Chapter 132
As Yan revealed his status as the lord, Jackson’s face set into a hard mask.
It wasn’t just Jackson whose expression turned to stone.
“Lord, a lord?!”
“…Are we to return to a life worse than slavery, as before?”
“Ah, it was better when that scoundrel was the only problem.”
The villagers’ faces turned deathly pale as well.
From their conversation, it seemed they had all endured much before migrating here.
“A lord?”
Jackson asked, facing Yan squarely.
Yan smirked and nodded.
“Yes.”
“This was a neutral territory, wasn’t it?”
“From now on, it’s my domain.”
Clench.
Jackson ground his teeth as if he would crush them.
This had been a sanctuary found after a long pursuit. Here, he could live like a king, doing whatever he pleased.
Paradise.
Yes, to him, this place was nothing short of paradise.
But now.
“If you understand, why not kneel and beg for your life?”
He was to hand over this place to that man?
The corners of Jackson’s mouth slowly rose.
“That’s impossible.”
Already a fugitive for touching a noble lady, what difference would killing another noble make?
Jackson drew his sword and shouted.
“This is my territory!”
Swoosh!
With his cry, the sword’s blade stretched out long.
Jackson smiled.
It was the most satisfying blade energy he had ever released.
Jackson’s foot kicked the ground fiercely, and his body shot towards Yan like an arrow.
Whoosh!
“Die!”
Gillian family swordsmanship.
Snake Sword.
The secret sword technique of the Gillian family he once belonged to unfolded.
The blade’s energy extended even further than before.
This would surely pierce the man’s throat.
Thud!
The corner of Jackson’s mouth twitched up.
‘Got him.’
The sword’s tip had pierced the man’s throat.
That’s what Jackson saw.
But at that very moment.
Thump!
A distant pain exploded in his abdomen, and his body lifted into the air.
Jackson’s eyes bulged.
‘What, what is this!’
He had clearly seen the man’s throat being pierced!
Grinding his teeth, Jackson desperately shifted his gaze to his abdomen.
Suddenly, a fist was buried deep in his gut.
And Yan, whom he thought he had pierced.
“What are you doing?”
Was already at his side, looking at him with a mocking smile.
“Argh!”
Ignoring the pain of his severed innards, Jackson swung his sword at Yan.
Yan’s face seemed to split vertically.
But then.
Snap!
This time, it was his back.
Yan firmly gripped the hilt of his sword, plunging it into the center of his own back.
Jackson, slammed into the ground in an instant, lay gasping.
“Cough!”
Blood spurted from Jackson’s mouth.
His face twisted into a grotesque mask of malice.
‘Damn it!’
How swift must one be that he, a fifth-grade knight, could only slash at afterimages!
Then, a thought flashed through his mind.
‘Surely, not a superhuman?’
As soon as the thought arose, Yan began to walk towards him.
Thud, thud.
Startled, Jackson fell backward with a thud.
Scrambling back on all fours, he shouted desperately.
“Did you say, lord? No, my Lord! Please take me as your knight! I have experience leading a knight order! Like a dog, like a horse, I will support you, my Lord.”
Overwhelmed by Yan’s prowess, Jackson chose to grovel.
He thought this might at least spare his life.
After all, it wasn’t easy to find a strongman like himself, especially in the remote outskirts of Armenia.
But Yan just sneered.
“Why would I need trash like you when I have far greater men?”
With those final words.
Swoosh!
He decapitated Jackson in one clean stroke.
Jackson’s head fell with an expression of disbelief.
Yan, eyes wide, grasped the dead man’s hair and surveyed the surroundings.
Yet, the villagers still looked on with eyes filled with fear.
Even with the death of the villain who had tormented them for so long, their faces remained tense.
Yan tilted his head and then spoke.
“Trash like this won’t even be able to set foot in my territory from now on.”
Despite his proclamation, the villagers’ faces remained rigid.
Yan continued.
“If you can’t trust me, you’re free to leave. I won’t hold you back. But those who stay and work hard will be rewarded.”
At the mention of rewards, curiosity flickered across some villagers’ faces.
Yan didn’t miss it.
“For the time being, taxes will be minimal, and even after the territory stabilizes, they won’t be raised all at once.”
Murmurs of agreement were heard.
“And all who remain will be granted the status of imperial citizens. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had misfortunes in other territories. As your lord, I will protect you.”
Despite his generous offer, the villagers still appeared hesitant.
Understandably so.
They had been deceived by double-tongued nobles more than once.
And after all, they had fled to this place for refuge.
They must be wondering if Yan was just another of the same breed.
Just then.
A familiar boy stepped forward, lips sealed tight.
The villagers gasped, clutching at his sleeves, but the boy shook them off and stepped forward.
“Is it true, brother… no, my Lord?”
“It is true.”
