This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

“Ayane, I absolutely acknowledge your strength. Taking those people's heads is as easy as taking candy from a baby. But you must understand that even when it comes to killing, different methods produce different results. If you kill David and Jonah by assassination, the locals will assume it was me.”

"I can make it look like an accident, leaving absolutely no trace."

“It has nothing to do with how you do it. Anyway, the situation is very clear now. I didn’t hide anything when I got here. If they die in an accident, I will definitely be the one to take the blame. Moreover, it will leave a bad impression on the local civilians and gentry, and it may become a stain that others use to attack me in the future. So if I want to kill them, I must kill them legitimately and legally!”

"...Understood."

"Don't worry! You'll have your chance to shine. Whether Tia finds the clues first or these people can't resist their desperation and resort to desperate measures... the result will be the same."

The author says:

Author's Note: I'd like to recommend "European Modulation Mode" on this site. I won't go into a proper introduction, as it's already mentioned in the author's information. Taking a look before making a recommendation, I gave it a try, and all I can say is... it's not a serious book written by a serious author. The protagonist is captured and exploited by a sexy female pirate right from the start—it's too much! I can't bear to read it (I'll add it to my favorites for now).

Chapter 010: Martial Arts Tournament

On the day of the martial arts tournament, Dick made another public appearance.

The so-called arena was actually just a relatively flat open space outside the castle, enclosed by a wooden fence.

On the south side of the arena, there was a specially erected high platform. Dick, wearing a thick fur coat, sat at the head of the highest point, with two maids standing on his left and right.

The two maids were Rita and Belfast in disguise. They looked rather ordinary, but their perfectly curvaceous figures under their fitted maid outfits were completely undisguised, making many of the wealthy gentlemen who had been invited to watch the martial arts competition quite envious.

He thought to himself, "No wonder he's the young master of the Duke's family; his lifestyle is truly extraordinary!"

The five-story-high stands were filled with over a hundred people, mostly local celebrities and their families from Lagugburg. Besides the wealthy gentry, there were also several local magicians and alchemists.

These people were naturally friendly towards Dick, or at the very least, remained neutral.

After all, Dick was already a novice mage (on the surface) at the age of 13, had elven blood, and was a disciple of Master Grandor. These local mages who couldn't get into the National Academy of Magic, even if they didn't care about the master, they should at least give him some face, right?

Dick also wanted to befriend these senior figures, who were all "high-level intellectuals," and winning them over was more valuable than winning over those bloated and tyrannical gentry.

While chatting with those around him, Dick saw the Saxon family, who had arrived late.

Old Jonah's expression was not good, but he still managed to force a smile when he saw Dick. The Park siblings behind him, being slaves, knelt down and performed a grand salute, while the other family members performed a chest-touching salute.

However, Dick soon noticed that Jonah's eldest son, Hansen, was not there; he was accompanied only by his several underage children.

Rita leaned down and whispered in his ear that Hansen and his two brothers had both signed up for the competition.

"He participated?"

Dick paused for a moment, then quickly realized what was going on.

Although the Saxon family has a hereditary knighthood, the title is currently held by Jonah the Elder and can only be passed down to one person.

But Jonah had five sons, three of whom were already adults.

Although the three brothers were not good people and had a bad reputation in the area, the Saxon family did have some of the traditions of a knightly family and was very strict in training the male members in martial arts. The three brothers were all quite skilled in martial arts.

That day, when the private army raided the militia's hideout, Knight Roger mentioned in his report that Hansen was a skilled horseman and should be at the level of a mid-level warrior.

In rural areas, this is already a remarkable feat of strength!

So the old man had his three adult sons sign up for the competition, hoping they could earn one or two more knighthoods through their own abilities. With more knights in the family, according to the Imperial Noble Law, the Saxon family could apply for promotion to baron for their merit in training many knights for the country.

All I can say is that this old guy is very shrewd; he's got a good plan.

