Chapter 30: The Earl’s Fear

Naken faced the ground, his whole body trembling as he struggled to rise.

Tap, tap!

Lin Wei’s footsteps grew ever closer.

Hunched over, Naken supported himself with his greatsword, shakily standing up. Bathed in the first rays of dawn, he looked upon Lin Wei’s face, shining with golden brilliance.

“Lin Wei… you truly are a genius.” Naken suddenly coughed up blood, but a faint, encouraging smile lingered at the corner of his lips.

Naken forced himself upright, clutching his greatsword with both arms—a stance of utter determination that transcended life and death. He saw clearly what was about to happen.

Lin Wei remained silent, once more bowing deeply to Naken.

A hint of satisfaction appeared in Naken’s smile.

Splurt!

A jet of blood shot across the air, splattering on the ground and blooming into vivid crimson flowers.

Naken’s tall, upright figure slowly collapsed, like a mountain crumbling.

“I’m sorry.” Lin Wei’s eyes flashed with resolve.

…

At the heart of Tulip Manor, in the central castle.

Count Lamor and Raluman sat facing each other.

“Raluman, why do I feel so restless?” Count Lamor’s face was pale; Jon’s sudden death had struck him like a heavy blow, leaving him battered and broken.

Raluman looked solemn. “My lord, there’s no need to worry. No matter how gifted Lin Wei is, he’s only a newly promoted knight. Naken shouldn’t have much trouble dealing with him.”

The count nodded numbly. His lips were cracked and dry, as if he hadn’t tasted water in ages; his eyes were sunken, and his whole appearance gaunt.

Bang!

Suddenly, the ornate, lavish door shattered into pieces.

“Who’s there?!”

Raluman sprang up instinctively, and a cruel glint flashed in Count Lamor’s eyes as he stared toward the entrance.

“My lord Count, Lord Raluman, we meet again. Are you surprised?”

A handsome youth, his clothes spattered with blood, stepped inside. He held a cross sword stained with dark red blood, his gaze brimming with undisguised contempt and murderous intent.

“Lin Wei?!” Raluman’s eyes filled with confusion; he instinctively glanced at Count Lamor.

Count Lamor was also bewildered—at this moment, Lin Wei should have been eliminated by Naken. How could he appear before them? Could it be…

Both Count Lamor and Raluman simultaneously thought of something nearly impossible.

“Naken…” Raluman swallowed hard.

“Lord Naken has already gone ahead,” Lin Wei replied, stopping in place, his eyes narrowed as he flashed a smile that could enchant thousands of maidens.

But to Count Lamor and Raluman, the sight filled them with a chilling terror.

Naken, the highest commander of the Tulip Guard, the strongest force in the Tulip territory, had been slain by Lin Wei? And Lin Wei himself bore not a single wound.

“Lin Wei, do you mean to defy your superiors?” Count Lamor, master of the Tulip lands, recovered in an instant, his authority radiating from every gesture.

“You’re mistaken. I only wish to live well.” Lin Wei replied as if answering an old friend, his tone calm and sincere. “Yet someone refuses to grant me even this simple wish.”

“Lin Wei! The count himself raised you up; have you forgotten his kindness?” Raluman quickly regained his composure, but Lin Wei’s ability to kill Naken left him deeply uneasy.

Lin Wei tilted his head, his neck cracking audibly: “Raluman, you talk too much… Compared to Naken, you’re utterly worthless. If not for your status as the count’s attendant, you’d still be eking out a living in the slums!”

“You…”

Raluman was furious, his rage threatening to burst forth—only to be abruptly cut off.

In the blink of an eye, a hole the size of a baby’s fist appeared in Raluman’s throat. Crimson blood trickled down his neck, soaking his pristine collar.

Raluman’s eyes froze, filled with unwillingness; his body collapsed like a building stripped of its support.

Blood pooled across the floor, staining the count’s shoes red.

“A mere knight attendant, daring to make such a racket before me.” Lin Wei acted as though he’d swatted an annoying mosquito, then turned to the dumbfounded Count Lamor. “Now, my lord Count, there’s only the two of us left. We can have an open conversation.”

Count Lamor’s face twitched. “Jon’s death is inseparable from you; now you’ve killed Naken and Raluman… Your crimes are unforgivable!”

Lin Wei’s lips curled into a smile, first a soft chuckle, then suddenly contorting into a hideous, wild laugh.

“Naive, my lord Count!” Lin Wei’s voice grew hoarse and low, his smile vanishing. “The human world no longer suits you; only hell can be your home!”

“You killed my son and my men—you're the one who belongs in hell!” Count Lamor erupted in fury, his right hand clenched tight and raised up. The deep blue gemstone ring on his middle finger flashed, releasing a wave of destructive power.

“Ding!”

“Source of wizard power detected!”

The voice of the intelligent orb sounded in Lin Wei’s ear.

But Lin Wei remained calm. Before entering the room, he’d already scanned Count Lamor thoroughly; that ring, whose material was undetectable, had been under focused surveillance from the start.

“Wizard power, is it?” Lin Wei’s body suddenly vanished.

A beam of ghostly blue, laden with destructive energy, blasted into the spot where Lin Wei had just stood, leaving a half-meter-wide pit in the once-polished floor.

“He dodged it?!”

Before Count Lamor could react, his face was struck hard. He crashed to the ground like a kite with a broken string.

“My lord Count, you possess the strength of a knight, yet why are you so weak?” Lin Wei’s iron boot crushed the finger adorned with the ring. “Perhaps you’ve been in power too long, and forgotten what it means to fight… I recall you graduated from the War Academy? You’re a disgrace to the War Academy!”

Lin Wei’s gaze sharpened, and his cross sword rose, aimed at Count Lamor’s head.

“This cross sword was bestowed upon me by you. Let it be the instrument to end your life!”

“No! Lin Wei, I’m willing to exchange the secrets of wizards for my life!”

Count Lamor screamed hysterically, terror overflowing uncontrollably from his eyes.

Lin Wei’s motion halted abruptly; the tip of the cross sword pressed directly against Count Lamor’s forehead.