Chapter 0622: Deterrence

When the voice full of murderous intent reverberated around the villa, the entire top floor turned deathly silent. Other than Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e, everyone else was quivering in fright at the area that had been ripped apart by that knife's very presence. A single blow had practically disarmed the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage Xu Tianling.

No one present could’ve ever imagined that a Duke would choose to interfere.

Furthermore, this Duke was from Li Luo's camp.

When had House Luolan found a Duke as a guardian?

Ancestor Yuan Qing, Lu Qing, Lu Guan, and the rest of the ancestors and Pavilion Masters were all shocked by this development. They were completely unaware of the existence of other Dukes within House Luolan.

The question in everyone's minds was: why had this Duke not shown up previously to scare off all the rats and wolves that eyed the house? Especially when things were in massive turmoil? If a single Duke had stepped up to suppress the rabble, all of these actions today would’ve been completely unnecessary.

No one could make sense of this situation.

However, Yuan Qing was extremely elated. He might not understand why this Duke had appeared, but since he was protecting the Young Lord, then he was an ally. This was the best thing that could ever happen.

On the other hand, his excitement was not reciprocated in the other camp. Pei Hao, Mo Cheng, and the other Pavilion Masters looked as though they had stepped in a pile of crap. The three Pavilion Masters were shaking in their shoes, staggering backwards in complete fright.

This was a Duke for God's sake!

With a mere thought, they could be turned into fine dust.

Damn it all! How? Why? What? A Duke!

The trio felt like stray dogs that had been abandoned.

Xu Tianling was still clutching what was left of his severed palm, rapidly circulating ice resonant power to staunch the bleeding. Unfortunately, he realized that his actions were futile as there was ferocious resonant power still within the wound, eroding his flesh and blood. As a result, he was unable to administer first aid to himself, forcing himself to bear the excruciating throbbing pain.

He understood that this was the dual resonant power of a Duke. Although he had entered the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage, the chasm between himself and a Duke was as wide as the divide between the heavens and the earth.

Xu Tianling raised his head and stared at the pig-butchering knife floating before Li Luo, hoarsely saying, "So it turns out there was a Duke in House Luolan."

The rest of the Pavilion Masters had no idea who this mysterious individual could be, but Xu Tianling had heard about a hidden Duke before. Even so, he had his doubts, and no one other than the two House Lords had ever seen this enigmatic fellow.

Alas, he had personally experienced the truth today.

Li Luo looked at the floating pig-butchering knife and reached out for it. The knife willingly descended into his grasp. Their circumstances had been reversed, and he cheekily grinned at Xu Tianling. "Do you think you're qualified to teach me a lesson?"

Xu Tianling's expression sank. "So I see that this is the Young Lord's backer. I've heard of the mysterious Duke that is unable to leave House Luolan's headquarters. It's clear that the restriction is real as well since only the weapon is here."

"In that case, why don't we try this again?" Li Luo hefted the pig-butchering knife, and dark red traces began to materialize on the blade, emitting a fiendish aura that would cause anyone's heart to palpitate just from being near it. It was as though this weapon had been forged and quenched within mountains and seas of blood so it could emit such an oppressive aura.

Seeing that the pig butchering knife was being waved around before him like a toy, Xu Tianling's eyes twitched involuntarily. The piercing pain that coursed through him reminded him to remain silent.

"I see that the Young Lord wishes for blood during the Housemeet." Xu Tianling coldly snorted.

"Don't try to shift the blame on us after causing the problem..." Li Luo shook his head. "Cut the crap. I'll await your schemes on the day of the Housemeet, so bring out all the tricks you have then. Whether or not House Luolan will exist after is of no concern to me. I'd rather torch the fields than leave anything behind for you jackals, even if nothing is left."

With that final declaration, he and Jiang Qing'e turned to leave, with Yuan Qing and the rest of the bodyguards scrambling behind.

Lu Qing and Lu Guan faced each other speechlessly as they came to an agreement. No longer wishing to dawdle, they ran after the entourage that had chosen to leave. The strength that House Luolan had demonstrated today had completely jolted them of their indecision. How could they dare to follow Pei Hao now? Furthermore, if the Young Lord managed to break into the Duke Stage, would they be able to survive the aftermath?

Pei Hao felt fury surging with his heart as he gloomily glared at the duo who had made their choice. His goals today had been left in complete shambles.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

He had hoped to borrow Xu Tianling’s power to teach Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e a good lesson and hamper their momentum. At the same time, it would frighten the two neutral Pavilion Masters into siding with him. Alas, the Duke within House Luolan had opted to show his knife and everything had been thrown into disarray.

His plan had backfired, and the ones in fear were those from his camp.

Pei Hao glanced at the three Pavilion Masters who were quivering in abject terror and reassured them. "There is no need to worry. The Duke that belongs to House Luolan is unable to leave the headquarters, so the situation is not as bleak as it seems. Furthermore, someone will deal with him during the Housemeet."

"I have to admit that this surpassed my expectations. I had thought that since the individual cannot physically leave the headquarters, they would be unable to do anything. It looks like I have underestimated the methods of a Duke," Xu Tianling dejectedly explained. "On the bright side, his strength cannot be significantly projected out of the area either. Otherwise, that single strike would not have just bisected my arm."

That single strike was intimidating, but Xu Tianling understood that if a Duke had really opted to deal with him, well, he'd be dead before he knew it.

Pei Hao nodded, glumly focusing upon the stairs Li Luo had climbed down. It was not like they had not gained anything either. They now knew for a fact that a Duke did reside within House Luolan. Now they could plan in greater detail.

"Li Luo... you might’ve been bragging when you said you didn't care about House Luolan. I'd like to see for myself how you'll react when it truly disintegrates in your hands! Will you still act so brazenly then?"

“Young Lord... this Duke expert of yours... Why did he not just get rid of Pei Hao and Xu Tianling in one go? It would’ve actually solved most of our problems instantly..." Yuan Qing blustered out in curiosity. Li Luo hefted a glance at the pig-butchering knife by his waist and pouted helplessly. Of course he wanted that as well! Unfortunately, Uncle Biao suffered from a massive restriction that caused his mighty abilities to taper off immensely the moment he left the headquarters’ vicinity. It was only through a trick that the pig-butchering knife could have arrived at this location, and even then, it was weakened significantly.

It's not that he didn't want to, but rather he couldn't!

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had already known that Pei Hao would have some tricks up his sleeve, thus they had made arrangements with Ox Biaobiao beforehand. It was only after confirming that his attack could land within the vicinity of the Spring Lake Villa that they had so audaciously stepped forward. A smart man would not stand next to a precarious, crumbling wall. There was no need to put themselves in actual danger.

Their lives were worth much more than that white-eyed wolf Pei Hao.

"No rush. We will settle all of this during the Housemeet," Li Luo grandly proclaimed as he glanced momentarily at Jiang Qing'e. The two turned to face their home, the headquarters across the street.

There was a month remaining before the tempest would descend upon them all. All their grievances would be settled then. Cleanly.