Battle Under the Moonlight Part 5

The bond between the Riel brothers was unquestionable. Upon seeing their second brother struck down by a sword, their minds went blank for a moment.

Then, without any regard for their smuggled goods, they charged straight towards the scene.

"As expected… Sam never disappoints!" In the darkness, Rupert set down his bow and smiled happily. There was no one around him.

He had sent all his forces out.

Recruiting Sam had been a pleasant surprise. Three years ago, a hunting party captured Sam wandering in the mountains, wild and feral.

Ultimately, they brought him to Rhea as a wild man.

Such things happened often—human infants raised by beasts, growing up as wild men. In the Saint Theniers Empire, where slave trade was banned, wild men were the only humans that could be legally bought and sold.

Rhea had a market for these "wild men." Whether they were truly wild men was questionable.

Rupert acquired Sam through such channels, initially thinking him an ordinary wild man, until Sam's increasing appetite and growing size prompted him to consult scholars. He learned of the existence of hybrid giants.

From then on, Sam became Rupert's secret ace.

"But that werewolf…" Rupert eyed Jin warily. Such a powerful mutant would be hard to handle without summoning an exorcist.

However, the advantage still lay with them. Due to Rupert's decisions, the smuggling team had been under great pressure, and Sam's strike had drawn away the enemy's main force, causing their defense to collapse instantly.

"Will Mansra still sit idly by?" Rupert laughed.

In a noble battle, the final trump card was always the coat of arms, the foundation of their standing.

For nobles, the capabilities of their accomplishments were crucial intelligence.

Rupert saw his biggest gap with Mansra in the power of their accomplishments.

The Rupert family's accomplishments had fallen in rank, now merely knights, greatly diminishing their effectiveness. His abilities were more defensive.

In heraldry, triangles represented lances, indicating an offensive nature to the noble's accomplishments. Their abilities were often attack-oriented.

Circles symbolized shields, indicating defensive accomplishments like holding a fortress, with abilities centered on defense.

Rupert's coat of arms was a standard shield, representing his ancestor's famed defensive feats.

Mansra's coat of arms, combining a triangle and a semicircle, indicated complex accomplishments—a rarity.

This related to his ancestor's legend.

Viscli Mansra Lockway, Mansra's ancestor, was sent to the wilderness that would become Rhea to establish territory for the Saint Theniers Empire.

With their efforts, a small village emerged, struggling to survive.

Even today, the wilderness is unsafe, filled with monsters like giants. Back then, it was even worse.

Viscli's dream lay in the north, the frontlines, not in guarding a monster-infested land.

He trained tirelessly in Rhea, hoping to return to the frontlines, but as time passed, his return seemed less likely.

At a critical moment in his life, Viscli made a decision.

Unable to return to the frontlines, he aimed to achieve something great.

He volunteered to be bait, drawing all the monsters hindering Rhea's development to a dangerous area for a large-scale extermination.

Viscli succeeded, his feats becoming legendary, and he was hailed as one of Rhea's pioneers, safeguarding the fledgling village.

Today, he would likely earn an earl's title.

Back then, Rhea was a frontier, and his accomplishments were undervalued, earning him only a baron's title.

Even now, Mansra's title remained baron.

But his abilities were not weak. According to Rupert, Mansra's ability was recorded as: The Bait of Paradoxes.

If Mansra arrived, using himself as bait, Rupert would have to reconsider this smuggling heist.

A noble's coat of arms linked to their ancestor's achievements, each representing a knight's rite.

With only one accomplishment, noble abilities had limitations. Proper planning could nullify them.

But if one fell into the enemy's strength, even without a full ritual, they could be fatally countered.

Thus, nobles spread their ancestor's feats but mixed in falsehoods, hiding the true nature of their abilities.

In the Saint Theniers Empire, only the Church and the nobles themselves knew the full extent of their abilities.

Outsiders could only guess based on their ancestor's feats and some clues.

Rupert, knowing he couldn't win in accomplishments, aimed to force Mansra to reveal his abilities, gathering crucial intel.

Currently, Mansra had hidden cards, but not enough. To save the cargo, he had two options.

He could intervene personally, using his unknown abilities to turn the tide.

Or he could deploy all his protectors to retrieve the goods, leaving himself vulnerable to Rupert's ambush by Adell and others.

Rupert's goal was clear: replace Mansra and control the smuggling route.

Seizing Mansra's cargo was one way to cripple him.

Killing Mansra was another, better way.

All these methods aimed to make Rupert the new ruler of the smuggling route.

When the Riel brothers abandoned the goods and ran, Mansra was infuriated.

"Useless trash!" The convoy was secure; they only needed to regroup. Rupert's raid would have failed.

But losing a brother made them abandon the cargo, collapsing the defense.

Seeing the second brother staggering up, Mansra was livid.

A layer of black aura spread from him. Not far, Jin relaxed his grip. The second brother had underestimated the hybrid giant. Without Jin's intervention, he might not have died but would certainly not have risen.

Jin glanced aside, a slight smile on his lips.

His apprentice was ruthless and skilled.

"Rumor has it he exploited the Romm family. How can I get funds from him without losing my mentor's dignity?" Jin pondered.

"Support them!" Mansra, teeth clenched, ordered. Despite the Riel brothers' foolishness, he could only command reinforcement.

Mansra stood firm, sending his guards to aid the smugglers, keeping only a black-robed figure beside him.

"You're quite the coward, Mansra," the figure sneered. "Your enemy is far braver. Viscli's courage to be bait seems lost on you."

"..." Mansra glanced at the figure, raised his hand, and stared at the dim patterns on his coat of arms, silent.

A power began to stir.