Earl Huidun Falls into Danger

"My Lord Earl, I will use the Blood Sacrifice Technique to open a passage for you later."

Achilles brandished his staff, fending off the constantly lashing vines, and turned back to Huidun, saying.

"Disciple, we've failed this time. Your strength will be greatly diminished when you return. Disciple, you must learn to endure. Your master believes that with your talent, you will quickly surpass that old man."

Achilles repelled the vines swung by the Vine Dragon Withered Wood with an Explosive Flame Technique, then a wry smile appeared on his face.

"But your master must still tell you, you still need to endure. That old man dared to harm you, disciple, someone must be behind his instigation.

Don't think about avenging your master. Your mission is to survive and ascend to the highest position.

Only when you reach that point will you have the strength to confront him and the person behind him."

Looking at the attacking vines again, Achilles said with resolute eyes.

Then, Achilles, dressed in a gold-threaded mage robe, looked at a knight with a severed arm beside him and said with no room for doubt:

"Torey, after I break open the passage, you must ensure the Earl leaves here safely.

This old man remembers that just outside this forest, Melinda and Isabel were leading the practical class for the noble students. You can create a disturbance to attract those two.

I believe they will rush over immediately when they sense the commotion. With their protection, you can retreat safely."

Torey tightly bound his severed arm with strips torn from his tattered cloak, then nodded.

At this moment, Earl Huidun's handsome face, covered in sweat, streamed with tears of anger, regret, and pain.

"No, Teacher Achilles, you can't do this! There must be another way, Teacher, you can't use the Blood Sacrifice Technique."

As he spoke, the magic staff in the Earl's hand faintly glowed, and a chaotic magic spell struck the vines that were constantly writhing and trying to break through their defensive boundary.

However, Achilles revealed a loving smile and said:

"Don't cry. This is the last lesson your master will teach you. From now on, you will have no more tears; you will only become an iron-blooded king."

He no longer looked at Huidun, but turned to Torey, the Earl's knight commander, and said "prepare." Then he began to chant an extremely obscure, dark, and terrifying incantation.

As the incantation was uttered, his aged body began to emit a red glow. However, only those around him could see that the so-called red glow was blood steaming from his skin.

Meanwhile, at the camp outside Nanmu Forest, after three days of simple training, Isabel had imparted the potential troubles and some solutions for hunting in the outer areas of the forest.

Of course, what she taught were basic common sense; the real challenges encountered during the hunt would still have to be resolved by themselves.

The upcoming hunting journey, as well as the results of this hunt, would affect their subsequent studies.

The most important reason for the academy to cultivate them was to nurture truly capable combat mages to strengthen the kingdom.

Naturally, this hunt, which was close to actual combat, could assess whether they had combat talent. Students without talent could also switch to other paths like potion-making while they were still young.

The academy had not given up on students who had not yet successfully inscribed their Magic Rune corridors.

Instead, they had given each of them several Magic Crystals and materials for inscribing Magic Runes during these days. They would need to use their inscribed Magic Crystals to handle problems during the hunt.

Then, the two teachers announced the start of the ten-day hunting period.

Most of these young ones were children of nobles, and they were even first in line for inheritance.

From childhood, they had received education in combat knowledge, as the main force in the kingdom's external wars was still the armies formed by these minor nobles.

Chen Cheng watched these pampered youngsters holding their bows and arrows, their faces filled with excitement as if it were a simple task, and he repeatedly shook his head inwardly.

He had lived in these wild forests for countless years. At their age and strength, even if given a magic-inscribed bow and arrow, it would be useless against Magical Beasts.

However, it was fortunate that the academy had not prohibited personal servants from following them this time.

Chen Cheng also understood the reason for this hunting class: it was to test the students' perception of crisis and their own strength, as well as their ability to handle danger.

The so-called hunting prey points were not that important.

Because no noble would become a hands-on hunter after reaching adulthood. They belonged to the ruling class of this world, and learning magic and gaining power was for better ruling the capable individuals under them.

