Chapter 130: Surely Not Eating Alone!

Chapter 130: Surely Not Eating Alone!



At the same time.

In the dining room of the Harris Marquis Manor in Myester County.

A few middle-aged men, clearly dressed as nobles, were having breakfast together.

Among them, a bearded man in black aristocratic attire was elegantly cutting a large piece of beef rib. The pure silver knife and fork were skillfully manipulated in his hands.

Square pieces of steak were continuously being put into his mouth.

Compared to Baron Alonso’s hearty enjoyment of the breakfast, the two men opposite him looked puzzled, and their dining movements were almost twice as slow.

If Lord Rayn were present, he would recognize these two as Knight Lloyd and Swordmaster Peres from the Habsburg Manor in Shiny Gold Town.

Although the two were slowly eating their breakfast, they couldn’t understand why they had received an early morning invitation from Baron Alonso, the eldest son of the Earl of Harries, to have breakfast with him.

Their relationship with Alonso was rather average.

So, when they received the message, they were quite surprised. However, as knights under the Habsburg family, they naturally didn’t want to offend the eldest son of the earl without a reason.

They initially thought that Alonso had invited them for breakfast because there was something important to discuss.

But now, as breakfast was almost over, the baron had not mentioned anything important. He had only inquired about the recent conditions of the Habsburg Manor.

This left the two men very puzzled. If there was nothing important, why would Baron Alonso call them both so early in the morning?

Was it to win them over? Could one breakfast win over two knights?

That would make knights too cheap.

At this moment, a beautiful maid respectfully handed a hot towel to Alonso.

Alonso took it, wiped his mouth, and smiled, "Sirs, are you satisfied with the breakfast?"

"Of course, thank you for the generous hospitality, my lord," Knight Lloyd nodded.

"Very generous, thank you, my lord."

At this moment, the butler Michel suddenly walked up to Alonso and said, "My lord, Baroness Crowley has come to visit. It seems she has something urgent!"

"Hmm? Jennifer?" Alonso had some thoughts about this young and beautiful baroness, who also had a good business mind.

Usually, she avoided him.

Why was she seeking him out this time?

This left Alonso a bit puzzled as to her intentions.

Could it be that the two family knights of the Crowley family had finally pushed her to the brink, so she came to seek his help?

If so, that would be good news!

"My lord, since you have a guest, we will return to Shiny Gold Town," Lloyd got up to take his leave.

"Wait, Knight Lloyd, Swordmaster Peres, please wait a moment," Alonso quickly called out to them.

Alonso’s eyes flickered. He couldn’t let them return to Shiny Gold Town now, especially not with the Flame Black Church holding a blood sacrifice ritual there.

"Michel, please have Baroness Crowley come directly to the dining room," Alonso instructed the butler.

"As you command, my lord."

Soon, Baroness Crowley, dressed in noble attire, walked into the dining room. Her beautiful appearance, her towering chest trembling slightly, and her fair skin immediately caught the attention of the three men.

Although all three were nobles and didn’t lack for women, they couldn’t help but glance at a beautiful woman a few more times.

Especially, the supernatural bodies of formal knights often made their hormones surge, far exceeding those of ordinary people in terms of desire.

"Huh! Knight Lloyd, why are you here?"

When Baroness Crowley saw Lloyd, her beautiful eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but exclaim.

Knight Lloyd, whom Baroness Crowley had known from before, was the head of the Habsburg Manor in Shiny Gold Town, and was very trusted by the Earl.

"Hmm?" Lloyd was puzzled.

Why shouldn’t I be here?

Seeing the bewildered expression of Knight Lloyd, Baroness Crowley’s heart thumped.

"Didn’t you know that Shiny Gold Town just suffered an attack by cultists?"

"What!" Lloyd’s face changed drastically, and he and Peres exchanged glances, immediately realizing that Baron Alonso’s early morning invitation wasn’t just for breakfast.

It seemed that the rumors they had heard before weren’t groundless after all!

