Chapter 26: 26 An Unexpected Joy

In the courtyard of the inner castle at Lake Town, the German family was sitting on a bench, enjoying a cozy afternoon tea.

"Father, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to treat Luoning like this?"

Malike still couldn't help but voice his feelings; he had been very surprised when he heard German make such arrangements at the time.

"Yeah, Father!"

Marina chimed in while eating her favorite fruit pudding. She had been eating bread and dry, tough meat on the road for the past two days, which had almost depressed her; it was much more comfortable to be back home.

"Although the food in Luoning's team was terrible, he did save me and Malike, after all. I was even planning to have the chefs make something delicious to properly entertain him!"

"Heh~"

The tall and sturdy One-armed Lone Wolf set down his fruit plate. "You are still young and don't understand many things. Although Luoning has been stripped of his inheritance and assigned to the barren, remote Shanlin Town, Balindun of the Haide Family is very petty."

Marina didn't quite understand, but the younger Malike grasped it a little.

"Father, are you saying that the Haide Family will still seek revenge for Selina? And will still deal with Luoning?"

German shook his head. "Not for now. Lord Lulansi is still alive. But Lord Lulansi is in poor health; if he were to pass away one day, then it would be hard to say."

"Although Luoning saved you both and I am very grateful to him, it is not a good thing to be targeted and held a grudge against by the petty Balindun. Therefore, it is better for us to keep our distance from Luoning as much as possible."

Meanwhile, Luoning's convoy had already left Lake Town and was resting by the side of the road.

"My Lord, the Gelin Family is truly too impolite!"

The manservant Chahaer was still complaining to Luoning about the Gelin Family's hospitality.

"We saved their family's heir, yet they didn't even arrange a luncheon and just let us take our things and leave. They clearly don't hold you, or Wushan Castle, in any regard!"

Indeed, after Fulawiya had the supplies ready, she had made it clear that they should be on their way.

No matter how thick-skinned Luoning was, he had no intention of forcing himself to stay for a meal.

To him, as long as the items were in hand, that was all that mattered.

Chahaer glanced at the few additional carriages at the back of the team and pouted in complaint, "They only gave this little bit of supplies; who would care for that!"

Luoning chuckled, "What do you know!"

He cared very much for these supplies.

Counting it up now, he had a total of 488 gold coins on hand, just a little bit short of five hundred.

For Luoning, if he wanted to complete the First Recharge Gift and obtain a subordinate with Blazing Sun Aptitude, he could easily sell a horse to make up the five hundred gold coins.

Plus the Magic Crystal he obtained from Pedro, it would be more than enough.

However, he did not do so; all his money was used to buy Magic Crystals. If he needed them when he arrived at Shanlin Town and didn't have any, that would be troublesome.

Moreover, he now had two subordinates, Maiken and Aierlong, and he himself was about to become an Intermediate Professional, so there shouldn't be any problem settling down in Shanlin Town.

"My Lord, you are just too good-tempered. If it were the Count's personality, they would never dare to act like this!"

Chahaer was still feeling indignant for Luoning, "And we took such good care of Marina and her brother with good food and drink for the past two days!"

Never mind Chahaer; to be honest, Luoning had been prepared to rest well for a night in Lake Town. He really hadn't expected Baron German to be so cautious—or perhaps "cowardly" would be more appropriate.

"Maiken," Luoning called out.

Maiken immediately walked over, "My Lord, what are your orders?"

"After leaving Lake Town, the guards' training will continue as usual."

Luoning instructed, "In addition, I will boost your strength a bit more; do not let me down!"

Maiken was stunned, then felt the Battle Qi in his body surging, and he understood what Luoning meant.

"Maiken will absolutely not let you down!"

Luoning waved his hand, "Go, and properly digest this improvement."

To break through from Intermediate to Advanced, a Knight requires 200 points of Energy Essence, while a Magician requires 300 points of Energy Essence.

Considering that the current situation required a display of combat power, and Aierlong was a Light Attribute Magician, Luoning decided to raise Maiken's level first so he could reach Advanced as soon as possible.

At this moment, Maiken's level progress had reached 70/200.

Luoning calculated that if there were no other income of Energy Essence, relying solely on the Monthly Sign-in, Maiken could become an Advanced Knight by next month.

