9: Fighting Spirit Seeds and the Culprit

"If I don't say anything and you don't say anything, who will ever know?"

The cold wind blew, and the flickering light of the bonfire illuminated the complex expressions on Red and the others' faces.

The Church mandated two meals a day. They usually ate well, but their consumption was high, so two meals a day definitely left them hungry.

Although the matter of meals wasn't major, they were still shocked that the Lord dared to defy the Church's regulations.

After all, the Church's power was no less than that of the Monarchy. But since the Lord wasn't afraid, how could they shrink back?

"We thank Lord Lister for his generosity."

"Thank you, Lord."

Sincere shouts of gratitude echoed in the dark night.

Once the voices faded, Lister looked at Red and said, "In half an hour, Red, take most of the men to wait outside the castle. I'm going to take you to eliminate the 'villains'."

Unsure who he meant by 'villains,' Red respectfully agreed without question... Returning to his third-floor room in the castle, Lister ate something and took a bath. Just as he was about to rest,

Lianna flew over. The next moment, chirping sounds rang out, and a green light flew from her glabella and entered his body.

In an instant, the fatigue from his recent cultivation vanished completely.

"This..." After a moment of confusion, Lister suddenly remembered, "I almost forgot, Lianna, you have regenerative abilities."

Delighted, Livia also flew over, chirping as if saying she also had an ability. The next moment, another purple light entered his body.

Following a wolf howl inside his body, the originally sparse Elemental Particles began to spin and merge wildly.

Sensing the change inside his body, he didn't hesitate and quickly activated the Silver Wolf Breathing Technique. Instantly, massive amounts of Elemental Particles from the air frantically drilled into his body, joining the fusion.

Ten minutes later, as the Elemental Particles in his body finally reached saturation, the wolf howl sounded again, and a glowing seed of silver-white light slowly appeared in his consciousness.

"A Fighting Spirit Seed!" Lister exclaimed.

He actually managed to condense a Fighting Spirit Seed in just two days! This was incomparably faster than those geniuses at the Royal Academy.

After a brief moment of excitement, he calmed down, clearly knowing this wasn't due to his own talent, but Livia's ability.

Lifting his gaze slightly, he smiled and sincerely thanked them: "Thank you, Livia, and Lianna."

Hearing his thanks, both were very happy, chirping and fluttering around... Outside the castle.

Looking at Red and the others, who were fully prepared, Lister gave an order, and they set off.

They did not enter Ironthorn Town but bypassed it completely, then waited for their target at the town's exit.

Soon, the time reached 23:20 at night. Along with a rush of footsteps, the sound of carriage wheels approached.

Under the silver-blue moonlight, the mounted Law Enforcement Officer Bessie David and Treasurer Jeremy Neil slowly appeared.

Following the two were four burly men laboriously pulling a flat cart loaded with two large chests.

Apart from Lister, Red and the others looked puzzled, clearly unaware why the magistrate would appear here late at night.

At this moment, Lister smiled slightly and said, "Red, the 'villains' are here. Follow me to arrest them."

What!

The magistrates are the 'villains'?

Shocked, Red quickly followed the already moving Lister, while the others moved to surround them from both sides.

"Who! Who is up ahead?" Law Enforcement Officer Bessie David shouted upon hearing the movement.

His sudden shout immediately caused Treasurer Jeremy Neil and the four burly men beside him to look panicked.

"Good evening, two magistrates." Lister slowly stepped out of the darkness, his faint smile illuminated by the silver-blue moonlight, resembling the God of Death.

Seeing Lister and Red before them, Bessie David and the other man trembled, fearfully asking, "Lo—Lord, why are you here?"

"Heh heh, of course, I'm waiting for you. Do you think I came out late at night just to freeze?" Lister mocked.

Hearing his words, the two didn't hesitate, immediately turning their horses around to flee, abandoning even the vast sum of money they had embezzled over the years.

But the next second, the two men on horseback were kicked off by Knights who suddenly darted out from the darkness on both sides, and a dozen Soldiers surrounded them.

Seeing this, the four burly men immediately knelt and begged for mercy. Facing Knights and regular Soldiers, they couldn't muster any thought of resistance.

Walking up to the flat cart, Lister directly kicked both Bessie David and the other man once, then ordered the Soldiers to open the chests.

As the chests were opened, mountains of silver coin and copper coins appeared, illuminated by the moonlight.

Seeing this, Red and the others looked astonished. They hadn't expected the 'villains' mentioned by the Lord to be so significant. This must be worth several hundred Gold Coins.

For a moment, everyone felt immense admiration for Lister's foresight.

At this point, Bessie David and the other man desperately begged for mercy: "Lord, we are willing to return the 400 gold in embezzled funds, please spare our lives!"

"400 gold!" Lister was stunned. Wasn't it only three hundred? Why was there an extra hundred? Was Divination that unreliable?

But thankfully it was more, not less. A good result was all that mattered. However, this wasn't what he cared about most. What concerned him now was the attitude of these two men.

They looked as desperate as if they were about to die. According to Kingdom Law, corruption was not a capital offense; it required a tripartite trial involving the Kingdom, the Church, and the Lord. As long as they were willing to return all embezzled funds, their lives would be spared.

Although this law was ridiculous, he still intended to abide by it, as he was still a 'small fry' right now.

But now it seemed these two fellows had a more serious problem. Lister was thoughtful.

After a few breaths, he slowly said, "According to Kingdom Law, returning all embezzled funds grants immunity from death. Now, scram."

"Thank you, Lord, thank you." The two thanked him while scrambling up and quickly fleeing.

Watching the two gradually disappear into the darkness, Lister instructed, "Red, take a few men and follow me. The rest of you, take the embezzled funds and these four men back to the castle."

"Understood," Red and the others respectfully replied.

In the darkness, Lister and his men quietly followed Bessie David and the other man, maintaining some distance.

Half an hour later, at the border between Ironthorn Territory and Black Bear Territory, Lister didn't understand why Bessie David and the other man came here, but he still hid with Red and the others not far away.

The next second, a whistle sounded, coming from Bessie David and the other man.

Moments later, several tall figures slowly appeared in the darkness. Illuminated by the moonlight, they could only vaguely make out that they were people riding horses.

Seeing those figures, Bessie David and the other man immediately ran over, panicking: "Lord Daniel, we... we were discovered by Lord Lister."

"What? Discovered!" The fat-headed and big-eared Daniel was enraged: "You two pieces of trash, you can't even handle such a simple matter. What good are you?"

As his voice fell, he waved his hand. Immediately afterward, a mounted figure slowly emerged from the darkness, and amidst the pleas of the two men, a cold flash streaked through the darkness.

A sharp cry rang out, and the two men fell to the ground with a thud. Then, Daniel and the others vanished into the night.

Lister and his men, hidden nearby, naturally witnessed the entire scene.

Red respectfully said, "Lord Lister, it seems Baron Daniel of Black Bear Territory is the culprit. What should we do?"

"No rush." Lister's eyes were cold. "Territory development is the most important thing right now. It's not appropriate to escalate conflicts with other Lords, but I've noted this incident. I will definitely make him pay later."