A Few Old Stories

Successfully hunting twelve Snow Ghosts at once had firmly established Russell's position as lord, and his parents approved of him even more.

But this time, he merely had lunch at the castle and told his younger sister Laura a few stories before leaving empty-handed.

He had failed to take another batch of supplies with him.

Even if the baron had considerable wealth, he could not afford to give Russell a batch of supplies every time he visited. After a few more visits like that, the castle would be emptied out.

When he returned to Wuyou Snake Manor, he saw a long convoy heading into the estate.

They were not the four-wheeled carriages used by nobles, but two-wheeled carts resembling flatbeds, pulled by mules.

The carts were piled high with logs, nearly bending the wheel hubs. A group of ragged serfs walked beside them, steadying the lumber while straining to push the carts forward. They had an especially hard time crossing potholes, shouting in unison as they pushed together.

"My lord, you're back." Charles came over with a smile. "Lord Ertlas personally led the convoy delivering the lumber."

"Oh, Lord Ertlas came in person?"

"He's having tea in the manor annex."

Russell quickly returned to the manor annex and soon met the lord of Red Falcon Manor, Phantom Beast Knight Lord Ertlas.

"Lord Ertlas, I didn't expect you to come in person."

"Haha, Russell, you've grown up!" Ertlas reached out and patted Russell's arm. "You're a little more resolute than you were at your coming-of-age ceremony. Being a lord really does make people mature quickly. When I was your age, I certainly hadn't killed any Snow Ghosts."

He was Baron Roman's right-hand man, one of his five knight vassals. He had followed the baron into battle for many years and possessed formidable strength.

Charles and the others handled the lumber handover.

Russell simply kept Ertlas company over tea and conversation, listening to him boast about old tales from the snowfields.

"I followed Baron Lord into the snowfields to fight and clear the trade routes. Over all these years, I killed who knew how many Snow Ghosts. They seemed endless, impossible to wipe out." Ertlas sighed. "People say Snow Ghosts are corpses that rise from the dead, but I don't believe it."

"Lord Ertlas, you don't agree with that?"

"Of course not. How could we humans have died in such numbers? And only dead people who cultivated Battle Aura can turn into Snow Ghosts, which makes their numbers even fewer. Yet look at it—throughout history, how many Snow Ghosts have we killed? Have their numbers decreased?"

"They really haven't."

"Exactly. So Snow Ghosts aren't transformed humans at all... Well, how should I put it? Perhaps some of them are transformed humans. After all, I've personally seen fallen comrades suddenly rise as Snow Ghosts... In short, it's hard to say."

That Snow Ghosts were transformed from dead cultivators had practically become common knowledge.

Yet after hearing Ertlas say this, Russell also felt that something was off. How many people would have to die for humanity to keep killing them for thousands of years without ever finishing them off? Even though humans continued to die, it was nowhere near enough to match the rate at which Snow Ghosts were hunted.

Especially now, whenever knights lost a companion in the snowfields, they would carry out a humane destruction.

They gave no chance for the corpse to turn into a Snow Ghost.

So where Snow Ghosts truly came from remained a mystery to this day.

The topic soon turned to Snow Demons, and Russell asked, "Lord Ertlas, have you fought Snow Demons before?"

"Haha, of course I have!" At this, Ertlas's beard practically bristled. "We call Snow Ghosts Green Skins and Snow Demons Blue Skins. They're even bigger than the large Green Skins, and some of them ride Snow Beasts. Do you know what Snow Beasts are? They're not trash like Ghost Beasts!"

Snow Ghosts were transformed from humans, while Ghost Beasts were transformed from animals. Both had been affected by the power of Snow Demons and risen from the dead.

That was why they were both called "ghosts."

And the source of the catastrophe that had frozen Dragon Sleep Continent was the Snow Demons.

Legend had it that Snow Demons came from another world, taking away the fireseed of Dragon Sleep Continent and leaving behind endless ice that not even sunlight could melt.

There were two types of Snow Demons: humanoid Snow Demons and beast-form Snow Demons, also called Snow Beasts.

"When we see a Blue Skin riding a Snow Beast, we basically run immediately. Haha, only Wyverns can deal with those Riding Blue Skins. Your grandfather rode Lord Ross back then and killed Riding Blue Skins, earning tremendous renown."

Ertlas reminisced about the past with a wistful sigh. "It's a pity that Old Sir Rhode died fighting in the snowfields alongside the Grand Duke before you were born. Ah... Baron Lord couldn't ride a dragon, so whenever we encountered Riding Blue Skins, we turned around and ran."

Russell sighed along with him.

He knew of his grandfather's illustrious name, but he had never met him. Occasionally, he had heard his grandmother, Old Madam Ingrid, speak of him.

His grandfather, Rhode Fluorite, had been the second Baron Gloomlight. He had ridden Lord Ross, which meant he had been a Wyvern Knight.

A Wyvern Knight also counted as a Dragon Knight.

The name Dragon Knight Rhode had been renowned throughout the Shadowflame Grand Duchy at the time. Unfortunately, five years before Russell was born—Dragon Calendar 5560—Rhode had followed the Grand Duke of that time to hunt Snow Demons, only to accidentally alert a Snow Giant.

Snow Giants were kings among Snow Demons, as enormous as giants. They could tear Wyverns apart with their bare hands and battle true dragons.

As a result, the Grand Duke at the time died in that battle, and the Shadowflame Dragon was injured.

Dragon Knight Rhode also died beside the Grand Duke, though he allowed the still-young Lord Ross to escape back to the territory.

"If not for that battle against the Snow Giant, Old Sir Rhode would not have died so young... The Fluorite Mushroom Family might even have advanced further and become an earl's great house."

After saying that, Ertlas shook his head and laughed at himself. "Forget it, what's the point of lamenting such things? True nobles must fight for their own futures. Russell, grow quickly. Then, following Lord Roman, we'll surely win ourselves an earl's title!"

"Good!"

By the time the lumber handover was complete, it was already dark.

Ertlas only stayed for dinner at the manor annex before taking his leave, leading the serf convoy back toward Red Falcon Manor through the night.

"Five Gold Coins, twenty-three Silver Coins, and sixteen copper coins. Lord Ertlas's accompanying officials had stubborn mouths—they wouldn't even waive a few copper coins from the change." Slightly drunk, Charles bid Russell good night and muttered, "It must have been the lord's instruction. He acted so generous at dinner, yet he was so stingy in private!"

Russell smiled and waved him off. "Red Falcon Manor is poorly located and produces little. They make their living off lumber, so it's only natural for them to be careful with every coin... Go get some sleep."

After dismissing Charles, Russell went to the study.

Before long, Butler Morris knocked and entered carrying a bottle of red wine. "My lord."

"Perfect timing, Morris. How much money do we have in our accounts now? Building a Windmill Mill shouldn't empty our savings."

"We can hold out for quite some time, my lord. I carry the account book with me." Morris set down the ledger, then poured a glass each for Russell and himself.

At night, a butler drinking with his lord and going over the accounts was an essential part of a noble lord's daily routine.

In truth, Russell already had a good idea of how much money they had. He had brought over a hundred Gold Coins from Fluorite Castle, and he had not spent much these past few days.

After all, the food and other supplies had also been brought from the castle. They could still last for several months.