This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Just as he was mentally ranting, a scantily clad and glamorous woman walked towards him.

Dick glanced at it casually, initially finding the face somewhat familiar, but quickly realized that most Korean girl groups seemed to have the same face shape, with only slight differences in the details.

This so-called "girl group face" is indeed stunning at first glance. Coupled with a seductive figure and sexually suggestive girl group dances, it can always make people lose their composure, but it has limited appeal to Dick.

Her breasts are far inferior to Belfast's, and her legs are even less impressive than Rita's and Tia's. Besides, I know you're here to seduce me. Before coming, I spent two hours specifically looking for Rita to clear out my inventory. Right now, her mental state is at least at the level of a Bodhisattva, if not a saint.

But you mere beauty and skeleton, how dare you flirt with me in front of me!

On the other side, Park Ae-jung was also observing the target that her master had instructed her to "take down".

To be fair, when Park Ae-jung first met Dick, she was indeed quite amazed by this elegant, handsome, and spirited young man.

This child is so beautiful!

He looks to be only twelve or thirteen years old, such a handsome boy!

Is this really beauty that a human can possess? Oh! His ears... So he's a legendary elf. No wonder he's so beautiful, and this beauty is all-natural.

Waaaaah... I'm so unlucky. If only I had been summoned by him! I'd much rather sleep with a sweet-smelling, handsome young man than with an old man who never showers!

Before she even got close to Dick, Park Ae-jung, an Earthling with virtually zero magic resistance, fell in love at first sight with Dick, who only had a quarter succubus blood.

Or to be more precise, she was under a spell!

As for any seduction plan, she had long since forgotten about it; all she wanted now was to get close to the handsome young man.

Dick, who had noticed Park Ae-jung long ago, was initially wary and cautiously guarded against any seductive advances she might launch.

But he soon realized that the woman was acting strangely.

This doesn't look like she's here to seduce someone; it looks more like she's here to be a pervert!

Seeing the woman approach him with a perverted, lewd grin, Dick, who had never seen this kind of "seduction" before, panicked a little. Fortunately, he had a Plan B prepared for an emergency escape.

Dick winked at Rita, who was traveling with him, and then immediately began to cough.

Rita quickly stepped forward, positioning herself perfectly between Park Ae-jung and Dick, and took out a medicine bottle from her pocket, handing it to Dick and gently patting his back to help him take the medicine.

Seeing this, the laughter among the crowd abruptly stopped, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Dick coughed lightly twice and smiled shyly.

"It worked for you all. I grew up in the warm capital, and I didn't expect it to be so cold here when I first came up north. I'm a little unaccustomed to it and just caught a cold. It's nothing serious, cough cough, it's nothing serious..."

Seeing that the governor was unwell, the gentry present, regardless of their true thoughts, had to at least outwardly show concern and offer words of comfort. Old Jonah, in particular, had a sudden inspiration and said that his maid, Park Ae-jung, was skilled in Earthly medicine and knew how to care for the sick, and could be given to the governor for his use.

What was that old man up to? Everyone present was hit in the face by the abacus beads.

After bidding farewell to the gentry, Dick insisted on returning to the castle. As soon as he sat in the carriage, his previous sickly appearance vanished without a trace.

Dick's bloodline was mixed, and he was indeed very thin, but his physique was not bad.

Elves are born with high magic and poison resistance, succubi are immune to mind control magic, and the Best family is known as a "high-bloodline" among humans, an elite group whose bloodline truly possesses certain special qualities.

Dick's body combines the best of three things; he has never been sick in his entire life.

Extremely healthy!

But in order to survive, Dick had long been used to pretending to be weak.

Not long after the carriage left the Saxon Manor, the window suddenly opened, and Red Leaf tumbled in and landed in front of Dick.

"My lord, there are assassins ahead."

"how many people?"

“Thirteen of them, not professionals, but they have crossbows. They are men arranged by David. Kasumi and Ayane are already in position. Should we strike first?”

"Kill them, and leave their bodies in the middle of the road, so that the Saxons can see them."

"Hi!"

