Chapter 376 Ramon's Big Plan
"Good brother, the brothers outside reported that an imperial knight ran away from the back door of the castle in dishevel..."
At the gate of Walwen Castle, Leon and Ramon were waiting for the gate to open - they only brought a few dozen people and it was impossible for them to break through a heavily guarded castle.
But they are now the Imperial Knights, the Emperor's personal soldiers, so of course they can swagger through the main gate and enter the city directly...
In fact, Ramon's men saw Sister running away.
Although he escaped from the back door of Walwyn Castle, Ramon's men were all assassins, all of whom were used to entering and exiting from various back doors or secret passages. To them, the back door was much more conspicuous than the front door...
However, Sister ran so fast that Ramon's men didn't know whether they should chase him or not. As a result, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
A group of imperial knights came, but some imperial knights ran away from the city. What does this mean?
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't this imperial knight in the city welcome the arrival of his brothers with tears in his eyes, then complain to them and express his loyalty to Emperor Marius?
Ramon knew very well that this abnormal reaction could only mean that the fleeing Imperial Knight had done something shameful, and most likely he had done it in partnership with Rimusk.
But since someone ran away so quickly, Ramon decided to do the whole thing.
"Brother, you used the Snake Cult to rob Titus, and then disguised yourself as an Imperial Knight to capture Rimusk's family. This was not only to force those guys outside White Hart Castle to withdraw, but also to cause them to fight among themselves, right?"
Ramon has always been a very perceptive person. He and Alina can both see Leon's intention.
"Of course, we have to rescue Justus after all. Ramon, do you have any good ideas?"
Li Ang nodded.
"My dear brother, you should know that some people may not care about their families that much for the sake of power. Just like the two Bahad Khans in Desha, they are brothers... Simply coercing those bastards may not solve the problem, but may even lead to the enemy becoming desperate."
Ramon spread his hands and said, "I have been using all kinds of dishonorable means in Singal. I probably have more experience than you in doing bad things... Brother, I have a better plan..."
Ramon's big plan is full of intimidation, coercion, frame-up, and entrapment...
None of these actions are aboveboard. Fortunately, Roland is still in Sarleon City. If Roland were here, he might beat Ramon...
But these dishonorable methods would seem justified if used on enemy lords, especially those who coerced Justus to cause trouble for Leon.
Leon never hated anyone from a hostile country, but he hated the act of starting a war for political struggle - those nobles simply did not regard the lower-class soldiers and civilians who died in the war as human beings.
Same thing with Ramon.
In order to ensure that these nobles, whose minds were only focused on fighting for power, would not cause trouble in the future, Ramon suggested that Leon get rid of them completely in one go.
Force some, intimidate some, and then frame others.
Of course, it was Titus who was forced, and this was already done.
Titus, an outsider, mixed with the conservative nobles. To them, he was actually just a "supplier" of combat power.
The conservatives regarded him as a thug, but if this thug lost all his family savings, he would certainly not dare to attack Bailubao with all his strength, otherwise the troops would suffer too much damage and the only fate of him as a "supplier" would be to be abandoned.
There is no room for any troop to be timid on the battlefield. If the thugs do not try their best, other nobles will naturally worry that the thugs have other intentions. If they are bitten back... they must be on guard.
This results in most people not trying their best...
The intimidation was directed at the small lords, especially the officers of the Shadow Legion who had outstanding combat capabilities but ordinary status.
They themselves do not have much power, and do not have the ability or financial resources to protect their families closely for a long period of time.
Many Scorpio assassins have now split up and acted individually.
The security at the young lord's house is not that strict, so not too many people are needed. It will be enough to just put the assassin's throwing knives on the beds of some of the young lord Bucks's wife and children.
When they received news from home that an assassin's flying knife was found on the child's bed, it was impossible not to panic - being targeted by the Scorpio assassin meant living in the shadow of assassination for the rest of their lives. From then on, the whole family had to worry about whether the food and water they drank were poisonous, and there ...
It is impossible to expect them to fight peacefully under such circumstances, and they will also suspect each other - who sent the killer?
Especially when they learned from each other that many small lords with little power had Scorpio Assassin's flying knives in their homes, but not in the big families...
