Chapter 77: Hunting Down
"That's right, if it was me, I wouldn't have gone all-out either and would leave some strength if I needed to escape."
Standing there, Chen Heng thought to himself and came to a realization.
Delano was a Knight from the Olis Kingdom, and he had a close relationship with the Olis royal family. He had come to the Kutu Principality this time for the sake of Prince Grith.
To Olivia, he was undoubtedly an enemy.
As for Delano, entering the Kutu Royal City was like entering a tiger's lair; how could he act without any reservations?
From this perspective, it was likely that Delano's strength was not as simple as what he had shown.
The reason he had surrendered was most likely not because he was out of strength but rather because he knew that he could not take down Chen Heng. As such, he did not want to use up too much strength and decided to surrender.
In the blink of an eye, many thoughts flashed through Chen Heng's mind.
"Should I tell Olivia?"
Thinking to there, he moved and walked towards where Olivia was.
After all, he was on the same side as Olivia. If Olivia took a loss, that would also affect him.
As long as it did not affect him negatively, Chen Heng was still willing to help Olivia as much as possible.
It seemed that he had come late.
"Knight Senban has already set out?"
Looking at Olivia, Chen Heng's expression was somewhat surprised.
Olivia had acted faster than he had thought.
In just a short while, she had already sent out Senban to hunt down and kill Delano.
"I naturally thought of what you told me."
Olivia nodded as she said with a cold smile, "But so what? He had a massive battle with you and used up much of his strength; that is an indisputable fact. Right now, even if he has a bit of strength remaining, he might not be able to defeat Senban. And that's not factoring in the 500 soldiers with Senban."
Hearing this, Chen Heng felt quite startled.
500 well-trained, well-equipped elite soldiers had been sent out with a Knight. Even for Chen Heng, he would have a hard time against such a force.
For such a force to deal with a weakened Delano, there should be no problem.
Thinking to there, Chen Heng inwardly nodded and did not say anything else.
Olivia gave a lazy stretch filled with charm, "Alright. Now that Senban has left, you can replace him and guard by my side during this time."
As a ruler, Olivia was very conscious of her safety.
In the past, no matter what the situation was, she always had a Knight protecting her.
Since Senban left, this role fell to Chen Heng.
Chen Heng did not hesitate and placed a hand over his chest as he gave a slight bow, "It is my honor to serve you."
"That's right."
Looking at Chen Heng, Olivia seemed to remember something as she said, "Long ago, I wanted to reward you and give you your own territory, but I never had the opportunity.
"Now that you've won this tournament I have a good reason to do so."
According to past precedents, the winner of the tournament had always received abundant prizes.
For Olivia to use this excuse to give Chen Heng his own territory, no one would complain.
"I will make you Count Nardo, but it is difficult to pick out a territory for you," Olivia said.
The nobles' thirst for territory was something that ordinary people could not imagine.
All good land in the Kutu Principality already had an owner, and it was impossible for Olivia to take another noble's land and give it to Chen Heng.
As such, Chen Heng's territory would have to be in a relatively remote place.
"It's fine," Chen Heng slightly bowed as he said good-naturedly, "if there are no suitable places, you can give me a place in Sordar."
"Sordar? You want to go to the north?"
Hearing Chen Heng's words, Olivia could not help but feel surprised.
"Isn't Your Highness preparing to give the order to gather people to the north?"
Chen Heng said softly, "If you give me territory in the north, that will motivate even more people to go to the north."
"So it's like that…"
Olivia fell silent for a few moments before nodding, "But that will be unfair to you."
"Not at all," Chen Heng smiled, "I'm glad to be helping Your Highness."
Hearing those words, Olivia gave him a deep look and inwardly sighed.
After the Martial Tournament concluded, time gradually passed.
Soon, it had been three days since Chen Heng began guarding by Olivia's side.
Three days later, news finally arrived from Senban.
He had followed Olivia's orders to ambush Delano, wanting to get rid of him.
However, they were unable to achieve anything.
"Delano did not come by himself. There was a small force covering him as he left."
Standing before Olivia, Senban's face was ashen as he said, "Those people from Shadow's Touch were also hired to protect him.
"I stopped him many times, but I was unable to prevent him from leaving."
This operation was undoubtedly a failure.
Just as Chen Heng had expected, Delano and Prince Grith were not idiots. Since they dared to come to the Kutu Principality, they had the ability to leave.
As expected, the hunt fell flat.
In fact, if Senban had not led a force of 500 soldiers himself, he might have been the one to be ambushed and killed.
Hearing Senban's explanation, Olivia fell silent and did not say anything else. She only waved her hand and had him leave.
Standing beside Olivia, Chen Heng could see the grim look on her face.
He inwardly sighed but did not say anything as he guarded by her side.