Lord of Rot

Hoofbeats trod across the scorching yellow sand.

Four riders on swift horses galloped under the blazing sun, arriving at a camp deep in the desert.

An arrow suddenly flew past, sticking into the ground a dozen feet ahead of the horses’ hooves.

The horses halted at the sight of the arrow.

The Wandering Knight, Ao Kai, who was leading the way, suddenly raised his right hand to give a signal.

After a moment, the sound of hoofbeats approached, and several armored Wandering Knights on warhorses surrounded them.

The Wandering Knight Ao Kai threw back his cloak, removed his helmet, and revealed his face. ”Where’s Buerwell?”

”Inside, drinking.”

Ao Kai had expected as much, so he wasn’t surprised.

Besides the two Wandering Knights, their two companions also removed their cloaks. The first was Lin Nuo, a sturdy Barbarian woman from the Northern Territory. Though she wore no heavy armor, her imposing physique was enough to intimidate, and she radiated a murderous aura.

The other person removed her cloak, revealing a delicate face that made the Wandering Knights’ hearts skip a beat. They had never seen a woman so beautiful; it was as if a goddess had descended to the mortal world.

The Wandering Knight Ao Kai explained, ”I’m taking them to see Buerwell.”

The group parted, clearing a path for them.

The Wandering Knights’ camp was very rudimentary. At its core were a few earthen houses, surrounded by rows of tents.

Lacking faith yet possessing considerable strength, the Wandering Knights were despised by all in the desert. Only by flying the banner of ”justice” could they ”liberate” some fine wine and money from the hands of so-called evil merchants.

When the elf maiden Bai Lu and the Northern Territory Barbarian Lin Nuo met the leader of the Wandering Knights, Buerwell, they couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

He was just a drunken old Knight with a messy, unkempt beard, who didn’t even wear armor anymore.

A Knight who had lost his faith and forsaken his vows, his eyes were turbid and dull.

Bai Lu said, ”Our lord wishes to hire you.”

Buerwell’s murky eyes struggled to focus. He let out a drunken hiccup before replying, ”Fine.”

...

Bai Lu brought the old Wandering Knight Buerwell back to Bonta Market.

The guard detachment at Bonta Market had been reorganized. Although it was still the same group of people, their overall demeanor was different. Surrounded by unfamiliar faces, there was far less cliquishness.

But if the town were to be revitalized, a true change would require an injection of new blood. However, Baron Porcupine, the one person with the ability to provide this, was not about to run a losing enterprise or neglect the fundamentals to develop this place.

Pushing open the gate and stepping into the courtyard of Leech’s residence, Bai Lu happened upon Kuer Oasis, who was waiting there.

Only two days into his new post, Kuer was already beginning to exude the particular air of a superior. ’But I know,’ Bai Lu thought, ’that if I just drew my sword and rested it on his shoulder, this foolish facade would crumble, and he’d revert to the pathetic, trembling wretch he is.’

”Good day, Miss Bai Lu,” Kuer greeted with a smile.

Beside him stood a flock of young women. They stood there demurely, but their eyes lit up when they saw Bai Lu. They had never seen such a beautiful woman; she didn’t seem like a person who could have been born, but rather the flawless work of a master sculptor.

Bai Lu frowned slightly. ”Do you intend to win his favor with them?”

’Even with my beauty, it’s hard to capture Baron Leech’s attention. He’s not a man to be swayed by a pretty face. Kuer is destined to fail.’

”They are just some maids. They will be responsible for cleaning and helping the lord with minor tasks.”

Just as the two were about to chat more, the door opened.

It was Vendra who opened it. He was, as always, holding the golden Holy Grail. The wound on his cheek looked to be mostly healed.

”Please, come in!”

The crowd filed in.

As they passed Vendra, however, they carefully gave him a wide berth, lest the golden Holy Grail drain away their life.

Leech was still flipping through a book. Bai Lu had only known him for two days, but she’d discovered that Leech was always reading all sorts of books.

Beside him were several letters, likely from different families. Unfortunately, despite having been in Lu Leiyi for a long time, Bai Lu had always been at the bottom of the social ladder and knew very little about the upper class, so she couldn’t recognize who the letters were from.

She was about to speak when Kuer beat her to it. ”My lord, these are the maids I’ve brought for you. I’ve selected them with great care. None of them are married.”

His words were practically blatant.

The young women also grew bold, secretly glancing up at the handsome lord sitting in the chair. They knew this was their chance to change their fates.

When Leech placed his book face-down on the table and looked at them, they immediately returned his gaze with sultry smiles. Some offered shy smiles instead. Although they were far less beautiful than Bai Lu, their youthful radiance was its own stunning scenery, like a hundred flowers vying for attention.

And compared to the gentle women of the East Gorge, they were bolder, like the first flower buds of spring daring to bloom.

Bai Lu quietly waited for Kuer Oasis to be rejected.

Leech looked up, sized up the young women, and then nodded. ”Not bad. They can all stay. Vendra, take them and get them acquainted with the place.”

Vendra, holding the golden Holy Grail, nodded quickly. ”Yes!”

He had already taken on the part-time duties of a butler. Or rather... he wasn’t allowed to leave Leech’s side at all.