Alonso was stunned?

What was going on?

A noble lady who lived in luxury was so well-informed?

However, when he saw the looks the two knights gave him, he inwardly cried out in distress.

Now, he couldn’t stop them even if he wanted to.

"What? Baroness Crowley, is your information accurate?" Alonso pretended to be shocked and stood up.

"Of course, Jenny is in Shiny Gold Town right now," Baroness Crowley said firmly.

"My lord, please excuse us, we must leave!"

Hearing Baroness Crowley’s words, Lloyd didn’t wait for Alonso to say anything and directly turned to leave.

This was a bit impolite in the noble circles, and the looks the two knights gave Alonso were clearly off.

Alonso saw all the details in their expressions, and his mind began to ponder deeply.

"Wait, Knight Lloyd, I will go with you," Alonso quickly reacted.

He inwardly smiled bitterly. Alonso never thought that the problem in this matter would be with Baroness Crowley, really damn.

Now, he could only volunteer to go to Shiny Gold Town to try to clear his suspicion in this matter as much as possible.

"Wait, Knight Lloyd, I will also go with you, after all, Jenny is also in Shiny Gold town, I can’t be at ease."

"Baroness Crowley, please don't be alarmed," he said hastily.

---

Flashgold Town.

Cathedral Plaza.

Matri rushed towards Rain, but he wasn't foolish enough to charge in for close combat. His first instinct was to use long-range attacks to deal with the seemingly 'exhausted' Rain.

About twenty meters away from Rain, Matri stopped and cautiously manipulated a black flame fireball, throwing it precisely at Rain.

Rain inwardly sighed, 'What a pity.'

"Whoosh!"

Rain sidestepped, dodging Matri's fireball with ease.

Then, Rain swiftly charged towards Matri, his agile body and fluid movements showing no signs of fatigue or exhaustion.

Matri's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "How is this possible?!"

"How can you be uninjured?"

"You should be completely exhausted?!"

Matri couldn't fathom how Rain had transformed from a feeble cat to a fierce tiger in an instant.

Just moments ago, Rain's muscles had been trembling, and he struggled to stand, even with the support of his greatsword. Matri was certain that even the best minstrels or opera performers he'd seen couldn't have pulled off such a realistic act!

In the brief half-second that Matri was stunned, Rain covered the distance of over ten meters.

The gap between them quickly closed.

Matri's face turned pale with panic.

He quickly retreated while summoning black flame fireballs at an astonishing speed.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

It seemed as if he had some kind of buff, as the fireballs flew faster than those of the previous Flame Black Adepts.

The fireballs rained down on Rain like a barrage, one after another.

"Break Limit!"

With Rain's Break Limit activated, his strength, physique, and agility increased by 35%, and his speed surged again.

The incoming fireballs flew past Rain's afterimage, missing him and hitting the ground behind him, exploding and sending up clouds of dust.

The distance between them narrowed further.

Rain dodged two more fireballs with a quick sidestep.

Then, with an unusual upward slash, the radiant greatsword severed the right hand that held the peculiar bone staff.

Following the experience gained from Level 6 Bear Sword Technique, Rain instinctively took a step to the right and executed an overhead slash with his greatsword.

"Ssss!"

Rain's left foot braked, maintaining the sidestepping stance as he halted his high-speed movement.

"Ahhhh!"

A piercing scream came from behind him.

"Thud!"

Another heavy object hit the ground.

Rain's wrist trembled slightly, and the crimson blood on his greatsword diminished.

He slowly turned around.

The Flame Black Adept had been slashed diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip, splitting him in two. The previous thud was the sound of his upper body falling to the ground.

The Flame Black Adept's powerful vitality now became a torment, preventing him from dying quickly and forcing him to face death slowly.

This fear of death was an innate instinct in all living beings, and so the Adept continued to scream in agony.

But none of this concerned Rain.

Ignoring the Adept's plight, Rain walked forward and picked up the peculiar bone staff that the Adept had been clutching in his severed right hand.

