HTLCCBFT Chapter 127

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 127

Oliver certainly hadn’t come alone.

Following behind him were over a hundred guards, led by the knight Oakwood, each armed with spears and shields, standing ready for battle.

Almost simultaneously as Deputi became aware of his presence, Oliver also spotted the faintly protruding figures on the city wall through the hazy guidance of moonlight.

Just as expected.

The cunning rebel leader and his confidants intended to take advantage of the chaos created by the successive dropping of women’s corpses diverting the Laina army’s attention. They planned to slide down the wall using ropes and escape under the cover of night.

“What should we do? We’ve definitely been discovered!”

It took Deputi a long moment to recover from the shock, breaking out in a cold sweat all over: “We have no way back now!”

Going down was certainly not an option anymore.

With their intentions already detected, even if they could quickly descend to the ground, how could they possibly outrun enemy troops mounted on military steeds with just their two legs?

But they couldn’t go back either.

From the growing clamor, it was clear that their former comrades in the castle had discovered their betrayal of abandoning everyone to flee.

Those foolish, selfish, yet utterly cruel bastards, in their extreme fear and anger, would never forgive their betrayal!

“Panic about what?”

Like others who realized their fate had plunged into the abyss and had no leisure to ponder the miraculous intense light, Lieder also self-deceptively averted his gaze from that radiant figure.

He closed his eyes briefly, quickly devising a barely feasible countermeasure: “Pull me back up, then burn all the ropes.”

Deputi asked blankly: “Lieder?”

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Lieder gritted his teeth and hissed sternly: “Hurry!”

He planned to fabricate the illusion that he wasn’t attempting to escape with his confidants, but had specifically come here to actively resist the enemy’s sudden invasion.

After all, they were just a bunch of fools easily deceived…

While Deputi frantically pulled Lieder back onto the wall, Oliver was questioning the Albury slave specially summoned from the town to confirm the purpose of this tall building before them.

“Honorable Lord,” Simmot answered without hesitation: “This is the old main tower, used by Lord Butor to store fuel, food, and weapons.”

Normally, slaves of the lowest status weren’t permitted near the castle.

But the steward, when collecting grain each season, wouldn’t personally move the heavy loads, instead whipping slaves to transport them.

Unlike other timid slaves who dared not look around, Simmot, once a freeman, tended to observe his surroundings more carefully.

“Hmm.”

Oliver obtained the answer he wanted.

The old tower used for storage… likely wouldn’t have people inside. He could breach from here.

The only concern was that the enemy would probably pour substances like sulfur powder, quicklime, or boiling oil through the embrasures to attack anyone approaching the wall.

Therefore, he intended to go alone.

Just in case, after brief consideration, Oliver still had Oakwood dispatch a messenger to deliver new orders to the knights currently blockading the castle’s main gate.

“We are about to launch the final assault.” Oliver lowered his eyelids slightly, his tone seemingly calm and unhurried. “If they can hand over the captives, then for every living captive, one surrender will be accepted. Also warn them not to think of playing any tricks or trying to deceive my eyes… I have plenty of ways to verify the authenticity of the captives. My patience is limited; I won’t wait too long. Other than this, I will not accept anyone’s surrender.”

He felt no pity for those vicious beasts who had mercilessly preyed upon the weak.

Even those who surrendered under such circumstances would receive no kindness from him.

Ah…

Oliver sighed.

He didn’t believe there were any surviving captives left inside.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Sensing the hidden anger beneath the Lord’s calm tone, Oakwood bowed deeply and immediately relayed the order.

Within moments, the people in the castle received this news.

A message that sounded like hope, but plunged all who knew the truth into utter despair.

“Captives? Where would we find captives now!”

Someone broke down crying: “We never should have listened to Lieder! We shouldn’t have killed them all! Now none of us will survive!”

That morning, upon receiving Lieder’s order, they had completely slaughtered those emaciated women and the castle’s old servants like the cooks who had prepared their meals for so long!

Who could have predicted the enemy would suddenly demand captives?

They couldn’t produce a single living captive!

In their extreme panic, they began irrationally blaming everyone and everything they could.

“Those idiots, why didn’t they know to hide?!”

“They were always so good at begging for mercy before, why couldn’t they hide when it really mattered?!”

“Those useless stupid women!”

“If they hadn’t eaten so much, we wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to kill them!”

But more than those women who had long become ghosts, their bodies turned into minced meat thrown outside the castle walls, what angered them more was the “mastermind” behind all this – Lieder.

“It’s all Lieder’s fault!”

“Everything is Lieder’s mistake!”

“That despicable scoundrel not only deceived us with lies but also secretly escaped, completely betraying our trust!”

“Exactly! If Lieder hadn’t seduced us back then, we wouldn’t have even considered rebelling against Viscount Butor! We wouldn’t be facing this trouble today!”

“We should have just continued enduring back then, we shouldn’t have stormed the castle!”

