The Scumbag on the March

Marcus happily accepted everyone's praise. Even the cheap wine tasted wonderful as he chatted and laughed with the nobles.

The land-clearing efforts were going splendidly, and everyone was delighted. Under such circumstances, it would have been hard for the banquet not to be lively. Even cheap wine could not dampen their spirits.

However, Harrot still did not get along well with most of the nobles. Their lofty manner annoyed him to some extent. Aside from Marcus, the arrogance ingrained in the other nobles made it impossible for them to speak with Harrot as equals.

Harrot had now made up his mind to become a noble. Subconsciously, he no longer regarded himself as a "little Knight." On top of that, he was stronger than those ordinary nobles, so he held no particular reverence for them.

Harrot could not be bothered to grovel and flatter the nobles, so he simply went to spend time with the elves. The elves were still somewhat wary of ordinary humans and had not mingled with them.

After their initial curiosity faded, the elves no longer felt particularly close to humans, especially those noble lords bursting with superiority. There were neither nobles nor lords in the Elf Forest. Everyone was one united, loving family, and they disliked many of the nobles' ways.

The elves held their banquet separately and discussed their future plans along the way. Since none of them had decided what to do next, they would just keep dueling for the time being. Long-lived races had plenty of time to waste.

Harrot, this "half-elf," was still quite popular among the elves. Even the Archmage had confirmed it, so there could be no mistake. Harrot himself was exceptionally strong and thick-skinned enough to quickly grow closer to them.

Surrounded by handsome men and beautiful women, Harrot had the illusion that he was handsome too. His confidence rose considerably, and he invited an elf girl who had been chatting enthusiastically with him to dance.

This elf girl was named Bias. She was tall, around 1.8 meters, with a slender figure. Her narrow waist looked thinner than Harrot's thigh.

The only regrettable thing was her flat chest and her lower body without any "extra flesh." Still, Harrot did not mind, because her face was simply too beautiful.

Each of Bias's features was exquisitely beautiful on its own. Together, they made her breathtakingly gorgeous. No human could compare to her. Even Hill and Sihrulu were slightly inferior.

Bias also had some fondness for Harrot. One reason was his outstanding performance in battle. The other was that, as a transmigrator, Harrot shamelessly showed off all sorts of knowledge from his previous life and brazenly claimed he had come up with it himself.

Things like "I think, therefore I am," and "universal love, non-aggression" deeply fascinated Bias, a country bumpkin who had spent all her life in the Elf Forest. She was very willing to dance with Harrot.

A proper elf girl perfectly fulfilled Harrot's fantasies. Her voice was gentle, her movements light, and as they danced, he could smell the faint fragrance drifting from her body. It made his heart itch unbearably.

Tiona, who was still eating and drinking nearby, felt tempted when she saw Harrot dancing with another elf. She shoved Bias aside, forcibly dragged Harrot over, and began dancing with him too. The problem was that Tiona had absolutely no experience or talent for dancing.

The entire time, she used brute force to drag Harrot through the dance. After several songs, Harrot felt as if his arms were about to be torn off. His health had even dropped by seven or eight points, and he silently groaned in misery.

Seeing Harrot in such agony, Bias lured Tiona away with food, then sat down to rest and chat with Harrot. Harrot was endlessly grateful.

Harrot sat intimately close beside Bias, their bodies pressed together. He could even hear her slightly nervous breathing. To ease the awkwardness, Harrot took the initiative to discuss magic.

Bias rather liked magic and began talking enthusiastically with Harrot.

"Ah, what a shame. I can only learn beginner magic. I can't continue studying it in depth like you can! Is this my fate?"

Harrot pretended to be deeply distressed, covering his face with one hand, lowering his head, and sighing. This move was meant to win sympathy, and it was especially effective against gentle, kind-hearted women.

Bias fell for it. She leaned closer, pulled away the hand covering Harrot's face, and comforted him softly. "It's all right. Whether you can master powerful magic is not everything in life! Beginner magic is quite good too. After I became proficient in most beginner spells, I realized that magic isn't about its level, but how it is used."

"Beginner magic consumes little mana and casts quickly. As long as you use it properly, it can still be impressive when combined with physical techniques! Harrot, your physical abilities are so outstanding. You'll definitely be fine!"

"Bias, thank you. This is the first time anyone has encouraged me like this!" Harrot tightly clasped Bias's little hands in both of his. Her soft, fair hands were so captivating that he was reluctant to let go.

Harrot moved his face close to Bias's and asked the blushing girl,

"Can I come to you to learn magic in the future? I feel like there are so many things I don't understand." It was not that Harrot had many things he did not understand. He did not understand anything at all.

His purpose was not as simple as learning magic. His intentions were far more wicked and impure.