Hongye nodded and jumped out of the carriage again. Rita, sitting opposite Dick, seemed to be in control as always, but in fact she had entered a fighting state and was ready to make a move at any time.

However, the enemy they were dealing with this time was too weak. By the time the carriage arrived at the ambush site, the ground was already littered with corpses. Three female ninjas stood among the scattered bodies. Ayane even made a slightly provocative gesture with her hand, and Asaka made a six-pointer, implying that she had killed even more.

Dick got off the carriage and looked at the corpses lying haphazardly. Rita and Belfast, who was disguised as a coachman, also got off.

Dick picked up a crossbow from the ground. The arrow hadn't been fired yet; it was loaded with an armor-piercing projectile, and the cross-shaped arrowhead had barbs.

Dick picked up his crossbow and fired an arrow into his wagon. The powerful arrow pierced two holes in the wagon. After firing, Dick clapped his hands, signaling the others to pick up their crossbows and help him "decorate" his wagon—it would be useful tomorrow!

Chapter 009: To kill someone, you must first destroy their spirit.

The next morning, news that the new governor had been ambushed and nearly killed on his way back from a banquet at the Saxon’s house spread like wildfire throughout Lagogburg. It then spread at an unimaginable speed, becoming the main topic of conversation among the people throughout the territory.

Many people say that the assassins who came to assassinate him this time were not simple. They used military-grade crossbows, and the governor's carriage, which was riddled with holes from the crossbows, was currently being repaired in the courtyard.

Their governor barely escaped death thanks to magical artifacts and the protection of hidden masters. The bodies of more than a dozen assassins lay scattered on the dirt road between the castle and the Saxon house. Experienced mercenaries who came to see what was happening noted that the wounds were all fatal, indicating that they were true assassins with extraordinary skills.

However, this incident seemed to have greatly frightened the governor himself, as he remained secluded after returning to the castle.

In the tavern, there were some drunkards who joked that their little darling governor was probably too scared to sleep alone right now, hiding in the arms of the maid and whimpering. Then, a peanut that seemed to fly out of nowhere hit him on the back of the head, and he slammed his face on the table with a bang.

In fact, Dick did sleep with the maid after returning to the castle last night, but it wasn't him who was whimpering.

Of course! This is a topic that's not convenient to discuss in detail.

In short, the next morning, Dick slept soundly until late morning, feeling refreshed. He then lazily ate breakfast in his bedroom and focused on reviewing his teacher's research notes. All visitors were refused entry, and the private army was urgently mobilized, doubling the castle guards. The remaining guards were sent out to find the militia self-defense force and demand that their weapons be confiscated and investigated.

To put it bluntly, it's about disarming their self-defense force.

Under normal circumstances, the self-defense force would certainly not have complied, and would have inevitably made a scene before the governor.

But the problem now is that the governor was assassinated last night. The assassin used a crossbow, and although the serial number was filed off, the model was the same as that used by the militia.

According to imperial military law, feudal nobles were required to form private armies equal to their rank, so that they could be mobilized to defend the emperor when needed. However, not all nobles were wealthy enough to maintain such a large regular army, so some military power was delegated to local authorities, allowing wealthy gentry to form self-defense militias.

Therefore, the self-defense force is also a regular military force recognized by the government, but the nobles will not allocate money to pay these people, and will also strictly limit their numbers and weapons.

Many nobles felt this was a good policy, as they could gain a group of cannon fodder at their beck and call without spending a penny of their own money, and they could spend their money wisely to properly equip their true personal guard.

But on his first day in Lagug, after learning about the local self-defense force, Dick secretly resolved to eliminate this destabilizing factor.

At the very least, the self-defense force funded by the Saxon family must be disbanded, and he will form a new "police force" that is truly capable of maintaining order.

Following this assassination attempt, Dick immediately ordered the disarmament of the Saxon militia.

He knew this rabble of thugs wouldn't submit easily, so he sent two hundred of his private soldiers to confiscate their weapons.

These regular soldiers had just received the governor's salary and rewards, and their loyalty was at its peak. The trainee knight leading the team was Roger, one of the top ten captains in the cavalry. He was the most senior and had the fewest misdeeds in the cavalry. So before the tournament, Dick promoted one temporary captain from each of the cavalry, infantry, and archers and first gave him the title of trainee knight.

