Chapter 140: The Play Begins?

Chapter 140: The Play Begins?



"Miss Jenny?" Rain was slightly surprised.

He hadn't expected Jenny to come and greet him personally.

It seemed that the Crowley family was taking his appointment as the family's Guardian Knight very seriously.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Rain followed Jenny and boarded the carriage.

Soon, the carriage began its journey towards the county town, driven skillfully by the coachman, ensuring a smooth ride.

"Miss Jenny, have you ever heard of the 'Bat Market'?" Rain suddenly remembered.

"The Bat Market? I've never heard of it," Jenny replied, looking a bit lost in thought. She shook her head after a moment.

Rain nodded.

This situation was quite normal.

It seemed that the 'Bat Market' was rather discreet and not accessible to just anyone.

This was going to be troublesome.

On this trip, Rain had planned to visit the 'Bat Market' to look for any available wizardry or magical items for sale and to purchase some ingredients mentioned in the 'Animal Training Journal.'

Jenny furrowed her brows in thought for a moment and said, "Lord Rain, perhaps my mother might know about this 'Bat Market' you mentioned."

"If even she doesn't know, I can also ask my friends."

"I believe that as long as it's within Maister County Town, the Crowley family will definitely be able to help you find the place."

Rain smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, Miss Jenny."

Jenny's words made perfect sense, and indeed, he seemed to have underestimated the depth and power of a noble family.

This realization instantly lifted Rain's spirits.

As the journey reached its halfway point, Jenny seemed to remember something and said to Rain, "Oh, Lord Rain, according to tradition, after becoming the Crowley family's Guardian Knight, we will provide you with a set of knight plate armor, corresponding weapons, and a warhorse."

"Of course, you can also choose to receive gold coins as compensation."

"Which option would you prefer?"

This news delighted Rain.

Recently, he had been running low on funds, and the three hundred imperial gold coins he had brought to the Habsburg Manor the day before were almost depleted. The primary expenses were for the knight's weapons and plate armor, which were quite costly.

High-quality weapons and armor were especially expensive, costing ten times or even several dozen times more.

Ordinary militia iron swords could be purchased for just a few silver coins, and every small town blacksmith could forge them.

However, the long swords suitable for intense combat, like the hand-and-a-half swords currently used by the Night Watch, were priced ten times higher, requiring four to five imperial gold coins each.

Rain's previous refined steel greatsword had cost him twenty to thirty imperial gold coins.

This gave a clear indication of the high cost of quality weapons.

After some thought, Rain spoke up, "Miss Jenny, if it's convenient, I'd prefer to receive gold coins instead."

The reason for choosing gold coins was that Rain had already taken care of his weapon needs. He had a 'Radiant Greatsword' and had also prepared the necessary blood-vein steel ingots for the 'Two-Handed Great Hammer.'

Additionally, the weapons provided by the Crowley family were likely to be high-quality refined steel weapons, which, to be honest, did not meet Rain's combat requirements.

As for armor, although Rain currently lacked a set of knight plate armor, he had already figured out how to obtain one.

Regarding the warhorse, Rain, as the deputy sheriff, could use the 'Official Carriage'—warhorses kept in the Administration Hall stables.

If he were to keep a warhorse himself, there were two issues: he didn't have a stable, and caring for a horse was quite a hassle.

Jenny smiled and said, "Lord Rain, you've guessed correctly."

Jenny then opened a nearby brown wooden box and took out a heavy leather pouch, saying, "Lord Rain, this is your annual compensation, five hundred imperial gold coins."

Rain looked at Jenny with surprise.

He hadn't expected the payment to be ready even before he officially became a Guardian Knight of the Crowley family.

Additionally, Rain had inquired about the going rates from Hamilton, and to be honest, this price was much higher than he had anticipated.

It was undeniable that the feeling of being valued by others was quite pleasant.

"Thank you, Miss Jenny," Rain said, no longer refusing and accepting the pouch with gratitude.

Soon, the carriage arrived at the outskirts of Maister County Town.

Through the carriage window, Rain saw a bustling scene with pedestrians and carriages coming and going, and a tall, dark gray wall loomed in front of him.

This was his first time visiting the county town, named Maister, and the entire Maister County was named after this city. Many counties in the Dragonguard Empire followed this naming convention.

As Rain's carriage, bearing the Crowley Baron family's emblem, approached the city gate, he noticed a long line of people divided into two groups, queuing at the smaller side gates.

Based on their attire, most of them appeared to be commoners, mercenaries, and merchants, undergoing inspections and paying entrance fees.

Meanwhile, the spacious main gate stood empty, with only a few carriages passing through briefly.

