Chapter 83

"Speak!" Edward shouted, his face contorted with fury. "Tell me, where exactly did Richard go? If you dare lie or withhold the truth, I'll make sure your life is far worse than death!"

Mark, trembling under Edward's intense gaze, hesitated for a moment, then nervously pointed a finger in the direction of the river. "Lord Richard, after leaving the castle, he went south along the river that runs beside the castle."

"South? Good!" Edward spun on his heel, shouting orders immediately, "Gather! All soldiers assemble! Cavalry, mount up! Infantry, follow behind me! We ride south to pursue him! Now!"

"Clatter, clatter..."

A chaotic rush ensued as soldiers scrambled to gather. The disorganized scene, despite the knights shouting commands, did not improve much. It was clear that the process of getting the army in order would take at least half an hour.

Edward, however, had no patience to wait. Fearing Richard might escape, he glanced at the still-disorganized ranks and cracked his whip, charging out of the castle on horseback. "Move out! Follow me!"

The knights and riders hesitated for a moment, watching Edward surge ahead by several dozen meters before reluctantly following. The rest of the soldiers, in a frenzy, poured out of the castle and ran after them in a disorganized mass.

Half an hour passed, then an hour, then an hour and a half...

Two full hours later, the group following Edward had dwindled to just a handful of knights and cavalry, with only a few infantry left. The rest had fallen behind.

Huck, noticing the situation, frowned. Having witnessed the fighting abilities of Richard's elite team, he was concerned that, in their current state, they might not be able to guarantee a victory if they encountered them. Taking a deep breath, Huck prepared to speak up, suggesting they wait for the infantry to catch up before continuing the pursuit.

But just then, Edward's sharp eyes caught something in the distance. He suddenly stiffened and let out a short, startled cry, "Ah!"

There, across the river, stood a wooden bridge, with a young figure on the far side resting as if weary from walking.

"Richard!" Edward gritted his teeth and shouted the name, his voice filled with anger and resolve. Without hesitation, he urged his horse forward, charging toward the bridge. Huck quickly followed with the others, keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings, scanning for any signs of an ambush.

The group halted at the edge of the bridge.

The reason they stopped was that Edward, recalling the previous incident with the broken bridge, wasn't certain if this one was safe. Being cautious, he decided not to cross it immediately.

On the other side, Richard seemed to have sensed something. He slowly turned around and looked over his shoulder.

In that brief moment, their gazes locked.

Edward's eyes were filled with intensity and anger, while Richard's gaze remained calm and composed.

After a moment of silent exchange, it was Edward who looked away first.

For some reason, Edward felt uneasy. Despite Richard's calm demeanor, his eyes seemed to pierce through him like needles, making him instinctively want to look away. As soon as he lowered his gaze, however, anger surged within him. He was furious with himself for his cowardice, and he quickly looked up again, determined not to back down.

At that moment, Richard spoke, his tone still calm. "You've arrived? You're a bit late."

"Huh?" Edward furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"My meaning is simple. According to my calculations, you should have arrived here half an hour ago. But it seems you were delayed at the castle for some reason, and that's why you're only here now. So, I've been waiting here for nothing for half an hour," Richard explained casually.

"Preposterous!" Edward scoffed. "How could you possibly know when I would arrive? You don't have spies planted around me, do you?"

"No spies," Richard replied, shaking his head. "But I did know where your camp was last night. Considering the normal marching speed, and knowing the distance, it's easy to calculate the time it would take for you to reach here."

"But how could I catch up with you if I didn't know where you had escaped to?!" Edward countered.

"You didn't know?" Richard raised an eyebrow. "The tracks I left behind should have been obvious. On the road outside the castle, you should have seen the unmistakable horse tracks. Just one glance at those hoofprints and you'd know which direction I left in. Didn't you notice? Honestly, I'm curious how you managed to track me down. You really aren't as clever as you think. You've always been a little... dense. If you really had the ambition to become a noble lord, you'd need to try harder. You're still as foolish as you were eleven years ago."

Edward's teeth ground together, his jaw tightening with hatred. He kicked his horse forward, testing the stability of the bridge. Slowly, step by step, he rode across the wooden bridge, and after a few moments, he felt a sense of relief as the bridge held firm beneath him.

As he stopped in the middle of the bridge and looked at Richard, Edward's confidence began to return. At that moment, he felt certain that with one swift charge, he could end Richard's life. What was there to fear?

Edward sneered, his lips curling into a cold smile. "You say I'm not clever? Well, even if I'm not, what about you? You might be clever, but here you are, forced to flee to this place. Hah!"

"No," Richard replied, shaking his head. "I'm not fleeing, I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Edward's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, leaving. In fact, I've been planning to leave since I was just a child, not long after I was born. For years, I've been preparing for this. If not for you, I would have left long ago. It's just that your actions have accelerated the process," Richard said calmly.

Edward's face twitched with disbelief. "What? You were planning to leave all along? You... you never even thought of inheriting the title?"

"Of course not," Richard replied, shaking his head. "If I had planned to inherit the title and become a noble lord, do you think I would have been wasting my time with all these meaningless experiments? I would have been doing something more dangerous, like weapon modification. You've seen the power of the super crossbow I designed on the road. Do you think I couldn't make hundreds of them, with the same deadly force, and fire them all at once? Who could stop that?"

At the thought of hundreds of crossbow bolts being fired simultaneously, Edward couldn't help but shiver. However, he still wasn't willing to admit defeat. "If that's the case, why did you set all those traps on the road? If you're leaving, why try to stop me from coming back?"

"Who said I was trying to stop you?" Richard replied casually. "Those traps were just gifts I left for you."

"Gifts?" Edward scoffed.

"Of course, gifts," Richard said, his voice steady. "You've tried to kill me seven times, haven't you? I didn't have time to deal with you before. But now that I'm leaving, I won't have another chance to do this, so I've prepared seven gifts for you, in return for your attempts on my life. A broken bridge, a pit, a snare, a crossbow... seven items, not one less."

Edward's breath grew heavier as he stood still, staring at Richard for a long while. His teeth clenched, and he growled, "So, you're still the same, aren't you? Just as irritating as before. You make me want to kill you right here, right now!"

Richard, however, didn't respond to Edward's words. Instead, he continued, "By the way, speaking of assassinations and gifts... do you remember? Your first attempt to kill me was eleven years ago."