Duchy of Raymond, Thorn Fief, bright moonlight.
Viscount Ironthorn stood on the castle balcony, his short grey-white hair shimmering slightly under the moonlight.
He stood tall like a sword, with age carving a few majestic lines onto his well-defined face, yet it did not diminish his Aura one bit. Those cold grey eyes narrowed slightly, scrutinizing the night outside the window like two unsheathed daggers.
That was the look he had gained during the border wars in his youth, and it had now become his instinctive reaction when facing any threat.
Viscount Ironthorn was nearly fifty years old this year.
However, he was an Advanced warrior himself, and his title was not entirely obtained through Family Legacy. Moreover, he took good care of himself, looking as if he were not even forty.
"A pack of beasts, but more cunning than I thought."
Viscount Ironthorn sneered and spoke.
The Viscount's eldest son, Edmond, was also by his side.
The young spellcaster stood in the shadows behind his father, his silver-grey mage robes swaying gently with the castle's draft.
He inherited his father's tall build, but his skin was not the bronze color of a warrior; instead, it was the fair complexion characteristic of a scholar, with occasional glimmers in his eyes—a trait formed from long-term study of magic.
Beneath his short pale-gold hair, a pair of light blue eyes flickered with a dangerous thirst for knowledge and the pride of a young man.
"Father, why waste time with a group of monsters?"
Edmond's voice was tinged with disdain and contempt: "Just send the army to crush them. Can they really withstand your private army?"
Viscount Ironthorn narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the training grounds outside the window.
There, numerous knights were practicing, the thorn patterns engraved on their armor glinting coldly under the moonlight.
Further away, several Alchemy Golems stood silently, their burly and tall bodies blocking the moonlight and casting long, dense shadows on the ground.
"Edmond, you must remember—"
The Viscount spoke slowly, "War is not our objective; do not act for momentary satisfaction."
"However, when dealing with beasts, we must first make them understand who the master is."
He turned around and pulled a roll of parchment from his desk, which was densely packed with transaction data he had collected from the Scale-Earth Rift Road.
"Behind these monsters is a so-called 'Lord' who can unify savage tribes like the Lizardfolk and Ogres. It even understands trading and can regulate them, and it possesses an awareness of counter-reconnaissance."
The Viscount's fingertip tapped the parchment: "This shows it is not simple."
Edmond said: "No matter how smart, they are still beasts."
The young spellcaster raised his hand, a dancing flame appearing in his palm, and said: "Admission to Cangqiong Academy requires not only wealth but also a Spell assessment. I happen to need some experience; a trip to the wilderness can make my Spells more powerful."
Viscount Ironthorn looked at his son, a satisfied smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Real nobles were not fools who hid in castles and indulged in nightly revelry, but warriors who dared to challenge themselves, face danger, and fight.
He was very satisfied with his eldest son.
"Very well, then you shall go to negotiate. Take the private army with you."
"If they are sensible, then drain them of their wealth."
"If they are not," the Viscount's voice turned cold, "then let them understand what is meant by the iron fist of civilization."
Edmond elegantly performed a standard noble salute.
"I will make them kneel and offer up their Treasure Trove, Father."
He said so.
The eldest son's voice could not hide his excitement as he withdrew to prepare for the upcoming wilderness trip.
"Bane, you accompany Edmond and guard him."
The Viscount whispered.
A gentle breeze blew, and in the shadows beside him, a middle-aged man appeared at some unknown time, dressed plainly with rough skin that looked as if it had weathered many storms.
He was a Sanda Monk of the traditional school.
Generally speaking, monks did not care much for personal vanity or wealth.
They believed that their entire life was a trial for themselves.
No matter how many obstacles lay ahead, monks were happy to use all their skills to overcome difficulties, not for show, but to test themselves.
Bane was also undergoing this trial called life.
He was Innate weak and constantly fell ill as a child. His already poor Family could not afford it and abandoned him during a major illness. He was later adopted by Viscount Ironthorn's father and sent to a monastery to study.
Bane did not disappoint.
Although he was Innate weak, his will was exceptionally tenacious. His childhood illnesses had allowed him to forge a will of iron. He gradually grew into a powerful monk and pledged his loyalty to the Ironthorn Family, later following the current Viscount Ironthorn.
The two were master and servant, but because they grew up together, they were also like brothers.
However, to Viscount Ironthorn, there were many such "brothers."
"Mhm."
Bane nodded heavily in agreement, and then his body flickered and disappeared.
Meanwhile, in the Serel Wilderness, north of Stony Beach.
Five three-meter-tall dark shadows gradually emerged from the curtain of rain. Their skin was like dried mud, covered in cracked patterns, and their deformed long arms hung down to their knees.
Behind them followed some smaller dark shadows, totaling about twenty.
The outpost that had been destroyed by the Behemoth attack earlier had been rebuilt, and the stationed guards had become more numerous and powerful.
They discovered the trolls' approach in advance; the trolls were nearing the territory belonging to the Molten Iron Clan.
Before long.
The garrison gathered and took the initiative to strike, with a large number of monsters surrounding the trolls.
"A group of trolls came from the Permafrost Tundra?"
Garros looked toward Iron Dragon.
"Yes, they call themselves the Steelback Clan. They lived in the Permafrost Tundra for a long time, but as the war between the Whitefrost Alliance and the War-Cry Clan intensified, their territory was caught in the aftermath of the flames of war and was destroyed by the Whitefrost Alliance."
