Volume 1 - CH 9

“Dang!” With a loud clang, Rubens’s giant axe flew out of his hand, arcing high in the air before landing with a heavy thud on the ground of the training ground. Proudly hoisting his sword onto his shoulder, Kress accepted the cheers of the guards and the onlookers.

It was unknown who first suggested it, but the garrison and mercenaries who were preparing to venture into the mountains that evening suddenly raced to the town’s simple training ground to test their swordsmanship. Rubens, brimming with confidence, took up the challenge, but couldn’t even fend off Kress’ 20 swords. He barely managed to block 19 of them before his giant axe was knocked out of his hand.

The members of the mercenary group couldn’t believe that their battle-hardened captain had lost to a small territory’s garrison leader. Rubens himself wore a dumbfounded expression as the excited garrison members lifted Kress up high into the air.

After coming to their senses, those who were unconvinced challenged other garrison members, but to their surprise, they were all soundly defeated. It was then that they finally understood that this relatively unknown small garrison possessed unimaginable strength.

In fact, little did they know that the Lowell garrison, which had been fighting against mountain monsters for a long time to protect the small town, was not inferior to their mercenary group in terms of combat experience or the cohesion among its members. Their individual strengths were even more impressive. The only thing they lacked was disciplined training.

Impressed by their strength, Rubens looked at them with eyes that seemed to see piles of moving gold coins. If it weren’t for Saul standing next to him, he might have rushed over to recruit them.

Saul was also secretly taken aback. In fact, it wasn’t until now that he realized the astonishing strength of these small garrison members. These guys were all treasures, ah!

Hmm… We should consider raising their salary, we definitely can’t let Rubens get his hands on them.

But what depressed him even more was that Jessica ignored his protests of working most of the night and needing enough sleep. He was dragged here against his will only to be trained in swordsmanship for tonight’s trip into the mountains.

“Hey, I am the lord. I don’t need to go to battle; why do I have to train with a sword? You guys can go tonight; why do you have to drag me along?” Saul protested loudly.

“We’re going to recruit people, and if you, as the lord, don’t show up, how can we show our sincerity? Practicing is better than doing nothing. If something like last night happens again, at least you’ll have some self-defense capabilities,” Jessica replied irritably.

“Tsk, if you hadn’t dragged me there last night, how could that have happened…” Saul muttered under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing; do it your way. Let’s start.”

Originally, Kress volunteered to teach the lord swordsmanship, but Saul firmly refused, citing his fear of being humiliated. So Jessica stepped in to personally teach him instead.

However, as soon as they started, Saul regretted it. Jessica wasn’t teaching him; she was treating him like a punching bag. With every thrust of her rapier, she danced around with ease, and her blade was so close to his skin that it sent chills down his spine.

“Watch your footing…draw your sword faster, you idiot…what did you learn in Almak…if you dare to hold your head again, I’ll cut off your hand…come back here, you coward, don’t you dare run!” Jessica was incredibly serious, and she didn’t stop lecturing Saul.

“Help! Murder! Sadistic woman! Kress, come and save me, use your big sword to humiliate me as much as you want, just get me away from this lunatic!”

But after a moment, Saul couldn’t take it anymore. He screamed and dodged with his head in his hands. However, the shameless members of the garrison, instead of helping their lord, stood on the sidelines and laughed, as if they were afraid that the world wouldn’t be chaotic enough.

“My lord, hurry up, Miss Jessica is exhausted…”

“Watch out on the left, Miss Jessica has a weakness; switch to the right now; ah, back to the center again.”

“Come on, my Lord, we believe in you!” Even the residents joined in.

After a quarter of an hour, when Saul thought he was about to be killed by Jessica, the “lesson” finally ended when the girl ran out of energy. Afterwards, both of them bent over and leaned on their swords, gasping for breath and looking at each other.

“Hoo hoo …… you coward, don’t you even have any motivation? Pick up your sword like a man, let’s do it again!”

“Shut up! If you want to kill me, just give me a swift strike. Hoo hoo hoo… It’s better to finish me off with one sword strike than to torture me like this!”

“You…” Jessica was infuriated, her face turning red and blue as she realized her good intentions were being taken for nothing.

“You come here!”

“Ah! Help me!”

And so, the daytime ended in this endless game of chase and escape.

※※※

In the afternoon, the “persuasion” team consisting of Saul, Kress, Jessica, Bocci, Rubens, and ten mercenaries and guards headed into the mountains.

