Chapter 74: The Lord's Majesty

Lion-haired Gruk, scar-faced Nos, and the somewhat mysterious Simon, riding high-headed warhorses, followed closely behind Olivia.

Simon looked cautious, glancing back at the black iron cage from time to time, eager to get through Shadowcrest Ridge sooner.

Gruk and Nos were displeased with Simon's earlier actions to stop them from harassing Olivia, but as they were on serious business, they could only stare at Olivia's backside with lewd eyes, exchanging vulgar jokes with each other.

Olivia could fully hear the voices of the two slave mercenaries making fun of her, but she chose not to vent her anger on them. It was all Rayan's fault; if she were to vent, she would rather settle accounts with Rayan—the more disrespect she received from behind, the more Rayan owed her.

Thinking of Rayan, a cold smile couldn't help but appear on Olivia's stern face. They hadn't had a proper conversation in a long time, and this time he couldn't avoid her...

A few minutes later, Olivia led the three slave mercenaries to a newly completed grand hall, where two black-armored guards with sharp spears, as if prepared, greeted them.

Olivia was slightly puzzled; the town council's hall had been completed for some time now, but Rayan had never used it, so where did these guards come from?

Upon closer inspection, she realized that these two guards were members of the Shadowcrest Ridge joint guard and often visited the Ravenstorm Inn, seemingly familiar with Rayan, presumably arranged by him to wait here.

With this realization, Olivia didn't question the purpose of the guards, simply allowing them to clear the way, standing aside to coldly observe the upcoming events.

"Dismount and disarm!"

The two black-armored guards approached Gruk and the others' horses, arrogantly commanding.

"What? Disarm?"

The reckless Nos's eyes bulged like boiled eggs, "We are the renowned mercenaries of the Righteous Blood Group, and you ragtag Fighters dare to confiscate our weapons?"

He wanted to spit out a thick glob of phlegm, but considering this was the Crow Lord's official residence, such disrespect could be punishable, so he ultimately restrained himself.

Gruk also grimaced, "Disarming us seems a bit too much, doesn't it? Who doesn't know our slave mercenaries live by the blade's edge? In the lands of the barbarian tribes, we hunt with our weapons, and on the Auroria Continent, we defend against so-called knights of justice with them. Our weapons are more important to us than the things between our legs, except when we meet the high nobility or surrender, the Righteous Blood Group will never disarm!"

"Righteous Blood Group? Never heard of it."

One of the high-nosed black-armored guards scoffed, "No matter what Blood Group you are, even if it's a women's menstrual group, you need to follow his rules to meet the Crow Lord."

"F**k your mother!" scar-faced Nos, feeling unprecedentedly insulted, cursed outright.

"Send her my regards."

The high-nosed black-armored guard shrugged indifferently, "My mom's a whore, over forty this year, she would be very pleased if you patronized her business."

"I..." Nos found his tongue tied in his mouth.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of your mom's business—"

Gruk, as the squad leader of the Righteous Blood Group, of course couldn't watch his brother be insulted. He smirked and added, "It's just going to be done by our warhorses. Nos, remember how we treat those barbarian tribe female slaves who try to escape?"

"Remember! How could I forget?"

Nos immediately grinned broadly, his scarred face becoming more fierce as he spoke, "We strip the female slaves naked, then bend their legs back and tie them under the belly of a warhorse. Those barbarian tribe women are really tough, taking it for five or six hours before they die."

While speaking, he swept his thieving eyes back and forth between Olivia's waist and legs, as if he had already stripped her naked.

Olivia struggled to suppress the fury of being violated, maintaining a calm face—this account would all be settled with Rayan.

After hearing Gruk and Nos's banter, another black-armored guard with a goatee smirked, walking up to Gruk's horse and stroking its mane, "Good horse, such a pity..."

Gruk's smile abruptly ceased, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword in alert. "What are you trying to do?"

"Nothing. It's just that you probably don't yet understand about my brother's mom."

The goatee-guard smiled faintly, "Between her legs, not to mention a horse, even if you add the two of you, it's no problem. But no worries, a few days ago I won with a traveling merchant in gambling and won a Sun Maggot Worm from him. It's said that this kind of worm, when stuffed into an animal's anus, can keep it going for three days and nights. If you need it..."

Gruk's face turned pale, completely shocked that such vulgar banter could come from the lord's guards—it was as crass as something the slave mercenaries would say. Was this truly the behavior of the lord's guards?