Rain's carriage, however, headed straight for the main gate. Upon seeing the Crowley Baron family's emblem, the guards in chain mail and carrying spears promptly allowed them to pass.

This simple act demonstrated the privileges of nobility.

Once inside the city, Rain was greeted by a bustling scene of shops and streets, seemingly livelier than Shangjin Town.

However, Rain could faintly detect a myriad of unpleasant odors, a mix of human waste and other foul smells, which made him frown.

It seemed that this area was a commoner district, and the hygiene conditions were not very good.

The carriage continued to move for about half an hour, making a left turn and two right turns, before arriving at a villa district. The environment here was significantly better than the commoner district they had seen upon entering the city.

The ground was spacious and clean, and the walls of each independent villa were adorned with various carefully planted greenery and flowers.

Even though it was now the Frost Month, there were still many cold-resistant flowers in bloom, looking quite beautiful.

As the carriage slowly came to a stop, Lady Jenny smiled and said, "We're here, Lord Rain. This is the Crowley Family Manor in the county city."

Rain nodded.

As soon as he got out of the carriage, Rain saw the voluptuous and beautiful Baroness Crowley, accompanied by two tall knights and five or six servants, waiting inside the manor gate. Upon seeing Rain, a smile appeared on her beautiful face, and she said, "Lord Rain, welcome to the Crowley Family!"

"Thank you, my lady, you're too kind," Rain bowed slightly and replied with a smile.

However, he keenly noticed that the two knights standing beside the Baroness seemed unenthusiastic about his arrival, even showing a hint of hostility.

This was because, with the improvement of his mental power and the 'Danger Perception' skill reaching level 3, Rain could easily discern such hostile gazes.

After a moment's thought, Rain recalled that these were likely the two family knights the Baroness had mentioned earlier.

"Lord Rain, allow me to introduce you. This is Knight Sheldon of the Crowley Family," the Baroness Crowley slightly raised her hand, indicating the bald knight on her left.

"Knight Sheldon, hello."

"Lord Rain, hello."

This bald knight was at least in his forties, but he was tall and muscular, still exuding a certain level of intimidation.

"This is Knight Stein," the Baroness Crowley then pointed to the mustachioed knight on her right.

"Knight Stein, hello."

"Knight Rain, hello."

"Lord Rain, let's go inside. You must have had a tiring journey."

At this, the beautiful Baroness Crowley stepped forward, taking Rain's left hand and leading him inside.

With each step, the white, prominent chest of the lady brushed against Rain's arm.

This made the two knights exchange glances, both seeing resentment and a certain longing in each other's eyes.

Damn, she sees a young, tender piece of meat and immediately latches on?

Hell of a slut!

Still trying to act pure in front of me.

Knight Stein, who seemed to have less patience, couldn't hold back after seeing this scene and spoke up, "I heard that Lord Rain has only recently become Extraordinary?"

"Yes, Knight Stein, I've been Extraordinary for less than half a month," Rain nodded and casually replied.

"Oh? I thought it might be a rumor. While a newly ascended knight can become a Guardian Knight of the Crowley Family, shouldn't a Guardian Knight demonstrate convincing strength?"

"How about it, Lord Rain? Would you mind showing us on the training ground? Of course, I can act as your sparring partner," Stein said, his tone seemingly reasonable but slightly provocative.

This made the Baroness Crowley's grip on Rain's hand tighten noticeably.

Clearly, she was annoyed that Stein had proposed a match with Rain so quickly. She had thought it would at least wait until the afternoon or even later.

"Stein, you're being too rude. Lord Rain has just arrived," the Baroness Crowley scolded, clearly upset.

So soon?

The main event is already here?

Rain's eyebrows raised. slightly. Since he had agreed to help the Baroness Crowley, and he had also received payment on the carriage, he naturally intended to fulfill his promise.

Rain waved his hand, interrupting what the Baroness Crowley was about to say.

"Oh? So, Sir Stein, you want to spar with me?"

At first glance, Rain had carefully observed the two family knights and found their strength to be quite average.

Since that was the case, Rain didn't plan to waste any time on these two.

He only needed to quickly display his strength to fulfill the Baroness Crowley's request.

This way, he could still find time to visit the County Armory, and perhaps gather information about the 'Bat Market.'

No!

Rain then thought, perhaps these two could be good 'NPCs' for experience.

He might just need to guide them a bit.

Thinking of his gains from the Habsburg Manor yesterday, a smile crept across Rain's lips.

He had a small plan in mind.

Hearing Rain's direct agreement, Stein couldn't help but laugh.

Indeed, he's just a young pup.

A little provocation, and he agreed.

This is a sure thing!

