughing at it.

Especially since the salt fields were located in the eastern part of River Bend Territory, closest to Stone Creek Territory and Blackrock Territory. Peter felt he had gotten a good deal and preemptively seized the salt mines.

As for the other lords... Peter, relying on the support of Earl Red Maple, didn't take anyone seriously.

Peter looked down on Boris the most, thinking he was nothing more than a nouveau riche knight, maybe even a hook seller.

Lord Peter still doesn't remember the name of the lord of Malwood, a poor man of commoner origin.

In short, in Peter's eyes, the pioneers of this wasteland were either old or crippled, just roadside figures.

That's why they act so arrogantly.

After hearing the intelligence from Stonebrook, Ron remained silent for a while.

"What about those who were on trial?"

Gray said, "Outside, with the other corpses."

Ron nodded: "Take all the bodies back to the sinkhole and bury them properly. Give our people a proper burial."

Ron looked at the cleaned-up battlefield, and saw weapons, armor, food, and tools being hauled into the manor in cartloads. They collected over ten longswords, more than twenty sets of leather armor, and enough food to last half a month.

The most valuable were those serfs, 523 people, including men, women, and children.

They squatted on the open ground outside the salt field, trembling, not knowing what would happen to them.

Ron walked over and stood in front of them.

The crowd fell silent, hundreds of eyes fixed on him.

Gray said, "Sir, some of these serfs have families to support, and some have relatives back in Stonebrook. I'm afraid they won't behave themselves!"

Ron chuckled:

"Don't worry, their family will be reunited soon."

"Let the serfs denounce each other, and drag those who might be guilty to the brick-making workshop," he ordered.

"After sending these spoils back, bring your men and come with me to raid Stone Creek Territory. We need to be quick; speed is of the essence in war."

"Yes!" the subordinate replied excitedly.

As the sun rose high overhead, a guard who had run away from Stone Creek Ridge stumbled into Peter's estate.

Peter was eating lunch when he heard the report, and his fork fell onto the table.

"What did you say?"

The guard knelt on the ground, trembling all over: "Sir... the saltworks were attacked... everyone is dead... several of you... were also killed..."

Peter turned pale and jumped to his feet:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"And Rifa? He's a high-ranking knight's squire, and where is he? He brought over thirty men with him!"

"It's true... That group sneaked in at night, killing anyone they saw... That lord was surrounded by two high-ranking officials, and didn't last long..."

Peter's legs went weak, and he sat back down in his chair.

Two higher-order?

How come there are two high-ranking individuals in the River Bend Territory?

The butler, standing nearby, said, "Sir, could he have mistaken me for someone else?"

The guard shook his head: "No... I saw it with my own eyes. Those two men surrounded that gentleman and beat him. He didn't last long before he died, and then we started running..."

Peter remained silent for a long time, then suddenly stood up.

"Rifa's strength is quite good among high-level players. If it weren't for two high-level players attacking him, he wouldn't have been unable to escape."

"Summon all the knights for a meeting!"

Peter panicked a little.

Ron was unaware of the commotion at Stone Creek Ridge. He was wearing a hood and leading his men toward Stone Creek Ridge.

He was serious about seeking revenge.

Laun followed him and asked:

"Sir, where should we rob next?"

Ron glanced at the sky; it was dark and windy... the sun was high in the sky, the perfect time for robbery and arson.

"Take over farms, but don't touch estates."

And so, a band of bandits appeared on the border of Stone Creek Ridge.

More than forty people, their faces covered with cloth veils, which Ron had specially ordered made.

I'll probably be doing this part-time job often in the future, so I need to have decent equipment; I can't be as sloppy as I was last time.

Riding a horse with a knife at his waist, Lauen led the way, looking out into the distance.

Ron, on the other hand, was dressed like a henchman and mingled in the crowd, carrying a nine of bamboo.

"That farm," Laun pointed ahead. "Lots of grain, lots of serfs, they'll loot it and leave."

The bandits charged forward with a roar.

Before the people on the farm could react, they were surrounded. Several guards had just drawn their swords when they were cut down. The serfs screamed and scattered in all directions, only to be stopped and chased together by the bandits.

In less than half an hour, the farm was completely looted.

Grain, livestock, farm tools—everything that could be carried away was taken. The serfs were tied together and driven south.

When the reinforcements from Shixi Ridge arrived, all that remained was an empty farm and a scene of devastation.

When the news reached Peter, he was in his study having a meeting with his men.

"Bandits?"

He looked up in confusion. "What bandits?"

The steward said, "I don't know. More than forty people, masked, robbed the farm to the south, killed several guards, and took away more than three hundred serfs."

They swaggered towards the river bend, and several of our soldiers who chased after them were killed, their bodies even being taken away.

Peter was silent for a moment, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said:

"I have never seen such a despicable nobleman. River Reach!! You have gone too far!"

Ron said, "Here you go!!"

He's a master at forgetting his roots after gaining power, bullying the weak, kicking someone when they're down, taking advantage of others, being ungrateful, betraying his benefactors, judging people by their appearance, being greedy and lustful, calling a deer a horse, backstabbing his elder brother, and seducing others...

"Pass down the order: everyone return to the manor. From today onwards, no one is allowed to leave without my permission."

The manor is equipped with alchemical crossbows, and together with walls and watchtowers, even high-ranking knight squires cannot break in; they might even be seriously injured if they are not careful.

The steward was stunned: "Sir, what about our territory? And the insect grass of the spirit insects?"

Peter wasn't worried about this. The fairy insects and dragons were the darlings of the world, and killing them would make the world despise him.

Basically, no noble would target an elf insect unless it was a fight to the death.

If the Cordyceps is destroyed, the Cordyceps will be severely damaged. Although it can regenerate Cordyceps, the Cordyceps will basically lose its evolutionary potential and its lifespan will be reduced by more than half.

Therefore, the best way to obtain the spirit insect is to capture an important figure, force the lord to pay a ransom, and voluntarily abandon the contract.

The second option is to directly kill the contract lord and seize the spirit insect.

So Peter wasn't worried about the destruction of the Elf Cordyceps; he was more concerned about his own safety. Without high-ranking knights protecting him in his territory, he couldn't sleep soundly.

He now utterly despises Ron, that treacherous and shameless nobleman.

"I will write to my father right away and ask for help," Baron Peter said through gritted teeth.

"Prepare another gift to pick up at the river bend, and also bring a handwritten letter from me."

Peter knew that as long as those two high-ranking knights were present, he had to temporarily back down.

In the evening, Ron stood in the manor, watching truckloads of supplies being brought in.

Laun walked to his side and whispered:

"Sir, there's been no movement from Stone Creek Ridge."

Ron nodded.

"He will have it," he said.

Laun looked at him: "Does Your Excellency think he'll back down?"

Ron didn't answer, he just looked in the east.

Peter is a pampered man who's never suffered a loss. Now that he's been taken advantage of, his first reaction will definitely be to back down and wait for an opportunity to retaliate.

Sure enough, before evening, people from Stonebrook arrived. Ron couldn't help but chuckle as he read Peter's letter pleading for peace.

Peter even knows how to make empty promises to him.

"Rest assured, your baron! As long as he keeps his promises in the letter, our two families will still be as close as brothers."

After the messenger left, Ron summoned Lauenhart and the others.

"Get a good night's rest, and we'll continue tomorrow!"