Chapter 138 - 137: Confession

Ronin didn’t want to resort to torture, but he felt little guilt using it on a criminal whose guilt was already confirmed.

This interrogation method could easily lead to wrongful convictions. The key was to ensure it wasn’t used indiscriminately.

However, Mountain Forest Town was still small, meaning Ronin’s word was law. For now, he could still maintain control.

Once his territory expanded and the population grew, some matters would fall outside his direct control. At that point, it would be necessary to establish proper laws to ensure that law enforcement was fair and just, and that they did not resort to torture.

But that was all a matter for the future.

For now, at least, Ronin needed to pry open the assassin’s mouth and obtain valuable intelligence.

Returning to the warm living room, Chahar was waiting for him.

"My Lord, your new bedroom is ready. The books and other items from your old room have all been moved to the new one."

The old room had been wrecked by Fighting Qi and was clearly no longer habitable.

"How bad is the damage? If it seriously threatens the building’s structural integrity, we’ll have to move out and construct a new one."

The main tower in the Inner Castle wasn’t something you could just throw together. It was a matter of the Lord’s reputation.

Just imagine if a guest came to Mountain Forest Castle and the accommodations were no better than a slave’s quarters. One could only imagine what Ronin’s reputation among the nobility would become.

To be honest, the building Ronin currently lived in was merely average and could hardly be called luxurious.

But even constructing a building like this was a major undertaking, requiring Ronin to prepare a large sum of money, as well as labor and resources.

Fortunately, Chahar had inspected it with his men and reported that the main structure was undamaged, so there was no risk of collapse. However, the damaged doors, windows, and flooring would need to be repaired by William or another carpenter.

Ronin breathed a sigh of relief. He then asked, "Where’s Black Tiger?"

Chahar smiled. "I’m not sure if it wore itself out or got scared, but it’s resting in Miss Erin’s room right now."

"Remember to give it a hearty meal tomorrow!"

Ronin smiled. "I managed to survive the assassination attempt today all thanks to the little guy’s timely warning."

Chahar was surprised, not realizing Black Tiger had played a part. "As expected of a Storm Demon Wolf cub, Black Tiger really does have extraordinary abilities."

"Haha, just wait until it’s a little older. It’ll have many more abilities."

The Demon Core of that mother Storm Demon Wolf contained three abilities: Rapid Speed, Tearing, and Concealment.

Storm Demon Wolves generally only master Wind Attribute Magic. Once Black Tiger matures, he should master the abilities of Rapid Speed and Tearing.

As for whether he can master Concealment, that will depend on if he inherited his mother’s Dark Attribute.

The next morning, Ronin followed his usual routine: waking up, washing up, eating breakfast, and then his morning exercises.

But the kitchen staff and the Guards had two more tasks than usual—boiling sugary water and finding anthills.

Ronin had thought finding the anthills would take some time, but the Guards moved faster than he had anticipated. Within an hour, they had located three sites, prepared large baskets, and dug them up with shovels.

When the Guards lit a fire in the dark room to raise the temperature, stripped the assassin down to his underwear, and began to drizzle the warm, sugary water over his body, fear surged from Shadow’s heart, now impossible to suppress.

His teeth, his knees... his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

And when the Guards carried a large basket filled with the contents of an anthill before him and lifted the lid, Shadow saw the teeming, crawling mass of ants inside, and his scalp went numb with terror.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

*Sob...* "I’m begging you, please, get those things away from me! Get them all away..."

In truth, the images he had been forced to imagine all night had already brought him to the brink of collapse. The fact that he had held out this long was a testament to his mental fortitude.

Soon after, Macken and the others fetched Ronin.

Seeing the assassin’s sobbing state, Ronin couldn’t help but smile. "Actually, we’re quite merciful to our prisoners in Mountain Forest Town. If you had just talked earlier, we wouldn’t have had to go this far."

He said, sitting down in a nearby chair. "Speak. Who hired you to assassinate me?"

"It... It was the Chief. He sent me to kill you."

’The Chief?’

Ronin frowned. "The Chief of the Skull Society? Who is he?"

"I don’t know."

Shadow said weakly, "The Chief always wears a Golden Mask. I don’t know his true identity. When we communicate, he only uses the codename ’Skull’."

’The leader of the Skull Society wears a mask. His true identity must be one he can’t reveal publicly. Does it implicate some other power?’

"Why did he want me dead?" Ronin continued to ask.

But to this, Shadow only shook his head.

"I don’t know. Assassination contracts rarely include many details. But..."

He hesitated, as if debating whether to reveal more. After all, it would violate his professional code.

THUMP... THUMP...

Macken tapped the nearby basket of ants with his longsword. Shadow shivered, his professional code utterly forgotten.

"But the Chief told me that once the job was done, I could go directly to the swamp in Sain Territory to find Baron Reisen and collect the bounty of One Thousand Gold Coins."

Hearing this, it was as if a stone had finally settled in Ronin’s heart.

He had suspected yesterday that the assassin was from Sain Territory, but he had wavered upon seeing the Skull Society’s insignia. After all, there were plenty of people who wanted him dead.

But the truth was just as he had suspected. The shadow of Reisen was behind this matter after all.

’If he hadn’t ordered the hit, why would the bounty be collected from Baron Reisen?’

Ronin smiled at Macken. "It looks like I really got under Baron Reisen’s skin. He’s willing to spend a fortune—One Thousand Gold Coins—just to have me killed."

Macken replied, "In his eyes, his conflict with you is irreconcilable. As long as he can kill you, the four Wilderness Tribes, and even Mountain Forest Town itself, might fall into his hands."

"Exactly."

Ronin nodded to himself. He suddenly remembered something and asked, "Do you know of a Pedro?"

Shadow looked somewhat surprised but nodded. "I know him. He was a candidate for the Skull Society. You’re the one who killed him."

"Then do you know who wanted Marina and Malik of the Green Family dead?"

Shadow hesitated for a moment, then said, "It was Baron Reisen. He has a terrible relationship with Baron German, so he planned to use us to eliminate German’s son and daughter, to make him suffer the pain of losing his children all over again."

"You know the details quite well?"

"Because I was the one responsible for Pedro’s candidacy evaluation..."

Ronin had only asked on a whim, never expecting such a surprising revelation.

’So there was a feud between Green Territory and Sain Territory that I didn’t know about. It seems I’ll have to arrange for an intelligence agent in the future, one specifically tasked with gathering all sorts of information and news concerning the nobility.’

"Very well. I’m pleased with your honesty, Mr. Shadow."

Ronin signaled for the basket of ants to be taken away. "Rest assured, I won’t kill you. But I won’t be letting you go, either."

He stood up and gave an order. "Macken, prepare a pen and paper. Write down everything Mr. Shadow has just confessed, then have him sign his name and add his handprint."

"Also, Wodun, go to Grey Soil Village at once and have Ridder and Tom come here."