You Can Kneel Down and Bark Like a Dog

Silvermoon Inner Fortress, Council Hall.

The Silvermoon Viscount sat alone in the hall, rubbing his forehead, sighing with a troubled expression.

Ever since the evil spirit incident occurred, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep.

The ignorant lower-class populace merely assumed that the Cubero Manor was haunted, treating it as idle chatter for their daily conversations. But only he knew how severe the true situation was.

That was an evil spirit!

A legendary evil undead creature!

If not handled correctly, the entire Stone Bell City might turn into a ghost domain!

In order to deal with the evil spirit in the manor, he had already lost a grand knight and five knights, a sacrifice so painful it nearly bled his heart.

Despite such great sacrifices, the evil spirit still thrived, and even because it had devoured six knights’ souls, it became more ferocious and terrifying.

If the evil spirit wasn’t eradicated soon, the situation would only worsen!

At this thought, the Silvermoon Viscount couldn’t help but feel a growing hatred for Cubero, who was already imprisoned.

If not for that fool failing to keep an eye on his wife, allowing her to be lured by the Starfire Cult and bringing that wicked blood-red flower into the manor, and later, when deaths occurred, sealing off information due to concerns about reputation, the situation would not have escalated to an irrecoverable state.

Even killing such a self-destructive fool ten times wouldn’t quell the rage in his heart!

Taking several deep breaths, the Silvermoon Viscount calmed his anger and asked the secretary to the side, ‘Have the recruited individuals arrived?’

‘They have, my lord,’ the secretary bowed and said, ‘They are all waiting in the reception hall at the front.’

The Silvermoon Viscount nodded slightly and rose to walk outside.

To eradicate that evil spirit, relying solely on the strength available at hand was insufficient. It was necessary to recruit mercenaries or wandering knights from outside.

Against the powerful and terrifying evil spirit, every knight’s strength counted.

Pity, it would be great if a wizard could be found.

Not those charlatans touting themselves as wizards but true wizards.

They were the true professionals in dealing with evil spirits.

However, wizards always kept their movements secret, and for the moment, the Silvermoon Viscount didn’t know where to find them.

‘It is said the former Shining Baron’s second son became a wizard. Who knows if it’s true or just a rumor?’

As he pondered, the Silvermoon Viscount had already arrived at the reception hall.

His eyes scanned across, seeing over twenty people in the hall, almost all wearing armor, robust men in their thirties and forties.

Knights not of noble origin, because they practiced inferior breathing techniques and lacked resources, typically only advanced to knights at the age of thirty or forty.

And typically, a knight was the end point unless they encountered a miraculous opportunity; otherwise, advancing to a grand knight in a lifetime was impossible.

So those currently sitting in the hall, if there were even one peak knight among them, it would be commendable, but a grand knight wasn’t to be hoped for.

One person’s attire was particularly striking, drawing the Silvermoon Viscount to look at him a few times.

That person wore a thin gray robe and a night owl mask, standing out prominently among the armored knights.

However, all those seated there had undergone an initial assessment confirming they had the strength equivalent to a knight, so the Silvermoon Viscount said nothing more, proceeding straight to the foremost seat within the hall and motioned to the secretary with a wave.

The secretary immediately stepped forward, sweeping a gaze around, ‘Firstly, thank you all for participating in our recruitment. The specific circumstances have been stated on the recruitment sheet, but here, we must remind everyone again that the evil spirit within the Cubero Manor is extremely powerful. Even strong knights can die if not careful. Under these circumstances, do you still wish to participate?’

Everyone’s expressions remained unchanged.

The matter of several knights dying at Cubero Manor had already been the talk of Stone Bell City, and they certainly wouldn’t be ignorant.

Having come to the recruitment under such circumstances demonstrated their mental preparedness.

‘I have only one question,’ a burly man said gruffly, ‘Is the thousand-gold coin reward real?’

The secretary glanced at the man and nodded, ‘Of course it is real. This one thousand gold coins will be distributed among you according to strength. If anyone unfortunately dies in the manor, we will also ensure the money is sent to their designated family members.’

Upon hearing this, the knights present showed their delight.

Dividing a thousand gold coins among over twenty people, even the weakest among them should get twenty or thirty gold coins, right?

That’s nearly their income for three or four years!

At this moment, a voice suddenly spoke up.

‘If I alone participate, does that mean the entire thousand gold coins are mine?’

With these words, the atmosphere in the hall immediately turned stagnant.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, discovering it was the masked and distinctive individual who had spoken.

‘Tsk, what a big mouth.’

‘Do you know what you’re saying?’

‘Want to hog a thousand gold coins? Hey, I wonder if you even have the power for that?’

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone this arrogant.’

Many malicious scrutiny focused on the masked figure.

In these times, those who set out as mercenaries or wandering knights were not to be trifled with.

Seeing someone more arrogant than themselves, many were immediately displeased.

‘Kid, if you want to hog the reward, you have to get past me first.’

A burly man with a bear-like back and tiger-like waist stepped forward, patting the massive iron axe on his back, staring menacingly at the masked individual.

‘Since you’re so arrogant, you must be skilled. Let’s have a duel. Whoever loses kneels down to bark like a dog and quits. Do you dare?’

Someone recognized the burly man as a well-known wandering knight with strength long at advanced knight level, and they instantly bore a schadenfreude gaze towards the masked person.

‘That’s a good proposal!’

‘Haha, let them fight!’

‘Who’s shy, who’s the coward!’

‘Kid, hurry and accept, you’re not scared, are you?’

The knights fanned the flames.

The Silvermoon Viscount watched this scene coldly, not intervening.

To be honest, he was also a bit curious about the masked one’s capabilities.

Someone bold enough to utter such words in this setting was either a fool or had great confidence in their abilities.

His intuition suggested the masked one was not the former.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the masked one, or rather Su Nan, simply nodded calmly.

‘A decent proposal; let’s settle it like that.’

Su Nan lifted his head, meeting the burly man’s gaze, peculiar light flashing in the eyes behind the mask.

‘Now, you can kneel down and bark like a dog.’

The grin on the burly man’s face quickly faded, his features turning vacant in an instant.

In the stunned gazes of the crowd, the burly man slowly knelt on the ground and opened his mouth.

‘Woof!’