Frame-up means directly framing relatively powerful clan lords as snake worshippers or traitors.
It is true that many lords of the old guard have ties to the Snake Cult, but it is actually difficult to tell - but never mind, if there is no evidence, just create evidence, anyway, it is just to make those nobles suspicious of each other...
Several different operations correspond to several different people. When the news reaches the army, suspicion and panic will most likely lead to internal strife among this group of conservative aristocrats - there are small groups within the same faction. Pure trust does not exist in politicians. The more power-hungry people are, the more likely they are to doubt each other.
By then, it is not certain whether they will engage in internal strife or not, but Justus will definitely be safer - some "smart people" with quick reactions will definitely regard Justus, the empire's most important minister, as a life-saving straw.
Especially those small lords who were intimidated, they would never let Justus die. Without Justus, they would become the scapegoats for all problems - the great nobles would most likely abandon them to protect themselves.
After ensuring Justus' safety, Alina could step in to divide and win over those small lords, and then try to kill the other part in the name of Emperor Marius and Justus - anyway, the charges and evidence were all there.
Sometimes, it is not necessary to send out a large army to defeat the enemy. Ramon knows this well - he has always done so in Singar.
…
Soon after, the main gate of Wolwenburg opened.
The patrol captain who was promoted by the front line, that is, the young recruit, respectfully let the dozens of "Imperial Knights" into the castle.
Leon and Ramon walked straight into the inner castle courtyard, which was Rimusk's residence, with expressionless faces.
There were actually a lot of garrisons in Walwyn Castle. There were at least 800 troops stationed in the city. Even the Rimusk family had more than 300 private soldiers - this was a big family, and not as wasteful as Levius.
With so many troops, if Leon, Ramon and others were to reveal their true identity, it would be difficult for them to come out alive...
But as soon as Leon walked into Rimusk's house, he drew his sword without thinking of the consequences, and then stared at the vines in the courtyard like a lunatic.
"I suspect there are snake worshippers here..."
Leon squinted his eyes in the castle courtyard with a haughty look on his face: "Look at this green decoration... Could it be that someone in the Rimusk family has joined the Snake Cult?"
The new recruit leading the way was shocked. He took a look at the vines on the wall and replied tremblingly: "Sir, that is a snake scent vine. It is used for decoration... Plants are of course green..."
"Snake-scented vine! As expected...even the decorations in the house have snake characters on them! It looks like there's probably a senior snake worshiper hiding here!"
Li Ang was more alert now, with a ferocious sneer on his face: "Come on, search! See if there is anything..."
The new recruit swallowed his saliva, speechless at the false accusation.
He looked around at the "Imperial Knights" all over the yard, and found that all of them seemed to have fierce eyes, and looked more like bandits or murderers...
This is not a deliberate disguise... These people are all Scorpio assassins, they are killers, and they are acting in their true colors.
Everyone could see that this group of imperial knights came here deliberately to cause trouble.
But the question is - what does it mean that the Emperor's guards deliberately come to cause trouble?
"Are all the Imperial Knights like this... Either they are lazy people like Sister, or they are crazy people like this..."
The new recruit murmured to himself, perhaps his worldview collapsed.
The guards of Rimusk's family were all dumbfounded, hesitating whether or not they should stop it.
"Imperial Guards searching for Snake Worshipers! If you don't want to be a rebel, stay still! Anyone holding a weapon will be killed without mercy!"
Ramon raised the Imperial Broadsword and shouted, he was deeply immersed in the role.
No one in the courtyard moved, no one wanted to be considered a snake worshiper...
"Sir, we found this in Rimusk's bedroom!"
An Imperial Knight Captain, Ramon, ran up to Leon holding a set of iconic equipment of a Snake Cult priestess.
Viper helmet, off-shoulder snake-patterned soft armor, and a black iron spear... Actually, these are equipment borrowed from Alyssa.
“Hehehe… It’s indeed a snake worshiper! And she’s actually a priestess! Take away everyone in Rimusk’s family! Especially the women, don’t let any of them go…”
Li Ang gave the order with a serious face, then turned to ask the new recruit: "Does Rimusk have other relatives or friends? Including his mistress or concubine..."
