Roland certainly wasn’t celebrating.

As the Salsen army halted, the StarGazers' Special Operations Team arrived.

This mobile force of the StarGazers, comprised of 3-5 squads with hundreds of members, was well-equipped and as powerful as a mercenary brigade.

Under Egilina's command, they effortlessly penetrated the baron's territory and surrounded the castle. Cornered, Baron Minhausen "in a fit of rage" challenged Egilina to a knightly duel.

Although Egilina "dismissed" his challenge, she reluctantly accepted it.

To onlookers, Baron Minhausen seemed to be making a desperate last stand. Only Roland, Egilina, and Melannis knew this was all an act.

Everyone else had no idea this was a plot.

Seeing Roland about to duel Egilina, Granni became desperate, gripping Roland's reins tightly, her eyes bloodshot, her voice trembling.

"My lord, let me fight for you. If I lose, you might as well surrender. As the old saying goes, so long as the forest is there, there will be countless trees to chop down."

Hearing "countless trees to chop down", Melannis's expression became unnatural, while Roland's gaze softened towards Granni.

Purchasing Granni was an unexpected, occasional move.

He hadn't intended to buy a barbarian girl; it was just a way to spend the remaining divinegold coins.

Unexpectedly, the least expensive barbarian girl became his most loyal maid. Facing the enemy's overwhelming forces, while others were terrified, only Granni stood by him resolutely.

Melannis knew the script, but Granni did not, and even if she did, it would be too complex for her to understand.

As Roland remained silent, Granni turned to Egilina and roared:

"Egilina, you're a guest of our master, why do you attack us? After eating our food and taking our room, how dare you turn against us? Are you shameless?"

Egilina felt awkward. It was too challenging to make a barbarian understand such complex plots.

As Granni was about to charge, Roland held her arm and grinned.

"Granni, I appreciate your bravery and loyalty, but this is my battle."

"But..."

"This is an order!"

Granni paused for a few seconds. She reluctantly let go of the reins, and stepped back unwillingly. Roland's orders were paramount; she could not defy Roland. Granni stepped back, her eyes red, gripping her giant sword. Barbarians are straightforward; they repay kindness with loyalty. Roland provided food, never mistreated her, and always spoke gently. For Granni, Roland was the best master.

In her tribe, she often encountered beatings and hunger. Roland, though not related by blood, treated her kindly. If Roland were to fall in battle, she'd risk her life for revenge. If incapable of revenge, she'd follow her master in death -- for barbarians, dying in battle was an honor.

Seeing her clenched teeth and angry expression, Melannis tiptoed to hug her shoulder, whispering, "Granni, don't worry, our master will be fine."

"Melannis, do you mean... our master will win?!"

Granni's eyes lit up, roaring like a dragon.

The elders said barbarians need not be smart, but they must recognize and follow the wise. Melannis, though a despised elf, was surely a wise one!

Facing Granni's hopeful gaze, Melannis wanted to lie to comfort her but shook her head instead. She had no intention to deceive the innocent Granni.

"Egilina is a nearly fifth-order Star sorcerer, almost as powerful as an ordinary fifth-order fighter. Our master, merely a third-order Knight, he stands no chance."

She thought to herself that Roland could use second-order sorcery, but it was far from enough.

"Unless a miracle happens."

Granni nodded excitedly, then felt despair. Miracles are rare, and their master was likely to lose.

Watching Melannis's calm yet hopeful expression, Granni fell into thought.

After a moment, she excitedly exclaimed:

"Melannis, Egilina will surely show mercy, right?"

"Well, yes."

This was a tacitly agreed-upon staged fight; at least Roland wouldn't be torn to pieces.

Melannis’s palms glowed with a faint green light, ready to heal Roland at anytime.

According to the script, after a fierce fight and Egilina’s finishing move, Melannis would rush to heal Roland, then tearfully surrender on his behalf. As Roland's only guardian knight, she could make decisions on behalf of the incapacitated lord.

The script was set, and the actors ready; now it was showtime.

Roland and Egilina, thirty meters apart, dismounted and walked towards each other. Stopping ten meters away, they halted.

Roland smiled broadly, "Egilina, you are my most honored guest; why have we come to this?"

"I have never considered you an enemy." Egilina responded calmly, "But you arrogantly declared war on the StarGazers. I tried to mediate for you, but unfortunately, my teacher is furious with your offense."

"If you surrender now and kneel to apologize to my teacher, you can still keep your title."

"I won’t take the shame!"

Roland's voice echoed over the land, lingering long.

