Chapter 22: Night Fragrant Herb!

"Twice?" Everyone thought they had misheard.

"That's right. As neighbors, mutual help is only proper. Charging you double is what my father taught me: nobles must prioritize profit and never speak only of feelings with anyone, or they will easily be plotted against!"

"So, I only ask for double the price; the other half is the fee I waive because I am your lord's neighbor!"

The stewards had seen all kinds of nobles, but one so upright and ungreedy was truly a first.

"Noble lord, your lofty qualities are the finest we have ever witnessed. We will surely carry your kindness back to our lands and inform our lord!"

Afterwards, the four stewards, faces flushed with excitement, were ushered away, and Old John was asked to take them to the civil administrator to hand over the ducks.

After the crowd departed, Caroline also regarded Gervas with an odd look in her eyes.

Clearly, Gervas's actions today had utterly overturned her understanding.

To this, Gervas remained impassive, continuing to maintain his high-class persona.

In truth, without the intelligence system, he certainly would not have been so carefree about more than ten gold coins!

But with the intelligence system, using this sum to build a persona and befriend neighboring lords was definitely worthwhile.

After all, if he had procured the ducks himself, they might not have said so openly, but they would surely have remembered it in their hearts.

Now he has made money and can still make them grateful; what more could one ask for!

"My lord!"

"Eh! You seem a bit different?" Arriving at the front courtyard, five knight squires had been waiting for quite some time.

With a flutter, the five, upon seeing Gervas, immediately knelt on the ground together once more.

"We thank our lord for his grace; we have already broken through to become formal knights!"

It turned out that after the five had consumed Dino's body-forging potion, they had completed their breakthrough and advanced to become formal knights.

"So fast?" Gervas was also surprised by the potion's efficacy.

Although formal knights cannot generate battle qi, their strength can be verified.

The mark of a formal knight is the ability to lift a stone block weighing two hundred kilograms with both hands.

Lei Meng had previously said that Mi Gen and the other four would need at least one to three months to complete their advancement, but now, after a single dose of the potion, only two hours had passed.

This was absolutely a divine technique.

"Rise! Do not weep one by one; those who do not know might think I have done something to you. You are formal knights now; from now on, hold your heads high and show your knightly bearing!"

"Yes, my lord!" Amid Gervas's teasing, the group finally stood up, though their expressions remained serious and solemn.

After all, Gervas could view this favor very lightly, but for them, its significance was extraordinary.

"Mi Gen, I have a matter to entrust to you. In a moment, take two serfs to Baron Kane's domain. On that boy's square, there will be an adventurer named Barca."

"He will be selling Green Spirit Fruits there. Go and purchase all the Green Spirit Fruits; remember, all of them!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Afterwards, Mi Gen found two serfs and rode in a carriage straight to Baron Kane's domain.

And Gervas was not idle on his end either.

He went directly to the boy, asking Thomas to find him twenty sturdy serfs while spreading a message.

The message was to inform the subjects that this lord, to show his importance regarding the recruitment of guards, would personally attend the guard selection this afternoon.

After giving the orders, Gervas led the guard squad and knight squires away from the town.

In today's intelligence, Tianehu remained the closest location.

However, precisely because Tianehu was close enough and safe, Gervas was not in a hurry to search for the Magic Fragrant Fruit there immediately; instead, he headed straight toward the direction of the Death Shanling.

Whether it was the grassland where the Fire Stallion appeared or the Black Stone Ridge where the Dragon Blood Stone was located, both were actually very close to the Death Shanling.

From the system intelligence gathered over these past few days, Gervas had actually drawn a conclusion.

That is, the abundance of good things in the intelligence was likely related to the fact that this area was rarely visited by humans.

Otherwise, if this belonged to a bustling city, there could not possibly be so many magical beasts and magical medicinal plants; instead, there might be more gold coins, crude items, or affairs of some noble.

"My lord, the Black Stone Ridge is ahead!"

Captain Lauren's report came from the front.

Looking out, one could indeed see a range of hills stretching for several hundred meters ahead, also an extension of the Death Shanling.

However, the hills were not high and were covered in rocks, which ruled out any potential threats.

"Let's go up and take a look!"

Gervas immediately led everyone up the hill.

Upon approaching, they found the terrain on the hill resembled the karst landscape of his past life even more, making movement quite difficult.

However, for the Dragon Blood Stone, Gervas certainly would not retreat.

After instructing his subordinates on the characteristics of the Dragon Blood Stone, they began to search separately.

Fortunately, results were found in just over twenty minutes.

"Lord, it seems there is the blood-red stone you mentioned over here; it feels warm to the touch."

Gervas immediately moved toward Lauren and indeed found that, centered on Lauren within a two-meter radius, both the ground and the stones were dark red.

Upon touching them, these stones and soil emitted a warmth unlike anything else.

These stones had now become exceptionally smooth, like jade, clearly different from their surroundings.

No need to think much; this was the Dragon Blood Stone, stones and soil eroded and stained by the blood of a giant dragon.

"Lauren, well done. Have everyone get to work and collect these stones and soil into baskets; remember, do not miss a single one!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Afterwards, the guards and knight squires busied themselves, bringing back all the dark red stones and soil.

And all the stones and soil combined weighed at least five or six hundred jin.

Fortunately, there were many people; even without carriages, they could carry it on their backs.

With the Red Blood Stone in hand, the next target was the Fire Steed.

Coincidentally, Knight Mi Gen and the others had just advanced to full Knights, so these Fire Steeds arrived at a very timely moment.

Otherwise, having Knights but no horses would be quite awkward!

"My lord, this is already the far southwestern edge of our Storm Domain, an open pasture!"

"However, because it lies too close to the Chaotic Wasteland and the Death Mountains, this area is extremely dangerous; in the past, neither serfs nor our guard squad would ever come here!"

"Excellent! First, put down the baskets; let us go and walk around the pasture!"

The system's notification stated that the Fire Steeds would arrive at the pasture to forage, but it did not specify a location, so capturing them was somewhat difficult.

Yet, no matter how difficult, they had to proceed; therefore, Gervas first needed to observe and search for clues to see if there was any way to increase the probability of capture.

And very quickly, he made a discovery.

Beside a puddle, a patch of Night Grass had surprisingly appeared.

In his previous life, there was the saying that a horse cannot grow fat without night grass; in this world, the same logic actually applied.

Moreover, this world possessed a plant that herbivorous magical beasts loved very much, namely Night Grass.

Whether wild beasts or magical beasts, as long as they were herbivorous creatures, they would all be attracted to it.

Precisely because of this, the price of Night Grass had been driven up to one silver coin per kilogram.

One must know that Night Grass was actually not scarce; it grew in large patches.

But in the end, because it was simply too popular, the price had risen accordingly.

"So, those Fire Steeds will most likely come here later for this Night Grass?!"