Chapter 140

Count Fario truly has a formidable drink!

As they drank several more cups, the small nobles in the hall erupted with praise and cheers!

"Hahaha!" Fario laughed heartily once more.

"Report!"

At that moment, a knight hurried in, interrupting Count Fario's merriment.

He was Fario's own personal guard knight, though the outer perimeter had been entrusted to the Storm Legion.

But how could Fario fully trust that boy?

"What is it?" Fario frowned.

The knight knew he had disturbed his lord's joy and immediately bowed low. "My Lord Count, it is Lord Gervas of the Storm Domain—he wishes to see Commander Brick!"

"Why does he want to see Commander Brick now? Didn't I assign him to lead night watch?" Fario assumed Gervas had come to complain.

Brick, however, glanced at Fario and asked the knight: "Did Lord Gervas say what he wishes to report?"

"My Lord Fario, Commander Brick, Lord Gervas said he has battle achievements to report, but gave no further details—only instructed me to deliver the message!"

"Battle achievements? What achievements at this hour? Did some unlucky wildman wander lost in the forest during the day and get captured?" Fario sneered.

Commander Brick pondered for a moment. "Count Fario, let Lord Gervas come. It's protocol."

His words sounded like a suggestion, yet carried an air of absolute authority.

He could allow Fario to harass a minor noble, but when it came to matters of army safety and established rules, he must uphold them.

After all, harassing a minor noble would not affect him.

But matters concerning the army's safety? That directly concerned his own life and fortune!

Count Fario understood this well—he had to give Brick face. "Fine, let him come. I'd like to see what 'achievements' he's brought—hopefully not just because he smelled roasted meat and came up with an excuse to join the feast!"

Soon, Gervas arrived at the banquet.

The scene was indeed filled with fine wine and delicacies—truly delightful.

Of course, compared to the fragrant Caiyi Swan meat stored in his own space, Gervas found these dishes utterly beneath notice.

Under the gaze of all, Gervas walked to the open space before Fario and Brick.

"Lord Gervas, I hear you have battle achievements to report to me?" Brick asked.

"Yes, Commander Brick. During tonight's night watch, a western wildman patrol attempted to ambush Heibei Village. My men detected them early, and I led them to annihilate the entire group!"

Gasps!

"A western wildman patrol attempting a night raid? Is that true?"

"Yeah, why didn't we hear any battle sounds? Were they too few?"

"That doesn't make sense—even if they were only three or five men, in the silence of Heibei Village, the cries of battle should've been easily heard!"

The minor nobles immediately began murmuring among themselves.

After all, if wildmen really launched a night raid, it wasn't something that could just vanish.

Pfft!

Fario, watching coldly from the side, couldn't help scoffing.

"Lord Gervas, have you heard the nobles' remarks? Are you here to falsify battle reports?"

"If there had been cries of battle, even if we couldn't hear them over the banquet noise, surely our outer guard knights would have?"

Gervas glanced at Fario and smiled. "Count Fario, I never said I encountered the enemy at Heibei Village's edge."

"These western wildmen were spotted five li away, at Heisong Mountain—so it's normal we hear nothing here."

Five li away, at Heisong Mountain?

Everyone exchanged glances. Fario frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be on guard at the village? How could you detect enemies five li away? Fine, even if you somehow spotted them, where are the heads?"

"You didn't just kill a few of your own slaves and pass them off as enemies, did you?"

Gervas had anticipated Fario's interference and remained calm.

He smiled warmly and turned back to Commander Brick. "Commander Brick, I've brought the enemy heads with me!"

"I've come to register these achievements before all the nobles, so no one can doubt their authenticity later."

Seeing Gervas so composed, Brick believed half of his words.

Why only half?

Because Gervas's achievement might well be real.

But the origin of the achievement…

Gervas claimed the enemies were attacking Heibei Village—but Brick didn't believe it.

After all, if they truly intended to attack the left flank, they'd need at least several hundred men—could Gervas possibly handle that?

So the truth was likely as Count Fario had mocked: a few wildmen, fleeing into the woods after the day's battle, had gotten lost—and Gervas's men had stumbled upon and killed them.

Of course, whether they were truly raiding or not didn't matter.

As long as the heads were real, Brick was willing to register Gervas's achievement.

"Lord Gervas, bring the enemy heads forward. I'll have the scribe register them before all the barons."

"Bring them here?" Gervas scanned the open space filled with tables and chairs.

Commander Brick blinked. "What? Can't you register them here, Lord Gervas?"

"Correct. I've brought back two hundred enemy heads! If I bring them here, your lordships' tables and chairs will need to be moved!"

Gasps!

"Did I hear that right? Two hundred enemy heads? Good heavens—am I drunk and misheard?"

"I heard two hundred too! I think we didn't drink too much—Gervas must've miscounted. He meant two!"

"Indeed, Heibei Village had only three hundred western wildmen total, and about a hundred and twenty to thirty escaped. Even if Lord Gervas got lucky and found a few lost wildmen, he couldn't have killed more than the escapees—that's absurd!"

As soon as Gervas finished speaking, the minor nobles erupted in uproar.

Naturally, everyone's first thought was that Gervas had made a mistake.

After all, even if Gervas truly dared kill his own slaves to fake enemy heads,

he only had four hundred men total—if he killed half of them, the lie would be exposed instantly.

Yet Gervas, hearing their chatter, merely smiled again. "Lords, you didn't mishear, and I didn't misstate—I brought back two hundred enemy heads. They're right now at the village gate."

"Er…"

The entire hall fell silent. The minor nobles stared at Gervas, motionless—only the bonfire in the center crackled in the night wind.

"Lord Gervas, are you certain?" Commander Brick frowned, his gaze filled with doubt.

"I am certain," Gervas nodded seriously.

"Ha! Then we really must go see this! Two hundred savage heads? Does he think he brought two hundred titled knights to fight?"

Before Brick could respond, Fario leapt to his feet, dripping with mockery.

He naturally didn't believe Gervas for a second.

He had witnessed the day's battle himself—though the nobles' mistakes had indeed allowed over a hundred western wildmen to escape.

But the nobles' error was nothing new: they always let the peasant conscripts absorb the brunt of the fighting to preserve their elite troops, giving the wildmen their chance to break through into the forest.

But that didn't mean the wildmen's escape was luck.

At the time, two thousand peasants had surrounded them completely.

Yet the wildmen still carved a bloody path out—proof of their ferocity.

And how many men did Gervas have?

Four hundred!

Even if all four hundred were armored guards, they couldn't possibly have annihilated two hundred wildmen.

And as Fario well knew, most of Gervas's men were peasant conscripts!