Awakening Magical Beasts

That was the advantage of legendary skills!

At level three, they gained a special effect, earlier than Secret Manuals of other grades.

And some of those special effects were truly powerful.

The most formidable was undoubtedly Deadly Volley. If all three arrows landed headshots, critical damage would increase by another 150%. That barrage of attacks was simply lethal beyond belief.

For players, as long as they grasped the rhythm, it was a godly boss-stealing skill.

Of course, the most important thing was—

You had to be able to achieve a Defense Break!

If you could not even break through their defense, then there would be no damage at all...

There was no rush to place wards in Blackleaf Forest's wild zones. First, William did not have that many troops. Besides, according to the quests in his memories, the Steel Duchy's ambush on the Dragon would happen right when the game was about to enter Open Beta.

"Then this year will be the time for me to develop with all my strength!" William sat up from his bed, revealing his slender, perfect physique. He casually picked up a robe from the hanger, put it on, and walked onto the vine-covered balcony to look out over his territory in the early morning.

The two major battles against the Orcs had already yielded impressive results.

Especially this time, when they had not only captured more than three hundred Orc labor slaves alive, but also seized over three hundred sets of armor.

Small Town did not have much warehouse space, so the armor could only be piled up in the camp. Now, quite a few people in town were staring eagerly at those heaps of armor.

After all, poverty had thoroughly defined Lord William's current situation. Yet so much armor would attract far more attention. It seemed that quite a few people were planning to enlist!

A normal Neutral Faction would absolutely not have so many people choosing to become soldiers.

That was because among a town of over three thousand people, the vast majority were ordinary Commoners of average strength. Even if there were Professionals, they were few in number.

But Border Town was truly different.

When his legendary father had founded this town, he had promoted it as a peaceful town, giving it the feeling of a secluded paradise.

In other words...

It did not matter who you were, what you had done, how much trouble you were in, or how powerful your enemies were.

As long as you came to my town, dragons had to coil up and tigers had to lie down. From then on, if you stayed out of the affairs of the continent and completely left behind its grudges and disputes, then this mayor would protect you. No one could kill you.

Back then, his legendary father had been incredibly domineering. He had once stood alone against a famous Mercenary Group and forced them to stop dead in their tracks.

That had also made the town famous, drawing in many people.

There were many murderers, great thieves, and even powerful Professionals within the town.

His legendary father had been able to suppress them while he was in town. But after his father disappeared, the criminals within the town began to grow restless. Many people received news that Elves would come to take over the town, so they looted its assets and fled with their belongings.

As for those who remained, William had never fully understood them, nor did he intend to make use of them.

That was why the only soldiers under his command were more than five hundred Elves. There were no local townspeople among them.

But...

For example, Old Hank, who ran the blacksmith shop at the easternmost end of town.

Eric and his son, who made their living by hunting at the southern edge of town.

And Mage Moxis, who made a living through Divination in this town. All of them were people the locals avoided at all costs.

Of course, William had heard of all these people before. In particular, he found it hard to believe that a big shot like Moxis was actually loafing around here...

Bang! Bang!

"Come in!" William wiped the drool from his mouth and stopped thinking about that big shot whose leg hair was thicker than his own.

Still, he disliked being disturbed while the mayor was resting. Hmm, I should teach these people a lesson later.

But as a pair of long, slender legs stepped inside, along with a pair of firm breasts tightly wrapped in leather, his gloomy expression instantly turned into a smile. "I was wondering who it was. So it's Siya. What brings you here?"

"Lord, the bear cubs seem to be about to open their eyes..." As an Elven Mage, Siya normally wore exquisite leather armor woven from beast hide. Elven Mages did not merely know magic; they also possessed some close-combat ability.

Only when she truly intended to cast a spell would she drape herself in a cloak bearing a Mage's insignia, along with a hood to conceal her identity. (It was just to add a little mystery.)

William's eyes lit up. "I understand, but why did you have to inform me? Where are the servants?"

