On the docks, the family soldiers herded the sailors off the three-masted ocean vessel. The captain, first mate, second mate, third mate, and boatswain—the minor officers—were detained separately. All of them would be taken back to the manor for identity screening.
The severed heads of Slof and Great Swordmaster Pike were hoisted high on two bamboo poles.
From the ship, Slof's party had brought down three large chests and one small chest in total. The first large chest contained miscellaneous goods—tea leaves, wheat cakes, and the like. The second held Slof's and Great Swordmaster Pike's clothing and personal effects. The third large chest was filled with new women's clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, and other feminine items—most likely purchases by Captain Slof for his favorite concubine and maids. What he didn't know was that his women had long since been divided up among the old academy students who had followed Lorist.
The small chest contained over ten thousand gold Forde, heavy and dense. Lorist glanced at it and closed the lid, thinking to himself that Fatty Shi would be overjoyed again when they returned.
Bodofeng and Ross descended from the ocean vessel and approached Lorist. "My lord, the ship is loaded with grain—primarily black rye flour and bran, probably meant to feed the slaves. There's also some coarse linen and a small quantity of spears, leather armor, and other weaponry. Nothing else."
"Good. Have everything transported to the manor first. Ross, dispatch a spearman company to the dock area to guard that vessel," Lorist said.
"Yes, my lord." Bodofeng and Ross snapped to attention, saluted, and departed.
Dolles rode up on horseback, dismounting as he reached the group, his expression one of deep regret—he hadn't gotten a chance to unleash the ballista mounted on his war chariot. Lorist had originally planned that if his javelins proved ineffective against Great Swordmaster Pike, Dolles's ballista would join the second volley of crossbow fire to attack. Unfortunately, Pike hadn't lasted that long.
"Don't look so glum. Load those big chests onto your war chariot. One of them is full of women's items—if any of you have maids, pick out a gift for them. I guarantee you'll be well-rewarded tonight," Lorist said with a grin.
A rider burst into the small dock square and reined up before Lorist. "My lord, a military force is marching toward the manor. Lord
"Tell Knight Yuri not to act rashly. Send an envoy first to make contact. If they show hostility, launch a delaying attack—but prioritize preserving our forces. If they mean no harm, inform their commander that I will arrive shortly to meet with him," Lorist told the scout.
"Yes, my lord." The scout wheeled his horse and galloped away.
Rubbing his chin, Lorist pondered. This local lord's reaction was astonishingly slow. He had wiped out the slave-hunting company and occupied Slof's manor eight days ago. For the past two days, he'd even imposed martial law on the small town to ambush Slof and Great Swordmaster Pike's party, forbidding residents from leaving lest they tip off the enemy. In theory, a lord should learn about events in his domain immediately, yet for days nothing had happened—not a single spy had appeared near the manor's perimeter. It wasn't until he'd blockaded Aymetlin Harbor and the town for two full days that this lord finally reacted, mustering an army to investigate. After all, those two places were tied to his tax revenue.
"Pat, get those two heads down and put them in a box properly. We're about to pay our respects to the local lord," Lorist said.
---
Following the directions of the light cavalry scouts Yuri had sent, Lorist's party quickly reached the location.
It was a small hillside where Yuri and his light cavalry scouts were mounted in a diagonal line along the slope.
"My lord, look—one charge, and I guarantee these people will break down crying and flee. They're just farmers..." Yuri was highly confident in his scout squad's combat ability.
On the opposite slope, clusters of peasants wielding crude weapons were scattered here and there—rake-forks, iron pitchforks, woodcutting axes, hunting bows, and the like. Yuri had apparently sent someone to contact their commander, who now knew that Yuri's group was not part of Slof's slave-hunting company but rather a baron's family forces. The peasant army had relaxed accordingly, forming no battle lines on the slope. They simply sat down wherever they pleased, gathered in groups, pointing and chattering toward Lorist's side.
At the crest of the hill, a group of fully equipped riders sat on horseback, gazing down. Behind them fluttered a banner bearing a small white flower—Lorist didn't recognize the coat of arms.
