Chapter 26: The Ladder Leading to Nobility

  After counting, I bought a total of 43 male slaves and 27 female slaves this time. Among them, 20 male slaves were selected by me to become private soldiers, and the other 23 were purchased as farmers; The female slaves became maids in my estate, responsible for cleaning and serving my daily life, of course, the women I chose are not ugly, usually they can also take care of my more intimate private life.

  We set out again for the capital of Yaruni. Along the way, I handed over those male slaves to Na Ba and let this private guard train them well as his future subordinates, and also trained those who would become my farmer slaves in the future, at least to make their bodies strong, so that they can work better for me.

  It's clear that he is very interested in this task, and every day we have to listen to the slaves' miserable cries and the loud scolding of the tyrant. I must say, although the tyrant's method is a bit violent, it is also quite effective. Under my nourishment, each of them can show off their muscles now. Even Pajet, who was defeated by the tyrant in private a few days ago, is now learning from him with envy.

  After more than a month of trekking, we finally arrived at the political center of the Kingdom of Weiton - Yaruni City.

  As soon as I arrived here, I was shocked by the momentum of this city. What made me feel shocked in my heart is not the grandeur that surpasses any city I have ever seen before, nor the prosperous scene known as the first on the mainland, but the thick historical atmosphere. This ancient city has been standing proudly on this land for thousands of years, and even every brick on the city wall has a long history. Looking at this magnificent historical treasure, one can't help but feel that it will continue to stand for thousands of years.

  As the capital of a commercial nation, Yaruni City is filled with wealthy merchants and nobles. Luxurious carriages shuttle back and forth on the spacious and sturdy avenues, while elegantly dressed pedestrians stroll along the roads, completely devoid of the busy atmosphere found in other cities. They occasionally stop to greet one another or chat with acquaintances by their side, presenting a leisurely scene.

  Seeing their way of life, even I feel a little envious. This is the beautiful future I've been longing for - no need to rush around for a living, no need to bleed for tomorrow. Every day, just quietly enjoying life is good enough. However, my ideal will soon come true.

  We were admiring the famous scenic spots of this ancient capital while heading to the hotel, and finally found a decent place to stay. To be honest, "decent" is only in comparison to other hotels in the city; if we compare it to where we used to live, this would be considered a luxurious apartment. However, the price here is also ridiculously expensive; if we hadn't made a fortune, the cost of staying here for a few days would have been enough to make me and Lievman vomit blood.

  After settling the carriages, Lievman took the letter of introduction he had obtained from Duke Wilhelm at the last banquet and rushed to the palace, while I watched in the courtyard as the slaves were being drilled.

  With a wooden sword in hand, Na Ba was like a devilish warrior, repeatedly knocking those strong slaves to the ground. Under his devilish training, they made rapid progress, especially that Sanguan, a black slave from Selah, who could already exchange ten blows with Na Ba before being knocked down, while others could at least hold out for two or three moves.

  After rounds of torment, the slaves on the field could no longer get up. The one facing the tyrant was Padgett, who had tried countless times but failed every time. He also held a wooden sword in his hand. Due to the weakness of the wooden sword, it couldn't withstand powerful blows, so they were now competing in sword skills.

  In terms of type, Pajet is a powerful warrior, and his swordsmanship is not his strong suit. However, I once taught him some sword techniques when we went to the Labyrinth Forest together, although due to his lack of talent, he only learned the basics. Nevertheless, when he uses them, they are not something that ordinary warriors can withstand. And Na's martial arts skills were unexpectedly exquisite and extremely agile and varied, Pajet was defeated by his nimble swordsmanship.

  This time was no exception, Paget's slash was very fierce, although it was a wooden sword, but with that momentum, if it were to land on a person, it would cause great harm. However, the tyrant's quick and agile swordsmanship continued to dissolve the powerful force of Paget's sword, and step by step, he was forced onto the back foot, defeat was only a matter of time.

  "Ah!" With a pained cry, Pajie's sword-wielding wrist was struck by Ba Zhan's swift slash, causing him to drop his sword in agony. This time, Pajie failed once again. However, he didn't show any dissatisfaction, and despite their initial animosity when they first met, after so many battles, they had developed a strong bond, enough to drink together in camaraderie. Indeed, it's true that you don't know someone until you've fought them.

