Chapter 182: The Arrival of the Lightning Silverfish!

"Good, then it's settled. To avoid the accusation that I'm bullying you, I'm giving you two days to rest properly!"

"Of course, you'll still wear your manacles during these two days!"

"Human noble, will you honor the terms of this wager…?"

"I, Gervas Gale, swear by the God of Glory that I will abide by the terms of this wager made with you barbarians!"

"Good!" The barbarians erupted in excitement—they were certain they had won.

Immediately, Gervas led the group of barbarians back to the castle.

"My lord, can fifty ordinary guards really defeat these barbarians? Even fifty full knights might not be able to win against them!"

On the return journey, Migen and the others wore faces full of worry and confusion.

After all, their lord seemed to have almost no chance of winning this wager.

"Migen, do you remember the formation I had the guards train for the past half-month?"

"My lord, you mean the spear phalanx? Of course I remember—the fifty best new guards formed into a spear phalanx, which you said could unleash tremendous power in open-field combat."

"Exactly. In two days, we'll use this spear phalanx to defeat these barbarians!"

…

"My lord!"

Back at the castle, after Lei Meng and the other knights had taken the barbarians away to imprisonment, Old John immediately approached Gervas.

"John, how's it going? Have the seaweed been dumped into Silverlight Lake?"

"My lord, after a morning of collection and deployment, dozens of cartloads of seaweed have been dumped into Silverlight Lake!"

"Excellent!" Gervas finally relaxed—he was certain the Lightning Silverfish would soon enter Silverlight Lake.

And indeed, Old John didn't stop speaking.

"My lord, according to the serfs' reports, after dozens of cartloads of aquatic plants were introduced, countless silver fish appeared in Silverlight Lake!"

"Though we can't yet confirm the species, these are almost certainly the legendary silver fish!"

"Now the serfs are saying that you, my lord, are a blessed lord—since becoming Lord of Kain's fief, even the legendary silver fish have appeared!"

"Oh? They've already arrived?"

Gervas froze—he had assumed Old John was reporting on the seaweed progress, not the arrival of the Lightning Silverfish.

Now even serfs could see them—this meant their numbers had reached a critical threshold.

"My lord, did you already know these silver fish would come?"

Seeing Gervas's reaction, Old John instantly realized his lord had anticipated the silver fish's arrival.

"Correct, Old John. Zhao Yue told me this morning that Lightning Silverfish would appear at the estuary!"

"They've come to spawn, and they need vast amounts of aquatic plants to build nests—otherwise, they'll leave again!"

"What? L-Lightning Silverfish? Master Gervas, you mean the Lightning Silverfish? Did I mishear?"

Old John immediately sensed the oddity in Gervas's words.

He was stunned, wondering if he'd gone deaf.

Silver fish weren't rare—most fish had some silver sheen.

But a silver fish preceded by "Lightning"? In the entire kingdom, there was only one kind.

That was the Lightning Silverfish.

Old John had heard the legends about them.

After all, a viscount producing a hundred titled knights in just a few years was an event that shook the entire realm.

And if that earl's Lightning Silverfish habitat hadn't been sabotaged, he could have bred even more titled knights.

Moreover, it's said the Lightning Silverfish's power can help titled knights rapidly advance all the way to Silver Knight rank.

So even if he didn't breed more titled knights, simply producing a hundred Silver-ranked titled knights in a short time would rival even the oldest earl families.

"Correct, Old John—it's the Lightning Silverfish!" Gervas wouldn't hide anything from his steward.

With confirmation of the Lightning Silverfish, Old John was overwhelmed with joy. "The God of Glory has blessed us! My lord, the Stormhold is truly blessed by the God of Glory!"

Now that his lord was a viscount, what if he too could rise to earl within a few years using the Lightning Silverfish?

Old John couldn't imagine it—but he truly hoped to witness that moment.

Becoming an earl's steward would be the pinnacle of Old John's life.

"Come, Old John, let's go to Silverlight Lake right now!"

Gervas had originally planned to sail out first, then return to observe the Lightning Silverfish later.

But since they'd already arrived, he naturally had to see these "silver fish treasures" firsthand.

After all, over the next few years, they'd be his greatest asset in breeding titled knights.

…

Silverlight Lake was very close to the Stormhold—it was, in fact, the lake nearest to the Stormhold within Kain's fief, connected to the estuary of the Duonao River.

The Silverfish traveled upstream from the estuary along the Duonao River, finally reaching Silverlight Lake, dozens of li inland.

The lake wasn't large—only one-third the size of Tianehu.

Thus, Kain had never developed it for aquaculture.

This had preserved Silverlight Lake's natural state perfectly.

"This… these fish are too many!"

Upon reaching the lakeshore, Migen and the others widened their eyes.

From the Duonao River, a constant stream of Lightning Silverfish was pouring into the lake.

So numerous were they that the silver-glowing sea fish formed shimmering ribbons of light, dazzling the eyes under the sun.

"Huh? These fish swim impossibly fast! It's like arrows flying!"

Curious, Migen picked up a stone the size of an egg and tossed it gently into the lake—immediately, a cluster of silver fish scattered in panic.

Their evasive speed was beyond imagination—in the blink of an eye, only a flash of silver remained visible.

Seeing this, Old John panicked. "Knight Migen, don't throw stones at them—they're Lightning Silverfish!"

"Old John, these fish move too fast to be hit by my stones. Wait—Master John, you said what? L-L-Lightning… what fish?"

"Lightning Silverfish!" Gervas smiled as he took over the conversation.

"L-Lightning Silverfish? My lord, you mean the viscount's Lightning Silverfish?" Clearly, Migen had heard the tale.

Even Lei Meng, usually calm and composed, now stared at the silver fish with astonishment.

"Correct—it's the Lightning Silverfish. You saw how fast they moved just now—does that not justify the word 'Lightning'?"

"And these Lightning Silverfish? Unless they spawn and then swim to the lake's edge to be caught, they cannot be captured in the open ocean!"