Chapter 60: Intimidation

Starfall did not wait outside Ambrose's castle for the brothers to return.

If the two of them managed to come back alive after entering the castle, they would inevitably seek him out for the remaining payment. There was no need to loiter outside like a fool; he just had to confirm that they had entered Ambrose's stronghold.

Starfall had more important matters to attend to.

He led his companions to the territory of the Porcupine Knight, Aldrich Jais.

The paladins wore gleaming silver armor and rode celestial warhorses, a stark contrast with the ragged serfs they passed along the road.

When the impoverished farmers saw the paladins, they instinctively dropped to their knees, bowing again and again to these unfamiliar noble lords.

Starfall raised both hands. A silver-white halo expanded outward, enveloping the nearby serfs in sacred radiance.

At once, the farmers felt strength surge through their bodies. Their pain faded, their hunger receded, and their exhaustion vanished as if swept away.

Bathed in dazzling light, Starfall appeared like a god descending to the mortal world. His name was etched deeply into their memories.

This was one of the Lyon Empire's most commonly used missionary tactics. A single Aura of Vitality was enough to let the lowest strata of society experience the power of holy light firsthand. If Starfall were to preach now, he could easily turn them into casual followers of the Lord of Dawn, greatly reducing their resistance when the Lyon Empire's armies reclaimed the land.

But Starfall had not come here to proselytize.

"Praise be to the Lord of Dawn. May holy light dispel your suffering," he said calmly. "I am Starfall, a paladin of the Lyon Empire. Today, I have come to visit your lord. Who among you can guide me to him?"

At his words, a well-dressed, middle-aged man quickly stepped forward. Bowing deeply, he began, "Honored paladin, I am the sheriff of this region. I will gladly lead the way."

One look at the man's plump build, and the whip in his hand, told Starfall all he needed to know. This supposed sheriff was a slaver.

Though the Lyon Empire was widely despised by other races for their human supremacism, they treated their own kind well. The empire had hundreds of millions of citizens. Aside from newly conquered territory, human slavery had been fully eradicated.

Other races' slaves, of course, didn't count.

Suppressing the urge to teach the slaver a harsh lesson, Starfall commanded, "Lead the way."

The sheriff hurriedly mounted a short-legged horse and rode ahead, smiling obsequiously as he guided the paladins onward.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The Porcupine Knight's territory wasn't particularly large. After crossing a stretch of farmland, they soon arrived at the lord's manor.

Compared to Ambrose's castle, the Porcupine Knight's estate was modest and, in fact, rather shabby.

This was the reality of minor lords. Rather than a life of luxury, they sometimes even faced the risk of starvation themselves.

After the recent war, however, the food crisis had temporarily eased. Too many people had died, reducing the number of mouths to feed.

Moreover, after the war, the Porcupine Knight had launched a "campaign for justice" against several neighboring lords who had perished. His justification was simple: those lords had been reckless and overconfident, and bore primary responsibility for the catastrophic defeat.

The surviving lords accepted this argument, banded together, and thoroughly looted those three territories to compensate for wartime losses. As for how the people of those lands were supposed to survive, well, they could flee. After all, the nearby lords were enthusiastically recruiting for serfs.

This maneuver delayed the territory's economic collapse somewhat, but it also meant the Porcupine Knight had completely abandoned any thought of fighting Ambrose again.

He had been far too arrogant. He had assumed undead were nothing more than rattling skeletons, which could easily be smashed apart by a cavalry charge.

Ambrose had taught him the truth of magic—and not the kind that required chanting for ages just to light a fire, either. This was magic that, once unleashed, could flood the battlefield like a meteor shower.

Countless soldiers were reduced to bare bones in moments, utterly incapable of resistance.

Poorly trained peasant levies collapsed instantly when faced with such slaughter. Many who survived returned broken, driven mad by terror, and had to be hanged.

The Porcupine Knight only hoped that Ambrose would not hold him accountable. He dared not provoke the lich again.

Thus, when Starfall and his paladins appeared, the Porcupine Knight was deeply uneasy. He had no desire to be dragged back into a conflict between paladins and the undead.

But Starfall's opening statement surprised him. "May holy light watch over you, Knight Jais," Starseer said. "My apologies for the intrusion. I am Starfall, a paladin of the Lyon Empire. I have come to Alkhemia to rescue our comrade, the paladin Allen Watson. I hear that you once employed him to attack a lich's territory. Is that correct?"

"Th-this... there's been a misunderstanding..." the Porcupine Knight stammered.

Allen Watson had nominally been hired to attack the lich's domain. Given his capture, the presence of these Lyon paladins suddenly felt ominous.

Strictly speaking, the Porcupine Knight owed Allen nothing. The battle had failed and the mercenary had been captured. It was hardly the employer's fault. But the Lyon Empire was infamous for its disregard for reason. If these paladins wanted trouble, they could fabricate a pretext easily enough and ruin him completely.

They weren't from Alkhemia. Once they were done with their business, they could simply leave. Alkhemia would hardly go to bat against a group of paladins for a minor lord like him.

As if sensing his fear, Starfall cut him off before he could come up with an excuse. "Knight Jais," Starseer said coolly, "I've heard that you hired Allen Watson at an extremely low price, far below what befits a paladin and a priest of light. Is that correct?"

"Both sides agreed to the price at the time..." the Porcupine Knight protested weakly.

He felt wronged. He had paid very little because that paladin already bore a personal grudge against the lich. Allen had practically volunteered.

At the time, the Porcupine Knight had thought he'd struck a bargain. Now, that bargain had become ammunition for this accusation.

Starfall pressed on relentlessly. "Because you hired my companion at such a low price, I have reason to believe you employed unbecoming methods to do so: coercion, perhaps, or deception. In any case, you bear some responsibility for Allen Watson's capture. Wouldn't you agree?"

As he spoke, a hazy figure of light formed behind him, like an enraged god glaring down at the Porcupine Knight.

This was a mere cantrip, but it enormously magnified Starfall's menace and eroded the lord's resolve.

The Porcupine Knight's legs went weak. He hadn't been this frightened even when he was facing a griffin.

"I... I didn't mean to... Please, give me a chance to make amends..." he babbled.

Only then did Starfall smile. "Rest assured," he said gently. "We didn't come to trouble our allies. We came to eradicate that lich once and for all. We merely require some cooperation from you."