Chapter 68: Chapter 68: A ruthless side
"@#@$#@$#%#^#^#^#*%...."
In a grand hall, people in luxurious clothes were chatting amongst themselves.
"May I have your attention, please?" a slim, middle-aged man on a stage said, raising his wine glass.
The chatter in the hall slowly died down as all the nobles present turned to look at the man.
"Thank you for your time, gentlemen. As we have all gathered here to celebrate my son’s coming-of-age ceremony, I sincerely thank all of you who took your precious time to attend."
A noble from the audience raised his wine glass and chuckled. "Count, what are you saying? We had to come after all, as you were the one to invite us."
The other nobles nodded, their faces beaming with smiles.
"Haha..." Count Elion chuckled, his eyes scanning the room. His smirk widened when he noticed Bennett sitting in a corner, surveying the gathering with a cold expression.
’The new lord is younger than I expected,’ Count Elion mused, ’but to possess the strength to defeat barbarians and the skill to lead troops, he will undoubtedly become an important figure in the empire. I must ensure I am on his good side.’
"Now let’s welcome the main person, shall we?" he steps aside and starts clapping; the other nobles join him.
The hall became lively.
---
’Hah, when will this boring ball end so I can intimidate these people to show them their place? I need to practice my sword after this ends.’
She shook her hand, watching the wine splash and slam against the glass.
"Is that the person...?" She watched a teenager descending the stairs, a middle-aged woman with brown hair and a blue dress beside him.
"Good to see you all, fellow nobles. As you know, my name is Liam."
Sigh... Bennett stood from her chair and walked away, tired of hearing another long speech.
Standing on the balcony, she looked at the moon, its dim light falling across her face.
"Haha..." She chuckled softly, her usually cold face relaxing.
’Now, after another long life, thinking back, I feel strange. Sometimes I wonder if death would have been better than living this kind of life.’
She quickly shook her head and slapped her left cheek.
"Have you gone crazy, Bennett? Come to your senses. I have to kill Drohan and cure Alia."
"Now, let’s welcome our most important guest..."
"It’s time." She turned and walked inside, her eyes roaming. The nobles were shocked when they heard Elion inviting the lord of Maine.
"What? The Lord of Maine? Weren’t we supposed to pressure him into becoming a puppet?"
"Yeah, looks like Lehan isn’t doing his job properly," another replied.
"Are you two crazy? Didn’t you hear what the new lord did to Lehan? Now he won’t even be able to look him in the eye or reject anything this lord says," a man whispered, warning them.
Bennett ignored their whispers and stepped onto the stage.
"Ah, I’m glad you came, my lord," Elion said, bowing. The middle-aged woman beside him blinked in shock, then quickly followed her husband’s lead.
Seeing them bow, Bennett shook her head amusingly, inwardly clapping her hand.
’Well, didn’t think they’d openly show so early that they’re on my side.’
"Don’t worry, Count. How could I reject such a golden opportunity, right?" She patted Elion’s shoulder, then turned to look at the whispering nobles.
A blue aura erupted from her body, with a faint golden tint; the aura scattered all over the hall.
"Agh... what...?" The nobles stiffened, their whispers dying down as sweat trailed down their foreheads.
"Now, that’s better. I need silence when I’m talking, right?" she said with a cold smile, her gray eyes looking at them like ants.
"We’ve wasted enough time. I’ll get straight to the point..." She exhaled slightly as the aura faded and returned to her body.
Gulp. The nobles swallowed hard. Behind her, Elion snapped out of his shock, his eyes turning to excitement.
’Haha, I was right about this lord. My bet paid off.’
"First, all nobles who were supposed to provide meals and supplies to the commoners, step forward."
The nobles looked at each other nervously.
"Didn’t you hear what I said? Do I need to repeat myself?" Bennett growled, streams of blue aura leaking from her body.
"Heeigh...!" Some men jumped in fear, startled.
She crossed her arms, watching as four men stepped forward, one of them trembling.
"My lord, we four, along with Lehan, are in charge of that position."
Bennett looked at the man who spoke and said,
"So, do you know what mistakes you all made, or do I have to remind you the same way I reminded Lehan?"
