Today was a beautiful, sunny and mild day in Brettel City. The four city gates had been properly repaired and cleaned. Except for the potholes in front of the gates, which couldn't be restored to their original state for the time being, the terrifying scenery of a few days ago had disappeared without a trace.
The five mountain chieftains from the surrounding areas brought some of their brothers and sisters to Brettel City to enjoy the warm sunshine.
The earth-shattering events that had taken place in Brettel City a few days ago had spread to the surrounding area for dozens of miles. It was easy to see how fierce the battle had been from the deep scars on the city gates when the mountain chiefs arrived. With the information they had received from Dick, who was also a mountain man, they immediately understood the situation that had arisen a few days ago. They were now in awe of and more respectful towards the newly appointed young Lord of Brettel.
Among them, Fulkin of Mount Tali had long since witnessed Han Shuo's mighty power. He'd even made a gesture of goodwill before the fighting began. Otherwise, Faulke wouldn't have been able to easily transport the large amount of siege equipment back into the city that night. As for the other four mountain chieftains, they all behaved and came docilely to the city lord's mansion under Dick's guidance.
The new changes in Brettel City's appearance made a deep impression on them. The magical crystal cannons, war chariots and other equipment had an overwhelming momentum and looked much fiercer after enduring the terrors of battle.
The soldiers who greeted them along the way might have been the same soldiers from Brettel City, but the presence these soldiers now exuded gave them a strange feeling. Having survived such a brutal battle, these soldiers were no longer timid and cowardly as they had been in the past. Their armour shone brightly, and their demeanour was cold and calm, with a faintly brutal, killing air.
"Are these people the same tattered soldiers of the past who ran even faster than the civilians?" Some of the mountain chiefs couldn't help but wonder inwardly as they saw the drastic changes in these soldiers.
As they stood outside the main gates of the city lord's mansion, the mountain chiefs saw some smiling civilians taking it upon themselves to clean up the surrounding streets. There were also some beautiful girls and women gathered shyly in front of the city lord's mansion, chatting and laughing in low voices. The mountain chiefs felt that Brettel City had become a very different place.
"His Lordship isn't one to be provoked. Zack, don't open your mouth, it won't end well if you offend His Lordship!" Dick was quite familiar with the mountain chiefs. Knowing that Zack was the most rude and careless of the bunch, Dick had warned him all along the way.
"Dick, old buddy, you've been running your mouth more and more lately. I remember you used to be a man of few words. When did you become so long-winded?" Zack was a small, stocky man. It was unknown whether his skin was as black as charcoal from the year-round mining.
"Elder cousin Dick, is this city lord really as powerful as you say? Or are you deliberately exaggerating?" A female mountain chief named Delia spoke up. She had inherited the leadership of Mount Silk from her father. Delia had a high nose - a typical feature of the mountain people - and a beautiful pair of straight, long, slender legs. She was about 173 centimetres tall, considerably taller than the average woman.
Delia's appearance was as charming as her body. Her wheat-coloured skin shone with a healthy glow, her eyes were fierce but still retained the curiosity of a young girl. Her curvaceous body was simply covered by a leather armour on the important parts of her chest and stomach. However, her arms and legs were both exposed, with a valuable dagger sheathed in her left calf. She had her own sense of style.
Both Zack and a young mountain chief, Kent, beside him showed traces of an eager expression as they listened to Delia's words. They seemed to be very interested in Delia.
In a place like Brettel City, where beautiful women were in short supply, Delia quickly became the focus of many men's attention. However, Delia was a senior swordswoman and also held the mining rights to Mount Silk. No ordinary person would have the right to capture her.
Delia had the outspoken personality of a mountain woman and was like a thorny rose. In a place where she was the focus of the local men, Delia liked to use her advantages to play off the men who lusted after her. However, she never spoke encouragingly to any man, nor did any man have the ability to take advantage of her.
Dick was Delia's distant cousin. He could only smile wryly at this wild cat of a distant cousin and warn her, "You'd better behave yourself! Don't try your tricks in front of His Lordship, you can't handle him!"
"Humph! Just a young man, what's so great about him?" Delia pouted and snorted softly. That's what she said, but she had actually become even more interested in Han Shuo.
"Alright, alright. Hurry up, don't keep the city lord waiting too long!" Adleman, the oldest mountain chief, suddenly opened his mouth with a light scolding.
Adleman was the most respected of the five mountain chiefs. He was of the same generation as Delia's, Zack's and Kent's grandfathers, and they'd always banded together to resist the bandits' raids. They had also kept in touch over the years. When the mountain chiefs had children together, Adleman often led the others as their senior.
The others had nothing more to say when they heard Adleman's words. Only Dick summarised some of Han Shuo's recent affairs to the others in a low voice, especially Han Shuo's personality. Dick told them in detail how Han Shuo had personally killed a soldier who had dared to defy him when he had first arrived in Brettel City.
The mountain chiefs knew from Dick's previous reports that this new city lord wasn't to be messed with. When Dick described Han Shuo's cruel and ruthless style, they all felt some apprehension in their hearts. As for Delia, she became even more curious about Han Shuo.
"Everyone, best not to provoke this person. I don't care what you do, our Mount Tali will definitely have a good relationship with him anyway. We have no intention of making things difficult for him." Fulkin had planned to get along with Han Shuo after personally seeing Han Shuo destroy Troda in a fight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to go down the mountain and help Faulke, thus doing Han Shuo a favour.
