20demayo Page 134
Page 134
finally.
The struggle over the fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact that resembled a ceramic jar was interrupted by Countess Orianna.
The woman in the star-studded dress slowly raised one hand, opened her palm, and placed it on the earthenware pots that Arthur and Julian were each holding.
The next moment, a chilling sensation that instinctively sent shivers down Arthur and Julian's spines surged from Oriana's palm.
Julian reacted even more strongly to the chill, instantly releasing his grip on the pottery jar as if deflated.
Then, he forced a ridiculous, stiff smile and spoke in an awkward tone:
"Hehe! Since Viscount Arthur is so persistent and unwilling to accept my good intentions, then I will not force him."
And look at Arthur.
After Julian finished the competition, he successfully obtained this fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact.
However, he was not overjoyed at this moment; instead, a strong sense of fear welled up from the depths of his bones.
His gaze was fixed on Count Orianna's outstretched palm.
On his palm, a simple, unadorned flower bud made of frost appeared.
It was within this flower bud that a chilling aura, constantly assaulting his consciousness, was contained.
His nerves were on edge, and a strong intuition welled up within him:
The full bloom of this flower bud is enough to bring about a natural disaster that will wipe out Blackrock Territory!
At last.
Let's look back at Countess Oriana.
After witnessing the two men finish their struggle over a fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact, she timely closed her palm.
The ice-sculpted flower bud that had Arthur on edge was instantly crushed into fine frost flakes that drifted to the ground.
These tiny flakes of frost falling created a stark contrast to the extreme cold of the previous moment.
This made Arthur feel incredibly dreamlike, and a moment of dazed expression flashed across his face.
"Julian, you're not as skilled as others, yet you don't think about reflecting on your mistakes and improving yourself."
Orianna's scolding of Julian pulled him back to the present moment from his dazed state:
"Trying to go back on your word? I don't recall the Alcott family having such a morally questionable descendant?"
“My beloved Aunt Oriana, Julian was wrong.”
Julian broke out in a cold sweat when he heard the last sentence, and he quickly lowered his head in front of Oriana.
But Orianna's next words troubled Julian even more:
"It's good that you admit your mistake and correct it. After this operation is over and you return to your family, I'll apply for a two-month ice prison trial for you."
After all, having broken through to the Silver rank, he should now resemble a Silver rank knight.
"Okay, thank you for your guidance, Aunt Oriana."
Upon hearing the words "Ice Prison Trial," Julian's face paled several shades further, and he seemed to have had his soul ripped out by a demon, responding weakly.
After finishing her conversation with Julian, Orianna turned her head to look at the silent Arthur beside her:
"You didn't use your full strength in your duel with Julian just now, did you?"
I sensed several different extraordinary powers emanating from you, but you only used the Knight's Aura.
"Uh!"
Orianna's blunt words caught Arthur off guard. He bowed slightly to her, quickly thinking before responding:
"A duel between knights should naturally be decided by fair means and the strength of the knights."
When Orianna heard this answer, she raised her eyebrows slightly, and a rare look of surprise appeared on her usually aloof face.
Then, she paused for a few seconds before continuing the conversation:
"Arthur, your father indeed did not pass on to you the superior knight breathing technique of the Grey royal family."
"You must be practicing a high-grade fire-attribute knight breathing technique."
"Yes."
Arthur blinked, regaining his usual calm demeanor.
"It might not be a bad thing for you that you haven't been exposed to the Grey royal family's knightly breathing technique."
Orianna stared at Arthur and uttered a meaningful remark:
“Your father, in a sense, was not a failure, at least in the eyes of our Alcott family.”
At this time.
Leon, the steward, also landed on the back of the Frost Raven King and came to Arthur's side.
Upon seeing him arrive, Orianna reverted to her initial cold tone:
"Arthur, judging from the fact that you were able to unleash the third combat skill of the excellent-grade knight's breathing technique just now, you must have experienced the resonance between the 'Soul Origin' and the Seed of Life beforehand."
Now that you have this fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact, I imagine you'll be able to break through to the early silver-tier knight level within the next week.
Arthur placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly to Orianna:
"Lord Arthur of Blackrock expresses his heartfelt gratitude for Countess Oriana's blessing."
"Alright, take us to see the corpses of that 'Bounty Level Three' demon bandit scourge you previously annihilated."
Orianna waved her hand and turned away gracefully.
“Countess Oriana, Lord Julian, please come with me.”
The butler, Leon, observing the situation, accepted the task.
Next.
The three, including Arthur, followed the butler Leon to an underground ice cellar.
This place was originally used for food storage, but now it is used to preserve the key bandit figures killed in the Battle of Blackrock Territory.
"These three black-armored knights are the leaders of this bandit gang."
"This is a Demon of Hatred. After consuming the heart offered by a Black-Armored Knight during the Battle of Black Rock, it advanced to a mid-level Demon, with strength far exceeding that of an ordinary Silver-rank Knight."
"This is an apostle possessing the 'witchcraft' power of a legendary witch, and has a close relationship with that demon. He seems to be a key figure in this bandit gang."
The butler, Leon, introduced Oriana and the others to their origins one by one.
Orianna showed no emotion upon seeing the corpses and hearing their identities; she remained completely calm.
