Pillar of Yita

But he still tried to make one last struggle, lowering his voice and pleadingly signaling to Count Nulman: ”Sir, on that ship there’s...”

”Alright,” Nulman gently shook his head at him: ”Mr. Lammonlay, do you really think they can fly far using the airship in this weather? In this weather, what are the chances of an airship crashing? Unless protected by a deity, the chance is a solid hundred percent. I know what’s on that ship, but it doesn’t matter.”

”But what if?”

Nulman’s eyes flickered for a moment, clearly considering something. But after pondering for a while, he replied: ”Okay, I trust you one last time. I can give you some time, but only before the other party loses patience.”

The middle-aged Arcanist’s mouth moved for a while before letting out a sigh and giving up his insistence. He knew this was the last concession from the other side, since it was their daughter in these people’s hands, not his. If he continued to be stubborn, the other side might not be so polite.

Only then did the knight remove the curved blade from his neck, yet the middle-aged Arcanist did not leave either, instead turning around to whisper instructions to two of his subordinates, who nodded and then immediately disappeared into the crowd.

”Half an hour.”

After finishing all this, the middle-aged Arcanist turned back and mouthed to His Excellency the Governor.

Nulman nodded impatiently.

Shortly thereafter, the knights who had left earlier returned, escorting the still confused deputy director and chief mage from the ’Dawood’ Ship, but accompanying the knights this time was one additional person—Lady Rand, the plump mother of the count’s daughter, who had been searching for His Excellency the Governor without success.

Due to the knights being tight-lipped, she followed them up without knowing what had happened, only knowing that His Excellency the Governor had come to this place. The corridor was so clogged with knights that she couldn’t see ahead, only aware that the castle was under attack, which was exactly what was causing the lady anxious distress.

Because Lavali was missing—

The moment Lady Rand saw His Excellency the Governor standing among the crowd, she hurried over, her tone filled with extreme urgency: ”Sir... Lavali!”

Nulman waved his hand gently, indicating he was already aware.

The plump woman paused, but when she saw the ’setup’ around her, she suddenly realized that the Governor had not only come to this place but also brought so many knights; he must know what happened. This made her both uneasy and apprehensive, as she was the mother of the young lady, which made her inevitably linked to this matter.

Thinking of this, she dared not speak further.

Nulman instructed the knights to take the deputy director and chief mage from the ’Dawood’ Ship outside the door. At this point, the two had already learned from the middle-aged Arcanist what had happened. Though the prospect of facing a group of ’vicious and ruthless’ criminals made them anxious, at least they had the promise that their lives would not be harmed, so they reluctantly followed the instructions.

They were merely ordinary people employed by the ’Eye of Revelation’ working on the ship, and being brought to this place by a group of knights had left them utterly terrified.

As the two staggered to the door, Nulman once again spoke to Fang Hong: ”The people have been delivered; how do you plan to exchange the keys?”

In the dark room, Fang Hong couldn’t see the situation outside the door but could roughly hear the commotion outside. As soon as Nulman’s voice fell, he cast his gaze toward Luo Yu and Luo Hao, who both nodded at him—they had already discussed how to handle the key exchange.

They had never seen what the ’Dawood’ Ship’s key looked like, hence they had to guard against the possibility of the other side using a fake key to deceive them. Luo Yu, being a spellcaster, could find a way to resolve this issue, while Luo Hao was to go out and protect him; the previous actions had repeatedly proven the reliability of this military fatman.

After confirming this, Fang Hong then replied: ”I will have our people come out to collect it; you just need to place the key on the ground. Soon I will let my people come out to cast a spell on yours. Rest assured, this spell will not harm them, but you cannot hinder my people from casting.”

Nulman raised an eyebrow slightly, involuntarily glancing back at the middle-aged Arcanist.

The latter looked a bit awkward; he had indeed previously suggested using a fake key, but Nulman had flatly rejected it, only for reality to immediately disprove him. This matter at least humbled him a bit, making him aware of his deficiencies; after all, if Lord Ebene were here, such slip-ups would never occur.

There’s even the question of whether these people can escape—

The subsequent exchange between both sides proceeded relatively smoothly.

Only when Luo Yu came out to cast a spell did a slight issue arise on the Bain people’s side.

Lady Rand finally reached the front along with the others, and upon witnessing the scene before her, she was utterly shocked—what was going on? How was the door to the young lady’s room forced open? Who were these strangers coming out from inside? What kind of transaction was His Excellency the Governor completing with these people?

A slew of inexplicable questions flooded the mind of the somewhat plump lady, making her almost believe she was dreaming. By the time she finally awoke, Luo Yu had already put away the spell and, upon confirming the authenticity of the key, was preparing to take it from the hands of the two men.