A day later, in the evening.
A convoy bearing the insignia of the Ascart House found themselves faced with a scene of chaos. On the plains just slightly left of them, a group of odd-looking beasts were dashing straight toward the main road the convoy was traveling on.
These beasts were four-legged and had two horns on their heads, making them resemble goats. Their fur was white with bits of gold mixed in, and their high-pitched calls resembled that of a deer. Their bodies were exceptionally dexterous even in the midst of their sprint, allowing them to swiftly change directions.
Gold Rams.
They were demonic beasts famed as an auspicious omen on the Sia Continent, and they were incredibly valuable on the market. There was a famous analogy where their beautiful skin and smooth fur could be traded for gold of equivalent weight, and that was also where their name, ‘Gold Ram’, came from.
Its skin and fur had always been known to be the top-tier material for noblewoman's luxury wear, and its demand had always far outstripped its supply. It was not so much the case in the Saint Mesit Theocracy, but the citizens of the Austine Empire believed that wearing clothes made out of Gold Ram’s fur could bring about good luck. As such, clothes that were fashioned with accents of Gold Ram’s fur could easily fetch twice as much as equivalent clothes without it.
Other than its fur, its other body parts were incredibly valuable too.
The horns of the Gold Ram were known to be an important magical material. Its head could be used as an ornament of wealth in residences. Its meat was renowned to be succulent, such that famed chefs ranked it as one of the top three muttons. To put it in other words, Gold Rams were no different from a moving heap of gold coins.
The only issue was that it was difficult to find and capture one.
From the moment Roel saw the Gold Rams, he immediately realized that his opportunity had come. He looked at the soldiers who were clearly moved but were still restraining themselves out of self-discipline, and he knew that this was his chance to showcase his leadership ability and strength.
So, he opened the carriage doors and swiftly scanned the surroundings before issuing a command.
“Guard captains, step forth!”
The captains from the Ascarts’ guards and the royal guards stepped out of the formation and walked over to Roel’s side. After asking a few questions, Roel quickly came to understand the traits of the Gold Rams.
As it turned out, the main reason why it was hard to capture Gold Rams was due to the unique nature of their fur. They were highly resistant to piercing attacks, making it hard to kill them with bow and arrows, though slashing and mauling still worked fine. On the whole, Gold Rams weren’t too powerful, such that an Origin Level 6 transcendent would be able to defeat one solo.
Having learned some crucial information about the target, Roel immediately got onto a horse and led the guards on a chase for the Gold Rams.
Under the orange glow of the setting sun, a group of armored soldiers galloped across the meadows in an attempt to capture the herd of Gold Rams. However, it would appear that they didn’t have much of a speed advantage against the Gold Rams even when they were on their steeds.
They chased the Gold Rams all the way till they were already nearing the outskirts of the forest, but they weren’t anywhere close to catching up with them yet. This made the guards incredibly anxious. It was not easy to come by a single Gold Ram, let alone a herd of them. They couldn’t stand the thought of allowing these heaps of gold coins and top-notch good ingredients to escape right under their eyelids!
The captain of the Ascarts’ guards, Dirk, was considering whether he should get off his steed and try chasing the Gold Rams on foot. He was an Origin Level 4 transcendent, so even though his stamina couldn’t compete with the steed he was riding on, his burst speed was still much faster.
But, before Dirk could make up his mind, the guards suddenly noticed an anomaly—a powerful spell was being cast. Alarmed, the soldiers quickly turned their heads around, only to see that the person they were tasked to protect, young master Roel, was whizzing forward right above their heads, almost like a cannonball.
Roel’s body was cloaked in shining white light, and he was wielding a silver short sword in his hand. There was a pair of wings formed of light on his back, allowing him to glide through the air at a speed almost reminiscent of a falling comet. With a loud explosion, he crashed down to earth in front of the herd of Golden Rams, cutting them off right before they could enter the forest.
A cloud of dirt and debris billowed out from the impact zone, and a frightening aura swept across the meadows. Looming above, a massive and terrifying silhouette manifested before everyone’s eyes, casting its shadow over everyone’s heads.
The herd of sprinting Gold Rams immediately came to a halt, as if someone had cast a Binding Spell on them. They trembled uncontrollably before the humongous silhouette. The braver ones lowered themselves and huddled on the ground fearfully whereas the cowardly ones collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
This powerful show of force terrified not just the Gold Rams but the steeds of the guards too. All of their horses screeched to a halt, and some of them even turned tail and fled.
“This will do, Grandar. It’ll be bad if we accidentally hurt our own allies.”
“These little things sure can’t take a scare.”
Grandar shot a glance at the panicking mounted guards before his humongous silhouette gradually dissipated, though the skeleton avatar that had formed around Roel’s body didn’t vanish along with it. The skeleton gazed at the horses that were still frantically neighing in fear as he began talking about the beasts back in his era.
