Honor and Promises

Because the Demon Bear was too massive and the hour was already late, Lynn and his men could not process the carcass on the spot. They had no choice but to drain the beast of its blood before returning to White Bear Town.

Although it was deep into the night, the serfs in the villages along the way had not yet gone to sleep.

They had been paralyzed by the fear that the terrifying Magic Beast might attack their homes, unable to rest from worry.

When their Lord returned in triumph, the serfs who had been waiting along the road erupted in jubilation.

They held up bright torches, crowding around Lynn and his party in excitement, as if welcoming their savior.

For the lower serfs of the Northern Border, the greatest threats to their existence were nothing more than the heavy taxes of their lords, the Magic Beasts in the forests, and the unpredictable rain and snow.

The serfs surrendered more than half of their labor to the Lord, all for the sake of mere survival.

That was all.

Now that they heard their Lord had personally hunted down a seven-meter-tall, legendary Demon Bear, securing the safety of the territory and its people, how could they not cheer?

By the time Lynn arrived at White Bear Town, the Free People in the town were also in an uproar.

They lived under the protection of the Lord, trading their skills for the status of Free People.

What they craved was nothing more than a stable environment to live in.

Now, their Lord had personally proven that he and his warriors were capable of protecting the territory.

Any Magic Beast that dared to violate their lands would be slaughtered.

To the Free People, this was the sweetest gospel.

The Blacksmith Qi He and the Carpenter Torima organized men overnight to build large carts, guaranteeing that the Demon Bear's carcass would be transported back to the castle before sunset the next day.

Lynn led his subordinates eastward along the main road, met by heartfelt praise and applause.

This was the first time the Horse Bandits had ever seen such a spectacle.

In the past, they had played the roles of destroyers, plunderers, and ravagers; the people they encountered would hide from them like tigers or wolves, avoiding them like the plague.

The people feared the blades and cruelty of the Horse Bandits, offering forced smiles on the surface while cursing them viciously behind their backs.

The Horse Bandits were well aware of this, which was why they squandered their earnings in the brothels and taverns of the cities.

The prostitutes did not ask where their patrons came from, nor did they care if the money was clean; they treated their generous customers with fawning flattery from the inside out.

But today, these hardened killers heard praise from ordinary people for the first time. For the first time, their actions had earned the approval of the masses.

This brought them an incomparable sense of spiritual satisfaction.

The Horse Bandits knew full well that the primary credit for hunting the Demon Bear belonged to their leader, and that they had mostly served as atmosphere-setters.

But that did not stop them from feeling a sense of shared glory, walking with their heads held high, their faces flushed with excitement.

This was exactly what Lynn wanted to see.

Through this bear hunt, the Horse Bandits had gained the recognition, praise, and respect of the local residents.

They had begun to grasp what a sense of honor truly was.

At the same time, they could likely feel, however vaguely, that the weapons in their hands were not meant to be wielded solely for personal wealth.

Of course, this was only the beginning. Lynn never expected to purge the banditry from them in such a short time.

But today had undoubtedly been a good start.

The night grew deeper, yet the procession around Lynn grew larger.

When he saw the iconic red roof of Riverside Castle, he looked back and realized the line behind them had formed a long, winding dragon of fire.

Many serfs were even singing and dancing as they walked, as if attending a bonfire party during a festival.

"Second Brother, Lao Liu, go tell the serfs that they have a week-long holiday starting now. No labor is required, but they must go home and sleep tonight."

As the Lord, Lynn had the freedom to decide the holiday schedule for his territory.

Aside from the fixed day of rest every week, all other holidays depended on the Lord's mood.

Generally, the common holidays in the Northern Border included the Lord's birthday, the Harvest Festival, and May Day.

Some heartless lords would cancel all extra holidays, working their serfs to death. Yet, the output of the farmland would often be lower as a result.

Serfs were not machines that never grew tired.

If the Lord demanded excessive working hours, they would collude to slack off and cut corners.

One could not exactly assign a Farm Manager to watch every single serf, could they?

Besides, even the Farm Managers would slack off.

The serfs of White Bear Territory had been working overtime for ten days straight to produce compost.

Taking advantage of the joy from today's hunt, Lynn decided to grant them a week-long break.

Once the holiday ended, the intense and demanding work of Spring Planting would begin in earnest.

Second Brother and Lao Liu went off to deliver the orders.

The good news of a week-long holiday spread rapidly. The serfs cheered, and the long dragon of fire dispersed, eventually turning into scattered stars that illuminated White Bear Territory.

By the time Lynn and his men reached the castle gate, Old Albert and the others, having received word, had been waiting for a long time.

"My Lord!"

Old Albert was so moved he could hardly speak.

To be honest, he had been deeply worried about his Lord's safety.

What did a seven-meter-tall Demon Bear even mean?

In the hundred-year history of White Bear Territory, they had never been attacked by such a terrifying Magic Beast.

More than twenty years ago, a Demon Bear less than six meters tall had been enough to turn the entire territory upside down.

The Lord two generations ago had spent a fortune hiring over fifty elite mercenaries just to deal with that one.

During the long and agonizing half-day, Old Albert had even been thinking about how to welcome the next Lord.

After all, Lynn had no legitimate heir to inherit the territory.

But the strength of his Lord was beyond anything he could have imagined.

A seven-meter-tall Demon Bear, taken down just like that in half a day, without any outside help, using only the twenty-some men under his command.

Who would believe it if they heard it?

When he heard the Demon Bear had been slain, Old Albert immediately realized that his new Lord was a god of war descended to earth!

Not only was he filled with martial prowess, but he had also brought miraculous technologies like the heavy plow and compost to the territory.

With the current martial strength of White Bear Territory and the unprecedented harvest to come, was the territory, silent for a century, finally about to take flight?

Lynn dismounted and tossed the reins to the teary-eyed Old Albert, ordering him calmly:

"Feed my horse some oats and eggs, then get lost and go to sleep. Don't bother me for the next week."

"Yes, my Lord! I certainly won't bother you!"

Never mind being told to get lost, even if he were told to get down and bark like a dog, Old Albert would have done it with joy.

To be the dog of his Lord was the greatest honor!

After Old Albert and his son, Little Albert, hurried away with the horses, Yagna stepped forward with small, hesitant steps, looking shy.

"My Lord."

Even in the dark of night, Lynn could see the alluring crimson flush on the girl's fair neck.

Yagna did not dare to meet Lynn's eyes, keeping her head lowered, wishing she could bury her chin into her full chest.

Unlike Old Albert, she had always believed that Lynn would return in triumph.

She had never once considered the possibility of his failure.

The confidence and aura Lynn had displayed before his departure, which seemed to pierce the very clouds, had given her infinite strength and faith.

When the news of the Lord slaying the Demon Bear reached the castle, she had been just as overjoyed.

But then she realized that she had to fulfill her promise.