"Hey, why are you all so scared? He’s just a new lord. We just need to teach him a lesson," a man said arrogantly as he entered the hall, three men in knight armor behind him.
"Is he crazy? Didn’t he hear how the lord beat Lehan and those mercenaries all by himself?"
"Shh, don’t talk too loudly. He probably doesn’t know about that... and it’s too late to tell him now."
"Hoh..." Bennett tilted her head toward the newcomer. "Are you sure you don’t want to kneel and apologize? Because I swear, I won’t give you the chance to do it later."
Hearing her, the man chuckled and cracked his knuckles."Heh, I’ve seen this kind of arrogance in previous lords, and I know how to make it vanish completely."
"Haaah."
"Pfft." Bennett chuckled, her gaze fixed on the man running toward her with his fist raised. Her eyes scanned his body, spotting more than ten vulnerable points.
’A person who doesn’t even know the basics of the sword wants to fight me? Ridiculous.’
A grin appeared on the noble’s face as his fist neared Bennett’s face.
"Are you a snail...?"
"Huh?" The noble blinked at her words, confused by the situation. Before he could react, Bennett caught his fist near her face without even moving to dodge.
"Are you crazy, Sam? Back off from the lord!" Elion said, his eyes wide.
Sam freed his hand surprisingly easily as Bennett let go. He looked at Elion and said,
"Don’t worry, Count. I’ll take care of this person."
Elion’s lips twitched uncontrollably.
Slap.
"Huh..." Sam touched his reddened chin, a sharp pain spreading across his cheek.
After a moment, he growled, "How dare you..." But when he looked at Bennett, he froze, seeing her staring at him coldly, her eyes shining with a killing intent that made him stiffen.
"Eh...!" He quickly backed off, jumping down from the stage, and looked at the men he brought with him.
"Why are you three just staring at me? Beat him for me!" he barked, holding his chin.
"Yes..." The three knights unsheathed their swords and ran toward the stage.
The nobles around tensed as Bennett also jumped down.
"Looks like one slap isn’t enough..." Bennett said darkly, peeling the white gloves off her hands. "I need to break that arrogant jaw of yours."
She casually kicked the approaching knight’s leg, making him fall face-first, then placed her shoe on his shoulder, breaking it.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
The other two stiffened, sweat trickling down their faces.
"Haaah..." One of them swung his sword at her bravely.
A stream of dark aura leaked from Bennett’s body, snapping his sword in half.
"Ha, you want to fight a sword master? You have courage, but courage alone won’t get you anywhere." In the stunned eyes of the knight, she punched his stomach, sending him flying several meters away, unconscious.
The last knight trembled in fear, throwing his sword down. "I... I surrender! Please don’t hurt me, my lord."
"Hey, fight her!" Sam barked from behind. When Bennett looked at him, she raised a brow, noticing he had already taken half a step outside the hall.
"You... YOU!" The knight was shocked to see him almost running away. "You bastard! We’re fighting here for you, and you’re trying to run? You bastard!"
"What did you say? I’m a noble! Don’t you know I can make your family disappear in one night?" Sam shouted in anger, veins throbbing on his forehead.
"You won’t get the chance to do that," Bennett whispered, scaring him as she somehow appeared right beside him.
Gulp. Sam swallowed hard, feeling the cold edge of a sword on his neck. His eyes widened when he saw the knight’s empty hands—and the knight’s sword now in Bennett’s hand, pressed against his throat.
"When... when did you get the sword..." he muttered in fear, his face turning pale.
"My lord, I was wrong! Please spare me. I won’t dare to do anything like this again."
Bennett watched him expressionlessly.
"I told you before, you wouldn’t get this chance." She grabbed his shoulder and slammed her knee into his stomach.
"Buhaa!" Blood mixed with spit burst from Sam’s mouth.
The nobles watching the one-sided fight looked down, their faces pale and bodies trembling, unaccustomed to such a sight after living their lives with silver spoons.
Some feared for their lives as they remembered their misdeeds, while others sighed in relief, having stayed neutral, neither doing anything good nor anything bad.