Chapter 733: Vol V Chapter 93
The situation was serious!
It was really not a big deal if it was just a few soldiers under the command of a knight. For the long border between the two forces, a few deaths were simply not worth mentioning.
However, an earl had been attacked, which was a completely different story!
There were no dukes in the Commonwealth of Gold Coins. The highest in rank were the two marquises. Beneath them were 14 earls. Among these 14 earls, five were courtiers of the two marquises while the other nine were independent. This was the result of the political strife during the time of the founding of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins. In truth, the nine independent earls were very strong. Although they were not on par with the marquises when it was one-on-one, the combined force of two or three of them was enough to overwhelm a marquis. The nine of them kept watch and helped one another. Together, they formed the “local aristocrats” within the aristocratic party, which was always getting into conflicts with the “central aristocrats.” The two marquises were the core of the latter group.
Even so, when in a confrontation against the merchants, they still stood their ground as comrades from the same camp.
Even though… among themselves, they truly wished for the death of the other party. The best would be that the entire family was cleanly wiped out, where not even an illegitimate son was left behind.
“Who was it that attacked me?” asked the earl who had been attacked. He was wrapped in bandages, looking seriously wounded as he rested on a soft couch. Sitting in this comfortable living room, he was relying on magic to adjust his temperature. His brows tightly locked into a deep frown as he looked at the few staff members before him.
“I think it could be an a.s.sa.s.sin from the capital,” said a thin staff member. There was some coldness flas.h.i.+ng in his eyes, and from time to time, a murderous gaze would flash by.
Among all the staff under the earl, he was not the most outstanding one. But he was very decisive. Using words in Earth’s lingo, it meant that he could make decisions at critical moments without hesitation. Then he could withstand all kinds of pressure to execute his decisions to the end.
In the past years, he had accomplished success, but also made mistakes. Generally, the mistakes he made were few. In most cases, his judgments were correct. Though… his way of thinking was a little extreme and his means of doing things seemed slightly vicious at times, to the earl, it was good to be able to do things with nerve!
Anyway, in the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, he would be able to hold out even if the sky collapsed. What was there to be afraid of?
It was precisely because he had such a mindset that the earl had always been relatively sloppy in the way he did things. If he could muddle his way through anything, he would do so. He was never willing to put in additional effort.
Today, however, he no longer thought so.
The a.s.sa.s.sination last night made him feel as if he were in a deep crisis.
Yes, the earl was paramount and powerful, ruling over many cities big and small alike. There were even more towns and villages under his rule. So long as he gave an order, just the number of knights he could gather would be more than a hundred. In addition, the number of trained soldiers he could gather for his army would be around two thousand. If he loosened up on his requirements and even the militia could be involved in the recruitment, then it would be no difficult feat for him to muster an army as big as tens of thousands of soldiers.
In the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, he was unquestionably at the peak of the pyramid of power where even the two marquises could not possibly do anything about him. Even the Royal Crown (i.e., the G.o.ddess of Wealth) had to be courteous to him. This was even more so for the ordinary civilians who had to be extremely deferential toward him. Whenever he was in a bad mood and they happened to lift their heads and look him in the eye, they would most likely suffer whiplash.
This was why he had always felt that he was safe.
However, last night, he suddenly realized that everything that he had relied on all this while was in fact, not that reliable.
When that a.s.sa.s.sinator almost broke through the barrier of guards to pierce that sharp blade through him, he could even feel his heart stop beating for a moment.
When everything had been settled, he suddenly awoke to his reality. That was when he felt extreme fear and helplessness.
So it turned out that he was not as safe as he thought he was!
So although he only sustained minor injuries—to be exact, he b.u.mped the corner of his mouth because he was in a frenzied and panicky state—he still sought the help of a priest to use an advanced healing spell. He even wrapped himself up like a mummy with the finest grade of bandages, as if by doing so, he could find peace of mind.
At the same time, he increased the number of guards at his abode by five times. It was really to the point of meeting a guard after every ten steps and a sentry after every five. As for his own room, there were close to a hundred soldiers taking turns to stand guard. There were four experienced adventurers to lead the teams to ensure that regardless of what the circ.u.mstances were, they could react in a timely manner and absolutely not give any a.s.sa.s.sinator the chance to get close.
After he was done with all these arrangements, he could finally put his heart at ease. He felt that he was safe again.
After ensuring that safety was in place, this earl, who was one of the greatest leaders of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, could not help feeling his rage heighten.
Exactly who was it? Who was the one who sent those a.s.sa.s.sins? Who on earth would want him dead?
However, after some careful consideration, he realized that there was quite a handful of possibilities.
As one of the most powerful aristocrats of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, naturally, he would have made many enemies. Some were old rivals that he fought with all year round. Some were people who had once suffered at his hands and wanted revenge, and also… all in all, there were too many that it was impossible to count.
He thought for a long time, but still, he could not find a reliable answer. So he could only summon all his aides and staff.
The truth was, he did not really want to seek anyone’s help to figure this out. The previous night’s a.s.sa.s.sination attempt left him with a sense of insecurity. He was reluctant to discuss matters concerning life and death with outsiders—even if they were staff members that he had relatively trusted more.
But his wisdom was limited, and he simply could not come up with anything good. So he had to give up on the intention of being fully self-reliant.
After his staff had heard about the entire matter and after looking for the guards to learn more about the details of the situation, the first judgment they came up with was that the a.s.sa.s.sins were likely from within the aristocratic party. Or in other words, they might have come from the central aristocrats.
After hearing this speculation, the earl did not express his agreement or objection. He merely made a “hmm” sound through his nose and then looked to the other staff members.
One person’s consideration might not be comprehensive enough. With more people, the plan would be more thorough and comprehensive. He wanted to listen to the thoughts of the other staff members.
“I don’t think they were sent by the two marquises,” said another aide. This portly man apparently had a different take. He stroked his neatly-trimmed mustache and said, “Currently, it’s the period of confrontation between the aristocratic party and merchant party. At this point in time, we absolutely cannot be in a mess among ourselves. Even if the two marquises can’t seem to understand this, their men would remind them. So by right, the a.s.sa.s.sins would not have been sent by them.”
“You mean to say that they might be sent by the merchant party?” asked another staff member whose eyes lit up. This was a relatively young man who had not even grown a beard yet. The portly aide shook his head and replied, “Following the course of events, the merchant party would not have sent a.s.sa.s.sins too. Now with everyone safe and sound, it’s good for all. On the contrary… What benefits could they possibly get from a.s.sa.s.sinating our Lord?”
Everyone fell into deep thought.
The people who could become aides were all relatively smart. If the portly aide could think of something like that, the other staff members would naturally be able to think of it too. Just like what he had said now; whether it was within the aristocratic party or between the aristocratic party and merchant party, it was necessary to maintain stability. How could anyone take advantage of the current situation to stir up trouble, even to the extent of creating unrest among themselves?
This made no sense at all!
Amidst the silence, a scrawny aide was first to speak up in a cold voice and said, “Even if we can’t locate the source of the a.s.sa.s.sins, we can’t let our lord suffer this shock in vain!”
Every staff member present turned to look at him as they awaited his explanation.
“No matter where the a.s.sa.s.sins come from, we can take a firm stand and insist that they are from the capital,” the scrawny staff said. His eyes were s.h.i.+ning as he added, “In short, we should gain something for ourselves before saying anything more!”