Chapter 564: The Treasures of the Ancient Ruins
“Ancient ruins? The treasures coveted by the five great families?” Kant’s expression was a bit strange, but it wasn’t a smile. He knew very well that behind the five great families stood the world n.o.ble families. If these two guys really discovered something extraordinary and the five great world n.o.ble families took a fancy to it at the same time, and they could still come here unscathed and act as if they had pledged allegiance to Kant?
“If it wasn’t the treasure that caught the attention of the five great n.o.ble families, but the four top-notch counts and Carl, then the words of these two fellows could stand up to scrutiny. Based on the incident twelve years ago when these two fellows had attempted to invade Lionheart City together with the four great families, they really regarded their own family as an existence on the same level as the Cameron family and the four top-notch count families of the Dukedom of Leo.” Kant then changed his perspective to think about it, he found that the words of these two fellows might not be empty words or trying to deceive him.
“Then tell me, where is the ancient ruin that you found? What is the treasure that you found? Did you bring it here?” Kant looked down at the two top viscounts of the Dukedom of Leo from above, he carefully observed the expressions on their faces. When Kant asked, Viscount Porter and Viscount George were very calm, and their expressions were very natural. This kind of performance often meant that they were not lying. Of course, there was a high possibility that their acting skills were superb — Kant was more inclined to the latter.
Viscount Porter slightly considered his words, only then did he answer Kant’s question. “Your Highness, the ancient ruins that we discovered were at the bottom of the Resniston River. That place happened to be the place where my manor and Viscount George’s manor intersected. At that time, it was one of my soldiers who accidentally fell into the water and sank into the entrance of the ancient ruins. After that, I secretly sent my subordinates to investigate. However, my actions could be concealed from the other n.o.ble families, but not from Viscount George. You should know that he has always regarded me as his greatest enemy. He thinks that I am his greatest compet.i.tor for the sixth count of the Dukedom of Leo.”
Viscount Porter paused for a moment, then he continued, “Therefore, this guy has been paying special attention to all my actions. “In the end, on the third week of my exploration of the ancient ruins, Viscount George discovered my secret. He unreasonably sent out a team to secretly explore the ancient ruins. Our strength is about the same, and I can’t do anything to him. I knew that he wanted to get the good stuff in the ancient ruins before me. At that time, we were still in a fierce compet.i.tion. Because of his partic.i.p.ation, I was forced to order my family’s exploration team to speed up the progress, even if it meant taking a little risk.”
Viscount Porter spoke for a long time and sneaked a glance at Baron Kant, who was sitting on the main seat. He saw that he was listening very seriously, Viscount Porter continued, “Ancient ruins are not easy to explore. There are many dangers that we have never heard of or seen before. In the ancient ruins, many places are pitch-black. There are even some places that cannot be illuminated by torches. Sometimes, terrifying demonized creatures would leap out of the terrible darkness. “Your Highness, you have built a grand city on the Senwaya Mountain Range. You must know how terrifying the savage demonized creatures are. “None of the demonized creatures in the ruins are weaker than the common savage creatures. Sometimes, the branches of an ordinary-looking tree would suddenly tie up the soldiers who came close to it, and terrifying roots would grow out of the branches. In just a short while, even the soldiers at the peak of the knight level would be sucked into a piece of human skin wrapped around bones by the terrifying branches.”
After another pause, Baron Porter took a sip of the drink served by his attendant, he continued, “It was precisely because of this that Viscount George and I were the first to send out a team to explore the ancient ruins. Before we could even explore half of it, we were completely annihilated. At that time, Viscount George and I truly realized the difficulty of exploring the ancient ruins. The entrance to the ancient ruins was at the bottom of the river, which was at the junction of Viscount George’s Manor and mine. In order to not repeat the previous mistakes, Viscount George and I had a negotiation. In the end, we finally reached an agreement. Together, we will send out soldiers to form a second expedition team and continue to explore cautiously…”
Kant sat on the main seat and watching Viscount Porter’s spittle flying everywhere. Suddenly, he said, “Harde, I have some questions to ask Viscount Porter alone while take Viscount George to a walk in the garden.”