The calm, objective, and effective methods of handling problems were the practical skills they needed to master.

Chen Cheng also took an ordinary bow and arrow, and his Iron Sword at his waist was sufficient as a sidearm.

After Isabel announced the dismissal, Coles disappeared, carried away by his servant.

The other students paired up with descendants of nearby familiar viscounts and barons.

However, Fini's side appeared quite deserted, with only Chen Cheng and her present.

This was also due to the special nature of Fini's noble status.

Her father's status as a second-class baron had some connection to Chen Cheng.

Fifteen years ago, the same year Chen Cheng was born in this life, Chen Cheng's father's identity was exposed, causing shock throughout the human world and all the kingdoms.

The cry for the eradication of the remnants of the previous dynasty resounded across the entire continent.

The Kolmo Kingdom was naturally one of the voices in this crusade.

When the news came back that the remnants of the previous dynasty had been annihilated by the Kolmo Kingdom, all the kingdoms on the continent plunged into revelry.

It was at this time that Kekebor paved his way with money, bribed the current Prime Minister, Holmish, and spent almost all his family's savings to buy the title of baron. Overnight, his social status transformed from a lowly merchant to a high and mighty noble.

And he was not the only noble like this. At that time, many people took advantage of the opportunity to spend money and transition from merchants to nobility. In fact, some of the noble offspring present had also obtained their status in this way.

It's just that Baron Kekebor, for some unknown reason, began to distance himself from other merchant nobles, despite being a noble himself who started as a merchant.

Then, in an attempt to integrate into the true noble circles, he followed those traditional nobles in pursuing elegant hobbies, only to be looked down upon by those old-guard nobles.

This is why Fini currently has almost no true friends at the academy.

The "almost" is because there's a special individual in this class—Akasto.

He's a chubby little fellow, always with a smiling demeanor towards people, but in reality, at such a young age, he already possesses the potential of a shrewd merchant.

It was he who bought the glasses-making method from Chen Cheng, a deal that has earned him quite a bit recently.

His father is also a very wealthy merchant, arguably the richest man in the Kolmo Kingdom. However, this wealthy man is different from other merchants.

His immense wealth is enough for him to operate within the capital, and the Prime Minister, who is in court, could easily elevate him to the noble rank of a third-class Earl.

But these are not his ambitions. On the contrary, this magnate has an obsessive love for money and enjoys making it, rather than aspiring to the pretense of noble life.

The profit from his previous business with Chen Cheng also gave him a lot of face with his father.

So, it was this fellow who, seeing Chen Cheng and the other person alone, scurried over to Chen Cheng's side.

"Hey, my good brother Brown, why are you and this young lady all alone? I don't have a team either, how about the three of us team up?"

The way he ran was like a rolling ball of flesh, and Fini frowned upon seeing his chubby appearance.

Then, remembering the large sum of gold he had offered as payment earlier, the young lady didn't say much more.

Chen Cheng, however, enjoyed interacting with this fellow. Perhaps it was his uninhibited, merchant-like behavior that reminded Chen Cheng of his previous life's world, which is why he sold him the glasses-making method, even though he knew the gold offered was not equivalent to the substantial profit he would gain.

"How about it, my merchant friend, the great sale of the glasses should have made your father very happy."

"Hey, Brown, don't say that. We already agreed and signed the contract, so we can't go back on it. However, if you have any other ideas for wonderful new products, feel free to tell me. I'll definitely give you a satisfactory price this time."

Seeing the way the little fatty's small eyes lit up when talking about money, Chen Cheng couldn't help but shake his head.

Throughout this whole process, Chen Cheng didn't see the kind of scenario described in novels from his previous life where someone would come and step on them. After all, Fini was also the first in line to inherit her father's baronetcy.

While they might look down on Fini's father, Fini herself had been genuinely raised in a noble household from childhood. There was no need for them to come and show off pointlessly in front of her.