"O-Okay... You can come learn from me whenever you have time. It's just that I'm not very good at teaching people either, so the results might not be great." Bias was incredibly shy. Her cheeks had turned completely red, and her eyes darted around as she dared not look at Harrot's face so close to hers.

Harrot was overjoyed. He had completely forgotten his pregnant wife and Hill, the maid who had devotedly served him all this time. Like the complete scumbag he was, he replied, "That's fine. I've got plenty of time. As long as you're willing to teach me!"

"Oh, really? Then I'll learn too! I happen to have plenty of time as well!"

Bang! Tiona suddenly appeared behind Harrot and slammed his head onto the table.

"Harrot! Y-You... why are you being so rough? Let him go already! Harrot, are you all right?"

Tiona's immense strength had smashed a small dent into the table beneath Harrot's head, leaving gentle Bias rather worried.

Tiona paid no attention to Bias's protest and said to herself, "Since you like teaching magic, teach me while you're at it!"

"As for this guy, don't worry. He's fine. He's tough, so you don't need to worry about him. Go play somewhere else!" With that, Tiona waved at Bias, signaling for her to get lost.

"Bias, I'm fine. Tiona's just messing around with me!" Harrot explained. For some reason, he felt a little guilty now. Even though Tiona had bullied him, he did not dare complain.

Bias had a rather timid personality. She had always been bullied by Tiona back in the Elf Forest, and after Tiona scared her, she immediately lost her nerve. She slunk away, only daring to secretly watch the two of them from afar.

Tiona pulled out a chair and sat beside Harrot. With an earnest expression, she said, "We're both half-bloods, yet you actually abandoned me to play with a pure-blooded elf. I'm so disappointed in you!"

With his +40 defense and the relatively soft table, Harrot had not been seriously hurt. After thinking it through, he realized Tiona was not his wife. She was merely a master and comrade who often sparred with him.

Their "impure relationship" had only happened in Harrot's dreams. In reality, there was nothing Harrot needed to take responsibility to Tiona for.

Once Harrot thought of it that way, he became righteously confident and explained to Tiona in a stern tone,

"Tiona, I went to learn magic from Bias, not to play around. Why are you causing trouble? Don't you dislike learning magic?" Of course, what Harrot actually wanted was not to learn magic. If Tiona followed him, there would definitely be no chance for anything else.

Tiona looked at Harrot with disdain. "If you want to learn magic, why not go to Ailan? Why not ask Elder Iltiran? Bias is only half-baked! Other than being tall, she has no other strengths. She's as timid as a rabbit!"

"You're one of my rare fellow half-bloods. We agreed to spar and train together every day! If you go play with her, how boring will I be by myself?"

Ailan was the handsome elf who got along well with Harrot. His magic was the best among these elves, and he had said he was willing to help Harrot learn magic. Tiona had been present at the time, so she knew this perfectly well.

Harrot was a little helpless. What was he supposed to do now that his excuse had been exposed? Hadn't Tiona always been rather dumb? Why had she suddenly become so sharp at a time like this?

Harrot did not dare say, "I'm going to flirt with girls, so stop getting in my way," for fear that Tiona would beat him half to death.

Harrot sighed. Bias's graceful figure and beautiful face lingered in his mind, but with Tiona causing trouble, even if he went to find Bias, he would not be able to take things any further. Was he supposed to actually study magic?

His good time had been ruined, leaving Harrot somewhat resentful. He did not say anything else to Tiona and returned to his tent in a foul mood to rest.

Early the next morning, Marcus led Harrot and the others south. They traveled for half a day without seeing a single Centaur. It seemed the Centaurs in the south had gotten wind of things and mostly fled already.

Marcus and Harrot discussed things and decided to rest first, planning to scout other areas in the afternoon. Suddenly, a Knight riding a Magical Warhorse raced toward them at incredible speed.

"Lord Marcus, return to the castle at once! The Centaurs have launched a counterattack!" The Knight delivered the shocking news with a grief-stricken expression.

"The main land-clearing force was attacked by a Centaur army on the plains. An army of over ten thousand was routed outright. Only a few nobles and a small number of Knights escaped back to the castle with the remnants of their troops!"

The Knight quickly relayed the news, then immediately rushed off again to notify the other nobles clearing out Centaurs in the south.

Marcus's expression changed drastically, and he immediately ordered, "Everyone, return at once!" Marcus's troops and The Bald Man had both been with the main force. Their lives and deaths were still unknown. He was also deeply confused about who the enemy was and how they had assembled such a massive Centaur army.

There was no time to think. They had to return to the castle before they could learn the exact details. Everyone immediately spurred their horses and raced back toward the castle.

Harrot was also deeply worried. The Bald Man must not be hurt. The castle must not fall. Bias and Tiona must not be in danger!