So Dick calmly asked Belfast for the list of participants. When he saw the preliminary round groupings, he was glad he had enough composure, otherwise he would have almost burst out laughing.

It's clear that Jonah bribed the participants to secure a spot. The three brothers were placed in different qualifying groups, but the second and third brothers were paired with Black and White Gunners.

These two groups are truly death traps. Dick even specifically instructed the group leaders to spread out the promising talents as much as possible, and preferably not to put them into these two groups.

The group leaders assumed that the governor wanted to take care of some of the people in these two groups, but little did they know that the governor wanted to take care of those poor souls who might have mistakenly ended up in the "death group".

Before the competition began, Dick specifically instructed Black and White Gunners.

First, try not to hurt anyone. With their martial arts skills, it would be easy for them to poke someone off their horse with a competition gun. Just stop when you've made a move and don't cause any deaths.

Second, conceal your strength and do not display combat power exceeding that of a "high-level warrior".

If people found out that he, an unfavored illegitimate son of a duke's family, actually had a powerful expert of the Saint rank or above by his side, it would be detrimental to his plan of keeping a low profile.

Third, avoid using magic if possible. As Servants, the Black and White Lancer Artoria do have a high upper limit to their combat power, but the problem is that Servants consume the Master's mana.

Dick's total magic power is indeed high, but it can't keep up with the combined power of Black and White Gunslinger and Rita's high-tech equipment. Since Rita was summoned, her Valkyrie armor has automatically switched to a magic-powered mode, resulting in a slight decrease in combat power, while still consuming Dick's mana.

Dick returned the roster to Belfast, raised his hand to signal the start of the match, and then leisurely waited for the agreed-upon assassination to begin.

Because it was a remote and underdeveloped area, the people lacked cultural and entertainment activities on a daily basis. So when they heard about the martial arts competition, almost all the villagers from the surrounding area came and surrounded the entire arena. Sitting on the high platform, Dick could see a sea of ​​heads.

Seeing this, Dick couldn't help but sigh, thinking that if there were assassins here, it would be too easy for them to infiltrate.

Soon, the competition officially began, with more than 400 people signing up for the three major events: cavalry, infantry combat, and archery, which was added at the last minute.

It can be said that almost everyone in the Laguge region who considers themselves to be somewhat capable has come here.

The first competition was infantry combat, because this was the event with the most participants.

The arena was divided into 16 zones with straw ropes, allowing the contestants to fight one-on-one.

Before the competition began, it was made clear to all participants that the top ten in the infantry and archery categories would be selected, while only the top three in the knight category would be chosen. This was because the selection process was not for ordinary soldiers, but for officers.

Of course! Dick knew that being highly skilled in martial arts did not mean being able to lead troops into battle. Therefore, the future of these officers would be divided into two groups: one group would become "training officers," or "instructors," and the other group would join the soon-to-be-established "General Staff."

Soldiers needed for the expansion of private armies were recruited from ordinary civilians with no criminal record.

Dick didn't expect these peasant soldiers to become soldiers who understood the "close bond between the army and the people," or to be able to obey orders and maintain strict military discipline. In this era, that would already make them a unique and powerful army.

To be honest, the first round of infantry combat wasn't very interesting. At least in Dick's opinion, this kind of realistic competition actually lacked entertainment value.

Players with more combat experience tend to play a more cautious and timid style!

However, Dick showed little interest, while the onlookers were in high spirits. Every time a match was decided, it would elicit loud cheers, and the more blood was lost, the louder the cheers became.

The most striking thing is that the onlookers don't mind the extravagance of the funeral!

Fortunately, no one actually died in the end, but there were more than 30 injured, accounting for a quarter of the participants.

Next was the archery event, which Dick considered the most likely time for an assassin to appear. The archer would be right in front of him, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, and he could simply turn the arrow around to carry out the assassination, which was incredibly convenient.

However, the anticipated assassination did not occur until the end of the archery competition.

