Chapter 311: Commendation and Reunion

Chapter 311: Commendation and Reunion



Soon, Olenna brought Ren to the top floor of the Administrative Hall, entering Admiral Edward's office.

"Viscount Ren, we meet again!" Duke of Minster greeted Ren with a smile as he entered.

"Good morning, Your Grace and Admiral Edward," Ren bowed slightly and returned the smile.

After some pleasantries, Duke of Minster got straight to the point, "Viscount Ren, to recognize your outstanding contributions in dealing with the Black Flame Cult's attack, I, on behalf of the Minster Administrative Hall, have decided to bestow upon you the Minster Province Distinguished Contribution Medal."

"Additionally, considering your recent arrival in Minster, you may require a suitable residence befitting your status. I believe an original Earl's Manor in the Noble District would be appropriate." The Duke of Minster paused for a moment.

He opened a finely crafted dark brown wooden box on the tea table and took out a golden medal with a jasmine flower design.

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace," Ren expressed his gratitude and leaned forward slightly, allowing the Duke to hang the medal on his chest.

He was well aware that the symbolic significance of the medal far outweighed its actual value.

The real reward, however, was the manor.

"Furthermore, after discussing with Admiral Edward, we both believe that your achievements have met the conditions for becoming an Earl. Therefore, Admiral Edward and I will jointly write a recommendation letter to the higher-ups, proposing your elevation to the rank of Earl."

"However, due to the Emperor's severe injuries, promotions to titles above Earl require the Emperor's approval. Consequently, this matter might take quite some time."

"Thank you both for your appreciation," Ren stood up, expressing his gratitude once again.

The first reward held significant practical value for Ren.

Currently, the entire Minster Province was in a state of unrest, and many noble families from the county cities had relocated to the relatively safer provincial capital.

This had caused the housing prices in Minster to skyrocket.

Not only in the Noble District but even in the Upper District, decent manors were in high demand and short supply.

The Duke of Minster's allocation of an Earl's Manor to Ren not only solved his urgent housing issue but also provided him with a prime location in the Noble District, known for its excellent environment and overall conditions, arguably the best area in Minster.

One of the reasons Ren had been staying at the Swordsman Division was the Diamond Rank Swordsman Captain's suite, which included a training room.

In contrast, his current manor near the Division had only five bedrooms, barely accommodating his family.

Regarding the second reward mentioned by the Duke of Minster, Ren wasn't in a hurry.

Given the current situation, even if he were granted the title of Earl and acquired his own hereditary territory, the defensive pressure he would face would still be enormous.

This was evident from the situation of Klaya's Habsburg family.

With the empire in turmoil and constant attacks, hereditary landowners had to disperse their combat forces across their vast territories, making it challenging to defend against various assaults.

After a brief stay, the Duke of Minster left, as he was extremely busy overseeing the entire administration of Minster.

Ren noticed that during the short time the Duke was seated, his guards came to relay messages three times, each from different county cities with urgent matters.

At this moment, only Admiral Edward and Ren remained in the office.

Admiral Edward then spoke with a hint of apology, "Ren, regarding the request to the headquarters for an Imperial Guardian to remove your mark, they have responded."

"Many Imperial Guardians were injured in the recent battle in the imperial capital, and some are on urgent missions elsewhere, not currently in the capital."

"Therefore, this matter might take some time."

As Admiral Edward spoke, he took out a gray wooden box from his drawer and continued, "Of course, don't worry too much. This is an advanced purification potion sent by headquarters. Although it can't completely remove the mark, it can suppress its effects on you for at least three months."

"Thank you, Admiral Edward," Ren bowed slightly and took the wooden box.

He had anticipated this outcome during the emergency meeting a couple of days ago, considering the current situation in the empire.

Given the circumstances, he assumed that every Imperial Guardian would be busy.

Naturally, the removal of his mark would have to wait.

Ren's composure in this situation stemmed from his complete suppression of the evil flame mark.

Moreover, he had turned misfortune into fortune, rapidly enhancing his will attribute through the struggle against the evil flame.

Ren had a premonition.

He might be able to completely eradicate the mark once his will attribute reached ten points.

Of course, he decided to keep this to himself, as it was a challenging situation to explain.

Revealing too many secrets might invite unwanted curiosity.

Ren had no intention of testing human nature.

Meanwhile, Admiral Edward had been quietly observing Ren's expression after speaking. Seeing Ren's calm demeanor, he couldn't help but admire the young, humble, yet powerful subordinate.