To repay the kindness shown to them, Roger and his group stormed in with genuine rage.

When Roger arrived at the so-called base of the self-defense force, he was dumbfounded. It was simply a den of thieves!

It was filthy and chaotic, with garbage piled up everywhere. Some militiamen who had drunk themselves into unconsciousness in broad daylight were sleeping soundly in the stinking barracks.

The squad leader on duty was also nowhere to be found; it was said he was having fun at a brothel in a nearby town.

The private army easily subdued the dozens of so-called militiamen left behind at the garrison, forcing them to squat in a circle in the courtyard to await interrogation.

Upon hearing the news, old Jonah arrived at the militia's encampment and saw the private soldiers taking inventory of the armory and warehouse. He cursed the little bastard for his quick actions in his heart, but on his face, he pleaded with Roger, who was leading the group, and handed him a heavy little cloth bag.

But Roger, with a cold expression, simply waved his hand and knocked the money bag to the ground.

Roger himself could not be described as honest and upright, but he was not stupid.

He was just a cavalryman back then, working for his lord, and of course he'd take the benefits. But now he's a lord himself, working for the governor. Whether he does this job well or not is a matter of his future career and destiny. He knows exactly which is more important: becoming a formally knighted knight or accepting a paltry bribe!

Jonah was also taken aback when he first saw a private army that didn't accept bribes.

Just then, a disheveled and somewhat drunk young man rode his horse toward them, galloping wildly through the street without any regard for pedestrians, cursing and swearing.

"Get out of the way, all of you! Who's the blind fool who dares to cause trouble on my turf?!"

The young man on horseback, Hansen Saxon, is the son of old Jonah. He is his father's squire and also the deputy captain of the militia. He is actually in charge here on weekdays.

Because he is the son of the richest man and the future knight, he is used to being arrogant and domineering.

This man had been spending the night at a brothel and was sound asleep when his subordinates ran in to report that the militia's headquarters had been raided. The man jumped up immediately and rushed out without asking who had come to cause trouble.

The guy was still hungover and his mind wasn't very clear. From afar, he saw a group of people gathered at the entrance of the self-defense force's camp. His thuggish, spoiled brat temper flared up, and he whipped his horse and charged into the crowd. Unfortunately for him, he ended up facing his own father.

Fortunately, old Jonah reacted quickly and was still quite agile, managing to dodge his own son's "fast horse" in a sorry state, and then turned around and cursed, "You bastard."

When Hansen heard someone cursing at him, he slowed down and circled around, about to raise his whip to hit the person, when he saw his father glaring at him. He immediately lost his temper, and the alcohol in his body was instantly wiped away with the beads of sweat.

"Father!?"

"You beast, get down here!"

Jonah roared as he yanked Hansen off his horse, snatched the whip from him, and began to lash him mercilessly. He used real strength, and Hansen screamed in agony.

Roger and his private army simply watched with interest, and no one stepped forward to stop them.

Before Roger arrived, he was summoned by Dick. Dick made it very clear to him that this was not a simple warning, but rather an attempt to dismantle the self-defense force, or more precisely, to dismantle the local self-defense force led by the Saxon family. This group was of very mixed backgrounds; their daily activities had nothing to do with protecting the local people and maintaining peace—they were pure criminal elements.

Therefore, taking advantage of this assassination attempt, we not only need to disarm the self-defense force, but also arrest as many people as possible and interrogate them rigorously.

So Roger just watched, and when Jonah had had his fill, he waved his hand, and two private soldiers immediately came forward and tied Hansen up, which startled Jonah.

He's already used this self-inflicted injury tactic, he even beat his own son to death, why is he still being arrested?

Then no matter what he said, Roger, holding the governor's order, could not persuade anyone. In the end, he emptied the armory and warehouse of the militia's headquarters and arrested more than a hundred people, including Hansen.

The local people, who had suffered for many years, did not dare to applaud, but their faces were filled with uncontrollable smiles. Only the Saxon family members were bewildered in the wind.