To show sincerity and avoid provoking the other party, they decided to only send a small group, and success or failure would depend entirely on Saul’s negotiating skills. Any sign of hostility would put these dozen or so people in a bad situation, as they were no match for the bandits with their numbers; everyone knew they were taking a great risk.

Before departure, a tall, rugged man in his forties with a scruffy beard suddenly appeared in front of Saul, as if out of nowhere.

Startled by this sudden appearance, Saul exclaimed, “Woah, who are you?”

“My name is Hiches, and I am a mage. Please allow me to join you,” the man said.

“A mage? Who are you, and where did you come from?” Lowell had never encountered a mage before, and since she didn’t recognize the man, Jessica looked wary and asked in a deep voice.

Hiches looked like he was a little hurt and shrugged, saying, “I came to Lowell with Reed. I had hoped to speak with the Lord, but he refused to see me. I came here today hoping that my magic could be of some help.”

“Reed?” Saul vaguely remembered that Reed did seem to mention such a person before.

Just then, Reed squeezed his way through the crowd and pointed to Hiches, confirming, “My lord, this is the mage I mentioned to you, brought from Barin. He’s been staying at my house these days.”

Finally, Saul remembered. After feeling down from the meeting with the representatives from the Adventurers’ Guild, he had forgotten about this guy. He couldn’t believe Hitches was still in Lowell. But after staying at the shrewd Reed’s house for so many days, he must have some skills. That’s what Saul thought as he looked at the hazy-eyed Hiches, who looked more like a drunken beggar.

“What level of license do you hold from the Mage Guild?” Jessica, who was knowledgeable in the field, asked.

Like the Adventurer’s Guild, the Mage’s Guild was also an organization that spanned the entire continent of Modena. As the name implied, the guild was responsible for managing, promoting, and researching magic-related matters, and its influence was extremely large. The vast majority of magicians on the continent were registered within the Mage’s Guild, and every three years, the guild held promotion tests for the mages. Unless they were reclusive hermits who did not care about worldly affairs, the guild’s license level would directly indicate a mage’s strength.

When Jessica asked him, Hiches hesitated and said, “Actually, I’m a free mage…”

The so-called free mages were those who did not wish to be bound by the Mage’s Guild and preferred to conduct independent research. According to most of these people, the reason they stayed away from the guild was that their innate desire for freedom was at work.

However, in reality, these mages were likely to have been expelled from the Mage’s Guild due to moral corruption or failure to pass the guild’s triennial evaluation. In addition to resource obstacles and other limitations, compared to regular guild mages who had excellent research conditions and opportunities for communication, except for a few geniuses, many of them were just mediocre.

Jessica couldn’t help but frown, “An unknown free mage…”

Since he was a mage, he must have some use. Saul interrupted Jessica and said, “Don’t ask questions, time is running out; let’s depart immediately.”

Hiches nodded happily and flashed into the team like a ghost. Saul shook his head in amazement, wondering why the people who were willing to come to Lowell were all such abnormal individuals.

With his command, the team, led by Bocci, quickly ventured deep into the mountains, struggling through dense forests.

※※※

In the afternoon, the Western Mountains were quiet, and the sunlight shining through the trees cast one strange shadow after another on the ground. The howling of the horned wolves, the sharp cries of tiger-eating birds, the chomp of fire bears sharpening their claws on the tree barks, the roar of armored leopards hunting…all mixed together with various unidentified monster cries, forming a symphony that made one’s hair stand on end. Occasionally, there was a tremor in the forest, and an unknown giant beast ran by, adding to the terror.

In such an environment, even the battle-hardened Blue Wolf Mercenary Group couldn’t help but show fear. In contrast, the guards’ team of Lowell appeared calm and relaxed, as if they were taking a stroll in their own backyard.

“Don’t be afraid; that’s a giant toothed beast. As long as you don’t invade its nest, it won’t hurt people,” Kress introduced to Rubens like a host showing off his own backyard. After so many years of fighting against monsters, every team member had a clear understanding of the surrounding mountains.

Despite being nervous, Rubens couldn’t lose face in front of this people. With a snort, he turned back arrogantly to the mercenaries and said, “What are you afraid of? Buck up and don’t tarnish the reputation of the Blue Wolf Mercenary Group!”

But Saul had no time to think about fear. The only thing he felt was…damn tired! When he was in college, he couldn’t even pass a 1000-meter run. Wasn’t climbing like this going to kill him?

Gasping for breath and using both his hands and feet, Saul had to resort to shamelessly pulling on Kress’s leather armor to let him drag him along so that he wouldn’t fall behind. This made Kress heartbroken, fearing that his lord would rip his new armor.

