The speed of this change was utterly astonishing.

The Old Sir stared wide-eyed, and under the protection of several archers, ran down from the city wall, out of the castle, and furiously shouted at the retreating soldiers, “What’s going on? Tell me, what is going on?”

A captain stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Thirteen of our brothers are dead. We suspect there are ambushers in the town!”

The townsfolk nearby couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into loud laughter.

If there were any ambushers, they would know best.

All the able-bodied men of the town were up on the hillside; those left in the town were the elderly, women, and children.

If those counted as ambushers, then these soldiers were truly weak.

The Old Sir’s face was as dark as coal. He asked coldly, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly, say it again.”

The captain swallowed hard, lacking confidence, and stammered, “Sir, there might be ambushers in the town, at least more than ten!”

The Old Sir’s anger exploded. He rushed forward a few steps, snatched a sword from a soldier’s hand, and used it like an iron rod, fiercely beating the captain.

As he beat him, he roared, “Ambushers, ambushers! Ambush your ass! You bunch of useless bastards, get back there and keep searching!”

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes and witnessed the losses, he might have believed there were ambushers. But now, he had watched from the city wall the entire time.

His soldiers, in such a tiny town, were beaten to a pulp by a brat who hadn’t even grown all his hair, losing thirteen men without even seeing their opponent.

How could such an absurd thing happen in this world!

The soldiers looked at the raging The Old Mayor, each one dissatisfied but helpless, and could only reluctantly return to the town to continue searching.

However, this time, more than eighty of them gathered together, circling around the small town for a long time, but didn’t even catch a glimpse of the enemy.

In the town, Devon looked at the sky—it was already past two in the afternoon. As long as night fell, he would no longer have to fear the threat of the cavalry.

Then, he could slip out of the town and escape to freedom.

Chapter 9: A True Knight

Time ticked by, and the sun gradually moved westward.

The soldiers in the small town were still wandering around aimlessly, playing hide-and-seek with the youths of the town.

Several times, the soldiers forgot their fear and tried to split up to search, but after losing more than a dozen men, no one dared to try again.

At this point, not only the soldiers in the town, but even The Old Sir on the hillside found himself in a dilemma.

All the townsfolk of Vito Town were watching. If he, faced with someone defying his authority, could do nothing, his reputation would be utterly ruined.

It was midsummer, the weather was hot, and The Old Sir was old and starting to feel exhausted.

Not far away, the townsfolk were whispering to each other. Though their voices were low, to The Old Sir, they sounded extremely harsh.

In The Old Sir’s mind, every word was about him, every laugh was mocking him.

He could no longer bear to stay on the hillside and simply returned to the castle, leaving only Butler Geoffrey outside to await the outcome.

Time passed bit by bit, and the townsfolk, who had been held back for so long, finally lost patience and began to make a commotion—some mocking, some cursing, some anxious to go home—a chaotic scene.

Most of these townsfolk were strong men, each robust and hot-tempered, much more so than the women and children in the town. Most of the castle’s soldiers had been sent into the town, leaving only a few archers on the walls, so they could no longer intimidate the crowd.

Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Butler Geoffrey had to do something. Otherwise, if these townsfolk returned to the town, there would be no hope of catching Devon.

He first looked at Uncle Nolan, as he was the most active in the crowd, and earnestly said, “Nolan, why are you doing this? Devon grew up before everyone’s eyes—I don’t want anything to happen to him either. But he’s made a grave mistake. If we shelter him, everyone will be implicated!”

The Old Hunter shouted, “What mistake? Why don’t you tell us? Let everyone hear it! Is it okay for that dog priest to do as he pleases, but not for Devon to defend himself?”

At his words, the townsfolk all voiced their agreement, their emotions running high.

Geoffrey looked bitter—how did he end up in this mess?

In the town, this The Old Hunter was decisive and experienced, and highly respected. When The Old Sir was present, he kept silent, but as soon as The Old Sir left, he stirred up trouble and completely suppressed him.

Everyone knew Devon was his prized student, always treated like his own child. On this matter, he would never compromise and would protect him to the end.

Geoffrey racked his brains and finally said with a bitter face, “How about this, I’ll go back and plead with Mayor again, so don’t be hasty. In this situation, the soldiers in the town won’t be able to catch Devon anytime soon, right?”

As soon as he said this, the townsfolk burst into laughter again.

Someone shouted, “Are they catching anyone? Those outsiders are just parading around, haha.”

Nolan wouldn’t give in. Don’t be fooled by this The Butler’s pitiful appearance—he knew exactly what kind of person he was. Full of tricks, sly as a fox.