Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Chapter 468 - 441: News of the Enfeoffment

In Golden Feather City, at the Fleming Clan’s estate.

Joss Knight strode in and handed a letter to MacLaren.

"My lord, this letter just arrived from the family. It says Patridge isn’t dead."

MacLaren was stunned. He quickly took the letter and read it, his brow furrowing.

Both he and the Hunter Family had been certain that Patridge was dead. He never expected the man to still be alive.

MacLaren placed the letter on a nearby table and said grimly, "To think Ronin could capture a Meteor Knight alive... It seems the rumors are true. He really has become a Proud Sun Knight!"

He had only interacted with Ronin briefly on two occasions and hadn’t thought much of him.

But things had changed so quickly!

A Proud Sun Knight... Even he had to respect and fear such power.

While the great noble families could decide many things in this world, an absolute powerhouse could shatter those rules entirely.

Clearly, Ronin had grown to a point where they had no choice but to take him extremely seriously.

Joss couldn’t help but point out, "My lord, you may be forgetting something. When we attacked Rapids Island, Ronin was still in Moonlight Valley fighting Earl Jesus. There’s no way he could have made it to Rapids Island in time."

MacLaren was visibly taken aback. With so many matters to attend to, he had indeed overlooked that detail.

"You’re right."

He stood up. "Then how was Patridge captured alive?"

Joss shook his head, then said hesitantly, "Perhaps... there are other powerhouses on Rapids Island besides Karda? After all, Ronin and Lurans have assets deployed in both Wubei Port and Purple Thunder Territory. It’s unlikely they would neglect Rapids Island."

"Wushan Territory, and that grandfather-grandson pair..."

MacLaren suddenly grew irritated. "Send someone to wait at Crescent Island. The moment Patridge returns, have him come to Golden Feather City to see me immediately. I want to know exactly how he managed to lose this war when I gave him so many men and equipped him with so many weapons!"

Joss froze for a moment. "My lord, Crescent Island is hoping we can provide them with some warships and Gold Coins. What are your thoughts?"

"Let them figure it out themselves!"

MacLaren raged, "For this expedition, I equipped them with five warships, ten Magic Energy Cannons, a huge supply of Magic Energy Arrows, and five Knight Squads! All Patridge had to do was lead them, and he still managed to lose!"

"Now he comes back alive, but all of my equipment has fallen into the enemy’s hands! I’m already being generous by not holding Crescent Island responsible, and now they expect me to pay his ransom?"

Before, when he thought Patridge had died in battle, he hadn’t wanted to press the issue with Crescent Island.

But now that the man was alive, having lost all of MacLaren’s assets, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Joss wanted to say more, but when he thought about the huge losses Patridge had caused MacLaren, he held his tongue.

"Very well, my lord. I’ll inform the Hunter Family and tell them to figure it out themselves. Given Crescent Island’s resources, the ransom shouldn’t be an issue."

With that, he left the room.

MacLaren suppressed his fury and began to pace around the room.

’Father is out traveling. I wonder if he’s made any progress, or when he’ll be back. Wushan Territory is growing more and more powerful. Without a strong Transcendent to hold down the fort for the clan, I feel like I’m on shaky ground when handling many matters.’

It seemed that all of his schemes against Ronin had failed.

And while the losses weren’t catastrophic, he was left feeling deeply frustrated and unsure of how to proceed.

After all, in all his years, he had never faced an opponent who was a Proud Sun Knight.

’Starting today, I need to invest more in our defenses.’

He was terrified of what he would do if such a powerhouse were to disguise himself as an assassin and come for him.

「Ten days passed in a flash.」

Crescent Island’s ransom and warships had all been delivered to Rapids Island. Patridge, now able to walk, boarded a ship with his son’s help and left that bitter place.

The harbor at Rapids Island was now crowded, with a full ten warships moored there.

Ronin had Reis arrange for three of the warships to be sailed back to Wubei Port, ensuring that the Wubei Territory’s Navy also had an adequate number of vessels.

With that, he had finally dealt with the entire chain of events stemming from the battle in Moonlight Valley.

His most important gains were the Magic Energy Cannons, warships, Griffins, and mithril—four assets that greatly bolstered Ronin’s military strength.

Ronin returned to Swamp Castle, intending to get some much-needed rest and prepare for his wedding in just over three months. However, the outside world clearly had other plans.

"Brother, I brought a full eighty people this time!"

Bretton sat in the living room, taking a sip of the barley tea Bella had served. It had a pleasant taste, slightly bitter with a hint of sweetness.

Lately, Bretton had sent several waves of talented people to Wubei Territory, including artists, statisticians, and others with exceptional crafting skills.

Most of them were educated and possessed basic literacy skills—the ability to read, write, and comprehend.

This greatly reduced the level of illiteracy in Wubei Territory, and even Wilson had stopped complaining that there was no one worth training.

"Excellent work, Bretton!"

Ronin gave him a thumbs-up. "I’m preparing to open a school in Wubei Territory that’s open to everyone. I’ll need a group of people skilled in subjects like language, literature, mathematics, and statistics to be teachers. Keep an eye out for me."

"Heh heh, you can count on me!"

Bretton grinned. "As it happens, Grandfather gave me a Griffin for a mount. Once it’s trained enough to ride, it’ll be much easier for me to travel around."

While Lurans held extremely high hopes for Ronin, he hadn’t neglected the equally talented Bretton.

In his eyes, once Bretton was fully grown, he could become a great help to Ronin. After all, they were brothers with a close bond.

"How has your Cultivation been lately? Don’t get so busy with these things that you neglect what’s important," Ronin reminded him.

"Don’t worry. Mother recently gave me a lot of Enhancement Potions. My strength is already at the Intermediate Peak, and I estimate I’ll be able to break through in a few months."

Ronin nodded slightly. An Advanced Level Knight at sixteen—Bretton’s talent was truly impressive.

"Brother, Grandfather asked me to tell you something when I came. He said that at the end of this month, His Majesty the King will be holding a funeral for the Jesus family at the Royal Mausoleum. On top of that, he said the Royal Family might bestow a Noble Title upon you, so you should head over in time."

"Oh?"

Ronin was a little surprised.

It was perfectly reasonable for Bruno to hold a funeral for the Jesus family and even to reward Wushan Territory.

After all, the official story was not that the Jesus family had been corrupted by the Alien Race. Instead, they were portrayed as pitiful victims who had been controlled and killed by them, with Wushan Territory cast as the heroes who had tried to save them.

Regardless of how nauseating this propaganda was, in an age with poor communication, many commoners and even minor nobles would choose to believe this version of events.

But Ronin hadn’t expected to be granted a new title.

"Brother, what Noble Title do you think the King will give you?"

Bretton leaned in closer and said with a playful grin, "With your strength, I think His Majesty should just make you a Duke and grant you all of the Jesus family’s Moonlight Valley as your fief!"

Ronin couldn’t help but laugh. Bretton might be tall, but he still sounded like a child sometimes.

"Becoming a Duke isn’t that easy."

Ronin shook his head. "My strength may be considerable, but I’ve risen too quickly. To the outside world, I still lack a deep foundation. If I am to be granted a new title, it will likely be something between a Kingdom Viscount and a Count."

To him, neither of those titles held much appeal. A few more Griffins would be far more valuable.