This strange object seemed to be the reason for the Adept's enhanced fireball attacks.

Rain also noticed that the staff had played a crucial role in the recent evil ritual, as strands of bloody scent still emanated from the blood-red crystal at its tip.

However, just as Rain grasped the staff, the system suddenly alerted him.

Rain was startled by the notification.

【Ding! Host detected obtaining unknown artifact, triggering job change - Flame Black Adept!】

【Prerequisites for advancing to Flame Black Adept: 1. Possess any extraordinary profession panel; 2. Mental attribute of 12 points or higher; 3. Worship the God of the Hunt or utilize the unknown artifact. Current conditions met. Do you wish to change jobs to Flame Black Adept?】

Huh!

His profession panel system could actually allow him to change jobs to a Flame Black Adept?

A job that was clearly from the evil faction?

Rain was intrigued.

The enigmatic black flame was indeed powerful, and the Flame Black Adept seemed like a combination of a wizard and a knight.

If not for his extraordinary trait, Iron Skin Level 2, he might have died several times already!

But when Rain thought of the 'snake-waisted' scene, a shiver ran down his spine.

"Enhancing my strength is indeed my desire, but becoming that kind of inhuman creature..."

"Moreover, the job change will definitely overwrite my current Knight (Extraordinary) panel, as my current panel count is already 4/4. It's not an addition but a job change."

After silently pondering for a moment, Rain shook his head and chose 'No.'

At that moment, two cavalrymen entered and bowed respectfully to Rain, pointing at the bisected corpse on the ground, "Sir Rain, should we move this one outside as well?"

Rain nodded.

Including the previous corpses, he had three unclaimed loot, but unfortunately, the most powerful one had self-immolated, causing the loot to vanish as well.

Just as Rain was about to step out of the cathedral hall.

"Rain."

A familiar voice called out from a distance.

"Mother?" Rain recognized the voice instantly and turned around in surprise.

There, Lady Emma, supported by Miss Jenny, was descending from a luxurious carriage.

"How did these two end up together?" Rain couldn't quite understand the situation.

"Rain, are you alright?" His mother, Emma, hurried over and carefully examined Rain's injuries.

"Mother, I'm fine! I'm as tough as nails, don't worry!" Rain patted his chest reassuringly.

With the extraordinary trait 'Iron Skin Level 2', he estimated that his defense was almost as good as an Iron Mane Bear's, although he probably couldn't match the Bear King. Still, he was genuinely tough.

After a thorough examination, Emma let out a sigh of relief, finally at ease.

"By the way, Rain, this is Miss Jenny. You know her, right? The one I saw last time was Miss Jenny, wasn't it?" Emma seemed to remember something and gave Rain a slightly reproachful look.

"Yes, Mother, Miss Jenny is my friend." Rain turned to Jenny and nodded with a smile.

Jenny's certainty in Rain's eyes brought her joy. She knew that her previous actions had an even better effect than she had anticipated.

Clearing her throat, Jenny said, "Sir Rain, I just happened to meet your mother."

Jenny briefly explained the situation, and when Rain turned to look at his mother, he saw her nod slightly. This made him genuinely appreciate Miss Jenny.

Not everyone would consider others' safety in a dangerous situation.

At the very least, from this perspective, Miss Jenny was quite impressive.

"Mother, shall I escort you home first?" Rain decided to take his mother home to rest.

"Yes, Aunt Emma, you were startled today. Take my carriage and go home to rest for a while." Jenny immediately agreed.

(The correct version can be read on 69 Book Bar. 6=9+Book_Bar is the first to publish this novel.)



"Alright, Rain, then you..."

"Mother, I'll accompany you home first, and I'll come back later."

Before leaving, Rain waved at the short Matteo and said, "Matteo, I'm leaving this to you. I'll take my mother home first and come back later."

"Yes, sir! Rest assured, Sir Rain! I'll take care of things here." Matteo patted his chest in assurance.