“Damn it! Even if Butor sold all the grain, so what? Everyone would go hungry, but we could still snatch some food – we might not have died!”

“Not like today – we’re absolutely doomed!”

“It’s all Lieder and his gang’s fault! Quickly, find them! If they haven’t escaped yet, we’ll kill them with our own hands!”

When the threat of death suddenly loomed before them, almost no one could maintain their rationality.

They seemed to have forgotten that while Lieder had proposed the slave rebellion, it was they who had first raised their weapons and looked toward the unsuspecting steward—But the person they accused was not him; they forgot that the first one to rush into the castle and smash precious vessels on the ground, the one who grabbed weeping maids by their hair and slammed them against the walls, was not Lieder; they also forgot that the one who threw torches into the crops, watching with glee as they burned to ashes, and the one who brutally kicked former slave companions begging for mercy, was not Lieder; they even forgot that the first to suggest locking up those maids and beautiful female slaves for their winter depravity was not Lieder either…

Yet now, the vanished Lieder had become the target of everyone’s red-eyed, frenzied curses.

They forgot the wine and meat they had once feasted on, the warmth of blazing hearths that had sheltered them from winter’s chill; they forgot how they had shouted, “We should have rebelled against those damned nobles sooner!”; and they forgot the women they had tortured at will before cleanly slitting their throats with their own hands.

Nor did they see how unreasonable it was to blame all their faults on someone else.

“Kill Lieder!”

Even from the farthest tower, the unified, thunderous cry rang out with startling clarity. Deputi’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He drew a sharp breath and turned to the silent Lieder. “Lieder, I think… you should abandon your earlier plan. That mob has gone completely mad! They won’t listen to any explanation!”

Lieder’s expression darkened, but he remained silent.

Of course, he had realized it too. He let out a derisive snort. “Those fools… just when their stupidity is most needed, they suddenly turn shrewd.”

Despite being trapped in a hopeless predicament, he seemed to relax instead.

He sat on the perilous outer edge of the city wall, letting the rough gravel grind against his legs through the thin fabric of his clothes as if he felt no pain at all.

His gaze, however, was intensely focused—greedy and mesmerized—fixed on the unbelievably beautiful figure enveloped in dazzling light.

Was that the divine messenger?

“What a pity,” he murmured in a voice so soft only he could hear. “For me, you’ve come far too late.”

The night had been too long.

He had hardened into a ruthless beast, cruelly devouring the flesh and blood of his own kind.

Even if he sensed that a gentle dawn had truly arrived this time, he could no longer bear such radiance.

Dying at the feet of a divine messenger so beautiful one couldn’t look away was still better than dying under the lash of a whip.

“We’ve failed, Deputi. Leading a herd of brainless pigs to rebel against a pack of arrogant dogs was never going to end well,” Lieder suddenly spoke.

As if struck by a thought, he let out a scornful laugh. “How laughable. No matter how many times we prayed to God, those haughty beings never heard our pleas, nor did they send a kind, beautiful messenger to save us. Yet the moment we beheaded those noble lords, He suddenly regains his sight!”

As if that damned Viscount Butor and his family, along with those bastard stewards, had never killed anyone before?

Over the years, far more people have died at their hands than those who perished here.

Yet no deity would punish Butor, while they, who committed similar crimes, were branded as utterly wicked!

Anxious and bewildered, Deputi looked at him with confusion: “Yes, I’ve known that for a long time, but why are you saying this now—”

“Since we’ve failed, we must accept the outcome calmly.”

Lieder spoke lazily as he stood up, seemingly unafraid of the danger of falling from the high wall at any moment: “Cheer up, my good friend. At least compared to standing on the trial platform and being hung on the gallows, we still have a second choice, don’t we?”

The fine wine reserved for nobles, he had already tasted.

The noble lord’s esteemed head had also rolled in disgrace because of him.

Even if they escaped, it wouldn’t really mean much. Without any skills or status, how could they possibly live on?

They would likely just become bandits plundering everywhere.

With such foolish subordinates, he would probably end up on the gallows sooner or later.

The only chance to walk openly under the sun had been completely missed by them.

Deputi watched his carefree demeanor and suddenly felt a heavy unease welling up inside him.

What was Lieder planning?

He tentatively took a step forward, wanting to pull his companion back from the edge of the wall: “Lieder? Hey, come back a bit first, your position is too dangerous—”

His words cut off abruptly.

Just as Deputi’s nerves were stretched to the limit and he gradually approached the other who had his back to him, his vision suddenly blurred, and a sharp whistling sound rang in his ears.

Before his mind could grasp what it meant, his heart plummeted violently.

“No!!!”

He screamed with all his heart and soul!

In that moment, he desperately lunged forward to grab him but didn’t even manage to touch a corner of his clothing.

—He could only watch helplessly as the rebel leader, who had been wearing a nonchalant smile just moments before, fearlessly and resolutely leaped off the wall that was dozens of feet high.

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