A Gift

Evan then rose elegantly to take his leave, turning and departing with Grem.

Grem followed Evan out of the outpost, completely baffled.

To him, today's meeting had been utterly pointless. They had discussed topics he could not understand, while the reward for Evan—the thing he cared about most—had not been mentioned at all by either party.

Evan told him not to worry. He knew this was simply how traditional nobles conducted themselves.

For the sake of both parties' dignity and noble decorum, Nabuli would never openly bring up the matter of a reward. The century-old Garratt Family had been the same.

Compared with the new nobles who talked about money at every turn, neither approach was necessarily better or worse. They merely followed different principles.

Sure enough.

The two had stood outside the outpost for only a short while when the other side's adjutant came looking for them and delivered Evan's due reward. In addition to the enormous bounty of fifty Gold Lions, there was also an unremarkable-looking but finely forged Bastard Sword.

"Your Excellency Evan, this is a personal gift from Lord Nabuli. Please accept it. His Lordship wishes you: May your martial luck be prosperous!"

Evan was quite skilled with a sword, so naturally he knew swords as well.

Grandpa Leo, who had once been a Formal Knight, had possessed an Extraordinary Level sword. Unfortunately, it had long been lost during their escape.

The one Evan used now was merely an ordinary product forged by a blacksmith. It could not compare at all to the fine-quality military equipment that could not be bought even with money. If he had possessed such a sword when fighting Black Bear Billy, he would have dared to clash with him head-on and crush him in a direct confrontation.

"Please thank Your Excellency the Lord for me. I like his gift very much."

After the customary pleasantries, Evan watched the adjutant return to the outpost before leaving with Grem.

Before they parted, Evan took out five Gold Lions and stuffed them into Grem's hands. The fellow immediately beamed with delight. He had not expected to receive a share himself, and after refusing twice for form's sake, he accepted them.

Evan's principles were quite modern: the closer the friends, the less they should nickel-and-dime each other over money. Grem had shared danger with him today and had also introduced him to Lord Nabuli. He fully deserved the reward of five Gold Lions.

Later, Grem would also receive payment from the authorities for his wartime conscription. All told, it should equal nearly half a year of his income. His gains were truly substantial.

The next day, the journey Evan had planned did not take place.

As expected, Evan was summoned once more by Viscount Andrea, the Magistrate and highest-ranking noble in the area.

Through his conversation with Lord Nabuli yesterday, Evan had learned that the Faletis Kingdom, like his homeland Iliya—which he barely remembered—also had conflicts between old and new nobles.

But Faletis possessed a powerful royal family that firmly controlled the nation's supreme military force and over eighty percent of its professional army, standing high and mighty as an impartial arbiter.

Many years ago, through skillful means, it had already sorted out every major and minor faction within the country.

It established an iron order, suppressing every destabilizing factor beneath Her Majesty the Queen's throne. No matter how they fought, they had to obey the rules laid down by Her Majesty the Queen, minimizing internal attrition as much as possible.

At the same time, the royal family turned the conflict between landed nobles and new nobles into opportunities for itself.

It worked with the new nobles and the urban citizen class to gradually erode the lands of the old landed nobility through urbanization. It also formed agreements with the old nobility, giving them a place in emerging cities and allowing them to gain benefits far richer than those from the formerly closed manor economy.

At the same time, it bound every faction to its chariot through continuously developed new sea routes and Overseas Colonies. No matter how powerful the various factions became, the royal family and the kingdom remained the greatest beneficiaries, forever invincible!

After a generation of effort, Faletis had leapt into the ranks of regional powers and gained enormous influence within the Tulip Alliance.

Magistrate Viscount Andrea was a former landed noble who had transformed himself very successfully under these circumstances. Through the Citizen Council, he also held administrative authority over this city.

In the Magistrate's reception room at City Hall, Evan met Leopold's most distinguished figure.

He was a highly imposing old man. Evan could see in him every trait of Western nobility from his memories of his previous life: rigid, stern, cold, and utterly unapproachable. He was the very image of a man in power.

