Although some of the five remaining Guards were just blind followers, the seeds of betrayal had been sown and had already sprouted once.
Ronin had nipped it in the bud this time, but who could guarantee it wouldn't happen a second time?
Therefore, when it came to traitors, it was best not to use them if he could help it.
'But should I just kill them?'
Ronin's brow furrowed. If he killed these five men, who would drive the carts?
He couldn't possibly expect Chahar to drive five carriages by himself. The man didn't have a Clone Skill; it was impossible.
After a long moment of thought, Ronin finally spoke. "Since you have recognized your mistake, as a benevolent Lord, I can forgive you this once."
His words were like fine wine to the Guards, and they listened with rapt attention. Their pleas for mercy turned into excited cries of gratitude and vows of eternal loyalty.
Ronin took such vows with a grain of salt. "Now, I command you. Take up your swords and gather enough fodder for the horses."
"Yes, yes, My Lord! We'll go right away!"
The Guards still kneeling on the ground scrambled to their feet, grabbing their weapons and throwing themselves into the task of cutting grass. They were now terrified that moving too slowly would anger their lord.
Ronin looked away from the men. With a Knight like Macken present, they wouldn't dare try to escape, even if no one was watching them.
They no longer had the courage to gamble on whether they could flee from a Professional Knight.
"My Lord, are you just going to let them go like that?"
Chahar grumbled indignantly from the side. For Guards of the Wushan Clan to dare assassinate their master was something he could have never imagined.
What he couldn't understand even more was that the Baron had actually spared them.
"If I killed them all, could you drive five carriages by yourself?" Ronin asked with a smile.
"Uh..."
Chahar was stunned. He scratched his head, wracking his brain for a solution. "Maybe we could tie the carriages together with rope, one behind the other?"
As soon as the words were out, he hung his head. "But we don't have ropes that long."
"Then we'll spare their lives for now."
Ronin said, "Chahar, go collect the weapons and valuables from the dead. Don't let them go to waste."
The Guards used low-quality Iron Swords. Although their poor quality meant they wouldn't sell for much, they were still Iron Swords. It would be a shame to abandon them.
"Yes, My Lord!"
Chahar suppressed his squeamishness at the sight of blood and began collecting the Iron Swords while searching the bodies.
'The Baron said not to let anything go to waste. These Guards must have a few Copper Coins on them, right?'
"Macken, come with me."
Ronin called out, leading Macken Knight back to the main road.
The six carriages and one fine steed were all grazing by the roadside, none having wandered off.
"Macken, tell me your story."
Macken, who was following two steps behind Ronin like a loyal guard, heard his master's question and looked a bit confused. "Master, what do you mean by 'story'?"
"You should call me 'My Lord,' just like the others."
The title "Master" was only used in specific contexts and situations. While it was understandable why Macken used it, it still sounded a bit abrupt.
"I want to hear about your background—where your home is, your life experiences, things like that."
Ronin explained, "This way, I can get to know you better."
Macken fell silent, clearly thinking about how to answer the question, but he soon shook his head.
"My Lord, I only know that you are my master, and I will be eternally loyal to you. As for where my home is or my life experiences, I have no related memories in my mind."
Ronin was taken aback for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Oh, I see."
He could feel the contractual bond between himself and Macken. It must be a Master-Servant Contract, like one signed with a Magical Beast, where the servant cannot live if the master dies.
"No memories at all? I feel like your combat experience should be quite high."
"When I fight, I seem to have an indescribable intuition," Macken explained. "Oh, right. It's not that I have no memories at all. At the very least, I know everyday writing, communication, and combat maneuvers."
Ronin more or less understood.
The characters summoned from the seven-day login reward were real, flesh-and-blood people. But it seemed they were like newborns; aside from their power and some basic knowledge, the rest of them was a blank slate.
"Welcome aboard, Macken Saliton!"
Ronin's tone was very formal. "From this day forward, you are my Guard Officer, responsible for protecting my safety. At the same time, you are also my instructor and sparring partner, to help me improve my combat experience."
Macken knelt on one knee, placing his right hand over his left breast. "I am willing to serve you, My Lord!"
"There's no need for such formalities in private."
Ronin helped him up and inspected Macken Knight's Longsword, Shield, and Leather Armor.
These three items had appeared along with the summons. Judging by their quality, they were several grades higher than the low-quality Iron Swords the Guards used.
This way, he wouldn't have to spend money to buy a set of equipment for Macken.
Based on his understanding of prices in this world, a Knight's Sword used by a Knight cost at least 5 Gold Coins. Add a Shield and armor, and a full set would cost around 20 Gold Coins.
