Chapter 205: Who Isn

"Hmm, my lord, where did you get this swift hawk? It looks rather small—you'd be better off letting hunter Pik capture an adult falcon for you!"

Gervas returned from the storage room to the front courtyard, just as Mi Gen, Lei Meng, and others were waiting for him.

Seeing the golden tycoon on his shoulder, Mi Gen couldn't help but offer his suggestion.

After all, an adult falcon only needs simple taming before it can immediately be used for hunting and other games.

But such a young hawk still requires over half a year of raising before it matures.

Yet Mi Gen didn't know that this unassuming little creature was in fact a dragon.

And sensing the condescension in his tone, the little thing seemed enraged.

Chirp!

It spread its wings, stretched its neck, and let out a roar toward Mi Gen.

Of course, now the little thing had taken the form of a swift hawk, so its roar was merely a louder chirp.

This only amused Mi Gen, "Oh? My lord, this little fellow's got quite a temper, haha, tiny thing!"

Mi Gen was wildly testing the edge of his own demise.

Gervas was about to stop him.

Who knew if the little thing would hold a grudge and come back to seek revenge years later?

Chirp!

But at that moment, the little thing let out an even louder chirp, its neck feathers bristling with fury.

Roar!

And after this chirp, without warning, the fire horse standing beside Mi Gen suddenly panicked and thrashed wildly.

It reared its front hooves high, struggling fiercely to break free and flee toward the castle's outer gates.

"Hey, hey, Lightning, what are you doing?!"

Mi Gen reacted swiftly, yanking the reins tight and barely managing to subdue the fire horse.

Chirp-chirp-chirp!

Seeing this, the tycoon finally stopped crying, lifting its little head like a victorious general.

"Little thing! What does this have to do with you? It's as if you caused it!" Mi Gen, seeing this, grew furious.

He naturally didn't believe this was the little thing's doing.

But Lei Meng, watching nearby, studied the tycoon thoughtfully, then said to Mi Gen: "Mi Gen, whether or not it caused this, its intelligence is far beyond ordinary beasts!"

"So, my lord's swift hawk chick is no ordinary falcon!"

Chirp!

The tycoon nodded, as if to say, "See? Now that's what sounds like sense!"

"Good heavens, my lord, can it really understand our conversation?!" Mi Gen was stunned.

"This swift hawk chick was brought back by Zhui Yue—what did you think? Don't be fooled by its current form; Zhui Yue said it has an extraordinary origin!"

"It will transform when it grows—so don't bully it, or it might come back to get you in two years!"

"Ah! It was brought back by Zhui Yue? My lord, I take back what I just said—I won't dare again!" Mi Gen immediately backed down.

Because Zhui Yue's reputation was ironclad—he believed it absolutely.

Seeing this, Gervas didn't delay further.

"Wait here a little longer—I'll take the little one to eat, then we'll depart for Maixiang Town!"

Saying this, Gervas brought the tycoon back into the castle.

He then fetched dried meat, only to discover the little thing was picky—it ate only beast meat jerky.

Fortunately, Gervas was wealthy and well-stocked; beast meat and magic fish meat were plentiful, so he didn't hesitate at all.

After consuming a full jin of beast meat jerky, the little thing finally stopped eating, still unsatisfied.

Chirp-chirp-chirp!

The little thing leapt onto Gervas's shoulder and rubbed its fuzzy little head against his cheek, showing gratitude and affection.

"Little one, from now on, follow me—I'll make sure you're well-fed and well-cared for!"

This young dragon clearly wasn't as savage as other dragons in legend.

Thus, Gervas was delighted—this was certainly a good beginning.

Afterwards, Gervas took the tycoon to meet Zhui Yue.

When the tycoon saw Zhui Yue, it glanced once and then ignored it entirely, simply perching on Gervas's shoulder to preen its feathers.

Zhui Yue, however, grew curious and scrutinized the tycoon intensely.

Clearly, as a divine being, Zhui Yue sensed something unusual.

Immediately, it sent a mental query to Gervas.

"Zhui Yue, remember the dragon egg from last time? This is the same kind of divine being—a legendary dragon hatchling!"

"That dragon egg actually hatched?!" Zhui Yue was astonished.

But after a moment, seeing the tycoon's indifferent attitude, Zhui Yue stopped paying attention.

After all, who isn't a divine being?

And besides, this unicorn now serves as Gervas's mount.

Can you?

You can only perch on Gervas's shoulder and be utterly useless!

Thinking this, Zhui Yue carried Gervas to the front courtyard to rejoin Lei Meng and the others.

Though the tycoon didn't hear Zhui Yue's inner thoughts, Gervas felt them through their bond.

Instantly, Gervas's lips twitched.

He didn't know whether to laugh… or just laugh.

…

When Gervas's party arrived at Maixiang Town, the caravan mentioned in the intelligence had already arrived.

"Respected Viscount, it is an honor to meet you. We are the caravan of the Mac Earl family, passing through your territory—please grant us your favor!"

The caravan manager, upon learning the local lord had arrived, bowed respectfully to Gervas.

"Manager Ya, my Storm Domain welcomes all legal caravans for trade—our tax rate has been reduced to one in ten. Welcome to come often!"

"Thank you for your generosity, Viscount Gervas—we will certainly visit your Storm Domain more often!"

Their exchange was conventional enough.

But caravans were vital to Storm Domain, a border territory.

They were an indispensable trade bridge, so Gervas had long prepared a strategy to attract them.

"Manager Ya, do you have free time this afternoon? You could visit neighboring Maixiang Town—its people are now quite wealthy!"

"This…" Ya hesitated.

He naturally knew of Maixiang Town.

But it was famously a land of death—so even if it had grown somewhat prosperous now, there was no need to risk one's life for a few copper or silver coins.

"Manager Ya, my castle has established a new rule to better promote trade in the domain."

"Any caravan entering Storm Domain may exchange ten gold coins for ten standard nightlight pearls—and these ten pearls are tax-free!"

"N-nightlight pearls? And no tax?!" Ya was stunned.

He knew the price of nightlight pearls—sell them within the kingdom and they'd fetch a premium.

"Correct. Only exchanges beyond ten pearls will be subject to the standard one-in-ten tax."

"Viscount Gervas, shall I take my caravan to Maixiang Town this afternoon?!" Ya was skeptical.

"My steward will be delighted to welcome you—but after this exchange, I hope you'll spread word of Storm Domain's favorable treatment for caravans!" Gervas smiled.

"Viscount Gervas, I will certainly promote your generosity upon my return!"

"After all, generous nobles are always the ones merchants sing praises of!"