Chapter 110: Promotion and Underlying Turmoil

Chapter 110: Promotion and Underlying Turmoil

"Lord Hamilton, the 'materials' mentioned in the note are, of course, the children who were forcibly abducted by various gangs and pirates on their orders. If my guess is correct, this Black Flame Sect you mentioned is obviously preparing something important for them."

"You're right, Rain. I'll immediately report this matter to the County City," Hamilton nodded, feeling the same.

The recent spate of child disappearances had a clear culprit—the Black Flame Sect.

At this moment, a messenger arrived and said, "Sheriff, Sir Lloyd and his knights have arrived at Sterwin Farm. Should we go there, or do you want Sir Lloyd to come here?"

"Have all the children been rescued?" Hamilton asked the messenger, but instead of making a decision, he turned to Rain.

Rain nodded and said, "All successfully rescued, no casualties, and no injuries!"

"Excellent! Then let's go to Sterwin Farm and meet up with Sir Lloyd and his knights." Hamilton waved his hand, clearly in a good mood.

"Oh, and messenger, immediately inform County Sheriff Viscount Hamadi that we've destroyed a secret base of a heretical cult and rescued dozens of children."

"Yes, sir!" the messenger replied, ready to carry out the order.

With the arrival of Sir Lloyd and his knights, Sterwin Farm became bustling with activity. The surrounding areas were also thoroughly searched by the accompanying guards from the Habsburg Estate.

Rain even spotted a familiar figure—the swordsman he knew well.

However, it seemed that the swordsman had never expected that the person standing next to Sheriff Hamilton, also clad in knight's armor, would be Rain.

This was partly because Rain wore a knight's helmet, which had narrow slits for the eyes and nose, making it impossible for anyone to see the knight's true face through the slits.

Therefore, the swordsman couldn't identify Rain.

And Rain had no intention of causing a 'shock' by greeting the swordsman and giving him a 'surprise'.

As a secret base of the Black Flame Sect, Sterwin Farm should have had traces of the sect, but Mort's fire had burned away any evidence.

This made Rain realize the significance of the 'note' found on Mort, and it gained even more attention from Hamilton.

Rain didn't linger at Sterwin Farm for long. He accompanied the Night Watch team escorting the children back to Shangjin Town.

On the way back, Rain finally had time to check the system prompts:

[Your skill 'Grizzly Sword Technique' has gained experience: +86]



[You have experienced a battle: Night Watch Profession XP +42]



[Your skill 'Grizzly Sword Technique' has gained experience: +278]



[You have experienced a battle: Night Watch Profession XP +142]



[Your skill 'Grizzly Sword Technique' has gained experience: +326]



[You have experienced a battle: Night Watch Profession XP +172]



[Your skill 'Grizzly Sword Technique' has gained experience: +359]



[You have experienced a battle: Night Watch Profession XP +205]



The system prompts flooded the screen.

From the sparring with Abigail to the fight with the Hammerman, and then the six-on-one battle, the experience rewards were substantial.

Both the Night Watch profession level and the Grizzly Sword Technique profession level surpassed level 4 (593/1000) and level 5 (1049/2000), respectively.

As Rain returned to Shangjin Town, Velen approached Hamilton, who was still at Sterwin Farm handling the aftermath. Velen said, "Sir, I request to resign from my position as the Night Watch captain. I deeply apologize for my negligence during this entire incident."

"If not for your timely arrival and blocking that cloaked figure, and Rain successfully rescuing all the children, I would've felt guilty for the rest of my life."

Velen bowed deeply, and Hamilton remained silent. Seeing this, he understood Velen's feelings. While he was a capable captain, he had failed in his duties.

Hamilton nodded and said, "Agreed, Velen. By the way, do you have any recommendations for the position of Night Watch captain?"

"Thank you, sir. I recommend Rain and Mateo, but I lean more towards Rain. Although he's new to the Night Watch, his skills are evident, and without him, this rescue operation wouldn't have been so successful."

"Rain was truly grateful to Vellen for what he had done.

After experiencing this incident, Rain felt that he had been too negligent towards his family. Spending more time with his daughter, Abigail, and his family was a blessing in itself.

Upon returning home, Rain quickly noticed the absence of Ragley and Anna.

"Mint, where's your sister Anna?" Rain asked his sister, who was playing with a Linty.

"Sister Anna and Sister Ragley are next door at Sister Anna's house, cleaning the room. They said they'll be staying there tonight."

"Hmm?" Rain's heart sank a little upon hearing this.

Since the incident with Blackbeard, Anna had been staying at his home, and he had grown accustomed to her presence.

But upon further thought, he realized that his room was already full, and with Ragley's addition, there was no more space.

Additionally, the threat from the Hyena Gang had long passed, and it was only natural for Anna to return home. With Ragley's martial prowess, protecting Anna would be more than sufficient.

After some contemplation, Rain decided not to seek out Ragley and instead returned to his room.

Lying on his bed, Rain's mind wandered back to his battle with the Black Flame Adept.

He had won that battle by a stroke of luck.

As he carefully reminisced, Rain felt a chill down his spine. If the Black Flame Adept hadn't been injured by Sheriff Hamilton, he would have had no chance of defeating him.

Not only that, but he would have been thoroughly beaten, and his life would have been in danger.

Despite being injured in the abdomen, the Adept's speed and agility were still comparable to Rain's. One could only imagine how fast he would have been if he hadn't been wounded.

Rain's killing moves might have been easily dodged by the Adept.

"I need to improve my strength!" Rain muttered to himself.

Soon, exhausted from the day's events, Rain fell into a deep sleep.

The next two days in Shangjin Town were peaceful.

