8 I'm Gonna Need More Money!

Seeing the two, Lia and Kael were still chatting, the burly, bear-like leader of the White-Robed Iron Guard coldly ordered them to disperse again.

"Sir Kael, you can leave now!"

He was showing Kael respect only to avoid a conflict with the powerful knight that could result in casualties, not out of fear.

Clad in full plate armor and wielding longswords, the guards were clearly better equipped than the knight, who wore only leather armor. In their eyes in a real fight, death would be his only escape.

As Kael prepared to leave, Lia tugged at his sleeve, her face pleading.

Her mother had already been captured, and her guards had been killed. Now, Kael was her only lifeline.

She couldn't imagine what fate awaited her if she were captured by these White-Robed Iron Guards, who answered only to her aunt Penny.

"Hmph, so much for the Arena Champion. Looks like just a coward to me."

A faint sneer reached Kael ears. He sighed and halted his retreat.

Was it really so hard to let him leave peacefully? Why the need to mock him and flaunt their superiority?

Kael hated nothing more than those who used him as a stepping stone and those who prevented him from using others as his stepping stones.

The five White-Robed Iron Guards immediately adopted defensive stances, their longswords pointed at Kael.

"Kael Drakaryn, consider the consequences. You can't afford to offend our master," the leader warned coldly, assuming Kael had changed his mind.

Even Lia's face lit up with a flicker of hope.

She had heard tales of the handsome knight's legendary prowess in the Arena. With his help, escape might be possible.

Kael spoke in a deep, resonant voice.

"Originally, your plan to take Miss Lia was none of my concern."

"But your men insulted me. Now you've crossed a line. Do you understand how vital honor is to a knight? How could I let someone who isn't even a knight slander me so easily?"

"What do you want?"

The leader of the White-Robed Iron Guard desperately wanted to retort, 'What honor does a knight who abandons his liege have left?' But he held his tongue and asked instead.

"Money!"

A moment later, Kael hefted the coin pouch in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

He had only seized this opportunity to extort them because the White-Robed Iron Guard's mockery had revealed a weakness he could exploit without siding with Lia.

Having achieved his goal, he prepared to leave.

As for rescuing Lia?

Hah! What benefit would he gain from saving her? He'd only earn the ire of all nobles against her.

The situation was obvious enough with a little deduction.

Duke of Duskmere wanted to name Lia as his heir, and some factions had grown impatient and struck first.

With the Duke now bedridden, it was the perfect moment to act and usurp the power.

And clearly, Lia was losing this succession war.

Why would Kael board a sinking ship?

"Kael, if you can protect me and help me escape this place, I'll compensate you with three hundred Gold Coins to support your pioneering efforts!"

Lia grew desperate for her life. Realizing that honor and duty couldn't sway this Pioneer Knight, she resorted to her last resort: trying to bribe him with money!

In Thornia, attempting to bribe a knight was considered a desecration of his honor, so Lia had never considered this approach before. But now, with no other options left, she had no choice but to try this final method after watching him exploiting the guards.

"What?" Kael eyes widened instantly.

Why didn't you say so earlier?!

Three hundred Gold Coins was no small sum. A set of high-quality full plate armor cost just over a hundred Gold Coins, while a valiant slave warrior could be bought for only twenty.

Without a doubt, this was a fortune.

Especially for Kael, who had recently become a Pioneer Knight, having these three hundred Gold Coins would significantly ease the challenges of his pioneering efforts.

But...

"I refuse!" Kael resolute voice rang out firmly.

"Still no use..."

Lia's heart sank, though she wasn't entirely surprised by the answer. After all, bribing a knight was inherently unlikely.

Yet her impression of Kael shifted slightly. Though the knight was undeniably cunning and shameless, he still possessed some sense of honor.

Kael pressed his hand against the sword at his waist, his voice hardening. "You are the granddaughter of the Duke of Duskmere, the heir to the duchy, the future queen of the Southern Territory, the Highland Tulip. Do you even understand your own worth?"

In the next moment, Lia heard the most righteous and view-shattering declaration of her life:

"I'm going to need more money!"

"A thousand Gold Coins! If you can protect me and get me out of here!"

Lia took a deep breath, struggling to maintain her composure.

"Deal!"

Three years ago, when Kael had first become a mercenary, he would have charged alone into a bandit's lair for just fifty Silver Coins to rescue a merchant's brother.

A thousand Gold Coins?

If he didn't turn this castle into a river of blood, he'd feel like he was cheating himself out of what he was owed!

Kael had decided to save Lia because he'd changed his mind.

At the banquet, his scheme had been to pit Damon and Silon against each other, hoping they'd be too busy fighting to notice him.

But the Duke of Duskmere had proven disappointingly weak, and now Damon's faction clearly held the upper hand.

Having already antagonized Damon's faction, Kael figured it was better to support Lia, send her to the Northern Territory to draw Damon's attention, while he quietly expanded his own territory and developed his resources.

By the time Lia had gathered her forces and decided to reclaim her title, he would likely be a Lord himself. With soldiers and supplies at his disposal, his participation in the succession war would bring him even greater rewards.

These thousand Gold Coins were merely an investment in Lia's expansion, ensuring he could assist her later and reap greater rewards.

"Damn it! Kill him!"

Seeing the sudden alliance between the two, the leader of the White-Robed Iron Guard felt utterly mocked and roared in fury.

A White-Robed Iron Guard grinned savagely, twirling his longsword in a flourish before charging forward.

Just a glorified Arena Champion, he thought. Why is the captain so afraid?

"You mongrel! Today you'll learn the might of this lord!"

Swish!

A silver flash pierced the air as the longsword, with deadly precision, slipped through the gap between the helmet and armor.

A smiling head soared skyward before crashing to the ground alongside its headless body with a Thud!!!.

"Such a fine physique," Kael mused, wiping his immaculate longsword clean. "Too bad it came with a head."

He clicked his tongue. He remembered this man's earlier taunts, and silencing him now seemed perfectly reasonable.

Ding!

The remaining three White-Robed Iron Guards froze in shock. Two exchanged a glance and charged at Kael simultaneously.

Shielding Lia behind him, Kael quickly engaged the White-Robed Iron Guards in close combat. He needed no elaborate sword techniques, relying instead on simple slashes, chops, and thrusts. Enhanced by his unparalleled strength, the two guards were dismembered before they could even react.

In an instant, blood and flesh splattered everywhere, the metallic tang of blood assaulting the senses, leaving only a gruesome tableau of severed limbs and puddles of blood.

The plate armor that had given them confidence proved as brittle as tofu against Kael's might.

"You worthless trash!"

The leader of the White-Robed Iron Guards, clearly overconfident in his own abilities, showed no fear as he watched his subordinates fall like wheat before a scythe. Instead, he roared in fury, drawing his longsword with a metallic clang and preparing to personally execute Kael.

To be fair, he stood at least two metre tall, and his bulky plate armor made him charge forward like an oncoming carriage. No wonder he was so confident.

His massive frame shoved aside the last trembling White-Robed Iron Guard, who dared not attack, as he lunged forward.

Alas, he was all show and no substance. With a single upward slash, Kael effortlessly shattered the guard's parrying sword. Before the man could react, Kael channeled his strength into a one-handed strike, redirecting the momentum of his mithril longsword in mid-air and bringing it down in a vicious diagonal chop.

Shriiiikkkk!!