Chapter 52
<Lamazuri Aura Cultivation Method: For a Healthy Birth>
<Dina Aura Cultivation Method: Infant Cultivation Method>
For the knights who had awakened their aura, the titles alone would have been laughable. Even the more knowledgeable ones would likely dismiss them as some scam artist’s prank.
The first pages of each book contained a brief summary of the aura cultivation methods. After reading them, Amy furrowed her brows.
"Is this really possible?"
"I tried it, and it worked. If you’ve got questions about the Lamazuri method, ask my mother. And for the Dina method, you can check on Dina herself anytime. Even if it’s a rudimentary method that doesn’t even qualify as low-grade, as long as it starts accumulating aura in the body, there’ll be no need to worry about illness. And since the aura flows through the crown of the head, it should help make her smarter, too."
Amy let out a breath. She was clumsily trying to follow the Lamazuri Aura Cultivation Method.
The breathing technique itself wasn’t difficult. The real challenge was concentrating magical energy at specific points, something hard to master just by reading a book.
"If this really works, Hebron’s future could change in twenty, no, even ten years."
"Ten years is too late."
Powerful monsters were appearing everywhere. If they started showing up in groups instead of scattered individuals, Hebron would be overrun in the blink of an eye.
"But still…"
"Let’s think about the Hebron of ten years from now when we get there. For now, we’re laying out Hebron’s ten-year plan. Once the children trained with the Dina method grow up, we’ll be putting them to good use."
"Yes, my lord!"
Amy beamed brightly. She looked at Hebron’s future with pure optimism, but I didn’t share her view.
I believed Hebron’s future would be even brighter.
‘Will Hebron’s future change in ten years? No, this isn’t a matter of ten years. This will reshape lifestyles over several generations. This is a problem those foolish nobles never once considered seriously. If we want real results, we need to build a proper system.’
There was no need to overcomplicate things. Hebron had ample resources. And thanks to the tax exemption, we could immediately mobilize thousands of gold in funds.
"Establish an educational institution. It’ll provide support for childbirth and also handle infant education."
"Are you thinking about educating the commoners too?"
"If we find someone talented, we should teach them and put them to work. Wouldn’t it be a shame to overlook them otherwise? Don’t you think so?"
Amy, who had once nearly faded into obscurity as someone’s wife, nodded vigorously.
She stared blankly at me, and I asked her.
"What are you doing?"
"Having a meeting with you, my lord."
"The meeting’s over. You must be busy, so get going."
"There’s still more we could dis—"
"There isn’t."
Amy was indeed busy.
Partly because I’d burdened her with a heavy workload, but also because her perfectionism made things harder. She was a workaholic, no, someone fighting with everything she had to prove herself. She had no option to live moderately. If she didn’t achieve something concrete, she’d eventually end up as someone’s wife.
"Yes…"
She rose sluggishly, but despite her sluggish movements, her eyes were glowing. She was clearly already formulating plans.
"This is your bonus."
I handed her a pouch stuffed with gold coins. Amy, who never had time to spend her wages, nearly dropped the pouch in surprise.
"I'm about to go mad from gratitude."
"Half of it has already been sent to Baron Ludwig. This is the remaining half."
"…Thank you."
Amy sent every coin she earned to the Ludwig Barony.
Recently, even a marked monster had appeared there. Two knights were killed trying to stop it. For a barony, that was a significant loss of strength.
In the end, they had to hire mercenaries to take the monster down. Because it had been left unchecked for so long, the barony suffered considerable damage. In time, smaller territories would likely fall to marked monsters.
"I could dispatch some soldiers to the Ludwig Barony."
"No, we can’t spare any of Hebron’s soldiers right now."
"Alright. I trust you’ll make the right call. But if you change your mind, just say the word. I don’t want to see my Prime Minister unable to work because of personal matters."
* * *
I gathered Hebron’s soldiers in the outer forests of Delgain.
Soldiers from Hebron, Nurha, Biskin, and Delgain assembled under Hebron’s banner.
Six knights each were assigned command of 100 regular soldiers. In addition, there were the 100 slave soldiers already in training and 100 newly acquired slave recruits. That made for a force of over 800.
Back in Hebron, 200 regular soldiers remained, led by Sir Brown.
I mounted Syang's back to lead the army.
Grrrrr…
Bulf, who had now shed his youthful appearance, let out a low growl. As a true blood wolf, his sense of smell was sharp, and his newly grown, glistening red fur stood out from a distance.
“Bulf, quiet.”
At Ambrod’s command, Bulf closed his mouth.
When Bulf approached Ambrod and nudged his head forward, Ambrod absent-mindedly scratched the bridge of Bulf’s nose with his fingertips.
‘He said he didn’t like him, but now they’re inseparable. Well, Viscount Zylson was fond of Bulf, too.’
Bulf had been raised by Ambrod. Though he initially refused, he eventually agreed to care for the pup on the condition that he wouldn’t ride him and treat him more like a pet.
Ambrod now rode a warhorse instead of the blood wolf. He had not abandoned the knight’s pride. Technically, under the terms of the slave contract, I could’ve ordered Ambrod to mount the blood wolf, but Bulf was still a pup and couldn’t support his weight. Until Bulf matured, Ambrod would continue honing his one-legged riding techniques on a warhorse.
Ambrod approached me, wearing the prosthetic leg crafted by Baryan.
‘His posture is visibly more stable.’