In a small town, an Advanced Knight was already the ceiling of combat power.

Taking Lake Town as an example, besides Baron German being a Bronze Knight, the Gelin Family didn't seem to have a second Bronze Knight.

Their Knight Commander, Andrea Lauli, was only an Advanced Peak Knight.

While Luoning was thinking, a commotion suddenly broke out among the guards.

"What's going on?" Luoning looked over.

He saw a guard running over excitedly and kneeling on one knee before Luoning.

"My Lord, My Lord! I have broken through, I have awakened a Battle Qi Seed!"

"Oh?"

Luoning's face showed joy. He looked at the Magician, "Aierlong, please help me check."

"My pleasure!"

Aierlong walked up with a smile and poked his finger at the guard's heart. As his Mental Power permeated slightly, he sensed the other's Battle Qi Seed; it was in a very weak state.

The guards were not familiar with this person who had suddenly appeared in the team; they only knew that Aierlong was a friend of the Baron, so everyone was very respectful.

At this moment, the guard kneeling on one knee finally understood that the Baron's friend was indeed no simple person.

He looked at Aierlong with great anticipation. The latter nodded, turned to Luoning, and congratulated him, "My Lord, he has indeed awakened a Battle Qi Seed."

"Congratulations, My Lord, you have another Knight subordinate!"

Chahaer was full of excitement; he felt more and more that following Lord Luoning was a wise choice.

Upon hearing this confirmation, the other guards all showed expressions of envy.

Transcendent, there was actually a Transcendent among them.

People say that to become a noble, the first step is to become a Free Citizen, the second step is to become an official, attendant, or awaken as a Transcendent, the third step is to become a Conferred Knight, and only then is it possible to be ennobled.

The Guard before his eyes took the second step.

Looking at the somewhat thin youth before him, whose eyes were filled with hope, Luoning could not help but laugh out loud.

"Very good, tell me your name and age!"

"My Lord, my name is Dawei, and I turned sixteen this May!" the youth replied excitedly.

Luoning's eyes lit up; he had not expected this to be such a promising young sprout. As expected, his initial decision to select those under eighteen years of age had been correct.

"Not bad!"

Luoning was very satisfied. "From today on, you are Maiken's deputy. Your wages will increase from the original 2 copper coins per day to 30 copper coins per day!"

It was not that Luoning was offering wages recklessly; when he left Wushan Castle that day, he had asked Huoerhuate, and this was basically the standard compensation for a Primary Knight.

"Heavens, thirty copper coins!"

Dawei was shocked by this number. He had not expected that he could receive such a high salary, nor had he expected that one day he could become a Professional Knight.

Thinking of his persistence during this period, and the good food and drink that Lord Luoning had provided him, he was moved to tears.

"Thank you, my Lord, *sob*, thank you, my Lord!"

Dawei said in a trembling, excited voice: "It is your bestowal and training that allowed me to awaken a Battle Qi Seed. May the Seven Gods bear witness, I, Dawei, swear to follow you, my Lord, until death from this day forward!"

"I have seen your loyalty!"

Luoning encouraged him, "I also believe that being a Primary Knight is only your starting point. One day, you will grow to a level that will surprise even me!"

"Guard Officer, I leave Dawei to you. Train him well and let him become a top combat force for my Shanlin Town!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

Maiken responded vigorously; he finally had a Professional Knight under his command as well.

The other Guards, especially those under eighteen, saw Dawei's treatment; they were envious and jealous, but at the same time, they were even more determined to train hard.

If Luoning's previous claims that training could lead to a breakthrough had been a bluff, then Dawei's true story was telling everyone that Luoning's words were true.

Training really had miraculous effects!

As for whether it was truly real?

Even Luoning himself was somewhat doubtful.

He preferred to believe that Dawei's ability to break through was thanks to the improved diet recently, and also thanks to the fact that the youth's talent was indeed quite good.

Sixteen years old, awakening a Battle Qi Seed to become a Primary Knight—the aptitude was very excellent.

"Now, I have three Transcendental under my command!"

For a moment, Luoning felt high-spirited.

"Shanlin Town, here I come!"

(End of chapter)