"Understood, but how far can we go when we take action?" Damian inquired. "He is the head of the noble faction in the South. Little Will might get in trouble if we pester him too much."
"That's right, Boss," Gideon commented. "That old man is pettier than yo-- I mean, less handsome and domineering than you. Things might get out of hand if we ruffle his feathers."
James snorted. He and the old man from the South had been butting heads since the former king was still in power. They were once best friends, but immediately turned hostile after they had both fallen in love with the same lady.
Naturally, the one who married the girl was James, and his once best friend vowed that he would make things difficult for him and his entire bloodline.
James wasn't afraid of his threats because he knew that his long time friend wouldn't really dare to take William's life. Many years had passed since they last saw each other and James hoped that the man's anger had already simmered down.
Even so, that didn't mean that the old bastard would miss the opportunity to catch the little Ainsworth who came walking into his territory.
"I changed my mind," James said with a serious expression. "If that old bat makes a move then let him do it. You two are to watch from the shadows and only rescue William if things get out of hand."
""By your will.""
The two men disappeared from the room and faint chuckles could be heard in the air. Clearly, the two were going to enjoy the mission that James had given them. It had been a while since they had left Lont and they were itching to cause some trouble at their destination.
'Maybe this is a good opportunity to teach William a thing or two about the division of power in the Kingdom,' James thought. 'Also, I'm very curious. Just what kind of hospitality is he planning to give my grandson?'
James looked towards the South with a smile. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was very curious to know how the Sword Saint of the Hellan Kingdom would deal with his grandson who was currently messing around inside his domain.
-----
Drake whistled as he checked the contents of the storage rings that were taken from the bandit leader of the camp that they had just raided. This was the fourth day since their arrival in the Southern Region and, so far, they had already dispatched four Bandit Groups.
"If I only knew that raiding bandit camps was this profitable, I might have done it sooner," Drake said as he handed the storage ring to William.
Spencer snorted and gave Drake a sneer, "You make it sound like raiding bandit camps is easy. I'd like to see you try and do it on your own."
"How about we make a bet on who will kill the most bandits in the next raid?"
"You're on."
The two rivals glared at each other while William waited for the inventory list that Dave had made after checking the treasures that they had found in the bandit camp. The second camp they had raided was bigger than the first and held a hundred bandits.
The rankings of the bandits were quite low, and their main fighting force consisted of Ten silver ranks and one Gold Rank. The rest were only copper ranks, which allowed the Angorian War Sovereign to overpower them due to William's and Priscilla's long range barrage.
After killing the main fighting force, the rest was easy.
Dave and the others still had pale faces, but they had managed to defeat a bandit each. William and the officers dealt with the survivors and made sure that none escaped.
After an hour of checking the inventory, Dave finally gave his report to Wiliam.
"With this, we will be able to buy the necessary equipment for the rest of our members, Sir William," Dave said. Although his expression still looked pale, there was a hint of admiration that could be seen in his features.
William nodded his head as he looked towards the South. He had already sent a few of his subordinates to the nearest town, to report to the local soldiers about the subjugation of the bandit camp. They were just waiting for the students to return so they could find a place to rest for the night.
Priscilla, who was seated on top of a tree, whistled--which signaled that some unknown individuals were approaching their location.
William raised his hand and he, along with the members of his Knight Order, dispersed and hid in the trees to wait in ambush.
A few minutes later, a Gryphon, pulling a carriage, landed a few meters away from the bandit camp. The carriage had a luxurious design and the emblem that was painted on its door was that of a red greatsword.
William frowned because he was not familiar with the different insignias in the kingdom. However, his officer, Drake, recognized the emblem very well. It was the symbol of the noble that ruled the Southern Faction, the Sword of Caliburn.
The coachman respectfully opened the carriage door and bowed his head.
A man with gray hair walked out of the carriage. He was wearing a black warrior tunic, and stood straight like a sword. William assumed that the man was close to his grandfather's age due to his gray hair and eyes.
This realization made his expression change to a serious one as he ordered the system to change his Job Class to Cavalier. If worst comes to worst, he would use his ultimate trump card in order to help his subordinates escape.
Ella stood beside him with a calm expression. The goat knew that the opponent in front of them was very powerful. His very presence was enough to make the members of William's Knight Order have trouble breathing.
"Get out," the man ordered. "Or do you want me to cut down the trees where you hide?"
William made a hand gesture to his members to keep hiding, while he stepped forward to face the newcomer. Naturally, Ella followed by his side. She couldn't possibly leave William to fight off against this formidable opponent alone.
Dia, who had coiled herself on William's neck, was paying close attention to the man's profile, while Ragnar walked beside Ella. The two mythical beasts were aware that they could do nothing against the opponent in front of them, but they had no intention of leaving William's and Ella's side either.
William understood what they were thinking, so he allowed the two to accompany him as he faced off against the man in front of them.
The man and the boy stood twenty meters away from each other. The man appraised William and the boy did the same.
A few minutes passed in silence before the man took the initiative to start the conversation.
"What's your name?" The man asked.
"My name? I am none other than Spencer Armstrong," William answered with arrogance. "The fourth son of the Duke of Armstrong. How about you, what's your name?"
Spencer, who was hiding behind a tree, cursed William internally for being shameless.
'Of all the names he could have used, why settle for my name?' Spencer fumed. 'He could have used Drake's instead!'
The cool looking boy was very tempted to come out of his hiding place and kick William with all his might. However, his reasoning prevented him from doing so. Although he felt aggrieved because of William's shameless act, he still didn't dare to move from his hiding spot.
"What a cheeky brat," the man commented. "Since when did the Duke of the Armstrong family have a red-haired Half-Elf as his son?
"What can I do? I was born a Half-Elf with red hair."
"... You are as obnoxious as your grandfather."
Ezio, who was hiding from the shadows, observed this scene with a calm expression. He had already received James' order through the use of a special means. Because of this, he didn't have any intention of saving William from his predicament.
The nobles of the Kingdom had strict laws that they followed. Among them was not to intervene with the battles of the young generation. Anyone who would "openly" break this rule would suffer the combined oppression of all the noble houses.
Since Mordred had officially become a Marquess, this meant that the rule also applied to all the members of the Ainsworth Family. Also, although William's Knight Order hadn't been publicly revealed, the King had already recognized its legitimacy. No noble would want to mess with the head of a Knight Order.
Of course, there were some people who were exceptions to this rule, and the Sword Saint was one of them.
The man then released his killing intent which made Conrad, Dave, and the others kneel on the ground panting for breath.
Kenneth, Priscilla, Spencer and Drake grit their teeth in an effort to endure the powerful killing intent, but their resistance only lasted for a brief moment, before they too, collapsed on the ground due to the overwhelming pressure.
Dia hissed, and Ragnar growled. The two mythical beasts were doing their best to resist as well, but their bestial instincts were telling them that the man in front of them was the personification of Death.
William tapped the ground in front of him with his staff and the pressure raining down on him was dispersed. He had a carefree smile on his face as he looked at the man in front of him.
"A senior dares to bully children?" William sneered. "Such an honorable thing to do."
The killing intent that the man was releasing might be strong, but who was William? He was someone who had endured the worst torture under Celine and faced killing intent training from Ezio.
The man's act might fool others, but it was not enough to fool him. He already knew that whoever the person in front of him might be, he was only there to intimidate them. If he really wanted to attack them, he would not bother with words and simply do the deed without much fuss.