Chapter 7: The First Guardian Knight!

“Gervas, leave! This is no place for you. Also, I don’t want anyone else to know what happened here—otherwise, Viscount Pat will be angry. Do you understand?”

Boro’s tone turned cold, but Gervas acted as if he hadn’t heard.

“Ah, I see—you’re preparing to execute Knight-Marshal Lei Meng, aren’t you?” Gervas exclaimed.

Seeing Boro’s face darken with fury, Gervas continued: “Such a titled knight dying would be such a waste, Baron Boro. Why not sell him to me?”

Boro froze, and Gervas’s voice came again.

“Five gold coins. How about it?”

“Gervas, this is no place for jokes...”

“Eight gold coins? You can split some with these guards—they’ll never talk.”

Boro’s eyes flickered for a moment, but he suppressed his greed. “Gervas, this is Viscount Pat’s...”

“My lord Boro, come here a moment—I have something to tell you.”

As Boro frowned, Gervas pulled him aside, away from the others, and whispered: “My lord Boro, I hear you lost heavily in Blackrock City, and your family’s ledgers are in trouble...”

Before he finished, Gervas felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

“Who told you?”

Gervas forced down his discomfort and soothed: “Don’t panic, My Lord Boro. Before I give the word, nothing will happen. I swear it by the God of Radiance!”

Only after Gervas swore by the God of Radiance did Boro ease his oppressive presence. Gervas added: “How about a deal? Fifteen gold coins—you secretly sell me Knight-Marshal Lei Meng, and I guarantee he’ll never return.”

“I’m heading to Stormhold to take over my fief—you know how dangerous it is there! My lord Boro, these coins will help fill some of your holes.”

“Otherwise, even if I don’t leak it, you’ll eventually run into trouble if you keep going.”

“Stormhold is your fief?”

“Correct. I received the patent yesterday!” Gervas immediately unveiled his letter of enfeoffment.

Boro glanced at it once, then fell silent. His gaze flickered for over ten seconds before he said: “Hand over the coins first!”

Gervas wasn’t worried about any treachery.

Killing a commoner, a noble pays a fine. Killing a noble? That’s the gallows.

As fifteen gold coins passed into Boro’s hands, the deal was sealed.

Boro ordered all his guards out of the forest, then handed Lei Meng over to Gervas.

“He’s yours now. I never want to see him again in Viscount Pat’s territory.”

“I swear by the God of Radiance—he will never reappear in Viscount Pat’s territory.”

Boro finally nodded in relief, casting a long look at Lei Meng. “He has a daughter. Wait an hour outside your fief—I’ll send someone with her.”

“Thank you, Baron Boro!”

Gervas was even happier.

A man like Lei Meng, who loved fiercely and hated deeply, clearly had strong responsibility.

With a young daughter, Gervas could control him far more easily.

“Young Master Gervas, what is this?”

Gervas returned to camp with Lei Meng; Old John and the others stared in shock.

How had their young master captured such a massive, towering man in just half an hour?

“I’ll explain later. Everyone, eat quickly—we’re moving farther away to set up camp tonight.”

Over an hour later, a mounted soldier hurried in with a girl.

The girl’s hands and feet were bound too.

With her arrival, Lei Meng—still bound—became visibly agitated, straining to lurch forward.

“Don’t rush. Once we’re far enough away, I’ll free you both.”

Saying this, Gervas loaded both the girl and Lei Meng onto the cart, and his party pressed on through the night.

They traveled until midnight, reaching the territory of another noble, before making camp again.

Gervas dismissed the others and personally untied them.

“Father!”

“Lilya!”

The father and daughter embraced tightly.

Gervas sat quietly beside them.

After a moment, Lei Meng calmed his daughter and looked at Gervas with complex eyes.

Gervas smiled and met his gaze.

With a thud, Lei Meng knelt on the ground. “Thank you, Master Gervas!”

Gervas’s heart soared, but his face remained calm. He hurried to lift Lei Meng. “A man’s knees hold gold—especially a knight’s.”

Lei Meng’s eyes flickered with something unusual. “My own life means nothing to me anymore. But I thank you for saving Lilya.”

Gervas understood. “Knight Lei Meng, now that Lilya is beside you, you must live well—for her sake.”

Lei Meng looked down at Lilya, his eyes filled with tenderness, and slowly nodded.

He wasn’t foolish—he knew why Gervas had saved him. He didn’t pretend ignorance, but looked up at Gervas and said: “Master Gervas, I heard you’re heading to Stormhold. I offer you my loyalty.”

“Good! Knight Lei Meng, let me formally enfeoff you now!”

Lei Meng knelt again, but this time on one knee, bowing his head to Gervas.

Gervas drew his sword and lightly tapped each shoulder. “I, Gervas Gail, Baron of Stormhold, hereby induct you, Lei Meng, as my Guardian Knight. Lei Meng, do you accept?”

“I do, my liege. I, Lei Meng, swear by the God of Radiance: from this day forth, I shall be loyal to you, charge for you, and never falter—until death!”

“Rise, Knight Lei Meng. I now appoint you Knight-Marshal. You shall oversee the training of five knightly retainers.”

Thus, Gervas finally had his first Guardian Knight—and one with aura, a Bronze Knight.

…

Though Gail Fief and Saint Peter City both lay in the Southern Region, the world was vast, and Gervas’s party traveled nearly ten days before reaching the border.

Along the way, the journey remained quiet. Perhaps because they were not yet in his territory, the system’s intelligence revealed no major events.

Still, even so, Gervas collected over a dozen gold coins, several valuable herbs, and a few wild beasts.

At dawn, Gervas awoke. They were now less than twenty li from Stormhold.

【Ding! Daily intelligence has refreshed...】

【Intelligence One: The unicorn that has circled Stormhold for days will land today by a stream three li north of Stormhold to feed. This will be its closest approach to Stormhold—it may then return to the desolate Death Mountains.】