Pioneer Lord: I Have Conquering System

The moment the Lord spoke, all eyes fell upon the Knight and his two Attendants lying on the ground.

These three had just been knocked to the ground by a Barbarian's punch. They could have gotten up long ago, but seeing that the situation wasn't in their favor, they stayed on the ground playing dead, hoping to muddle through.

The Barbarians didn't care if they were truly dead or just faking it. Smirking, each one grabbed a man by the scruff of his neck and hauled him before the Lord as if plucking a chick.

"Sam, who hit you?" Levi asked, sitting imposingly on a broken pillar as he snapped his fingers.

"My Lord, it was this guy!" Freed from his bonds, Sam pointed at the tall Knight in the middle and said indignantly, "His name is Crow. I hear he's some kind of Security Captain."

"Crow, Schmo, I don't care." Levi sneered and waved his hand. "Go on up there and give him a couple of slaps. Teach him a lesson he won't forget!"

'Dealing with such a small fry myself would be beneath me.' Fortunately, the High Cliff Castle contingent was not short on men eager to do the dirty work.

Crow's face was pale as a sheet, his lips trembling. He wanted to beg for mercy but couldn't make a sound. He knew he had provoked someone he shouldn't have; the alcohol had long since evaporated, leaving only a heart full of terror. All he could hope for now was that Marquis Levi would let him off the hook after a few slaps to vent his anger.

Sam puffed out his chest, strode up to the burly Knight—who stood well over six feet tall—and cracked a grin, revealing two rows of large, yellow teeth. He then swung his arm and slapped the Knight across both cheeks.

SLAP! SLAP!

The sharp sounds echoed down the street.

The prostitutes watching from the second-floor windows of the Red Velvet covered their mouths, terrified they might cry out.

This Security Captain was a frequent patron of the Red Velvet, and he always acted high and mighty, throwing his status around. But now, he was being publicly slapped by a man they'd all taken for a country bumpkin.

Sam grew even more pleased with himself. He scanned the crowd arrogantly, the very picture of a dog borrowing its master's ferocity.

'Crow is a dead man now,' Margery thought, her eyes fixed on the Lord's imposing figure. He alone had cowed the crowd of several hundred people into silence, leaving them too afraid to even breathe.

Her pretty eyes were practically glued to him. 'He truly lives up to his name as the renowned Lion Hunter Knight. Just his presence is enough to make my legs go weak.'

The Captain trembled from head to toe, stammering, "M-my Lord… I… I wasn't thinking straight. I beg you, spare me!"

"Spare you?" The Lord chuckled, his smile appearing unusually gentle. "You insulted a Marquis of Debei and assaulted my Shaman, and you expect me to spare you?"

Seeing this, the surrounding Gonda Guards lowered their heads, not daring to utter a peep.

Even the Guards who had been groaning on the ground stifled their cries of pain and fell silent.

"My Lord, if we could just discuss this…" the middle-aged noble Sheriff began, stepping forward cautiously in an attempt to defuse the tension.

"Shut up!" The Lord snapped, whipping his head around to glare at the man. "As the Sheriff, you allowed your subordinate to insult High Cliff Castle and assault my Shaman. You're responsible as well!"

The Sheriff was so startled he stumbled back two steps, frantically waving his hands. "My Lord, I truly knew nothing of this! I just arrived myself…"

"You didn't know?" The Lord rose to his feet, patted the Sheriff on the shoulder, and said with a wide smile, "It's best for you that you didn't."

The middle-aged noble flinched, a miserable, tearless expression on his face.

"Leiden, what is the penalty for insulting a nobleman and assaulting an officer of High Cliff Castle without cause?"

"My Lord, according to the laws of Debei, the punishment for insulting a nobleman is having one's tongue cut out to prevent further insolence. Add to that the assault of an officer, and it is sufficient cause for these three to have their tongues removed and be publicly flogged!" Leiden's tone was frigid as he enumerated the penalties. "The other Guards who participated in the brawl also bear responsibility."

"What is going on here?" Just then, Filo pushed through the crowd, flanked by two Personal Guards.

"Your Highness, you've finally come!" The middle-aged noble looked as though he'd seen his savior. He scrambled over and clung to Filo's leg, recounting the recent events in a blubbering, tear-streaked mess.

Filo's face was a mask of disgust, but he had to maintain his noble decorum. He offered a few soft words of comfort to the man before approaching the Lord.

"Are you here to smooth things over, too?" the Lord asked, glancing sideways at the Prince.

"Quite the opposite. I personally believe this matter is not nearly so simple," Filo replied with a slight, unexpected smile, his eyes deep and shrewd.

"Lord Levi, perhaps you should consider *why* a mere Knight would dare to assault an officer of High Cliff Castle and insult a Marquis."

Levi paused. The matter seemed quite clear to him.

'It was simple. Those three lowlifes got drunk, and with a bit of liquid courage, decided old Sam looked like an easy target, so they made their move.'

'After all, bullying helpless commoners was practically part of their daily routine here in Gonda. They just never expected to bite off more than they could chew this time.'

But now that Filo had brought it up, the Lord seemed to grasp something more.

The middle-aged noble at his side also realized something was amiss, but it was too late. Filo's next words made his face turn the color of ash.

"Out with it. Who was the mastermind who put you up to this?"

"I…" Crow looked utterly bewildered. 'He wanted to know who put him up to it, too!'

"You had better know who is behind this, or else…" The Lord carefully wiped his Secret Silver Longsword with a white handkerchief until it gleamed with a cold light. He let out a low, cold chuckle, leaving the rest of the threat unspoken.

Crow, of course, did not want to die. But he truly had no idea who was supposedly pulling his strings.