Hamtt considered himself to have seen his fair share of beautiful won, from graceful noblewon to captivating songstresses, but the woman leading the group on the deck still took his breath away.
Her face was like the finest, newly-fired porcelain from Grey Soil Village—fair and delicate, exuding an innate air of nobility.
Her eyes were deep and bright, like the most brilliant stars in the night sky, twinkling with wisdom and friendliness.
And her magnificent, sky-blue robe beautifully accentuated her exquisite figure.
Hamtt was reminded of Princess Blanche, whom he’d seen at a banquet in Wushan Castle. She was also incredibly beautiful and charming, but she was the gentle, innocent type. The woman before him seed more mature.
The woman didn’t seem angered by Hamtt’s stare. "Brave Knight, we’ve gotten lost at sea. Could you tell us where we are?"
Hamtt snapped back to reality, realizing his gaffe, and quickly composed himself.
"My lady, this is the territory of Count Ronin. I am Hamtt, Baron of Thorn Town, temporarily responsible for the security here."
He introduced himself politely, then asked, "And where might you be from?"
As he spoke, he sized up the four people beside the woman.
One of them, another woman, was wearing light armor. Though not as beautiful as the one who had spoken, she had a neat, capable look about her and a valiant aura.
Hamtt was inwardly alard by the remaining three. These n were all powerfully built, and though their faces were weary from the voyage, they still radiated an extraordinary aura.
’A group like this, with such a strange ship...’ Hamtt concluded they must be from so great house.
The five people on the deck conferred quietly for a mont before the woman spoke again.
"It is a pleasure to et you, Baron Hamtt. You can call Sophia."
She introduced herself. "Would it be possible to arrange an introduction to your Lord, Count Ronin? We would like to resupply in his territory and hopefully purchase so materials to repair our ship."
"Well..."
Hamtt hesitated. He was only here helping Vitorino; he wasn’t one of Ronin’s direct followers.
However, showing a few people around the territory wasn’t a big deal. Wubei Territory welcod people from all corners and had never forbidden entry to strangers.
Besides, they intended to make purchases, which would generate revenue for Wubei Territory.
"I can take you there."
Hamtt said, "However, Count Ronin is not currently in the territory. You can et with Lord Elron first. He is one of the administrators of Wubei Territory, and he can decide whether to arrange for you to et the Count."
"Then we thank you!"
With that, four of them disembarked, leaving a darker-skinned knight behind to guard the ship.
"It’s a long way to Swamp Town from here, and walking is too slow. I’ll have soone bring four horses for you; it’ll be quicker."
The cavalryn under Hamtt’s command were staying for a few more days, so borrowing so of their horses wouldn’t be an issue.
But before he could give the order, the woman raised a hand to stop him.
"That won’t be necessary, Baron Hamtt. We’ll take the Flying Carpet."
"What?"
Hamtt asked instinctively, then realized she had said "Flying Carpet."
’But what was a Flying Carpet?’
’A carpet that flies?’
A long, scroll-like object appeared in Sophia’s hand.
With a surge of Magic Power, the rolled-up carpet floated into the air. Then, with a sudden UNFURL, it spread out, covering an area of a dozen or so square ters.
Hamtt and all his n stared wide-eyed, watching the Flying Carpet slowly descend to their feet. They were too shocked to speak.
"Let’s go," Sophia said, stepping onto the Flying Carpet first.
Her Personal Guard Officer followed, then the two accompanying Knights.
After boarding the Flying Carpet, they found places to sit cross-legged.
Hamtt was nervous, but not wanting to lose face, he stepped onto it as well.
It looked like a carpet, but stepping on it felt like treading on solid ground.
’Incredible,’
he thought, following their example and finding a place to sit.
WHOOSH!
The Flying Carpet shot into the air. Hamtt instinctively clenched his fists. He glanced down at the ground, watching Wubei Port grow smaller and smaller.
The great height made him dizzy.
Sophia and her three companions took note of Hamtt’s reaction. They couldn’t understand what was so nerve-wracking about a Magic Flying Carpet, which was a fairly common ans of air travel.
"Baron Hamtt, if you would please show us the way."
"Oh, oh, right! Of course!"
Hamtt snapped out of his daze. "We just need to head southwest for now."
The Flying Carpet wasn’t as fast as a Giant Dragon, of course, but it was still leagues faster than a horse on the ground.
Before long, they arrived at Swamp Town and made their way toward Swamp Castle.
"This... is a Count’s territory?"
Sophia’s tone was filled with disbelief. She found it hard to associate such a dilapidated place with a Count.
The female knight beside her comnted, "It feels like we’ve arrived in one of the small towns outside Dark Moon City."
"Don’t be ridiculous, Anilu. My ho is in the swamp town outside Dark Moon City, and the houses there are much neater and newer than these. At best, this place looks like a wilderness outpost."
Hamtt listened as they walked, racking his brain for any information about Dark Moon City or "the swamp town," but he ca up with nothing. ’Perhaps they’re from the distant Gistana Duchy?’
Although he didn’t know where Dark Moon City was, Hamtt understood they were saying Ronin’s territory was rundown.
’Rundown?’
’It was a little, I suppose, but still decent. At least it was in better shape than his own territory, Thorn Town.’
"You don’t understand. The year before last, Ronin was just a minor Baron of a small town in the mountains. Now, he’s not only the Count of Wushan Territory but also the Baron of Rapids Island, an honor bestowed by His Majesty himself. He’s also the Fla Knight, champion of the grand knight tournant."
"He’s been a Count for less than a year, and he has poured all his ti and energy into developing new land. Where would he find the ti and energy to renovate all these buildings?"
"Oh?"
Sophia’s expression turned to one of surprised suspicion. ’To accomplish so much in two years... this Count Ronin must be extraordinary. We have to et him now, more than ever.’
"Could you tell us more about Count Ronin in detail?"
"Haha, it would be my pleasure, Miss Sophia!"
Hamtt launched into the story, starting from Ronin’s days as an ignorant good-for-nothing, to how he got into Reisen, how he slew the leader of the Polante Thief Gang, and so on.
Sophia’s brow furrowed as she listened.
As Hamtt entered Swamp Castle to make his report, she whispered, "To go from a commoner to a Silver Knight in just two years... that rate of advancent is impossible, even with Magic Potions."
"Indeed. There’s sothing strange about this Ronin."
Anilu nodded. "As far as I know, the only ones who can increase their power Level that quickly have abilities much like those of the Witch Soul Race."
Her words shocked the others.
"Are you saying this Ronin is already one of the Witch Soul Race?"
The very reason they had set out to sea was that they had received news that their enemy had arrived on this continent.
If Ronin had beco one of the Witch Soul Race two years ago, that ant their mission was already at least two years behind schedule.
"It’s a possibility!"
Sophia nodded. "We need to be careful when we et Ronin."
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