Chapter 609: Search

The sun was setting.

The Roar Castle, battered by artillery fire, stood silently in the golden glow of the sunset, like an old man on the brink of death.

Groups of soldiers, stripped of their armor and weapons, were tied together with ropes and walked out of the castle with their heads bowed in dejection.

The soldiers within the castle were not as brave and fearless as Wu Ming had anticipated; after repeated blows, they immediately chose to surrender unconditionally.

The remaining handful of diehards still hiding within the castle and putting up resistance would not amount to much against a systematic search by four thousand men.

“Still… clearing out this castle won’t be a quick task. I’m afraid I’ll have to break my promise and stay outside tonight!”

Wu Ming smiled slightly as he looked at the surrounding nobles.

Capturing Xia Castle in a single day, unlike the previous Wellington family who had the Viscount of Hawk Castle as an inside man…

Baron Wilford said in an astonished tone, “Baron William, your name will surely spread across the entire Sel Continent!”

Although for safety reasons they did not immediately enter Xiao Castle, as Wu Ming’s men began to take control of key locations, news kept pouring in.

“Most of the soldiers have ceased resistance and have been captured and escorted out of the castle!”

“All the watchtowers and arrow towers have been occupied, and we are currently conducting searches and inspections!”

“We’ve reached the assembly hall and found the Viscount of Hawk Castle and several other Wellington family knights still resisting with a group of soldiers!”

…

Wu Ming and a few others waited quietly, especially after several small wooden cannons were carried inside. Suddenly, loud explosions echoed from within the castle, followed quickly by the latest battle report: “The hall has been captured, and the Viscount of Hawk Castle has been taken prisoner!”

Soon after, a group of injured soldiers carried out a stretcher.

Wu Ming stepped forward slightly to take a look. The Viscount of Hawk Castle had a very distinctive hooked nose, his platinum-blond hair shimmering, but his face was now as pale as paper, and he had fainted.

It was clear he had resisted fiercely; several wounds on his body were still oozing blood.

“Do your best to keep him alive!”

Wu Ming waved his hand to have the stretcher taken away, and then saw several nobles being dragged out in bonds.

They vaguely carried a demeanor similar to that of Baron Garcia, and were filled with arrogance: “You had better release us, or the Lionheart family will not let any person who dares to humiliate them go unpunished!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

Wu Ming was somewhat exasperated, then ordered them to be taken away and strictly guarded, especially instructing that their mouths be gagged.

“Come on, let’s go into the castle together!”

He felt a slight sense of loss, then gripped the Dragonheart sword in his hand and walked into Xia Castle.

Wu Ming had been here more than once before, but previously always as a vassal of the Earl of Blue Mountain, bringing gifts and tributes. Today, however, he returned as the master.

He passed through a scene of broken walls and ruins, entered the castle, and slightly closed his eyes.

Golden specks of light in the void were absorbed by his body and stored in the King’s Heart as a reserve of the people’s power.

Not much increase—perhaps because I have not yet established effective rule, transforming Xiao City into my own strength?

This realization helped him understand the nature of the people’s power even more.

Only tangible and visible growth in strength could bring about reverence and allegiance, thus gaining more of the people’s power.

Just like now, even though he had captured the ruling core of the Blue Bloods, if he could not effectively implement his policies and gain the taxes and population of this land, it would not only fail to bring benefits, but might even result in losses.

“Still, even a little is enough!”

He channeled a bit of the people’s power to enhance his perception, scanning like a mental radar, imprinting the situation within a hundred feet around him into his consciousness.

Every hidden compartment, secret passage, and even what was buried underground could not escape his perception.

“Just walking around a few times should be enough to clear out the entire castle…”

Wu Ming sighed.

With his strength, naturally he feared no ambush or assassination attempt.

However, for his soldiers, those scattered rats hiding in the castle posed a deadly threat and could easily damage morale.

He had no intention of relocating here until the entire Xia Castle was confirmed safe.

“Everyone in Xiao Castle, including the maids, stable boys, and cooks, must be moved out, strictly guarded, and carefully screened!”

As he spoke, he turned to a place resembling a warehouse.

“Move these shelves aside; there’s a hidden door behind the wall, and enemies are hiding inside!”

Through his mental scan, he could clearly see more than a dozen soldiers behind the hidden door, their faces tense, even the way they gripped their weapons was visible.

“Understood!”

Ava commanded several soldiers to move the shelves aside, then with a cruel grin, directly took out an iron spear and thrust it hard into the wall.

Plop!