What's going on? Did the assassin back out?

When the first two rounds of the competition ended, it was almost lunchtime. Dick met with the winning members of the infantry and shooter groups, and also went to visit the injured players who had been injured during the competition.

Then he witnessed the local doctors' "amazing" medical skills, and the screams of the patients on their beds were far more chilling than their battle cries on the field!

The medical technology in this world is actually quite advanced, especially in high-end fields. There are priests on the local side who can use healing magic, and there are also doctors from Earth who have come from elsewhere.

But just like with technologies in other fields, nobody wanted to promote it.

The gentlemen, driven by a very "simple" aristocratic mindset, simply did not want the poor to enjoy the same things as them, as this would make them feel ashamed!

The holy priests are compassionate all day long, and the nuns are upright, but they would never "waste" any of their sacred power on the poor who cannot afford to "donate."

As for Earth's doctors, the moment they arrived in this world, they were forcibly bound by slave contracts by the summoners, becoming the "private property" of the masters. Doctors are highly sought-after, high-end talents, and the masters who summoned them were as excited as if they had pulled an SSR card in a gacha game, so these doctors usually received relatively good treatment.

In the most prosperous capital city, there is already an "Earth Hospital" composed entirely of medical personnel from Earth, but this hospital only serves nobles and wealthy people who can afford a membership card.

Seeing the terrible state of the makeshift medical room, Dick secretly resolved that once he had gathered enough materials for the next summoning, he would recruit two medical professionals to improve the local medical standards.

His actions weren't entirely driven by kindness; more importantly, they were aimed at ensuring a stable local workforce. Every winter, many people die in Laguge, primarily from the cold—they freeze, starve, and die of disease. For ordinary people, winter is like a trial by fire!

To develop his territory, Dick needed a sufficient and healthy workforce, which is why he purchased so much grain and lard when passing through the Marquis of Ulen's territory—all in preparation for the winter.

In the afternoon, as autumn drew to a close in Laguge, the most comfortable time of day began, and the most anticipated cavalry battle officially commenced.

Because participants need to bring their own horses and equipment, the number of qualified competitors is extremely limited, with only twenty-four in total.

The first round consists of six groups, with four people in each group choosing one person from four.

In the second round, six people were drawn into three groups to compete.

To prevent black and white gunners from drawing lots and ending up with the same face, Dick temporarily added a rule.

If the losers in the three groups are not satisfied, they can challenge the winners of the other two groups, giving the losers a chance to play a "revival match".

Before the competition officially begins, the twenty-four knights line up to pay their respects to the governor on the podium.

Everyone rode in a row on horseback, and the quality of their equipment and mounts was immediately apparent.

The three Saxon brothers, being wealthy and nominally their father's "squires," were well-equipped and rode well. Dressed in full silver-gray plate armor, they outshone most of the other contestants.

However, there was an even more eye-catching presence on the field than the three brothers: the Black and White Gunners, who went by the aliases Black and White.

Both the white-skinned Saber Alter's "East Starion" and the black-skinned Saber Alter's "Ramri" are exceptionally tall and robust divine steeds.

Compared to those two, the other knights' mounts looked as small as donkeys.

Old Jonah's gaze was also fixed on these two exceptionally special knights. He could tell at a glance that these two were definitely extraordinary in skill. It was hard to say exactly how strong they were, but they were certainly more powerful than his three sons.

Old Jonah also wanted to recruit such a master, but he knew he couldn't compete with Dick.

He is the governor of Lagug. What the Saxons can give, Dick can also give. But what Dick can give, the Saxons may not be able to offer, such as this appointment as a novice knight.

The contest between knights, to put it bluntly, is a clash of strengths. The quality of the horse is a huge advantage, but that's just how knights are; their own financial resources are also a part of their strength.

Therefore, Black and White Guns quickly and easily won in their respective groups. Both of Old Jonah's sons were knocked off their horses with a single blow and rolled on the ground like Kamen Riders.