“Be careful, the enemy is in the valley behind that mountain peak,” Suddenly, Bocci, who was leading the way, made a gesture.

As they approached the enemy’s stronghold, everyone became tense. Although they were going there for a “visit,” even fools knew that the other side might not be pleased. Who knew what might happen?

They cautiously made their way through the dense forest, and suddenly, the several guards walking in front let out a cry of alarm as they were ensnared by hidden snares and left hanging upside down in mid-air. At the same time, there was a rustling sound from the woods, and hundreds of people suddenly emerged, surrounding the team.

They stood on a relatively low slope at this moment, and the enemy was above them, making the situation extremely unfavorable. Although the enemy had a large number of people, they had very few weapons. Besides the members of the Night Shadow Brigade and some young men, the rest were unarmed.

Without needing any orders, the team immediately raised their shields to protect Saul, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

“I am Saul Lowell, Lord of Lowell territory, and I would like to speak with Chipp, the leader of your group.” With the shields protecting him, Saul felt somewhat relieved and shouted loudly.

After a moment of silence, a man in his thirties slowly walked out. “That’s me, what do you want?”

He was quite handsome, but looked exhausted with a bushy beard, indicating that he had been living in the mountains under harsh conditions. Only his pair of bright eyes remained sharp. Chipp was still wearing the uniform of the Imperial Army, but it was covered in filth and tatters. If Saul hadn’t known his identity beforehand, he wouldn’t have recognized the ragged cloth as a uniform.

“I came here this time to discuss a proposal with you.”

Chipp was obviously very cautious, and he sneered, “Talk? About what?”

The people surrounding him immediately started making noise, and many of them shouted, “They’re all Dinarian people. They must have come here to capture us and win favor with the king. Don’t believe their nonsense!”

Knowing that this was a critical moment, Saul raised his voice and said, “Everyone, please calm down and listen to me… huh!?” But then his leg suddenly felt a sharp pain, as if someone had kicked him, and he stumbled out involuntarily.

“Show some sincerity. How can you talk to others while hiding behind your shield?” Jessica’s irritating voice sounded timely in his ear.

You old hag, it seems like you won’t be satisfied until you’ve killed me! Saul cursed angrily in his heart, and helplessly walked to the center of the open space, where there was no cover. The crowd fell silent.

“My Lord…” one of the guards responsible for protecting him exclaimed and was about to step forward, but Jessica quietly gestured to stop him. Then she walked quietly behind Saul and kept an eye on their surroundings.

Saul raised both hands to show that he had no weapons and said with a bitter smile, “I was pushed out…no, I mean, now that I’m here, can you listen to what I have to say?”

Chipp snorted coldly, “What do you want to say? If it’s about surrendering, forget it.”

Saul sighed and said, “You fled from Rulin and suffered all the hardships along the way. Now, I’m afraid you’ve reached a dead end and had no choice but to turn to robbery. Honestly, Chipp, I admire you. Not only for your courage, but also for not harming a single civilian in Lowell.”

“So I came here to help you. I hope all of you can come down from the mountain and join Lowell. I will provide you with food and shelter, and ensure your stability in the future. You won’t have to hide anymore. How do you feel about this proposal?”

His words brought about a moment of silence from the other side, followed by a low buzz of discussion. It was evident that the proposal was tempting. In fact, even the most elite army would not be able to withstand living in such a dense forest for a long time, let alone these ordinary farmers. Coming down to the foot of the mountain for a peaceful life was a greater temptation than anything else.

However, Saul underestimated the deep-seated hatred between the two nations. Someone whispered, “It must be a trap. How could the Dinarian people be so kind-hearted?”

Moments ago, the hesitant crowd immediately responded, with even Chipp saying, “Thank you for your concern, but we can take care of ourselves. If you have no malicious intentions, please return Gavin and his group to us.”

Despite all his efforts, Saul felt frustrated with the outcome. He threw caution to the wind and unleashed his anger, “Nonsense! What do you mean you can take care of yourselves? If you could, you wouldn’t be wandering in the mountains for months without a place to call home! If you could take care of yourselves, you wouldn’t have let so many women and children die on the road! Do you have anywhere else to go? Or do you hope that everyone will live in suspicion, remain loyal to Rulin and die in these mountains?”

His fury stunned everyone, and the scene fell silent for a moment. But then, unexpectedly, the people on the other side all began to curse at once, “This guy is so arrogant!” “Not bad for a dog official of Dinar, so rude.” “To whom are you calling nonsense?” “Don’t believe him, don’t believe him.”

