Dis's face filled with disbelief. He could not believe that a mere teenager had the courage to trade blows with him. The longsword had plunged deeply through his right eye and pierced out through the back of his head, carrying flecks of white brain matter with it. Anglie had put every ounce of strength he had into that strike.
Meanwhile, Anglie's left shoulder had been slashed open with a deep wound. Though his speed had allowed him to evade the sword originally aimed at his head, a large chunk of flesh had still been carved away, exposing the ghastly white shoulder bone beneath. In that instant, he had noticed Dis's intention to retreat. Dis had already been preparing to throw out his chains, clearly intending to use their pulling force to escape swiftly. And when most of Dis's attention had been focused on the chains, Anglie knew that if he did not step forward and keep him here now, he might truly escape—and would definitely return for revenge later. Moreover, in that instant, Dis's sword strike had contained less than half its usual force. The Chip's prompt and assessment had let him brace himself completely to take that blow. In the end, Dis died, and he won.
"I won." Anglie could not help but laugh. He suddenly leaped back and pulled out the cross sword. Blood dyed the silver Thorn Eagle family crest upon it red.
Dis staggered back two steps, then dropped to his knees with a thud before pitching face-first onto the ground.
"Recommendation: leave the area within five minutes. The scent of blood will attract forest beasts." The Chip promptly alerted Anglie to his current situation. He had set it up beforehand so that anything potentially threatening his safety would automatically trigger a reminder.
Before he had even recovered from the joy of victory, Anglie's heart sank at the prompt. He hurriedly cut off a strip of cloth with his sword and pressed it against his shoulder wound, then staggered over and began searching Dis's body.
"I won... cough, cough... Shouldn't there be some reward?" He chuckled. Suppressing his discomfort at touching a corpse, he carefully searched Dis's body.
One remaining throwing knife, an old emerald ring whose gemstone was already covered in cracks, and a small money pouch. That was everything Dis had on him.
Anglie gathered the items, coiled up the two Chain Claws, then picked up the cross sword before limping swiftly away from the spot.
He had barely taken a few steps.
"Awoo!!!" A violent gale suddenly blew out from the forest behind him, and the roar of some savage beast spread through the entire forest like ripples across water.
Anglie's expression changed drastically. His feet did not dare pause for even a moment as he rushed toward the castle. The direction from which the beast's cry had come was precisely where he and Dis had fought. If he had been even slightly later, he would probably have met his end here today.
Judging by its roar and presence, this unknown beast far surpassed the White-Scaled Boar he had encountered before. It was clearly likely to be on the same level as a Mountain Black Bear. If a beast of that level encountered him now, severely injured as he was, there was no need to say what the outcome would be.
"Roar!!!" Another savage roar came from behind him. Great flocks of birds were startled into the air and scattered in every direction.
Anglie did not dare stop at all. At the fastest speed of his life, he quickly left the forest. As for Dis's corpse, there was no need to think about it—it had certainly been dealt with directly by the beast. Now he did not even need to take the extra step of disposing of the body.
The moment he emerged from the woods, Anglie ran into two guards standing outside the forest. They appeared to have been worried about his safety and had specifically come to wait at its edge. Judging from their expressions, they must have heard that wild roar as well, which was why their faces were full of anxiety.
"Young Master Anglie!! Heavens!!" The two stared blankly as Anglie ran out of the forest covered in blood.
Anglie gulped down great breaths of air.
"Get me back, quickly!"
His body went limp. The two caught him from the front and back, and the three hurried away from the forest.
At this moment, the cavalry squad training nearby seemed to notice the situation as well. Two men broke away and ran over.
Then several people escorted Anglie back to the castle together. The cavalry squad also temporarily stopped training because of that savage roar and headed back.
Anglie had been injured while hunting. Rumor had it that he had encountered wandering bandits, as well as a legendary Mountain Black Bear.
This rumor quickly spread throughout the castle.
Maids, servants, and future knights idling around tavern tables were all discussing the matter.
That very afternoon, Anglie was lying in his bedroom while the castle's chief apothecary came specifically to treat his injuries. After bandaging all his wounds, he gave Anglie a long list of precautions before taking his payment and slowly leaving.
That afternoon, Anglie lay half-reclined on his bed, his body wrapped in layer after layer of grayish-white bandages. He looked somewhat like a mummy. Dim yellow sunlight streamed in through the open window, brightening the entire room.
The little girl Cecilia was sitting beside the bed. She had volunteered to come and care for Anglie. At the moment, Cecilia was carefully peeling the skin from a pear-like fruit.
After returning, Anglie had gotten a good rest. Now that he was awake, he felt refreshed, and the pain from his wounds had eased considerably. He had also hurriedly asked Cecilia to remove the iron balls from his room one by one and put them in a corner, covering them with black cloth. The spoils he had brought back had likewise been carefully wiped clean with a damp cloth and placed on the bedside table.
"Oh, right. Did anyone else come by while I was asleep?" Anglie asked casually.