"If Lord Rain doesn't mind, it would be my honor," Stein said hypocritically.

"Exchanging combat experience with Knight Stein is something I look forward to," Rain also responded with a smile.

Soon, the group arrived at the training ground behind the villa.

Many invited guests of the ceremony, representatives of the, families, the Crowley, Crowley, lords of the the the Crowley the Crowley,, from to,0,0,0 Knight to the training ground.

a match when they heard the the news of a formal knight's between knights was announced.

soon as they heard the match was between knights would spar, they naturally gathered at the training ground.

The training ground within the Crowley Baron family's mansion was not particularly large, covering only a few hundred square meters, and it did not have a racecourse. This was due to the mansion's location within the city of Maister County.

Land within the city was incredibly valuable, and even the nobility would rarely spare the space for a racecourse.

The large training grounds with racecourses that the nobility typically possessed were usually located in their estates outside the city.

On the training ground, Ryan stood in the center, holding a bronze warhammer instead of his radiant greatsword. Before entering the field, Ryan had entrusted his radiant greatsword, wrapped in sheepskin, and some other items to Jenny, who stood nearby.

"Sir Ryan, why not change weapons?" asked Sir Sheldon, narrowing his eyes as he observed Ryan in his plate armor.

Ryan shook his head slightly. "No need, this will do."

Sir Sheldon nodded and, with a sudden burst of movement, charged towards Ryan with his sword and shield.

A loud clang reverberated as their weapons clashed, and both combatants took a step back, seemingly evenly matched.

The two knights engaged in a fierce battle, their movements so swift that many of the onlooking noble ladies could barely follow, except for those with a certain level of skill.

All they could hear were the clanging sounds of their weapons colliding.

"Hmm, Sir Ryan's skills are impressive. He's holding his own against Sir Stein," thought the elder Sir Sheldon, slightly surprised.

In his mind, this newly appointed young knight should not have been a match for Sir Stein.

Generally, no matter how talented one might be, a short time since their promotion was always a disadvantage. According to normal logic, Ryan should have been less proficient in combat techniques and breaking limits compared to an experienced, established knight like Sir Stein.

Therefore, it was expected that Sir Stein would not need to exert too much effort to defeat Ryan.

However, the battle unfolded differently than Sir Sheldon anticipated, with both knights locked in a stalemate.

Several minutes later, Ryan noticed that after the intense combat, Sir Stein was showing signs of fatigue, and his movements were becoming slightly erratic. Ryan realized that continuing the fight any longer would be too deliberate.

Seizing the opportunity, Ryan took advantage of a momentary instability in Sir Stein's footing and struck him down with his hammer.

Ryan then pretended to be exhausted, leaning on his bronze warhammer and panting heavily as he stood in the center of the field.

"Sir Ryan, youth is indeed an advantage. Your stamina surpasses mine. Otherwise, the outcome of this battle would have been less certain," said Sir Stein, clearly dissatisfied despite his defeat.

He felt that if not for Ryan's youth and superior stamina, the result could have easily gone either way.

Ryan ignored Sir Stein's grumbling and, with a satisfied smile, turned his attention to the system prompts:

[Your Tokkar Hammer Technique has improved. Experience gained: +79]



[You have engaged in a battle. Knight (Extraordinary) profession experience gained: +26]



It seemed that the system rewarded him with a substantial amount of experience due to the prolonged duration of the fight.

After all, the battle had exhausted the stamina of an experienced knight like Sir Stein.

Sir Stein approached the elder Sir Sheldon, who had been observing the fight, and whispered something to him.

The bald, older knight, Sir Sheldon, then stepped forward with a smile. "Sir Ryan, would you mind if this old man joins in the fun?"

"As you know, at my age, my stamina has declined significantly. So, a match with you now would be perfect. I'm not trying to take advantage of your youth, Sir Ryan."

Ryan was taken aback. He hadn't expected his acting to be so convincing that Sir Sheldon would willingly offer himself as an opponent.

Fortunately, Ryan was not truly exhausted. Instead, his strategy had been successful in enticing the older, bald-headed knight to engage in combat.

Ryan intended to not only win the fight but also maintain the moral high ground while gaining more experience for his hammer technique.

However, Sir Sheldon seemed a bit too shameless.

Lady Crowley, who was watching from the sidelines, felt a twinge of anxiety as she witnessed this. She tightened her grip on Jenny's hand, seemingly worried that Ryan might agree to the challenge.

After all, unlike Jenny, Lady Crowley had not witnessed Ryan's defeat of Andrews and the other Black Flame acolytes.

Jenny, on the other hand, knew that Ryan was likely 'acting,' although she couldn't fathom the purpose behind his actions.