“The horses back in my days weren’t too big either, but I must say that they were much better looking. They had something pointy poking out of their heads, and they were much stronger than these…”
Wait a moment, bro. Aren’t you talking about unicorns over here?
Roel listened to Grandar’s words with a strange look on his face. According to what he was hearing, it would appear that giants are a far stronger race than the horses. The only horses that weren’t afraid of giants were probably the kings of horses or something.
While Roel was listening intently to the giant, who had become chatty after being alone for too long, the guards continued to tremble with fright. The pressure that Grandar exerted through his very presence was simply too strong; it instilled fear not only in beasts but humans as well. In fact, the stronger a transcendent was, the more vividly he could feel just how terrifying of a being he was standing before.
The captain of the Ascarts’ guards, Dirk, exhaled deeply before trading glances with the pale-faced captain of the royal guards. It was at this moment that they realized that the young master they served was no ordinary person.
The other guards might not have noticed it, but the two captains, with their sharper senses, could feel that the silhouette that had appeared earlier was from the ancient era. It was a being so monstrously powerful that they couldn’t even put together the courage to stand up against it.
One must know that not even Marquess Carter had induced such an intense feeling of helplessness in them before!
They could hardly fathom how Roel managed to subordinate such a powerful being, but without a doubt, this showed that he held immense potential in his hands. If he were to continue growing at this rate, he would surely achieve unbelievable things in the future!
It was at this point that Dirk finally snapped out of his daze. He looked at Roel, whose silhouette had appeared once more amidst the settling dust, and hurriedly issued an order to the stiffened guards.
“What are you waiting for? Do you expect the young master to take down the Gold Rams by himself? Hurry up and get moving!”
“Y-yes!”
The Ascarts’ guards immediately dismounted and rushed up to the Gold Rams. The royal guards belatedly came back to their senses and quickly followed them too.
None of them said a word at all, but they had already come to a realization. The royal family was indeed formidable, but the Ascart House was not lacking at all. At the very least, the terrifying silhouette they had seen earlier was not something that could be found in the inheritance of just any noble house.
It’s no wonder why Her Highness Nora is determined to rally him to her side. It turns out that he does possess true capabilities.
The royal guards quickly corrected the mindset they had regarding Roel.
While the guards were pulling themselves together, Roel chatted with Grandar, and he found out that the ‘white horses with something pointy poking out of their heads’ had already gone extinct. After the conversation finally came to an end, he began making his way toward the paralyzed Gold Rams.
Unexpectedly, these demonic beasts seemed to be traumatized by Roel’s aura. Just by him approaching them, the knees of the Gold Rams would wobble before plopping down to the ground on their knees.
“Young master, why don’t you head back and take a rest first? Leave the matters here to us. I promise you that we’ll bring everything of value back!”
Dirk rushed up to Roel and thumped his breastplate confidently. Roel noticed the more respectful and amicable attitude that this guard captain was taking toward him as he nodded his head in acknowledgement.
It looks like I really need to show a hand or two in order to let them know that I’m no pushover. These demonic beasts sure appeared at a timely moment!
Group activities like hunting did well in building camaraderie in a team. After the huge harvest they had made, even the guard captains couldn’t bring themselves to maintain the severe looks on their faces anymore. As if spring had arrived, smiles could be seen on everyone’s faces.
Nodding in satisfaction, Roel got back on his horse and returned to the convoy first. The rest of the guards who had remained with the convoy earlier turned to him, seemingly curious to know what had happened. In response, Roel raised his sword up high and shouted.
“We have managed to take down the entire herd! We shall be having a feast tonight!”
There was a brief moment of silence before resounding cheers broke out within the convoy. No one thought that the young master would be so generous. One must know that the meat of Gold Rams was a delicacy served on nobles’ dining tables. Soldiers and servants like them hardly get any opportunity to see them in person, let alone dine on them.
“Lord Brother, you must be exhausted. Come, have some water.”
Alicia took a small water bottle from Anna before rushing over to Roel’s side to offer it to him. Seeing this, Roel quickly got off his horse and took a few big gulps from the water bottle.
Ahh, the water offered by my little sister is indeed sweeter!
After quenching his thirst, Roel and Alicia exchanged knowing smiles with one another.
A constant show of force bred fear, and an unrestrained use of rewards incentivized others to take advantage. Inculcating loyalty necessitated a wise use of both fear and rewards. Given Roel’s esteemed position and the potential he had shown them, he didn’t believe that anyone would still choose to go against him.
If he could convert these guards into his own people, he would have more leverage over the other officials and nobles once he returned to the Ascart Fiefdom.
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