Assured by Yan’s confirmation, the boy, Valdes, turned around.
He faced the still-doubtful adults and took a deep breath.
Then, with a forceful exhale, he shouted.
“Are we going to run away from our homes again?”
Valdes’ cry cast a shadow over the villagers’ faces.
But he wasn’t finished.
“We’ve never lived like humans, always in fear of the gangs! Now we can finally live! Are we going to run again?”
With each piercing word, the villagers flinched.
Valdes clenched his fist.
“I don’t want to live like that anymore. I’m tired, and above all, I want to live like a human. I don’t want to worry about who will be taken next; I just want to do my work and live!”
Valdes turned around.
He looked up at Yan with fiery eyes.
“I pledge my loyalty. My Lord! Please accept me!”
Yan chuckled without realizing it.
Loyalty from someone who wasn’t even a knight?
It was clumsy, to say the least.
But.
“I accept.”
There could be no more heart-stirring pledge of loyalty.
Perhaps it was because the youngest, Valdes, had stepped forward.
The villagers, who had been murmuring and hesitating, began to find resolve.
“We have to live the same life even if we leave. Might as well trust once.”
“We’ve just finished building our homes; we can’t just leave!”
“Just for dealing with that trash, it’s enough.”
Their eyes cleared, and one by one, they approached Yan and bowed deeply.
“We have nothing else to do if we leave! Please take care of us, my Lord!”
“If you’re going to make it a place fit for humans… I’ll trust you.”
“I’m truly sorry. This old man couldn’t see the person right in front of him…”
“Thank you for saving our sister!”
“Thank you again for the help earlier.”
“We look forward to your guidance.”
Nearly a hundred people lined up to pledge their loyalty to Yan.
Yan watched them with a satisfied smile.
“Thank you all for trusting me. Don’t worry. I’ll make this a place where you’re rewarded for your hard work.”
Plans to transform the unremarkable Armenia were already forming in his head.
As Yan received the villagers’ pledges of loyalty.
One of the knights guarding the Forest of Beasts witnessed the scene.
The knight’s mouth fell open.
“A lord?”
After such a long time as a neutral territory, suddenly there was a lord?
Staring blankly ahead, he was soon struck by a thought and hurried off.
To where his comrades guarded the Forest of Beasts.
* * *
In the backwater of Armenia, two forces of power existed.
One was Jackson’s gang, formed by a deserter from his knightly duties, who had carved out a territory in Armenia.
The other was here, near the Forest of Beasts.
These were knights pushed from the capital due to political strife or lack of prowess, now relegated to guarding the Forest of Beasts.
Set, once a royal guard but now exiled to this forsaken place, couldn’t help but laugh at the news brought by a comrade.
“So, a noble has come to claim lordship over this remote place?”
“Didn’t I tell you? That Jackson fellow has vanished, and this so-called lord is taking oaths of loyalty from the villagers.”
“Pfft! Ridiculous. Oaths of loyalty from commoners, not even knights?”
“Exactly. I thought my eyes were deceiving me.”
“Weren’t the knights he brought displeased?”
“What knights? He came here alone. Maybe it’s youthful bravado because of his age.”
“That’s not bravado; that’s stupidity. Coming to such a dangerous place without a single knight in tow.”
“Hahaha, maybe he’s a young noble who’s never even been knighted?”
“Ha! That could be it.”
As Set mocked the fledgling lord, a thought crossed his mind.
“But what’s Jackson doing? He wouldn’t just stand by and watch, would he?”
A criminal of knightly origin, despicable in character but undeniable in skill.
A few years back, he had come alone, demanding they leave him be in exchange for food and women.
Though never confirmed, rumors said he once led a knight order for some borderland noble family.
Set smirked at his fellow knights.
“Well, well… looks like we’ll have to rescue our noble lord, won’t we?”
A noble who’s been given such a trashy region, ignored even by neighboring lords?
Surely a weak and feeble lord.
Perhaps hastily granted a title just to offload this place.
And if they could just appeal to him.
‘He surely won’t be able to refuse.’
Joining another noble house would be a nuisance due to the existing knights’ scrutiny.
But a lord who hasn’t even properly appointed his own knights…
‘Could easily be turned into a puppet.’
And then they could enjoy a life of luxury from behind the scenes.
As Set’s sinister smile spread, the knights around him mirrored the expression.
“Fortunately, no beasts have escaped the Forest of Beasts these past few days, so we can afford to step away, right?”
“If any escape while we’re gone, we’ll just deal with them when we return.”
According to the rules, no more than three can leave this place at a time.
To be prepared in case a relatively strong beast escapes the forest.
But with no one to watch over them, and no recent attempts of escape by the beasts.
What’s there to worry about?
The knights quickly prepared and set off for the village with full smiles, expecting to be treated well by a powerless, feeble lord.