The solemn atmosphere that Saul had worked hard to create was undoubtedly shattered, and he exclaimed, “Are you all donkeys in disguise? Why won’t you listen no matter what I say?”

Jessica remained calm and said, “The barrier between us is too deep, and we can’t make them believe us in a short time. Let’s execute the backup plan.”

The so-called backup plan was to capture the leader of the other side and force them to lead them down the mountain. However, the consequences of this action were difficult to predict, and Saul was reluctant to try it.

But as long as they could successfully take them down the mountain and live peacefully on their territory for a few days, anyone with a clear head would not want to return to the mountains again.

Saul nodded in agreement, and Jessica immediately signaled to execute the backup plan discreetly. Hiches, who was hiding behind his team members, quietly chanted a spell and cast his magic: “Oh spirits of the wind, bring forth a whirlwind!”

In an instant, a fierce gust of wind arose, shaking trees in the forest, breaking branches, and causing leaves to fly in every direction. Caught off guard, the thieves were thrown into chaos.

Although the wind was strong, the downside was that it wasn’t a whirlwind that Hiches had summoned, but rather a chaotic gust of wind blowing in all directions. This left not only the enemies, but also Saul’s people thrown off balance by the sudden turbulence.

“Damn it, It failed again!” Hiches screamed out in frustration.

At this point, there was no time to reprimand this half-baked mage. Taking advantage of the confusion, Saul immediately extended his hand, wearing the ring, and said, “Come out, Simba!”

When he decided to name the griffin Simba, everyone was puzzled and asked why. Saul just smiled mysteriously and said, “Because half of it is a lion, right?”

Shouting out the griffin’s new name, a burst of white light shot up into the sky, and Simba appeared. Saul pointed to Chipp and said, “Go over there and grab him for me… Huh!?”

But before he could finish, Simba had already grabbed Saul with his claws and flew towards the other side.

“Are you an idiot? Did your brain go for a swim? I told you to go ahead, not to drag me along with you!” Saul yelled as Simba flew over the panicked crowd and dropped Saul down below.

“Aaaah! You despicable, furry, feathered creature! When I get back, I’m going to steam you and eat you!” Screaming, Saul flailed and spun as he fell.

However, instead of feeling excruciating pain upon impact with the ground, he felt like he hit something soft. His body jolted, but he found himself sitting on top of something cushy, and surprisingly, he was unharmed.

“That scared the life out of me! Who was kind enough to put a cushion here to break my fall?” Saul looked down, still dazed and confused, only to discover that he had landed on a person lying face down on the ground, clearly knocked out by the force of Saul’s fall.

In an instant, everyone around Saul fell silent and stared at him as if he were a monster dropped from the sky.

“Hehe, don’t look at me like that. I’ll get shy…” Saul chuckled nervously.

“Captain Chipp!” someone exclaimed.

Startled, Saul looked down at the man beneath him, and immediately his heart sank.

Holy sh**, can there be such a coincidence?

But at this moment, there was no time for hesitation. Saul unsheathed his sword and held it to the unconscious Chipp’s neck, shouting fiercely, “Stop right there!”

Simba swooped down and positioned itself in front of Saul, growling threateningly and eyeing the crowd. The opposition’s faces contorted with anger, but they didn’t dare to approach any closer.

Taking a deep breath, Saul was about to speak when he heard a sharp whistle from behind the crowd.

Before he could comprehend what was happening, an arrow shot through the air, piercing through the crowd and landing directly in his chest.

The enemy’s arrow was too quick. By the time he realized what had happened, the arrowhead was already lodged near his heart.

“It’s over.” In that moment, the only thought that flashed through Saul’s mind was this.

As the arrow was about to pierce his heart, a burst of light erupted from his necklace, causing the arrow to snap in half and fly off with a loud snap just as it was tearing through his clothes.

It was the protective necklace that Albert had given him long before, and it had unexpectedly saved his life in this moment of crisis. Although he had narrowly escaped danger, Saul couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat at the thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t been wearing the necklace.

“Huh!?” A low cry of disbelief came from the back of the crowd.

Upon hearing a sound, the griffin let out a furious roar and flapped its wings, swooping down and knocking people around as it went. With a loud shout, it grabbed a man with a bushy beard and a strong bow, lifting him into the air.

“Stop! Don’t hurt him!” shouted Saul upon seeing what was happening.

Reluctantly, Simba let the man go, throwing him to the ground before pouncing on him and pinning him down under its feet, roaring at the surrounding crowd. At this point, the mercenaries and guards had been surrounded by the enemy, but without weapons, they had not yet caused any casualties.

