91. Chapter 91: Critical Intelligence

“Oh?” Dulong looked at the middle-aged man, who had finally yielded as well, with a teasing smile. “Heh. I almost thought you truly were not afraid of death. Take them all away and question them separately. Anyone who gives inaccurate information will not be blamed if this lord gets ruthless!”

“Understood!”

Seeing several of the Dulong household guards prepare to escort all six men away for interrogation, Dulong pointed at the middle-aged leader and said, “Leave him here. I will question him myself.”

Thus the middle-aged man with the goatee was brought before him. This fellow was no weakling; he too had reached the Cyclone stage. But now that his hands and feet were bound, there was no way he could stir up any trouble.

“Speak. What is your name? Who ordered you to follow behind us, and why?” Dulong asked coolly. He was not worried that the man would lie. With the other five already willing to confess, any falsehood now would be courting death.

“Sigh... Very well.” The middle-aged man let out a faint sigh before answering, “This one is called Roth. We are all Fan family retainers. I believe Lord Dulong already knows who is backing these three gold mines, yes? Indeed. It is the Fan family, led by the Left Chancellor.”

“I already know all of that. Tell me something worthwhile. Of course, if you do not wish to live, I will not force you.” Dulong waved a hand, cutting him off.

After some hesitation, Roth gritted his teeth and continued. “The one sent by the Fan family to oversee these three gold mines is Fan Liang, a second-generation scion of the clan branch. Across the three mines, there are about a hundred Fan retainers guarding each one on average. They have all now withdrawn to the third mine. Fan Liang had us disguise ourselves as an adventurer squad and hide near the first mine, then trail Lord Dulong’s party. Meanwhile, he led more than three hundred Fan retainers to lie in ambush at Twin Ravine up ahead, waiting for your men to enter the kill zone before launching the attack!”

“With just over three hundred retainers, Fan Liang still dares to make a move against my party of more than four hundred?” Dulong’s expression darkened. “We have more than a hundred Imperial Guards among us. How would they dare attack the Imperial Guards? Could it be that the Fan family really dares to rebel?”

“In the Forest of Demonic Beasts, let alone a force of several hundred, even a force of several thousand can be wiped out if they are unlucky enough to encounter a powerful demonic beast. Even if it were Her Highness the Princess herself, if she entered the Forest of Demonic Beasts on her own and was killed by a powerful demonic beast, His Majesty would certainly not blame the Fan family. On the contrary...” Roth explained calmly.

“On the contrary, the prince consort who brought the princess into such a dangerous place would be the one at whom His Majesty vented his fury,” Dulong finished for him before he could continue.

“Exactly. That is precisely Fan Liang’s intention,” Roth confirmed with a nod.

“Hmph. What a vicious scheme!” Dulong snorted in anger, then continued pressing him. “But if they are relying on an ambush by human hands, then even if they succeed in killing all of us, they will certainly leave traces behind. By then, once the emperor sends men to investigate, they will discover that our several hundred people did not die at the hands of demonic beasts. In that case, Fan Liang must have some other method I do not know about!”

Roth’s eyes brightened, and he could not help but look at Dulong with admiration. “Lord Dulong truly is far-sighted. Yes. In order to deal with you this time, Fan Liang sent men riding hard back to the capital and brought in helpers.”

“Helpers? What sort of helpers?” Dulong asked quickly when Roth stopped there.

“Lord Dulong, that information is something the other five men know nothing about. It is highly confidential. Unless my lord agrees to grant me one small favor, I would rather die than reveal it,” Roth replied with determination.

“Oh?” Dulong studied him for a long moment before murmuring, “Then tell me. So long as it is not too outrageous, I will try to satisfy you.”

“This matter can only be told to Lord Dulong alone,” Roth said.

“I hope the intelligence you are about to reveal is indeed as crucial as you claim. Otherwise, you know full well what the consequences will be.” Dulong looked at him coldly. He was clearly growing impatient. At last, he waved to the men beside him. “All of you, step back.”

Once the subordinates had retreated to a distance, Dulong’s eyes flashed with danger as he said, “You may speak now.”

“Lord Dulong, after I reveal this important intelligence, I beg that you spare my life. I also beg that you kill all five of those men. Otherwise, even if you forgive me, I will still die at the hands of the Fan family, and my whole household, young and old alike, will be dragged down with me,” Roth explained.

“I see.” Dulong fell silent for a moment. “So long as the intelligence you provide is true and truly significant, this lord will spare your life and will also help you deal with those five men.”

