Chapter 38: Capturing the Demon Swift Eagles!

At noon, Thomas arrived at the castle again, having completed the task Gervas assigned him that morning.

"My lord, this time I recruited fifty old fishermen and serf women in total, and we have woven these twenty-five hemp nets. Do you find them acceptable?"

Gervas inspected the craftsmanship and size; they fully met his requirements.

"Excellent, Thomas. Reward every serf who participated in the weaving with one jin of smoked dried meat!"

"My lord, is this not too generous? In fact, a single black bread would already be plenty!"

"Did you not say there were elders among them? Give them the smoked dried meat to nourish them!"

"You truly are a benevolent lord!" Thomas's eyes were filled with emotion.

Although this reward was not for him, Gervas's benevolence toward the serfs made Thomas, a civil official belonging to the same lower class, feel it deeply as well.

Thomas had no idea that this was actually buying a horse's bones for a thousand gold.

Letting all the serfs know that as long as they work for the lord, benefits will not be lacking, so their enthusiasm in the future will be very high.

Once the population increases, establish a strict reward and punishment mechanism; this will make the entire territory full of vitality and drive.

With the fishing nets ready, Gervas wasted no more time and directly ordered all his subordinates to set out with the nets.

Watching the troops march toward the mangrove forest, the troops still full of fishing nets, Lei Meng and others thought Gervas was having them catch fish.

Regarding this, even Knight Mi Gen and Lei Meng did not show the slightest disdain.

Picking up dozens or even hundreds of jin of fish scattered on the ground was a pleasure for anyone in this world.

Food in this world is simply too scarce.

However, it was not long before everyone realized that what the lord was preparing for them to do today seemed different from their imagination.

"My lord, are we not catching fish? Why hide the nets secretly on the mangrove branches?" Mi Gen was somewhat puzzled.

"Who said we are here to catch fish?"

"Not catching fish?" Mi Gen and others' expressions visibly dimmed.

Seeing this, Gervas felt somewhat amused. "How could the magnificent fishing scene from last time happen every day? What good things are you thinking of? If there were truly that many fish every day, why would anyone farm the land?"

Seeing Mi Gen and others rendered speechless by his words, Gervas finally changed the subject.

"However, although this is not catching fish, the value of what we are catching is absolutely higher than those sea fish!"

"Higher in value than those sea fish?" Mi Gen and others were surprised.

"That's right. Do you know the Demon Swift Eagle?"

"The Demon Swift Eagle? The second-tier Demon Swift Eagles ridden most frequently by the Sky Knights formed by the great nobles?" Lei Meng exclaimed in shock!

"That's right, it is the Demon Swift Eagle that can serve as a mount. Do you say its value is lower than those sea fish?"

"My lord, if it truly is a Demon Swift Eagle, then its value certainly will not be lower than sea fish. One adult Demon Swift Eagle is worth at least fifty to sixty gold coins, with a value only slightly lower than the Fire Steed!"

"If there are ten of them, that would be five or six hundred gold coins, definitely exceeding the value of the fish we caught last time!" Lei Meng immediately gave his answer.

"Fifty or sixty gold coins per head?" Mi Gen and others, obviously of limited experience, had never heard of the Demon Swift Eagle.

However, fifty or sixty gold coins gave them a value anchor, and instantly their eyes widened round.

"Now you know the value, so set everything up properly!"

Knowing the Demon Swift Eagles might arrive, the subordinates' drive became even greater.

After finishing the setup here, Gervas led his subordinates to start collecting shells on the tidal flats.

The beaks of the Demon Swift Eagles are very sharp; fish, shrimp, and shells along the coast are also among their favorite foods.

Only thus would they choose to rest and recuperate here.

And to gather these Demon Swift Eagles, they must surely set up bait, just as they did when catching the Fire Steeds before.

Fortunately, the oceans of this world remain undeveloped, and there are still quite a few shellfish and seafood in the mangrove forest.

Soon, more than ten baskets of shellfish and seafood were gathered near the trap and then scattered over a specific area.

Next, camouflage and ambush are the utmost priority.

However, while the grassland has grass and trees for cover, the mangrove forest does not.

Apart from sparse leaves, the Demon Swift Eagles fly over from above; relying solely on branch and leaf camouflage would likely reveal them immediately.

"Come, everyone, smear mud all over your bodies!"

Gervas thought of a good method to ensure safety.

And as even the lord himself set the example, the other guards and knights naturally dared not complain about the dirt or discomfort.

Even Lawrence, worried it was not enough, led his subordinates to roll in the mud several times, making himself look like a mud algae monster, only then feeling at ease.

Now everything was set up, waiting only for the appearance of the Demon Swift Eagles.

Whether because they saw such sincerity, the arrival of the Demon Swift Eagles was surprisingly fast.

They had only been lying prone in the mud at the base of the tree roots for half an hour or more when several black shadows swept overhead.

Although the direct sunlight made it hard to see clearly, the wingspans reaching three meters demonstrated the astonishing size of these birds.

"My lord, they are here!" Mi Gen, not far away, excitedly showed his white teeth toward Gervas.

Gervas blinked slightly, signaling that he understood.

Splash!

Perhaps because the view was open enough, making the Demon Swift Eagle feel this forest was a safe place, one of the Swift Eagles soon landed on a mangrove branch.

Continuing to observe for a moment, although it saw those rolled-up linen nets, in the Demon Swift Eagle's impression, threats came only from living creatures or specific giant plants, so it paid no attention to the hemp nets at all.

Spreading its wings and leaping again, the Demon Swift Eagle landed on the ground and began pecking at the seafood 'buffet' on the ground.

And as the first Demon Swift Eagle began to feast, the other Swift Eagles that had been circling in the sky finally could not hold back, starting to land one after another.

Finally, all the Demon Swift Eagles landed on the ground; the number in the forest matched what the system had reported, reaching eleven.

Gervas slowly raised the hand buried in the mud, then made a gesture of five.

Then five, four, three, two, one!

"Move!"

The instant Gervas finished counting down, everyone in the mud of the surrounding mangrove forest suddenly rose and pulled hard on the ropes before them.

Splash! Splash!

As the ropes were pulled, more than a dozen hemp nets opened via their live knots, blocking the mangrove branches.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The Demon Swift Eagles were startled awake by the huge commotion; terrified, they cried out in fear repeatedly while flapping their wings to dash toward the sky.

Unfortunately, their size was insufficient to pass through the hemp nets, so they could only change direction and hide toward the surroundings.

Unfortunately, the guards were prepared; half of the guards, led by Lei Meng and other knights, used wooden spears sharpened to a point to constantly force the Swift Eagles backward.

"Quick, drop the nets!"

Seeing the Demon Swift Eagles were basically under control, Gervas hurriedly called out.

Actually, he didn't need to say it; more than a dozen guards who had received arrangements earlier quickly climbed toward the branches, then used broken blades to cut through the live knots one by one.

Losing the tension, the nets fell one by one, enveloping the Demon Swift Eagles within.

One, two, three... Soon, a full ten Demon Swift Eagles were all covered by the nets.

The guards pulling the hemp nets rushed forward, directly wrapping and binding them tightly.

"No good!" However, when it came to the eleventh Demon Swift Eagle, they encountered trouble.

This Demon Swift Eagle was nearly half a head larger than the others; it should be their leader.

With violent struggling, it actually flung two guards away and luckily escaped the net.

With a cry, this Demon Swift Eagle soared into the high sky.

This terrified the group of guards, turning their faces deathly pale.

"Chase the Moon!" Gervas certainly wouldn't let a duck already in hand fly away; a call spread out.