Cecilia blinked her large eyes a few times. "Lord Ward came once. Seeing that you were resting, he did not disturb you. He asked me to tell you to rest well for the next few days, then he left. Miss Maggie and Miss Cilier also came by."
Anglie nodded.
By past custom, the Baron had gone to the silver mine, and with the journey there and back, it would take at least four or five days. After all, this world had no long-distance communication like telephones. For news to reach somewhere, someone had to travel there and report it. So the Baron probably had not yet learned that he was injured.
The Leo Family's silver mine was on the outskirts of Audis Knight Territory. Audis Knight Territory lay in the middle of Leo Territory in a circular shape, while the silver mine was at the very edge of Leo Territory. Though it was not especially far away, the roads were difficult to travel, deep in the mountains where getting in and out was very inconvenient.
"Oh, right. Lord Ward said that the beast you encountered was very likely an adult Raging Mountain Bear, a beast even more ferocious than a Mountain Black Bear and the king of this forest," Cecilia said softly.
"A Raging Mountain Bear?" Anglie licked his lips. He knew that name; it was recorded in the miscellaneous books in the library.
The Raging Mountain Bear was a close relative of the Mountain Black Bear. It possessed immense strength and did not have the Mountain Black Bear's weakness of being somewhat slow. Its hide was incredibly tough, and it had strong resistance to most poisons. It was a renowned ferocious beast throughout the entire Rudin Kingdom. Its combat power was at least equivalent to the combined strength of two to four Peak Knight Level experts. And once it went berserk, its combat power would rise further.
One had to know that even the Baron back then had only killed an ordinary Mountain Black Bear. It was clear that if Anglie had truly encountered this ferocious beast, he would likely not have had the slightest chance of survival.
"I really was lucky." Anglie felt a lingering chill of fear. According to the story he had prepared in advance, he had encountered someone fighting a bear. A flying sword had slashed his shoulder, and a wildly thrown knife had nearly taken his life. In the end, he had picked up a few things from the side and returned, though even so, he had been seriously injured.
According to the chief apothecary's estimate, some expert had been fighting a Mountain Black Bear when a weapon knocked flying had happened to injure Anglie. Fortunately, he had been lucky and had not suffered overly serious injuries. This was also the earliest version of the rumor circulating in the castle.
If he did not explain it this way, there was simply no way to account for how he had grown so much stronger in such a short time. He had become stronger by eating a One-Eyed Snake's eyes and Blue Bamboo Shoots that caused diarrhea? How had he discovered that?
And what about his swordsmanship? The swordsmanship capable of fighting an assassin from the Dark Chapter?
One had to know that both the Baron and Ward Audis occasionally tested Anglie's progress in swordsmanship. They knew his level extremely well. Just the day before he had fallen from his horse, Anglie had even sparred in swordsmanship with his father, the Baron. Growing this much stronger in such a short time was no longer something talent could explain. To keep people from finding it abrupt, Anglie needed a fairly long transition period, allowing the people in the castle to grow accustomed to his strength.
Lying on the bed, Anglie reached over and took down the spoils from the bedside table, placing them on the white quilt.
A silver cross sword, two coils of Chain Claws, a throwing knife, a ring, and a leather money pouch.
He opened the money pouch first. Inside were a few scattered gold coins and some silver coins. This was nothing to Anglie, who received a monthly allowance of dozens of gold coins. Because of the Baron's favor, his gold allowance was the highest in the castle apart from the Baron himself. And it took ten silver coins to exchange for one gold coin, so silver coins held even less appeal for Anglie.
He tossed aside the money pouch and picked up the Chain Claws for a look. They were pitch-black all over, making them well suited for use at night. He did not know what coating had been applied to them. Their claws were also extremely sharp; merely placing them on the quilt earlier had already cut a slit into it.
There was no mark whatsoever on the blade of the longsword, but the entire sword was smooth and pristine, its edge exceptionally sharp. One glance told him it was no ordinary item. Anglie noticed that there was not the slightest nick in the blade. Even after their fierce exchange of strikes earlier, it had not left the tiniest trace on it.
He flicked the blade with a finger.
With a clang, it gave off a crisp and pleasing ring.
"Fine material." Anglie praised it. He decided that this sword would be his personal weapon from now on.
Last came the ring.
Anglie gently picked it up. He was certain that anything carried on the person of an expert like that could not possibly be something simple.
The ring was a band made of brass-colored metal, without any patterns. It was merely a brass ring, its surface somewhat uneven and its color a dull yellow. It had clearly been worn smooth from frequent handling. In the middle of the band was an oval emerald. The gemstone's surface was covered in cracks.
"It looks like it might be broken?" Anglie examined the ring.
Cecilia, beside him, watched curiously, her gaze resting on the ring in his hand.
"You go out first." Anglie frowned slightly.
"O-Okay." Cecilia was slightly startled. She hurriedly stood up, placed the fruit in her hand onto the plate on the bedside table, bowed, and then quickly left the room.
With a click, the door shut.
Only then did Anglie feel at ease examining the ring in his hand. He had a feeling that this ring was definitely not as simple as it appeared.
Before you continue