A faint, ethereal sigh drifted through the void of sleep: My child...
That's not my child! Lorist clutched his head, denying it desperately. He still remembered those days before the thick-lipped mountain barbarian woman forced herself on him. A few days prior, she had two male barbarians carry him down to the creek to wash, and the three of them had been going at it right there in front of him. It was far too convenient to claim he was the one who got her pregnant — and besides, it was just the result of a witch-doctor's divination...
It was as though two little people were arguing inside his head. One insisted on his view: That was not his child. Killing her was the right thing to do. She had brought him the greatest humiliation of his life.
The other argued with fervent eloquence: She was nothing more than a mountain barbarian widow whose husband had died. He knew the customs of the mountain barbarian tribes — without children, a barbarian woman had no support in her old age and no standing in the tribe. Whether she went with anyone else or forced herself on him, her purpose was simply to have a child. What was wrong with that? The child she carried was his! He shouldn't have killed her. She was just a pitiful barbarian widow who only wanted a child...
Lorist leaned against the headboard, drenched in sweat, trembling uncontrollably.
"Lorist? What's wrong..." Miss Tressie had woken up beside him.
"Nothing. Just a nightmare." Lorist lowered his head and pressed a kiss to Miss Tressie's pale forehead. "I'm going to practice my swordwork. Go back to sleep — you're carrying a child now, so you need to take care of yourself."
"Mm..." Miss Tressie rolled over and sank back into deep sleep.
Lorist smiled bitterly. This was karma. After returning to the family estate, he had learned the full story. When Miss Tressie collapsed during the assassination attempt by the Great Swordmaster Galinan, she had not discovered her pregnancy until over a month later. At that time, Lorist's whereabouts had been completely unknown. Miss Tressie had been devastated, weeping whenever she thought of Lorist, and had nearly miscarried.
By the time Lorist returned to the family estate, the pregnancy had made Miss Tressie emotional and temperamental, and she had become obsessively clingy toward him. Lorist had to carefully coax her at every turn, even agreeing to her demand that the child, once born, would carry the family name of her foster mother Nico rather than be registered in the
It was precisely because of this that every time he saw Miss Tressie's growing belly, Lorist was reminded of that thick-lipped mountain barbarian woman who had died by his sword. He would often hear her dying wail in his dreams — "My child..." — and wake up drenched in cold sweat.
Perhaps he really had been wrong. He shouldn't have killed that thick-lipped mountain barbarian woman. Lorist felt a twinge of regret. But at the time, hearing that woman claim she carried his child, he had been overwhelmed with humiliation — just as he had been when she forced herself on him. The burning shame and the desperate urge to kill her had been almost instinctive, or perhaps born of rage at that shame. Without a moment's thought, he had grabbed the sword from beside the fire pit and driven it straight through her chest.
It was only after killing the mountain barbarian woman that Lorist came to his senses. He hadn't just killed one person — he had taken two lives with a single blade. And the child she carried might well have been his own. That was why, after burying her body, he had sat before the grave in a daze for so long...
He couldn't go on like this. Lorist rubbed his face with both hands, got up, shed his night robe, changed into his usual clothes, and left the bedroom. He picked up his sword and headed downstairs. He needed to do something — anything — to help himself forget this. What was done was done, and regretting it now was useless. If he kept dwelling on it, having nightmares every night, he would end up losing his mind one day.
...
The journey back to the family estate with Reidi had been uneventful. In fact, after three days, they stumbled right into a patrol of guards who were still searching the snowy plains for them. When the guards saw Lorist and Reidi returning safe and sound, these men who had endured nearly three months of hardship in the wilderness let out thunderous cheers.
Leading the guards were
After learning that Lorist had been ambushed by a Great Swordmaster and that Gold Knights
"My lord," Beluneck said somewhat sheepishly, "we discussed it, and if we couldn't find you — or if something truly terrible had happened — we planned to have the young master inherit the position of Norton family head and raise him until he came of age at eighteen..."
Lorist nodded. "That was very thoughtful of you. I understand. How are Jossk and Bodenfang's injuries?"
"A few days ago, they were still talking about coming here personally to search for you, my lord. Sir Bodenfang's injuries are more serious — he'll probably need to stay in bed for another two months or so. That Galinan fellow slashed him with a single blow from his left shoulder to his chest, opening up a massive wound. He very nearly didn't make it. Tiger Ross was furious — he kept shouting about marching on Windbury to capture the
Erle added from the side, "Fatty Shi told Tiger Ross that the top priority right now was finding you, my lord, and that there was no rush for revenge. That finally put a stop to Tiger Ross's plan to mobilize troops against the Second Prince. We searched this wasteland for nearly three months and were on the verge of giving up. In the end, it was the grace of the War God Sigwa — you returned safe and sound."
Lorist suddenly remembered something important. "What's today's date?"
Erle replied, "It's the nineteenth of February, year 1772 of the Common Calendar."
"Did any beast tide reach the estate during winter?" Lorist asked.
Beluneck and Erle both laughed. "My lord, you're still worried about the beast tide? There were none — there will never be another beast tide. Last winter, a few beast herds made it as far as Crouching Ox Ridge, but they were stopped by the wall leading to Turtle Mountain. Malek and Faraya saw that they were all herbivorous herds, so they mobilized the family's forces and wiped them all out. Though I hear there have been a lot of magic wolves howling beneath the wall lately, day and night without pause. The patrol soldiers all say it's deafening."
The beast tide that had plagued the family for centuries was finally gone. Lorist let out a long sigh of relief — at least one major matter had been resolved satisfactorily. After the remaining scout squads returned to camp, they broke camp the very next day and marched back to the family estate.
