Chapter 128: The Treasure Chest Under the Shiqiao!

"My lord, there is a stone bridge ahead!"

"Let's go take a look!"

At dusk, a small knightly squad galloped along the main road connecting Baron Kane's fief and Viscount Becket's fief.

This squad had only two decent warhorses; the rest were plodding horses used to pull the carriage.

Such a configuration very well matched the modest means of a minor noble.

If someone from Storm Fief had passed by, they would have realized: isn't this their lord and his knights?

Where did the lord and his knights' Fire Steeds go?

The Fire Steeds were, of course, still in the castle.

This time, Gervas had come for the iron mine auction at Viscount Becket's castle.

He knew clearly that after Viscount Becket had his good things intercepted previously, the Fire Steeds were surely now his target.

Although the treasure Gervas obtained was earned through his own skill and came from the third portion, it did not technically belong to Becket.

But nobles do not follow reason.

Therefore, to avoid being driven out of the castle by Becket and losing the iron mine worth five thousand gold coins, Gervas chose to keep a low profile.

He selected the mounts and plodding horses captured earlier from the Scorpion Boss to ride.

And before heading to Viscount Becket's castle, the auction funds certainly had to be prepared; thus, Gervas arrived first at the stone bridge in the intelligence network.

On this trade route near the border, there was only this one stone bridge, making the target extremely clear.

Upon reaching the stone bridge and looking down, the river channel was not wide, only over twenty meters, merely a straight flow; more importantly, the river water was very clear.

"My lord, is there really a treasure chest down there?"

"That's right; Zuiyue overheard several of Viscount Becket's guards talking the day before yesterday, saying that back then they disguised themselves as bandits and robbed a merchant caravan!"

"That steward luckily escaped here and threw a treasure chest into the river; those two guards have been hiding this matter, planning to come retrieve it themselves in the future!"

"Since it is Zuiyue's intelligence, it must be true; my lord, we shall go down and retrieve it right now!" Upon hearing this, Mi Gen and others immediately stopped questioning.

Who is Zuiyue?

That is the divine steed of Storm Fief—no, the Steed of the God!

Immediately, Mi Gen and others formed pairs and began diving into the river.

Because the water was clear to the bottom, everyone's movements underwater could be seen clearly from the bridge, so there was no possibility of embezzlement.

Soon, Gervas saw Mi Gen make a move; he was holding up a dull, gray object resembling a large goose egg.

"My lord, I found it!" Mi Gen surfaced excitedly and immediately shouted out.

Finding it so quickly truly exceeded Gervas's expectations; if Viscount Becket's guards had simply swum a couple of laps in the water back then, they surely would have found it.

However, thinking that he knew the exact location thanks to the intelligence network, whereas they back then had no idea where that merchant steward had passed through, so not knowing the treasure chest was in the river was normal.

Soon, Mi Gen and the other knights brought the iron chest to the shore.

The iron chest was not large, over thirty centimeters long and over twenty centimeters high, its surface covered entirely with rust and mud.

Fortunately, it was locked, so the items inside the iron chest should be intact.

He did not open it in front of Mi Gen and the others; after all, wealth worth four hundred gold coins was truly too tempting.

The subordinates were curious, but they also knew how to act with propriety; since the lord did not speak, they did not ask, and even deliberately stepped back to avoid suspicion.

Only after Gervas transferred the gold coins and jewels from the iron chest into his own wooden treasure chest did they gather around again.

"I know you are certainly curious about what is actually inside the treasure chest; I will tell you that question when we return tonight!"

"Yes, my lord!"

It was night!

Tonight, Viscount Becket's castle was brightly lit and exceptionally lively.

A red carpet was laid out from the castle's main gate, extending all the way to the inner castle gate.

The butler personally led servants to welcome guests with smiling faces at the castle's main gate.

Noble carriages stopped one after another at the castle gate, after which servants enthusiastically guided them to the banquet hall.

Due to the importance of the iron mine production, even though everyone knew the mine's location was in the dangerous farthest border, the nobles who received the news still flocked to it.

Up to now, the number of nobles who had arrived had reached twenty.

Although most of the nobles were likely just there to make noise and lacked the means to purchase, Viscount Becket's castle still welcomed them.

Because only with more competitors would the price rise!

Just then, two mounted knights on large horses suddenly walked up in front of the castle butler; the butler was about to say that the guard knights needed to dismount before entering the castle, but he saw that one of the warhorses was ridden by a noble wearing a silk gown.

Tonight, whether great or minor nobles, almost everyone had arrived by carriage; this one arriving on horseback was truly the first.

After all, this was also a dinner party, and nobles still placed considerable importance on propriety.

"It is an honor to meet you, sir; I wonder how you are addressed!" Strange as it was, the butler still offered enthusiastic hospitality.

"My name is Gervas Gale, Lord of Storm Fief!"

"Lord of Storm Fief?" The butler was stunned; this time, it seemed the Lord of Storm Fief had not been invited.

Such a destitute place; even if invited, it would surely just be another person mooching a free meal, so he had asked Viscount Becket at the time, and Viscount Becket had explicitly stated there was no need to invite them.

"What's wrong? Does my arrival mean Viscount Becket does not welcome me? I am here to participate in the auction; I am truly very interested in the iron mine, and furthermore, I have brought sufficient funds!"

Gervas had long anticipated the other's reaction and signaled with his eyes to Lei Meng standing nearby, who was holding the wooden treasure chest.

Seeing the wooden box in Lei Meng's arms, the butler was stunned; only after recovering did he immediately put on a smile: "Sir, you are joking; your arrival brings honor to Viscount Becket's castle; our lord welcomes every guest; please, come in quickly!"

Afterwards, servants guided Gervas and his subordinates into the castle.

Watching Gervas's back, the butler clicked his tongue in amazement: "Actually rushing to bring money; truly foolish!"

Beckett's Viscount Castle truly lived up to its reputation as a notoriously cunning viscount's stronghold; the castle's level of luxury was indeed extraordinary.

Compared to Beckett's Viscount Castle, Gervas's Baron Castle looked like a beggar's version of a fortress.

Of course, that was because it had not yet been decorated.

Once funds were available for decoration and even expansion in the future, it would absolutely not fall short of Beckett's Viscount Castle.

At this moment, the banquet hall was crowded with people; amidst the melodious music of the orchestra, nobles gathered in small groups, drinking and chatting freely.

For Gervas, this newcomer, the nobles would offer a merely polite nod upon seeing him, and then no one would pay him any further attention.

Gervas, for his part, was quite content to be idle and simply began tasting the delicacies on the table.

But after one taste, he found the flavor far inferior to what Head Chef Rose cooked, so he simply stopped eating.

Fortunately, Viscount Beckett was eager to find a 'sucker,' so he did not drag the time out too long.

"Viscount Beckett arrives!"

A call rang out, and Viscount Beckett entered from the banquet hall's main doors.

The nobles promptly stepped aside to both sides, offering greetings and bows as Viscount Beckett passed.

Viscount Beckett was also very humble, constantly returning the bows in kind, appearing so modest and friendly.

Only Gervas present likely knew how black this fellow's heart truly was.