Chapter 014: Domination

Du Fan chuckled softly. Though his smile seemed calm, everyone felt a murderous aura from it. He took a few steps toward Carol, then suddenly snorted and said, “Third Young Master… Third Young Master… I really don’t deserve that title… But do you guys even understand what you’re doing? And you… your name is Carol, right? Tell me now—how many times have you done this kind of thing?”
Although Carol was kneeling on the ground, he didn’t show any signs of submission. The Northern Legion was essentially the Green family’s private army, so it was normal for these cavalrymen to pay homage to Du Fan as their Third Young Master. After realizing Du Fan’s identity, Carol had long known he must have been deceived. Given Du Fan’s status, he had nothing to do with the barbarians from the northeast. But since Du Fan said so, he didn’t dare argue. He could only say solemnly, “Third Young Master, there must be some misunderstanding here.”
“A misunderstanding?” Du Fan sneered and pointed at the piles of bones behind him. “If I weren’t your Third Young Master, would I be like those people over there, spending the rest of my life here?”
Carol glanced in that direction. He had noticed it before but thought it was just a mass grave and paid no attention. But he wasn’t stupid—he quickly figured out what was going on. Having served in Ruijin City for a long time, he also knew something about the behavior of the imperial defense troops. He just couldn’t believe they would dare target the Green family’s Third Young Master.
Still kneeling, Carol didn’t dare stand up. He glared fiercely at Harry before saying, “It’s a misunderstanding, Third Young Master. Truly. That defense soldier came to our Northern Legion’s camp to report that barbarian spies had infiltrated Ruijin City, that’s why we rushed here. Please believe us, the Northern Legion would never do such beastly things.”
Du Fan snorted lightly. He stared at Carol for a moment, but Carol’s gaze remained clear and honest.
In fact, Du Fan didn’t want to believe that his own family’s Northern Legion would do such a thing. But everything seemed too coincidental to ignore. He nodded indifferently and said, “Then tell me—what are the people from the Northern Legion doing in Ruijin City? This isn’t our territory, is it?”

A strange expression appeared on Carol’s face. After pondering for a moment, he said in a low voice, “Third Young Master, though you are of high status, I have no authority to disclose military secrets to you. If you insist on knowing, may I ask for permission from my superiors first? Moreover, even if there were something I could say, it would probably not be appropriate in such a place…” As he spoke, Carol’s expression grew even more peculiar.

Du Fan nodded slightly. He already believed eight out of ten of Carol’s words and regretted his own rashness earlier, but he showed no outward emotion. Instead, he nodded slightly and said, “Get up. I’ll trust you for now. But tell me, how should we deal with these scum of the army?”

As he spoke, Du Fan gave Harry a cold glance.

Harry’s legs gave way, and he knelt down. He wanted to plead for mercy, but he found that everyone from the Northern Legion was glaring at him. Trembling, he couldn’t speak and could only keep kowtowing.

Carol slowly stood up. He glanced at Harry, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes, but he had no choice but to lower his head and say, “Third Young Master, although these men have violated the army’s strict rules, they are part of the Imperial City Defense Forces, a separate force from our Northern Legion. Though I wish to tear them to pieces, we don’t have the authority to do so. We must hand them over to the city lord to handle.”

Du Fan snorted and said, “Even if I kill these people, what can the city lord do to me?”

Carol sighed slightly. After thinking for a moment, he said in a low voice, “Third Young Master, as you surely know, the Northern Legion despises such actions the most. If you kill these people today, the city lord of Ruijin City certainly can’t do anything to you. But… the trouble with the imperial capital… that won’t be avoided…”

Du Fan turned to look at Carol again, inwardly praising him. This Carol was cautious, insightful, and had a good sense of politics—truly a capable person. No wonder his father, who valued the Northern Legion so much, trusted him to handle matters on his own.

