Lord of Rot

Yi Lin raced back to Longship Castle.

The drawbridge was lowered, and she galloped inside. Upon seeing a servant, she immediately dismounted and handed over the reins.

She hurried to the bedroom and knocked on the door.

A gentle voice came from inside the room. "Come in."

Yi Lin pushed the door open and entered. A woman with a slightly bulging belly stood in the room, bearing a strong resemblance to Yi Lin.

"Sister!"

"Yi Lin, how did it go?" the Baroness asked nervously.

Her older sister, Jie Lin, had married the Baron of Longship Castle and become the Baroness, while Yi Lin had followed in her sister’s shadow to become a warrior.

"I heard Baron Porcupine is covered in quills, and anyone who dares bite him will get a mouthful of blood, but his son is spineless," Yi Lin complained. "His slaves were stolen, yet he refuses to send troops. He doesn’t have an ounce of the Porcupine spirit in him."

"What did he say?" Jie Lin asked, her brow furrowed. The situation was very different from what she had imagined.

Yi Lin recounted everything she had seen and heard in Porcupine Territory.

After listening, Jie Lin nodded resignedly. "I thought Porcupine Castle would have a formidable force."

In his day, the fame of Baron Porcupine, Lieder, had spread throughout the Eastern Gorge. His rise from a blacksmith’s son to a lord was a testament to the countless honors he had earned and the many battles he had won.

The soldiers under such a man were bound to be battle-hardened elites.

It was inevitably disappointing to see how things had turned out.

Longship Castle had lost a potential ally.

"No, Porcupine Territory does have a powerful force."

Yi Lin said, "Sister, before I left, I heard about Leech Clarence’s deeds at Linta Bay. They say he helped Linta Bay wipe out the Fishmen. Those slaves were a gift from his maternal grandfather, the Crocodile Baron. His army is supposedly excellent."

Jie Lin suddenly perked up. "Are you saying we might still be able to get his help?"

Hope had turned to disappointment, only to be rekindled. No one could understand the hope Jie Lin now placed in Leech.

’Come to think of it, that makes sense. It was only a few dozen slaves. Would any lord really go to war over that? It’s unheard of!’

’Porcupine Territory refused to help, most likely because the incentive wasn’t great enough.’

Longship Castle’s treasury was nearly empty. Between the constant raids, opportunistic bandits, and her troops being stretched thin, she had nothing to offer that would move Baron Porcupine.

If she could, she would have just hired a band of mercenaries. While they couldn’t compare to a professional army, one mercenary could easily take on ten peasants when it came to slaughter.

Yi Lin mused, "Perhaps you could write him a letter."

"I suppose that’s the only way," Jie Lin nodded.

"That Wado Eighteen..." Yi Lin paused. When her sister looked over, she realized she’d been influenced by Leech and quickly corrected herself, "...that bastard. Perhaps he’s receiving help from other nobles."

This was a conflict playing out in the open. The surrounding nobles were like wolves, waiting. Either Leopold would step in to stop it, or Lady Jie Lin would have to produce an heir.

The only problem was that no one had ever expected Wado Eighteen to push Longship Castle into such a dire situation.

Jie Lin sighed and leaned against the window.

Dressed only in her nightgown, her hair unbound, she gazed into the distance. "Yi Lin, do you think we can live in Longship Castle forever?"

Ever since Wado Eighteen’s attacks had begun, Jie Lin had felt the terror of war. Every day brought more losses: villages were sacked, peasants defected to Wado Eighteen’s side—in short, there was never any good news.

Yi Lin was silent.

The Baroness, Jie Lin, untied the sash of her nightgown and pulled out the pillow stuffed against her belly.

"Considering how long it’s been, it’s about time I switched to a bigger pillow."

She wasn’t pregnant at all; everything was just a ruse to stall for as much time as possible.

While the Baroness of Longship Castle and her sister were sighing in despair, Kro Camel, who had also arrived in Waterfall Land, was completely lost. He had no idea where to find Wado Eighteen; it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

However, he wouldn’t have to worry about that for long, because he had already been spotted.

Several peasants carrying hoes and wielding simple spears—made by tying daggers or broken blades to wooden shafts—rushed out of the woods.

"Don’t move! Don’t move!"

"Get off the horse! Your horse is ours now!"

Panic was written on their faces; it was clearly their first time committing robbery. These were simple, honest peasants who, despite holding spears, didn’t dare to actually stab anyone. Initiating trouble went against everything their ancestors had taught them.

The four peasants surrounded Kro, horse and all.

The horse stomped its hooves restlessly. If Kro charged, he could have broken through their encirclement with only minor injuries. Had it been a skilled swordsman, or even Leech, they could have easily turned the tables and killed the peasants without suffering a scratch.

But this was Kro Camel, and he didn’t dare. His sword was purely for decoration; unless an opponent held their neck out for him, he couldn’t hit a thing.

"Easy now, no sudden moves! I’ll cooperate fully!" Kro Camel spread his hands, signaling for the four peasants to remain calm. ’If one of them accidentally pokes me, it’s going to hurt like hell, and I could die!’

And so, they fell into a bizarre stalemate, with only Kro’s horse stomping its hooves restlessly beneath him.

"He’s a noble," one peasant whispered.

Another peasant scolded, "Shut up! We skinned a Knight before this. What’s one more noble?!"

"Kill him and take the horse. It looks like it’s worth a lot."

"Better to kill it here. If we bring the horse back alive, the Baron will never let us slaughter it for meat."

Kro’s mind raced as he listened to them chatter.

"NEIGH!" The horse under Kro suddenly kicked its hind legs up, and he reflexively hugged its neck in terror.

THUD!

It was a sickening, heavy sound.

"Damn it! He killed Long-Nose-Hair!"

The three remaining peasants thrust their spears at Kro and the horse beneath him.

"Wait, wait!" Kro shouted. "Don’t attack! Don’t! I have a way for Baron Wado to reward you!"

Pitiful, starving peasants. In all of Lu Leiyi, it was likely only Wado Eighteen’s men were in such a state.

Hearing that there could be a reward, the three peasants stopped.

Kro saw the unlucky peasant who had been sent flying by the horse’s kick. The iron-shod hoof had struck him square in the face, completely deforming it. He lay motionless on the ground.

’Didn’t anyone ever tell him not to stand behind a horse?’ he thought.

"A reward?" The three peasants paid no mind to their companion’s corpse. At the mention of a reward, their eyes lit up.

"I am a nobleman." Seeing they could still be reasoned with, Kro breathed a sigh of relief. His greatest fear was dealing with those who killed indiscriminately.

He said, "I am willing to pledge my loyalty to Baron Wado!"

After re-emphasizing his status, Kro noticed a distinct shift in the peasant militiamen’s attitude. They were still intimidated by his noble status.

But one of the peasants worked up the courage to ask, "You’re a noble, so what’s that got to do with our reward? And you just killed one of our men!"

"That’s right! You’re a noble! The nobles’ land is ours! Death to the nobles!"

"Oh," Kro Camel looked at the peasants, who lacked conviction and spoke with trembling voices, and sighed inwardly. ’These people are absolutely delusional.’

"I didn’t kill anyone," Kro said. He saw another peasant with a simple spear trying to sneak up behind the horse and shouted, "Stay away from the horse’s rear!"

’He suspected that if he didn’t intervene, these people would line up one by one behind the horse, only to be kicked to death.’

’They’re dumber than pigs!’