Facing Evan, who had not a penny to his name, he spoke simply and directly:

"Although Nabuli has already reported your situation to me, I still wanted to ask your thoughts in person. Are you willing to join my Leopold City and become a member of the City Guard?"

Under the old man's oppressively intense gaze, Evan forced himself to answer.

"Leopold is your city, but it is also my hometown. Defending my home is naturally my duty. But while I am still young, I want to see the world beyond it."

Seeing the sincerity and resolve in Evan's eyes, the old man's eagle-sharp gaze softened slightly, and the rigid corners of his stone-carved mouth curved faintly upward.

"Very well.

"Though it is deeply regrettable. As an old man, I can understand the thoughts of young eagles. They always wish to measure the height of the sky and the distance of the sea with their own wings.

"If you wish to return, Leopold will always be your home, child!"

"Thank you, Your Excellency! I am deeply grateful for your understanding." Regardless of how sincere the old man was, it was already rare for someone of his status to say such things. Evan did not feel offended.

Even though he could not accept the old man's goodwill, Evan still rose and gave him a deep bow.

The old man waved for Evan to sit again, casually turning the signet ring on his hand as he said,

"I heard that you intend to join the Kingdom Navy? I have already written you a letter of recommendation. Take it with you. Whether you use it or not is up to you.

"While it cannot open back doors for you, it can serve as an admission ticket and save you quite a bit of trouble."

A moment later, Evan accepted the letter bearing the old man's family crest with both hands. After another solemn bow, he took his leave.

Then he ran out of City Hall as though fleeing for his life.

Evan shouted inwardly, "I don't know what level he has reached, but that old man is definitely an Extraordinary person hiding his strength! Facing him was even more exhausting than fighting pirates in a bloody battle!"

As he walked back, the events of the day replayed in his mind. Evan could not help admiring how watertight the methods of old nobles were.

The recommendation letter had been prepared in advance. Even if he could not keep Evan here, Evan was a talent raised in Leopold and naturally inclined toward their camp, so the old man would naturally do his best to grant him favor.

It was merely a small effort for the old man, but if Evan had even a one-in-ten chance of repaying it in the future, it would be a huge profit!

Even with Evan's intelligence, he had already seen through the old man's plan. Yet whether he used the recommendation letter or not, he had no choice but to accept the favor.

As for how the old man had learned about Evan in less than a day? As the local ruler, it would have been stranger if he had not!

While Evan busily made the final preparations for his departure,

the atmosphere aboard the Blood Anchor pirate ship, the other side in this pirate assault on the city, was entirely different.

After the pirates who had attacked and plundered the city returned to the ship last night, the crew counted their numbers, and a heavy gloom descended over the entire pirate vessel.

Blood Anchor Zack was nearly driven mad with rage!

The failed raids of recent days and the Kingdom Navy's relentless hunt had left Captain Zack desperately needing a glorious victory to secure his position aboard the ship and extinguish the restless ambitions of the scum and villains under his command.

At the very least, he needed to wear down some of the troublemakers who had openly expressed dissatisfaction, letting the rest know exactly who called the shots aboard this ship!

After choosing Leopold, an obscure little fishing town, Zack had directly sent many troublemakers who questioned his authority ashore. Whether the battle ended well or badly, it should resolve the predicament of his prestige plummeting after consecutive failures.

To be safe, Blood Anchor Zack had even sent his loyal right-hand man, Boatswain Black Bear Billy, to oversee the operation. He believed he had made every necessary preparation.

But when the landing party returned and their numbers were counted, the staggering fifty-six casualties made Blood Anchor's heart bleed. After all, due to their previous losses, there were only one hundred and thirty pirates on the entire ship!

What was more, because the time for plundering had been limited, the loot the pirates brought back could not possibly make up for such personnel losses.

Apart from the thirty diehard loyalists left aboard the ship, he had sent out one hundred pirates, yet fewer than half had returned.

In particular, Black Bear Billy, the foremost of his subordinates, had failed to return as well. Now even the loyal crewmen under his command looked at him with flickering eyes. The crew was more unstable than before, and Blood Anchor was so miserable he nearly spat blood.

"Raise anchor! We're going to raid merchant ships!!!"