“Thank you, Lord Dulong!” Roth answered in excitement, and then began to disclose the crucial information he knew.

That intelligence was indeed significant. Had it been two days earlier, it truly could have caused Dulong and his several hundred men to die unjustly in this Forest of Demonic Beasts, and it would have implicated the Dulong clan as well.

After all, he had personally taken the risk of bringing Princess Fire Phoenix into the Forest of Demonic Beasts. If she had died because of this, he would have borne the blame without escape, and the Dulong clan would have been condemned along with him.

It turned out that the vital intelligence Roth mentioned was that Fan Liang had brought two helpers back from the capital. Those two helpers were not human at all, but two powerful demonic beasts of the fourth tier.

The Fan family possessed experts of Spirit realm strength. With such power, if they were willing to invest the time, it was certainly possible to subdue a few fourth-tier demonic beasts.

Many great clans secretly subdued demonic beasts for their own use, though the number was usually very limited. Fourth-tier beasts that could be domesticated were especially rare.

Once demonic beasts reached the fourth tier, their intelligence became very high, no worse than that of humans. If they could not defeat an opponent, most would flee. Even if escape was impossible, very few would willingly submit to human domination.

Because they feared intervention from human Spirit realm experts, fourth-tier demonic beasts were seldom seen near the edges of the Forest of Demonic Beasts, close to human settlements. They were usually found on the far side of places like Demonic Beast Marsh, deeper within the forest.

Human Spirit realm experts also dared not wander there carelessly. If they were unlucky enough to encounter a fifth-tier beast or stronger, much less capture a fourth-tier one, they might leave their own lives behind.

One must remember this: while demonic beasts of the fifth tier and above did not dare to slaughter wantonly in the human world, that did not mean they would not kill human experts who intruded into the depths of their territory.

In short, fourth-tier demonic beasts were extremely difficult to tame. Yet this time, in order to erase Dulong’s party without anyone being the wiser, the Fan family had actually deployed two fourth-tier beasts at once. From that alone, one could see how much importance they placed on these gold mines.

Frowning as he listened to Roth’s explanation, Dulong felt shock raging through him. If, before he had subdued the Blazing Unicorn Lion, he had wandered into this ambush and then suddenly seen two powerful fourth-tier demonic beasts charge out, the result would absolutely have been utter annihilation.

At that time, the several hundred people under his command would likely have died without ever understanding how or why they were killed.

At the thought, Dulong could not help but break out in a cold sweat. Even now that he had subdued a fifth-tier Blazing Unicorn Lion, once battle broke out, the lion’s power would surely be exposed in order to protect himself. How, then, was he supposed to explain any of this afterward?

“Despicable Fan family dogs! Do you truly mean to exterminate us to the last man? Hmph. Since you show no mercy, do not blame me for being merciless in return!” Dulong cursed savagely.

“Men! Execute all five of those fellows!” Murder flared in Dulong’s eyes as he immediately issued a death order. At the same time, he sent a thought to the great lion. “Little Blaze, kill this one as well!”

Upon receiving the message, the great lion lifted a paw without the slightest hesitation. Roth never even had time to react before his head and body were separated. To the moment of his death, he never understood why this lord had suddenly turned upon him.

“Spare us! My lord, spare us!” The remaining five men were so terrified they wanted to beg for mercy, but the only answer they received was the gleam of a fatal blade.

“All of you listen carefully! What happened here today must never be revealed to the outside world. Anyone who does will find out exactly how ugly I can be! Move out. Return to the formation at once!”

Leaving six corpses behind, Dulong led over a hundred men away like a gust of wind. Of course, the beasts in the wild would take care of the bodies. In less than an hour, probably some beast would follow the stench of blood here to feast. If even a few bones remained, that would count as lucky.

The group soon caught up with the main force ahead. After summoning the guide leading the way, Dulong asked directly, “How far are we from Twin Ravine now? At our current pace, about how long will it take to reach that area?”

“Lord Dulong, Twin Ravine is still about forty kilometers away. At our present speed, we should arrive there before nightfall,” a guide replied respectfully at once.

“Very well. No rush. Continue forward for another twenty kilometers or so, then find a place with water and make camp to rest. We will set out again at daybreak tomorrow,” Dulong instructed with a nod.

The others did not understand his arrangement, but none of them said much. After all, during this period of travel, everyone had come to trust his way of handling crises.

Thus, the several hundred men reduced their marching speed and advanced at an unhurried pace until they reached a stream, where they stopped. They began choosing favorable ground to set up camp and rest, preparing to continue on at first light the next morning.