"We drive them off, and then what? If we fight these lords and nobles every day, eventually the kingdom's nobles will form a coalition to march against us. We'll have no support here—legally or morally, we'd be in the wrong. This isn't our family's domain," Lorist said.
"Pat, bring our family banner. Reidi, bring the box. We're going over there." Lorist spurred his horse toward the opposite slope.
Yuri grabbed Lorist's reins. "My lord, isn't this a bit risky..."
"It's fine. Fewer people means more sincerity. And look behind you—Bodofeng's heavy infantry are almost here,
"Then I wish the lord success." Yuri released the reins, and Lorist, with Pat and Reidi, galloped toward the opposite slope as a trio.
Once on the opposite slope, still several dozen meters from the crest, Lorist dismounted and handed his reins to the mounted Reidi. He then strode briskly toward the group in their splendid armor. Pat rode behind him carrying the Roaring Bear banner, while Reidi led Lorist's horse at the rear.
"May I ask which of you is the lord?" Lorist approached the front of the group and offered a hand-over-heart bow.
"I am Count Miranda. Aymetlin Harbor is my domain. And you are?" A knight in full plate at the front of the group removed his helmet, revealing the weary face of a middle-aged man.
"My respects, Your Excellency the Count. I am
"Norton? I seem to have heard that name somewhere..." Count Miranda murmured, his gaze fixed on the Roaring Bear banner behind Lorist.
"Allow me to remind you—my family guarded the Northland wastelands throughout the Empire era," Lorist said.
"Ah, I remember now—the Roaring Bear of Northland, a hereditary military noble house. But I'm curious: why would the Norton family, whose domain is in the north, come to my territory and blockade Aymetlin Harbor?" Count Miranda fixed Lorist with a stare.
Lorist spread his hands. "Your Excellency, I didn't expect it either. My family's forces were attacked with malice right in your territory. They had been escorting me to Northland to inherit my title, but somehow at Aymetlin Harbor, people attacked them and tried to drag them off as slaves."
Count Miranda's face darkened, and he cursed viciously. "Damn slave hunters."
"They didn't expect us to be a proper army. Once armed, we eliminated them easily and occupied their headquarters—Slof's manor. As for blockading Aymetlin Harbor, I apologize, Your Excellency, but we had to ensure our enemies were completely destroyed. The Norton family never fears how powerful an enemy might be—we only ask where they are. Reidi, present the box."
Lorist opened the box, revealing two severed heads inside. "Your Excellency, these are the ringleaders who attacked us—Captain Slof and Great Swordmaster Pike. Just an hour ago, they were killed by my family's forces at the docks."
"What? You killed Slof and Great Swordmaster Pike?" Count Miranda's expression shifted from shock to wild elation. "Truly?"
The crowd behind him began to stir, pressing forward to get a look at the heads in the box.
"The heads are right here. Your Excellency is welcome to inspect them."
Count Miranda didn't even wait for an attendant's help. He swung down from his mount in one fluid motion, strode forward, and snatched the box from Reidi's hands to examine the two heads closely.
"Ha ha! It really is Slof and Pike! You bastards finally got what was coming to you!" Count Miranda was overcome with glee, bursting into wild laughter. It seemed the rumors about his inability to deal with Captain Slof were entirely true.
The crowd stirred again, as ranks of heavy infantry, crossbowmen, a knight company, and war chariots appeared in formation on the opposite slope. Count Miranda glanced over, and his expression changed once more. "These are your family's forces?"
"Yes, Your Excellency," Lorist replied.
"Your family's forces look no less impressive than the kingdom's regular legions. Why on earth would slave hunters attack you?" Indeed, provoking such elite troops was sheer madness. Count Miranda half-suspected Lorist was making excuses.
"Your Excellency, we were passing through your domain and didn't want to attract attention, so I ordered my family's forces to go unarmed and unarmored. The Slof slave hunters mistook us for fellow slave traders and demanded half our 'merchandise.' No matter how we explained, they refused to believe us—instead accusing us of deception. They even mustered a force to attack. We had no choice but to take up arms and destroy them, which is how we came to disturb you. You can ask the port tax collector and the townspeople—we truly had no weapons or equipment when we came ashore," Lorist explained.
