Lord of Rot

Night.

As the candlelight flickered, two shadows swayed along with it.

A breeze blew in through the slightly ajar window.

The candle flame trembled twice and went out. Once the wind stilled, the flame reignited.

Lady Jie Lin lay on Leech’s chest. The recent storm of passion had left her mind blank, and it was a long while before she came to her senses.

”The prince wants to transport a shipment of goods through the waterway,” Lady Jie Lin said.

It had been some time since she last saw the One-Eared Prince, yet Lady Jie Lin chose to bring it up now.

’No wonder she was able to find an Extraordinary and even had the confidence to test me.’

”...to the desert,” she said, her chin resting on Leech’s chest as she coiled around him like a beautiful serpent.

”The desert?”

Leech raised his hand and gave her a playful swat.

Lady Jie Lin playfully punched his chest. ”He seems to be raising an army in the desert. This time, he’s sending weapons and iron armor, worth at least twenty thousand Jinri.”

”Is he planning to raise four thousand heavy cavalry and then rebel?” Leech’s expression was relaxed, leaving Lady Jie Lin completely unable to guess what he was thinking.

’Of course, he didn’t believe the One-Eared Prince would dare to raise four thousand heavy cavalry. Twenty thousand for equipment was easy enough to cover, but the daily cost of feeding men and horses was astronomical. He couldn’t just not pay salaries or provide food, could he?’

’Four thousand heavy cavalry was impossible, but ten thousand infantry was very likely. He just didn’t know what a lord from a cold region was up to in the desert.’

’It seemed the kingdom’s peace wouldn’t last much longer. For years, the wars had never truly stopped, and small skirmishes were constant.’

’But Leech still didn’t want a war to break out in the desert. He had only just started to gain a foothold there.’

He also understood that twenty thousand Jinri worth of equipment was undoubtedly in preparation for a major war.

Lady Jie Lin whispered, ”Aren’t you in the desert too... I’m worried.”

”I’m just opening a trade route in the desert, doing a little business,” Leech said. ”The place is crawling with desert bandits. One wrong move and you could get robbed. It’s very dangerous.”

”That’s good, then.” But Lady Jie Lin didn’t believe he was just doing ”a little business.” ”As for the prince, should I help him?”

Leech acted surprised. ”Why not help him? He’s a prince, the King’s brother. Maybe he’ll even clear out the desert bandits along the way and help stabilize my trade route.”

As he spoke, he tightened his arms, pulling the woman in his embrace even closer.

”Ah!” Lady Jie Lin exclaimed. ”You’re ready again?”

Leech rolled over.

「The next day.」

Leech pushed open the door to find a group of yawning maids standing guard outside.

”Good day, my lord!”

Upon seeing Leech, they hurriedly greeted him, their eyes filled with fear.

’The entire night.’

Lady Jie Lin’s voice had gone from sharp cries to hoarseness, enough to make one’s legs go weak just from listening.

Leech said, ”The lady is not feeling well. Arrange for someone to help her bathe, and then prepare some food.”

”I’ll prepare it right away.”

”The food is for me.”

When Leech arrived in the castle hall, the three Extraordinary Knights had already gathered. They respectfully placed their right hands over their hearts and bowed in a knight’s salute. ”Good day, my lord!”

They now knew exactly who the true master of this castle was.

”You are Lierde’s Knights?”

”Yes, my lord!”

”Then guard him well,” Leech stressed. ”As Knights, the last thing you should do is betray the lord you’ve sworn allegiance to.”

”Yes, sir! We will pledge our lives to Lord Lierde!”

’Although they had previously sworn allegiance to Little Lierde, how could a one or two-month-old baby be worthy of their loyalty? Their true allegiance was to Lady Jie Lin, who could provide them with many benefits for at least the next ten years.’

’But after what happened yesterday, combined with the rumors from the outside world, they had a faint suspicion of a certain possibility.’

’If their guess was correct, then Baron Lierde had a powerful backer...’

The drawbridge was lowered again, the sound of its chains carrying far into the distance.

”He’s gone?”

Lady Jie Lin lay in bed, looking out the window.

Her sister, Yi Lin, sat by the bed. ”I told you, you shouldn’t have tested him. He means us no harm. If he did, we would have disappeared from this castle long ago, just like Old Bill.”

