Chapter 350

"It's done!"

In the instant the mark appeared, Gervas felt a new sense of awareness subtly form within his mind.

And he knew this meant his summoning mark was now fully complete.

From this moment on, he could summon the Hell Baron from afar!

"Lei Meng, all of you head to the dock and wait for me—I need some private time with the Hell Baron!"

"My lord, we're too close to the Death Mountains—isn't this dangerous?" Lei Meng hesitated.

"With the Hell Baron beside me, what do you have to fear?"

"With the Hell Baron's strength, he can even fight off a female iron-armored lizard—equivalent to at least three Bai Yin Knights!"

Upon hearing this, Lei Meng realized the truth of it.

"Yes, my lord!"

Immediately afterward, Lei Meng and Mi Gen and the others turned back along the original path.

After they left, Gervas also headed west with the Hell Baron.

After traveling for twenty minutes, roughly seven or eight li, Gervas finally halted.

"Hell Baron, wait here for me!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The Hell Baron lacked sufficient intelligence, so he wouldn't worry excessively like Lei Meng.

Hearing Gervas's order, he obediently squatted beside the trees at the roadside.

Gervas, meanwhile, spurred his horse forward; less than five minutes later, he returned to the Graystone Heart region.

After carefully confirming no one was nearby, Gervas wasted no time and began chanting an odd language.

Of course, if Tai Hao Jin were here, he'd realize Gervas was chanting standard Dragon Tongue.

"Summoning Art—activate!"

Upon finishing the chant, Gervas sharply cried out and pointed his finger toward the sky.

In the next instant, the spot he pointed to in the sky rippled violently, and the surrounding space began to warp.

The spatial distortion intensified, and with a hum, a black vortex appeared in midair.

The vortex was about three meters in diameter, continuously spewing purple-black mist.

"Not here yet?"

Gervas stared fixedly at the black vortex.

Just as he began to feel uneasy, a muffled boom suddenly echoed from the sky!

Boom!

The muffled roar was thunderous, like lightning striking from a clear sky.

At the moment the roar fell, a grayish-blue figure suddenly shot out from the black hole.

It was the Hell Baron, who had been waiting five li away.

At this moment, the Hell Baron was wrapped in a red aura shield.

His expression showed faint fear and confusion.

Especially after exiting the vortex and seeing himself suspended forty to fifty meters above ground, beginning to plummet downward.

Whoosh!

The Hell Baron's fall was extremely rapid, even producing a shrill whistle; combined with the red shield, it truly resembled a meteor streaking down.

Boom!

The ground shuddered violently, accompanied by a massive cloud of dust and thunderous noise.

Gervas rushed forward and found the Hell Baron had landed, creating a crater over two meters deep and seven or eight meters wide.

"Hell Baron!"

"M…Master?!"

The Hell Baron looked dazed, still stunned and unable to react.

Only when he heard Gervas's call did he slowly raise his head in bewilderment.

"Hell Baron, are you alright?" Gervas exhaled inwardly—he at least looked unharmed.

He blamed himself for being reckless; he should've known better than to point upward.

After all, this was his first time casting the spell.

Though the texts stated that during summoning, a protective shield would safeguard the summoned being.

At least ensuring no injury from falling over a hundred meters.

But what if the records were inaccurate?

Or what if a being as massive as the Hell Baron weakened the shield's protection?

With this massive crater, the impact force must have been enormous.

"Master, I… I'm fine, and I even feel a bit comfortable—warm!" the Hell Baron answered cautiously.

Good heavens! He was truly naive!

"Hell Baron, it was I who just summoned you!"

"Remember the mark I implanted on you a few days ago? That's the sigil allowing me to sense you anytime, anywhere, and summon you to my side!"

"With it, whenever I need you in the future, I merely need to cast the Summoning Art to bring you instantly to me!"

"So it was you summoning me, Master! That scared me half to death—but now I won't fear it anymore!" The Hell Baron nodded, reassured after the explanation.

Gervas was amused by the Hell Baron's simplemindedness. "By the way, Hell Baron—did you feel absolutely no discomfort during the entire summoning?"

"Master, none at all. When I entered the black hole, it was just a blink, and I appeared in the sky here!"

"Besides, the sky view was a bit frightening—but the red light protected me, and I felt not a single injury!"

"Excellent!"

Gervas was now completely at ease.

This experiment proved his Summoning Art was ready for real combat.

The thought of being able to summon a helper equivalent to three Bai Yin Knights at any moment during battle filled him with delight.

Still, after thinking it over, Gervas added one more request to the Hell Baron.

That was, when summoned, to try to resemble a meteorite sphere.

This wasn't merely for show.

It was to lower the enemy's guard.

…

"My lord, you've finally returned! Just now, a group claiming to be from Eagle City arrived at the castle!"

"They say they carry the Kingdom's conscription order. Master John is currently hosting them and sent me immediately to find you and deliver the news!"

Outside Maitian Town, Gervas had just reached the town gate when he met Tomas, visibly anxious.

Gervas had learned of the conscription order through his intelligence network, but none of his subordinates knew anything.

And every conscription order meant a moment of crisis for everyone in the domain.

Peasants need not be mentioned.

In war, they were conscripted as cannon fodder—life or death on the battlefield depended entirely on luck.

Another group most dreaded war: the administrators like Tomas and old John.

Their authority derived entirely from their lord.

If their lord suffered harm, their wealth and status would collapse overnight.

Thus, for them, the Kingdom's annual conscription order was like a trial of death.

"Conscription order? Tomas, civil official, are you sure? Our lord only participated in the war against the western tribes a few months ago!"

"Even if the Kingdom truly faces a major war, it certainly shouldn't involve our lord!" Mi Gen and the other knights immediately voiced their doubts.

"Knight Mi Gen, I don't know the details—Master John personally sent someone to inform me!"

"Right now, that Eagle City group is waiting at the castle gate!"

"Don't panic—we're heading back to the castle now!"

Gervas understood the gravity of the situation, calmed his subordinates, and headed straight for the castle.

Gervas knew full well; he calmed his subordinates and headed straight for the castle.