Chapter 31: Don

"Scaled-star meteorite iron? Good heavens, Lord Gervas, where did you get this?"

Inside the castle, Luca stared at the five pieces of meteorite iron placed on the table, his eyes gleaming—he had once served as the count’s chief blacksmith.

"I acquired them by chance. I got word ahead of time that five deserters from the wastelands had found them, so I paid fifty silver coins to buy them."

"Fifty silver... silver coins? Lord Gervas, are you sure you didn’t mean gold coins? No, even gold coins wouldn’t be enough! These five pieces are worth at least one hundred and fifty gold coins!"

"Exactly fifty silver coins—not a penny more, not a penny less. Luca, what weapons or armor can you make from these materials?"

Luca’s expression turned serious. "Lord Gervas, as a seasoned blacksmith, my advice is to wait. If you can infuse the star meteorite iron with mithril, you’ll be able to craft enchanted weapons and armor in the future."

"If you forge them now, they’ll be only three to five times stronger than ordinary gear—that’s the limit. It would be a disgrace to waste such rare materials!"

Mithril is essential for all magical artifacts.

Its value is unquestionable, as evidenced by the fact that even Luca, the chief blacksmith, had to flee after being falsely accused of stealing it.

"Mithril? Then we’ll wait."

Luca exhaled deeply—he, as an excellent blacksmith, couldn’t bear to waste such an irreplaceable material.

At noon, Knight-Marshal Lei Meng, five full knights, and a hundred soldiers assembled before the castle, filling its cramped baronial courtyard.

"Advance!"

At Gervas’s command, the entire force poured out of the castle and headed southwest.

Half an hour later, Gervas and his men reached their designated location.

"My lord, look over there!" Knight-Marshal Lei Meng immediately warned.

In the distance, along the horizon, a line of dark dots slowly approached—and one massive shadow stood out clearly.

Without needing to think, that was the monster force coming to invade today.

"Knight-Marshal Lei Meng, the swamp giant is yours!"

"My lord, I will complete the mission!"

Knight-Marshal Lei Meng spurred his fiery steed toward the black pine forest of Death Mountain.

Time passed second by second; the serpent horde drew nearer. When their forms became clearly visible—the serpents and the swamp giant—the ranks stirred with unease.

After all, these were new recruits, barely better than serfs. Facing so many monsters, especially the loathsome swamp giant, they hadn’t fled only because their lord, Gervas, stood with them.

"Quiet! If you run, what will become of your families back in the village? Do you owe nothing to your lord? Do you owe nothing for the black bread the castle has given you these past days?"

"I, Laurent, say this plainly: Lord Gervas is the most benevolent lord I’ve ever seen. With him, we’ll eat our fill every day and live well!"

"So if anyone dares to flee, I, Laurent, will be the first to oppose him—and execute him on the spot under military law!" Laurent, the centurion, immediately quelled the unrest, calming the new recruits somewhat.

Gervas then spoke: "Military orders are as firm as mountains. I fully support Centurion Laurent’s actions. But..."

Gervas scanned the crowd. "Similarly, those who show exceptional bravery and merit in this battle will be rewarded."

"I now declare: the five most courageous and distinguished warriors of today’s battle will be chosen as knight squires!"

Whoa!

The soldiers erupted in excitement—had it not been for the enemy looming before them, they would have leapt to their feet cheering.

Knight squires!

A chance to become a knight, to learn aura.

It was every serf’s dream.

Instantly, even the new recruits’ eyes hardened with resolve.

Compared to daily hunger and cold, if they could truly change their fate through sheer courage, they had the will to fight.

"Of course, for fairness, in future battles I will also select batches of knight squires until the quota is filled."

"Enough. Lei Meng has arrived. Stay alert. Wait for my command!"

Meanwhile, dust rose from the direction of the black pine forest. Along a straight path, trees fell in rows before the eyes—clearly, a giant beast was charging wildly.

This was Lei Meng’s task: to lure the armored fire lizard.

The reason the armored fire lizard was so frenzied was because Lei Meng carried the blood of its young.

Upon smelling the blood of its offspring, the grieving armored fire lizard could not remain calm.

It chased Lei Meng relentlessly.

As Lei Meng led it on, they drew closer to the serpent horde.

Babari was the chieftain of a small serpent tribe.

Previously, he had been ordered by the Snake Lady to join the assault on the human frontier.

He split his forces into two: he led one group to attack a larger village, while the other targeted Stormhold.

Intelligence had indicated Stormhold was weak and sparsely populated.

But his other group never returned. Survivors who escaped reported the entire unit had been annihilated.

To avenge his people and capture enough humans to offer the Snake Lady, Babari returned today—and brought the tribe’s guardian swamp giant.

The swamp giant’s strength was undeniable; each step it took shook the earth with thunderous force.

Thud! Thud! Thud-thud! Thud-thud...

"Hmm?" Babari suddenly sensed something wrong—why had the rhythm become doubled?

He looked toward the guardian giant.

The giant’s pace hadn’t changed, and with only two legs, it could never produce a thud-thud sound.

"Lord! Look over there!" one of his men cried out.

Babari turned—and saw a human knight galloping toward them.

More terrifying still: behind the knight chased a deranged third-rank armored fire lizard.

They knew better than anyone in the wild how terrifying such a creature was—even with the guardian giant present, they dared not provoke it.

"Is that human knight mad?" Babari thought.

But soon, his mockery turned to terror.

"Don’t come here!"

The knight was charging straight toward their ranks.

In Babari’s horrified gaze, the knight suddenly grinned wickedly and hurled a cloth sack directly at the swamp giant.

The swamp giant reacted swiftly, raising its hand to block—and caught the pouch firmly in its palm.

It lifted the pouch to its nose, sniffed, and its eyes lit up. It immediately tipped the pouch toward its mouth.

"No—"

Too late.

The low-intelligence swamp giant gulped down the fresh, savory blood of the armored fire lizard, spilling it everywhere.

Of course, even if the giant hadn’t drunk it, the moment it caught the pouch, the blood of the young lizards had already soaked its skin.

There was no escape for them now.

Roar!

Sensing the intensified scent of the young’s blood—and seeing the swamp giant swallow—it turned its eyes blood-red.