Chapter 042: The Mayor’s Promise
“How could this be…”
Chen Ran stood there, stunned, and didn’t come back to his senses for a long time.
After witnessing the tragedy of the guard’s vice-captain, Bill, he certainly didn’t think his eyes were playing tricks on him again. The connection between the deceased should be this strange fluctuation, and only he, who was sensitive to demonic nature, could truly feel its existence.
“Your Excellency High Priest, what’s wrong?” the mayor asked, his expression strange as he looked at Chen Ran’s odd gaze.
“This,” Chen Ran hesitated for a moment before saying, “Let’s talk when we get back.”
After returning to the mayor’s house, Chen Ran told the mayor about his discovery and conjecture in the hall.
“What? The black knight’s next target will be me?”
Upon hearing this news, the mayor stood there, stunned. He felt a buzzing in his head and didn’t come back to his senses for a long time.
“Yes, the next target is very likely to be you, Mayor. So, this time you must be fully prepared…”
“Why me!” the mayor’s tone was gradually losing control. “I have worked diligently for Redleaf Town for so many years, managing this place in an orderly manner and giving so much for this town. Why would the black knight come for me! Why…”
Faced with the out-of-control mayor, Chen Ran quickly stepped forward to comfort him. “Mayor, please calm down. This won’t help the situation. We need to reasonably arrange a new plan. This matter is not without a chance…”
Looking at Chen Ran, the mayor could only place his last hope on him. Seeing the deployments and plans Chen Ran had made in the past few days, it was clear that he was a man of real ability. Now, only he in the town had the ability to deal with the black knight.
At this, the mayor’s mood was like that of a drowning man grasping at the last straw, clinging tightly to this final hope in Chen Ran.
“Your Excellency High Priest, I don’t want to die. This time, I beg you to help me get rid of that god of death… I am willing to pay any price for this, all my property, even…”
The mayor suddenly realized Chen Ran’s youth. Being experienced, he quickly thought of the thing that was most likely to attract him. “I am even willing to marry my daughter to you, just to ask you to help me through this crisis…”
“Ahem…” This condition made Chen Ran choke. In that instant, the mayor had almost promised everything he could. It seemed he was really afraid of death. Of course, this was not the time for fantasies. Solving the problem was the top priority. He comforted him again, “Mayor, please calm down. After tonight’s observation, I have a full understanding of the black knight’s abilities. I will make a good plan for this matter. In fact, the black knight is not as invincible as you might think. And now that I know the black knight’s target, I can set up a trap more calmly. You can rest assured.”
The mayor’s face was streaked with tears as he said miserably, “Your Excellency High Priest, I can only count on you now!”
“I understand. I will do my best!” Chen Ran nodded and said, “I’ve been busy all night and I’m a little tired now. I’ll go back to my room to rest for a while. After I wake up, I will do my best to prepare a plan to deal with the black knight and will definitely give you a safe answer.”
“That’s good, that’s good…” Although he said so, the mayor still hadn’t recovered from the blow. He sat alone on the sofa, pulling his hair, looking pitiful and desolate.
Chen Ran shook his head and sighed, then walked toward the stairs. He was extremely tired tonight.
As he reached the bend in the stairs, Chen Ran smelled a familiar fragrance. He turned around. It was Elena, standing at the bend in the stairs. It seemed that she had heard the entire conversation with the mayor.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Elena said, lowering her head, her tone a little nervous. “I heard the commotion outside today and woke up when my father left early. I just heard you come back and couldn’t help but want to hear what happened today. I didn’t expect…”
Elena looked up, her gemstone-like, light purple eyes gazing seriously at Chen Ran. “My father, he…”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Chen Ran replied with a warm smile, lightly tapping his right shoulder with his left fist. “I’m here.”
When she saw Chen Ran’s confident eyes, Elena’s nervous expression surprisingly relaxed a little. Her eyelashes fluttered as she nodded and said, “I believe…”
This sentence contained a deep trust, yet it was also like a lover’s whisper, gradually filling the air between them with a special, ambiguous feeling.
Perhaps it was because of the mayor’s earlier words, “I’ll marry my daughter to you,” that Chen Ran suddenly felt a special feeling when he saw Elena. And Elena had obviously heard that sentence as well. She seemed to remember it at this moment, and lowered her head, a blush rising on her face, though it wasn’t very obvious in the dim light of the dawn.
Only then did Chen Ran realize that he was very close to Elena. Her scent was intoxicatingly sweet.
At this moment, Elena was wearing an exquisite hairpin, which made her look even more like a pure young girl. And the semi-transparent silk nightgown she was wearing made her look as moving as an angel, making it impossible for one to have any indecent thoughts. Her lips were so delicate, tempting a man to go forward and hold her tightly, then, in a suffocating way, kiss her for all eternity…
For the first time, Chen Ran felt that a woman could make one have such crazy thoughts. But Elena did have that magical charm that attracted you to do so.
But now was not the time for romance. The sense of belonging he felt for Lia gradually calmed Chen Ran down.
He reached out and gently stroked the young girl’s silky, smooth purple hair, smiling. “You should get some rest too. After tomorrow, there will be a lot to do.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Chen Ran smiled, turned, and walked upstairs alone.
The next day, after Chen Ran woke up, he began to vigorously direct a construction team to renovate an abandoned hall in the town.
At Chen Ran’s request, various mechanisms began to be made. Chen Ran, in his own way, planned out a series of fortifications that were almost for warfare. Each fortification was strictly reviewed to ensure that no ridiculous accidents would occur on the day of the event. With that, he was confident that he could keep the black knight here forever.
Based on his understanding from that day, Chen Ran had already figured out the black knight’s behavior. In his eyes, the black knight seemed to lack sufficient self-awareness and was more like a so-called puppet, a spiritual body that had possessed a physical form.
This was a bit like the weapons he had made with Soul Beads, which had their own combat instincts. The black knight had been imbued with a certain will and had to complete a certain task. And the next thing it had to do was kill the mayor.