At this time, Viscount Porter naturally stopped what he was saying, and at the same time, his heartbeat was also raised.
The two viscounts came to “seek Kant’s protection”, so they did not dare to go against Kant’s will. Harde brought Viscount George out.
“Viscount Porter, please answer me. When did you sign the agreement with Viscount George? How many parchments were written in your agreement? At the same time, what color and size did you obtain the treasure? Where is it now? Also, be careful, don’t spout nonsense anymore! Answer my question directly!”
Hearing Kant’s question, Viscount Porter was so nervous that his scalp went numb. Cold sweat dripped down from his face.
“This… this…” Viscount Porter did not have the momentum of eloquence at all. He stuttered and did not answer a single question.
“Is it difficult to answer my question?” Kant’s voice became slightly cold.
“No… No, Your Highness Kant, I am trying to recall it carefully! You know, people in high positions like us have to deal with many things every day!” Viscount Porter racked his brain and answered Kant’s question with difficulty.
“I remember now… Your Highness Kant, I remember now!” Viscount Porter seemed to have really recalled the answer to Kant’s question, he quickly said, “Lord Kant, I signed an agreement with Viscount George one year ago, on the 18th of June! “It has been more than a year since then, and that agreement was written on six parchments. “The treasure we obtained is a black crown, which is much larger than an ordinary crown. It is now in my manor.”
“Dunde, bring Viscount Porter outside the mansion for a walk. Come back in five minutes!” Kant instructed another Swadian Royal Knight.
“Yes, my lord!” the Swadian Royal Knight received the order and brought Viscount Porter out of the castellan’s mansion of Lionheart City.
“Newt! Go and bring back Harde and Viscount George!” Kant thought about Viscount Porter’s words. After listening to Viscount Porter’s description, Kant instructed another Swadian Royal Knight.
When Viscount George returned to the main hall of the castellan mansion, Kant used the same question to ask him.
At first, Viscount George were in a bit of a dilemma like Viscount Porter just now. After a while, Viscount George replied, “Your Highness Lord Kant, I signed an agreement with Viscount Porter four months ago, on the 17th of May. That agreement was written on two pages of goatskin paper. The treasure we obtained was a black crown, which was larger than an ordinary crown. It is now in the manor of Viscount Porter.”
Kant smiled and said, “It seems that Viscount Porter was right. Viscount George has indeed regarded Viscount Porter as the biggest compet.i.tor to become the sixth count of the Dukedom of Leo. As for the matter between the two of you, remember it more firmly! Viscount Porter does not remember the agreement you signed four months ago. He said that the date of the agreement you signed was one year ago, June 18th. Viscount George, I believe you also remember what agreement you signed with Viscount Porter on June 18th last year, right?”
Viscount George’s face instantly turned pale when he heard Kant’s words.
On June 18th last year, Viscount George did sign an agreement with Viscount Porter. And it was a more important agreement that was not implemented in the end.
…
“Porter, you idiot, the last agreement that we signed was signed on the 17th of May this year. How did you reply that it was signed on the 18th of June last year? We also signed an agreement during this period!” Viscount George and Porter left Lionheart City. On the horse, he constantly complained that Viscount Porter had ruined things.
“Hey, George, you stupid pig! You still have the nerve to say that! Don’t you think that ancient ruins are so easy to explore? From the time we signed the agreement to the time we finally obtained the treasure, for sure it would take a long time. This way, the treasure we obtained would be more precious, and it would be able to attract Baron Kant to leave Lionheart City!” Baron Porter was so embarra.s.sed that he became angry. Instead, he blamed George, “Moreover, the agreement we signed on June 18th last year was originally an agreement to jointly invade Baron Kant’s salt mine in the Nahrin Desert. If the timing is right, when we face Baron Kant, we would also involuntarily think about it, alright?! So, George, you are a stupid pig! You caused me to lose the precious resources that could nurture thirty grand knights! The promises made by the five great families were enough to make up for the losses I suffered in the ancient ruins!”