Gruk knew that the so-called "Sun Maggot Worm" was only the size of a fingernail, a flesh-colored maggot that survived solely by consuming the bodily fluids of other animals. Merchants who raised these creatures typically sold them to ranchers to maximize breeding profits.

But being parasitized by such a creature would exhaust all of an animal's seeds before it ceased. If his beloved warhorse were indeed infested with a Sun Maggot Worm by the black-armored guard, it would die after three days and nights.

Gruk's veins bulged on his neck like ropes, threateningly he said, "If you dare touch my horse, I will make sure you die a painful death!"

"Then disarm yourselves, or else it might be hard to say what could happen out here while you're inside," the goatee-guard said nonchalantly.

Unable to bear it any longer, Gruk and Nos began to gather their Sixth Tier Battle Qi, drawing their swords.

"You bastards, if you want the weapons in our hands, come and take them yourself!" Nos shouted.

The high-nosed black-armored guard disdainfully glanced at them, "We're not begging you to meet the Crow Lord. Since you have no sincerity, you might as well go back where you came from."

"Assholes!"

Just as Gruk was about to swing his sword, Simon pulled him aside and whispered, "This is the lord's official residence, after all. Fighting here would be bad for all of us."

"Damn, I've seen countless lords big and small, and never once have I been asked to disarm! This is clearly these two mongrels provoking us, and you're telling me to swallow this insult?" Gruk was furious enough to hold his sword against Simon's slender neck, "Whose side are you on, dammit?"

Simon's eyes flashed with anger, but it quickly faded.

"The cargo matters more."

He discreetly nodded towards the black iron cage, "Whatever losses you incur, once we get to Stonerock City, I'll have my master repay you tenfold. Let me handle the dealings with the lord. Since the Crow Lord demands we disarm, we shall disarm. Go in, get the money, and come out—it's just a few minutes, and no one can afford to be enemies with money."

Gruk and Nos exchanged glances, then reluctantly nodded. The lure of a tenfold compensation was too great; indeed, no one in this world could afford to be enemies with money.

"Hand over the weapons."

Simon first unstrapped his own sword, then asked his companions for theirs.

Gruk and Nos grimly handed over their weapons to Simon.

After taking the weapons, Simon dismounted and walked up to the two black-armored guards, handing over two gold coins as well, "Please take care of these for us, and also our horses and the cage."

"Sure thing, sure thing."

The goatee-guard bit the coins and then smirked, "If only everyone in the Menstrual Group were as sensible as you!"

"Damn, it's Righteous Blood Group! Not Menstrual Group!" Nos gnashed his teeth and bellowed.

"Doesn't matter where the blood flows from, you may enter now," the high-nosed guard arrogantly waved them on.

Gruk and Nos wanted to say more, but Simon quickly gave them a look, forcing them to shut their mouths and swallow their anger as they walked towards the grand hall.

Olivia, who had been coldly observing, was the last to pass by the black-armored guards, giving them a fierce glare and lowering her voice to ask, "Did Rayan teach you this?"

The initially lecherous goatee-guard suddenly became tense and stammered, "No, no, the lord has nothing to do with this!"

"Right, I swear on my mother's name!" the high-nosed guard added emphatically.

"Hmph, using your mother's name?"

Olivia said disdainfully, "What game is that ruffian Rayan playing? He—never mind, I'll deal with you two later!"

Seeing Simon looking back at her, Olivia decided to drop her "interrogation" of the two guards and hurried to catch up with Simon and the others.

Simon cleared his throat, looking helpless as he said to Olivia, "Village chief, I didn't expect your lord's guards to be so despicable."

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either," Olivia smiled lightly. To call it "despicable" would definitely be something Rayan instigated.

"They even accept bribes, how could such people be suitable for guards?" Simon said with a sneer.

Olivia couldn't help but glance at Simon, "This guest, I remember those bribes were given by you, are you planning to accuse yourself as well?"

For people who stab others in the back and speak ill behind their backs, Olivia had utter disdain.

"That won't be necessary, I was just being kind, trying to give Crow Lord a heads-up," Simon said with a beaming smile.

"If you bring it up yourself, Crow Lord will definitely be happier," Olivia also smiled.

"Really?"

Simon asked pretentiously while smugly glancing back at his companions.

"Of course," Olivia said, her smile radiant.

Humph, that ruffian Rayan, hearing that his subordinates had so successfully humiliated three slave mercenaries, why wouldn't he be pleased?

The group, each with their own thoughts, stepped into the hall, facing a voluptuous and beautiful woman coming towards them—