Chapter 36: Puppets and Spies (Part 2)

That evening, the news of Darknight Manor’s recruitment for guards was quickly announced in the only tavern in Redmaple Town.
Darknight Manor was quite famous in the North County—whether it was the moonlight wine it produced or the rumors about its master mage—these stories fascinated the common adventurers. Now, the manor was not only hiring guards but also offering generous benefits, which excited many adventurers struggling financially. Even those with a certain reputation and strength in the local adventurer circles were interested.
For the common people, nobles were unattainable figures, and nobles along with mages were entirely unknown to them—this might be a great opportunity.
So early the next morning, the manor’s entrance was surrounded by a group of adventurers.
There were about forty to fifty of them, with varying levels of skill and different styles of dress. Some dressed up politely, resembling wealthy merchants or gentry rather than adventurers, while others looked disheveled like beggars. In addition to local adventurers and hunters from Redmaple Town, some even came from Giantstone City.
Out of caution, Donald personally conducted the interviews with the steward.
“Adventurers, my master, Mage Donald Merlinar, will personally oversee the selection of guards. Please be quiet and follow me!”
Led by the steward, the dozens of people entered this beautiful and prosperous manor. The neatly planned farms, pastures, and fields, along with the villas already taking shape despite being under construction, filled these common adventurers with envy and longing.
The selection took place on a square in front of the villa, which was already paved but damaged in half.
This small square was planned to be entirely covered with hard, flat stone, capable of holding thousands of people standing—so forty or fifty adventurers didn’t seem crowded at all.
At that moment, the manor’s master, Donald, sat quietly on a tall wooden chair, observing them without saying a word.
In fact, Donald was using his mental power, which he could now exert as a full-fledged mage, to impose pressure on these adventurers.
Although his mental power as a Black Iron Mage was limited, able to extend only about twenty meters around his body, it wasn’t strong enough to exert significant pressure on dozens of people. Yet it could influence the minds of those with weaker willpower.

Just two minutes passed, and among the adventurers under Donald’s mental influence, those with ulterior motives or who were too timid already showed signs of abnormality. At that moment, Donald ceased his mental influence and called out the dozen or so adventurers who had exhibited such behavior, ordering his butler to send them away from the manor. Those with hidden intentions or weak willpower were not suitable to serve as his guards. As for the rest, there were surely spies sent by forces envious of his possessions, but Donald had ways to identify them. After communicating mentally with the Tree of Life, Donald entered a vision filled with green hues. In this world, there were various light points of different colors, and Donald could clearly sense that each point corresponded to the location of a living being. This was a capability arising from the combination of the Tree of Life and the world’s laws—relying on natural barriers, all beings within its range could be automatically distinguished as friends or enemies based on their mental impulses. Though not omnipotent, according to the Book of Truth, beings below level nine, without special methods to conceal their mental fluctuations, could all be detected. This ability was similar to the vision range of units in fantasy games, where both biological and architectural units possessed such capabilities, with items like sentry guards even allowing this ability to extend beyond the base. Within this vision range, red dots represented hostility, white dots indicated strangers with no ill intent or neutrality, yellow dots signified friendliness, green represented one’s own side, and the only golden dot was Donald himself. Among the remaining adventurers, seven had light red lights, indicating they came with malicious intentions and harbored some ill will toward the manor. These were undoubtedly spies sent by certain factions. The majority were white, indicating neutrality, or light yellow, suggesting some goodwill. However, the single dark red dot caught Donald’s attention. In the end, Donald selected ten men who seemed honest, had clean reputations, and appeared loyal and trustworthy to form the manor’s guard. As for that highly hostile spy, Donald kept him aside temporarily, placing him in a room on the farm awaiting his summons.

After selecting the men and the others who failed were gone, Donald said to the ten of them, “From today onward, you will be the guards of my manor. You’ll receive three silver coins per month as a basic allowance—don’t think it’s little, as I’ll provide you with top-quality equipment and some basic training, all of which comes at a high cost. You may also bring your families to live in the manor, and I’ll build houses for them. There are also many tasks in the manor that need workers, which can help your families earn extra income.”

The ten guards were delighted by such terms. But then Donald spoke in a stern tone, “To enjoy such benefits, there must be a price. All I want is your loyalty. If you can’t even do that, then say so now. After today, you’ll have to work hard for me. Though I am a nobleman and kind, the price of betraying a mage is one you cannot afford!”

Compared to a noble lord, the mage—a profession almost deified by ordinary people—had far greater deterrence. Donald’s threats made the ten chosen guards tremble, and their enthusiasm faded significantly. After bowing humbly to the manor’s master, they followed the steward to the residences built for them on the side of the manor.

“The guard issue is settled. It’s time to go see that guy!” Donald muttered to himself, a slight smile on his lips, as he headed to the room where the adventurer was kept.

The man, who had been placed there disguised as an adventurer, had been uneasy all along. Seeing the manor’s master suddenly enter, he hurriedly approached to pay his respects.

After sitting down in the room, Donald said casually, “Enough! No need to act. Tell me why you sneaked into my manor!”

Hearing this, the man was shocked, not knowing how he had been exposed. He quickly tried to cover it up with a smile, saying, “Lord Mage, are you joking? I don’t quite understand!”

Donald looked at him with a half-smile and said softly, “I suppose the one behind you is very displeased with me!”

Though it was a casual remark, it struck like a sledgehammer, hitting the man’s heart word by word. The man’s reaction seemed to imply that Donald knew everything about him, so he decided to stop pretending and try to escape the manor. As Donald spoke, the man began to back away slowly toward the door.

“I advise you not to make any rash moves. If you try to escape, my lovely summon will turn you into breakfast!”
Hearing this, before he could think further, he noticed a flash of light beside him. A monster with a hunched back, wild eyes full of ferocity, and a foul stench, resembling a skinned corpse, appeared right next to him. From such close range, he could even smell the bloody odor coming from its mouth.
He had no doubt that at the slightest movement on his part, this monster with sharp teeth and blood-red claws would tear him apart in an instant, which sent chills down his spine.