Lord Evolution: Starting With SS-rank Skills

About five minutes had passed since Ren and Liara arrived. Most of that time, Liara spent with Bruce, crying her heart out in his embrace. It was a great relief that she was finally out of Glenwood's torturous hands and now in the arms of her loved ones.

On the other hand, Ren was being restrained by the soldiers, who gave him heated glares. Ren tried reasoning with them, but they paid deaf ears. Having been betrayed by one of their trusted captain and colleague, trusting others became difficult for them.

Far away from the commotion, Rowan sat on his horse and observed the entire scene with a calm expression on his face. He patiently waited for Liara and Bruce to finish their emotional moment before taking any action.

Another two minutes passed, and Liara finally let go of Bruce and turned to look at Rowan.

When she arrived with Ren, the only person she had recognized, besides Bruce, was Rowan, but she hadn't paid much attention to him.

Now, however, as she looked at him, she couldn't help but be dumbfounded by how much he had changed. The Rowan of six years ago always had a shy and inexperienced look on his face, but the Rowan staring at her right now was the total and positive opposite.

"Lord Rowan," she muttered in a low voice.

"Liara, it is good to have you back," Rowan responded with a smile.

But he didn't have enough time for formalities. His expression turned serious at once as he turned to point at Ren and asked, "Who is he?"

Hearing his question, Liara quickly realized that she had forgotten about her only helper.

When she saw the soldiers holding him down, she immediately rushed to their side to free him.

The soldiers let her do what she pleased, but they were confused as to why she was rescuing him. Wasn't he trying to abduct her earlier? They asked themselves.

After getting freed from the brutal hands of the soldiers, Ren dusted himself and bowed his head deeply before Rowan.

"I am sorry for failing to greet you earlier. My name is Ren. I was an adviser to Lord Fagin of Glenwood before betraying him by freeing Liara. I am not your enemy," he said.

Rowan looked at him with squinted eyes as he spoke. Then he turned to Liara and gave her a questioning gaze.

"He is telling the truth. After Elara and the others left Glenwood, I was locked in a cell to die of starvation. Ren was the only one who fed me and aided my escape, even endangering his life and the life of his family in the process," Liara explained.

The soldiers who manhandled Ren earlier felt apologetic after hearing Liara's explanation.

After explaining, both Liara and Ren looked at Rowan, anticipating his next action.

Rowan sighed and thanked him, "Thank you for rescuing Liara, Ren."

Then he followed up with a quick question, "But if I may ask, why did you let go of your good life in a powerful village such as Glenwood and decide to help a girl from a weak, backwater village?"

Rowan had thought about this after hearing Liara's explanation. If he was an adviser of Glenwood's Lord, then his life in the village was definitely good, but why would he take such a foolish risk by saving Liara? Although he appreciated his kindness, he couldn't help but wonder the reason for his decision.

"I am a righteous man, and no matter where I find myself, I try to do the right thing. When I saw that she needed help, as a father with daughters her age, I couldn't let go without helping her," Ren stated with a smile.

"That is great, but that still doesn't explain your reason for escaping with her. Risking your life just to uphold your righteousness is unreasonable, there must be a deeper intention behind your actions." Rowan followed up without backing down.

His questions were so well thought out that even Ren, who was an adviser known for his wisdom, couldn't help but admire him. He couldn't help but wonder why the spy told them Rowan was naive and inexperienced.

Nevertheless, he didn't keep Rowan waiting and gave his answers, stating his reasons for taking such a bold and risky step.

He told Rowan how he tried to warn Lord Fagin against his actions, but Fagin never listened and always put the life of the villagers at risk.

"I don't want myself and my family to die because we are on the wrong side, so I picked your side. I believe you are going to win this war because you are in the right. Before, that was just a speculation in my heart, but seeing you today, I believe your victory is inevitable," Ren replied.

After hearing all his reasons, even Bruce couldn't help but nod his head gently.

