Landlord World - Start with SSS talent-Chapter 87: Adrian and Austin

Adrian was startled upon hearing that and quickly left. He feared that if he lingered any longer, Austin might kill him.

He ran to an intersection, resting his hand on a tree as he panted heavily.

Turning his head, Adrian saw neither Austin nor anyone else following him. He felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, a lingering frustration gnawed at him.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath. "Why the hell are that bastard Caleb and Austin so alike?"

"That bastard Noan is just an F-rank lord. Is there any need to fear him that much? If we attack and destroy his territory, wouldn’t he be forced to reveal that secret?"

Adrian couldn’t understand why Caleb and Austin both refused to kill Noan. Did they truly believe that Noan could hold out to the point of taking his secret to the grave?

He didn’t buy it. Noan was just a kid—how could he have that much courage?

The more Adrian thought about it, the angrier he became. He gathered some heroes and soldiers before heading toward Noan’s territory.

…

Adrian arrived at Noan’s domain twenty minutes later, bringing a group of Goblins and one or two Orcs.

Looking at the simple wooden gate, Adrian sneered with disdain.

"Just an F-rank lord—what’s there to be afraid of?" he muttered. "Hah! If Caleb and Austin won’t kill you, then I will. Once I get your secret, those two bastards will have no choice but to kneel before me, begging for food."

The thought of that scenario made Adrian grin greedily. He raised his hand, signaling the two Orcs to begin breaking down the door.

Yes, he hadn’t come here to negotiate. He had come to kill Noan, take his secret, and use it for his benefit.

He would no longer have to bow his head to anyone when that time came. He wouldn’t have to worry about food shortages ever again.

BAM!

An Orc swung its wooden club, smashing it against the door. Strangely enough, despite the door’s simple and frail appearance—one that seemed like it would shatter with a single kick—it remained standing after the heavy strike.

"Hm?!" Adrian frowned and shouted, "Have you not eaten anything? Hit it harder!"

It was true that these monsters hadn’t eaten all day, which made them feel a bit fatigued.

However, no matter how tired they were, they should still be able to break down a mere wooden door.

The two Orcs, unknown for their intelligence, exchanged confused glances before resuming their assault.

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

The relentless pounding echoed through the air, yet the door remained motionless, without a crack.

"Motherf—!" Adrian cursed, unable to hold back his frustration. "What the hell are you all doing? You can’t even break down a damn wooden door?! Why do I even keep you around?!"

As he yelled, he smacked both Orcs on the head. They didn’t get angry, only looked even more puzzled—after all, their intelligence was pitifully low.

Adrian stomped toward the door and kicked it with all his might.

BAM!

"Ack!"

Instead of bursting open, the door didn’t budge an inch. Instead, Adrian felt as though he had just kicked solid metal.

A sharp pain shot through his foot, making him grit his teeth as he fell to his knees, clutching his injured foot with both hands.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Adrian roared furiously. "Everyone, get up here! Tear down that damn door! Motherf—! I refuse to believe we can’t break it down!"

"Are you all deaf?!" He shouted again, his fury escalating—only to realize that the Goblins and Orcs he had brought along were now frozen in place, standing eerily still.

"Oy! Oy!" Adrian called out, but his voice trembled as a foreboding sense of dread clawed at his mind. A shiver ran down his spine as if fear had ignited a fire inside him.

Suddenly, the Goblins and Orcs’ heads dropped to the ground.

Blood sprayed into the air like fountains.

Adrian’s mouth fell open. The horrifying sight before him robbed him of speech, his mind freezing as if it had ceased to function entirely.

And then…

He blacked out.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

At that moment, a spider crawled onto Adrian’s shoulder, wrapping him in a silk cocoon before hoisting him high up into a tall tree.

With a flick of its legs, it dragged away the corpses of the Goblins and Orcs, meticulously cleaning the entire area until not a single drop of blood remained.

Even if Adrian were to regain consciousness, he would never realize that all of his soldiers and heroes had perished here.

…

Meanwhile, in the central square.

Caleb and Austin stood facing each other. Caleb’s gaze was filled with anger and frustration, while Austin’s eyes gleamed with contempt.