Ryan, of course, would never reveal to Jenny that he was 'grinding for experience.'

"Mother, there's no need to worry too much."

"I feel, how should I put it... It seems like Sir Rain is deliberately showing weakness to the enemy, although I don't know why he's doing this," Jenny whispered to Baroness Crowley.

"Hmm? Is that so?" Baroness Crowley glanced at Jenny and noticed that her daughter's expression wasn't one of deliberate reassurance.

After all, even a well-intentioned lie would soon be exposed by the upcoming sparring.

Just then, Rain's voice echoed from the center of the arena, "Since Knight Sheldon has this interest, I shall oblige."

Rain's agreement instantly brought a delighted expression to Sheldon's face.

Seemingly not wanting to give Rain time to recover his stamina, Sheldon charged forward with all his might, holding his hammer and shield.

However, after a fierce onslaught, Sheldon realized that Rain's defense was as solid as a rock.

Although Rain's expression remained slightly weary, he gave the impression that Sheldon could defeat him with just a little more effort.

Five minutes later, the bald-headed Knight Sheldon, drenched in sweat, was panting heavily. Yet, to his dismay, Rain was still standing, and he shouted in frustration:

"This is impossible!"

"You should be exhausted by now! How can you still endure for so long?"

Rain smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps it's because, as Knight Stein just said, I'm young and have better stamina."

After speaking, Rain struck Sheldon with his hammer, ending the fight.

Since Sheldon had no stamina left, Rain naturally didn't intend to continue the 'act'.

The system prompt appeared:

【Your Tokkar Hammer Technique skill has improved. Experience +67】

【You have experienced a battle. Knight (Extraordinary) profession experience +22】

Tsk, tsk!

Indeed, age has taken its toll on his experience gain was even less than Knight Stein's from earlier!

Rain couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

Regarding these two family knights of the Crowley family, Jenny had already expressed her wishes to Rain on their way here.

If possible, Jenny didn't want Rain to defeat or seriously injure them.

After all, they had served the Crowley family for many years and had no rebellious thoughts. Instead, they coveted the Crowley family's wealth and status.

So, Jenny hoped Rain would just intimidate them.

Rain agreed to the Crowley family's request after a moment's thought.

After all, it was a request made by the Crowley family, and as their Guardian Knight, he didn't need to go overboard. Whatever happened afterward would be the Crowley family's business.

The onlooking crowd wasn't stupid either. After watching two sparring sessions, they sensed something amiss.

Because, at the end of the first session, Rain seemed to have exhausted his stamina and shouldn't have lasted much longer. But now, after the second session, Rain descended from the arena full of vigor, chatting with Baroness Crowley.

At that moment, many noble ladies outside the arena whispered to each other, their eyes fixed on Rain.

Especially Jenny's close friend, Agatha Wiggins, who rushed to Jenny's side and exclaimed:

"Jenny, your taste in men is getting better and better! Where did you find this handsome and talented young man? You're so lucky!"

As she spoke, she gave Jenny an ambiguous look.

"Agatha, stop it. Rain is our family's appointed knight, and my mother found him. It has nothing to do with me," Jenny replied, understanding her friend's hidden meaning and blushing slightly.

"So it was Baroness Crowley? I didn't expect her to have a taste for younger men, haha."

"You're terrible! Saying such things in public."

The two noble ladies laughed and teased each other.

After the sparring, Rain requested to visit the County Armory in the northern part of the city.

Although both Jenny and the Baroness wanted Rain to stay in the manor and socialize more with the guests, Rain wasn't interested.

He hadn't passed the noble peerage assessment yet and wasn't officially a noble in the strictest sense.

On the other hand, Rain believed that even socializing required a certain level of status and position to be meaningful.

However, Rain would definitely attend the appointment ceremony and banquet at the Crowley family manor in the evening.

Rain rode in the carriage arranged by the Crowley family to the County Armory in the northern part of the city.

This County Armory was located next to the City Guard camp, handling merit point exchanges for the city's security forces, including the City Guard, Night Watch, and Sheriff.

After Rain presented the emblem representing the Deputy Sheriff of Shangjin Town, he was allowed entry. This emblem had been issued to Rain during his previous appointment, replacing his original Night Watch Captain emblem.

Upon entering the armory, Rain was surprised to find that it was several times larger than the one in Shangjin Town, with at least four or five uniformed, young, and beautiful female staff members.

It reminded him of the administrative halls from his past life.

Yesterday, on the last day of February, Donkey Hoof directly received nearly two hundred monthly votes, which truly amazed me.

I sincerely thank all readers for their support; it's incredible!

Also, seeking monthly votes for the first day of March.

(❤)

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end