If even one person from the Bill family had survived, a crowd of nobles would certainly have been willing to denounce Leech. But when Leech rode his Horse-headed Eagle into the castle and wiped out the entire Bill family, the entire circle of nobility acted as if they knew nothing about it.

All those who might have sought justice were dead, and they themselves could hardly withstand an aerial assassination from Leech. So, it was better to play dumb.

”I need to find a place for us to live,” Lady Jie Lin said, looking at her sister.

”Lierde is your child. You can live in this castle forever!”

”I know, but...”

”Just focus on raising Lierde well,” Yi Lin said. ”Baron Porcupine will definitely take him away once he’s a little older.”

Taking a young noble under one’s wing to train as a squire was an old tradition among the aristocracy; no one could find fault with it.

But for Lady Jie Lin, the most important thing was to leave a good impression on her child during his early years. In the future, Leech wouldn’t allow Lierde to return often. By the time he was in his late teens or early twenties, how could she expect a young man with only a vague memory of his mother to treat her with any affection?

Especially a mother who had only used him as a tool for power.

”Go on.”

Yi Lin sighed helplessly and got up to look after Little Lierde.

Lady Jie Lin looked out the window.

A bird flew over and landed on the windowsill.

After tilting its head and looking at Lady Jie Lin for a few moments, it fluttered its wings and left.

...

After disembarking, Leech’s party entered the territory of Linta Bay.

The cavalry troop moved at great speed. Even Jonney and the other Corpse Ghosts, who were not on horseback, could run faster than a galloping horse, and they never tired.

As soon as they reached a town in Linta Bay, Leech sensed that something was off about the atmosphere. People were walking about in a hurry.

When they saw Leech’s party approaching, people would snatch up their children who were poking at ants with sticks by the doorway and carry them inside.

BANG!

BANG!

One after another, doors slammed shut.

Some doors remained tightly closed, but windows would be cautiously opened a crack to watch Leech’s party pass by.

”What’s going on?” He found it strange. He hadn’t been paying much attention to the situation in Linta Bay recently, and there had been no mention of this in his correspondence.

As they drew closer to Green Forest Castle, the number of people around gradually increased.

Green Forest Castle was now in sight. The massive castle gate was like the open maw of a prehistoric crocodile, waiting for Leech to walk right into it.

”Leech!”

A man was leading a party at the castle gate to welcome him. It was his cousin, ’the Skinner’ Bode Wisdom—a man who looked gloomy but was actually sincere toward his family and trustworthy.

Leech swung himself off his mount and strode over to embrace Bode.

”It’s good to see you, Bode.”

It hadn’t been long since Leech’s birthday.

”I guess you’d be even happier if Stacy were here.”

”Haha.”

”Your Horse-headed Eagle?”

Bode looked at the Horse-headed Eagle. Its mystical appearance had already attracted countless furtive glances along the way.

Rocket was like Leech’s sports car.

”Is that yours?” Leech looked behind Bode. He hadn’t noticed it before, but now he saw a Giant Lizard covered in stone-like skin. It was crouched on the ground like a boulder, at least a full size larger than the Giant Lizard Leech had once acquired.

”A Petrifying Giant Lizard, but it can’t fly,” Bode nodded.

”But it’s massive,” Leech remarked in awe.

’An Extraordinary Giant Lizard. If Rocket fought it, it would be hard to say who would win.’

’Based on appearances, Leech’s Horse-headed Eagle better fit the image of a handsome knight in a maiden’s heart. Bode, perched on the Petrifying Giant Lizard’s back with his gloomy expression, could only be cast as the villain’s henchman in a Minstrel’s tale.’

”Go on inside. I still have to welcome guests here,” Bode said to Leech with a sigh. ”I hope this is Stacy’s last ball.”

”It will be,” Leech nodded.

Bode smiled.

The party entered Green Forest Castle. As the Horse-headed Eagle and the Giant Lizard passed each other, the Giant Lizard raised its head and glanced at the Horse-headed Eagle.

”Don’t go flying around randomly here,” Leech said, gently patting Rocket. ”Some of those Kryptonian Lords might show up on dragon mounts. We need to keep a low profile.”

”COO COO,” Rocket raised its head, as if to say, ’Even if there are dragons, I’ll still kick their asses!’