Chapter 205: Who Isn

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

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

Seeing Tu Haojin on his shoulder, Knight Mi Gen Gen couldn't help but offer his suggestion.

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

But such a young hawkling still requires over half a year of rearing before it grows up.

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

And feeling the condescension in his tone, the little creature seemed enraged.

Chirp!

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

Of course, now the little creature had taken the form of a swift hawk, so this hiss was merely a louder chirp.

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

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

Gervas was about to stop him.

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

Chirp!

But at this moment, the little creature let out an even louder chirp, its neck feathers bristling upright with rage.

Roar!

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

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

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

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

Chirp-chirp-chirp!

Seeing this, Tu Haojin finally ceased its cry, raising its little head like a victorious general.

"Little thing! What does this have to do with you? It's not like you caused it!" Knight Mi Gen Gen, seeing this, felt his temper flare.

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

But Lei Meng, watching Tu Haojin thoughtfully, then said to Knight Mi Gen Gen: "Knight Mi Gen Gen, whether or not it caused this, its intelligence is far beyond that of an ordinary beast!"

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

Chirp!

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

"My goodness, my lord, does it really understand our conversation?!" Knight Mi Gen Gen was stunned.

"This swift hawkling 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 dare not anymore!" Knight Mi Gen Gen immediately backed down.

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

Seeing this, Gervas didn't delay further,

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

Saying this, Gervas brought Tu Haojin back into the castle.

He then fetched dried meat, and eventually discovered the little creature 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 hold back at all.

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

Chirp-chirp-chirp!

The little creature leapt onto Gervas's shoulder and rubbed its fluffy 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 vicious as other dragons in legend.

Thus, Gervas was very pleased—this was certainly a good start.

Afterwards, Gervas took Tu Haojin to meet Zhui Yue.

When Tu Haojin saw Zhui Yue, it glanced once and then ignored it entirely, simply perched on Gervas's shoulder, preening its feathers.

But Zhui Yue was puzzled, studying Tu Haojin intently.

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

Immediately, it sent a questioning thought into Gervas's mind.

"Zhui Yue, remember the dragon egg from last time? This one is a divine being just like you—it's a baby dragon from legend!"

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

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

After all, who isn't a divine being?

And besides, this unicorn can now become Gervas's mount.

Can you?

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

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

Though Tu Haojin didn't hear the unicorn's silent grumbling, Gervas felt it through their bond.

Instantly, Gervas's lips twitched involuntarily.

Truly, he didn't know whether to laugh, or... whether to laugh...

When Gervas and his party arrived at Wheat Town, the caravan mentioned in the intelligence had already arrived.

"Your Grace, the Viscount, it is a great honor to meet you. We are the caravan of the Count Mac family. Passing through your territory this time, we ask for your kind care!"

Upon learning that the true lord of the place had arrived, the caravan manager greeted Gervas with great respect.

"Manager Yas, my Storm Domain welcomes all legal caravans to come and trade. Moreover, the taxes in my territory have been reduced to one in ten, so, welcome you all to come frequently in the future!"

"Thank you for your benevolence and generosity, Viscount Gervas. We will certainly visit the Storm Domain more often in the future!"

The conversation between the two was quite standard.

However, caravans were extremely important to border territories like the Storm Domain.

They were an indispensable bridge for commerce, so Gervas had long ago devised a set of methods to attract people.

"Manager Yas, I wonder if you have any free time this afternoon? You could go to the neighboring Wheat Town; the people there are now very wealthy as well!"

"This..." Yas immediately hesitated.

He naturally knew about the neighboring Wheat Town.

But that place was a famous land of death; therefore, even if it had indeed become somewhat wealthier now, there was no need to risk one's life for the trade of a few copper coins or a few silver coins.

"Manager Yas, my castle has established a new rule to better promote trade within the territory."

"That is, any caravan traveling to the Storm Domain can exchange ten gold coins for ten standard-sized Glow Pearls, and the trade of these ten Glow Pearls is tax-free!"

"Glow... Glow Pearls? And no tax?" Yas was surprised.

He naturally knew the price of Glow Pearls; taking them back into the Kingdom would allow for an immediate premium.

"That's right. Only exchanges exceeding ten coins will be included in normal trade transactions and subject to the one-in-ten tax."

"Viscount Gervas, then this afternoon I will take my caravan to Wheat Town to take a look?!" Adams was half-skeptical.

"I believe my steward will be very welcoming. However, after this exchange, I hope you will spread the word about the Storm Domain's preferential treatment for caravans!" Gervas smiled.

"Viscount Gervas, for such a generous act of yours, I will certainly promote it vigorously upon my return!"

"After all, generous nobles have always been the objects of our merchants' praise!"