Rain finally learned Ragle's shield technique and unlocked the Shield Defense Technique, which appeared on his Night Watch Panel as Skill: Shield Defense Level 1.

During this time, Rain also reflected on some of the combat techniques he had used in previous battles, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

With Ragle's dedicated guidance, Rain's shield defense improved rapidly. In no time, he reached Shield Defense Level 2 (124/300).

Having a sparring partner made all the difference.

This reminded Rain of when Kayra was around, and how his learning of the Bear Breath Technique had progressed rapidly.

With Ragle's guidance, his single-handed sword technique and shield defense improved day by day.

The delay in the County City sending an investigation team to deal with the Malefic Knight due to the Black Flame Sect's stronghold incident had left Ragle feeling a little down.

Early on the third day, Rain received a message from the guards, informing him that Sheriff Hamilton wanted to see him in his office.

As he entered Sheriff Hamilton's office, Rain noticed the scent of healing potions in the air. However, Sheriff Hamilton was dressed in noble hunting attire, full of vigor as he attended to various matters. It was clear that the destruction of the stronghold and the defeat of the Black Flame Adept had greatly invigorated Sheriff Hamilton.

"Rain, take a seat," Sheriff Hamilton said with a smile.

"I've called you here for a reason. I intend to promote you to Captain of the Night Watch."

A study on the second floor of Habsburg Castle.

Without knocking, the door suddenly opened.

This irritated Dennis, who was in the room, and he was about to reprimand the intruder when he looked up and saw his father.

Dennis was surprised to see his father, who had retired as a Navy Lieutenant in the Dragon Empire, standing before him. His father, Kurlos Norman, had a strict and disciplined demeanor, reminiscent of the Empire's Navy.

Dennis had endured many hardships under his father's rule, and this time, he had finally escaped his father's grasp by coming to Habsburg Manor under the pretense of pursuing Kayra. He never expected his father to show up personally due to Rulz's death.

"Follow me," the middle-aged man with a commanding presence said, his eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at his son.

Dennis didn't dare to resist or even utter a word. He obediently followed his father out of the manor towards the main gate.

The two arrived at the entrance of Habsburg Manor, where a black carriage awaited them. On the carriage was a striking black and gold double-headed wolf emblem, the family crest of the Normans.

After boarding the carriage, Baron Norman produced a file, remaining silent as he handed it to Dennis.

Dennis was initially taken aback but quickly realized what it was and immediately accepted it, promptly perusing the contents in front of Baron Norman.

Upon reading the first page, Dennis exclaimed, "This is about that farmer's son, Rain!"

He then looked up at his father in surprise, not expecting his father to have already begun investigating the farmer's son who had killed Rulz.

However, Baron Norman remained expressionless.

This made Dennis feel apprehensive. He understood his father's intention—to have him read the material before speaking further.

Additionally, his father at this moment was at his most fearsome, suppressing the anger within him like a volcano about to erupt.

As Dennis continued reading, he became increasingly shocked, as much of the information was new to him.

"Cleansing Glint Lake of the fish-people."

"Promoting Rain to the elite Night Watch."

"During the Elim Mine incident, killing a crystal lizard. Slaying an injured Mountain Stone Beast."

"Rain, highly regarded by Sheriff Hamilton of Flashgold Town."

The recent information about Rain was incredibly detailed, as if copied directly from the Night Watch archives in the county city.

"Have you finished reading?" Baron Norman's deep voice echoed within the enclosed carriage.

"Yes," Dennis nodded.

"I obtained this a few days ago with the help of a former naval colleague."

"This Rain's strength, although not yet a ranked knight, is definitely more than just an elite Night Watchman. I estimate his strength to be at the level of a knight squire, perhaps even a knight apprentice!" Baron Norman stated solemnly.

"What? How is that possible? It's only been a little over a month since Kayra approached him. How could he have improved so quickly?" Dennis exclaimed, his face pale with shock.

"Just a little over a month? Was it Kayra who approached him?" Dennis revealed some information that Baron Norman was not aware of.

"That's unlikely," Baron Norman said after some thought.

After all, it's almost incomprehensible to cultivate a breathing technique from scratch to the level of a knight apprentice in just a month.

"It's true! Father, I personally saw Rain a little over a month ago, and he was thin and looked like an ordinary person!" Dennis explained, his face turning red.

"If what you say is true, what do you think it implies if he's on the verge of becoming a knight?" Baron Norman asked, furrowing his brow.

"Does that mean he'll be promoted to a knight soon?" Dennis wondered, looking at the baron with a puzzled expression.

"Wrong! There's a high possibility that he has already discovered Rulz's origins as a Norman from Rulz's belongings. If we give this genius more time to grow, it means he will become a significant problem."

Dennis suddenly realized, "So, Father, you plan to take action yourself?"

But before Dennis could finish, Baron Norman interrupted him.

"Wrong! His identity is sensitive, so it's not appropriate for me to act. Phil Klaz will take direct action soon."

Phil Klaz? Why does that name sound so familiar?

Dennis couldn't help but ponder, certain that he had heard of Phil Klaz before. He recalled that Phil Klaz was the vice-captain of the Black Sail Pirates, possessing the strength of a veteran knight and excelling in archery. He was a rare god-like archer among pirates, earning the nickname 'Bloodthirsty Archer'.

When his father served in the Imperial Navy, he had shown favors to some pirate crews, and these crews would, in turn, give special treatment to the Norman family's merchant ships. The Black Sail Pirates were one of them.

Seemingly aware that Dennis had figured it out, Baron Norman slowly revealed a secret, "Phil Klaz, the vice-captain of the Black Sail Pirates, owes me a significant favor."

"They had planned to raid several towns in Myester County soon. It's a favor I've been holding onto."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end