So, Rain and his mother, Emma, boarded Jenny's carriage and headed home.

On the carriage, Rain suddenly remembered that Jenny had come to see him, but they hadn't had a proper conversation due to the attack on Flashgold Town.

"By the way, Miss Jenny, what brings you here?"

"Oh! Sir Rain, I almost forgot. Last time you mentioned wanting to learn Arcadian. Apart from the two books I gave you, I recently found an ancient book written in Arcadian in our family's library. I thought you might be interested, so I personally brought it to you."

Jenny handed Rain a slightly worn-out ancient book.

Rain's eyebrows rose in surprise as he took the book.

Although he had just started learning Arcadian, this book...

Lloyd rode at the forefront, followed by Peres, Alonso, and two squads of cavalry. At the rear was Lady Crowley's carriage and her escorts."

The group snaked their way from the county city, rapidly heading towards Flashgold Town.

Halfway through their journey, they encountered a Night Watchman from Flashgold Town who was heading to the county city to deliver a message. They immediately asked, "Has Flashgold Town been attacked?"

"Are you Knight Lloyd?"

"Yes, during the service at the Flashgold Town Cathedral, it was suddenly attacked by heretics. Many residents have already been injured or killed!"

The Night Watchman from Flashgold Town was delighted to see Knight Lloyd, the manager of the Habsburg Manor, whom he had met several times during previous missions.

He was the second batch of reinforcements sent by Matteo.

Since the first batch of reinforcements had been out of contact for a long time, Matteo quickly dispatched more people.

When this Night Watchman left Flashgold Town, Rain had just arrived at the cathedral.

"How many attackers are there? Where is Sheriff Hamilton?" Lloyd asked anxiously.

"Sheriff Hamilton left with the church's team in the morning for Nocturne Forest."

"What?!" Lloyd and Peres exchanged glances, both seeing deep concern in each other's eyes!

Flashgold Town was in serious trouble! Neither Lloyd nor Peres were there, and neither was Hamilton!

The entire Flashgold Town had no extraordinary combat power to defend against heretics led by those with supernatural abilities.

"Who's in charge of the town's defense now?"

"It's the new Deputy Sheriff, Sir Rain."

"Rain?" Lloyd and Peres were both taken aback.

Recently, Hamilton had mentioned a young man named Rain, said to have exceptional knight talent and appointed as the Night Watch Captain.

But when was Rain appointed as the Deputy Sheriff?

However, these details weren't important.

What mattered was that Rain alone couldn't possibly hold off the heretics.

Oh no! Flashgold Town might suffer the same fate as Monam Town!

Lloyd and Peres couldn't help but whip their steeds, racing towards Flashgold Town.

Meanwhile, Alonso, though he appeared distressed, felt quite the opposite inside.

As Lloyd and his party approached Flashgold Town, they saw black smoke rising from the town's center, and there were no sounds of battle. Their hearts sank.

"It seems the heretics have already succeeded in their attack!"

Alonso, seeing the same situation, felt a twinge of pleasure. The Black Flame Church had acted swiftly, completing the blood sacrifice ritual so quickly.

They should have already withdrawn.

The timing was just about right.

Alonso felt much more at ease, as the situation seemed to be under control.

As soon as they entered the town, they heard the intermittent sounds of weeping.

This only reinforced Alonso's conviction.

It seemed that he only needed to go through the motions.

The only regret was that the plan to have the pirates raid Shiny Gold Town to cover up the Flame Black Church's Blood Sacrifice Ritual would no longer be feasible.

It seemed that the matter concerning the Flame Black Church could not be suppressed.

On the carriage behind, the Crowley Baroness, upon seeing the dire state of Shiny Gold Town, felt a pang of worry.

"So many people have died, I hope Jenny is safe."

As they approached the Flashgoldtown Cathedral, the emaciated bodies being carried out made Lloyd and Peres frown deeply.

