Chapter 360 258: Fortune Favors the Foolish

"Levi, what's happening at White Castle?"

Onaya asked as they ran.

She was still utterly baffled. They had agreed on a trial by combat, but White Castle had inexplicably descended into chaos. She couldn't make sense of those mercenaries, either. If they were really there to help her, why had this Knight killed their leader without a second thought?

"I'm not too sure myself. We interrogated a mercenary we captured earlier. He said something about them planning to pledge allegiance to our Duke, but if they really intended to, why didn't they contact us sooner?"

Levi told her the truth, more or less.

He had no love for this band of mercenaries who had suddenly appeared to try and steal his credit.

He had been trying to figure out a justifiable way to get rid of them, but to his surprise, the punk who was clearly their leader had taken the initiative and attacked him.

It had certainly saved him a lot of trouble.

"In any case, at least my sister can take White Castle now without a trial by combat," Onaya said, panting.

This Knight's presence here proved that Fulina must already control most of White Castle. All that remained was to mop up the last pockets of resistance, and Kolon would be completely in their hands.

It was no wonder Levi disliked the mercenaries. While they might have genuinely intended to side with the Northern Territory, that didn't stop them from doing a little something for themselves amidst the chaos. Along the way, he had spotted mercenaries stuffing their pockets with precious jewelry and coin.

And when they saw him and his companion—a handsome man and a beautiful woman who were clearly important—they had even organized a group to chase after them.

"Lady Onaya, we should meet up with your sister as soon as possible." After kicking a few clueless lowlifes in his way to death, Levi saw how much Onaya was struggling to keep up. She was already out of breath after just a short distance, so he bent down and swept her into his arms.

Onaya was a typical noble lady, delicate and pampered. She wasn't physically fit to begin with, and after running just a few steps, she was already exhausted and couldn't go on.

Onaya wrapped her pale, slender arms around the Lord's neck without the slightest hint of shyness. She readily agreed with his assessment. "The pursuers behind us are growing in number. We need to get out of here quickly. We'll be in trouble if we get cornered in a hallway."

Enveloped in a faint, sweet fragrance, Levi didn't rush ahead. Instead, he unhurriedly led the pursuing mercenaries on a chase, much to Onaya's growing anxiety.

When they finally made it outside, a vast shadow fell over them. Onaya's heart, which had just begun to settle, leaped back into her throat.

An enormous Centaur stood in the garden, watching them. Its arms alone were thicker than her waist, and it was surrounded by freshly killed corpses.

"Gus, take care of these punks."

'It wasn't that Levi was afraid of the mercenaries behind them; it was that carrying a woman with no strength to speak of was seriously hampering his performance.'

'The main thing, really, was to give Lady Onaya the impression that he was deeply concerned for her, then carry her straight to that girl, Liya.'

'Then Onaya would recount how he had fearlessly rescued her from a mob of vicious mercenaries.'

'Wouldn't Liya be moved to tears of gratitude for this loyal Lord of High Cliff Castle?'

'Setting all else aside, wouldn't that secure his position as a Marquis?'

The mercenaries, who had eagerly chased them outside, were met with the sight of a gigantic Centaur staring at them with a cold sneer, its massive shadow engulfing them all.

GULP!

Along with the sound of swallowing saliva, an arrow crackling with the Thunder Element grew larger and larger in their vision.

BOOM!

The arrow pierced through the crowd, and the powerful Thunder Element blasted the mercenaries off their feet, roasting them until they gave off the smell of cooked meat.

A single, full-power shot from Gus, imbued with the Thunder Element, killed all the pursuing mercenaries in an instant.

Without a second glance, it resumed its position behind its Lord, continuing its duty as a faithful guard.

With such a formidable-looking Giant Beast as a bodyguard, no more clueless mercenaries or Southern Soldiers dared to cause trouble.

Seeing that the pursuing mercenaries had been dealt with, Onaya wanted to say that she could walk on her own. But when she saw Levi had no intention of putting her down, she decided that silence was golden and took the opportunity to study the Knight carefully.

The early morning light shone down on the Knight, outlining his form in gold and making him seem towering and heroic.

Levi, for his part, was in agony from holding back. He suspected that even the most ascetic Great Monks, when faced with the dazzling expanse of white skin in their arms, would have no choice but to stand and salute.

But fortunately, he, Levi, had faced countless temptations by this point in his life. The allure of the flesh had little effect on an upstanding young man of the Kingdom such as himself.

'He just quietly thought to himself that as soon as he got back to High Cliff Castle, he would marry Tina first. The rest could be dealt with slowly.'

Levi wasn't some saint who could remain unperturbed with a woman in his lap; he just knew how to prioritize.

He hadn't forgotten how Boss Cao's moment of indulgence led to disaster.

He had no desire to go down in history for something like this, to have scholars immortalize such a legend in his biography.

"Hah... we're almost there." As he rounded a corner, he could already see the walls of White Castle bristling with the banners of the Northern Territory. It meant Fulina and the others had already taken the ramparts.

Squads of Southern Soldiers were moving past them to quell the rebellion, poised to take complete control of White Castle.

"The Lord is back."

Hearing Panda's voice, Levi finally set Onaya down. "Lady Onaya, we've arrived."

In the distance, all the nobles turned in unison to look at them.

Onaya's gaze immediately fell upon the Northern Nobles ahead. She recognized them all, but the two people at the very front were the ones she had been longing to see: her sister and her daughter.