Du Fan pondered for a moment. Naturally, he had no good feelings toward these soldiers who had violated military discipline; it was absolutely impossible for him to let them off. After thinking for a while, he suddenly sneered and said, “Carol, send these people to the city lord’s residence. By the way, tell the city lord of Ruijing that I, Du Fan, the third young master of the Green family, am passing by here and plan to pay him a visit tonight. As for why I’m visiting, you can come up with an excuse. I want to see whether this city lord is smart or foolish.”

Hearing that the third young master didn’t intend to kill those guys after all, Carol felt somewhat relieved. He had long heard of this third young master’s reputation, and lately, the news that the Green family’s third young master had mastered combat energy had been widely circulated within the Northern Legion. Most of the people in the Northern Legion were loyal to the Green family, so who wouldn’t be happy to know their young master was no longer a good-for-nothing?

At first, Carol had feared that Du Fan, the famous white-robed priest from the capital, might become arrogant after shedding his reputation as a good-for-nothing. But seeing Du Fan’s behavior now, he was impressed: the people of the Green family truly weren’t ordinary.

At that moment, Carol didn’t dare say anything more. He quickly ordered a dozen cavalry to take Harry and the others to the city lord’s residence and sent a message along the way. He also sent people to collect the corpses, but since there was no other way to deal with them, the only option was to bury them outside the city. Finally, Carol brought over all the items confiscated from Du Fan and his group, after which he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After seeing Chenchen being helped onto the carriage by Tasia, Du Fan nodded. Without hesitation, he simply said to Carol, “Find me a place to stay.”

Given Du Fan’s status, even if he hadn’t given orders, Carol would have taken care of these matters anyway. Moreover, since Du Fan had given instructions, Carol acted promptly. He chose the most luxurious inn in Ruijing City and ordered a hundred knights to guard it thoroughly, preventing any outsiders from approaching.

Along the way, Carol secretly observed Du Fan. Although he had heard of this third young master’s reputation, it was his first time seeing him in person. Though Du Fan was not yet twenty, he had lived through two lifetimes and no longer possessed the pretentiousness typical of ordinary noble heirs. Moreover, his years of experience in the Holy Church had endowed him with an unshaken composure. After obtaining the Divine Origin, his demeanor changed even further, exuding an inscrutable mystery, which, combined with his usual smile, made him appear supremely holy.

Carol was deeply astonished but concealed his feelings on his face.

As for the people accompanying Du Fan—whether it was the Temple Knights, Tasia, or even the unconscious Chenchen—Carol pretended not to see them. The Temple Knights, following Du Fan’s orders, naturally prevented others from approaching the carriage. The cavalry of the Northern Legion, under Carol’s subtle guidance, merely provided a symbolic protection for the carriage.

Carol wondered why this third young master had suddenly appeared in this small border town. He was filled with questions, but given his status, he couldn’t ask too much. For now, he could only wait until Du Fan was settled before reporting his whereabouts.

Upon arriving at the inn, Du Fan told everyone else to rest. Worried about Chenchen, he asked Carol to assign dozens of people to guard outside her room and instructed Tasia to keep an eye on her before heading to the inn’s hall to chat with Carol.

Although Du Fan wanted to know what the Northern Legion was doing in such a place, Carol refused to say anything. In the end, with no other choice, Du Fan could only sit there and sip bitter tea.

Just then, noise arose at the entrance.

The inn had been taken over by the Northern Legion’s men. About half of their five hundred cavalry were stationed throughout the inn. Anyone sensible wouldn’t dare offend them in such a place.

Yet the noises coming from outside seemed to include several angry roars, which seemed strange.

Du Fan frowned slightly, about to say something, but Carol quickly interjected, “Third young master, don’t worry. I’ll go see who dares to cause trouble on the Northern Legion’s territory.”

Du Fan was at a loss—should he be afraid? When in his many years had he ever been afraid?

But before Carol could say anything, a deep, thunderous voice rang out: “You little wretch, Carol! Not only do you act tyrannically in my territory, but now you’ve also killed half of my guards and taken the other half to the city lord’s palace. Don’t think just because you’re part of the Northern Legion that I won’t deal with you!”