As soon as Lin Ke finished speaking, the guards both inside and outside the carriage burst into cheers.
Gold coins!
So many gold coins! Enough for all of them to share!
The servants around them looked on with envy.
Being a guard was wonderful!
They could earn so much money just like that!
They had completely forgotten how weak their limbs had gone at the sight of the giant tigers. Some had even fainted from the roars.
"Go on, throw Rosfor's body out." Lin Ke nodded to the leader of the third squad, then returned to the carriage.
Meanwhile, in a part of the forest where no one could see, a figure dressed in luxurious scarlet clothes flashed past, seemingly pursuing the giant tiger.
Back in the woods where they had stopped, Rosfor's body lay where the guards had thrown it, its blood slowly seeping into the soil.
A small, pitch-black bead lay just beneath the surface, and the blood seeped into it little by little.
It seemed to be absorbing the blood.
Inside the carriage, Lin Ke plopped down.
"Phew..." He let out a deep breath. "John, help me change."
He was exhausted, both physically and mentally.
He was only six, and his body was far too frail. His internal organs had yet to fully develop, his hormone levels were low, and this was the first battle he had experienced in either of his lives.
He had wanted to scream, too. He had wanted to run away, too. He had wanted to faint, too.
But that would have meant certain death.
Fortunately, he had decades of reason and experience from his previous life to suppress some of those instinctive reactions.
John helped him undress. They had brought several changes of clothes on this trip.
They would be spending a few days in town. When nobles went on an outing, clothes were naturally important. They had appearances to maintain, after all.
Nix, the Rabbitfolk boy, sat quietly to one side without saying a word, looking very well-behaved.
Lin Ke was in no hurry to ask Nix why two giant blue tigers had been chasing him or why he had come here. Instead, he closed his eyes and quietly reflected.
This battle had exposed far too many problems.
First of all, their weapons were inadequate!
It wasn't that cold weapons were inferior to guns and ammunition. They didn't even have basic weapons like bows or spears. All they had were swords-not even any large chopping blades.
Anyone who knew anything about warfare knew that swords were particularly impractical on a battlefield.
Once he got back, he would have to ask about the situation and see if he could get them a greater variety of weapons.
The second problem was the difference in strength!
According to Nix, those two giant tigers were no higher than level two.
And Nix was only a Rabbitfolk child. There was no need to send the strongest Professionals after him. Those two were most likely just "hunting dogs."
Yet such "hunting dogs" had left Lin Ke's three hundred guards helpless.
If Lin Ke hadn't divided the guards into squads to fight the tigers at the last moment, they probably would have ended up as nothing more than a disorganized, panicking mob.
Two giant tigers against three hundred adult human men!
That was the power of Professionals!
Moreover, there had to be a reason those tigers were hunting Nix. It might even end up threatening the castle.
There were plenty of other problems, too, but Lin Ke already had a clear grasp of them.
He looked at Nix and asked about his circumstances. "Nix, can you tell me?"
Can you tell me?
John, who was helping Lin Ke change, paused, not understanding what he meant.
Nix seemed quite clever, however. He nodded and said, "Sir, I'm from the Grayfur Tribe south of the Great Swamp. For some reason, a powerful..."
"Wait!"
Lin Ke interrupted, puzzled. "You live... south of the Great Swamp? South of the Great Swamp to our south?" He pointed south.
Nix nodded. "Yes. Have you been there, sir?"
Lin Ke shook his head, then said seriously, "Back home, we never knew there were other intelligent beings south of the Great Swamp..."
There were actually Rabbitfolk tribes south of the Great Swamp?!
And... wasn't the Great Swamp supposed to stretch on endlessly? How had Nix made it across?
Nix was taken aback as well. "Sir, you live north of the Great Swamp? There are actually human territories outside the Great Swamp?" As he spoke, he looked at the road around them and realized it, too.
Well, now.
It seemed neither side had known the other existed.
Lin Ke nodded slowly. "It seems the Great Swamp holds many secrets... All right, go on."
Nix continued, "There are more than fifty tribes south of the Great Swamp, made up of us Rabbitfolk, the Civetfolk, and the Shenglu Birdfolk. Sometimes we trade with the human kingdoms to the west, too..."
Human kingdoms to the west...
Lin Ke had only ever known of the many kingdoms to the north. He hadn't known there were any to the west as well.
Hmm... perhaps they were extensions of one of those kingdoms?
He knew nothing at present. He had never studied geography or history, and what little he knew came from the people around him.
And those people-the farmers, servants, and slaves-might well believe the entire world was only as big as a viscount's domain.
"...But yesterday, an incredibly powerful Professional attacked us!" At this point, Nix's face filled with sorrow, and tears instantly streamed down his cheeks.
"...That Professional killed so many of us, so many. Once we Rabbitfolk reach adulthood, we can take the [Agile Walker] class. We're very fast, but we still couldn't escape... Now, now I'm the only Rabbitfolk left... Waaa..."
[Agile Walker]? That certainly sounded like a very fast Professional class... Lin Ke nodded slightly.
"Did you get a good look? What kind of Professional attacked your tribe? How powerful was he?"
Although he sympathized with Nix, Lin Ke still had to ask. Otherwise, what if that powerful individual went mad, followed Nix here, and killed him too?
"I don't know... But even our tribe's strongest level-five [Agile Walker] couldn't stand against him..."
Nix rubbed the tears from the fur at the corners of his eyes.
Stronger than a level-five [Agile Walker]. Once I get back, I'll have to ask Uncle Billy whether Azan Castle can hold him off.
Lin Ke thought for a moment, then said to John, "Go tell the servants that we have to get back today. Travel as fast as we can now, and hurry with the shopping this afternoon."
John had just finished helping Lin Ke change. At those words, he quickly ran outside, passing the message from carriage to carriage.
Only Lin Ke's sleeping mother and Nix remained beside him.
"Nix, from now on, just stay with me. By the way, can you tell me how to undergo Bloodline Enlightenment and become a Professional? Also, have you already undergone Enlightenment?"
Lin Ke's voice was gentle, easing Nix's sorrow a little.
At least this gentleman I've met, Lin Ke Azan, is very kind... Nix silently counted himself lucky and resolved to follow this gentleman faithfully in the future.
Even now, he kept remembering that warm light from the moment when his nerves had been stretched to their limit.
"Sir, I haven't undergone Bloodline Enlightenment yet..."
Nix spoke very softly, afraid of waking Lin Ke's mother, who was sleeping beside them. "But I've seen how they awaken Bloodlines. They just have to press someone's head."
"Press someone's head?" Lin Ke was stunned.
"Yes. I saw the human [Enlightenment Teacher] press the other Rabbitfolk's heads just once, and their Bloodlines awakened," Nix said with certainty.
Lin Ke suddenly realized that Nix's voice sounded like that of a Rabbitfolk boy!
He asked, "Nix, how old are you?"
Nix thought for a moment, his eyes shifting and his little nose twitching. He sounded uncertain. "Four months and ten days, I think? Or fifteen days? I don't know either... My mom had ten of us in one litter, and none of us remember the exact date..."
Lin Ke was speechless.
All right, it seemed Rabbitfolk and humans developed at different rates.
P.S. First I'll cry, then I'll make a scene, then I'll threaten to hang myself-give me monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!
Before you continue