Count Miranda relaxed. Lorist had no reason to lie about this—a quick inquiry at the port would confirm everything. It could only mean the slave hunters had courted their own destruction, crashing headlong into a wall of steel and paying with their lives.
Glancing at the heads in the box, Count Miranda beamed. He waved over two knights behind him, rattled off the names of seven or eight shops, and sent them with men to seize those establishments.
They had practically monopolized all trade in the town and the port. "As the lord, I couldn't collect a single copper coin in taxes from them—which is why Aymetlin Harbor has been so slow to develop," Count Miranda explained to Lorist.
Lorist nodded. It seemed this count had a solid head for economics. He waved Reidi over and asked him to accompany the two knights to prevent any misunderstandings with the spearman company left in town.
"You said you've already occupied Slof's manor?" Count Miranda said.
Lorist smiled. He knew what the count was worried about. "Yes, Your Excellency, rest assured—we'll only be staying about another month. With so many family dependents, we needed the manor to rest and resupply. We should depart for Northland after the New Year, and we'll hand the manor back to Your Excellency in pristine condition."
Count Miranda flushed slightly. By noble tradition, Slof's manor should count as Lorist's spoils of war, with no obligation to return it to the local lord—or the lord would have to pay a ransom to reclaim it. Now Lorist was offering to hand it over unconditionally, asking only to stay one more month. The count felt rather embarrassed.
"In that case, during your stay, we can provide whatever supplies your forces need. I'll instruct the officials at Aymetlin Harbor to see to it," Count Miranda said.
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Excellency." Lorist bowed, not standing on ceremony.
"If Your Excellency has time, might I invite you to visit Slof's manor, so this temporary landowner can show his respect?" Lorist extended the invitation.
Count Miranda looked at the formidable forces on the opposite slope, then at his own men, and nodded. "Very well. Lord Norton, please wait a moment while I dismiss these soldiers first, then I'll come to the manor."
Since Lorist had not yet formally inherited his domain and title, the count couldn't address him as "Baron" and used the honorific "Lord" instead. Indeed, whoever commanded the army across the slope deserved to be called "Lord."
Lorist bowed once more. "Then I shall await Your Excellency's gracious arrival at the manor."
---
Count Miranda arrived at the manor with only four knights and roughly fifty attendants in leather armor.
Lorist hosted a grand banquet in honor of the count and his four knights, introducing each of the family's knights in turn.
Count Miranda was envious of how many outstanding knights Lorist commanded. However, he noticed that the servants attending them were all flustered and clumsy in their etiquette, which struck him as odd. Lorist smiled ruefully and explained that these servants were actually relatives of his subordinates, drafted at the last minute to serve as attendants. The manor's original servants couldn't be trusted—he'd feared incidents—so they'd been locked up together with the slave hunters' families. If the count wished, he could take them all off his hands.
Count Miranda was delighted, thumping his chest and promising to send a batch of servants and maids from his castle the next day to manage the manor's main house. Lorist handed over the slave hunters' families—over a thousand people in all. Whether the count sold them or put them to work, it would be a tidy extra income.
Near the end of the banquet, Count Miranda posed a question: he'd noticed Lorist had only three gold-tier fighters—Bodofeng, Ross, and Ingelik—so he was baffled as to how Lorist had actually killed Great Swordmaster Pike. Without Pike breathing down his neck, the count would have long since fought Slof to the bitter end. As a lord, he could ill tolerate another power in his domain that refused to obey his commands.
Lorist thought for a moment, then picked up a ceramic basin and placed a silver cup inside it. "If you engage a Great Swordmaster in close combat, it's like this silver cup inside the basin—breaking the basin would be extremely difficult. My strategy was much simpler."
He set the basin on the table, picked up the silver cup, and hurled it. *Crack*—the basin shattered.
"Simple as that." Lorist attributed the feat of killing Great Swordmaster Pike to the crossbow battalion. "Even if he was a Great Swordmaster, facing a fully equipped, well-trained army, he didn't stand a chance."
Count Miranda nodded thoughtfully.