'Good, now we are going to get even more authentic information from someone close to the Lord of Glenwood,' Rowan rejoiced inwardly.

As he was about to engage in a deeper, strategic conversation with Ren, Liara suddenly opened up and told him about a mysterious white-haired man who helped both of them and then asked about the whereabouts of Elara and the others.

"A handsome white-haired man?" Rowan asked with confusion etched on his face. There was only one person who fits that description.

Liara and Ren nodded.

'I thought he was going to the merchant tournament immediately, when did he get the chance to save them, and why?' Rowan pondered.

"Did he say anything before leaving?" he asked.

"Yes, he told me to hurry back to the village and also said that Elara had arrived in the village already. Is that the truth? Are they okay?" she asked.

It was clear that she was worried for her sisters.

Rowan immediately cleared her worries and assured her that they were okay and safe. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but curse at D'andre inwardly.

At first, when he heard the description of the mysterious man, how cool and flashy his magic was and how gentle he was with her, the first person that came to his mind was D'andre, and his guess was confirmed after he heard what he said to them before leaving.

Nevertheless, he didn't dwell on that topic too much.

He spoke with Ren, inquiring as much information as he could about Glenwood.

Ren was pretty honest, revealing everything he knew, starting from the time of the attack and the particular strategy Lord Fagin was going to use. He even tried to suggest a counter-battle formation to conquer Glenwood's army.

Ren also went as far as to explain to Rowan how lucky he was that the strongest captain wasn't around.

"He is the greatest captain and the strongest swordsman in Glenwood, but he was sent away to capture Elara and co. Since he hasn't returned and you claim they are okay, that means he was either killed on the way by goblins or got lost in the forest. Without him around, your victory would be much easier," he said.

"You mean Stanis?" Rowan asked.

Ren's eyes widened. "You know him? How?"

"Well, the bastard was gutsy enough to try and attack my village with his men. His men are probably with the devil in hell right now, but the bastard is still alive," Rowan said.

He signaled to the soldiers, and they dragged the ragged body of Stanis toward Ren.

When Ren saw the state of Stanis, his jaw almost dropped to the ground. How had the great captain been defeated by Rowan and his men?

On the other hand, Liara's eyes grew cold with hatred and anger. Her fists trembled as the sudden urge to run over to him and squeeze the life out of him surged in her mind.

"If this guy is your so-called greatest captain and strongest swordsman, then taking down the other captains will be pretty easy," Rowan said with a smirk.

But his words fell on deaf ears.

Ren's eyes were fixed on Stanis, who was bloodied beyond recognition. His face was swollen, one of his hands missing, his body covered in ghastly wounds, and his cloth armor torn and ragged, making him look like a madman.

"How many soldiers did it take to bring him down?" Ren quickly turned to Rowan and asked with curiosity.

"Soldiers? Are you underestimating the power of our Lord?" the soldier holding Stanis said with an annoyed expression on his face.

"This guy is not worth half the strength of Lord Rowan. If Lord Rowan wanted, he could have killed him when they fought, but he let him live simply because he had use for him," the soldier bragged with a smug look on his face.

The more he spoke about how Rowan took him on alone, the more shocked Ren became.

Even Liara found it hard to believe. She had been in Glenwood long enough to know that Stanis wasn't a soldier who could be easily defeated, even by a hundred soldiers.

But Lord Rowan was able to defeat him and make him beg for his life on his knees? How was that possible? How strong had Lord Rowan grown since she left the village?

"Lord Rowan, what are you waiting for? March your soldiers toward Glenwood and claim your victory!" Ren urged.

Rowan smiled. "Haha, then it's settled!"

He turned to his soldiers and quickly made a few changes to their formation.

This time, Rowan sent three hundred soldiers with the four captains into the forest to form a sneak attack squad, while he led the remaining hundred.

According to the information from Ren and Liara, Glenwood's soldiers had already begun marching toward them, and within the next seven hours, their forces would likely clash!

Unfortunately and fortunately, it would be around the mid hours of the night.