Awakened Monster

The advantage of legendary skills lay right here!

A special effect appeared as early as level three, earlier than with skill manuals of other grades.

And some of those special effects were truly powerful.

The strongest of them was undoubtedly Deadly Volley. If all three arrows landed headshots, the next attack would gain 150% critical damage. That chain of blows was simply lethal.

For players, as long as they got the rhythm right, this was a godly skill for stealing bosses.

Of course, the most important thing was—

You had to be able to break through their defense!

If you couldn't even pierce their defense, then there was no damage to speak of...

There was no need to rush into placing wards in the Blackleaf Forest wilderness. First of all, William didn't have that many troops. Besides, according to the quests he remembered, the Steel Duchy's ambush on the Dragon would happen right as the game was about to enter open beta.

"Then this year will be the time for me to develop with everything I have!" William sat up from the bed, revealing his long, flawless physique. He casually took a robe from the hanger and put it on before walking onto the vine-covered balcony to gaze out over his territory in the early morning.

The two major battles against the Orcs had already produced considerable results.

Especially this time. Not only had they captured more than three hundred Orc slave laborers alive, but they had also seized over three hundred sets of armor.

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

After all, the word "poor" thoroughly described Lord William's current state. Yet so much armor was bound to draw a great deal of attention. It seemed that quite a few people were planning to enlist!

In a normal Neutral Faction, there would never be so many people choosing to become soldiers.

Because in a town of over three thousand people, the vast majority were ordinary civilians of mediocre strength. Even if there were professionals among them, they were few in number.

But Border Town was truly different.

When his legendary father had founded this town, he had called it a peaceful town, giving it the air of a secluded paradise.

In other words...

It didn't 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, you were not to leave. As long as you completely abandoned the grudges and feuds of the continent, this mayor would protect you. No one would be able to kill you.

Back then, his legendary father had been extremely domineering. He had once held off a famous mercenary group by himself and forced them not to take even a single step forward.

That also made the town famous overnight, drawing in all sorts of people.

There were many murderers, great thieves, and even highly skilled professionals within the town.

His legendary father had been able to suppress them while he was still in town. But ever since his father disappeared, the criminals within the town had started getting restless. Many received word that Elves would be arriving to take over the town, so they directly looted its assets and fled with their belongings.

As for those who remained, William had never fully understood them and had no intention of using them.

That was why the soldiers under his command consisted of only a little over five hundred Elves, without a single local townsman among them.

However...

For example, there was Old Hank, the blacksmith at the easternmost end of town.

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

And Moxis the Mage, who made a living through divination in this town. These were all 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 hated being disturbed while the mayor was resting. Hmm, I should teach these people a lesson later.

But when a pair of long, slender legs stepped inside, followed by two full peaks 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?"

"My lord, the bear cubs seem to be about to open their eyes..." As an Elf Mage, Siya normally wore exquisite leather armor woven from animal hide. Elf Mages did not only know magic; they also possessed a certain degree of close-combat ability.

Only when she truly intended to cast a spell would she drape herself in a cloak bearing the 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 need to notify me personally? Where are the servants?"

"I happened to be observing the little ones at the time, so I came over on the way..." Siya's face reddened slightly as she tried to explain further.

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

"No, no, such adorable creatures..."

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

"Is that really okay?"

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

Siya blinked her bright eyes and said with faint delight, "Wonderful! How many magic materials will they become when they grow up..."

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

"I have a Dragon scale here. Take it and try it first!"

Siya had already completely lost hope when she saw his troubled expression. But upon seeing the Dragon scale, her eyes widened again. She happily backed out of the room, because even a Dragon Speaker's scales were not easy to come by.

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

They were spellcasters who sought truth, had no love, no sex, and no other desires whatsoever. Those were truth fanatics.

"A perfectly good Mid-Level Monster with the potential to even become a High-Level Monster, and you want to turn it into spell materials? What a waste. No wonder you keep eyeing my little bears all day. You're up to no good, aren't you?" William smacked his lips and immediately ran off excitedly to see the three 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 into the room.

It couldn't be helped. As a lord, he had to maintain his swagger.

The three cubs were lying in cradles meant for human babies, filled with clothes and items William had used so they could become familiar with his scent.

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

It couldn't be helped...

That was just how lords and nobles were in this era.

Servants had no human rights!

And the servants themselves would not think 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 didn't want to be a noble?

You'd have to be crazy to want to overthrow the existing system.

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

"Thank heavens, 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 tugging at Big Bear's soft pink lips. Unfortunately, its milk teeth had only just emerged and had no intimidating power whatsoever.

Big Bear offered no resistance to the familiar scent's "torment." It merely wriggled its body a few times with its eyes closed, choosing a more comfortable position before letting out a yawn.

That so-called comfortable position was sticking its little butt up and lying face-down in William's arms...

Pfft!

A sudden fart left William stunned!

An unimaginable stench rushed over him, nearly making William throw it out into the yard!

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

But at that moment...

Big Bear slowly opened its eyes...

Its eyes were bright, filled with the love it held for its mother...

Ding-dong.

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

Accept?

William clicked yes without the slightest hesitation.

Ding-dong.

You have obtained the Young Frenzied Giant Bear.

Its attributes...

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

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