Jonah's eldest son, Hansen, also won his group with an absolute advantage, but this kid seems to have violent tendencies and is particularly reckless in his attacks. He injured his opponents badly in both matches, and then rode around the arena in a frenzy, not forgetting to provoke other players.

Dick watched with a smile. The investigation into the Saxon family had already been completed in secret. They had a cooperative relationship with David. David, as governor, provided protection for the Saxon family, who bullied men and women. In return, the Saxon family did dirty work for David.

The Saxons were either unaware of the business of reselling cold iron or only superficially involved.

But even if they weren't involved, Dick wasn't going to let them off easily, given the numerous crimes this family had committed in the Lagug region over the past decade.

Dick glanced at the unwilling Jonah and thought to himself.

"Old man, I'll give you a huge amount of gold coins within three days!"

Meanwhile, on the other side, David, who had already packed his bags, was directing two personal servants to load his luggage onto the carriage. There were only a few small boxes, and they looked very light, giving the impression that David had been very honest and incorruptible during his three years as governor.

After unloading his suitcase, David leisurely boarded the carriage and drove out of the castle.

As the carriage was about to leave the city gate, David glanced at the guards at the gate, who had all been replaced by men he didn't recognize.

Before Dick took office, Lagogburg had a private army of 100 men, but the actual number of soldiers was less than 70.

After Dick took office, he incorporated these men into his own ranks, dismissed some of the older and less capable ones, and reorganized the remaining soldiers into his own troops.

David had to admit that he had initially underestimated that little bastard. He was indeed quite capable and had a hidden master protecting him. Otherwise, the assassination attempt that night would not have failed. He was even prepared to use the opportunity to frame the Saxons and take out old Jonah's family as well.

Over the past three years of cooperation, the other party has learned some of his secrets to varying degrees, but everyone tacitly pretends to be ignorant and divides the shady profits equally.

What a pity! The master he secretly relied on was too cautious. Not only did he use magic communication to make him leave Lagug immediately, but he also stopped the assassination attempt that he had arranged to take place at today's martial arts tournament. Otherwise, he really wanted to fight that kid a few more times.

After the carriage left the city, it traveled for about half an hour before turning off the main road onto a side road and finally stopping in front of a bare cliff. David got out of the carriage, took out a wand from his pocket, and silently recited a spell. Suddenly, the cliff in front of him disappeared, revealing a mine entrance.

Almost no one knows that David is actually a magician, but he has very little talent and is self-taught in magic, so he is still only at the apprentice level in his thirties.

Knowing he lacked talent, David learned illusion magic and honed this basic spell to what he considered its pinnacle.

After the illusion magic dissipated, David had the coachman and two attendants wait at the entrance, while he entered the mine alone. After turning two corners, he came to an open space where many crates were piled up, each filled to the brim with cold iron ore, as well as a few slightly more exquisite locked iron boxes, clearly the kind used to store valuables.

David then took out a spatial ring from his pocket. This type of spatial magical item can only be made by demigod-level mages who specialize in spatial magic, and it is not easy to make, so it is extremely rare.

But just as David was about to use his spatial ring to store all the goods, a somewhat eccentric female voice suddenly came from behind him.

Wow! So all the good stuff was hidden here!

The author says:

Author's Note: I recommend "The Five-Star Emperor from the Ming Dynasty"... To be honest! It's number two on the bestseller list, it doesn't need my recommendation at all, but I must say, it's truly excellent material for daydreaming. Capitalist Ming Dynasty, colonizing the four islands of Japan—you're going to be their emperor's emperor! All I can say is question MacArthur, understand MacArthur, become MacArthur!

Chapter 011: The Two Knights

David turned around and found that his two attendants had entered the cave without permission, one of whom was even holding a recording crystal and filming him and the warehouse full of ore.

David was furious at the sight, but just as he was about to curse, the two suddenly peeled off their masks, revealing two youthful and beautiful girls. David was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.