  Their battle made me itch, and I couldn't help but jump down from the stage to challenge them. However, perhaps because they had been beaten by me too many times recently and lost face, those two most warlike guys, Ba and Padgett, actually retreated and refused to fight me, making all sorts of excuses. So I could only pull over those slaves who had just climbed up to practice with me. Seeing those poor eggs being sliced in the air by my sword, Ba and Padgett were relieved that they had firmly refused to duel with me earlier.

  Liefman returned in the evening, his extremely happy fat face indicating that everything had gone very smoothly. He went to the palace today, handed over the letter through the guard to the king, and was personally received by Thomas, the manager of the palace, who expressed gratitude on behalf of the king for our gift, and even invited Liefman and me to enter the palace together tomorrow morning to present the gift.

  No wonder he's so happy, being able to get an audience with the royal family is indeed a very proud thing for ordinary people. However, after going through that shocking change in the Mosan Palace, I have some reservations about entering the palace again. But since this is a good opportunity to receive a reward, I'll go reluctantly.

  The royal carriage arrived at our door early the next morning to take us, accompanied by the magic leopard, we got on the carriage and headed for the palace.

  Along the way, I looked out of the window and saw countless beautiful women wearing bold low-cut clothes walking together on the street. Looking at their plump breasts that seemed to be bursting out, my heart couldn't help but exclaim "what a feast for the eyes". Where else can you find so many sexy and charming beauties to admire? It's no wonder this is the imperial capital, I feel like coming here was worth it for the first time.

  The carriage passed through the long street and arrived at a square. The square was extremely wide, even if tens of thousands of people could be accommodated at the same time. There were also many stone benches on the square for tourists to rest. A fountain was located in the center of the square, with clear and clean water gushing out, adding a beautiful scenery to the square. However, the most eye-catching thing on the square was a bronze statue over three meters high, holding a sword in his hand and looking forward with his head held high. He was Visley, the first king of Wighton who led countless people yearning for freedom to resist the brutal rule of the Dekster Empire and established this free democratic country. The bronze statue was his heroic posture when he commanded the battle against the Dekster Empire army in the last war, and the square was also called Freedom Square.

  After crossing the square, the castle of the palace arrived. It is said that the castle is not a palace because in front of me there is indeed a magnificent and majestic fortress standing tall. Under the surrounding moat, this castle with arrow towers as high as 60-70 meters looks so impregnable, even if it faces military siege, I believe it can hold on, it seems that the people who built this city within a city have a strong sense of crisis awareness.

  After crossing the long suspension bridge, we entered the interior of the castle. Unlike the war fortress seen from the outside, hundreds of years of peace have greatly changed the appearance inside the castle. The interior had been renovated once, and the place that was originally supposed to be filled with defensive equipment was replaced by beautiful flowers and magnificent carvings. Except for the guards still standing guard, nothing else could be seen here for defense purposes.

  We walked into the inner gate of the castle, through the long corridor, and came to the grand hall where the king held meetings. Along the beautiful carpet, we walked in, only to see that the spacious hall was packed with people, hearing the servant loudly announcing our arrival, their curious eyes sizing us up.

  Beforehand, Rifman had secretly provided me with a list of the appearances and positions of the high-ranking officials in the palace, so I could roughly guess some of their names. The fat man standing on the left, who was almost as stout as Rifman, was Count Floritz, the Lord Treasurer of the kingdom, whose position seemed to bring him considerable wealth. Next to him was a tall and thin old man with a white beard and a clear face, who was the Chancellor of the Royal Academy, Minister of Education, and in charge of national books and education, Earl Tie. There was also the Prime Minister of the kingdom, Earl Obestan, standing at the forefront of the ministers. Apart from them, there were many other high-ranking noble officials here, all of whom held positions no lower than that of earl. This was the ruling class of the entire country of Wighton.

  In this council chamber, the most striking figure is undoubtedly King Kent VII of Witten, seated on the second floor. From his lofty position high above the ground, which forces one to look up at him, the majestic middle-aged monarch sitting on a throne made entirely of gold is also curiously sizing us up.

  "Manager, please introduce the two guests who have arrived today," he said.

