Chapter 325: Truly an Accident!

"What, over two thousand?" Gervas paused, then immediately raised his eyes to look toward the shore.

One look was enough to make him jump in fright.

Indeed, at that moment, more merfolk heads were emerging from the seawater by the shore.

The sheer density of their numbers made one's scalp prickle.

"Woo-ah! Woo-ah!"

"Wa-ya! Wa-ya!"

As more and more merfolk climbed onto the shore, the chaotic shouting gradually reached the cliff.

"How could this be? The previous times there were at most only two hundred or so merfolk. How come there are over two thousand this time?"

"Could it be they've gotten addicted to staying in Storm Domain and are preparing to build a nest here... Ahem!" Gervas muttered for a moment, then suddenly realized many people were still around.

"Ahem, that Lord Brandon, this is just an unexpected situation. Actually... actually this sea cliff is indeed a good place!"

"These merfolk have truly appeared for the first time. Perhaps they won't come next time. Moreover, with the Church's Light Knights present, these merfolk pose no threat at all..."

Brandon and the others twitched at the corners of their mouths.

The way they looked at Gervas was indescribably strange.

Did this fellow think they were deaf?

Or did he think they were fools?

Putting aside whether this was truly the first appearance of merfolk.

The mere fact that over two thousand merfolk appeared at once along the shore showed that there must be one or several merfolk tribes beyond Storm Domain's coastline.

This meant they would frequently appear along the shore in the future, posing a great threat to people active there.

Although the Holy Church indeed had powerful Light Knights for protection.

The problem was the Church could not station too many knights permanently for a single temple.

And a merfolk force of two thousand would require at least two or three hundred, or even three to five hundred, Light Knights to guard, wouldn't it?

But under normal circumstances, for such a border countryside temple, having thirty to fifty knights stationed was already the maximum.

Perhaps feeling somewhat embarrassed by everyone's gaze, and with the merfolk below having already spotted their group and preparing to charge toward them with "woo-ah, woo-ah" cries.

Gervas finally changed his tune. "Alright! That Steward Brandon, perhaps there are indeed some risks along the shore."

"How about this? Let me take everyone to see the inland instead! My Storm Domain has even more beautiful places!"

"Then we shall trouble Viscount Gervas!" Brandon twitched imperceptibly at the corner of his mouth, forced a smile, and followed Gervas away.

About an hour later, Gervas led the group to the shore of a beautiful lake.

"Steward Brandon, this place is called Tianehu. The water is clear, the scenery is picturesque, and even on the other side of the lake, a flock of precious colored-wing swans resides!"

"Oh? Colored-wing swans?"

Everyone showed surprise; colored-wing swans were indeed a fine thing.

For them to appear within Gervas's domain was simply incredible luck.

"Of course, more importantly, merfolk will not appear here!"

Everyone rolled their eyes. This place was over an hour's journey from the shore. Merfolk did not feed on land-based food; they certainly would not appear here.

Brandon scanned the surroundings and found the environment here was indeed beautiful.

"How about it, Steward Brandon? This location is not bad, is it? Building a temple here is guaranteed to be good!"

"Actually, I had previously considered building a manor here. However, if the Holy Church intends to build a temple here, I would certainly be willing to yield it!" Gervas spoke to Brandon with a face full of sincerity.

Another location intended for building a manor?

Brandon felt something strange in his heart, but thought this noble named Gervas was indeed quite good.

Thus, he prepared to say something!

Roar!

But just then, a faint roar suddenly came from afar.

"Hmm? What noise?" Ma Xieer, Brandon, and the others all turned to look toward the southern forest.

Gervas's expression changed slightly. "Perhaps it is some wild beast! Although this place is relatively close to the Death Mountain Range... ahem, this place is usually very safe; demonic beasts basically do not appear here!"

"Additionally, how about we return to the castle first? The location is definitely chosen here!"

"The environment here is beautiful. Later, I can even provide one or two colored-wing swan eggs to the temple each month, as my sponsorship to the temple!"

Everyone looked at Gervas's transparent attempt to cover things up, their eyes full of suspicion.

Moreover, the roar just now did not sound like that of an ordinary wild beast...

Roar, roar, roar!

"Ah, my lord, it's bad! It's a demonic beast! A very, very large demonic beast, much bigger than the demonic beast wolf that bit three serfs to death a week ago!"

"That's right, my lord. It seems to be a giant lizard demonic beast, larger than any demonic beast that has invaded before!"

While the few were pondering, another roar came from the southern forest.

Accompanying this roar was the shout of the Storm Guards on duty.

And as everyone raised their eyes, they could already see three red figures running out from the edge of the forest.

Judging by the situation, it seemed to be a mother lizard leading two baby lizards.

"Shut up!" Gervas, furious, immediately scolded the guards, then turned to look at Brandon and the others. "Steward Brandon, I guarantee these demonic beasts are appearing for the first time!"

Steward Brandon twitched at the corner of his mouth; Ma Xieer twitched at the corner of his mouth; a crowd of priests and Light Knights all twitched at the corners of their mouths!

"It's bad, Lord Steward! That lizard is charging toward us!"

"It seems to be a third-tier... no, oh heavens, look at that size... it's a fourth-tier Iron-Shell Fire Lizard!"

"It is definitely a fourth-tier Iron-Shell Fire Lizard. In this situation, even three or four Silver Knights would be unable to deal with it!"

"No, this is a mother lizard leading baby lizards. Even four or five White Shadow Knights would be unable..."

"My lord, we should leave at once! A fourth-rank Iron-Shell Lizard, and it's with its young—great danger!"

"Then let's go!" At Gervas's disappointed gaze, Brandon nodded.

Immediately, the group withdrew.

Fortunately, since the two sides were still seven or eight hundred meters apart, the mother lizard failed to catch up with them.

Of course, even so, the mother lizard chased the group for more than two li.

The dull thud-thud-thud seemed like drums and bells striking everyone's hearts.

"Phew! Finally lost it! Damn it, how have fourth-rank demon beasts even started appearing? I could handle one or two-rank demon beasts in the past, but a fourth-rank demon beast—I don't have that many White Shadow Knights..."

Seeing the mother lizard leave, Gervas's expression flickered between dark and light, and he muttered complaints under his breath.

Of course, he quickly came to his senses again and immediately stopped speaking.

"Ahem, Lord Brandon, that was truly just an accident; actually, the place called Tianehu is really very safe..."

"Hmm, Viscount Gervas, I believe you! You need not explain!" Brandon was too exhausted to retort; if not for Gervas's attitude being truly too good.

He even wanted to ask if the other person was treating him like a fool?