Ronin had less than 180 Gold Coins on him in total. Spending a ninth of that in one go was a significant expense.
Thinking about how he still needed to save money to buy six Magic Crystals to get the first-purchase reward, he couldn't help but sigh.
'You never realize how little money you have until you need it.'
Now that he was independent from Wushan Castle, it was no longer feasible to try and get more money and resources from Lurans and the others by playing the sympathy card.
If he wanted to make money, he had to find another way.
"My Lord!"
Macken's voice pulled Ronin back from his thoughts. "My Lord, during the battle earlier, I suddenly felt my Power increase. What was that all about?"
This question had been weighing on his mind for a while, and he finally couldn't resist asking.
"This is a secret between us. You must keep it confidential."
Ronin gave a mysterious smile. "I can increase your Power. Just like this."
As he spoke, he used the 20 points of Energy Essence he had just obtained from completing the [King of Slaughter] achievement on Macken, increasing his Knight Level progress from 60 to 80.
With just 20 more points of Energy Essence, Macken could advance to become an Intermediate Knight.
An Intermediate Knight could perform Fighting Qi Release, and their combat power was several tiers higher than a Basic Level Knight's. At that point, Ronin's safety would be much better guaranteed.
Of course, for a territory to be truly presentable, it needed an Advanced Level Knight.
Only an Advanced Level Knight had a chance of accumulating enough merit to be enfeoffed as a Noble Knight.
Ronin estimated it would take eight or nine days to travel from Wushan City to Mountain Forest Town. By the time they reached his territory, Macken would definitely have reached the Intermediate Middle Stage.
"My Lord, I've gotten stronger again!"
Macken felt the sudden surge of Power with a look of disbelief. He became even more certain in his heart that a master with such an ability was anything but ordinary!
"Go and get used to this new Power. That horse is yours now."
Ronin pointed to the black steed that wasn't pulling a carriage. "This is a fine-quality warhorse, the best one I currently own. I hope you will make good use of it and not disappoint my expectations!"
Knights love warhorses; it's a passion they all share.
Just think of Guan Yunchang from the Three Kingdoms period, who hung up his seal and left his gold behind. He refused everything but accepted the Red Hare Horse, which shows the extent of his love for fine steeds.
Macken was no exception.
His eyes were glued to the black horse. "Thank you for your generous gift, My Lord!"
Ronin watched his Guard Officer excitedly go to bond with the horse and couldn't help but smile.
A fine-quality warhorse cost a hundred Gold Coins, making it one of Ronin's great assets, but he probably wouldn't have many opportunities to use it for charging into battle himself.
Gifting it to his Guard Officer, Macken, was a good choice.
Besides, it wasn't as if Macken would abandon him. If Ronin really needed to use the black horse, he could do so at any time.
He withdrew his gaze and began to seriously contemplate the recent betrayal.
After arriving in this world, Ronin had assumed that servants would not easily betray nobles.
But after experiencing this betrayal, he understood that it was the same in any world: as long as the potential reward was great enough, ambitious people would take desperate risks.
And whether they were nobles, commoners, or Peasant Slaves, they all had ambition. It was just that the latter two were less likely to turn on their masters.
Extrapolating from this, Ronin's thoughts turned to Mountain Forest Town.
'Will the people there welcome me as their Lord?'
'No, to be more precise, will the "Local Bully" there welcome me as their Lord?'
One had to know that no Lord had been willing to go to Mountain Forest Town for over ten years. The family had only assigned a Civil Servant there to maintain the annual tax collection.
Having been there for so long, would this Civil Servant have come to see Mountain Forest Town as his own territory?
It was quite possible.
Although Ronin had never personally experienced it, he had heard of similar things back on Earth.
For example, a nanny who worked for a family for several years might subconsciously start seeing herself as the master of the house and begin ordering her employer around.
Who could guarantee this Civil Servant wasn't just such a nanny?
Ronin considered a worst-case scenario. If the Local Bully of Mountain Forest Town didn't welcome him, and that person had lived in that remote backwater for many years, they would certainly have a group of men under their command.
In that case, he would need to consider the number of men they had and their combat proficiency.
He wasn't afraid that they might have a powerful Knight. Any Intermediate or Advanced Level Knight wouldn't choose to be stuck in a lordless Mountain Forest Town; there was no future there.
Ronin was simply worried about their numbers.
'I still have too few people under my command.'
Even counting the Light Mage he would receive as his seventh-day login reward, Ronin would only have three trustworthy people under his command: Macken, Chahar, and the mage-to-be.
'I have to find a way to solve this problem!'