Ambrod had secured himself into the warhorse’s saddle. It had been specially designed by Baryan so that, unless the locking mechanism was released, it would be impossible to force Ambrod off his horse.
“I’m ready, my lord.”
Hebron’s army was preparing to receive a guest.
Gaius de Xenon, the special inspector of the royal court, was scheduled to visit. Before his arrival, he had sent a message through Might, the royal mage dispatched to Hebron.
—Viscount Hebron, I bring a gift. Await me!
It wasn’t a written message, but a spoken one, delivered with clear excitement in Gaius' voice.
Apparently, thanks to his effective handling of both Hebron and Sardia’s affairs, Gaius' reputation at the royal court had improved.
‘A reward, most likely. At minimum 1,000 gold… maybe even 2,000 if it’s a royal commendation. With that, I could recruit another hundred slave soldiers.’
Hebron’s slave army had already grown to 200. While a hundred were still undergoing training, their skill levels had been improving rapidly, thanks to intense and relentless drills. With another 100 added, I’d be able to crush even the Zylson Order of Knights with just the slave army.
A force of nearly 600 soldiers had assembled for the sake of one man, Special Inspector Gaius. It was a show of courtesy for someone of the royal family who held Hebron in special regard.
Gaius, after all, enjoyed such grand displays.
Flutter!
Bimae swooped down and landed on my shoulder. A red cloth was tied around its leg. Without even removing it, I issued a command to the soldiers.
“Monsters!”
“Cavalry, follow me!”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights mounted on warhorses followed me closely behind.
There were also ten soldiers undergoing knight training who followed as well.
“Syang, let’s go!”
Baaaaaaaaaaa!
Syang dashed forward, faster than any typical warhorse. We charged along the path where Gaius' entourage was expected to pass, and soon spotted a carriage in the distance.
One lone carriage was barreling forward at terrifying speed, completely unaccompanied by guards.
Behind it, dozens of monsters were clinging in pursuit.
Grrr! Grrr! Grah! Grah!
Though smaller than humans, the monsters were quick. Their teeth and claws were black and razor-sharp, and their curled tails resembled those of squirrels.
Despite their deceptively harmless appearance, anyone foolish enough to approach thinking they were cute would get their head bitten off.
“Quokkas? They’re not supposed to live around here. Did they really chase that carriage for over ten kilometers?”
Quokkas favor fish, typically inhabiting lakesides or marshlands. But the nearest lake from here was more than ten kilometers away.
“He really is a magnet for chaos. No wonder the royal family wanted him out of the capital.”
It was hard to understand how a reckless prince like Gaius had been appointed as a special inspector.
Rumor had it he caused trouble wherever he went. And each year, the incidents grew more severe, some even saying that disaster followed him like a curse.
More often than not, he didn’t seek out problems, they just happened to him.
Like right now.
‘Trickster’s Mark! That’s bad.’
The quokkas were moving with frightening coordination, clearly under a leader.
And on that leader’s forehead was none other than the notorious Trickster’s Mark.
Dududududu! CRASH!
Syang rammed into the pack of quokkas with his solid horns.
The creatures were flung aside as though they had slammed into a rock.
Without slowing down, Syang cut straight through the group, then made a sharp turn and charged again.
But the second time through, Syang couldn’t punch through with the same force.
“Inferno!”
Inferno rained down fireballs. A dozen fiery blasts scorched the quokkas, clearing the way, and Syang galloped straight through them with ease.
We pulled up right alongside Gaius' carriage.
“I’ll protect you, Your Highness!”
The carriage window flew open.
Gaius sat inside alone with a pale face.
No sign of his guards.
“Viscount Hebron!”
“Are you okay, Your Highness?”
“I’m fine. Though it seems I’m constantly in your debt.”
“As a servant of Xenon, I’ve only done what was expected of me. I’ll hold them off here. Your Highness, please retreat to Hebron manor.”
“Thank you!”
The three horses pulling the carriage galloped with all their might along the well-packed road. They would keep running until they collapsed or Gaius ordered them to stop.
More knights arrived, the first among them being Ambrod.
“Ambrod.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Show me your skills."
“Yes, sir!”
Ambrod drew his sword and charged forward. He didn't care about normal Quokkas; he cut down the ones lunging at him from all sides and focused solely on the leader.
The quokka leader didn’t come out easily. It remained hidden among the group, moving its subordinates like chess pieces.
‘Not bad. Not particularly impressive either.’
Ambrod’s skill certainly exceeded that of a typical baronial house. But the same could be said of Hebron’s own knights. With their aura cultivation techniques and swordsmanship refined, Hebron’s knights were growing stronger every day. Ambrod, on the other hand, was still struggling just to regain his former abilities.
Before long, Ambrod’s limits became apparent. He couldn’t hold off that many quokkas on his own.
He barely managed to avoid a fatal wound and was forced into a purely defensive stance.
‘Clever. Is he more smarter than physically capable?’
The marked quokka led several dozen others. No matter how brilliant a leader is, only a few could lead their soldiers as skillfully as that beast did.
“Solon, Adol, Loka, Sniff, Histon—assist Ambrod!”
I called out to five knights who had arrived a moment later. They drove their warhorses straight toward Ambrod’s position.
The ten Knight trainees arrived after them, their nervousness was obvious.
The tension in the knight trainees spread to their horses.
“Cavalry of Hebron, hear me.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Do you want to fight?”
“Yes! We want to fight!”