"I am the lord of Minhausen, and it's my sacred duty to defend my territory and protect my people. If you wish to seize my land, you must step over my dead body!"

Egilina admired Roland internally; he was truly good at acting. If she didn't know the script, she might have been fooled too.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She cleared her throat.

"Since negotiations have failed, let's fight!"

After the harsh words, it was time for action. The Special Operations Team lined up to watch. They never doubted victory, though Egilina ranked last among Star sorcerers.

Roland elegantly removed his white glove and tossed it to Egilina. She caught the glove and threw hers back. Even in a fight to the death, nobility's elegance remained.

With a shout, both charged forward, drawing their swords and aiming for each other's hearts.

Roland knew he was scripted to lose and didn't plan to use sorcery. As a mere baron, rashly using sorcery could cause trouble.

Egilina, aware of Roland's inevitable defeat, wanted to test her melee skills and also refrained from sorcery.

Thus, two sorcerers drew their swords and engaged in combat. Their movements were swift, their footwork solid, and their sword strikes vicious, aiming directly for vital points. The watching Special Operations Team was puzzled.

What was Egilina doing? With a simple shield activation and fifth-order sorcery, not just a minor baron but even a castle could be obliterated. What was her plan? A sorcerer engaging in melee combat seemed absurd.

They were confused, but Granni was ecstatic, nearly jumping with joy.

Her master was holding his own against the highly praised Star sorcerer. Her master could win!

As the audience pondered, the sword fight suddenly ended.

Roland, after all, was a third-order Knight, naturally having an advantage in melee combat against a sorcerer.

He held back; Egilina was an important ally, and he couldn't actually harm her, could he?

Fighting a mock battle with a girl was tricky.

You couldn't hit the face, it could mar beauty; not the chest, it would be humiliating; not the buttocks, it could provoke a cry. After consideration, only limbs seemed fair game.

Roland forced Egilina back with a sword thrust. He gave her a look which clearly meant:

"Hurry up, use your ultimate move!"

Egilina glanced at the blood on her wrist and coldly said, "Lord Minhausen, I acknowledge your strength. I give you one last chance. If you wish to save your territory, you can kneil and beg for mercy. I still accept your surrender."

"Haha, then why don't you surrender?"

Egilina nodded and said solemnly.

"Lord Minhausen, since you're bent on death...the dignity of the StarGazers is not to be trampled upon. You've picked the wrong fight!"

As Egilina prepared to use high-order sorcery, Roland "panicked" and charged with his sword, only hitting Egilina's shield.

Egilina chanted quickly, a faint purple light gathering in her palm, and a beam shot from her fingertip.

"Instant Death sorcery: Annihilation!"

This name made the onlookers' hearts skip a beat.

Star sorceries are divided into Seal, Ban, Break, Annihilate, and Support branches. The peak of Annihilate sorcery is "Instant Death sorcery: Annihilation".

Yet, instant death isn't all-powerful; in fact, its conditions are restrictive.

Against equally powerful opponents, its success rate is very low. Against stronger opponents, it's practically lottery odds. Even against weaker enemies, the highest success rate doesn't exceed 50%.

Fortunately, Instant Death sorcery still deals some damage, so even without triggering the special effect, it could "easily kill" Roland.

This was a script planned by Egilina and Roland. With maximum defense buffs from Roland and Egilina holding back, the instant death probability could be reduced to below 0.01%, resulting in a fake death, not a real one.

Even if the "lottery" was won, there was still Melannis, another insurance. As an elf princess, Melannis could do resurrection sorcery.

To ensure absolute safety, Roland tested with a robust ox, and the results were exceptional. After being revived by Melannis, the ox, wide-eyed and confused, continued to plow the field, unaware it had died once.

The dark gray starlight hit Roland precisely.

His smile froze instantly, his body shook violently, and he collapsed softly.

Without a single wound, he died immediately. He triggered the instant death effect. Against the odds of one in ten thousand, he hit it.

Before falling, he glanced at Melannis.

Help!

Seeing Roland fall, Melannis hadn't yet rushed forward when Granni roared in anger, swinging her giant sword and charging.

Egilina must have used an evil curse!

Lord Minhausen was strong and healthy; how could he die instantly if not for sorcery?

"Die!"

Granni leaped high, her giant sword slicing through the air with a whoosh. Egilina was startled. Wait, this wasn't in the script!

Wasn't Roland supposed to fake his death, and then Melannis would rush to pretend to save him?

Why was this barbarian doing?

Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Egilina panicked. She retreated quickly, but not as fast as Granni. Thankfully, her shield blocked the furious barbarian's sword strike. The pain of the sword hitting her body snapped her back to reality.

She got angry. A mere barbarian, relying on brute force, trying to kill her? She raised her hand, and a purple lightning bolt flew out. With her sorcerous control, third-order and above sorcery required chanting, but second-order didn't.

The purple lightning easily penetrated Granni's skin. The poor barbarian girl screamed as blood sprayed, triggering her Blood Fury status. Just as Egilina thought Granni was out of the fight, she leaped high, charging like a mad tiger.

Egilina stared blankly at the blood-soaked barbarian and lost focus momentarily. She was powerful but lacked real combat experience. Usually, disputes were resolves when she claimed she was from StarGazers.

This close encounter with death was the first time for her. The barbarian's bloodthirsty gaze and roaring battle cry stunned Egilina. That brief lapse decided her defeat.

The giant sword struck her shoulder. Although the Star Shield absorbed most of the damage, the impact was unavoidable; Granni's barbaric charge broke Egilina's shoulder.

Egilina screamed, collapsing to the ground.

The brutal scene shocked everyone. A caster being cornered by a berserker, even with far superior strength, faces great danger.

The Special Operations Team rushed to rescue Egilina, hastily providing first aid.

Dozens of team members swarmed to capture the attacking barbarian. Hearing the scream, Melannis looked up, stunned. She had just checked on Roland's condition when the scene turned chaotic. She opened her palm, and a faint green light surged, summoning thorns out of thin air, separating Granni from the others.

"Stop! We surrender! Let me treat the wounded first!" Melannis stood up, her icy gaze sweeping across the field. After all, she was a princess; her inherent authority, combined with instant third-order sorcery, intimidated the Special Operations Team.

Egilina, barely standing, spoke weakly.

"Stop, the fight is over. Let her heal."

Melannis nodded, beginning to channel her sorcery. Elves have a sorcery core, so ordinary sorcery requires no chanting; only some fourth-order and above sorceries need stationary casting.

Channeling differs slightly from chanting. It doesn't require chanting but demands full concentration and no distractions.

In the sorcery system, instant casting > channeling > chanting in terms of spell effect.

Melannis, having cared for the Resurrection Tree these days, improved her mastery of the Resurrection Spell. As long as Roland wasn't dismembered and hadn't been dead long, she could revive him. Soon, Roland, lying unconscious on the ground, stood up with a confused look.

He looked around the battlefield, his thoughts sluggish. He vaguely remembered dying, then being in a completely dark space, unable to speak or move, his consciousness fading.

He felt as if a special force was pulling his numb soul towards the underworld. This sense of powerlessness was terrifying; Roland didn't want to recall it for even a second.

Fortunately, a green light crossed the path to the underworld, bringing Roland's freshly dead soul back. He knew Melannis had saved him. Thinking of the one in ten thousand odds triggering, Roland pondered; a mock battle shouldn't have escalated to this extent.

Roland's body felt stiff; he was still adjusting to life after revival. The sensation of death was too horrifying, marked by utter darkness and absolute void. Thankfully, his consciousness remained clear, aware of what happened after death.

Seeing Granni, severely injured and unconscious on the ground, Roland's smile widened.

Adversity reveals true friendship; Granni did well. For secrecy, only he, Egilina, and Melannis knew the script; the other three maids were unaware. They followed their hearts, making different choices. When he walked out of the castle to "nobly face death," Granni took up her sword to fight alongside him. While they distracted the enemy, Julie and Lana fled.

He had placed four monitors around the castle, and he was clearly aware of their escape.

Lana fled in disarray, her eyes swollen with tears, overwhelmed by fear. Julie left calmly; she even took a few pieces of jewelry from the bedroom.

Roland sighed softly.

Granni was loyal and brave, deserving good treatment. Seeing defeat, Lana's desire to leave wasn't surprising. But adults must be responsible for their actions. According to the Holy Essen Empire's laws, breaking a "work contract" and fleeing results in three to five years of imprisonment; thus, she would receive the maximum sentence of five years. As for Julie...

Roland frowned in disgust.

Traitors should not be forgiven. If Julie lived, enemies would know he was soft hearted. If Julie lived, countless others might die because of it.

She was the most expensive maid he bought for 44 divine gold coins. Fleeing in danger was excessive but understandable. Stealing and fleeing while her master fought bloodily was utterly shameless.

According to the laws of any Tiamat nation, she deserved death.

An unforgivable death sentence.