Chapter 44

The return journey was smooth, arriving at Stormhold in just over an hour.

Just as Gervas and the others prepared to return to the castle, the ground suddenly trembled slightly.

In the night sky toward the southern Death Mountains, strange colored lights flared.

“This… this is the gods’ wrath descending!” The guards and servants turned pale with fear and hurriedly bowed southward in prayer.

But Gervas knew it was merely the earthquake mentioned in the intelligence, and those lights were earthquake luminescence.

And the timely appearance of this earthquake meant the Spirit Spring of Swan Lake was secure.

…

“My Lord Earl, we’ve searched thoroughly—besides the bodies of the Wolf Brothers, we found no trace of the woman or her daughter!”

“Damn it, how could this happen? Search everywhere! Turn every stone until you find them! I want to see who dares oppose me, Farrio!”

Earl Farrio flew into a rage—not only because Rose was gone, but because the Wolf Boss was a Bronze Knight he had invested great effort into cultivating.

He died pointlessly in the wilderness, and Farrio would find the audacious killer.

But finding clues was never easy.

When Gervas left, he had already ordered his men to sweep away all traces on the ground with branches.

…

The night passed without incident; morning arrived on the second day.

Another day of waking naturally after a good sleep.

【Ding! Daily intelligence has refreshed…】

【Intelligence One: Farrio Earl has learned of the Wolf Boss’s death and Rose and her daughter’s rescue. In a furious rage, he is now scouring the border regions for the killer—this morning, one of his search parties will arrive at Stormhold!】

【Intelligence Two: Last night’s earthquake in the Death Mountains widened the already loosened spring source by twentyfold, accidentally connecting with a subterranean Earth Vein branch, forming a spring rich in elemental energy and magic.】

【Intelligence Three: The colorful-winged swan that left Swan Lake last time never found a suitable habitat; this morning, while foraging, it sensed the dense elemental and magical aura of Swan Lake and will attempt to make it its new home.】

【Intelligence Four: If undisturbed for three days, they will permanently settle and breed here.】

【Intelligence Five: A second-rank beast wolf, driven from its pack, has wandered to the eastern edge of Stormhold to forage; too close to Seashore Village, it will cause two villagers’ deaths this afternoon.】

【Intelligence Six: If dealt with early, this disaster can be avoided; moreover, this second-rank beast wolf is a rare low-rank beast possessing a magic crystal.】

【Intelligence Seven: A week ago, a caravan departing from Iron Wolf City, bound for the Chaos Wastes, was ambushed on the road between Viscount Beckert and Baron Cain!】

【Intelligence Eight: The caravan belonged to the Quicke Earl family, registered for trade in grain, herbs, and ore.】

【Intelligence Nine: The Quicke Earl family has offered fifty gold coins for the recovery of the stolen goods.】

【Intelligence Ten: This exorbitant reward has drawn much attention, but with no leads, the goods remain missing—some suspect the bandits and cargo have left the kingdom’s borders.】

【Intelligence Eleven: But the goods never left—they were hidden in a cave on the border of Viscount Beckert’s territory.】

【Intelligence Twelve: The cargo was so unexpected the bandits didn’t know how to sell it—among it was fifty grams of mithril.】

【Intelligence Thirteen: Mithril, a metal ten times more valuable than gold—fifty grams alone are worth at least five hundred gold coins.】

【Intelligence Fourteen: Hidden in a ravine southeast of your Stormhold lies a hunter village of eighty people, comprising over a dozen hunter families.】

【Intelligence Fifteen: They migrated from the Chaos Wastes over a decade ago; too secluded to be discovered by Stormhold’s former lords, they’ve evaded much taxation.】

【Intelligence Sixteen: At noon today, these hunters will disguise themselves as common serfs and travel to Baron Cain’s territory to trade furs.】

【Intelligence Seventeen: To avoid suspicion, they will secretly request a private transaction with the Tulip Caravan.】

【Intelligence Eighteen: This evening, an injured minstrel will arrive in Wheatfield Town—but his true identity is a third-rank wizard apprentice, one step away from becoming a full wizard.】

【Intelligence Nineteen: Unfortunately, his master, though outwardly pious, is a dark wizard who trains apprentices solely as test subjects.】

【Intelligence Twenty: After witnessing his fellow apprentices used as guinea pigs, he fled.】

【Intelligence Twenty-One: But his master implanted a delayed toxin in him; without the antidote for several days, the poison has begun corroding his body.】

【Intelligence Twenty-Two: If not cured before nightfall, he will die.】

【Intelligence Twenty-Three: Only a unicorn’s blood can neutralize the toxin.】

【Intelligence Twenty-Four: Ten li to the left of the peak where you obtained snow lotus seeds yesterday lies a valley with vast patches of charred earth—evidence of a fierce battle.】

【Intelligence Twenty-Five: Among the ruins lie three pieces of golden soft scales from a dragon’s neck.】

【Intelligence Twenty-Six: Dragon scales are the most coveted material for knightly armor—tough and highly resistant to magic.】

【Intelligence Twenty-Seven: Dragon soft scales are far rarer than ordinary scales, as each dragon possesses only three to five, protecting its most vital throat region.】

【Intelligence Twenty-Eight: Soft scales are never shed unless the dragon is mortally wounded—hence their name, “reverse scales.”】

【Ding! Today’s intelligence update complete…】

Holy shit! Gervas exclaimed, “Holy shit!”

Today’s intelligence was one explosive revelation after another.

Mithril!

Wizard apprentice!

Dragon soft scales!

Any one of these would be a major event in another baron’s domain.

Here, they’ve all piled up together.

With the chime of bells, Maid Carolin entered to assist with dressing and washing.

After smoothing every fold of Gervas’s clothing, Maid Carolin assumed her customary posture.

“My Lord, punish me!”

Slap!

Waves surged!

As yesterday, just one slap—though this time it lingered three or five seconds.

After the punishment ended, Maid Carolin bowed and exited the bedroom, carrying the bronze basin and towel.

Yet Gervas felt something was off.

“Wait… hasn’t the three-day punishment period already ended?” Gervas realized.

But he’d already struck her, and she’d volunteered—so he decided to pretend he didn’t notice.

What he didn’t know was that after leaving the bedroom, Maid Carolin’s previously calm face flushed crimson.

“Have I become too shameless…?”