When they neared the church and saw a group of Night Watchmen gathered, they immediately spurred their horses forward and asked:

"Who's in charge here?"

"It's me!" Shorty Matteo turned his head and replied.

"Ah! Knight Lloyd, you've finally arrived!"

"Have the cultists already withdrawn?" Lloyd's face was grim.

Matteo shook his head and pointed to a cart on the cathedral plaza: "The cultists are over there."

"Hmm?"

Several of them looked on in puzzlement.

On the cart lay a few bloodied and mangled bodies.

"You mean all the cultists are dead?" Lloyd reacted instantly, his voice filled with surprise.

"That's impossible!" Alonso blurted out.

But he quickly realized that saying so was inappropriate and immediately added: "I mean, didn't the other side have any Extraordinarys?"

"Of course, this lord, the other side had four Extraordinarys in total."

"See, I thought so!" Alonso breathed a sigh of relief.

He had just figured out that the Night Watch Captain meant the ordinary cultists they had killed were all here.

Matteo, however, looked at Alonso in confusion and said, "Four enemy Extraordinarys, three of their bodies are here."

"What? Four Extraordinarys, and you killed three of them?" Alonso's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

At that moment, he thought he must have misheard!

"Yes, how is this possible? How did you kill them?" Lloyd was not doubting Matteo but found the situation absurd.

Over twenty ordinary Night Watchmen had repelled a group of cultists led by four Extraordinarys and even killed three of them.

Even a bard's autobiography wouldn't dare to write such a story!

Peres also looked at Matteo with astonishment.

Even the beautiful Crowley Baroness lifted the curtain of her carriage and stared at Matteo in surprise.

From his words, she had heard the name Rain.

While she knew Rain was strong, she found it hard to believe he could be this powerful!

Seeing the attention of these important figures focused on him, Matteo felt the pressure.

However, he still found it strange that these figures from the county city seemed to doubt their strength.

Moreover, he felt it necessary to correct the mistake in their statement, as it was related to their merit rewards.

Of course, while Lord Rain took the lion's share, the Night Watch as a whole could share a little of the merit.

"That, this lord, it wasn't three, but four Extraordinarys killed!"

"See! Another one is over there, already burned to ashes!" Matteo pointed to a pile of black ash on the cathedral plaza.

At this, neither Lloyd, Peres, Alonso, nor the Crowley Baronesssaid anything! They all stared at the black ash in silence!

The entire scene was silent!—

In a valley to the east of Shiny Gold Town, about seventy to eighty men armed with various weapons were resting.

The leader was a one-eyed man with an exaggeratedly large bow.

He was Phil Kraz, the deputy leader of the Black Sails Pirates, possessing the strength of a seasoned knight, and a rare marksman among pirates, known as the 'Bloodthirsty Archer.'

He paced back and forth, his face showing confusion.

This was not in line with the Flame Black Church's agreement!

Previously, the other side had clearly stated that around ten o'clock, once the signal rocket was launched, they would raid Shiny Gold Town. For this, the Flame Black Church had paid them a hefty sum.

But it was nearly half-past ten in the morning, and there had been no signal rocket seen over Shiny Gold Town.

Instead, a few plumes of black smokePerhaps some families were preparing their midday meals early?

Damn, the men were all hungry!

Additionally, he had promised Baron Norvan to help deal with a Knight Cadet, said to be among the Night Watchmen of Shiny Gold Town, who apparently had some knightly talent.

Of course, such a small matter, just a favor!

Mainly, if theythe"Damn, what are those sneaky cultists up to?"

"We've been waiting for so long!"

"Boss, why do we have to wait for their signal? Can't we just go in?"

"Right, let's go in, boss!"

"Are we, the Black Sails Pirates, to listen to those cultists?"

Someone initiated, and immediately, the temperamental pirates erupted.

To raid Shiny Gold Town, they had rushed from the coast in the middle of the night, missing breakfast, all hoping for a big haul.

But now, those bastards hadCouldCould they have eaten alone?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end