"You’re in my way," Austin sneered.

"What the hell are you doing?" Caleb frowned and asked. "Do you know what you’re doing will throw this place into chaos?"

"Chaos? Hahahaha…" Austin burst into laughter. "How ridiculous! So what if this place falls into chaos? What does that have to do with me?"

"You…"

"Enough." Austin cut him off immediately. "If you want, bring your subordinates and fight me."

"If you’re afraid, you can crawl back into your territory, shut your doors, and cry like a dog. Ah! My apologies—dogs don’t know how to cry."

"Hahahaha… hahahaha…"

Caleb clenched his teeth and shouted, "Austin, don’t think for a second that I’m afraid of you."

He raised his hand as he spoke, and a Stone Golem stepped forward, ready for battle.

"Still haven’t learned your lesson from the last time in the forest, have you?" Austin chuckled, raising his hand. A massive lizard crawled forward to confront the Golem.

The creature resembled a Komodo dragon, but its body was covered in a metallic-hard hide. Every breath it exhaled released a red-hot mist, radiating intense heat.

Caleb clenched his fists tightly at the sight of the lizard. That was Austin’s hero—the Lava Lizard, a Rank D-Peak, Level 2 beast.

Last time, they had only fought briefly. Neither of them had wanted to engage in a battle to the death.

However, during that encounter, Caleb had witnessed firsthand the terrifying power of the Lava Lizard.

Even though his Stone Golem was a Rank D+, Level 3 creature, it wouldn’t have been able to withstand a prolonged fight.

But this time was different.

Austin wouldn’t stop the battle like he did in the forest.

Right now, Austin wanted to put on a show for the other Lords here—to make them witness his power and understand who truly deserved to be king of this region.

"Austin!" Caleb gritted his teeth and said, "You should remember this—if you truly go through with this fight, even if you win, the outcome won’t be in your favor."

"Your soldiers and heroes will suffer losses. How will you rule this region, then? How will you fend off the strength of the other Lords?"

Austin smirked. "You don’t need to worry about that. All you need to know is… from today onward, I will be the king of this place. As for you, just hide inside your house and stay out of my sight."

"You…" Caleb seethed with rage, but then he took a deep breath, trying to suppress his fury. He knew full well that if they fought now, he would undoubtedly lose.

A Rank D-Peak hero was not an ordinary monster. Even though the difference between Rank D+ and D-Peak seemed small, the actual gap in power was immense.

"Big brother, why are you wasting your breath on that bastard?" At that moment, a young man standing behind Caleb suddenly shouted, "Let’s just fight together! I refuse to believe his monster can defeat all of us!"

He spurred his black rhino forward, charging straight at the Lava Lizard.

"Wait!" Caleb shouted urgently.

But it was too late.

The moment the young man closed the distance, the Lava Lizard opened its mouth and spat out a sphere of molten lava.

He had no chance to dodge because the attack was launched at point-blank range. The sphere of lava struck him dead-on.

"AAA!!!" A bloodcurdling scream rang out, filled with agony and despair.

The molten lava acted like a terrifying acid, burning through both the young man and his beast.

In less than a minute, only a few charred remains of the young man and his rhino lay on the ground, still smoldering. The surrounding heat was so intense that no one dared to approach.

A Lord had perished—just like that.

Even more terrifying was that no one had ever seen Austin give the command. The entire execution had been carried out by the Lava Lizard of its own accord.

"Oh! My apologies!" Austin laughed loudly. "Hahahaha… I thought your subordinate would be stronger, but he was just too weak in the end. Couldn’t even last a minute."

"Caleb, it seems… you are unworthy of ruling this region."

Caleb clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his face burning with anger. His subordinate had been killed, yet he didn’t dare to make a move—because he feared defeat.

His followers were furious as well, but more than anything, they were disappointed.

Seeing Caleb tremble in fear, they could only shake their heads before stepping back, leaving him alone.

His subordinates were never truly loyal to him; they had followed him for personal gain.

But now, after witnessing someone far stronger, they had no hesitation in abandoning Caleb.

Perhaps some of them felt a twinge of guilt or shame. But when they saw Caleb cowering in fear, that guilt instantly vanished.