From sailboats to star destroyers (Source: Web)

Chapter 29 The "Pig Slaughtering" Scam Begins

"Wim, remember to send over two more sheep and a bag of round vegetables tomorrow. Don't be late, or the butler won't let you off the hook."

The farm's junior manager arrogantly gave orders to Uncle Wim and his nephew, then casually took a few more fruits from the car before leaving.

After the other party left, Miao Meng gave Wim a look, and then Wim pretended to have a backache and started to rest, leaving Miao Meng to unload the truck by himself.

This wasn't the first shipment of supplies they had delivered. Of course, the Black Earl wouldn't have come alone; he was accompanied by a large number of soldiers.

The farm has plenty of supplies, but they are all reserved for noble lords. It's not easy for the soldiers to get their hands on farm products, so they have to buy them from outside.

At this time, the surrounding villages started to come into play, sending over truckloads of poultry and fruits and vegetables.

Strictly speaking, these villages all belonged to the lord, and the villagers were all tenants, so under normal circumstances, no one would worry about poisoning the soldiers.

After all, poisoning these vegetables wouldn't work if you wanted to poison a nobleman, and the Imperial Guards ate vegetables grown on the farm, while only ordinary soldiers ate vegetables from the village.

Miao Meng would naturally not do anything that would alert the enemy, but of course, obtaining some colorless and odorless toxins was not such a simple matter.

However, this does not mean that he cannot move his hands and feet at all. In addition to gathering intelligence these days, he has also made a lot of gadgets for this occasion.

Thanks to the various magical knowledge included with the Magic Cannon Master, even though only spells below the second ring have been unlocked, there are still many spell arrays that can be set up in advance.

Although Miao Meng couldn't cover the entire area due to the imperfect laboratory and insufficient magical resources, it was enough for him to set up three traps.

It wasn't so much that he couldn't do it, but rather that he was worried about alerting the enemy. The Black Earl wasn't completely without spellcasting abilities; the Storm Wizard had been their first mate and must have seen many spell arrays before.

Therefore, these three traps are actually positioning arrays with the weakest magical fluctuations. Essentially, they are designed to provide coordinate guidance for launching bombing attacks in the dark.

Three points on the map can provide the most accurate location. With these three points as guidance, as long as Earl Black is within the farm, Miao Meng doesn't need to worry about missing his target.

To avoid alerting the enemy with wide-area reconnaissance spells, blind firing without being detected is a significant challenge even for today's top snipers.

At night, with no visibility, no magnifying glass, and no infrared, relying solely on the naked eye to make a precise sniper shot more than 1000 meters away is incredibly difficult; anyone who has attempted it knows how challenging it is.

------------------- (Nighttime dividing line)-------------

The farm’s main hall was shrouded in heavy curtains, dimly lit, and the aroma of roasted venison mingled with the subtle scent of aged wine, lingering in the stagnant air.

The Black Earl sank deep into his high-backed chair, the scarlet cushions barely supporting his heavy, fleshy frame. He casually picked up a frosted berry and tossed it into his mouth, but his gaze drifted past the rim of the silver cup and landed on the old butler who stood at attention with his hands at his sides.

"Judson," the Earl's voice was low and hoarse, "how many years have you been with me?"

The old butler bowed slightly, his silver hair remaining perfectly still: "Three years, seven months, and four days."

"Three years..." The Black Earl's fingertips traced the intricately carved silver cup, the red liquid within rippling slightly. "Time, that thing, can both nourish and erode. Tell me, how many people will it take away today?"

He suddenly looked up, his gaze like a knife sharpened by ice, causing Jadson's body to stiffen almost imperceptibly.

In that instant, the Black Earl's hand, which had been caressing the silver cup, reached out—not to attack, but with a chilling tenderness—and covered the old butler's gray head.

A hint of confusion flashed across Judson's cloudy eyes before his large, fan-like hand suddenly slammed shut!

"Crack!" The sound of bone breaking was as crisp as shattering porcelain.

Judson collapsed limply, a horrifying crater appearing on his forehead, blood and semen quickly seeping onto the carpet.