Fulkin was the most stubborn of the five mountain chiefs. It had been years since he'd been willing to serve anyone. When even Fulkin had made his stand before meeting Han Shuo, the fear and awe in the hearts of the others had instantly increased.
After a while, they'd walked past wide stone steps as Dick finally led the five mountain chiefs to the banquet hall in the city lord's mansion.
Han Shuo had kept all the cooks he'd recruited for the city lord's mansion last time. The banquet was held in the merchants' living room. Dorcas, Faulke, Chester and Jack had arrived early to wait for the five mountain chiefs.
"Let me introduce you all, these are my five fellow mountain chiefs from the mines around Brettel City!" Dick pointed to the five mountain people before introducing Dorcas and the others.
After Dick had finished introducing the two sides, Fulkin, who'd helped Faulke resist the bandits last time, laughed heartily as they hugged each other full of heroic spirit.
Fulkin said in a loud voice, "Faulke, my brave brother, I have heard of your amazing exploits even in Mount Tali!
Like a true knight, Faulke gave Fulkin a courteous little smile, his voice warm and friendly, "You overpraise me. I welcome your visit."
"Oh, where is your city lord?" Zack glanced around. He was waiting for Dick to introduce the young, wonderful city lord, only to find that Dick wasn't playing along.
Dorcas gave Zack a cold look and shouted in a low, somewhat sinister voice, "'Your' city lord? Do you mean you're not under His Lordship's jurisdiction?"
Though Dorcas' strength was not great, the presence he had gained from the intense carnage of the battle was not to be underestimated. His low cry was dark and cold, like the edge of a sword.
"Shut up, Zack!" Since Dorcas had been brought back by Han Shuo, he'd gradually revealed his talent during the various battles. Dorcas had become an object of trust for the soldiers, the deterrent effect of his presence slowly surpassing even Faulke's. Dick was well aware that this person's loyalty to Han Shuo was somewhat blind and unreasonable, so he hastily scolded Zack.
The mountain chiefs around Brettel City had always looked down on the city lords. Therefore, they would naturally show no respect in their usual conversation. Old habits die hard, which immediately infuriated Dorcas.
Standing 190 centimetres tall, Dorcas was like a sharp, unsheathed sword. No one could ignore his presence. It was a pity that his determined face was currently wearing a cold indifference, an expression that repelled people from coming within a thousand miles of him, making him unapproachable.
"Our apologies, we were not respectful enough because the previous city lords were incompetent. Zack's mouth can't adapt so quickly, I think he didn't mean to offend His Lordship. I hope you will overlook that." Old Adleman spoke up hastily, trying to mediate, surreptitiously giving Zack several eye signals.
Dick and Fulkin also winked and glared at Zack, telling him to be respectful, lest he make Dorcas unhappy.
Zack was rough but not stupid. Though he still held some resentment in his heart, Zack finally bowed as the three looked at him and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry!"
Dorcas glanced at Zack and snorted coldly, not saying another word. He picked up his wine glass before going to find Jack to discuss the need for more war equipment, no longer following Zack's disrespectful manners.
"Faulke, where is His Lordship?" Dick sighed inwardly when he saw that the most unsociable Dorcas had taken his leave. Then he turned to ask Faulke, who'd been chatting and laughing with Fulkin.
"Ah, His Lordship said it was rare for him to have guests, so he wanted to personally prepare some good food and told us to stay here and wait for him for a while." Faulke explained with a laugh. He stared at Delia, not hiding his interest in her.
"Another smelly pervert!" Delia pursed her lips somewhat proudly. She glanced at Faulke before turning her head away, inwardly making up her mind about him.
As Delia avered her gaze from Faulke, her eyes followed the indifferent Dorcas with some interest. She discovered some interesting features in his seemingly eternally aloof face. It seemed Delia paid more attention to men who didn't pay attention to her.
Smooth-talking Knight Faulke, humorous Chester and Dick chatted with the five mountain chiefs. All five mountain chiefs were both afraid and respectful of the new city lord. None of them dared to be carelessly unfriendly in their speech. They sipped from their wine glasses while Faulke and Chester told them more about the city lord.
Young Zack and Kent were still extremely curious about the rumours of Han Shuo's kidnapping of the Grand Duke Helen Tina. Chester and Dick were no gentleman either and paid no attention to Han Shuo's heroic image, telling them their self-confirmed truth with a deep, perverse laugh.
Delia, who wasn't far away, was also very curious. Hearing the dirty laughter of the four perverts, Delia paid attention to their conversation and 'accidentally' heard some things she shouldn't have. She couldn't help but blush up to her ears, spit in contempt, and scolded in a low voice, "I didn't think this city lord would be so lewd. Huh! It seems he's much more lecherous and perverse than the men of Brettel City!"
"Hehehe, His Lordship really is an expert!" In this regard, the dirty men seemed to think nothing of being brutal to a notoriously vicious woman. It wasn't something despicable, and they even felt a certain glory in it.
After Dick and Chester had finished describing it, the two young mountain chiefs all showed a look of awe, the kind of awe that was much greater than when they had heard about Han Shuo killing many bandits. This made the eavesdropping Delia despise the four of them. She cursed inwardly that men were no good.
"My apologies for being late. The ingredients in Brettel City are too rare. Even if I'm a little late, we'll still be able to enjoy some exotic food!" A hearty laugh suddenly rang out from the room. The handsome, refined Han Shuo stepped out of the room leisurely.