…
After Kant expelled the two viscounts of the South County who had proven that they had lied to him, he thought to himself, “What are their motives? “Judging from the heartache that the Viscount of Porter revealed when he talked about how his own expedition team was completely annihilated, there is a high chance that the ancient ruins really do exist. As for the so-called treasure — a black crown — the two of them had said the same thing. Obviously, if it wasn’t for the agreement, if it wasn’t for the black crown, it really did exist!”
“The five great families and the two viscounts who pledged their loyalty to offer the treasure but placed it in the manor. This should be a conspiracy set up by them. I might as well follow the route set by these guys and think about it: because I coveted the treasure that was coveted by the five great families at the same time, I agreed to protect the two viscounts, so I must ask them to offer the treasure. The two viscounts can tell me at this time that there must be a reason for them to place the treasure in Viscount Porter’s manor. I need to go and retrieve it personally.” Kant thought of this, he felt that he had already guessed most of the opponent’s conspiracy.
He would not forget that there were still five world n.o.ble families in the South County who wanted to kill him. In Lionheart City, there were close to a large number of Swadian Royal Knights, Sarleon Lion Knights, and the mages of the Enfath Empire guarding it. Even if five world n.o.ble families came, Kant would not be afraid. However, if he left Lionheart City and did not bring his army and faced five world n.o.bles, Kant was not confident that he would be able to survive.
“Let’s wait another month. If there is still no news from the five great world n.o.ble families, I will directly attack the South County! One month later, the East County had almost lost its value! After all, even if it was a training ground, it was still a real battlefield. There were people dying all the time. It’s just that compared to the previously planned battlefield, the duration of the war has been increased by many times,” Kant thought. “This way, I might have a chance to see what kind of treasure that so-called black crown is. It can make the five world n.o.ble families believe that it can attract me and personally take it.”
Kant understood that if he was really wanted to see the treasure, he would first use the projection of his will to observe the treasure. Only if the treasure was really attractive enough, he could personally go and retrieve it. As an experienced n.o.ble, the five world n.o.bles would naturally use the projection of their will and take Kant’s ability into consideration. Therefore, that black crown should really be a very valuable treasure.
These were all Kant’s speculations, but they were already close to the truth.
…
In Tyr. Isai. Maud’s demiplane fiefdom, was currently under the flames of war. It was already September, and it was officially his month of calamity. However, he was indeed worthy of being the most powerful existence among the world barons in Isai. He easily suppressed a demon from the Abyss and attacked crazily. At the same time, he was able to divert a portion of his attention. He created a projection and held a meeting with the other four world n.o.bles.
The location was still Baron Tyr. Isai. Maud’s fiefdom, in the same meeting room in the fortress.
“Ryan, the Crown of Darkness that you provided doesn’t seem to be as irresistible to Baron Kant as you said, right?” Baron Tyr. Isai. Maud bluntly said to Baron Ryan. Isai. Cameron.
“Kant’s mother, Sophia, was the Radiant Saintess of the Radiant Church in the Silver Platter Kingdom. How could the bloodline she gave birth to be attracted to an extraordinary item like the Crown of Darkness? Ryan, a spy of my family, has seen Baron Kant use his radiant domain!” Baron Victor. Isai. Enoch also said impolitely.
The four world n.o.bles all pushed the blame onto Ryan. Isai. As Kant’s father, he did not seem to understand Kant at all. He actually took out an extraordinary item that was not attractive to Kant in an attempt to lure Kant out of Lionheart City.
“Porter and George!” Baron Ryan. Isai. Cameron’s words were very stiff, he only used a few words to convey his thoughts.
The four world n.o.bles had dealt with him for a long time, so they naturally knew Baron Ryan. Isai. Cameron was pus.h.i.+ng the responsibility to the two viscounts, Viscount Porter and Viscount George, who were promised heavy benefits by the five families to perform in front of Kant.
“Show the crown!” Without waiting for the other n.o.ble families to respond, Baron Ryan. Isai. Cameron once again said with a cold voice. Then, his figure disappeared, and he actually left just like that.