Upon returning, Lorist learned that Miss Tressie was pregnant. Doing the math, the timing matched last October, when he had gone to Blade Ridge to bring her back to Bedrock Castle and they had stolen a night together in camp. Hearing that she had nearly miscarried from grief, Lorist hurried to comfort and care for her — and had been wrapped around her finger ever since. Facing Miss Tressie's ever-growing belly, Lorist couldn't help but think of that thick-lipped mountain barbarian woman he had killed with a single sword thrust, the one who claimed to carry his child. And so the torment began, bringing nightmares in its wake...
...
A family council had been held just a few days ago. At the meeting, Lorist first reported on the assassination attempt orchestrated by the Second Prince involving a Great Swordmaster, and mourned deeply for the brave family soldiers and family knights who had sacrificed their lives. After discussion, everyone unanimously demanded that the family retaliate with military force. It was decided that Tiger Ross would lead and Malek would serve as his deputy. These two Gold Knights would command three lancer cavalry battalions, two heavy infantry battalions, two chariot battalions, and
In the subsequent agenda, Lorist reiterated his determination to develop the Black Mud Swamp and the plan to rename the former Earldom of Spensered as Xingan Plains. Over the next two years, settling the relocated populace was the highest priority. As long as Fengle Plains and Xingan Plains were properly developed and turned into the family's granary, the Norton family would have laid a solid foundation, and the path to prosperity would not be far off.
Beyond the Black Mud Swamp and Xingan Plains, another key focus was the establishment of a shipyard. Currently, the low-lying area at the junction of Blade Ridge and the Black Mud Swamp had been filled in, and the passage to the highlands along the swamp's coast was open. The next step was to expand the highland area and fill in the shallow reef zone extending dozens of meters along the shore. It was estimated that by next year, a dock area should be ready for seagoing vessels to berth and set sail.
Lorist instructed old Father Bareck, who was in charge of shipbuilding, and the master craftsmen of the artisan battalion not to wait idly for the dock to be completed. They should begin constructing the shipyard simultaneously, starting with small vessels to hone their skills, with the hope that when the dock was finished, seagoing ships would be ready to launch. He wanted the family's ships to set sail for the open sea as soon as possible.
As for the family's Gold Knight Faraya, Lorist assigned him the critical task of establishing a marine battalion. Lorist said it was better to have men waiting for ships than ships waiting for men. If they waited until the ships were built before recruiting and training sailors, it would be far too slow. Suitable marines had to be trained in advance, so that once the ships were ready, only brief coordinated drills would be needed before they could set sail.
Lorist had been practicing his sword for about an hour when he stepped outside and found Schward standing guard at the door. Surprised, he asked, "Aren't you looking after your father? What are you doing back here?"
Schward replied, "Father says I am your squire and must stay at your side. His injuries will recover in another month or so, and he's already able to get up and do some light activity, so he doesn't need me by his side anymore."
Lorist considered this — it made sense. He had visited Bodenfang a couple of days ago, and his condition was clearly improving.
After thinking for a moment, he asked Schward, "How long ago did Tiger Ross and Malek set out?"
"They left two days ago. In six more days, they'll reach the Hendley Fuso Bridge, at which point they can push into Winston Province. Roughly fourteen to fifteen days from now, they should arrive at the royal capital Windbury." Schward's knowledge of geography had always been excellent, and he had a good understanding of the family forces' pace of advance.
Lorist stroked his chin and thought for a moment, finally deciding to temporarily escape the company of the heavily pregnant Miss Tressie. "Schward, after I eat and go back to keep Miss Tressie company, I want you to pretend you've received an urgent letter from
Schward was taken aback and took a cautious step back. "My lord, what are you planning?"
"I'm trying to get out of here, you blockhead. If you do as I say, I'll take you along to the royal capital Windbury. Otherwise, the two of us — master and apprentice — will be stuck here with nowhere to go," Lorist cursed.
Schward thought about it for a long while before agreeing. "You have to keep your word, then. You can't leave me behind. I want to go with you and see the world."
...
Miss Tressie believed Schward's report entirely, but the thought of Lorist leaving her again made her burst into tears. Lorist hurried to comfort her, and after a long while finally said, "Darling, even if you won't think of your own health, think of little Nico in your belly. And besides, I'm not going to war — I'm just going to Gildusk to meet with those two foolish barons. There's no danger at all. And I'll be back very quickly — twenty days at most, maybe a month..."
Schward pursed his lips to the side, thinking to himself: There goes the lord lying again. A round trip to the royal capital Windbury would take over a month.
It took great effort, but Lorist finally managed to calm Miss Tressie down. Once outside, he sighed, "Schward, remember this: the more learned a woman is, the more trouble she is — and pregnancy only makes her more delicate and more sensitive. Learn from your master's mistake: never take a female scholar as a woman..."
Schward's face was a mask of dark exasperation.
Erle, Pat, and Reidi had long since received word that Lorist was heading out and had the guard battalion fully assembled and ready to march.
Lorist said, "Pat, take a few guards and bring along the body of that old Great Swordmaster Galinan. Tiger Ross and Malek forgot to take it with them when they set out a few days ago. We're bringing this dead old man's corpse to the royal capital Windbury so that everyone can see it. The Second Prince sent this old man to assassinate me, and he was killed by our family's forces. Let the body of this dead Great Swordmaster and the fate of the Second Prince serve as a message to everyone who harbors ill will toward the Norton Family — this is what happens when you cross the Bear Family."
"Long live the Nortons!" the guards cheered thunderously at Lorist's words.
Schward cheered along while thinking to himself: Well, now the lord already has his excuse for going to the royal capital Windbury...
...(To be continued.)