However, later that day, Jonah's son, Hansen, was released, and he was the only member of the arrested militia to be released.

Dick specifically instructed that he should not be treated roughly, and that lunch and dinner should be plentiful. After he had eaten and drunk his fill, he should be "respectfully escorted" out of the castle prison, so that he could walk out of the cell as decently and cleanly as possible, in front of the other prisoners.

If it weren't for the reluctance, Dick would have even wanted to lay out a red carpet for this spirited young man!

Hansen, unsuspecting, assumed the new governor was wary of the Saxon family's power and wouldn't dare do anything to him. He also failed to notice the many venomous gazes he faced as he walked past a group of starving vigilantes, reeking of food and drink.

In short, no sooner had he been released from prison than he was subjected to a surprise interrogation.

The self-defense group members, fueled by their pent-up resentment, were almost entirely open and honest, revealing everything they knew. Through their infighting, Dick managed to extract several "big fish" from the crowd.

"Is this Saxon family forming a self-defense force or a bandit group?"

Dick was astonished when he saw the report submitted by his subordinates.

The entire self-defense force has a total of 187 members on its roster. Currently, 31 people are still at large. It is estimated that some more will be caught in the near future. However, among those who have been caught, 11 wanted criminals have been identified, three of whom are wanted for murder.

It can only be said that the Lagug Self-Defense Corps was corrupt from the start. The money was raised by the local gentry, but the Saxon family seized the opportunity to take over the military power during the formation stage. After all, the Saxon family were knights and had David as the acting governor backing them up. Thus, the Saxon family used the money raised by everyone to build up a criminal force that would follow their lead.

Most of the members were local thugs and hooligans. With these people as the core, good people were basically unwilling to join. So later, in order to expand the ranks, Jonah recruited many "passing heroes" and only looked at their skills, not their backgrounds, which eventually led to the situation we see today.

Dick quickly made a ruling: those with a large number of bad records in the area were directly assigned to the mining area's hard labor camps, and those with bounties on their hands were sent to exchange for money. A few with fewer bad records, who had been tricked into joining, were sentenced to six months of compulsory labor before being released.

However, the verdict will not be executed immediately. Dick will keep these people in jail for a while longer until he has dealt with things outside before redistributing them.

Having eliminated the self-defense force, the Saxon family has essentially lost two-thirds of its strength. He should still have some manpower left on his estate, but David has been playing the ostrich throughout the entire assassination attempt. He even went so far as to hire people to pack his bags, acting as if he were about to leave Lagog in a few days.

But Dick knew very well that the assassin that night was arranged by him, and if old Jonah wasn't stupid, he would have figured out that it was him who did it, and that it was obvious that he was trying to frame him.

Clearly, a disagreement has arisen between the two!

Although old Jonah harbored murderous intent towards Dick upon their first meeting, the cunning old fox had two plans in mind; the honey trap was his way of testing Dick. If Dick was a "sensible" person, he certainly wouldn't mind dumping David and cooperating with Dick instead.

David, on the other hand, simply wanted Dick dead, but because he was cowardly and afraid of trouble, he lacked the ruthless decisiveness of old Jonah!

After putting the interrogation materials he had finished reading into the file box, Dick went to the map and studied the terrain around Qilaggburg.

At this moment, Ayane from the assassin group appeared, kneeling on one knee and asking Dick a question.

As a new colleague who was recently summoned, she gave up the assassination attempt on her older sister Xia, but developed a strange competitive spirit and wanted to compete with her sister in everything.

Knowing that Dick was going to deal with the local power led by former Governor David and the Saxons, she offered him a plan.

"My lord, why not just eliminate those men? David and old Jonah are not particularly strong. With just your order, I can do it tonight..."

"Ayane, I know you're eager to prove yourself, but don't blame me for not warning you. Without my order, you are not allowed to act rashly! This isn't a reminder, it's a warning, and you'd better remember it!"

"Yes, my lord."

Ayane lowered her head and obeyed in a deep voice. She could hear the seriousness in Dick's voice. This boy seemed to be his true self at this moment, exuding a powerful aura of authority.

However, this aura was only momentary, and the other party casually switched back to a friendly tone.