Chapter 518

This… this is too fast!

Having received Gervas’s personal affirmation, the Violet Steward cried out inwardly.

He still remembered the first time he met Lord Gervas—he was merely a baron then.

Back then, he had discovered that bandits had kidnapped Young Lady Catherine and rushed to notify him to summon the vassals for rescue.

And now, in the blink of an eye, Baron Gervas had risen to viscount, then to count.

If one considered his own lord’s rapid promotion impressive,

then Lord Gervas’s ascent was faster than riding a dragon to heaven!

“Congratulations, Lord Gervas, on your promotion to Count!” The Violet Steward did not hesitate, immediately offering his felicitations.

After speaking, he immediately turned to the servants and guards around him: “Quick, come over and congratulate Lord Gervas on his promotion to Count!”

“Congratulations, Lord Gervas, on your promotion to Count!”

Hearing this, the servants and guards rushed over, shouting their congratulations loudly.

“Hah! Good! Everyone gets a reward! Mikgen, give each person two silver coins!”

Whoa!

“Thank you, Lord Gervas, for your generosity!”

“Thank you, Lord Gervas, for your kindness!”

The servants had seen copper coins—sometimes even dozens—given as rewards before.

But to hand out two silver coins each, to so many people at once? This was their first time.

Instantly, their faces lit up with delight, cheering and thanking Gervas.

The Violet Steward opened his mouth to say something, but Gervas cut him off: “Steward Malick, promotion to Count is a good thing!”

“Don’t stop me from rewarding them! Let them be happy!”

The Violet Castle Steward had never intended to beg for rewards.

He was simply overjoyed that Gervas had been promoted to Count.

After all, how could a castle steward not understand his lord’s thoughts?

Originally, Gervas was only a viscount; their statuses had been slightly awkward.

But now that Gervas had become a count, the gap between them could be minimized to the greatest extent.

Though his own lord was a scion of the Hernade family, some disparity remained.

But it was still far better than when Gervas was merely a viscount.

“Thank you, Lord Gervas, for your generosity!” Hearing this, the Violet Castle Steward fell silent.

Gervas then even ordered the castle steward to summon servants from other castles and reward them too, ensuring even distribution.

After receiving their rewards, these servants were all beaming, each praising Lord Gervas’s goodness.

…

【Ding! Daily Intelligence System has refreshed!】

【Intelligence One: The weather has turned cold; the harsh winter has arrived. The first snow of Stormhold will fall today!】

【Intelligence Two: With winter’s arrival, all things fall silent—but some races seek to stockpile supplies before the land freezes.】

【For instance, a band of boarmen wandering the border between the Chaos Wastes and the Gryphon Kingdom.】

【They have raided over a dozen human refugee settlements, causing hundreds dead or wounded, and thousands displaced.】

【Yet they are not satisfied—they wish to make one final raid, then settle comfortably for winter.】

【Their final target? Stormhold.】

【They learned of Stormhold’s wealth from the refugees they plundered.】

【With over a thousand boarmen, they are confident they can storm Stormhold quickly, loot it thoroughly, and withdraw before reinforcements arrive.】

【They will arrive at Stormhold around noon today!】

【Intelligence Three: Catherine has been in Stormhold for several days. After repeated questioning, she finally extracted your true whereabouts from Old John.】

【Catherine was both anxious and furious—you had concealed such a major matter from her.】

【But after Old John’s explanation, she understood you had no time to seek her aid—your situation left no choice.】

【Originally intending to rush to her grandfather for help, she now abandoned the idea after Old John’s counsel.】

【Instead, she waits for your return, to hear your own opinion.】

【Having stayed in your domain for three days, and seeing snow begin to fall, Catherine finally prepared to depart, reluctant but resolute.】

【Yet just as she set out, the boarmen arrived.】

【What will Catherine choose?】

【Will she flee Stormhold to escape danger—or stay to help organize its defense against the boarmen?】

【Intelligence Four: At the one o’clock direction of Swan Lake, thirty kilometers south into the borderlands between Chaos Wastes and Death,】

【as snowflakes drifted down, a peculiar scene appeared in a beautiful mountain hollow.】

【While all around was frozen and frigid, the hollow remained lush and warm; its five or six crystal-clear pools continuously steamed with hot vapor.】

【Indeed, this was a cluster of hot springs.】

【And if one stood within, one immediately sensed elemental energy and magic suffusing the water.】

【This proved it was a magical hot spring—far rarer than ordinary ones; merely being within it slowly nourished and replenished the body.】

【Intelligence Five: Along the lower reaches of the Leaf River, thirty li from the kingdom’s border, over eight thousand refugees have gathered.】

【All displaced by boarman raids.】

【Not only have their shelters been destroyed, but they’ve lost the meager winter stores they had painstakingly saved.】

【Now hungry and freezing, unless something changes, they will die one by one over the next three days from starvation and cold.】

【Intelligence Six: Today, the Gryphon capital welcomed a group claiming to come from the Snowlands of the Northeast.】

【The group received high-level reception from the Gryphon King.】

【The king publicly announced he would appoint the group’s mages as new royal court mages, under his sole authority.】

【The group included sorcerers, alchemists, and witches.】

【Everyone was curious: what was the origin and skill level of this mage group to earn such a bold, public appointment and royal trust?】

【Yet due to the king’s tight secrecy, no one yet knew the group’s true identity—or the king’s real purpose in forming a new court!】

【Ding! Today’s intelligence refresh complete!】

Gervas ultimately did not dine at Violet Castle. After rewarding the servants, he immediately took his leave!

Then came days of relentless travel. When Gervas was only half a day’s ride from Stormhold,

he awoke slowly, and the intelligence dings reached his ears.

Listening to the intelligence, Gervas exclaimed: “Damn!”

I’ve barely returned to my domain—wait, I haven’t even returned yet!

And already so many major events are piling up.

Am I a lord—or a beast of burden?

“It’s snowing! Snow is falling from the sky! True winter has come!”

Just as Gervas grumbled, a shout came from outside the window.

Gervas looked out the open castle window—and indeed, snowflakes drifted down from the sky.