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Saul bellowed, “I have Chipp in my hand, everyone stop!”

The crowd indeed remained still, but their gazes towards Saul were filled with hatred and a desire to tear him apart. Being looked at by hundreds of people like this was uncomfortable, and he couldn’t help but regret not letting Kress handle this villain earlier.

The mercenaries and guards slowly closed in on Saul, protecting him. Clearing his throat gently, Saul tried to speak in the kindest tone possible. “Um…I’m doing this because I hope everyone can calm down. Please trust me, I only want to help you. Come down the mountain with me, you all know what the consequences will be if you stay in the mountains!”

Although he spoke these words, they were not convincing given his previous actions. As expected, the other side didn’t buy his story at all, and many people shouted, “How despicable!” “Do you still want to deceive us now?” “Let’s fight them to death!”

Encouraged, many people were eager to rush forward. Over a dozen stealthy members of the Night Shadow Brigade silently slipped into the forest, ready to rescue their comrades at any moment, and the atmosphere became tense once again.

While he was feeling helpless, Hiches confidently said, “Leave it to me.” He began to chant a spell.

The crowd was already suspicious of this mediocre mage and were about to stop him, but he had already entered a trance like state before casting his spell. Meanwhile, Chipp, who was being held by Saul, groaned and slowly regained consciousness.

With no time to deal with Hiches, Saul quickly said to Chipp, “You’re finally awake, quickly calm your people down.”

The latter scanned his surroundings and quickly understood what had happened. Disregarding Saul’s hopeful gaze, his eyes sharpened with determination. Everyone was alarmed by his sudden change, wondering if he was planning to take everyone down with him.

As Saul was about to cover Chipp’s mouth, an old, hoarse voice suddenly came from the top of the slope: “Stop all of you!”

Surprised, they looked up to see an elderly man with a hunched figure and a cane slowly walking down the slope with two young men accompanying him. Upon seeing him, many people exclaimed, “Village chief, what are you doing here?”

Ignoring the people’s questions, the old village chief walked slowly to Saul and his group. After scrutinizing him for a while, he asked, “Are you the lord of Lowell territory located down the mountain?”

“Yes, I am.” Though Saul wasn’t sure what the old man was doing there, he noticed the people’s respect for him and thought he might be able to turn things around.

“Mmm, looks like an unreliable guy.” The village chief nodded his head. “

You…” Saul couldn’t believe the old man would say such a thing, leaving him speechless. To make matters worse, Jessica, who had been keeping a straight face, suddenly burst out laughing.

Ignoring Saul’s unpleasant expression, the village chief turned to Chipp, with a layer of sadness in his hazy eyes. “Chipp, just a moment ago, Mary died.”

As if struck by lightning, Chipp’s face turned pale. He struggled with all his might and managed to break free from Saul’s grasp, rushing to the village chief’s side, “Village chief, is this true? Are you lying to me?”

The village chief turned his head, looking troubled. “It’s true. I saw her take her last breath with my own eyes. Mary’s final words were a plea for you to ensure the remaining villagers survive.”

He let out a sigh and said sorrowfully, “Chipp, everyone is barely holding on. If we continue like this, we’ll all die in these mountains. I don’t mind, being an old man, but so many children…sigh.”

Chipp cried out in disbelief, “No, it can’t be. Mary, how could she leave me?!” He turned and ran towards the mountain, but stumbled on a tree root after only a few steps, falling to the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.

Everyone quieted down, silently watching the resolute man who had led over a thousand people to escape the empire break down in tears like a broken person. At that moment, Saul and the others didn’t know why he was so devastated, but later they found out that Mary was Chipp’s newlywed wife. He had left his wealthy family behind to escape the empire with her, but she tragically died in the depths of the mountains.

“We have no choice. On behalf of the villagers, I accept your offer,” the village chief turned to Saul and extended his hand.

Saul hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand. Suddenly, Hiches, who was reciting a spell, opened his eyes and shouted, “Oh water spirits, let a heavy rain pour down on the enemy’s head, and calm their minds!”

Whoosh! A downpour ensued, pouring on everyone’s heads like a deluge, as if the heavens were shedding tears for this sorrowful scene.

Hiches, who was now drenched and looked like a drowned rat, couldn’t help but cry out in despair, “Oh no, another failure!”

However, no one blamed him anymore. Everyone just silently watched Chipp, who was lying on the ground and howling inconsolably, letting the pouring rain fall on their heads. It was impossible to tell how many tears mixed with the rainwater on people’s faces….