[ You’ve stepped into Wayan Town ]

His suspicions were immediately confirmed when he walked past the gates.

Wayan had indeed upgraded from a village to a town.

’Interesting. This makes my journey worth it even more.’

He smirked inwardly, though he maintained a calm outward expression.

He observed his surroundings, and he could not deny how baffled he was at the sight before him.

The houses here were made out of wood and bricks. They looked sturdy and well-built, far more comfortable than the houses in Ironside.

The people here were dressed in neat clothing, not rags.

As the three of them walked down the neat streets of the town, people stepped out of their houses and scrutinized them openly.

They paid more attention to Floki.

After all, he was tall, handsome, and neatly dressed, with white hair that gave him a somewhat angelic appearance. It won the hearts of women and earned disgusted looks from men whose women gawked at him without restraint.

Garrick was not overlooked. Though he was middle-aged and bald, he was also muscular, and his face card was not all that bad. With the tattoo on his face, he looked rough, but in a cool way. Women liked rough sometimes, especially when it carried confidence.

Deborah lowered her gaze as she strolled beside the two attention-catchers. She was not shy. Raising her head at this point would only make it easier for people to recognize her, which would ruin their plan before it even began.

Some of the people even approached them.

Especially the women. They struck up conversations without hesitation, curious and bold.

Floki did the talking. He was a smooth talker, and he easily thwarted questions about his identity by redirecting them into compliments or light remarks.

"We’re here to see your Baron. If you would be so kind, would you take me to him?"

Holding the hand of a young lady his age, he said with a warm, easy smile.

She blushed and nodded hurriedly.

The other young ladies gathered around Floki hissed enviously and left, though they did not stop stealing glances at him as they moved away.

The young lady, who introduced herself as Theresa, tried to strike up a conversation with Deborah.

Her approach was rather rude and direct.

"A lord as handsome as yourself, why do you choose her?" she asked as she pointed at Deborah without restraint.

’You’re not so pretty yourself,’ Floki scoffed inwardly.

"Love is not about what you see. It is about what you feel," Floki responded smoothly.

"Do you feel anything about me?" Theresa asked, lifting her garment slightly to reveal her legs without shame.

Floki had all the urges in the world to reply with a blunt no. Yet the act had to continue.

He also did not want to make Deborah feel bad about herself. So he responded that he had not spent enough time with her to feel anything yet.

But his response only made Theresa’s approach more aggressive. She grabbed his hands when he was not looking and smiled at him whenever he turned to face her, as if encouraged by his restraint.

One could only imagine the relief Floki felt the moment they arrived at the manor of Denji Wayan.

Theresa’s flirtatious attitude shifted instantly. She bowed her head slightly and ran away as quickly as she could, right before the guards approached Floki.

Floki introduced himself cautiously as a Baron from a faraway town who had decided to pay a visit to Wayan and congratulate Denji for the successful upgrade of his territory.

Fortunately, it worked.

Two of the guards went inside and returned a few minutes afterward to invite him alone inside.

Garrick and Deborah were asked to wait outside.

Floki gave Garrick a subtle signal to stand down before stepping inside with the two guards.

Denji’s manor was quite beautiful, to be honest. Yet it lacked much in comparison to Floki’s.

The living room had been transformed into a meeting hall.

A fine rectangular table sat in the middle, and dozens of chairs surrounded it in an orderly arrangement.

At the head of the table, a man dressed in a fine purple robe with golden embroidery sat down with composed authority.

The man appeared to be in his late fifties. He had a face full of scars and was devoid of any facial hair.

Unlike what Floki expected, Denji was very short, at most 5’1.

The men around him were not so tall either, yet beside him, they appeared like giants.

The eyes of the two Barons met at that moment.

Denji tried to establish authority with his gaze, and Floki simply wore a polite smile, masking his thoughts as best as he could.

The two guards led him to the other end of the table, directly opposite Denji.

Though Floki found the sitting arrangement very strange, he followed without hesitation.

He sat down.

The huge men, adorning light steel armor, scrutinized him from head to toe without offering any form of respect.

’Shouldn’t they at least bow, considering I have the same status as their Baron? What sort of strange tradition does this place have?’ Floki wondered, irritation flickering beneath his calm.

Denji’s eyes fixated on Floki, ignoring the attitudes of his men entirely.

"Forgive my men, they do not bow to any other man except me."

He spoke in a cunning voice, grinning slightly as if amused.

’This guy is weird,’ Floki concluded inwardly.

"My men would not dare to bow to another man in my presence as well, so I understand. There is no need to apologize on their behalf," he responded evenly.

"Apologize?"

One of the men at the table stood up abruptly and barked while glaring at Floki.

"Baron Denji never apologizes. Revoke those words."

Another shouted as he drew his sword and pointed it directly at Floki.

Floki stared calmly at the two men challenging his authority.

This time, he did not hide his frown.

’Do these nitwits not realize I am a Baron?’ he wondered.

Then a faint conclusion came to his mind.

His age.

It was very strange for someone as young as him to be the Baron of a town. They likely believed he had gained his title through inheritance and had not paid the same price for it as their Baron.

While he was thinking, all eight men at the table stood up and pointed their weapons at him, their glares pressing him to apologize.

Floki remained unmoved.

He ignored them completely and turned his attention to Denji.

Denji was now staring at him contemplatively, his jaw resting on his clasped hands on the table, his eyes lingering on Floki with intent.

Floki stared back with a steady frown.

The two of them held each other’s gaze for close to two minutes.

Then Denji smiled.

He waved his hand, and the men withdrew their weapons, though their hostility still lingered as they sat down.

"I heard you came with a knight," Denji said.

Floki nodded, not bothering to respond verbally.

"Good. How about a short competition between our knights to calm our tempers? It is a hot afternoon, after all."

’A competition with Garrick?’

Floki scanned the men sitting around him.

Sure, each of them was large, their armor was solid, and the looks in their eyes showed they had experienced years, if not decades, of combat.

But one thing was almost certain.

None of them could beat Garrick.

"Why not?" he agreed.

’I would love to beat this man psychologically before killing him. Also, maybe I can learn the location of his crystal of authority through this,’ he thought.

Denji clapped his hands with clear excitement and ordered the guards standing around to go prepare the arena.

While the guards left, he attempted to serve Floki something to eat, but Floki turned it down instantly, claiming he was already full.

Soon, the guards returned. They had finished setting up the arena.

Floki, Denji, and the eight men exited the manor together.

Outside, they beckoned Garrick to join them.

Denji and his men were so focused on staring at Garrick that they completely ignored Deborah, whose head was still lowered.

She was currently shivering as she spotted the family statue of Denji, the man who had almost killed her.

She slowly raised her head, and her eyes met with Floki, who was already looking in her direction.

He gave her a small nod, a silent reassurance that it was okay.

Then he turned and left.

It was safer to leave her here than take her along.

If Denji found out now, their plan would be ruined.

Also, he had not yet figured out how strong Denji truly was.

They arrived at the arena.

It was a plain, open field.

Plenty of Wayan people had already gathered, eager to witness the duel.