Chapter 405

"So that's how it is! No wonder they possess such power."

"Pity, though—if this spring could have lasted longer, perhaps Lord Gervas could have trained even more formidable soldiers!"

After hearing Gervas's account, the Legion Commander showed no suspicion; by the end, he even felt sorry for Gervas.

"Yes, Commander, I thought the same at the time. If only I'd had another year or two, I might have turned Stormhold into a prosperous domain."

"No longer would we suffer threats from the foreign races and beasts of the Death Forest and the Chaos Wastelands," Gervas sighed.

The Legion Commander nodded, then glanced at the Duke of Hernand beside him.

The Duke of Hernand naturally understood the implication—they had made this arrangement earlier.

"Lord Gervas, let me introduce you: this is Duke Lishi, and this is Duke Hernand!"

"And Duke Hernand has a question he'd like to ask you."

"Greetings, Your Graces. Duke Hernand, if you have any questions, ask freely—I will answer truthfully if I can."

Gervas looked at Duke Hernand—the duke's face bore solemn authority, an aura of command that needed no anger to command respect.

Yet, his appearance was far more agreeable than that of the Duke of Lishi beside him.

To Gervas, the Duke of Lishi's face was the classic visage of an old fox: sunken nose, triangular eyes.

Moreover, if Gervas remembered correctly, the missing wizard from the cave upstream of Tianehu had vanished after heading toward the Lishi family!

Of course, no noble house is without its dirt.

But this kind of outright betrayal? Gervas held it in utter contempt.

Of course, Gervas could swear he wasn't judging this way because Catherine was Duke Hernand's granddaughter…

Duke Hernand's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the young noble before him.

What did he mean by "if I can answer, I will answer truthfully"?

What if he can't answer?

This was the first time since becoming duke that a minor noble had dared play word games with him.

"Lord Gervas, my question is simple: where did you obtain your 'Windbreaker'?"

"Huh? Windbreaker? What windbreaker?" Gervas looked utterly confused—he truly didn't know.

Duke Hernand and the Legion Commander both froze.

Seeing Gervas wasn't lying, the Legion Commander said: "Gervas, the Windbreaker is the weapon you used today to slay the Wild Wolf Knights—the one that fires massive arrows!"

"And the Windbreaker is a weapon unique to the Hernand family. Only the Hernand family and the King's Royal Navy possess them in the entire kingdom!"

Holy shit! Gervas mentally exclaimed.

What windbreaker? That's just a ballista!

Why the hell give it such a pretentious name?

"Ah, that weapon!" Gervas kept his face neutral, "Your Grace, I didn't know that weapon was called the Windbreaker—I call it the ballista."

"Ballista?" Duke Hernand and the others clearly didn't understand the term.

Gervas offered no explanation: "As for the origin of my ballista, it begins with a band of pirates…"

He then recounted how he had wiped out the pirates drifting to Stormhold's coast, and how he'd discovered the 'Windbreaker' aboard their ship.

He finished by explaining how his domain's craftsmen, by sheer luck, had reverse-engineered the ballista.

Duke Hernand and the Legion Commander finally understood: "So it was a copy!"

"Duke Hernand, I didn't know this was your family's creation. Please forgive me," Gervas said, adopting a contrite posture.

Duke Hernand shook his head: "Our Hernand family once lost a warship—we never imagined it ended up in your hands!"

"But to obtain the Windbreaker and then improve it into a land-based ballista? That's your fortune—divine favor from the God of Glory!"

"So don't worry—I, the Hernand family, are not unreasonable."

"As long as Lord Gervas ensures the ballista's manufacturing technique is never leaked, that's all we ask."

"Yes, Your Grace. I will strictly keep the ballista's manufacturing technique secret," Gervas solemnly pledged again.

Then, the Legion Commander offered a few words of encouragement to the group before dismissing them.

After Gervas left, the Legion Commander turned to Duke Hernand and Duke Lishi.

"Your Graces, what do you think?"

"What do you mean, Commander?"

"Your Graces, do you believe Mil, as the report claimed, truly had the ability to devise strategies in crisis and turn the tide?"

The eyes of Duke Lishi and Duke Hernand flickered.

"The answer is obvious," Duke Hernand said. "Perhaps Mil's achievements were actually Gervas's."

Duke Lishi said nothing, but clearly agreed.

The Legion Commander nodded: "Mil's demeanor and emotions when facing us were nothing like those of a man capable of strategizing under pressure."

"But Lord Gervas—his calmness is something I've never seen in any minor noble before."

He paused, then chuckled in wonder: "Strange things happen every year, but this year's are odder still. What does Lord Gervas want?"

"He has the highest kill count, yet hides it. If he's also the mastermind behind the strategy, then combined, he'd be the kingdom's next rising star!"

"Any other noble would dream of such an opportunity—he acts as if he's terrified anyone will find out!"

Duke Hernand and Duke Lishi nodded—they truly couldn't understand.

This was cognition determining perspective.

As natives of this world, they had no concept of a "golden finger."

In their minds, nobles climbed classes through reputation and prestige alone.

But in Gervas's mind? Hide until you ascend to godhood.

"Regardless, as long as Gervas serves the kingdom, that's enough," Duke Hernand suddenly spoke.

The Commander nodded in agreement.

Indeed, Gervas was a noble of the Griffin Kingdom—that alone was sufficient.

After that, Duke Hernand and the others ceased discussing Gervas and turned to planning the next campaign.

Once the war plan was finalized, Duke Lishi returned to his tent.

Yet he dispatched a subordinate to summon a collateral branch scion—Solit.

As a collateral scion, Solit was both thrilled and anxious to learn the Duke had summoned him personally.

"Solit greets Your Grace. What does Your Grace command of this humble one?"

"Solit, is it? Nothing urgent—I simply wish to ask you about Lord Gervas."