They actually managed to find things related to the Snake Worship Cult?
Everyone in the courtyard was in a panic, and some guards had already begun to retreat secretly to inconspicuous corners.
"This... are relatives and friends going to be arrested too?"
The new recruit panicked and stammered, "Yes, there is... but that's not..."
Of course he was panicking. After all, this new recruit was also a relative of Rimusk. The castle patrol was different from the garrison. The patrol needed to enter the main castle for patrol, and the risk was low and the pay was high, so many people in the patrol were children of Rimusk's relatives.
Rimusk appointed Sister as the patrol captain to show his trust in Sister and his loyalty to Emperor Marius - letting the imperial knights sent by the emperor be in charge of the security of his own castle is indeed a wise move.
But in this situation, the young people on patrol are all panicked.
The behavior of this group of "Imperial Knights" is obviously quite arrogant. If someone in the Rimusk family is really a priestess of the Snake Cult, then they will all be in big trouble...
"Of course we have to catch them! Unless we can find a clear snake worshiper, everyone is a suspect! Um... do you know who this snake worship priestess costume belongs to?"
Li Ang glared at the new recruit, and suddenly softened his tone: "If you know, just tell me now... Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict! "
In order to avoid getting into trouble, people generally have two reactions - either they deny it to death, or they immediately change their identities and turn themselves into a tainted witness...
As for who the Snake Worshippers are, or whether there are any Snake Worshippers at all...
It doesn't matter.
As long as he didn't get into trouble, even if he had grievances, he could resolve them naturally when his lord returned - that's the confidence that big families have.
But we can't suffer a loss right now, nor can we have a direct conflict with the 'guards sent by the emperor', otherwise the trouble will be greater than the appearance of snake worshippers in the house...
"Ahem... Sir! Show some mercy! I know who the snake worshippers are! I'll expose them!"
Although the new recruit is a little naive due to his youth, he is not stupid. After all, he is a child of a big family and he understands many things.
Afterwards, most people in the Rimusk family reacted and all agreed, "Sir, let's report it..."
At the same time, a box of dinars was brought to Leon.
"Sir, we all know the rules... We failed to take good care of our family, and a demon appeared. We have troubled you all to travel so far. This is the money for your food and accommodation... But don't worry, sir, we will kidnap the demon girl of the Snake Cult and bring her to you, so you don't have to worry again..."
Rimusk's wife came forward and was extremely understanding.
This is how big families are. When they encounter trouble, they generally don't argue, but make quick decisions - sacrifice unimportant little characters, protect core figures, and preserve the family's reputation. This is the choice they will inevitably make.
This time, the minor character who was sacrificed was Rimusk’s mistress, a beautiful woman in her twenties.
This was "exposed" by Rimusk's relatives and his wife, and the new soldier also intended to identify this woman.
This woman was Rimousk's mistress. She also gave birth to an illegitimate son for Rimousk. The mother and son had a luxurious courtyard in the city of Walven.
"If nothing unexpected happens, this woman is Rimusk's weak spot. If they hadn't 'exposed' her themselves, we wouldn't even know that such a woman existed..."
When leaving Walvenburg, Ramon said to Leon: "When my brothers do assassination work, they usually find the person or thing that the target values the most first... Whether it is used to force the target to appear or to wait for the opportunity, it is much better than direct confrontation..."
In fact, apart from the mother and son, Leon and Ramon still captured everyone in Musk's family, leaving only the new recruit from the patrol team - since they were going to report and expose, these people had to be taken away as witnesses...
All the relatives of the Rimuske family were taken out of Walven as witnesses, but as soon as they left Walven, they became hostages.
At the same time, he also took away a large box of dinars - given to him by the enemy, he had no choice but to take it.
These hostages were used to exchange for Justus, and Leon directly distributed the box of dinars to Ramon's brothers, which was quite generous.
After all, the Scorpio assassins are already very valuable, and Leon can't treat them unfairly.
Besides, of course, following Lord Li Ang to fight is to make money. Fighting any kind of war is to make money. Li Ang decided to make this a tradition...
