Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 41 Wolf-hair Knights' Territory

But now, the system is directly issuing a task, asking him to take on the role he just defeated?
This is utterly absurd and ironic!

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Rezael noticed that Kruze was frozen in place, his expression changing constantly, and he hadn't moved for a long time. He couldn't help but ask in a low voice, puzzled.

Wilstone also cast an inquiring glance his way.

Kruse was brought back to his senses by his brother's voice. He took a deep breath of the cold night air and forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

He glanced at the prisoners crouching on the ground, trembling, and then thought of the pitiful amount of food stored in the territory's warehouse and the tempting ten energy crystals in the system space...

The pressure to survive and the temptation to become stronger were like two invisible hands, pulling at his reason.

A nobleman disguised as a bandit...

That sentence from the system description echoed in his mind.

What if the target is a nobleman who is equally unscrupulous and has already fallen into depravity?
What if the target is a bunch of heartless scoundrels who hoard food and watch their people starve to death without opening their granaries to distribute it?
Would you call this... double-crossing?

Acting for heaven?

An extremely complex mix of resistance, helplessness, and a hint of temptation was evident in his eyes.

Ultimately, the coldness of reality and the allure of the system's rewards gradually overwhelmed that fragile moral fastidiousness.

His gaze slowly refocused, becoming deep and sharp, as if he had made a firm decision. He spoke slowly, his voice slightly hoarse, yet carrying a new decisiveness, answering Rezal's question, as if convincing himself:
"Nothing. I was just thinking... perhaps sometimes the roles of hunter and prey are not static. In order to survive, and to allow more people to survive, some unconventional methods... may not be unacceptable."

He didn't explicitly state the mission, but the implied meaning in his words seemed to have alerted the perceptive Wilstone, and the old knight's eyes flickered slightly.

Kou can go, so can I!

However, it's important to carefully consider who this knife should be aimed at.

Kruze frowned, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the rough map on the table. His mind raced, trying to sift through his limited knowledge to find a suitable "hunting" target. However, a harsh reality confronted him—he had just returned to his territory and knew very little about the strength, background, and even past grievances of his neighbors.

This lack of information made him feel constrained.

This is not out of pointless pangs of conscience, but rather stems from the most fundamental sense of caution.

Taking the initiative to play the role of a "bandit" is not a good idea. If you run into a brick wall, such as a knight who has hidden his strength, or a knightly leader who is closely related to a baron or even a viscount, then you are not going to "fight to support your war effort" but simply handing yourself over to become someone else's hero and a laughing stock.

Before one's own strength has grown, every external action must be taken with utmost caution, with precision and ruthlessness, and absolutely no leverage must be left behind.

Just as he was pondering how to find a breakthrough by looking at the dim oil lamp, a steady knock came from outside the study door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Wilstone's tall figure strode in. His face bore the weariness of interrogation, but even more so, the sharpness of someone who had gleaned crucial information. "Young Master," Wilstone said, bowing with his hand on his chest, before cutting straight to the point in a low voice, "the initial interrogation has yielded an important result. Based on the cross-examination of several leaders and Scarface's confidants, it can be determined that this band of bandits did not initially gather spontaneously, but rather... they were intentionally led towards our Lion's Tooth Territory."

Kruze's fingers, which were tapping on the table, suddenly stopped. He looked up, a cold glint in his eyes: "Oh? Who is it?"

"The Wolf-hair Knights." Wilstone pronounced the name clearly.

“Wolf Hair Collar…” Kruze’s eyes narrowed slightly; he was quite familiar with this name.

Lord Haynes Wolfhair was the father of Bran, the spoiled brat who had mocked him so much in the Earl's castle hall!
The arrogant and disdainful face from his memory instantly surfaced, and a chilling anger quietly welled up in his heart.

"Can the information be confirmed?" Kruse's voice was unreadable, but those who knew him well could sense the storm brewing within it.

Wilstone nodded emphatically, his tone certain: "It's basically confirmed. Scarface Durut, he used to be a bronze knight in the Wolfhair Knights' territory, but was later expelled for some reason. He harbors deep resentment towards the Wolfhair Knights' territory, but it is precisely because he is familiar with the situation there that he was used by the people of the Wolfhair Knights, who hinted at and even provided him with some convenience, diverting his troubles to our side."

That's it!

It's not just mockery; there's such a sinister scheme behind it!

Is the intention to weaken or even destroy Lion Fang Territory by using the bandits?
Kruse slowly leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping the table again, but the rhythm became slow and powerful, like a countdown to death.

His previous confusion and difficulty in finding his goal vanished instantly.

A perfectly clear target, with ample justification for revenge, has delivered itself to our doorstep.

“Very good.” Kruze’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Wilstone, I need all the intelligence on the Wolfhair Knights’ territory—Sir Haynes’ strength, how many knights and soldiers he commands, the territory’s defenses, the location of the granaries, the recent patrol routes, and even whether there are any internal conflicts within their family…everything you can dig up, the more detailed the better!”

His gaze was sharp as a knife, as if it had pierced through the night and was fixed on the distant Wolf's Hair Castle.

Kou can go, and so can I. But this time, the hunter has a clear target.

With his goal clear, Kruse's hesitation and confusion vanished, replaced by a clear path of action and an urgent desire to become stronger.

It is common knowledge that Sir Haynes, lord of the Wolfhair Knights, has been summoned to the front.

Even his spoiled second son, Bran, was taken to the battlefield, which shows that the battle at the front was intense, and also means that the forces left behind in Wolf Hair Territory must be relatively weak.

“But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse,” Kruze analyzed calmly. “The foundation of a knightly territory cannot be completely hollowed out. The person in charge who stayed behind is at least an experienced bronze knight, and there may be a dozen or twenty regular soldiers. A direct attack is definitely not going to work; we must outsmart them, and we must be quick, ruthless, and clean and efficient, leaving no evidence pointing to Lion Fang Territory.”

If this act of "playing the bandit" is exposed, when Sir Haynes returns from the front lines, he will definitely launch a war at all costs, even if it is only for the sake of the nobles' face and revenge. That would be a real catastrophe for Liontooth Territory, which has just begun to improve.

This operation must be carried out like a ghost, leaving no trace.

　The Ghost Festival (July 15th of the lunar calendar) is a major festival in Chaozhou, hence the late update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)