"Ren, don't worry. I've written to Cardinal Osborne of the Imperial Capital's Goddess Church regarding your situation. He's an old friend, and I'm sure he'll have a solution, no matter how dire the circumstances."

"By the way, how's your body holding up after the last battle?"

"It's not too bad, Admiral. Is there a challenging mission coming up?" Ren was grateful to Admiral Edward.

"Not yet, but I have a bad feeling about it. Perhaps you'll be assigned a task soon." Admiral Edward furrowed his brows as he spoke.

"During the last emergency meeting, I mentioned the headquarters' request. First, we need to investigate and protect all the Sealed Gates within the province, and second, we need to eradicate the cult."

"With our limited manpower, we can't handle both tasks separately. So, after some discussion, we decided on a preliminary plan to combine the two tasks and assign them by dividing the region into zones."

"Considering the limited number of Diamond Rank Swordsmen, we plan to assign one Diamond Rank team per two county towns, along with two to three Gold Rank teams and multiple Silver Rank teams to handle the aforementioned tasks."

"The regular search and combat missions within the assigned regions will be handled by these Silver or Gold Rank teams. If they are unable to manage a situation, then we will need to step in."

"Regarding the choice of county towns, Ren, do you have any preferences?" Admiral Edward asked.

Ren knew that Admiral Edward was offering him a favor, as he was aware that Ren was from Myester.

Ren thought for a moment and decided not to decline the offer.

After all, Klaya was in Myester, and Veronique was in Fishing Port Town.

"Admiral, how about Myester and Rosby County?" Ren suggested with a smile.

"Of course, that's fine. However, the pressure from the Rosby County front isn't light. Although the Imperial Navy is handling the main battle, but unexpected situations may still arise."

Admiral Edward offered a reminder.

"Thank you for the reminder, Admiral. I'll keep that in mind." Ren nodded in acknowledgment.

Back at his residence, Ren continued to practice with his daggers, accompanied by Veror and Angus.

In the training room, Ren's body flickered, creating two distinct phantoms with different stances—one leaping down for a stab, and the other turning for a stab. These phantoms, though fleeting and not as substantial as the 'Phantom Technique' in sorcery, still served to confuse opponents in battle.

Among experts, a momentary lapse in concentration could decide the outcome.

Veror, momentarily stunned by the phantoms, found himself narrowly avoiding Ren's dagger, which grazed the hair at his left ear.

A small tuft of hair was severed!

Angus, standing beside Ren, experienced a similar near-miss as Ren's other dagger barely missed his hair.

Both Veror and Angus were momentarily defeated.

"Captain, was that just now an... Advanced Technique?" Angus asked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

For the past few days, Ren had been practicing daggers with them.

Initially, they thought Ren was just having a sudden interest in daggers.

But as sparring partners, they realized how astonishingly fast Ren was progressing.

From one-on-one sparring to later taking on two opponents!

"It's not just a sudden interest!" Ren's progress in a few days nearly equaled years of effort for others.

Ren checked the system notification, feeling delighted.

The notification read:

【You have understood the Advanced Technique of Blade Dancer's Shadow Step: Shadow Step!】

"Shadow Step! Another Advanced Technique mastered!"

"Now I just need two more different weapon categories of Extraordinary Combat Techniques to meet the requirements for class advancement!"

Ren noticed a new icon in the (Legendary) Weapon Master panel, located above the 'Blade Dancer's Shadow Step' icon.

The icon depicted three slender men in different attacking stances, each holding a dagger.

Upon closer inspection, the two flanking figures appeared slightly blurred, resembling phantoms, while the central figure was in a clear attacking posture.

Below, the description of the technique read:

Shadow Step (Intermediate Technique) Effect: Employ a special step that combines primal energy with leg strength, leaving two additional phantoms to confuse enemies within your vicinity.

(To upgrade Shadow Step to Advanced Technique, the following conditions must be met: 1. Blade Dancer's Shadow Step lv14 or higher (Specialization can offset some level requirements); 2. Fire Dragon Breathing Technique lv12 or higher; 3. Strength 30 points, Agility 30 points; 4. Consumes 1 Golden Skill Point.)



Ren was surprised at his own progress in understanding Extraordinary Combat Techniques, thanks to the support of 'Advanced Extraordinary Enlightenment'.

Of course, the 'Intermediate Weapon Proficiency' and the final skill point added were also crucial, making the final two levels less challenging.

