Dockside Arrival

[Chapter 30 is still under review.]

The next day, Lynn woke up later than usual for the first time ever.

By the time he opened his eyes, brilliant sunlight had already pierced through the clouds like sharp swords, flooding the room.

The thin frost that had gathered on the window overnight was quietly melting, droplets slowly sliding down the glass and leaving winding trails behind them.

Spring in the Northern Border was almost here.

Lynn turned his head and saw that Yagna was still sleeping soundly.

Her golden hair was spread across the pillow, gilded by the sunlight with a soft glow like flowing gold.

Her head was slightly tilted, and her exposed skin looked especially fair beneath the light.

The several red marks on her neck were like the last stubborn roses of winter—eye-catching, yet carrying an indescribable beauty.

He scratched his head, unable to stop last night's intimate memories from surfacing in his mind. This girl really had some fire in her.

Was that what one should expect from a Northern Border girl?

Like a winter blizzard in the Northern Border, that wild intensity came without warning.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Second Brother's voice from outside the bedroom.

"Big Brother, are you up? Torima and the others have already brought over the Demon Bear's corpse."

"I'll be right there."

Lynn quickly got out of bed and dressed. With his powerful physique, the fatigue accumulated yesterday had long since vanished.

Seeing that only the last flicker of flame remained in the fireplace, he pulled Yagna's cashmere blanket up a little higher.

As he stepped out of the bedroom, Second Brother came up to him with a mischievous grin.

"Congratulations, Big Brother."

"Get to the point."

Lynn rolled his eyes at him, threw on his outer clothes, and headed straight out.

Second Brother hurried after him. "Torima and the others built a cart and transported that Demon Bear's corpse here overnight. I checked it—the fur is intact, no one touched it, and all the bear meat is still there."

"Good. Organize some people immediately. Skin it and handle the hide properly. Cut the meat into two-kilogram portions and give one piece to every household in the territory."

Lynn had already decided yesterday how to distribute the Demon Bear's corpse.

The Magic Stone taken from the bear's heart belonged to him, and he had already added it to [Strength]. Though it was still B-rank, after sleeping for a night, he could clearly feel his strength had improved.

The hide was actually worth more than the Magic Stone, especially the hide of a seven-meter-tall Demon Bear. It was exceedingly rare across the entire Continent of Diavas.

Those wealthy great nobles in the Southern Border loved collecting such rarities.

Lynn estimated that this hide could sell for at least a hundred Northern Gold Shields. If transported to the Southern Border, the price could easily exceed two hundred.

But he certainly could not keep all the benefits for himself.

According to the Horse Bandits' usual practice, the money would be divided equally among all the Horse Bandits.

As for the bear meat, it was actually the least valuable thing.

There was no cold-chain logistics in this era. If meat was not eaten quickly, it would rot.

Bear meat had an especially strong gamey smell, even stronger than mutton.

With the pitifully few local spices available in the Northern Border, there was simply no way to cover up the stench of bear meat.

Giving away nearly two tons of bear meat to the serfs for free was the best way to deal with it.

Although bear meat was gamey, it was still precious protein. For the serfs, they could swallow it if they endured the taste.

By the time Lynn reached the small square in front of the castle, Torima had already led the Carpenters back to White Bear Town.

They had spent the entire night building carts and transporting the bear, and they were already exhausted to the bone.

After going back to catch up on sleep, they would throw themselves into making Heavy Plows again. There was no rest in sight.

Old Albert and his son, Little Albert, were standing beside the Demon Bear's corpse, examining it and muttering to each other.

Hearing footsteps, Old Albert immediately turned around. Upon seeing that it was Lord Lynn, he instantly put on a radiant smile.

"My lord, I'm not here to bother you today. I merely believed that you needed your most loyal servant to solve your troubles for you." Old Albert's fawning smile was now entirely sincere, without the slightest trace of pretense.

"Later, take some people and distribute all the bear meat to the serfs for me. Remember, every household must receive its share. If any serf complains to me that they received no bear meat, you'll make up for it with your own flesh. Also, go to White Bear Town and bring several tanners here to handle the hide."

Lynn glanced at Old Albert before shifting his gaze to the dead Demon Bear.

Even lying flat on the ground, the thing was nearly two meters tall.

Though it had been dead all night and its corpse was already cold, the remaining trace of its terrifying presence could still make a child burst into tears on the spot.

"Understood, my lord!" The middle-aged man immediately stood at attention, and his son Little Albert followed suit.

After Lynn gave the order, the small central square of the castle quickly became bustling.

The bear hide needed professional treatment to remove its stench and prevent decay.

Old Albert called several skilled tanners over from White Bear Town.

The tanners set up a huge wooden frame in the shade of the castle to stretch the hide and make it easier to scrape away the excess fat and flesh stuck to it.

After washing it clean and letting it dry slightly, the tanners would take the bear hide back to White Bear Town for further treatment.

Leather tanning in this era basically relied on various kinds of urine, and the smell was truly unbearable.

In White Bear Territory, tanners were nearly the lowest-status members among the Free People.

No one wanted to associate long-term with people who constantly carried a strange piss stink.

While the tanners handled the bear hide, Old Albert also called over a group of strong, healthy serfs.

Working together, the serfs quickly dismembered the skinned Demon Bear and cut it into chunks of roughly two kilograms each.

The excess organs were hauled out of the castle in small carts to make Compost.

By sunset, the once-intact Demon Bear corpse had been reduced to nothing but a huge bare skeleton. Its hide, meat, and organs had all been taken away for processing.

"My lord, what should we do with this skeleton?"

Old Albert stared at the bear skull, which alone was eighty centimeters tall, feeling troubled.

They could hardly display such a thing in the castle. It would be rather creepy in the middle of the night.

"Give it to the tanners as well. Have every bone cleaned and stored properly. Put them in the warehouse in White Bear Town. I have a great use for them."

Lynn knew someone who loved collecting such seemingly terrifying items.

And that person would soon be coming to White Bear Territory.

For the following week, Lynn barely left the castle.

It was as though Yagna had flipped some strange switch. She cast aside her former shyness and passivity, taking the initiative every day to cling to Lynn and make babies.

One afternoon in late March, they even had a battle in the study.

According to her, she would keep pestering Lynn until she was truly pregnant.

Naturally, Lynn enjoyed it immensely.

He also hoped to take Shallow Beach Territory to the south as soon as possible.

That territory was broader and richer than White Bear Territory, and its population was larger as well.

While busy making babies, Lynn also kept track of the days and watched the position of the pixel figure representing Lao San on the map.

It had been nearly twenty days since Lao San had set out for Three Rivers City. He should have returned by now.

On the afternoon of the last day of the seven-day holiday, a Single-masted Galley sailed into the small dock beside the castle.

Lao San had returned. Arriving in White Bear Territory with him was Leon, a Black Market Merchant from Three Rivers City.

Chapter 30 has been approved, so don't worry.

(End of chapter)