The Black Earl withdrew his hand, not even glancing at the corpse, and pulled out a snow-white silk handkerchief from his bosom, wiping his fingers, which were covered in filthy red stains, one by one.

With unhurried movements, like an artist cleaning his paintbrush, he wiped it clean and then casually tossed the soiled cloth onto Judson's still-warm chest, lightly covering the distorted face.

Throughout the meal, none of the generals even raised their eyelids. The one wearing a single gold-rimmed bespectacle took a sip of his drink and said in a flat tone, "The rats in the city think that your departure from the castle is their opportunity. Including Judson... there should be two or three waves of 'greetings' tonight."

Before he finished speaking, several short clashes of weapons came from outside the hall, then silence returned.

"Just an appetizer," the Black Earl scoffed, shifting his body to cut off a piece of roasted lamb chop.

He chewed a couple of times, then frowned. "The rosemary is too weak. Could the person who poisoned it really be so stingy with the ingredients?"

He scooped up another spoonful of meat broth. "This is interesting. The bitterness of the shadow mushrooms is masked by the broth, but it's a pity the cooking time is a bit short."

The atmosphere at the banquet relaxed strangely, and the armored generals continued to chat and laugh as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, in the shadows of the corner, shadowy figures were moving silently. Short, muffled groans, the thud of blades piercing flesh, and the thud of bodies falling to the ground rose and fell in the night, only to be quickly swallowed up.

As the last sound of fighting subsided, the farm fell into a false peace. The commander of the guards entered the hall and knelt to report: "My lord, the scoundrels have been eliminated."

The Black Earl shifted his position in the chair, letting out a satisfied sigh, as if to bring the long night to a close. In that fleeting moment of distraction—

"Woo-woo!"

Suddenly, a frenzied barking erupted outside the side gate; it was from several mastiffs guarding the livestock shed. This was followed by a loud crash as the wooden door slammed shut. The guards gripped their weapons and looked toward the source of the sound.

"Stop making noise, you beast!" the Black Earl hissed in displeasure.

"Boom!" The heavy wooden door was smashed open with brute force, and several huge dogs with drooling eyes roared and rushed in, ignoring the guards and heading straight for the Black Earl in the center.

Its explosive power far exceeded that of an ordinary dog, but it seemed that the generals in the hall were still too weak. In the midst of the flashing swords, two dog heads flew off.

However, in the instant when the swords flashed and the dogs bared, a shadow moved—it wasn't a dog!

Under the cover of its companion's corpse, a short, stocky mastiff suddenly stretched and extended its curled-up body, transforming from a dog into a human in the blink of an eye!

A lean, iron-like figure, wielding a dark blue dagger, whistled as it thrust towards the Black Earl's throat—a rare, deadly attack launched by a third-tier assassin.

The dagger was too fast, too cold, and too sharp, catching people off guard.

But the Black Earl's lazy, bloated face seemed to have anticipated this, and suddenly a ferocious look, like a beast awakening, erupted from it.

Instead of retreating, the massive body advanced, and a giant hand struck first, accompanied by a deafening roar that tore through the air.

"Bang!"

The dull thud struck the leather, sending the assassin flying backward like a tattered doll, his chest caved in, blood gushing out in a mournful arc. His body slammed into a stone pillar, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible, before he slid limply to the ground and died.

The Black Earl slowly retracted his fist, the muscles in his arm coiling like steel cables beneath the silk. He exhaled a breath of stale air: "Finally... some peace and quiet."

With a relaxed mind, vigilance is reduced to a minimum.

In that fatal moment—

"call out--"

A piercing shriek, tearing through eardrums, came from the cold fields outside the village. The ear-piercing shriek made everyone's faces freeze.

The Black Earl's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and the danger warnings he had cultivated over the years instantly coalesced into a ball, minimizing the area on which he could be hit.

"Boom!"

The loud noise was like a volcanic eruption. The main building trembled violently, and crimson flames engulfed a corner of the east side. Stone walls were torn apart and thrown into the air like pieces of paper. The shockwave, carrying rubble and wood chips, swept across the hall, covering the food on the table with a layer of sand.

This was just the beginning; a second and third explosion followed in quick succession!