"The tribe's warlock felt uneasy about the future, so he led the clan to migrate to the Serel Wilderness. Originally about a hundred trolls, they gradually dwindled during the migration, with only twenty-some remaining in the end."
Sorog said in detail.
Such matters would originally not have been brought specifically to Garros's attention to disturb him.
However, because of the recent events at the Scale-Earth Rift Road, Garros was planning ahead and preparing a retreat for himself. The northern Permafrost Tundra was one of his choices, so he had the Iron Dragon report to him about the Permafrost Tundra.
"How are the trolls of the Steelback Clan doing now?"
"They were captured and are being held at the Stony Beach camp."
Then, before the topic of the trolls could continue, Garros and Iron Dragon both paused simultaneously and pulled out Communication Stones from their scales.
Urgent information had arrived.
Viscount Ironthorn had sent his eldest son, demanding that the Lord of the Molten Iron Clan step forward for a more formal negotiation.
Somewhere in the wilderness around the Scale-Earth Rift Road, a semi-collapsed ancient stone pavilion had been temporarily cleared as a negotiation site.
Led by Karu, the monsters of the Molten Iron Clan were already there.
Fully armed armored Ogres, knights of various races riding Vicious Beasts, and several warlocks all stood there silently, their eyes suppressed with a dangerous light.
Heavy footsteps came from the horizon.
The Thorn Knights appeared first. They wore dark red armor, with the thorn crest of the Ironthorn Family engraved on their breastplates. Each person's visor was shaped like a roaring wolf's head, and fine alchemical longswords hung at their waists.
They were not as tall or strong as the Ogres.
However, the Aura they emitted was not much worse than that of the Ogre Warriors.
Next were five Alchemy Golems.
One was a The Fearless One, while the other four models were completely different in appearance and size, but all without exception were tall and strong iron creations. Every step they took made the ground tremble.
Finally, bringing up the rear was Edmond himself.
He rode on the shoulder of a Frost Giant, his silver-grey mage robes snapping in the wind.
That Frost Giant's skin was pale as a corpse, its body shriveled, and its eyes flickered with an unnatural blue light. It was clearly not in a normal state, appearing lifeless with Death Qi.
"It seems our 'beast friends' take this meeting very seriously."
Edmond swept his gaze contemptuously over the Ogre formation: "Unfortunately, numbers cannot bridge the gap of civilization."
Tax Collector Brent showed a fawning and flattering smile, nodding repeatedly: "The young master is right, well said."
Shortly after.
The young spellcaster, riding the Frost Giant and escorted by knights and golems, walked into the stone pavilion.
Gluttony Demon Karu, disguised as the Lord, sat across the stone table.
He was completely covered in black iron armor custom-made by Samantha, with only two flickering red lights visible in the eye slits. He emitted a primitive, savage, and powerful Aura.
"Does your father not even have the courage to show his face personally?"
Karu said in a gruff voice.
Edmond elegantly flicked non-existent dust from the corner of his robe: "Negotiating with beasts like you does not require my father to come out personally."
This man's sense of superiority and pride in his words was several times greater than the Tax Collector's, as if he were the chosen one of heaven, the darling of the world.
And that was indeed the case.
Edmond was twenty-four years old this year. In the first twenty-three years of his life, he had been playful and obsessed with various enjoyments until a year ago, when he suddenly developed an interest in Spells and began to learn them.
Starting to learn Spells at 23 was a very late age, and Spells were not easy to learn.
Many people thought he would soon give up.
But Edmond showed amazing magical talent.
In just one year, starting from zero, he had achieved what takes ordinary people decades or even centuries, and was hailed as a magical Genius rarely seen in the Ironthorn Family in five hundred years.
Those obscure incantations and difficult magical principles were exceptionally simple in Edmond's eyes.
During this year, he was surrounded by countless flowers and praise. He believed that whatever he wanted to do would surely succeed, and he felt that he was the child of destiny.
Once he reached Cangqiong Academy and had more resource channels, he would surely become a Legendary spellcaster.
His future was infinitely bright.
Previously, he took pride in his Family.
But soon, the Family would take pride in him.
Edmond signaled the golem behind him to take a step forward: "Let's get straight to business—three thousand gold coins every month, plus one year's back taxes."
"Not a single coin less."
He raised his head and spoke with absolute certainty and without room for doubt.
"Where did this fool come from? Are you dreaming?"
Karu stood up and asked.
"It seems our negotiation has ended just as it began." Edmond shook his head and said, "Father was right. Beasts are beasts after all; I need to make you understand who the master is."
He looked directly at Karu, his gaze pressing.
He wanted to provoke a conflict here and start a war directly.
First, use fists to beat these monsters into submission, then the following matters would be easier to handle.
The knights drew their longswords, and the roar of the golem engines rang out violently, drowning out the wind and rain.
The rain poured down. The Gluttonous Ogre was about to roar in anger, but it seemed to have received some message and forcibly suppressed its roar.
It put on an angry but wary and helpless look, finally lowering its head in humiliation.
"Humans, you win."
"We will pay the taxes. Seven days from now, the taxes will be paid in full at once and brought to your station."
If you're still alive by then, Karu added in his heart.
The two sides did not start a war and retreated separately in the rain.
Meanwhile, in the Coniferous Valley.
"Why must you force me?"
"I clearly only wanted a peaceful life."
Garros spread his wings, his formidable body standing up inch by inch, braving the wind and rain.
He could see that these humans had no intention of negotiating properly. Their demands were something Garros could not satisfy.
Since that was the case, there was no need to talk.