Chapter 53: The Dragon's Reverse Scale!

"Sit!"

"I dare not, Master!"

Captain Pike and the village head were brought to the Hunter's Village meeting wooden house.

Gervas pointed to a wooden stool nearby; the two dared not sit and immediately shook their heads.

At this moment, Captain Pike's attitude was even more respectful than the village head's.

Gervas nodded in satisfaction.

"How many wild beasts and game can your Wheat Ear Village hunt each month?"

"Master, except for winter, our Wheat Ear Village can hunt about forty or fifty beasts every month."

"However, only a dozen or so of them are large game as you mentioned before, such as elk and wild boar; the rest are small animals like hares and foxes!"

"Only forty or fifty? Then the furs being sold today are your half-year's harvest?"

This quantity was worlds apart from what Gervas had imagined.

This was the edge of the Chaotic Wasteland and the Death Mountains, where wild plant and animal resources were abundant.

"Then why were you shouting so happily just now? I thought you could manage five thousand large wild beasts in two or three years!" Gervas was speechless.

Captain Pike and the village head immediately froze. "Master, your sparing our lives is already a gift, so even if we become slaves, we are extremely grateful for your benevolence."

Good heavens! Gervas exclaimed, "Good heavens!"

Which lord wouldn't like serfs with such awareness!

"Alright, but let me ask you a question: do you want to return to serf status in two or three years?"

After observing carefully and confirming Gervas's serious expression, the two looked at each other. "Master, if possible, of course, we would be willing."

"Fine, then take this item. From today on, hunt well for me and reach the number of five thousand large wild beasts as soon as possible."

Captain Pike and the village head looked puzzledly at the large conch shell Gervas took out.

After observing it carefully for a long time, Captain Pike still didn't understand, but the village head suddenly remembered something, his eyes widening sharply, his face full of disbelief.

"Master, this... could this be a Magic Conch?"

"It seems you know, which makes things easier; I don't need to teach you how to use it anymore!"

"Master, my father used to be the hunting captain of Black Rock Earl's territory. My father told me that some ducal families possess Magic Horns capable of attracting wild beasts."

"As long as the horn is blown, the beasts will jump into traps themselves; it's almost like picking them up for free. The ducal hunting teams return fully loaded every time they enter the mountains!" the village head said cautiously.

"A horn capable of attracting wild beasts?" Captain Pike's hunting skills were taught by the village head, so he hadn't heard of Magic Horns before. Now his eyes widened, looking at the Magic Horn with pure shock.

For hunters, this horn was practically indistinguishable from a divine artifact.

"It's not that exaggerated. Although the beasts will be attracted, they will still retain some wariness. Moreover, I need the beast skins as intact as possible, so hunting and capturing techniques and trap skills are also very important!"

Previously, Gervas could so easily trick the beasts into jumping off the cliff because they had already been disturbed by dark creatures, becoming like startled birds that had lost their ability to discern.

Otherwise, the beasts would not have easily followed Gervas, this two-legged beast, running.

What followed was much simpler; Gervas transferred the entire population of the Hunter's Village.

Naturally, the women and children in the village were to be arranged in the small town.

Not only could they serve as hostages, but it would also facilitate the castle's supply of food and drink, or provide them with work.

After all, since they had become slaves, all their labor belonged to Gervas; Gervas only needed to provide meals.

And this valley would not be abandoned; in the future, it could serve as a temporary base for the hunting team.

"Lei Meng, you take the Hunter's Village villagers back first. Zuiyue and I will fly around a bit longer!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Watching his subordinates return by the original route, Gervas rode Zuiyue toward the Death Mountains.

The Dragon's Reverse Scale mentioned in the intelligence was an excellent material for protective gear; Gervas certainly would not let it slip away.

With the flight coordinates from last time, Zuiyue could identify the direction on its own without Gervas's command.

The journey this time was much like the last; from time to time, terrifying demonic beasts could be seen chasing and roaring in the forests below.

Fortunately, the demonic beasts on the ground could be ignored; as long as no powerful demonic beasts were encountered in the air, there would be no problems.

Twenty-plus minutes later, the mountain peak from last time appeared before their eyes. Flying toward the left for less than five minutes, the land below began to change.

The originally lush mountainous land suddenly turned into vast stretches of scorched black earth.

All the flowers, grass, trees, and vegetation had been burned into black ash.

"Could it really be that two dragons fought a great battle here?"

Recalling that someone had seen a dragon in the previous intelligence and that he had picked up a Dragon Blood Stone.

Gervas could confirm that at least one of the culprits behind this ruin was a dragon.

As for its opponent, whether it was a dragon of the same kind or another powerful demonic beast, that remained unknown.

Soon, Gervas spotted a flash of gold flickering in the ruins below.

"Zuiyue, go down!"

With a splash upon landing, once Zuiyue stabilized, Gervas quickly approached that patch of golden yellow.

"Haha, the first Reverse Scale is in hand!"

As expected, this golden-glowing object was a semi-circular scale half-buried in the black soil.

The scale was the size of a dinner plate, entirely golden yellow. Even though it had been shed for several days, a faint golden light still flowed across its surface; holding it in hand, one could even feel warmth.

Besides that, as the intelligence stated, it actually possessed toughness, naturally distinct from ordinary scales that were hard as iron.

While marveling at it, Gervas continued searching the nearby area.

Not long after, the remaining two Reverse Scales mentioned in the intelligence were dug up.

Carefully wrapping them in cloth strips and placing them in a leather pouch, Gervas then rode Zuiyue back to the castle.

"This... this is a Golden Dragon's scale?" Looking at the three dragon scales Gervas took from his backpack and feeling the faint, almost imperceptible pressure, blacksmith Luka was stunned.

"Luka, hold it in your hand and feel it again!" Gervas handed the scale armor over.

Confused, Luka gripped the scale in his hand, then his body shivered again. "Soft... it's soft. This is a dragon's reverse scale! And it's a Golden Dragon's reverse scale!"

"That's right, it is a dragon's reverse scale. The value should be higher than ordinary dragon scales, right?"

"My lord, how much higher? It's a world of difference. A dragon's reverse scale can only be knocked off when the dragon is near death, and it cannot regrow; only ordinary scales can replace it!"

"So, these three complete reverse scales might represent the fall of a single dragon! And Golden Dragons are the rarest among dragonkind; it's likely that not even a few such Golden reverse scales can be found in the entire world!"

True to form, the chief blacksmith of the Count's family possessed far greater insight into dragons than Gervas.

"Luka, from your perspective as a blacksmith, what kind of armor would be most suitable to forge from these reverse scales?"

"My lord Gervas, it would definitely be soft armor. Soft armor made from dragon reverse scales can not only defend against blades and force, but also greatly mitigate magical attacks. I've heard that even the royal family, dukes, and Hou Jue spend vast sums to purchase reverse scales to craft a piece of soft armor for self-defense!"

Next, Gervas wasted no words and directly entrusted the task of crafting the soft armor to Luka.

Under normal circumstances, Luka, as the Count's chief blacksmith, likely lacked the skill to process dragon reverse scales.

But having acquired the dwarf techniques, he now possessed this ability.

Moreover, the three dragon reverse scales were enough to craft two pieces of soft armor.

Therefore, even if there was an accidental failure, Gervas would still have room to maneuver.