The wooden board was pierced, a blood hole appeared, and a large amount of blood flowed out.

Suddenly from within the wall came a scream and more curses, as if they had realized their doom had arrived.

“Fire!”

Ava showed no concern at all, directly ordering the crossbowmen to shoot a volley at the wall, then opening the hidden door. A string of corpses fell out, blood gushing like a spring.

Wu Ming then used his psychic abilities to locate several other hidden doors and a few assassins.

“What place is this?”

He stopped again in front of a room.

“It should be a young lady’s boudoir!”

Ava tightened his grip on the sword, already used to Wu Ming’s supernatural abilities.

“Don’t be rough; there seems to be an interesting prey inside!”

Wu Ming smiled slightly.

“An interesting prey? A big fish!”

Ava’s eyes lit up, then he kicked open the door violently and rushed in.

The furniture and decorations inside the room were clearly visible. The wardrobe contained many purple and pink dresses, carrying a faint scent of perfume. It seemed that the previous owner might have been a young girl who had just come of age.

“Behind the wardrobe!”

Wu Ming pointed directly.

“Please, go ahead!”

Ava stepped forward, his sword poised to strike.

“Wait, I’ll come out myself!”

A scream came from behind the wardrobe, followed by a young blond nobleman stepping out with his hands raised high: “I’m not carrying any weapons, and there’s only one person inside. You can search freely; I’m telling the truth!”

“What’s your relationship with Baron Garcia?”

Wu Ming suddenly asked; this nobleman bore a striking resemblance to Garcia.

“Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Gale! Gale Wellington, and I’m Baron Garcia’s cousin! I was also one of the commanders of the Highland Knight Legion this time! You know what I’m talking about, congratulations! You’ve achieved the greatest feat of a knight—capturing the enemy’s commander! Although in the family, my talent is far inferior to that of my cousin Garcia, not to mention our genius…”

He was quite talkative, yet not particularly annoying.

“Indeed… How could the Wellington family only send those fools outside!”

Wu Ming nodded: “I accept your surrender. If you cooperate, you will receive proper treatment!”

“Thank you for your mercy!”

Gale bowed to Wu Ming with a standard and elegant noble bow: “May I ask a question, since you are here, does it mean that the cavalry led by Smith has already been defeated?”

“In fact, not yet!”

Wu Ming shook his head: “Moreover, he assassinated my liege lord. I will soon consolidate the power of Xiaocheng and confront those who killed the king!”

“So it’s finally come to this, huh?”

Gale smiled bitterly: “Although I strongly advised the family not to provoke the traditions of an ancient noble group and let my cousin Garcia take charge of everything, unfortunately, my advice was not accepted by them!”

“Alright, I’ve answered your question. As a return favor, you should answer one of mine!”

Wu Ming said solemnly.

“Fair enough! Please go ahead!”

Gale shrugged his shoulders.

“Where are the widow of Earl Blue Mountain, along with his son and daughters?”

Wu Ming had originally thought they would not stoop so low as to take the family of Earl Blue Mountain as hostages, but upon entering the castle, he discovered that in fact, these family members of Blue Mountain had not fallen into their hands.

Xiao Castle holds too many secrets, and even the Viscount of Hawk Castle only knows a part of them!

Gale smiled bitterly: “On the day of the attack, when things started to go wrong, the Countess had already taken the young ladies and fled through an unknown secret passage… We only managed to capture a few other illegitimate children… and more unfortunately, they died during the chaos of the battle!”

“I see!”

Wu Ming waved his hand and ordered Gale to be taken away, then fell into deep thought.

The Earl of Blue Mountain had many daughters but struggled with male heirs.

The eldest son was the legitimate heir, whom he kept close for training, and this time his fate was also uncertain. The other children were still minors, and in the current turmoil, it was hard to predict what might happen to them.

“My lord!”

At this time, those within the castle were all trusted men, and Ava’s eyes seemed to blaze: “The Earl had promised one of his daughters to you in marriage, and all the nobles present were witnesses. If the Earl has no surviving sons…”

Once there were no sons, it would be natural for the son-in-law to inherit the earldom.

“There’s no need to be so deliberate. Even if the bloodline of the Earl of Blue Mountain still exists, what does it matter?”

Wu Ming turned around, his gaze somewhat playful: “In the current Windfire Plains, can anyone accept the leadership of a minor Earl? Besides, in terms of blood relation, the Earl of Blue Mountain isn’t without brothers and sisters…”

By this time, the era of determining heroes by bloodline had long passed. Only those who held real power were the true strong ones!