Chapter 131: Embarking on the Journey!

"My lord! You have finally returned!"

When Gervas and his party returned to the castle, it was already deep into the night.

However, strangely, the entire castle remained brightly lit at this hour.

And as soon as Gervas entered the castle gate, Old John approached with an anxious expression.

"What is wrong, Old Jack?"

"My lord, there is a problem with the Fire Horses in the stable!"

"Before nightfall, the Fire Horses were fine, but after dark, they became irritable!"

"I sent for Young Lady Isabella to check, but Young Lady Isabella could not determine the exact situation."

"Although Young Lady Isabella can prepare a potion to calm the Fire Horses temporarily, since you are not here, I dared not act on my own authority!"

Gervas then remembered that one of the intelligence reports today was about the Fire Horses.

At this moment, Lei Meng and others, having heard the butler's description, had already become anxious.

The seven Fire Horses currently locked in the castle stable belong to the group.

The other Fire Horses are all kept at the pasture.

"Do not worry, I remember it now. This morning Zuiyue told me he sensed something unusual with the Fire Horses, saying they are very likely to break through and become First-Order Magical Beasts soon!"

"R-really? My lord!" Lei Meng and others, who had been anxious, froze, looking at Gervas in disbelief.

"Do you think Zuiyue would lie?"

"No, he certainly would not lie! Haha, my lord, Zuiyue is the lucky divine beast bestowed upon you by the God of Glory; what he says must be true!"

Roar, roar, roar!

Just then, the sound of war horses neighing in a continuous wave came from the direction of the stable.

Thus, Gervas and others did not delay, immediately rushing to the stable.

And when they arrived at the stable, the continuous neighing had already ceased.

"Greetings, Lord Gervas, congratulations, Lord Gervas! All these Fire Horses have broken through and become First-Order Flame Horses!" Isabella was inside the stable.

The moment she saw Gervas, she immediately offered her congratulations.

Before the breakthrough, she could not determine the situation, but after the breakthrough, the Fire Horses already contained magic power, which she, as a wizard, could naturally sense.

"Haha, that is great, my lord! Our Fire Horses have become Magical Beasts!"

Although First-Order Magical Beasts do not actually possess very strong combat abilities, and these are still horse Magical Beasts.

Yet in terms of stamina, endurance, recovery ability, stress resistance, and so on, the Flame Horses are more than twice as strong as ordinary Fire Horses.

And this also means the price of Flame Horses has risen, reaching at least one hundred and fifty gold coins per horse!

"I, Gervas Gale, Lord of Storm Domain, now declare: today I will grant special pardon to the Hunting Slave Squad, the Sky Cavalry Slave Squad, and their families!"

"From now on, all of you will become subjects of Storm Domain; you will own your own houses and own fields!"

"Your children, once born, will no longer be lowly slaves! You will become true members of Storm Domain, under my protection!"

"We thank the Lord for his benevolence!"

Morning, in the square of Wheat Town.

Gervas gathered all the slaves and subjects to attend the special pardon assembly.

This was the special pardon he had promised the Hunting Village a few days ago.

The reason for arranging it today was to boost morale, so that the domain could remain more stable after his departure.

Seeing the excited expressions on the faces of the pardoned slaves and those of the slaves watching the ceremony, Gervas knew his arrangement had worked very well.

These newly pardoned serfs need no further explanation; they will certainly be staunch supporters of Storm Domain in the future.

And the slaves who were not pardoned could also see hope in the Hunting Village slaves and the Sky Cavalry Squad slaves.

Even Thomas, who had recruited two hundred serfs for Gervas to depart with, saw much of the worry and unease on his face vanish, replaced by a look of determination.

After the slave pardon ended, Gervas did not stay long and returned directly to the castle.

At this moment, below the castle's gentle slope, the army had already assembled.

The fully equipped convoy had been waiting for a long time.

"Reporting to my lord, all supplies have been loaded onto the carts; we can depart at any time!"

"Reporting to my lord! The Storm Knight Order, six knights and eighteen knight squires, have all assembled!"

"Reporting to my lord! The Guard Squad, one hundred and twenty-five personnel, one hundred present, have all assembled!"

"Reporting to my lord! The Sky Squad, eleven personnel, eleven present! All assembled!"

"Reporting to my lord! The Ballista Squad, four personnel, four present! All assembled!"

"Reporting to my lord! The Slave Squad, two hundred personnel, two hundred present, have all assembled!"

After hearing the reports from his subordinates and looking at those resolute faces, Gervas was very satisfied.

This will be his first time participating in a kingdom war.

May everything go well!

Taking a deep breath, "Warriors of Storm Domain, set out!"

"The lord has given the order, set out!"

Afterwards, the convoy of over four hundred people, led by Lauren, began marching westward.

"Old John, Thomas, I leave the domain in your hands!"

"My lord, we await your triumphant return!"

Old John and Thomas nodded solemnly.

Gervas nodded and said no more.

"Let us go too!"

As Gervas urged his warhorse to chase after the departing expedition, Lei Meng, Knight Mi Gen, and other knights quickly followed.

The expedition, bathed in sunlight, moved farther and farther away, yet it stirred the hearts of countless people.

Behind a small window in the castle, Caroline's eyes were red-rimmed. "My lord Gervas, you must return in triumph!"

Inside the castle kitchen, Head Chef Rose knelt in prayer. "God of Glory, please protect the benevolent My lord Gervas!"

"Mother, what are you doing?" Little girl Shirley happened to arrive at the kitchen and asked with some curiosity.

"Mother is praying for My lord Gervas! Praying that the God of Glory protects My lord and keeps him safe!"

"Mother, Shirley also wants to pray for My lord Gervas!"

Little girl Shirley came to her mother's side and began to pray, imitating her mother.

As for My lord Gervas's departure, though Shirley only half-understood, she knew My lord Gervas was going on a long journey this time.

Originally, she wanted to go secretly to say goodbye, but Mother said that at the moment of departure, if women go and shed tears, it is bad luck, so she was not allowed to go.

Besides her, all the female servants in the castle were the same.

Of course, Shirley was very curious: why would anyone shed tears watching My lord Gervas go out?

……

【Ding! Daily intelligence has been refreshed...】

【Intelligence One: Outside Lei Dun Fortress, three hundred meters south of Karl Lake, beneath the roots of a maple tree on the verge of withering, a clay pot is buried.

Inside the clay pot are five gold coins, buried by a small gang leader of Lei Dun Fortress named the Rat Brotherhood.】

【Intelligence Two: Viscount Catherine will also arrive at Lei Dun City today with his subordinates!】

【Intelligence Three: The conscription convoy cannot enter the city; they will be uniformly stationed in the open ground outside the city. Paying one silver coin as a bribe to the manager in charge of the camp station allows one to be assigned a better location.】