Chapter 64

After being tamed, the Magic Hawk still requires novice riders to test-fly it, and this is an extremely dangerous process.

Other minor nobles would certainly be unable to provide protection.

But Gervas is different—he has Zhuoyue, who can protect each archer one-on-one during their first flight.

Only after each person flew for three minutes under Gervas’s protection could he safely let them practice alone.

“To fly freely through the sky is truly enviable!” Watching the archer-slaves soar overhead, Migen and the other knights nearly drooled.

“Don’t envy them—once I capture a few griffins, I’ll make you all griffin knights and let you feel the thrill of aerial combat!”

Griffins are fifth-rank beasts, possessing extraordinary combat power; they are unafraid of close quarters and can already carry melee knights.

Though Gervas spoke seriously, this time Migen and the others dared not take him at his word.

Griffin knights are exclusive to the royal family and great nobles.

Especially the royal family—only with their overwhelming power could they maintain a thousand-strong griffin legion, even naming their kingdom after them, proving how precious griffin knights are.

If griffins were truly easy to obtain, the kingdom would never bear such a devalued name.

Gervas naturally understood his subordinates’ thoughts, but said nothing more.

With his intelligence network in place, everything was implicit—only a matter of time.

“Lei Meng, Migen, prepare yourselves—we’re going out!”

“Yes, my lord!”

More than ten minutes later, Gervas set out with several guard knights and an empty carriage heading southeast.

One hundred sets of leather armor and the Flame Triple Slash—these would greatly enhance my strength and that of my domain; I must seize this opportunity.

After a gallop on the fiery horses, the party arrived at the wooden fortress outpost located between Baron Cain’s territory and Viscount Beckert’s territory, one and a half hours later.

The wooden fortress covered five to six hundred square meters, surrounded by uniform pine logs, each six meters tall and thick enough for one man to embrace; it had towers, watchtowers, and shooting slits—all complete.

Compared to it, the wooden wall of Maitian Town looked like a pathetic fence.

Of course, this was not Ren’s destination; as the knights wondered why their lord had come to this outpost, Gervas led them beyond the border line.

“Who are these noble offspring? How do they have so many fiery horses? But aren’t they trying to die? Daring to cross the border—they’ll be prime targets over there!”

While merchant caravans queued in long lines, Gervas’s party rode out of the country in fine clothes and fiery steeds; the border guards dared not stop them.

Their duty was to inspect merchant cargo and collect crossing fees.

Ordinary travelers could be harassed.

But a noble knight band like Gervas’s, clearly of high origin, they could only watch from afar.

“Fiery horses? Boss Mani, you’re saying those are all fiery horses? No wonder they’re so tall!”

“Correct—those seven are purebred fiery horses. These damned vampire noble brats enjoy luxury in the heartland while we toil like stray dogs every day!”

Mani spat toward the distant knight party, then turned with a vicious glare toward the caravan ahead, “I need to check if you’re carrying contraband—weapons like swords or knives!”

“Your Honor, the Hundred-Man Captain, we’re heading to the Chaos Wastelands; we carry weapons only for self-defense…”

“Pah—who knows if you’re reselling to refugees or really just defending yourselves…”

Thus, Mani began his daily extortion “mission.”

He didn’t know his own “treasure,” meant to be hidden for a year or two before selling, had already been spotted.

…

“Zhuoyue overheard the location last night—it should be right here. Dig!”

Upon Gervas’s order, several knights rolled up their sleeves and began digging under the crooked tree, grunting and sweating.

Ding! The knights instantly grew excited. “My lord, we’ve hit something!”

As they dug further, several wooden chests appeared before them—the first shovel had struck an iron nail on the chest’s corner.

“My lord, what could be inside? Could it be copper coins, silver coins, or even gold? We’d be rich!” As Migen and the others carried the chests, they found them heavy.

“Probably not,” Lei Meng was first to judge. “Though the chests are heavy, if they contained gold, silver, or even copper coins, they’d rattle.”

Gervas knew exactly what was inside but couldn’t reveal it: “Zhuoyue only heard that several valuable treasure chests were hidden here—he didn’t hear what they contained. After all, Zhuoyue is still young and cannot fully comprehend human language!”

Migen immediately looked awestruck. “My lord, Zhuoyue is already incredible—no wonder he’s a unicorn! Since we reached our domain, we’ve uncovered countless treasures!”

After sprouting his horn, Zhuoyue’s identity could no longer be hidden.

Hearing Migen’s words, the other knights, including Lei Meng, agreed wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately, to avoid drawing attention, Zhuoyue wasn’t brought along this time.

Otherwise, a long string of question marks would’ve floated above his head.

“Now, open the chests and see what’s inside!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Migen and the other knights rubbed their hands and slowly opened the wooden chests.

With a creak, the chests opened, revealing a flash of silver light that widened everyone’s eyes.

“Leather… leather armor! And brand new? Are all of these like this?”

Migen quickly pulled away the first piece of armor and tore open the cowhide wrapping beneath it.

Indeed, beneath the cowhide lay one new leather armor after another.

“Check the other chests!”

Soon, all five wooden chests were opened—each contained unopened cowhide-wrapped brand-new leather armor.

“Twenty pieces per chest, five chests total…” Migen began counting on his fingers.

“One hundred pieces!” Lei Meng had already arrived at the answer.

“That’s right—one hundred! Good heavens! If each costs one gold coin, that’s a hundred gold coins! My lord, mighty! Zhuoyue, mighty!” Migen cheered.

“Come on, move quickly—transfer these goods into our own chests and cover them with cloth!”

“Yes, yes, we must leave fast—if we meet the owners of these goods, we’ll be in deep trouble!” Though unaware these were stolen goods, Migen felt zero guilt.

Migen: What’s guilt?

These are “locally grown” leather armor—finders keepers!

…

Carrying the armor, they continued traveling and spent over two more hours before finally entering Viscount Julian’s territory.

Soon after entering Viscount Julian’s domain, Gervas noticed its stark difference.

The serfs working by the roadside were even thinner, their ribs clearly visible, their faces sallow.

From their eyes and faces, Gervas saw a numbness far greater than in any other territory.

“It’s a viscount’s domain—how can it be worse than our former Storm Domain?” Migen asked in confusion.

“Not everyone is as benevolent as our lord,” Lei Meng replied, his tone heavy with meaning.

After traveling deeper for over half an hour, the viscount’s castle came into view; Gervas ordered everyone to dismount, taking only the carriage and Lei Meng and the others on foot.

After all, they were buying secondhand goods—no need to flaunt their power.

Who rides seven fiery horses just to personally buy a few books?

Even fools would know something was off.