Chapter 366 I Have a Secret

This chapter is an extra update as a thank you to 'kazenoiro' for their generous support.

In front of the empty, dilapidated little castle.

Only one serf was responsible for guarding the castle.

Trembling, he replied, "All the nobles from Horn City have gathered there on the Earl of Parsley Castle's orders. The castle's steward gave me ten copper coins and told me to guard the castle and ensure no one steals the flowers from the garden."

After listening to the serf,

Liszt frowned and pondered, "Sure enough, with our forces closing in, the nobles are starting to band together to resist... There probably aren't many knights in this area aside from Horn City."

He quickly made a decision, "The nearest town to Horn City is Honey Town, about twelve miles away. We can reach it in half an hour. We'll set up camp in Honey Town!"

"My lord, isn't that too close to Horn City?" Leiden reminded.

"Keep watch at night. I'm hoping they'll abandon the town and try to ambush us. If not, we'll rest for the night and attack the castle directly the next day. With Hiddleston, their castle won't hold up for more than a few minutes. Raze the castle, crush Horn City’s knights, and then move out fast!"

Hiddleston’s rock spikes were the quickest way to tear down a castle—unless it was built with anti-magic materials.

After wiping out Horn City’s knights, they would assist the Count in eliminating Snide's Parsley Castle, and then swiftly advance to the next major city.

There were only eleven major cities on Iron Horse Island. The three port cities of Hoof City, Horn City, and Niu Mao City had already been occupied. Iron Hoof City, where the Bull Marquis was holed up, was tough to breach but not impossible. The remaining six major cities each represented a huge opportunity for merit.

In reality, subjugating Iron Horse Island wasn't a difficult task.

Although the Bull Marquis could launch a surprise attack and injure the Sapphire Dragon, that took over thirty years of preparation, and he was still just a marquis. Even with his strength, his power was still limited.

Now, the Grand Duke has rallied all his followers and is coordinating a multi-pronged assault from the major ports. Without external interference, this campaign was a prime chance to seize merits. Moreover, the Bull Marquis's personal knight order—the Furious Knights—had already gone to fight the second Prince Angus Sapphire.

This area around Horn City had essentially been abandoned on the battlefield. If they didn’t grab this chance now, when would they?

"The only real threat is the magicians from the Goat Assembly. The Bull Marquis had deep ties with those evil magicians... However, these nobles who follow him may not have any connection with the magicians." After stating his decision, Liszt allowed others to discuss for a moment.

In the end, his decision was final, and they quickly headed for Honey Town.

Honey Town was only two kilometers away from Horn City, a distance that could be covered in a single charge. When the red glow of dusk filled the western sky, the Black Knights had already blocked the main road out of Honey Town.

There were no knights stationed in the town.

Liszt gave a clear order: "Start the sweep, just drive the serfs away! Don’t kill them without cause!" Regardless, his soul was that of a modern person, and he couldn't disregard life to such an extent.

Selling serfs was already the greatest sin he could commit against commoners.

"Yes, my lord!"

The Black Knights swiftly cleared the serfs from the town, driving them out of the castle's perimeter, and then set up camp around the castle. Of course, some serfs were forced to help the knights set up tents, gather firewood, fetch water, and dig.

The knights searched the town thoroughly and, upon returning, found the camp already set up.

"My lord, there should be many 'rats' among the serfs used by Horn City to gather intelligence. Unfortunately, we only caught two. Their friends have likely already spread the word about our arrival to Horn City," Captain Leiden reported.

"It's fine. I intended for Horn City to know... Tonight, they'll either be on edge all night, unable to sleep, or they'll plan a sneak attack. Either way, it won't change the outcome of the battle... We're here to conquer and siege!"

After delivering those fierce words,

Liszt added, "Bring the two rats over."

"The rats were brought over quickly, having already suffered some physical torment, so they had no backbone left and spilled their guts, revealing everything they knew. 'Respected knight, Mane City has nearly 130 Earth Knights, and the strongest among them is Baron Murray, an elite Earth Knight. They are all stationed in the castle.'

Another rat chimed in, 'The castle is on a hillside, easy to defend and hard to assault, and there’s plenty of water and food. Right now, Baron Murray and the others are building rock walls to prepare for a last stand... They might not plan to come out.'

'Why don't they plan to come out or escape, and why choose to defend to the death?' Liszt asked.

'Maybe they don’t dare to leave their territory. Once they do, it would be considered fleeing and they’d face even harsher punishment,' the first rat replied.

The other rat shook his head and said loudly, 'Honored knight, Parker is willing to trade an important secret for my freedom.'

'Go ahead, if it’s truly an important secret, I don’t mind letting you go,' Liszt said, giving Marcus a glance. The Earth Knight dragged the first rat away.

Rat Parker breathed a sigh of relief. 'It’s like this, I have a brother who works as a rat in Niu Mao City. He got involved with Tracy, a maid from Parsley Castle. Once, when they were having a tryst in the warehouse, they overheard a magician come to Parsley Castle to discuss secret matters with Count Snide.'

This magician told Count Snide that the Bull Marquis needed him to hold the castle and delay the advance of the army.

'And he promised that if things succeed, Count Snide could be granted a new marquis title. Even if Snide were to die in battle, his son would inherit the title of marquis.'

'Count Snide’s son serves in the Furious Knights, which is the duke’s knight order, so Count Snide quickly agreed to the magician’s request to hold Parsley Castle.' Rat Parker recounted everything faithfully.

'Did they mention what would happen after the success?'

'I don’t know, knight, I’ve told you everything I know. These were just boasts my brother made to me after drinking. He said that sleeping with Tracy was like sleeping with the future marquis’s maid.' After finishing, Parker couldn’t help but ask, 'Knight, you promised to grant me freedom. I assure you, I will leave Mane City without looking back.'

'Of course, I’ll grant you your freedom now, Marcus, take him out,' Liszt said, giving Marcus a knowing look.

A moment later, Marcus brought the other rat over and said, 'Sir, Parker has been granted complete freedom.' He emphasized the word 'freedom.'

In this world, living means being bound by numerous constraints at every turn.

Liszt looked at the remaining rat. 'Your companion Parker has traded his secret for freedom. What about you? If you have a valuable secret, you can also earn your freedom.'

The rat stammered, 'Knight, I… I… Ah, right, I remember now, I have a secret!'

'What secret?'

'It’s about the spirit bug. In Baron Murray’s barley fields outside Mane City, they are breeding barley bugs. Baron Murray couldn’t move it and had to leave it outside... But, but, it’s been several days, I don’t know if the barley bug has been bred successfully yet.'

A gestating barley bug?

Liszt’s eyebrows twitched. What a pleasant surprise."