The Best Mount

After leaving the courtyard, Sunan headed toward the Inner Fort Main Building.

The patrolling soldiers he encountered along the way all saluted and greeted him.

To keep the matter secret, Sunan had asked his Big Brother to conceal the news that he had become a Wizard Apprentice.

As a result, the commoners and ordinary soldiers in Blackstone City knew little about Sunan. They only knew that Lord's younger brother was somewhat withdrawn and rarely left his residence.

Only the knights who knew the truth felt genuine awe toward Sunan.

Upon entering the main building, Sunan went straight to the study on the third floor.

Other than when he was discussing matters with the generals in the council hall, Kei usually handled administrative affairs in the study or went to the Training Field to cultivate.

By his usual habits, he should have been in the study at this hour.

The moment Sunan stepped onto the third-floor corridor, he saw a beautiful maid emerge from the study.

Her clothes were disheveled, her cheeks flushed, and her hair damp, making it obvious that she had just undergone some vigorous exercise.

When she noticed someone coming upstairs, the maid turned to look. Seeing that it was Sunan, she jumped in fright and hurriedly gave an awkward curtsy.

"Young Master Sunan."

Sunan gave the maid a strange look.

He vaguely remembered that this maid seemed to be a widow. He had not expected his Big Brother to have such tastes.

"You may leave." Sunan waved a hand.

The maid hastily took her leave.

Sunan stood outside the door for a moment before pushing it open and walking in.

Kei, seated behind the desk, had already dressed and was absorbed in a book.

Hearing the door open, he looked up and smiled naturally. "Sunan, what brings you to see your Big Brother?"

Sunan did not expose him. He pulled over a chair, sat down, and asked, "How are things at the Blackstone Mining Area?"

"Very smoothly!"

At the mention of the Blackstone Mining Area, Kei's face immediately brightened with a smile.

"In just half a month, we've already earned over a hundred Gold Coins from selling Blackstone Iron."

"This is only the beginning. The mine's output will continue to increase, and once it stabilizes, the territory will earn at least four or five thousand Gold Coins a year just from selling Blackstone Iron!"

The annual income of a viscount's territory was probably only four or five thousand Gold Coins.

Yet Blackstone City alone had an annual income comparable to that of a viscount's territory. The Blackstone Mining Area's ability to generate wealth was clear to see.

"What has Shining City's reaction been?" Sunan asked.

The Blackstone Mining Area's activities were too conspicuous to hide for long.

If nothing unexpected happened, Shining City had certainly learned by now that the Blackstone Mining Area had reopened.

As long as Owen was not an idiot, he would never just sit by and watch Blackstone City grow stronger with the help of the Blackstone Mining Area.

Anyone could tell he would definitely try to obstruct them.

Kei's smile faded as he pondered. "The buyers of Blackstone Iron are mainly lords and merchant guilds from the Thorn Flower Principality. Their routes don't pass through Golden Rock Province, so it won't be easy for Owen to intercept them."

The Thorn Flower Principality was a principality as renowned as the Starry Sky Principality, and its border happened to adjoin Blackstone City.

If they traded with that side, merchant caravans could reach Blackstone City without passing through Golden Rock Province, so they would not have to worry about Owen using checkpoints along the route to cause trouble.

Of course, Owen could simply send soldiers to cut off the route.

However, that would involve the Thorn Flower Principality, and the nature of the matter would likely change.

Unless he had no other choice, Owen would probably not act so rashly.

Still, they needed to guard against him resorting to other methods.

"I plan to form a cavalry force," Kei suddenly said.

Sunan raised an eyebrow and quickly understood.

The reason Owen had been able to seize the baronial title and suppress the other three knights into silence was because he commanded an elite cavalry force of five hundred men.

Blackstone City would sooner or later clash with Owen, so they had to prepare early.

The best response was to build an equally powerful army.

"That will cost quite a bit of money," Sunan said.

Kei nodded. "Buying warhorses and armor will cost a great deal."

In this era, warhorses and armor were both exceedingly expensive.

Buying a warhorse and a suit of armor would cost no less than thirty or forty Gold Coins.

The subsequent training of cavalry, care of warhorses, and maintenance of equipment would be an even greater expense.

A cavalry force was practically a bottomless pit that swallowed Gold Coins. Most territories spent the bulk of their tax revenue on it.

That was precisely why the number of cavalry under a lord's command had become a measure of his strength.

Even with the Blackstone Mining Area as a money tree, it would be very difficult for Blackstone City to build an elite cavalry force.

"If that's the case, I do have an idea." Sunan's eyes flickered slightly.

"What idea?"

Kei's eyes lit up as he asked eagerly.

Having witnessed so many of Sunan's remarkable methods, he trusted his younger brother completely.

The moment Sunan said he had a solution, hope surged in his heart.

"Blackrock Panthers," Sunan said succinctly.

Kei immediately understood what he meant, and his eyes shone.

He had already witnessed the Blackrock Panther's combat strength. It was no weaker than that of a knight.

More importantly, these puppet creations feared neither death nor exhaustion, and they did not need food. If they could be used as mounts, they would undoubtedly be the best mounts possible!

"You can craft Blackrock Panthers?" Kei looked at Sunan expectantly.

"There shouldn't be a problem," Sunan said.

Thanks to the enhancement from the Activity Potion, his progress in learning Puppet Crafting had accelerated considerably. He had now surpassed ninety percent.

At most, in another four or five days, he would master the skill.

Then he would be able to craft Blackrock Panthers.

"Wonderful!"

Kei was beside himself with joy. He instinctively rose to his feet and paced back and forth excitedly, unable to find the words for a moment.

A cavalry force mounted on Blackrock Panthers would absolutely be the strongest cavalry army in Golden Rock Province.

If he could command such a cavalry force, he would not need many men. With only three hundred, he would have the confidence to counterattack Shining City!

Even amid his excitement, Kei looked at Sunan and secretly sighed within his heart.

After returning from the mine, he had obtained introductory books from Sunan and wanted to test whether he had the potential to become a Wizard Apprentice.

Yet after reading only a couple of pages, his head had hurt as though it were about to explode. Left with no choice, he had to give up.

The facts proved that he did not possess the aptitude to become a Wizard Apprentice.

Kei regretted it for several days.

Later, though, he came to terms with it. It did not matter if he could not become a Wizard Apprentice, as long as Sunan was there.

With Sunan supporting him from behind, the two brothers would surely restore the Arnester Family.

After a long while, Kei finally calmed the surging emotions in his heart and gave Sunan's shoulder a firm slap.

"I'll leave this matter to you. If you succeed, you'll be our family's greatest contributor!"

Sunan merely smiled faintly at those words, letting the subject pass as he brought up the reason he had come.

After hearing him out, Kei slapped his forehead and smiled. "I was just about to tell you about that."

He rose from behind the desk and gestured for Sunan to follow.

"A while ago, I asked the Fire Fox Merchant Guild of the Thorn Flower Principality to help find the things you wanted. They arrived in Blackstone City this morning and should be resting at the tavern now. Let's go take a look."