Chapter 62: The Scorpion Boss

“Damn it! Damn it!” The Scorpion Boss flew into a rage—this was the first time in nearly two years he had suffered a failed attack.

“Boss, I’m sorry. I was careless—I didn’t expect he was a Title Knight, and his strength is several times mine!”

Sack staggered back, too aware of his failure to care for his wounds as he hurriedly apologized to the Scorpion Boss.

“Several times stronger than you? How could a mere baron have a guardian knight that strong?”

The Scorpion Boss had been furious, but upon hearing the report, his face twisted in disbelief.

He knew Sack’s strength—if this knight was truly several times stronger, he must be at the peak of Bronze Knight status.

And he himself was at that exact level.

Such a being could easily serve as knight captain in a viscount’s family—could he really be just a border baron’s guardian knight?

Or perhaps this new lord of Stormhold comes from a great family?

Remembering the soldiers’ high morale, the Scorpion Boss frowned.

“Sack, it’s not your fault—Stormhold’s strength exceeded our expectations!”

The Scorpion Boss patted the wounded Second Boss with false sympathy.

“Boss, what do we do now?”

Looking at the dejected, cowering dogs, Sack’s face burned with resentment.

“Since they’re prepared, continuing the attack isn’t worth it! We have a major job coming up in two days—ordered by that person, and it’s vital!”

“And this damned little noble’s territory won’t run away! After we finish the job, we’ll come back and deal with him—I don’t believe they can guard against us every single day!”

The Scorpion Boss was infamous; most people knew only his cruelty and bloodlust.

They overlooked his cunning and intelligence.

Otherwise, how could a brute who only knew how to kill and destroy thrive so easily in the chaotic, dangerous Chaos Wastelands?

So today, he held back his rage and chose to cut his losses.

Of course, before leaving, the Scorpion Boss planned to leave a “gift” for Gervas.

Saying this, the Scorpion Boss turned his gaze to the vast farmlands outside the town.

The wheat seedlings there were lush and green, growing well enough to become the precious food sustaining the serfs in a few months.

“Crush all these fields!”

“Yes, Boss!”

At the Scorpion Boss’s order, all bandits and dogs began trampling and destroying the farmland at will.

Especially the dogs—frustrated by their earlier defeat, they hated the people of the territory.

“You bastards! Don’t you fear divine retribution? That’s food!”

“Stop! You bastards!”

The soldier-serfs, still caught in their earlier excitement, snapped awake, eyes blazing as they watched the destruction beyond the town.

This wasn’t just food—it was the very embodiment of their humble faith.

Watching the vast fields ruined felt like being killed themselves.

“Little noble, wait and see—this is only interest. I’ll wipe out the entire Wheatfield Town someday!”

The more the townsfolk raged, the more satisfied the Scorpion Boss felt.

Seeing the farmland outside the town nearly destroyed, he led his men and dogs away, smug and triumphant.

Of course, before leaving, he couldn’t resist hurling a threat at Gervas.

Gervas watched the entire scene in cold silence, saying nothing more.

Having lived two lives, Gervas knew that in such situations, what you do always matters more than what you say.

He remembered this grudge—given the chance, he would make the Scorpion Boss regret ever being born.

With the bandit alarm lifted, the soldier-serfs quickly opened the town’s outer gate and rushed to salvage the farmland.

Yet in the end, six hundred of the eight hundred mu of farmland outside the town were lost.

For Stormhold, which had only three thousand mu of farmland total, this meant a guaranteed one-fifth reduction in this year’s harvest.

The sun set.

The last sliver of twilight vanished beyond the horizon, signaling the final end of today.

…

【Ding! Daily Intelligence System has refreshed…】

【Intelligence One: The Scorpion Bandits did not stay to fight to the death in Stormhold—partly due to the Scorpion Boss’s wisdom, but also because he is about to complete an important task assigned by a secret patron.】

【At this moment, the Scorpion Bandits have split from the Dogs and will not return for some time; their destination remains unknown.】

【The Dogs, furious at returning empty-handed after such a grueling effort, will luckily discover a refugee settlement on their way back to the Chaos Wastelands.】

【This refugee settlement lies ten li southwest of Viscount Beckert’s territory, nestled in a pine forest, called Black Pine Village!】

【The Dogs, unwilling to return empty-handed, plan to attack Black Pine Village at dusk!】

【Intelligence Two: Black Pine Village, though only one hundred and some people strong, is far from ordinary—its refugees are all from artisan families.】

【They include one blacksmith, three stonemasons, three carpenters, one tailor, and one leatherworker—this is why, as refugees, they chose to live so close to noble lands.】

【With their skills, they can secretly sneak back into noble territories along the kingdom’s border to trade for survival supplies.】

【Compared to the chaos of the Chaos Wastelands, this lifestyle is far safer and more stable.】

【Intelligence Three: After several days of “breaking the hawk,” the eleven magic swift-hawks you captured have reached their limit—their wills are crumbling.】

【Since this morning, you may begin taming them; success rate is very high.】

【Intelligence Four: To ensure border security, the kingdom has not only numerous noble territories along the frontier, but also many border outposts along key routes.】

【One such outpost, a wooden fort, stands on the route between Baron Cain’s territory and Viscount Beckert’s territory.】

【Earlier, the outpost accidentally seized a shipment of banned goods: one hundred brand-new leather armors.】

【Normally, the smugglers and contraband would be handed over to Iron Wolf City, but gold and silver stir the heart.】

【The outpost’s highest officer, Centurion Mani, decided to conceal the incident.】

【They killed all the smugglers and buried the armors beneath a hill five li south of the outpost.】

【That hill features a lone crooked tree standing out from the rest—the armors are buried beneath it!】

【Intelligence Five: Viscount Julian, eighty li from Stormhold, has squandered most of his ancestral wealth through luxury and debauchery and now must sell furniture and belongings just to survive.】

【Today, Viscount Julian’s castle will auction off a new batch of furniture and books to merchants present.】

【Among these books, an old volume titled The Autobiography of Duke Radiant appears ordinary—but hidden within its cover is a thin sheet of parchment.】

【The parchment records a qi technique: “Triple Flame Slash.”】

【It allows the practitioner to channel qi through a unique meridian pathway and deliver it with a peculiar vibration, enhancing the power of qi attacks.】

【This is a relatively rare qi technique; Duke Radiant himself wrote in his autobiography that, as a youth, he used this technique to defeat enemies of higher rank multiple times.】

This is a relatively rare aura technique; in the Marquis of Yao Yang’s autobiography, he described how, as a youth, he relied on this aura technique to defeat enemies of higher ranks multiple times.