The Wizard World-Chapter 17: Peace (2)

Angele ran down the stairs right away after taking a while to understand what was going on. By the time he had arrived, the baron had already gathered and was overseeing a squad of heavy armored swordsmen on the training grounds.

“Who went to the forest with Angele that day?” the baron spoke with a very deep voice.

Some of the swordsmen looked at each other in panic, but no one responded.

“If you hand yourselves in now, I will not go too hard on you. You know you did not protect your Young Master well,” the baron took a deep breath, and he said slowly, “As per the rules, 20 lashes for now. However, if I have to find out who it was myself, I will make you suffer.”

It seemed like the swordsmen became relieved after hearing the baron’s words and two of them walked out of the group.

“Baron Karl, it was me and Hank. Please punish us!” One of them spoke loudly.

“Someone bring me my whip!” The baron nodded as he said.

One of the workers started to run to get the baron his whip. Suddenly, the baron drew his sword and stabbed it right through the heads of the two swordsmen. Everything happened in but a mere moment. The two swordsmen fell down to the ground, and blood started to trickle out of their heads.

The training grounds became deathly silent.

“Angele is my son! If he dies, who is going to lead the Rio Family in the future?!” The baron yelled with a cold smile on his face.

“You should’ve never let my son go into the deep forest alone. Are you trying to kill my son?! I could’ve killed your whole families, but I’ve already known you two for a long time. That’s it for this time,” the baron said.

“I hope I don’t have to do this again.” The baron looked at the other swordsmen as he spoke.

“Someone burn their bodies!” he yelled. Everyone watching the scene could not make a sound. People could not even breathe in such a situation, and they were trying their best not to make the baron angrier. Two of the swordsmen went to retrieve and carry the bodies away.

“Get me my weapon and my armor; I need to go to the forest,” the baron said.

“Yes!” One of the workers said with a pale face, and he ran to the armory.

Angele was at the side of the training grounds the whole time, and he witnessed the two guards that helped him recently die in front of him. He felt slightly forlorn, and at the same time scared. He also had a better understanding of the baron’s temper.

Angele saw the baron put on his golden leather armor and grab his greatsword. The baron left the castle and headed towards the forest. Angele knew the baron was going to hunt the Crazy Mountain Bear.

“Father…” Angele said with a faint voice, and he tightly gripped his sword with his right hand. He could feel the weight of his father’s love in his mind, and it was very heavy. Angele knew his father was trying to convey a message to him that people needed to think about the consequences of their behavior by slaying the two guards.

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Half an hour later, Angele heard the roars of the bear from the forest, and then he heard the sounds of battle. After a while, the baron walked out of the forest. There was blood coming out of his mouth and his left arm looked broken. However, he was smiling.

The soldiers and workers were waiting for the baron outside the castle. Old Wade, the baron’s sons and daughters, and Angele all stood there quietly and looked at the baron walking towards them. The baron was holding a thick black hide, which belonged to the Crazy Mountain Bear Angele encountered before.

Angele was the only one who fought against the bear before, and he knew how hard it would be for someone to skin the bear. The baron must have had a good fight.

“Find the doctor now!” Wade yelled, and the people around started to create a commotion. Some of them ran back to the castle, and some others tried to help the baron. Angele became teary-eyed after seeing his father fight the bear for him.

Angele walked towards his father and assisted him with his hands. He looked at the baron, and he felt like he was looking at his father back on Earth.

“Angele.” The baron smiled as he looked at him.

“I will protect you till the day I die.” He said, and Angele felt extremely emotional. Angele had always felt the baron was his stepfather, but now it felt like the baron was the sole person who gave him his life.

***********************

Ten days had passed since the baron killed the Crazy Mountain Bear.

Angele kept eating the bamboo shoots to increase his attributes during these days. He was trying to serve the bamboo shoots to his father too, but the chip reported that the enhancement effect was solely effective to Angele himself. It seemed like his body was distinctly different from other people around him. The bamboo shoots might help him a lot, but they would only make the baron’s stomach ache. Angele felt slightly disappointed about the result.

Angele thought that others just didn’t know about the effects of the food, but it seemed that his body was special. He also felt worried that someone would know his secret of the food he had been eating, but no one seemed to care.

It was lunchtime.

Angele sat at the opposite side of the baron. The baron’s wives, sons and daughters were sitting by the two sides. Not all of the baron’s wives got to sit on the table, the only ones around were favored by him. There were about ten dishes on the table. There were meat stew, pan fried vegetables, steamed fish, and a huge piece of roasted beef that was sitting in the middle.

The baron was cutting the beef on his plate and eating quietly. Each person had a maid standing behind them, and their duty was to serve them the food they wanted. Wade stood behind the baron, wearing a black noble suit. His white hair looked very flat.

The baron was the only one with the highest authority on the dining table, and if he did not talk, then no one else could, except for Angele. But Angele had pretty much nothing to say.

The people on the table only ate their food in silence; the current atmosphere being emanated was a tad bit heavy. Angele heard about a new rumor about the baron from some guards. He was able to hear them from a long distance away, most likely due to the increase in his abilities. He heard people talking about how the baron killed the Crazy Mountain Bear, and how the baron fought the king of the forest as a human being. People were also talking about how cruel the baron was and how they started calling him as “The Devil Baron”.

Being titled as “The Devil Baron” meant that the baron was all-powerful, yet mysterious, like a devil. People began fearing him, and they even started to think that Wade and Audis were evil as well.

Angele took a bite on the mushroom. Although he yearned for Chinese food back on Earth, the dishes here were ingenious and tasty. The only thing that made him sad was that people here did not eat rice, and there was only bread available in the castle. The nobles ate white bread while the maids ate black bread. Drinking soup while eating bread was typical here, but it took Angele a while to get used to it.

Their lunchtime lasted for more than twenty minutes. When the baron almost finished his meal, a guard in leather armor suddenly rushed into the dining hall. The guard was blocked by a maid, and Wade went to investigate the situation. Angele saw the change of expression on Wade’s face, and Wade whispered something to the baron.

No one heard the information, but Angele was able to capture the words said with the help of his chip.

“Audis discovered plenty of iron ore veins in his territory, and it would be nice if you could check it out yourself,” Wade whispered.

“Iron ores?” the baron became excited. If he could build a mine there, he would earn a lot of coins. After all, iron was also an essential commodity especially during wartime.

“No time was wasted after the discovery. It would be better if we could head there now.” Wade said.

The baron thought for a while as he held his left arm. He hadn’t yet recovered from the injury, but the discovery of an iron mine was an extremely crucial matter to him.

“You stay in the castle. I will go there now.” The baron said

“Got it.” Wade became slightly surprised with the order, but he still followed it.

“I think I should go with you as you haven’t fully recovered yet,” he said.

“It’s fine.” The baron waved his hands and said.