Chapter 412: Report

Sophia and her companions not only failed to see Ronin, but even Elrond, the man in charge, was absent from Marsh Castle.

Left with no choice, the newcomers decided to settle down in the town for the time being, both waiting for Ronin's return and familiarizing themselves with the state of this continent.

Two days later, having replenished their food supplies, they returned to their ship.

"I never expected the Starry Continent, oh wait, Orland Continent as they call it, to be so wretched. A marsh town of this size doesn't even have a single decent transcendent being."

Hamon, hailing from Dark Moon City, spoke in utter disbelief: "If this were back on the Crescent Continent, any random small town would have at least a Silver Knight, if not a Gold Knight."

Knight Petro, who had remained silent all along, nodded in agreement.

"We came to this side hoping to enlist the strength of the Starry Continent to help us eradicate the demons on the Crescent Continent, but who would have thought..."

As he spoke, he shrugged: "There isn't even a Gold Knight here, let alone the Silver Moon, Blazing Sun, or even Legend and Sage ranks above them."

"If you ask me, Simon, you'd better hurry up and fix the ship so we can just head back."

The dark-skinned fellow, Simon, grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth: "The power of the Pearl has been completely exhausted. Without the power of a Legend for the return journey, we cannot safely cross the Sea of Storms."

Hearing this, Petro let out a helpless sigh, "We're done for, there's no going back."

"You've only just arrived, and already you wish to return?"

Sophia's gaze swept over the men, carrying a faint touch of majesty, "Do not forget that we have another purpose here, and that is to deal with the divine emissary who has come to this side."

"Since we cannot bring powerful experts back with us, they cannot either!"

Petro burst into laughter, "I was merely jesting, Your Highness. If we truly returned like this, even if we made it back to Dawn City safely, with what face could we confront the families of Balte and the others who perished along the way?"

Sophia nodded, "Wait in peace. Hamet said Earl Ronin's battle is nearly at an end. We shall await his return to see how things stand before deciding on our next move."

The information possessed by the people of Marsh Town was far too limited; many things could likely only be gleaned by inquiring of the nobility, and certainly not ordinary, low-level nobles like Hamet.

Clearly, Ronin had seen more of the world and knew more, making him an excellent channel.

...

The Golden Feather Palace.

A span of two days was more than enough for Broll to return to the royal capital from the Black Mountain Fief with his griffin knights.

By now, he had already reported the matters to His Majesty the King.

Bruno was naturally pleased to hear that Rulance had fully recovered and that the turmoil in the Black Mountain Fief had been suppressed so swiftly.

Yet, he had not anticipated that Ronin would cause such a massive stir.

"Are you certain Ronin truly possesses the strength to slay a Silver Moon Knight?" he inquired in disbelief.

Broll felt somewhat helpless, "Your Majesty, this is the third time you have asked."

"Orsen, who had broken through to the Silver Moon rank, died by Ronin's hand. Though Rulance claims Ronin merely used a secret technique beyond his rank, that is a deceptive piece of nonsense.

By my estimation, Ronin is either a Silver Moon Knight himself, or he is a Meteor-rank knight in his mid-to-late stages capable of employing a supreme secret technique. I lean toward the former."

He paused for a moment, appending: "Be that as it may, it is beyond question that the Black Mountain Fief now boasts two Silver Moon ranks."

"That fellow Rulance..."

Bruno's current state of mind was rather complex, caught between delight and a tinge of apprehension.

He was delighted because the Black Mountain Fief had grown powerful.

In addition to Rulance and Ronin, there were Melonica, Elrond, and half of Miroslav.

A Black Mountain Fief of such caliber was now qualified to contain the surrounding landed nobility, which could help alleviate some of his pressure.

Yet, his apprehension stemmed from the exact same source; he feared the Black Mountain Fief might join hands with those people.

"Fortunately, Ronin and Blanche are soon to be betrothed."

At the thought of this, the corners of Bruno's mouth could not help but curl upward.

The marital alliance would render the relationship between both parties more steadfast; no matter how formidable the young man's talent, surely he would not harbor designs against his own father-in-law?

Looking at it now, his arrangement for Blanche to marry Ronin had truly been a sagacious decision.

Who could have foreseen that the useless wretch of yesteryear would grow into one of the continent's apex powerhouses so rapidly.

"I suspect Rulance knew of Ronin's monstrous talent long ago. It was only to prevent him from walking his son's path that he had Ronin conceal his gifts."

Bruno surmised: "To perform so convincingly, it must have been quite a trial for the grandfather and grandson."

"In ten or twenty years, Ronin might well become a Blazing Sun Knight. Should he join forces with my son then, the tottering Kingdom of Tricia would scarcely stand a chance against them."

The king, still relatively young at under sixty, was fantasizing about unifying the Orland Continent and establishing a colossal empire.

At that time, he would be the founding emperor, possessing a status of supreme loftiness.

Then again, the matter of the Witch-Soul Clan left Bruno somewhat uneasy.

"The Kingdom of Tricia has been exceedingly turbulent of late; it is estimated that an internal war will erupt very soon. The faction opposing Tamerlane seems rather peculiar; I wonder if it has any connection to the Witch-Soul Clan?"

Although a delicate peace had persisted between the two kingdoms over the years, accompanied by commercial trade, it was still a far cry from being harmonious or close-knit.

Thus, even with Bruno's intelligence officer striving to investigate, it would still take a while before he could obtain precise intelligence.

"Philemon, go tell Arseno to have him notify the various nobles regarding the Witch-Soul Clan, commanding them to report upward immediately upon any discovery."

Having listened to Broll's description, the King harbored an immense dread of the Witch-Soul Clan in his heart.

Should they grow careless for a single moment, the speed of the enemy's expansion would make anyone's skin crawl.

"If found, they must be utterly destroyed!"

"As you wish, Your Majesty!"

Meanwhile, at Orsen's Black Python Castle.

By now, Rulance, Toru, Ronin, and the others had entered the castle.

Ronin had received definitive word from Rhaegar and Reig that everything of value within the entire Black Python Castle had been hauled away, leaving behind essentially nothing but scrap metal.

Certain knights or nobles with a bit of capital did not even care to waste time scavenging it.

Reig and his men, however, did not scoff at it; even if it was scrap metal, it could still be sold for some coin, not to mention that a diligent search might yield a stray harvest.

In the afternoon, Rulance and Ronin were resting in the courtyard.

"You performed many great deeds in this battle. What do you intend to ask for?" the old man inquired.

Ronin pondered it in earnest.

To be enfeoffed as a Marquis was certainly out of the question; Rulance was a Marquis himself and could not confer such a title.

Apart from that, what he desired was to accumulate attribute points as quickly as possible.

Presently, the game tasks that remained relatively straightforward were likely only the flourishing population and the expansion of territory.

Of these two achievement tasks, one required a population tier reaching 300,000, while the other required a population exceeding 100,000.

To sum it up, it all came down to people.

Thus, Ronin spoke with a smile: "Grandfather, what my territory needs most is population. If possible, I hope to obtain a sufficient amount of population resources."

"No problem."

Rulance nodded, "What, is this the only thing you want?"

Luo Ning laughed heartily, "If Grandfather intends to grant Heimang City as an enclave for me, I would be more than delighted."

Lu Lans also smiled, offering his remark: "You've certainly given it much thought."

He paused, then added, "Rest assured, I've already made arrangements for you." (End of Chapter)