Cthulhu Gonfalon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The next evening, a large group of guests came to the manor in Maple Leaf Village of Keane Hill.

Keane Hill had one city and four villages, and every village had a manor. Manors were the industries of the lord. If a village had a canonized a knight, then the manor would be the knight's residence.

Maple Leaf Village didn't have a canonized knight currently, so it was an industry directly belonging to Baron Keane. This manor was the place where Crick Keane had lived when he hadn't inherited the title yet. Later, his brothers had passed away, and he had inherited the title. Therefore, he had moved to Keane City, and the manor had been empty since then.

Usually, no one had lived in it, so only a few farmers had helped to watch the gate and occasionally had cleaned it. A few days ago, the baron had sent a large number of people there, and they had carefully cleaned the manor both inside and outside. The old doors and windows had been replaced with new ones, the furniture had been polished brightly, and the ground had been spotless. Even the flowers and trees inside the manor had been adjusted to the flowering season by the mages who were specialized in the natural system spells.

For a time, this manor, which had become ruined, was immediately revived. Even the pickiest person had to admit that it was a suitable place for the engagement ceremony of a baroness.

"Crick Keane is indeed an amazing man!" Drucker stood on a hill near the manor, looking at the beautiful scene. He said to the people around him, "Look, in just the blink of an eye, the manor is all cleaned. This efficiency should be the top in any place!"

"Yeah, he is really amazing!"

"Unfortunately, he is dying," Drucker said, sighing with some regrets. "If he could live for another eight or ten years, I wouldn't dare to target his sister no matter how brave I am. However, even a wild wolf dares to roar at a dying dragon. The folk proverb is vulgar, but it makes sense!"

"My master, you are too modest! You are not necessarily worse than him!"

"Hah hah, don't praise me like that. I still have the self-knowledge," Drucker said, laughing. "Of course I have some abilities, but they are far worse than his! Alas, if I had his abilities, the heir of the Ricci family would be mine. Then why would I bother doing something bad that would only haunt me in the future?"

This time, the subordinates really didn't know what to say next.

Drucker laughed, then his eyes fell on the group of people who were quarreling with the guards at the manor's gate. They were trying to break in.

"These guys really lack respect. Since I have come here with Connor, then it's none of their business. They are so noisy and arrogant. What exactly do they want to do?"

"Maybe they think they still have a chance," one subordinate said. "As the saying goes, every dying person feels that they can still be rescued by a priest."

Drucker laughed. He said, patting him on the shoulder, "You are right! People are always like this. Even if there is no hope at all, they always want to struggle and then fight for it again. If people didn't have such a mentality, the profits that our businessmen earned would definitely be seriously reduced. For example, now, if these idiots are going to take the lead, I can feel at ease behind them. Anyway, no matter what the benefits are, we must have a share."

…

At this time, on the road not far from the manor, Connor was feeding his mount.

His mount was a Land Walking Dinosaur, whose body was taller than an upright horse. Its face was fierce, and its fangs and sharp paws were combative. This kind of creature was completely different from the Nargacuga that Leon had been riding in the past. It was not a "mount" in the general sense, but a kind of beast, even close to the level of a demon beast. It was proof of Connor's strength that he was able to tame it as his mount.

The food he was feeding it at the moment was a live goat. The beast that had no bridle and was chewing up the goat. He held it with one paw and smashed it into two halves with blood flowing everywhere.

"Good boy! You are eating really well!" Connor said with his face full of joy. He patted the shoulder of the mount and said with a smile, "It's a pity that this is not my own place. It's not convenient to get you some snacks. Don't worry. When I get this territory, I'll get you snacks every day!"

His subordinates had been accustomed to this kind of scene a long time ago, so they were not surprised and kept quiet.

After a while, the Land Walking Dinosaur almost ate the whole goat, leaving only pieces of the fur and horns. It ignored these things, kicked them away, and snarled with its head up high, asking his master to go.

Connor laughed loudly. He jumped on the back of the Land Walking Dinosaur. With a command, a long line of people continued to move ahead, leaving a mess on the ground.

After a while, Rafael arrived at the place where the Land Walking Dinosaur had eaten the goat with two elite scouts.

A scout noticed the debris and bloodstains of the goat on the ground. He hurriedly jumped down from the horse and used his finger to dip into a little bit of blood on the far side of the goat's debris. He smelled it, licked it, and then his serious face relaxed a bit.

"Not human blood," he said. "I'm not sure about what the blood is, but it is not human blood anyway. Probably… an unlucky goat's."

"Not human blood, then it's okay," Raffle said in relief. "That damn hybrid wolf! He killed people and actually took their hearts and livers to feed his dinosaur. Totally a madman!"

"I have heard a rumor that his mount is particularly fond of eating hearts and livers of living people, so he often kills people and takes their hearts and livers to feed it. He also calls the organs 'snacks,'" another scout said.

Rafael's face darkened. He screamed angrily, "Don't tell rumors! Did you see that? Did you hear that? Even if it is true, shut your trap. I just had a meal!"

The two scouts laughed. The scout who had checked the bloodstains took out a folding shovel invented by Crick. He shoveled the flesh and blood debris to the side of the road and put some dirt to cover them. Then he took the shovel away and returned to his horse.

"Cap, do we continue chasing him?" he asked.

Rafael looked at the sky, then he said, nodding, "Let's continue to chase but remember to keep a distance. We are not looking for a fight with that hybrid."

His subordinates nodded, and their team continued to move along the road.

…

At this time, people were quarreling at the manor's gate. Groups of dozens of suitors were arriving constantly. With the number of their subordinates, the total number of people was already over 100. They wanted to enter the manor, so they kept yelling. Although some guards were trying to block them, they couldn't stop them at all.

If they didn't fear about infuriating Crick Keane, they would have pushed the guards away forcibly and broke into the manor.

Then Connor came.

Looking at the messy scene here, he couldn't help but laugh scornfully. After laughing, he didn't talk to the guards nor did he greet the other suitors. He patted the head of his mount directly and said, "Move!"

The huge Land Walking Dinosaur immediately stepped forward and walked towards the inside of the manor. It completely ignored the people on the road and the guards who were trying to block them. It went straight into the manor.

It was too crowded, so the dinosaur directly trampled the crowd to go inside. At least three or four people were injured by its steps, and they fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

The companions of those people were shocked. They wanted to swear, but they didn't dare. They had to hurriedly drag their companions back to the roadside. Other suitors were also shocked by Connor's unreasonably fierce behavior, so they honestly just got out of his way. Then, his subordinates followed him closely, and they wandered into the manor.

As a result, the efforts of the guards were lost. After Connor and his group went in, the other suitors also followed and broke in. They went straight to the manor hall.

…

On the hill in the distance, Drucker nodded. He said to his subordinates, "Okay, let's go. Let's just join in the fun."

Then everyone rode on their horses and headed towards the manor.

"By the way, Master, when the time comes… how will you negotiate with Connor?" a competent subordinate asked.

Drucker smiled, and his fat, pig-like face showed murderous intent.

"Negotiate? No need to negotiate with that wolf. At that time, when you hear my secret signals, just shoot him directly with the poisonous crossbow, and all will be over."

"What?! But he is the prince of the Duchy of Griffon!"

"What are you afraid of? So many people are there, so it is easy to find a scapegoat," Drucker said indifferently. "Just use this opportunity to remind the Keane family that they should recognize the situation. This piece of land, the territory known as the Pearl of Thunder, is ours from now on!"