With his head full of all sorts of wild thoughts, Enzo followed Lin Qi toward the main keep, all the while calculating the terrifying strength Lin Qi's family had displayed.
Drawing on the professional knowledge he had learned at the Imperial Army Academy, Enzo accurately gauged the strength of Lin Qi's family. These defenses alone, without powerful mages or high-ranking knights joining the fight, would allow the ancestral estate to withstand an attack by an ordinary legion numbering over ten thousand.
But that was only taking into account the defenses themselves—the lifeless structures. Add experts as unfathomable as Iron Hammer and Butcher Knife, the servants they had seen along the way, all radiating a savage air, and those fierce maids who could carry milk pails weighing over a hundred pounds without so much as changing expression. Add the estate's geographical advantage, perched almost at the mountaintop, and it could withstand a siege by tens of thousands.
And if this ancestral estate held other useful things, such as military-issue armor, crossbows, powerful bows, and other contraband, then heaven knew how many men it would take to storm the place.
But was it really possible that there were no forbidden military supplies here? Just think of the things Lin Qi and he had done in Berely. Think of all the military weapons Lin Qi had secretly sold to Cripple over the years. How could Lin Qi's family estate possibly be short of contraband?
"What a fierce family!" Enzo looked around curiously. Not a single tree stood within the estate. There was clearly a reason for that, too: without trees, outside assassins and thieves had nowhere to hide. And without trees, an enemy's fire attack would do less damage to the estate.
This wasn't an ancestral home where a virtuous family could live in peace and prosperity. It was a den of dragons and tigers—a genuine military fortress built to withstand large-scale warfare.
"What a powerful family. How come I've never heard of a family this formidable in the empire?" Enzo couldn't help rubbing his nose. The empire's great nobles and powerful lineages were renowned far and wide; their names were known throughout the Western Continent. Yet from Lin Qi's estate alone, it was clear his family's foundations were no weaker than those of the great houses. In terms of martial strength, they might even surpass them. Still, Enzo had never heard anyone mention such a powerful family.
How many wonders were hidden across this vast continent? Enzo couldn't help taking a deep breath.
A piercing bellow suddenly came from a spacious stone building beside the main keep. A moment later, a hulking black bull, its coat gleaming like satin, bolted out in a panic.
The bull had barely run ten meters when a mountain of flesh charged out of the stone building in a rage. "You damn little calf, where do you think you're going? Dear young master Lin Qi is coming home! He loves my beef blood sausage best, so you'd better turn into a delicious, mouthwatering blood sausage!"
The woman was as tall as Iron Hammer, but her waist was even wider. A middle-aged woman with flesh packed across her face and body that rippled like waves whenever she walked, she brandished a kitchen knife over a meter long and roared with laughter as she chased after the bull.
To Enzo's astonishment, the woman caught up with the galloping bull in just two or three strides. She casually looped her thick left arm around its neck and twisted. With a loud crack, she snapped the bull's neck with her bare hands. Her sharp kitchen knife plunged precisely into its throat, and a fountain of blood sprayed far across the ground.
Several servants rushed over carrying an enormous wooden basin, positioning it directly beneath the stream of blood. They caught every last drop. The bull twitched helplessly as its blood drained away, and the middle-aged woman laughed as she tossed the beast—which must have weighed at least two thousand pounds—to the ground.
Iron Hammer and Butcher Knife both twitched.
The woman turned around and spotted Lin Qi. The fierce, terrifying face packed with rolls of flesh suddenly softened, taking on an angelic gentleness and kindness. Tears streamed from her eyes as she rushed toward Lin Qi like a gale, swept him into her arms, and pressed his head firmly against her ample chest.
"Waaah, my young master Lin Qi is home! Waaah, it's been three years since I last saw my young master Lin Qi. Auntie Lili missed you so much! Good heavens, young master, how much hardship have you suffered out there? How did you get so thin?" Auntie Lili hugged Lin Qi tightly. Even with his brute strength, even after the Magic Tiger Potion had increased his overall strength tenfold, he was like a little chick in her arms, unable to struggle even a bit.
That was the terrifying strength that could snap the neck of a two-thousand-pound bull with her bare hands! Auntie Lili clutched Lin Qi and cried, her nose running as she wailed. Enzo felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively backed away a few steps.
Well, Enzo had once again gained a firsthand understanding of just how savage Lin Qi's family was!
What kind of duke's household in the empire could possibly have a female cook this fierce?
Just as Lin Qi was about to suffocate, his arms and legs already twitching, Iron Hammer finally couldn't take it anymore. He pried Auntie Lili's powerful arms apart and rescued Lin Qi, whose face had turned purple from lack of air. Iron Hammer patted Auntie Lili hard on the shoulder and boomed, "Dear Lili, all right, all right. The young master you nursed from the moment he was born until he was seven has come home! But now hurry and prepare the beef blood sausage. It's the young master's favorite!"
Auntie Lili let Lin Qi go and gazed at him with boundless affection, kneading his cheek—a face that could never be called "thin." She sniffed hard and nodded repeatedly. "All right, all right, young master, go see the master first. The delicious beef blood sausage will be ready in no time! Oh, you must stay home for a few more days and eat plenty of blood sausage to build yourself up!"
After finally catching his breath, Lin Qi warmly embraced Auntie Lili and enthusiastically praised her cooking. Auntie Lili was so moved she nearly burst into tears again. Turning back every few steps, she walked toward the poor bull, then casually picked up the enormous animal and carried it, swaying from side to side, into the huge kitchen.
Looking at Auntie Lili's enormous, burly frame, then at Lin Qi's tall, muscular body, Enzo suddenly seemed to understand why Lin Qi had grown so big and strong. He had been raised on Auntie Lili's milk, after all. What a worthy and admirable wet nurse!
If a wet nurse like that donned heavy plate armor and swung her enormous kitchen knife, wouldn't she be able to sweep through a thousand-man squad on the battlefield with ease? At least, the thousand-man units formed by the Army Academy cadets Enzo knew would never withstand the charge of such a human-shaped Magic Beast.
"Terrifying!"
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Enzo couldn't help wondering what kind of person Lin Qi's father was.
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