Chapter 42: The Despicable Count Fario!

Beasts covered a ditch hundreds of meters long; at this moment, the knights finally understood why their lord had summoned two hundred serfs in advance.

Without several hundred people, these beast corpses would absolutely not be brought back.

Before long, a knight led the serf contingent and the guard squad to the ditch.

Upon arriving and learning they had ventured deep into the Chaos Wasteland, the serfs and guards were panicked; they possessed a natural fear of the Chaos Wasteland.

But upon seeing the ditch filled with beast corpses, everyone was overjoyed and stunned into silence.

"Heavens... heavens, am I seeing things? Are these all beast corpses?"

"Yes, why are there so many beast corpses lying here? There must be at least a thousand beasts, right? Am I dreaming?"

Crack!

"Ah, Buto, why did you hit me?"

"To see if we are dreaming..."

"Your eyes are not deceiving you, nor are you dreaming! People of Stormhold, this is why the Lord summoned you!"

"These beasts were captured with the cavalry's cooperation under the leadership of our great Lord!"

"Stop standing there now; quickly take all these beasts back and process them as soon as possible!"

"The Lord has already said that once these beasts are processed, everyone will receive one jin of fresh beast meat and a large loaf of black bread!"

Boom!

"The Lord is benevolent! The Lord is mighty!"

"The Lord is benevolent..."

Upon learning they would receive two jin of beast meat, the serfs immediately erupted in excitement.

This was not fish meat, nor was it smoked fish meat; it was fresh beast meat.

For those living by the coast, the meat they had been fortunate enough to taste in the past was basically fish and shellfish.

Although that was rare, they had long since experienced it.

But fresh beast meat was absolutely a 'luxury' that everyone could only long for but never reach.

Immediately, the serfs were full of energy and began tying up the beasts one by one.

Among these beasts, at least the majority were medium-to-large.

Although during the driving and luring process, they dared not target large herds for safety.

But the quality of the herds could still be chosen; thus, herds with generally larger bodies and more meat became the primary targets.

After a period of busy work, all the beasts were tied up, and the contingent began its return journey.

The knights had to dismount and use the Fire Stallions to drag the beast corpses.

Mainly because the number of beasts was truly too great; one carriage and three hundred people were still insufficient to haul the beasts.

They made simple large wooden frames, allowing seven Fire Stallions to participate in the hauling, which barely sufficed.

As for Moon Chaser, this was the Lord's exclusive mount; no one dared to make it help haul.

After spending more than two hours, they finally brought all the beasts safely back to the castle.

Of course, because the hides needed processing to prevent the meat from spoiling, the serfs still needed to work through the night.

But with a late-night meal to eat, plus the reward of one jin of beast meat and a loaf of black bread, the serfs were full of energy.

In fact, Gervas himself could not rest immediately; now that night had fallen, calculating the time, the mother and daughter who had fled Iron Wolf City and were being pursued by the Wolf Brotherhood should be arriving near Stormhold.

"Centurion Lauren, select ten alert guards and prepare; in a moment we need to head to the northern border of the territory!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Ten guards were selected, and Lei Meng and the other knights had already been waiting for a long time.

"Everyone work hard; we set off!"

Gervas led his subordinates, galloping northward through the night.

Rose was terrified and helpless, stumbling along a dark dirt road with her three-year-old daughter.

Four years ago, just when Shirley had been born, Shirley's father was suddenly murdered.

At first, Rose thought it was an accident, but later she discovered that Count Fario, who frequently visited Rose's restaurant, began to pursue her.

But her husband had only just passed away; how could she accept his pursuit?

What she did not expect was that Count Fario, seeing that pursuit would not work, began to use despicable means.

He wanted to drug her and knock her unconscious.

Fortunately, Shirley accidentally kicked over the tea containing the drug, and Rose did not drink the potion.

But the unaware Count Fario directly burst into her room and then prepared to force himself on her.

During this process, facing her accusations, Count Fario, believing she could not escape his grasp, not only revealed his ugly plan to drug her.

He also revealed the cause of her husband's death: he had sent people to disguise themselves as bandits and pretended to rob and kill her husband.

And the reason was simply to obtain her.

After learning the entire sequence of events, Rose, who had not taken the drug, immediately resisted; taking advantage of Count Fario's unpreparedness, she struck his head with a candlestick.

Afterwards, Rose dared not stay and fled directly with her daughter.

However, Iron Wolf City was quickly blockaded by Count Fario, and Rose could not escape the city at all.

So, she simply cut off her beautiful golden hair, smeared mud on her face, and hid directly in the slums.

Count Fario never dreamed she would hide in the slums, so he never found her.

Seeing this, Rose simply settled in the slums.

Compared to fleeing Iron Wolf City, hiding in the slums was actually perhaps safer.

Because within the city there was at least some law, but outside the city, alone with her daughter, even an ordinary person could harm her and her child.

So, she stayed like this for three years.

Originally, Rose had thought she would live out her days in peace.

But she never expected that her baked bread was so delicious that her reputation reached Chengnan.

This attracted a member of the Chengnan Wild Wolf Brotherhood to come buy it—and he happened to recognize her.

Upon hearing the news, Count Farrio immediately sent men to capture her.

If not for her neighbor warning her, Rose would have been seized outright.

This time, Rose truly could no longer remain in Iron Wolf City.

So she fled Iron Wolf City, preparing to escape to the Chaos Wasteland.

Though the Chaos Wasteland was dangerous, there was no longer any place within the kingdom where she could hide.

Count Farrio was merely a noble of honor, with no fief.

But his father served under the Governor of the Southern Region, wielding immense power—even minor noble lords in the entire southern region dared not provoke him.

"Shirley, we're almost there—once we cross Stormlord's Domain, we'll reach the border!"

"Mm!" Shirley was obedient; she had run all this way until her hands and feet were raw, yet she made not a single cry.

This filled Rose with deep guilt.

If not for her strange physique and beautiful appearance, she might never have suffered such misfortune.

"Ha ha, you can't run anymore!"

But just then, a burst of laughter erupted ahead.

Rose's face changed—this voice belonged to the leader of the Wild Wolf Brotherhood pursuing her.

Soon, over a dozen figures blocked the path ahead of Rose and her daughter.

Rose panicked and tried to flee backward, but figures also emerged from the trees behind them.

"Bitch, you're not getting away—I went out of my way to cut you off, so kneel and beg for mercy, or I can't guarantee what I'll do next!"

The Wild Wolf leader stared hungrily at Rose's daughter.

Feeling the threat, Rose knew escape was impossible and pleaded: "Wild Wolf Leader, I'll go back with you—please, spare Shirley!"

"Spare him? Bitch, the Count said he wants both you and your daughter! Hehe, seize this bitch and her daughter!"

"Yes, Boss!"

More than a dozen members of the Wild Wolf Brotherhood immediately prepared to rush forward.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Tsk tsk tsk—how thrilling, truly magnificent. Over a dozen men bullying a woman and a child? Are you the Wild Wolf Brotherhood… or the Wild Dog Brotherhood?"