Moonlight Valley.
After the fierce battle, the Knights occupied and plundered Moonlight Castle. Aside from some scattered property they claimed for themselves as spoils of war, most of it was turned in for Lurans to distribute.
For nobles, victors in war often became rich overnight, especially in a campaign that involved conquering a castle.
After two days of accounting, Lurans finally tallied up all of Jesusâs wealth and distributed it according to military merit and the losses each noble had sustained.
What others didnât know was that in addition to over 120,000 Gold Coins, Ronin also received seven Magic Energy Cannons, more than three hundred sets of Armor, and over a thousand Weapons!
This haul alone showed just how wealthy Jesus had been.
Besides these, there were two other items that were exceptionally special, rare, and expensive.
The first was five thousand pounds of mithril.
Ronin needed to build ships that used a mix of Magic Energy Power and steam power, and mithril was an essential material for creating Magic Arrays.
Five thousand pounds of mithril solved a huge problem for Ronin.
The second was Griffins.
Including the few that were killed on the battlefield, Jesus had possessed over fifty Griffins.
However, more than half of these Griffins were young and would need to be raised for another two years before they could be trained as mounts.
Under Luransâs distribution, Ronin received eight adult Griffins and four young ones.
As for the rest, besides the ones Wushan Castle would take, Lurans also planned to reward Marvin, Kabil, Vitorino, Sandro, Melonika, and the others with one or two each.
These people had contributed a great deal recently, so it was only right to give them a special reward.
Ronin looked at the list in his hands, the corners of his mouth curling up uncontrollably.
"Sophia, you and the others should pick out a Griffin for yourselves later."
He said with a smile, "The Magic Flying Carpet is still a bit slower than a Griffin."
"Oh, thank you so much!"
The Magic Flying Carpet had its advantages, too; it could carry more people than a Griffin.
Of course, carrying more people also consumed more Magic Power and would slow it down a bit.
Then again, Sophia would need to travel around to gather materials for making magic items, so having a faster mount was necessary.
"Ronin, what are your plans now?"
For Sophia, to have eliminated such a major threat in such a short time was something she hadnât expected.
This battle once again confirmed for her that joining the Wubei Territory had been the right decision.
"I know you want to get rid of the two remaining Divine Envoys as soon as possible, but while the Wushan Territory won this battle, our losses were not small. Besides the Knights, we lost many well-trained Cavalry and Infantry. Our forces need time to recover."
"Moreover, an expedition requires a lot of preparation. Grain, for one, is a key issue."
Ronin analyzed and concluded, "So for the time being, both the Wushan Territory and my Wubei Territory will rest and recuperate."
Sophia nodded. She wasnât in a rush, because she could feel that the dawn of her goal was drawing nearer.
She took out three books from her Space Ring.
"I can sense that youâve already become a Proud Sun Knight and a Great Mage. This is a gift for you."
âOh?â
Ronin was a little surprised.
He hadnât publicized his victory over Garrett, let alone revealed his true Power to the outside world. He never expected Sophia to see through him.
"What are these?"
Ronin took them, curious.
Sophia explained, "These three Magic Books are for the Ninth Level Wind Attribute spells, Wind Shadow Skill and Destructive Storm, and the Ninth Level Fire Attribute spell, Fire Rain Star Pendant. Theyâre all a perfect fit for you."
Wind Shadow Skill could be considered a combination of Windâs Wings and Rapid Speed. The speed bonus it provided was extremely high. When fully activated, it could even match Carlosâs current speed.
As for Destructive Storm and Fire Rain Star Pendant, both were large-scale offensive spells, perfect for annihilation at any cost.
"These are truly rare!"
Ronin thanked her, pleasantly surprised.
These three Magic Books were incredibly valuable. He hadnât expected her to just give them to him.
Sophia smiled. "When you told me you would become Legendary within ten years, I was quite skeptical. But now, I believe itâs entirely possible. Since youâve promised to help me, itâs only natural that Iâd want you to become even stronger!"
She glanced at the three Magic Books and added with another smile, "Although these are precious, only someone with true power can unleash their value."
Although she and her companions had their own reasons for helping Ronin, those reasons were not for personal gain.
In a way, one could even use the word "noble" to describe Sophia and the other four.
Ronin promised, "Donât worry. Sooner or later, we will cross the Sea of Storms and stand on the soil of the Crescent Continent once more!"
