Chapter 31: Resolution

Count Lamore looked as if he had been hauled from the depths of a lake, his noble robe drenched in sweat. His eyes were fixed unwaveringly on the longsword in Lin Wei's hand, his pupils contracted to the extreme.

“Oh?” Lin Wei's gaze narrowed slightly. “A wizard's secret... Very well. If you can present a secret that satisfies me, I might let you go.”

“Release me first,” Count Lamore replied, sensing Lin Wei’s interest and relaxing just a little.

Lin Wei smiled faintly, crouching down slowly. “Do you really think you have any bargaining chips with me?”

“I—” Count Lamore tried to protest.

Smack!

Lin Wei slapped him across the face, leaving a deep crimson imprint on the count’s cheek.

“You—” Rage and humiliation twisted Count Lamore’s noble features, veins bulging on his neck.

Smack!

Another slap.

“Me? You?” Lin Wei looked at the count, who was now dazed and speechless, and his voice was gentle. “Count, no more nonsense. Speak the wizard’s secret. Now. Immediately.”

Count Lamore clenched his teeth, his whole body trembling. As the highest authority of the Tulip Territory, never in his life had he suffered such disgrace.

“If I survive today, Lin Wei... I swear I’ll make you wish you were dead!” he vowed inwardly, yet dared not show any sign of resistance. To him, Lin Wei at this moment was nothing short of a demon from the abyss.

“I have a token related to the wizards, and a book about them,” Count Lamore said slowly. “I happened upon that wizard’s book by chance; I can’t read a single word, so I kept it hidden. No one but me knows it exists. As for the token...”

“What about it?” Lin Wei’s eyes narrowed further, his interest piqued.

Count Lamore hesitated, then yielded under Lin Wei’s threat. “I stole it from a destitute knight’s squire. It’s a kind of proof: anyone who possesses it may attend the entrance test for the Wizard Academy.”

“The Wizard Academy? What’s that?” Lin Wei was suddenly invigorated, as if he’d stumbled upon a new world.

“It’s a place where wizards are trained, a gathering ground for them. They say it holds endless knowledge and boundless truth.”

Count Lamore did his best to make himself clear.

“If I hold the token, where do I go to take the Wizard Academy’s test?” Lin Wei’s mind was sharp, missing no detail.

“In the imperial capital of the Glorious Moon Empire, Saint Elvekan—the city where the Academy of War is located. But the wizard tests are all conducted in secret; few know they exist. And I don’t know which corner of Saint Elvekan they’re held in.”

Count Lamore watched Lin Wei nervously, afraid that his answer would displease him and cost him his life.

“Excellent!” Suppressed excitement trembled in Lin Wei’s voice. He exhaled softly, his gaze burning as he looked at Count Lamore. “I’m satisfied with your answer. Tell me, where are the wizard’s token and book?”

Count Lamore swallowed, his voice tense. “If I tell you, will you spare me?”

“Of course,” Lin Wei’s lips curled faintly.

“They’re in the last layer of my study’s bookshelf, behind the books in the wall.” Count Lamore spoke as if surrendering something irreplaceable.

Ding!

“Detected abnormal emotional fluctuation: accelerated breathing and swallowing, increased perspiration, elevated heart rate. Verdict: subject is lying.”

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

A blade-sharp gleam flickered in Lin Wei’s eyes. He had ordered the sphere to monitor Count Lamore’s physical data from the very start; if anything abnormal appeared, it would report to him at once.

“You’re courting death.”

A punch!

Crunch!

Count Lamore’s nose broke, blood spurting everywhere. The crimson liquid trickled down his nasal passage into his throat, making him cough uncontrollably, his cries quivering from the blood choking him.

“The first, and the last time,” Lin Wei’s gaze was venomous. “Lie to me again, and you’ll wish for death in vain—do you understand?”

Ignoring the blood smeared across the count’s face, Lin Wei slapped him hard, his palm stained with gore.

Now, only terror remained in Count Lamore’s eyes. Once the sovereign of Tulip Territory, he had heard of Lin Wei’s fearful reputation within the domain, but had only smiled dismissively, viewing Lin Wei as a sword to wield or discard at whim. Never had he imagined that this sword would one day be pressed against his own heart.

“Speak,” Lin Wei demanded, staring into Count Lamore’s eyes.

Count Lamore swallowed blood and saliva. “The wizard's book and token are in the secret chamber behind my bedroom bed.”

This time, Lin Wei heard no warning from the intelligent sphere.

“I’ve told the truth, Lin Wei. You must keep your word and let me go,” Count Lamore pleaded, watching Lin Wei anxiously.

“If I let you go, you’ll signal for help from the royal capital, won’t you? Send knight-level experts to hunt me down?” Lin Wei sneered.

It wasn’t an idle threat; if Count Lamore really reported this incident, Lin Wei would be placed under a wanted notice. Though he had only defied a single count, to the royal family in the capital, he had rebelled against the entire noble class—such a man must be eliminated.

“No! Never! If you spare me, I’ll pretend nothing ever happened,” Count Lamore insisted, desperate to convince Lin Wei. “Nakken is dead; you can be the new commander of the Tulip Guard. If you like, you can even take Rayluman’s place.”

Lin Wei smiled first, then his expression turned icy.

“Do you think I’d spare someone who tried to kill me?”

He tightened his grip on the longsword.

“No! Lin Wei! You promised—if my answer pleased you, you’d let me go! Though... though I lied at first, I finally told the truth... you—”

Count Lamore was incoherent, never before so aware of how precious his life was.

“Is it you who’s naïve, or me?” The sword was raised high. Lin Wei looked down, his gaze cold as winter.

“No!”

Thwack!

The blade sank into flesh, blood blossomed.

The illustrious Count Lamore Nolan of the Ascendant Kingdom, lord of Tulip, met his end.