  An elderly elder bowed respectfully to King Wieden and said, "The two who have come today are the two gentlemen who have brought us great surprise in recent days. They are Mr. Lieberman, a merchant from Heide, and Mr. Vitek, from the Lost Forest. It was they who risked their lives to bring us this rare and mysterious creature."

  "Ah," said Kent VII, apparently already informed, "Mr. Vuit from the Lost Woods, I wonder how you're finding life in my country?"

  I had long been prepared, so I replied without hesitation. After bowing, I said: "Your Majesty King of Wheaton, I am very satisfied with my current life. It can be said that since entering Wheaton, the prosperity here, the stability here, and the beauty here have all deeply moved me. To live in your kingdom, I don't know how happy your people are."

  "Haha, too kind, too kind. My country's prosperity is also thanks to the hard work of its people." Kent VII was overjoyed to hear a foreigner praising his own nation, and his mustache twitched upwards.

  He laughed for a while and then asked: "I wonder what surprises you two will bring to us today? Let's broaden our horizons together."

  The guards who had been waiting outside immediately carried the cage containing the magic leopard into the hall. Of course, we had already cleaned the cage, so at least there wouldn't be any smell.

  As soon as the snow leopard was brought into the hall, all the ministers gathered around to watch, and even Kent VII couldn't help but get up from his throne out of curiosity. They surrounded the cage, staring at the beautiful creature pacing back and forth inside, whispering to each other in hushed tones.

  "Hmm... this one seems to be a leopard, what's so precious about it?" After looking at it for half a day, Kent VII still couldn't see any difference between this animal and an ordinary leopard.

  "Don't hurry, Your Majesty," said Lievman, turning to several servants. "Bring what I have prepared."

  Soon, several servants carrying a few pieces of bright cloth came up to the hall and then, under Lievman's command, surrounded the cage on all sides except one, so that we could see inside. The kings and ministers around us were puzzled by his actions and just watched him fiddling with it.

  "Your Majesty, gentlemen, please come and see this side." Lifman stood on the only unobstructed side of the cage, beckoning everyone to come and take a look. The crowd gathered around curiously.

  "Oh my god, it's so amazing!" The crowd suddenly burst into exclamations of surprise.

  Only a moment ago, the magic leopard's fur was a uniform golden yellow, no different from that of an ordinary leopard. Now its coat is a dazzling array of colors. When it approaches the red side of the colored fabric, its fur automatically turns red; when it draws near the green side, its color instantly changes to green. The magical transformation leaves everyone gaping in amazement.

  Staring blankly at the color-changing animal for half a day, Kent VII finally came back to his senses from the shock and excitedly shouted: "Haha, it's really too amazing, too amazing! I've never seen such a wonderful creature before!" The surrounding ministers also all exclaimed in admiration.

  After circling around for half a day, Cort VII finally returned to the throne. As rumored, Kent VII, who was extremely fond of hunting, was overjoyed at receiving such a great gift. He said to us: "Mr. Lievman and Mr. Witt, I am very satisfied with the gift you have presented to me. I think that now you should not need any monetary reward, after all, this demon leopard is priceless. As my reward, I grant you both noble status, you will become viscounts of my kingdom of Weiton. Are you satisfied with such a reward?"

  "Your Majesty, I...I'm grateful for your generosity, I swear to be loyal to you for the rest of my life!" Liefman felt like he was dreaming as he easily obtained the long-awaited position. He was so moved that tears flowed out. However, I didn't have his longing for a noble status. It's just a pity about that precious magic leopard. If it were sold, who knows how much it would be worth? And catching one is not easy, even for me, there's no guarantee of having such good luck again."

  With the king's reward decree, we left the palace castle. Along the way, Liveman kept touching the proof of his noble identity in his hand, muttering to himself repeatedly.

  However, looking at this ordinary paper, I didn't see anything unusual, although it was inlaid with gold edges, but they were all plated and not precious at all. The only thing that interested me was the noble emblem I am wearing now, a silver badge with an exquisite curved bow inlaid in the night sky, representing my nocturnal identity as a skilled archer. It is said to be carefully crafted by the master sculptor of the palace, specifically designed for my identity.

  In short, I am also a noble now, although it is a lower class among the countless nobles. According to Rifman, after becoming a viscount, he will receive an annual salary of 100 gold coins from the royal family, which is small but also considered a formal upper-class person.