Chapter 271 - 116: Here’s My Precious Granddaughter, Use Her as You Please~

Chapter 271: Chapter 116: Here’s My Precious Granddaughter, Use Her as You Please~

Lynch waved his hand dismissively. "We can’t take all the credit. His Blood Escape Skill was quite something; he almost got away. Luckily, Avril summoned her Guardian Angel, and we were able to finish him off."

"Eleanor, now do you see? No matter how good you think you are, there’s always someone better."

Edmund looked meaningfully at his easily-impressed granddaughter. "During the relief effort at Red Ridge Castle, Battalion Commander Lynch and Avril even took down the Catastrophe Mage, Horn Solar—someone ranked even higher on the Blacklist."

"They killed the Catastrophe Mage, too?" Eleanor’s eyes grew even wider. "But didn’t the rumors say the Catastrophe Mage died from the backlash of forcibly summoning a Tier Seven Elite Flame Demon?"

"Ahem—Eleanor, that involves military secrets." Edmund cleared his throat, cutting off his granddaughter’s questions while giving Lynch a profound look. "Some things are best known by as few people as possible."

At this, Edmund’s tone suddenly grew subtle. "In truth, Battalion Commander Lynch, you were always certain that the Legion Commander—or rather, the legion’s high command—would never truly give you a hard time, weren’t you? You probably even expected they would do everything in their power to defend you when necessary."

Lynch responded with a knowing smile, raising his teacup to Edmund in a gesture. "Chief, some things are best left unsaid. It’s no fun to spell everything out."

Edmund shook his head with a wry smile. "You truly are a sly little fox who knows how to read people. No wonder you’ve managed to establish such a firm foothold here in Lakefront Town, surrounded by wolves, and have even thrived."

"Haha, you flatter me, Chief," Lynch replied with a modest laugh.

In truth, the reason he had been bold enough to detain Fritz and his entourage was not only due to the backing of the power he had built in Lakefront Town and his formidable Undead Corps—he naturally had other assurances as well.

First, as Lynch, he was now the standard-bearer for the "Academy Faction," an individual the academy was investing all its resources to cultivate. The academy’s leadership would never sit idly by and watch him be wronged; doing so would severely damage the prestige and solidarity of the entire Academy Faction.

Second was Jais, the commander of the North Wind Legion.

As the supreme commander of the North Wind Legion, Jais was considered a renowned general throughout the Empire. How could he possibly not have his own eyes and ears in the various battle groups under his command?

The battle to lift the siege of Red Ridge Castle had caused a massive stir. There were Flame Demons, three-headed hellhounds, and ultimately, even projections of the Demon Refining Lord Ragnarash and the Divine Kingdom Angel Mijanar appeared, followed by the notoriously fearsome Demigod of the Netherworld, Pale Elegy.

Even if his senior, Raymond, had intentionally concealed the true situation, intelligence about a "spectacle" of this magnitude would inevitably land on Jais’s desk.

According to the intelligence, Lynch was suspected of being under the protection of Pale Elegy. The demigod had personally descended as a projection to shield him, even helping him destroy the Demon Refining Lord’s projection.

To anyone reading this, it would seem that Lynch was most likely one of Pale Elegy’s vassals.

And being the "vassal of a Demigod" was no laughing matter.

Who knew if harming a "vassal of a Demigod" would provoke retaliation from that temperamental powerhouse of the Netherworld? Those were consequences that neither the North Wind Legion, nor even the Empire itself, could afford to bear.

And while Lynch himself didn’t know if he truly counted as Pale Elegy’s vassal, he had no issue with using the association as a bluff. He could simply adhere to one principle: neither confirm nor deny.

He was banking on this very fact, knowing that for the sake of the bigger picture, Legion Commander Jais wouldn’t actually hold him accountable for detaining the men. On the contrary, Jais would likely find a way to clean up the mess and keep the conflict contained.

Otherwise, what other Tier Two battalion commander with no connections would dare to simultaneously detain a direct heir of the House of Hohenzollern, a Holy Knight from the Holy Light Court, and an enforcement squad from the North Wind Legion?

They would have been ground to dust long ago.

But that spoiled brat from the House of Hohenzollern had no clue about these underlying politics. He walked right into the trap, giving Lynch a perfect chance to make a show of force and establish his authority!

’Heh... Come to think of it, I should probably thank him.’

Now that the matter was settled, there was no reason for Edmund to stay any longer.

He announced that he had to return and report on his orders. As for the detainees, Battalion Commander Lynch could deal with them as he saw fit. In essence, the legion would remain silent—offering neither support nor opposition.

Lynch took the hint and immediately stood to see him off.

When they reached the Griffin Station, Edmund was about to board the Griffin when he seemed to recall something. He suddenly turned, patted his granddaughter Eleanor on the shoulder, and spoke to Lynch.

"Battalion Commander Lynch, this granddaughter of mine grew up in the Imperial Capital and at the academy. She has talent, but she’s never truly been tested, and her temperament is somewhat restless. This place of yours seems ideal—there are battles to be fought, work to be done, and the people are grounded. Why not... let her stay here with you for a while to gain some experience?"

The moment he said it, both Lynch and Eleanor froze.

Lynch was dumbfounded. He had never expected Edmund to pull a move like this out of the blue.

’Leaving this obviously proud and arrogant prodigy in a small border town?’

’What’s his angle!?’

As for Eleanor, her eyes instantly turned red.

She grabbed the sleeve of her grandfather’s robes, her ice-blue eyes welling with hurt. "Grandfather, what... what are you saying? Are you really going to abandon me here?"

But Edmund looked as if he had been prepared for this all along. Beaming, he pulled a document from his robes, stamped with the great seal of the North Wind Legion, and handed it to Lynch. "You see? I’ve already handled the paperwork in advance."