At that moment, Veror and the others opened their mouths, wanting to say something, but unsure of what to express.

In recent days, they had been thoroughly shocked by their captain's monstrous learning ability.

Even the scroll master Neror was at a loss for words when it came to Ren.

Does someone with such monstrous knight talent really need to practice sorcery as well?

But Ren was considering another problem.

The Extraordinary Combat technique "Blad Dancer's Shadow Step" actually reveals some hints in its name. It differs from common dagger-type Extraordinary combat techniques.

The founder of this Extraordinary combat technique, Blad Dancer, believed that the most important thing for an assassin using daggers was swift movement speed and agile posture.

Thus, the focus of this Extraordinary combat technique was to enhance and boost movement speed, while generating illusions through quick and unique steps to confuse enemies.

Understanding the Technique 'Shadow Step' actually compensated for one of Ren's shortcomings.

Originally, while his plate armor provided excellent straight-line acceleration, his mobility was somewhat lacking.

But now, things were different.

"Should I upgrade Shadow Step to Intermediate Technique?"

Looking at the remaining sixteen points on the attribute panel, Ren decided to upgrade Shadow Step to Intermediate Technique.

After spending two gold points to upgrade Blad Dancer's Shadow step, and one more to break through, the system notification sounded again:

【Congratulations, you have mastered the Intermediate technique of Blad Dancer's Shadow Step!】

The Weapon master (Legendary) panel also showed changes in the icon for the technique "Shadow Step" of Blad Dancer's Shadow step.

The icon of the dagger-wielding slender man now showed five figures.

This meant that, besides the real person, the number of illusions increased from two to four.

Indeed, Ren's understanding of the technique's description confirmed this:

Shadow Step (Intermediate Technique): Use a combination of Primal Force and leg strength to create four additional illusions within a five-meter radius to confuse enemies.

(To upgrade Shadow step to Advanced Technique, the following conditions must be met: 1. Blad dancer's Shadow step level 16 or higher (expert skill can offset some level requirements); 2. Fire Dragon Breath level 14 or higher; 3. Strength, 35 points, Agility 42 points, Constitution 38 points or higher; 4. Spend 2 gold skill points.)



"The range has increased, and the number of illusions has also increased."

"This technique is highly practical!" Ren thought to himself.

---

Meanwhile.

In the city of Minter.

Due to never having visited such a bustling city, Anna looked around with great curiosity, especially as she ascended the main avenue of Minter, Levinworth Street.

The various shops along the way, the rising cityscape, and the vast view of the Donn Great Plain all filled Anna with amazement.

Walking further, the myriad of goods, vendors, and bustling crowds in the Minter trading district left her almost overwhelmed.

But soon, Anna paused, staring at a grand, ornately decorated building not far away, lost in thought.

The grand sign read 'Axson Auction House.'

"Is this the Axson auction house?" Anna murmured to herself.

"Clues to mother's disappearance."

The six words 'Axson Auction house' seemed to draw Anna closer as if by a black hole.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a black sorcerer robe emerged from the auction house, accompanied by several well-equipped personnel.

They chatted casually:

"I heard that Marquis Aurelius met a tough opponent in Minter, had to back off, and had no choice but to give up all the shares of the Minter branch."

"Yeah, I heard the same. The Bloodtop mercenary corps were wiped out."

"Really? Neither the scorpion maiden nor the iron man are pushovers. Especially the Bloodtop leader, Asimov, is nearly on par with the boss's strength. He couldn't escape either?"

"Indeed, the beautiful lady was their representative."

"The beautiful lady? So she's the new shareholder. She's quite a looker. Boss, should we probe her background?"

"Don't cause trouble! We leave for the Norm province tomorrow." The man said sternly.

However, as the man passed Anna, he paused, sniffing the air.

"Hmm? This scent..." His eyes lit up.

He turned to look at the slender girl who just passed by, examining her carefully.

"No mistake, that was the scent of herbal essence. She's a rare nature-type sorcerer?" The man pondered, then he rubbed the ring on his finger, seemingly absorbing a thread of Anna's essence.

The ring glowed faintly green.

"No, this... this is the aura of a druid. She's an elf?" The man's eyes widened, then he stared at Anna's slender figure, a meaningful smile on his face.

"What luck, to meet an elf maiden in Minter, even at a meeting. If presented to Duke Dram, it would surely fetch a good price.

“The target, a middle-aged man named Sam Ajil, was originally one of the captains of several slave capture teams under the main branch of the Axson Auction House.”