"I was observing those little ones at the time, so I came by on the way..." Siya blushed slightly, wanting to explain further.

William immediately waved his hand. "Since you like them, I'll give you one!"

"No, no, they're such adorable creatures..."

"It's fine. There are three of them!"

"Is that really all right?"

"Why wouldn't it be? No matter how adorable they are, can they be more adorable than Siya?"

Siya blinked her bright eyes and said with a hint of delight, "Wonderful! Just think of how many magical materials they'll become once they grow up..."

William had been looking at Siya's sexy, alluring appearance, even feeling the urge to take a bite out of her. But after hearing the latter half of her sentence, he could only twitch his lips. "Spell materials..."

"I have a Dragon Scale here. Take it and experiment with that first!"

Seeing his conflicted expression, Siya had originally lost all hope. But when she saw the Dragon Scale, her eyes widened once more. She happily retreated from the room, because a Dragon Speaker's Dragon Scale was not so easy to come by.

Watching this, William felt another headache coming on. He had never imagined that the most beautiful female Elf under his command was actually a truth fanatic. There really were quite a few truth fanatics on Gods Continent. What kind of people were they?

They were cultivators who pursued truth, had no love, no sex, and no other needs whatsoever. Those were truth fanatics.

"A perfectly good Mid-Level Monster, one that even has the potential to become a High-Level Monster, yet you want to turn it into magical materials. What a waste! No wonder you keep staring at my little bears. You've got bad intentions, haven't you?" William smacked his lips and immediately ran off excitedly to see the three bear cubs.

The three cubs had been placed two rooms away from his own.

When he arrived, an elderly maid respectfully bowed to him. He nodded expressionlessly, though inwardly he hurried inside with anxious steps.

It could not be helped. As a Lord, he had to maintain his dignity.

The three bear cubs lay in cradles meant for human infants, filled with clothes and belongings William had used, all so that the cubs could grow familiar with his scent.

Whenever the maid fed the cubs, she had to cover her own head with William's clothes and breathe carefully, afraid that her own scent might rub off on them.

It could not be helped...

Lords and Nobles in this era were just that impressive.

Servants had no human rights!

And the servants would not think that such treatment harmed their dignity.

As for whether a modern person like William had any plans to change that?

How could that be possible?

Who would not want to be a Noble?

Only someone with a problem would think of overthrowing the existing system.

William gently picked up one of the bear cubs from its cradle. He gave these little ones the best treatment, hoping only that they would survive and open their eyes.

"Heaven has eyes. Big Bear, Second Bear, and Third Bear are all doing well. Big Bear seems about to open his eyes!" William smiled as he held it in his arms, occasionally using his fingers to tug at Big Bear's soft pink lips. Unfortunately, its baby teeth had only just emerged and had no intimidation whatsoever.

Faced with the familiar scent's "torment," Big Bear did not resist in the slightest. It merely wriggled its body with its eyes closed, chose a more comfortable position, and yawned.

Its so-called most comfortable position was sticking up its little butt and lying sprawled across William's chest...

Pfft!

A sudden fart left William stunned!

An unimaginable stench hit him, nearly making William lose his grip and fling it out into the courtyard!

"What an utterly unobstructed fart!" William dry-heaved and grabbed the little fellow's body, intending to give it some education.

But at that very moment—

Big Bear slowly opened its eyes...

Its eyes were bright, filled with love as it looked at its mother...

Ding-dong.

Prompt: Young Frenzied Giant Bear wishes to acknowledge you as its master!

Accept?

William did not hesitate in the slightest and chose yes.

Ding-dong.

You have obtained a Young Frenzied Giant Bear.

Its attributes...

Thanks to Cocoa Bean Powder and National Husband Yan Dada for the rewards.

One more thing. The slow-motion scenes in New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre reminded me of the repeated actions in The Sequel to Journey to the West. Both were just padding out the episode count.