Only after examining all the corpses and confirming, based on their lingering scents, that they were the same "Level 3 Bounty" bandits who had wiped out Blackwater Territory.
Countess Orianna of the Ice Dragon finally spoke:
"Based on the achievements you have made, I, Oriana Alcott, hereby declare..."
He will represent the Frostwhisper County in bestowing upon Blackrock Territory the rewards it deserves.
Five thousand gold coins and two silver-grade extraordinary artifacts.
And the fiefdom of Blackwater Territory.
Chapter 129 The Blackwater Territory's Takeover Dilemma
Half a day later.
Night falls.
The perspective shifts to the training camp behind Blackrock Fortress.
This is a time for rest.
The biting winds of October swept through the North, but thankfully a huge campfire rose in the center of the training camp, dispelling the malice of nature.
Around the campfire sat many new and old soldiers from the Black Rock Corps.
They sat in small groups of four or five, excitedly discussing the events of the day:
"So dragons really do exist in this world, and one of them is as big as half of Blackrock Fortress."
"Didn't you notice who owns this dragon?"
"Are you referring to the lady in the star-studded dress on the dragon's back?"
"Shh! I heard Captain Leon mention that she is the Queen of the North, the renowned new Earl."
We have no right to discuss such important figures; one wrong move and we could be killed by a single breath from that dragon.
"Look at you, you coward, hahaha!"
"By the way, besides the legendary dragon, the most exciting thing to watch today was the amazing knight duel."
The spectacular knightly duel mentioned by these soldiers was undoubtedly the duel between Julian Alcott, a Silver-rank early-stage knight from the Ice Dragon Clan, and Arthur Field, the Black Rock Lord.
And Arthur, the victor of that duel, sat beside the huge bonfire that had been lit in the training camp.
He sat in a rather secluded corner with his butler, Leon, and Gawain.
The three of them, without distinguishing between primary and secondary roles, huddled together with their knees wrapped around each other.
At this moment, Arthur and his two extremely loyal subordinates were discussing the reward that Count Orianna, the Ice Dragon Lord of the North, had bestowed upon him half a day earlier.
This time, by eliminating the "Level 3 Bounty" demon bandits, I received three rewards.
The first reward is five thousand gold coins.
After receiving the substantial bounty, Arthur briefly discussed it with his butler Leon and Gawain, and then decided to invest it in war preparations.
The second reward is two silver-grade extraordinary artifacts.
While in the ice cellar, Countess Oriana showed him the extraordinary properties of a crescent-shaped gemstone ring on her slender finger.
As a faint blue light flowed, several extraordinary objects of different attributes appeared out of thin air in front of him.
While he was still in shock, Oriana told Arthur that he could choose any two Silver-tier extraordinary artifacts from them.
After careful consideration, he chose a fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact in the shape of a red fruit, and a wind-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact sealed in a special ceramic jar.
The choice of the first Silver-tier Extraordinary Object.
After unexpectedly acquiring a fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact, he was much more confident about his path to silver-tier advancement.
Therefore, his first consideration was the training of Gao Wen.
After experiencing the Battle of Blackrock Territory, Arthur deeply understood the importance of Silver-rank knights' combat strength to the development of Blackrock Territory.
At present, after ensuring the steady development of the lower ranks, the urgent need is to cultivate the upper-level combat power of Silver-rank knights.
Therefore, Arthur chose a fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact that might be effective for Gawain's advancement to the silver tier.
After all, Gawain's "Sun Breathing Technique," which surpasses the excellent grade, was also sublimated from the "Firebird Breathing Technique," a rudimentary grade of fire attribute.
Therefore, the "Sun Breathing Technique" is most likely compatible with fire-attribute silver-tier extraordinary external objects.
Regarding the choice of the second silver-tier extraordinary artifact.
Arthur's initial idea was to make up for the sacrifices made by his butler, Leon, in the defense of Blackrock Territory.
When the demon bandits invaded Blackrock Territory, they used some kind of vicious curse, "witchcraft," to severely injure the steward Leon's mount, Frost Raven King, quickly reducing one of their upper-level Silver-rank combatants.
Butler Leon, prioritizing the greater good, reluctantly sacrificed a crucial ice-attribute silver-tier extraordinary artifact for his future knightly path, allowing Frost Raven King's combat strength to recover in time and quickly rejoin the battlefield.
The butler, Leon, hadn't initially intended to tell him about this; he only found out by deliberately seeking it out himself.
Therefore, Arthur naturally wanted to take this opportunity to make amends to his loyal butler, Leon.
However, just as he was about to announce his choice that the second silver-tier extraordinary artifact should be of the ice attribute...
But at that very moment, another figure appeared in his mind—Tristan, the lord of the neighboring territory of Windpu, which bordered Blackrock Territory, a late-stage Silver rank knight with shoulder-length hair and a melancholy air.
Looking back on the battle, Arthur acknowledged that Tristan's three arrows fired during the defense of Blackrock Territory that night played a crucial role in securing their ultimate victory.
It could even be said that the annihilation of this "bounty level three" demon bandit scourge was the result of a joint "cooperation" between Blackrock Territory and Windpu Territory.
Therefore, Lord Tristan of the Windburn should rightfully receive one of his bounty rewards.
A month ago, when Arthur met the late-stage Silver Rank Knight Lord at the alchemist Merlin's residence, he made the same promise to him.