Chapter 1430 - 768: Foolish, Whether I Kill You or Not, It’s Still Mine_2

Chapter 1430: Chapter 768: Foolish, Whether I Kill You or Not, It’s Still Mine_2

Quickly, those knights were taken away along with the other officers, leaving only Boudica and Grendel by Lance’s side now.

"Their crimes have been sentenced to death. How do you think you should be judged?"

From Lance’s words, it was clear that the fate of those knights was already sealed, but the Baron wanted to struggle a bit.

"I can pay to redeem myself!" The Baron did not want to die and was willing to hand over his accumulated wealth for it, "As long as you spare me, I’ll give up everything here, including our family’s fortune."

"Foolish, if I kill you, it’s still mine. What makes you think you can trade my things with me?" Lance casually retorted.

"I’ve already moved the wealth elsewhere; if you kill me, you’ll never find those treasures."

The Baron was still quite smug, feeling he had prepared for an escape when the situation seemed unstable, which is the essence of nobility.

"Is it really only you who knows where those things are?" Lance wasn’t deterred by his threat; instead, he chuckled and reminded him, "Does the heir who left through the secret tunnel last night know about it?"

Lance’s words plunged the Baron into a strange silence...

The Baron knew human nature well; once showing resolve to resist and having everyone else sell everything, he couldn’t let anyone discover he had quietly prepared a fallback.

He could arrange confidants to transfer assets under the guise of gathering resources for war; with so many carts coming and going, no one knew what the cargo was.

At the same time, he sent the female members ahead, giving most of the maids as rewards to inspire the soldiers’ courage, leaving only loyal guards to guard the manor and seal off this secret.

Women or others could leave, no one cared too much, but the heir, the son, had to appear regularly to reassure everyone.

Only after confirming that the decisive battle would be tomorrow did he secretly send his last son through the underground tunnel of the manor last night.

The secret tunnel was filled with traps; anyone walking in without knowledge might die inside, possibly triggering a collapse.

The Baron led his son out of the tunnel, but he couldn’t leave yet due to the upcoming battle, so he stayed.

"When you go out from here, someone will be waiting on the other side. Once on the carriage, don’t look back; I’ll find you at the right time."

At the tunnel’s exit, the Baron gave his son some words of advice with great seriousness, naturally considering the special situation. After a slight hesitation, he added another piece of advice.

"Open the letter after you leave. If I don’t come to find you, take good care of the family, understood?"

The Baron handed over a letter, his expression was like someone saying their final farewell.

The son nodded in agreement to this, and the Baron whispered something in his ear, then urged him to leave quickly, to escape the domain before dawn.

In the darkness, frightened to light a torch, the Baron could only watch his son’s form quickly vanish into the night...

The son walked out of the tunnel, only to find the exit was an abandoned graveyard, and he emerged from a dilapidated coffin.

This kind of improper burial ground charged no fees and thus, had no tomb guardians. Usually, no one came around, and there was a reason for choosing this place.

"Young master, is it you?"

Such a sinister scene suddenly had a voice, causing him to jump with fright, almost crying out. Fortunately, he had prepared his mind in advance, realizing the voice belonged to the old family butler who was the only one outside the family knowing about the secret tunnel.

"Young master, take this path!"

Under the butler’s guidance, a regular carriage without noble insignia sped along the small path away from the main roads, looking like a swift, ghostly flame in the deep night.

Yet, the commotion here seemed to stir something in the woods, a pair of eyes stared at them...

The Baron’s son looked outside at the dark scenery, appearing dazed as if he could see his own domain quickly receding.

But shortly after, he snapped back to reality and took out the letter from his father.

It indeed felt like a final farewell; the Baron started by recounting how Hamlet oppressed the surrounding areas and then how he developed to far exceed a normal Baron’s Domain, boasting of his achievements.

Unfortunately, now faced with such dramatic changes, he encouraged the family members not to give up, to find a way to reclaim the domain and the family’s glory.

The heir was deeply moved, having witnessed the family’s most glorious times, but it had now turned into this, murmuring softly, "Our family has fallen..."

However, just as he spoke, the external butler suddenly shouted, unknown what he saw.

"No! Damn it!"

"Bang!"

The heir hadn’t even reacted, hearing a gunshot; the carriage speeding forward suddenly had intense bumps, feeling almost out of control.

Whether it was luck or because the carriage had little luggage, it managed to stabilize, although it still tossed the heir into a dizzy state, taking a while to recover.

But he realized the carriage had stopped, calling out to the butler without response, he sensed something amiss and quickly went outside.

The good news was that the butler hadn’t abandoned him to flee on horseback; the bad news was he was shot in the chest, with a large area of blood seeping under the carriage light, unable to breathe.

The pampered heir found himself in a situation he had never encountered; usually, he traveled with guards, even in danger he need not act.

But now, the surrounding darkness was eerily quiet, except for the horses’ movement... suddenly, there was movement from the roadside woods.

"Who!"

Under the carriage light, he could vaguely see a figure emerging.

"Who? Don’t you know walking on small paths at night can easily meet robbers?"

With the figure getting closer, revealing someone with a coat and a red scarf covering the lower half of the face, raising a strange musket towards the heir, indicating it was him who had shot the butler.

Robber!

Facing the muzzle instantly made the heir tremble; today, he had concealed his identity without guards but ran into this, truly miserable.

"I’ll give you all the money, it’s in the carriage."

"That’s a commoner’s price; this horse isn’t something a commoner can afford, surely only a noble lord has, so it’ll cost more."

The robber stepped closer, his gaze sweeping over the horse before landing on the heir as he asked, "Are you a noble?"

The heir instinctively looked at himself, then quickly shook his head, denying it.

"No! I’m just a servant; a noble lord wouldn’t travel at this time."

"A servant riding in the rear carriage? You lie..." The robber was about to say more when another voice emerged.

"Stop playing, I saw him a few days ago, his identity is confirmed."

A cloaked figure covering most of the body walked out, judging by the voice, it wasn’t a male.

Even if somewhat foolish, the heir could tell their target was him, exclaiming suddenly.

"You’re..."

...

"Hmph! You want to con me?"

The Baron recalled several times without finding flaws; for only he, his heir son, and the butler knew about the secret tunnel.

Arranging the son’s escape was only known among the three, even if those bureaucrats betrayed him, they only discovered the heir was missing just moments ago.

They might have found the tunnel, but at this moment, the son had likely already fled far; even if aware, what could they do?

Thus, they staged a scene earlier, bringing those knights to beat him and then say all this to scare him.

But I am not that decayed Hamlet lord; I’ve braved storms for ten years, how could I be fooled by you?

Lance watching his reaction found it amusing, sometimes humans are so confident, but reality would show him what despair meant.

"Bring them in."

Lance casually spoke, causing the Baron’s heart to suddenly rise, looking towards the door with uncontrollable anticipation...