Chapter 241 - 230: Who Is the Spy? You Are the Spy
Chapter 241: Chapter 230: Who Is the Spy? You Are the Spy
Jon’s gaze swept over the troop of resplendent cavalry galloping toward them, his ice-blue eyes showing not the slightest ripple of emotion.
Just by looking at their attire and bearing, he knew they must be the private soldiers of some high-ranking noble. They were likely in Heta County to provide symbolic support, which meant, in a way, they were on the same side.
’We’re just sharing the road. I’ll let them pass. No need to cause trouble.’
However, just because he didn’t want to cause trouble didn’t mean others felt the same.
Just as the two groups were about to pass each other, the expression of a Knight in the formation shifted. He quickly spurred his horse closer to the leader, his voice low from beneath his hood.
"Captain, there are strong fluctuations of Magic Power coming from those two carriages. It doesn’t seem like Ordinary cargo..."
Hearing this, the lead Knight’s eyes lit up under his silver-plated helmet, shining with a hint of excitement.
He abruptly raised a hand and barked a sharp command.
"Halt! Block them!"
"WHOA—!"
At his command, the entire cavalry troop moved without hesitation. The well-trained Bronze Scale Horses and warhorses pulled up short at their riders’ command, their movements perfectly synchronized.
The ten resplendent Knights instantly shifted from a marching formation to a semi-encircling one, blocking the path of Jon’s convoy.
The lead Knight urged his Scale Horse forward a few steps, pointing his riding crop at Jon’s carriage from his high perch. His voice, muffled by his faceplate, carried an air of casual arrogance.
"We are Envoys of the Second Prince, Harvey Benest. We are now exercising the right granted to us by the Empire to inspect your cargo for contraband!"
"Now, halt and submit to an inspection! Present your travel permits and merchant credentials!"
Upon hearing the cavalry announce their affiliation, the Moon Sati siblings immediately showed uneasy expressions, unable to stop themselves from looking toward Jon.
’Although this mysterious consultant, Jon, had easily obtained passage from the Seventh Princess before, proving his Energy, their current posture clearly isn’t for a simple inspection. It’s a spur-of-the-moment decision, an attempt to use the inspection as a pretext to "shake them down"!’
’Could Mr. Jon’s background hold up against the subordinates of the even more powerful and influential Second Prince?’
Under their inscrutable gazes, Jon simply let out a soft sigh.
’Sometimes, looking too harmless isn’t a good thing...’
He reined in his horse, raised his ice-blue eyes, and calmly looked at the silver-plated Knight pointing the riding crop at him.
"I’m not in a great mood right now, but seeing as you’re reinforcements, I’ll offer you a piece of advice—"
He paused, then stated clearly, word by word.
"Don’t provoke me. Or you will face the consequences."
This casual yet contempt-filled warning instantly ignited the lead Knight’s fury.
As a private soldier of the Prince, even if he was just a "ceremonial guard," he should naturally enjoy supreme authority in a backwater place like Heta County.
What’s more, he had already announced the Second Prince’s name, yet this mud-stained Merchant before him still dared to threaten him!?
Wasn’t this a blatant disregard for his master’s authority!?
"Insolence! Who do you think you are?"
"A lowly peddler smuggling contraband dares to threaten an Imperial Knight?! I say you’re a spy transporting supplies to the rebels!"
"Men! Seize him! Kill any who resist!"
The cavalrymen behind him roared in unison, spurred their warhorses forward, and leveled their longspears. The cold glint of the spearheads aimed straight at Jon and his carriage, instantly creating a murderous atmosphere.
No matter how they were adorned with ornate armor, they were still elite Knights personally selected by Prince Harvey. In terms of strength, they were one in a hundred.
How dare this audacious Merchant look down on them? He was simply courting death!
Arrogance leads to shortsightedness, and shortsightedness leads to blindness.
They didn’t stop to wonder why Jon dared to say such things. Instead, driven by the simple thought—’I’m an Envoy of the Prince. This is Imperial territory. Who would dare resist?’—they spurred their horses on, closing in on the convoy.
And at the very moment the hooves of the two front-rank Knights rose, as they prepared to charge and seize the carriage—
Jon, his right hand hanging at his side, lightly rubbed his index and middle fingers together and snapped.
Then, a low, strange hum that seemed to freeze the very air suddenly rang out!
A faint blue Aura, nearly invisible to the naked eye, instantly radiated out from him.
Wherever the ring of light passed, the air seemed to congeal into a thick gel. Falling snowflakes suddenly slowed, as if sinking through invisible honey.
This was the [Damping Seal]—the foundation of the Three Dharma Seals, a set of Skills Jon had created himself!
The moment the Magic took effect, the movements of the ten resplendent Knights—who were spurring their warhorses and brandishing their longspears to attack—instantly bogged down!
Their charging postures remained, the furious and ferocious expressions fixed on their faces, but all their movements had been slowed several, even dozens of times over!
Arms raising longspears fell with agonizing slowness. Legs pushing into stirrups moved in slow motion. Even their magnificent Bronze Scale Horses and warhorses seemed to be mired in an invisible swamp, their raised hooves descending with leaden weight.
The lead Knight’s angry whip-cracking motion had also turned into a comical, frame-by-frame slow-motion replay.
The entire scene was utterly bizarre.
One moment, the resplendent cavalry troop had been menacing and bloodthirsty, shouting for battle; the next, they were struggling as if trapped in invisible glue, unable to continue.
Time itself had been forcibly stretched and frozen for them.
Only their wide, terrified eyes, turning with excruciating slowness in their sockets, revealed their inner fear and disbelief.
Jon didn’t even spare these "ceremonial guards"—now frozen in time—a second glance, as if he had merely brushed off a few specks of dust. He then turned to the stunned Warrior siblings and said calmly,
"Disarm them and take them back to Birch Town. Let those people see the ’virtue’ of the Prince’s subordinates."
The brother, Moon, jolted and immediately came to his senses. He replied with an awed "Yes, sir," and prepared to get out of the carriage to carry out the order.
The sister, Sati, however, couldn’t help but ask in a small voice,
"But... Lord Jon, they said they’re Envoys of the Second Prince, didn’t they? Is it really okay to do this...?"
Jon’s expression didn’t change. He just urged his horse forward and tossed a sentence back nonchalantly.
"Just because they say they are, does that make it so?"
"To me, they look more like spies disguised as the Prince’s Envoys, on their way to aid the rebels."
Sati was taken aback. Looking at the immobilized troop of cavalry, she felt that something wasn’t quite right.
’Why does that sound so much like what I’ve heard the nobles’ lackeys say when they’re trying to frame someone?’
’Except this time, it was coming from our side.’
At this thought, the female Warrior’s face became conflicted. ’Am I the noble’s lackey now?’
And in Jon’s eyes, this conflicted look naturally meant she was still worried.
So he added nonchalantly,
"If we’ve made a mistake, we can just apologize, can’t we? It’s not like the Second Prince is going to hunt me down all the way in Heta County, is he?"
"Now, carry out your orders."
"Ah... Yes, sir!"