The knight seemed completely unaware that something was amiss, and he rushed over without even bringing a weapon. However, as soon as he stepped into the stable and before he could say anything, he saw a sword chillingly pointed at his throat. "What... are you doing?" The knight was startled, and then saw Brand and his companions whose faces changed instantly. He instinctively wanted to speak, but Brand pushed the sword forward, and the sting immediately made him shut up.

"Who are you?" The knight seemed to finally understand his position and couldn’t help but ask with a sinking face, "Where’s Andeke? Do you know who you’re offending?"

"Don’t ask nonsense," Brand had no time to waste on this guy. He turned around and signaled Medphis to restrain him, then said, "You have two choices: lead us into the estate. I don’t need to spell out the second one for you, do I?"

The knight understood clearly what Brand meant, his face turned pale then red, and then from red back to pale, hesitating for a moment as if changing faces. But he was quite straightforward, asking directly, "I can’t just take you in like this. We need a pretext. I don’t want to die with you. Otherwise, it’s a death either way, might as well let you kill me now."

"You keep a clear head," Brand couldn’t help but compliment: "The excuse is simple. Didn’t I already tell you earlier?"

"Earlier?" The knight blinked, and then recalled what Borne had told him before. His expression changed again, and nodded. "Alright, will you guarantee not to kill me?"

Brand immediately swore to Martha; he wasn’t planning to kill anyone anyway. The best outcome would be to directly subdue the Earl. If blood was shed, cleaning up the aftermath wouldn’t be simple. After all, blatantly attacking the nobles was strictly forbidden by the Law Code of the Flame Temple. Brand was quite aware he was just walking a fine line.

For this reason, the true objective of tonight’s operation was only disclosed to his Summoned Creatures and a few core subordinates like Antitina, not even to the young officers of the White Lion Legion. Brand couldn’t guarantee everyone would be willing to engage in this neck-risking mission. As for Antitina and Qian, they had long gone through real trials of life and death with him, and naturally, it was different.

Seeing Brand swear, the knight believed him almost entirely. In the civilized world of Amber Sword, people swearing to Martha is a solemn matter; no one dares to easily break their oath. After all, the consequences of oath-breaking are right there, and in a world where true gods exist, Martha who walks in the sky doesn’t permit people to flaunt her name deceitfully.

Once he acknowledged this, he grudgingly led the way. Brand wasn’t worried about him playing tricks. Firstly, Andreg could see through whether someone was lying with Black Witchcraft manipulating people’s hearts, and secondly, Medphis following beside him looked unobtrusive, but heaven knows this Vampire Lady’s dagger was pressed against his backbone.

It’s far too easy for someone of Golden Rank to monitor someone with Silver Power.

The knight took them into the estate’s kitchen through the back door used for daily deliveries of fruits, vegetables, and meat. In fact, the people Brand had disguised were also the Earl’s knights, just each responsible for different areas during patrol tasks. Without a guide, they couldn’t just wander around. The knight led them through a long corridor indoors to a room and knocked on the door, saying, "Lord Ronin."

During the journey, Brand asked many questions about the internal issues of the estate and had already learned that in the room ahead rested a Guard Knight Captain of Golden Rank.

"What’s the matter?" A voice inquired from inside, seemingly from a middle-aged man. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Brand held his breath, signaling the knight to answer with his eyes. The knight hesitated a bit but then nervously replied, "It’s like this, Lord Ronin. Andeke discovered there seemed to be an issue with the Earl’s horse..."

"Horse? Which one?"

"It’s Ignis."

Ignis was the name of that Binod Horse; the voice inside instantly grew more solemn: "Ignis?" The person in the room evidently understood the value of that Binod Warhorse and couldn’t help but ask with some displeasure, "What did you do? Don’t you know that horse is the Lord’s most beloved warhorse?"

...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets or monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)