"My lord! I'm sorry. I shot a second arrow without thinking!"
Vivian had come out of that wondrous state. When she saw the strange looks Quick and the others were giving her, she felt a little awkward.
After all, just yesterday she had been a helpless serf girl. Even now that she possessed extraordinary power, Vivian was still somewhat at a loss.
"You did very well, Vivian. Do you understand now why I appointed you captain of the guards?" Nalant encouraged her gently.
"My lord, I understand!" Vivian nodded and replied softly.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the side quest. Quest reward: a Sprite will fall during the next meteor shower!" Just then, a system notification sounded in Nalant's mind.
"Another Sprite is going to appear!" Nalant was overjoyed. In other barons' territories, one or two Sprites a year was considered lucky, but here, one had appeared two weeks in a row. This place was practically blessed with good fortune!
Suppressing his excitement, Nalant looked around. "And what about the rest of you?"
"My lord, we understand too!" Vivian's marksmanship was astonishing, and she was a Title Knight to boot. No one dared question her now. Even Quick had only just recovered from his shock. He immediately stepped forward and dropped to one knee before Nalant. "My lord, I was wrong! Please punish me!"
A Title Knight!
Though Vivian looked so gentle and delicate now, Quick knew that once she learned how to fight, even five men like him wouldn't stand a chance against her.
And the Daughter of Misfortune had gained Battle Qi. Quick couldn't help believing what his lord had said earlier: perhaps this really was a revelation from the God of Glory. Otherwise, how could something like this have happened?
"Quick, I'm not a foolish lord. I won't punish you for your loyalty and sense of responsibility. Get up!" Nalant nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you, my lord! I swear to serve you until death!" Quick was deeply moved. At that moment, he truly accepted Nalant from the bottom of his heart as his lord.
In the past few days, he had been loyal, but his obedience had been little more than mechanical compliance with orders.
Now, his lord had shown not only wisdom and generosity but had also earned the favor of the God of Honor. How could a subordinate not give his whole heart to a lord like that?
"I swear to serve my lord until death!" Quick wasn't the only one. The other ten guards, who had also been assigned by the earl, truly accepted Nalant as their lord as well.
"Good! Get up, all of you. As long as you do your best from now on, one day you'll be glad you made this choice!" Nalant was very pleased. Today, he had not only settled Vivian's matter but had also truly won these guards over.
"Yes, my lord!" Quick and the others replied, their eyes shining with excitement.
As the saying went, when one man rose to prominence, even his chickens and dogs ascended to heaven. If Nalant one day became a hereditary baron or even a viscount, he would have the right to grant fiefs to vassals. Then they would have the chance to earn military honors and become minor noble lords.
"Good. But the events of today must not become known outside the territory for now. Every one of you must keep your mouths shut. Not a word gets out. Understood?" In the next instant, Nalant's expression turned stern.
"As you command, my lord!"
"Good. Quick, hand out the longbows to the new guards!" Nalant gave the order, then turned to Vivian. "As their captain, you'll be in charge of their training from now on!"
Afraid Vivian might not know how to teach them, Nalant added, "All you need to do is have them practice shooting and make sure no one slacks off!"
For now, Nalant only needed the ten serfs in the second squad to learn archery so they could deal with the Dark Creature invasion a week from now.
As for other tactics, they would have to wait until after the crisis had passed. By then, Nalant could draw on the many training techniques he remembered from military drills and had found online in his previous life.
"Quick, have you finished taking inventory of the castle's armory?"
Riding along a dirt road in Storm Territory, Nalant turned to ask Quick.
"My lord, the inventory is complete. The castle has five usable longswords and twelve longbows that can be pieced together. As you ordered, eleven of them have already been distributed to the second guard squad. But we only have a little over fifty usable arrows. The other two hundred arrowheads need proper shafts before they can be used."
"A little over a hundred arrows? That's not much!"
Like the masquerade masks, quite a few weapons had been left behind in the castle. Most had been discarded or damaged, though, and few were still usable.
Nalant wasn't worried about longswords. What he lacked now were arrows, whether for practice or to deal with the Dark Creatures.
It was obvious that five arrows per person wouldn't be enough for a real fight.
"Looks like I'll have to buy some from the neighboring territory. There go my measly ten gold coins! I wonder how many days they'll last."
"Little one, I hope you come through for me and bring me a pleasant surprise!"
Nalant pushed down his bitterness and focused on the Purple Sprite in his hand.
After Vivian had appeared, Nalant no longer planned to sell the Purple Sprite. It was incredibly precious, and no noble would sell one for money unless they had no other choice.
A Purple Sprite could improve the quality of crops growing on a particular plot of land.
If he was lucky, it might improve a fruit-bearing plant, turning its produce into magic fruit. Such fruit could increase a Title Knight's constitution and was extremely popular.
Even if he was less lucky, a plant that suited the Sprite's tastes would still be a great find. The Tulip Family had grown rich and risen to the ranks of the earls because they possessed the magic flower tulip.
Of course, what kind of miraculous plant they would get depended on luck. The Sprite had to choose it for itself.
If they were very unlucky, they might end up with some magic plant of little value.
"Oh? It's reacting!"
Just then, Nalant felt a joyful mental wave from the Sprite, which meant the little one had found a plant it liked.
"Go on, little one!" Nalant immediately tossed the Sprite forward. After being thrown, it hovered about ten centimeters above the ground and began to move.
"Everyone, follow!" Nalant nudged his horse with his heels and sped up.