“Due to his outstanding performance, he was noticed by Duke Drum, one of the shareholders of the Axson Auction House, and became the Duke's agent, responsible for the affairs of the Axson branches in multiple provinces of the Empire.”

“This time, he came to Minster because of the shareholder change meeting held by the Axson branch here.”

“Dixon, follow that person and see where they live. Perhaps, we'll take action tonight," Sam said, pointing at Anna.

"Yes, boss," said Dixon, a slender man in leather armor, excitedly agreeing.

With many customers coming and going, and Anna being immersed in her observations, she didn't realize that she had been watched for quite some time. After lingering at the auction house, she started walking towards the administrative district.

The servant at the Ryan Manor, where the Earl of Myester County resided, told her that she could find the Swordsman Minster Branch at the Swordsman Division.

Dixon, on the other hand, secretly tailed her, following Anna all the way to the entrance of the Swordsman Division.

"Hmm? Does she have a connection with the Swordsman Division?" Dixon frowned, watching from a distance.

"This might be a bit troublesome."

But soon, his frown relaxed, and he thought to himself, "As long as it's not one of those few Diamond-ranked Swordsmen, with the boss here, everything should be manageable."

"No rush, I'll observe from here and figure it out."

Before long, a tall young man emerged, walking swiftly, accompanied by several young people of similar age.

These were Ryan, Neror, and Vereri, among others.

Seeing the young friends of the girl, Dixon's heart immediately relaxed.

Previously, he had heard that the Blood Top Mercenary Corps had been annihilated in Minster, and the one responsible was a Diamond-ranked captain from the Swordsman Division was behind it.

But the group of young people before him didn't match that image at all.

In his impression, not only Diamond-ranked teams, even Golden-ranked teams would consist of men with rugged beards or stern faces, and women with mature and alluring appearances, as they would be at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

Unlike the group of young people before him, who seemed barely twenty, if even that.

The one with the shield, seemed slightly older, but still looked to be in his early twenties.

Just a bunch of rookies!

At most, they were Silver-ranked team members, and might even be newcomers! Dixon smiled, quickly jotting down the situation on a small piece of paper, and then released a small yet swift swallow from his pocket.

As the swallow flew into the sky, Dixon hummed a tune, casually following Ryan and the others.

Meanwhile, Ryan, upon hearing the guard's report that 'a girl named Anna was waiting outside,' immediately rushed over.

Nenor and the others, seeing their captain's excitement and joy, curiously followed.

After seeing Anna, they all began to observe her.

"Anna, it's been a while. This time, don't disappear without saying goodbye," Ryan started to reach out but stopped when he remembered Anna's shy personality and the presence of his teammates watching.

"It's been a while, Ryan! Wow~ Ryan, you've grown so much. Last time, I was with Aunt Delanna, and it was really awkward," Anna said, seeing Ryan, she exclaimed in surprise, gesturing to their height difference.

"You've changed a lot too. By the way, Anna, did you come with Aunt Delanna this time?" Ryan smiled, examining Anna, noticing her significant transformation.

From her originally frail figure, she had developed into a well-nourished and healthy-looking young woman.

"Actually, I sneaked out this time," Anna said shyly, lowering her head.

Hearing this, Ryan's teammates behind him exchanged glances.

Wow! Their captain sure knows how to charm! He even made such a lovely young lady run all the way here to find him.

A real ladies' man! Although the girl before them had a good figure and a neighborly girl-next-door vibe, she just wasn't pretty enough, feeling a bit mismatched with the captain.

Vereri observed the girl, then looked at the red-haired beauty, Evelyn, standing beside her. If he had to choose, he'd naturally pick the more beautiful Evelyn.

After some small talk, Ryan led the way, accompanying Anna towards his manor.

Anna really wanted to see Mint.

After walking a short distance, Ryan suddenly stopped, saying, "You guys go ahead, someone is following us."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ryan left a shadow on the ground and in the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Dixon using his newly mastered Intermediate-level Technique, 'Shadow Step'! Dixon, feeling relaxed, had been tailing them because he subconsciously thought Ryan and his group were Diamond-ranked Swordsmen, so he wasn't keeping a large distance.

Suddenly, he felt a flash before his eyes, and a tall figure abruptly appeared in front of him, like a wall blocking his path.

Dixon was about to curse, but as he focused, his eyes widened, and his heart sank as his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.

"You..." Dixon, looking like he'd seen a ghost, pointed shakily at Ryan.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end