...
ăGolden Feather Palaceă
With a heavy heart, Garrett traveled intermittently, taking more than four days to return to the Royal Palace.
As soon as he returned, he headed straight for Oduin Hall.
At that moment, King Bruno was in the hall with a group of Kingdom officials, discussing arrangements for Jesusâs funeral.
"Father!"
Garrett strode forward. "I donât understand! Why did you suddenly indulge Lurans and Ronin? You even sent Broel to support him!"
Bruno frowned, then forced a slight smile and waved his hand. "Letâs leave it at that. Arsenno, Luther, announce the news of Jesusâs death as we just agreed. Also, go and inform Duke Valgis that his daughter, Dana, also tragically perished in this disaster."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Arsenno and the others bowed in acknowledgment and then withdrew from the hall.
Only then did Bruno turn to look at his son. "Broel told me you lost to Ronin?"
Garrettâs expression soured, but he still nodded.
Bruno took a deep breath. "Then what is the true extent of Roninâs Power?"
Garrett shook his head. Thinking back to the two moves exchanged in their fight, he still couldnât make sense of it.
"I donât know his exact strength, because I was defeated too quickly..."
He looked up at Bruno. "Father, Ronin isnât even twenty years old! If this continues, heâll surely become a threat to the Kingdom in the future. We have to find a way to deal with him!"
"Itâs too late..."
Bruno shook his head. "Weâve already lost our chance to kill him."
"What do you mean?"
Garrett didnât understand. "Canât we deal with him even if we gather all our forces?"
Ronin was strong, it was true, but the Kingdom wasnât so weak that it couldnât fight back.
Bombarding him with Magic Energy Cannons, loosing a volley of Magic Energy Arrows, and combining the forces of several Silver Moon Level experts, multiple Meteor Level experts, and several Magic Mastersâit was impossible that they couldnât win.
Even if Ronin could escape, his territory and his subordinates couldnât.
Garrett refused to believe that Ronin would choose to abandon everything just to save his own skin.
"We could deal with him, but the price would be too high!"
Bruno said wistfully, "In the few days you were gone, I received some news. Viscount Patridge of Screaming Island led five warships to besiege Rapids Island. It seems he was defeated."
"Furthermore, the Villa Duchy armed the Black Gold Brotherhood with three Knight Orders. They were expected to invade the heart of the Wushan Territory, but instead, they were wiped out!"
To be honest, when he received these two pieces of intelligence, he had been stunned for a long while.
In other words, while attacking Moonlight Valley, the Wushan Territory still had the capacity to fight on two other fronts.
The combat strength of this Marquisâ Domain far exceeded his expectations.
Hearing this, Garrett was also stunned.
After a long moment, his expression grew even more determined. "Father, if thatâs the case, then we have all the more reason to unite with them, destroy the Wushan Territory, and kill Ronin! We canât let him grow any stronger!"
Bruno still shook his head.
"If we were to truly launch such a war, they would fight to the death. Our losses would be immense, and there would even be a risk of you and I being assassinated."
"Right now, the civil unrest in the Tricia Kingdom is growing more and more intense. This is an opportunity for our Oduin Royal Family to grow stronger! My son, I donât want to waste this chance on internal strife."
He said, "A Kingdom, in the end, is just a collection of many factions, large and small. Once we conquer this continent, with such a vast expanse of land, why would we be afraid of ceding a piece of it to Ronin?"
Bruno had already thought it through.
"Whatâs more, I can see that Ronin is a man of principle. Given that he is Blancheâs husband, my son-in-law, and your brother-in-law, he wonât betray us without an absolute reason."
The King shook his head slightly, bringing the conversation back on topic.
"I was never optimistic about cooperating with the Witch Soul Race in the first place. Itâs better that weâve abandoned it now, lest problems erupt in the future and affect the prestige of our rule."
Hearing these words, Garrett stood stunned for a long moment.
His intuition told him that this course of action was appropriate.
âItâs just... I still canât accept that a great Kingdom would have to compromise with a kid who isnât even twenty years old!â
He also found it hard to accept his own defeat.
Bruno clapped Garrett on the shoulder and said in an earnest, heartfelt tone, "Right now, if we want to unite the continent, we need Roninâs Power!"
Garrett took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, then nodded.
"Alright, Father. I understand..."