CHAPTER 32: THE EVIL TOWN’S GUARDS (2)

The only thing Ray couldn’t wrap his head around was why Ashclaw wanted Kane dead.

The truth was, Kane and Ashclaw had been rivals, equals in nearly every way.

Whenever Kane achieved something, Ashclaw matched it with an equally impressive feat. Whenever Ashclaw rose, Kane was not far behind. They pushed each other, competed fiercely, and for a time, neither could claim superiority over the other, but everything changed after they participated in the Beast Tamer Trial when they came of age.

When an ordinary man successfully awakens in the trial, he is granted the title of Knight. Though it is the lowest tier of nobility in the Leon Kingdom, a knight also receives land. To most, this land is nothing more than barren soil, fit only for farming, but fate favored Ashclaw. The land he received hid a copper mine beneath its surface.

When he discovered it, he started rapidly climbing the ladder of social hierarchy, leaving Kane in his dust.

After all, the kingdom’s rule regarding mining natural resources is as follows.

A knight who possesses land rich in resources has the right to exploit it.

However, they must surrender a significant portion of their yearly yield to higher nobles and the royal family.

Yet even with such restrictions, the profits from a mine can change a man’s life, especially if he is cruel, cut corners, and exploits his workers.

Ashclaw, who was all of those things, went from a simple knight to a man of great influence in White Sparrow Town thanks to the copper mine found on his land, sacrificing countless lives in the process.

The original owner’s father was just one of the many people who died because of Ashclaw’s greed.

Anyways.

While Ashclaw’s fortune rose, Kane’s world collapsed.

His family offended someone they shouldn’t have.

Their wealth was stripped, their influence shattered, and even their survival came into question when they were accused of crimes so severe they could warrant execution if their innocence wasn’t proven in time.

In desperation, Kane turned to Ashclaw for help, knowing that with his influence and connections, the cloud of doom hanging over his family could be dispersed.

Ashclaw agreed to help him, but only if Kane spent the rest of his life working under him. At that time, nothing could’ve excited and satisfied Ashclaw more than bringing his former rival under his crotch.

To save his family as well as his own life, Kane naturally agreed to that ridiculous and humiliating condition, signing his freedom away.

From that moment, Kane started working like a servant for Ashclaw. More than fifteen years had passed since then.

In life, while Kane suffered setback after setback, Ashclaw seemed blessed by the heavens.

The copper mine brought him fortune and connections, turning him into a well-known figure in White Sparrow Town, and his wife gave birth for him a genius who managed to enter the Beast Hall straight after practicing in the Beast Tamer Trial, opening even more opportunities for Ashclaw.

The contrast between them was unbearable for Kane.

Consumed by jealousy, he hated Ashclaw to death for living such a perfect life, but he never let his true feelings slip, not even when drunk, as he didn’t want to make life difficult for himself.

Besides, the money he earned working under Ashclaw was good, allowing him to reach a step away from the bronze rank in just over a decade.

No wonder he managed to become Ashclaw’s right hand despite having no loyalty to him!

However, he made one big miscalculation.

Ashclaw was a ruthless man.

Once he had decided to kill someone, he would kill them even if they had been working for him for what seemed like forever.

Although Ashclaw failed to see through Kane’s true nature, he decided to silence him as he knew too much about his shady dealings.

Basically, even if Kane had succeeded in killing Ray tonight, he would’ve still lost his life to Ashclaw’s schemes.

Tristan expression changed multiple times in one breath.

’Ashclaw, you cooked up a plan to strike down two birds with one stone, desiring to remove both Ray and Kane from your life in a single night.’

’But you really underestimated your old rival. He saw through your plan.’

’While agreeing to help you on the surface, he actually planned his escape.’

’Now Ray is alive, and he is nowhere to be seen. Your foolproof plan has been totally foiled.’

’I agreed to help you because our interests aligned, but now it seems like I have wasted my time for no reason.’

’No. I can still get something out of it.’

’If I hadn’t heard it wrong, this young man recently bought an enchanted iron armour from Fang & Fang.’

’An enchanted armour from a famous shop, it should net me a hundred fifty silvers or so.’

’Maybe he have some other valuable hidden inside his home. It wouldn’t hurt to take them too.’

Tristan decided then and there to not head home without thoroughly looting Ray.

Ray wasn’t a mind reader, so he couldn’t know Tristan’s exact thoughts, but he could guess some of it.

Unaware he was being plotted against, he laughed inwardly, thinking that no matter how hard Tristan thought, he still wouldn’t be able to get close to the truth. After all, it was ridiculous to imagine that a commoner could kill a peak iron rank tamer.

"A miner’s son who is also a miner. Where did you get the money to purchase such a decent home?" Geoffrey sneered at Ray.

Looking around and seeing that Ray’s home was liveable and pleasant, Geoffrey actually felt offended and jealous of him. His pettiness was unrivaled!

Ray kept his composure, though the urge to kill Geoffrey rose sharply in his heart. However, his expression betrayed nothing, not even a hint of killing intent, and his calm voice carried a trace of joy as he spoke.

"Not too long ago, I risked my life to hunt for big game in the wilderness. My gamble paid off, and I became rich overnight. So I manged to afford this place."

"Hah! Just because you said it, we should believe it? Brat, do you know how nonsensical it sounds to hear of a mere commoner making a fortune from hunting?" Geoffrey was snorting so much Ray felt the urge to put a bee up his nostrils.

"Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean no one else can." Ray scoffed.

"You—!" Geoffrey face flushed red with fury as he pointed at Ray.

"Enough. We aren’t here for arguments."

At Tristan’s words, Geoffrey clenched his jaw and fell silent but he glared daggers at Ray.

Tristan turned to face Ray after reprimanding his underling, "We came here chasing after a highly skilled murderer. We believe he is hiding in your house, so we must search it. Do you have any problems with that?"

’If I say I do, won’t it give you a reason to accuse me of obstructing justice and lock me up?’

Ray could guess why the sudden need to search his house had arisen.

But he had already put away everything valuable into his interspatial ring.

Even if they flipped his house upside down, they wouldn’t find anything of worth.

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Ray smiled at Tristan.

"No, I absolutely have no problems. Please conduct a thorough search. I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I know my house is clean."