’Huh?’ Bai Lu’s eyes widened slightly. This was completely different from what she had expected.

The untrained girls also began to shout chaotically, ”Thank you, my lord!” ”Yes, my lord!” ”Ah, thank you, my lord!” Their chirping reminded Leech of the young maids bustling about in front of him back at Porcupine Castle.

Kuer Oasis, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised. He had thought the Baron would only keep a few, but to his amazement, he kept them all.

He knew on whom his position as lord depended, so making Leech happy was far more beneficial than governing his own town well.

’In this dry, boring desert, if I can’t even look at some pretty girls to please the eye, it would be sheer torture.’

’But when it comes to pleasing the eye, the elf maiden Bai Lu is definitely in a class of her own.’

Leech turned to look at Bai Lu and immediately felt his mood improve considerably.

’If I wanted to suffer, why would I become a lord? I might as well have joined a monastery. The privileged class should enjoy its privileges.’

’If all the elves on the Panbo Continent are on Bai Lu’s level, then ’saving the elves’ would definitely be added to my plans. ’Saving the Sub-human girls’ is also on the list... and it’s even a slightly higher priority than the elves.’

Kuer, showing great tact, took his leave.

Seeing Leech’s gaze turn to her, Bai Lu reigned in her shocked expression and said to him, ”This is Buerwell.”

Her tone, however, carried a hint of dissatisfaction: ’I never expected you to be this kind of person, Leech.’

”Buerwell?” Leech looked at the reeking, drunken old Wandering Knight. His eyes were murky, his back was hunched, and his face was covered in an untrimmed beard.

Any old craftsman from Porcupine Territory would have more spirit than him.

”Yes,” the old Wandering Knight nodded.

”How many men do you have?”

”Including me, twenty-three in total.”

”All former subordinates of Princess Sophia?”

Buerwell’s reply was still flat. ”Yes.”

’Twenty-three Knights,’ Leech mused. ’Right now, I only have two proper Knights under my command, Kuai Ren and Lacy Sith, and they’re just high-ranking officials in the territory without fiefs or forces of their own. According to the normal enfeoffment process, a Knight might receive a small village of dozens or even a hundred people as their knightly fief, which would then support the Knight themselves. When it’s time for battle, each Knight would lead a squad of a dozen or so men. Twenty-three Knights could instantly become a force of three to four hundred men in wartime. This is a core force. Then, by levying militia and hiring Mercenaries in the lord’s name, the army could expand to several thousand, or even ten thousand. But they’re Wandering Knights now, so they definitely don’t have any men under them.’

”I don’t need your allegiance. I will only hire you,” Leech said, making it clear that he wasn’t interested in any oaths of fealty. It was a relationship of mutual distrust.

Buerwell looked up. ”We have never betrayed our oaths. We just occasionally swear new ones to money.”

Leech wasn’t naive enough to believe the words of a Wandering Knight. Sometimes, they had even fewer scruples than Mercenaries; otherwise, they wouldn’t have fallen to such a state.

”I’ve read many stories about Princess Sophia these past two days. Hmm... they’ve given me a whole new perspective.”

Yes, a whole new perspective.

’Do these novelists have a death wish, writing such risqué stuff?’

Leech had wanted to read a couple of books about Princess Sophia, only to find that most of the text was dedicated to describing her beauty, how men’s eyes went straight when they saw her, and what *else* went straight.

The rest was just the fantasies of some loser author about the extravagant life of the nobility, stuff like wine for footbaths, armpit-cheese bread, and mouth-chewed grape juice.

It made Leech want to grab the author and have an eighty-year-old granny do all that to him personally—one with bad breath, body odor, and athlete’s foot!

’Anyway, I’m an East Gorge Person. Voicing some verbal support for Princess Sophia’s former troops won’t affect me. The one who should be having a headache is the Count of Buffalo. But seeing the state these Wandering Knights are in, the Count of Buffalo probably doesn’t see them as a threat at all.’

”Let’s not get hung up on oaths, Buerwell,” Leech said. ”We can have a cooperative relationship. I am willing to pay twenty Silver Moons per month to hire a Wandering Knight to work for me. The main duties might include emergency training for a batch of serviceable Soldiers, guarding prisoners, and escorting merchant caravans.”

They were still Mercenaries, but the price was much higher.

Aside from minor flaws like being untrustworthy, disloyal, capricious, and unreliable, every single Wandering Knight was a talented individual.

Buerwell said, ”I am willing to serve you, my lord.”

If this were a game, Leech would surely be getting a notification that he had successfully recruited a band of Wandering Knights.

Quantity: 23. Monthly expenditure: 460 Silver Moons.

Loyalty: 0 (Warning: Loyalty is critically low. May rebel at any time).

Leech smiled. ”As it happens, I have a task for you right now.”

The old Wandering Knight raised his head, quietly awaiting Leech’s orders.

”I wonder, do you know a Baron Jin Fu?”

The murky eyes of the old Wandering Knight suddenly flashed with a sharp light. Standing beside him, the elf maiden Bai Lu keenly sensed danger, as if a scarred, aging lion were coiled next to her.