Is this even possible? Ryan was speechless for a long time, unable to utter a word.
The hippogriff is a mount many lords dream of, just like the empire's griffins. For Brittany lords, a hippogriff is the ultimate requirement for a mount.
He is still riding a pureblood elf warhorse, and Anglang is already riding a hippogriff?
A knight under his command riding a hippogriff while the lord still rides a warhorse?
Ryan's face showed an indescribable discomfort, and he could only smile bitterly, "Brother, you're a bit ahead of schedule."
"Really?" Anglang scratched his head, sensing Ryan's surprise, which pleased him.
On the other hand, Morgiana looked at Anglang with an extremely guarded gaze.
It was a dangerous feeling, an absolutely dangerous sensation. This terrifying aura almost made the Lake God Witch suffocate, and even though she had put down her weapons, Morgiana's face still held deep caution.
"I named this hippogriff Nukeria, in memory of my dead brothers and sisters." Anglang gently patted Ryan's shoulder. "Finally back, it's been hard on you. I won't say more, see you tomorrow at the usual place."
Ryan nodded, "the usual place" referring to the secret base Anglang had established in the Chalon Forest. With the help of the forbidden army, his brother had built a "safe house" in the northern part of Baron Gien's territory within the Chalon Forest.
After greeting his brother, Anglang said he was going hunting, patted Ryan's shoulder, and rode away on the hippogriff, indescribably dashing.
Ryan and Morgiana continued on their way. The Lake God Witch hesitated but still asked Ryan, "I heard your brother came here to seek refuge with you after committing a crime. But judging by his strength... what exactly did he do to make the lords decide to punish him?"
Ryan smiled slightly. Morgiana's implication was that Anglang's strength was unfathomable even to the Lake God Witch, so how could the lords afford to, or dare to, punish a warrior who was at least at the pinnacle of the Holy Realm?
"There are many meanings and levels to making mistakes, and some levels of mistakes even my brother must be punished for," Ryan shook his head, saying meaningfully, "Even gods must be punished for their mistakes, my princess."
Morgiana said no more.
From afar, the changes in Gien Town were astounding. The town walls had completely transformed into tall stone walls. Half of the town's low wooden houses had become at least two or three stories tall, and the other half were being added to. The dense flow of people congested the streets, carriages came and went, and the town even had a designated commercial district with a row of new shops opening. Ryan saw many serfs waiting at street corners, obviously looking for work.
Morgiana's appearance caused cheers from the townspeople. Many serfs couldn't help but kneel, loudly praising the Lake Fairy and the Lake God Witch. Morgiana, as a matter of routine, blessed the gathered townspeople of the small town, eliciting even greater praise.
Wood elves and dwarves had begun to appear on the streets, indicating something in Baron Gien's territory was attracting them.
After dispersing the crowd, Ryan and Morgiana walked up the hill. The bald steward, Carsonberg, opened the door for the baron, bowing deeply, "Oh, my baron, you're finally back, and the most respectable Lake God Witch, welcome to Baron Gien's territory."
"This isn't my first time here," Morgiana dismounted her unicorn, floating in the air and flying towards the third floor's prayer room, "I'll rest inside. Bring me hot water and dinner."
"Understood," Ryan nodded, handing the reins to a soldier, "Carsonberg, I need a sumptuous dinner."
"Right away, my baron," the steward bowed deeply.
"Master, you're back?" Dark Elf Olica appeared, dressed in standard black and white maid attire, her waist-long black hair shiny as satin.
"Yes, I'm back." Ryan embraced his dark elf maid and kissed her on the lips, "Where's Veronica?"
"Miss Veronica went to supervise the construction of her wizard tower. She'll be back in the evening," Olica leaned affectionately against Ryan, "I'll arrange for someone to boil water right away."
"Mm, make sure to boil an extra bucket for Princess Morgiana," Ryan instructed.
"Alright."
The servants quickly boiled a bucket of hot water. Ryan comfortably settled himself into it. As the heart of the territory, the baron's return made everyone in Baron's Castle very happy. A Grail Knight lord's influence on the territory was multifaceted, especially since there were always rumors that the lord was blessed by the gods. Hunters hunting in the Chalon Forest and serfs cutting wood always received protection and help from some tall golden armored giants.
Olica served Ryan during his bath, also informing him about the changes in the territory during this period.
The population of Baron Gien's territory had recently swelled to over 14,000 people.
"Where did all these people come from?" Ryan asked casually, soaking in the hot water, the steam from the water thick in the room.
"They are fleeing serfs from the Duchy of Brelyon and the Duchy of Cacophon. The Duchy of Brelyon has been at war with Estalia, and many serfs couldn't survive, so they fled here. Because it's in a state of war, the duchy's nobles can hardly determine whether the serfs are dead, surrendered, or escaped, so Carsonberg took the opportunity to shelter many quality people."
"And the serfs from the Duchy of Cacophon. Duke Hubald has embarked on the path of the Grail, and the duchy is currently jointly regented by a marquis and the Lake God Prophet, so some freemen took the opportunity to come here looking for work," Olica wrapped a towel around Ryan, her dark elf ears adorned with gold hoops gently swinging with her movements.
"This will bring some trouble later on," Ryan sighed comfortably. Accepting so many people would surely provoke his neighbors.
Development is the priority, and for now, he couldn't worry too much about that. The arrival of these quality people was more beneficial than harmful.
"What about the wood elves and dwarves?"
"My cousins sent a squad of Forest Guardians and a squad of Eternal Guardians, stationed on the land you marked out for them," Olica said with a hint of disdain and awkwardness, "Overall, they're satisfied with the situation. The presence of these wood elves has attracted a lot of merchants for trade, at least your merchant friend, Oliver, has made a fortune from it. He's now entered the upper echelons of Marienburg society through your connections and trade with the wood elf magnates."
"Don't forget our kin Azur, they are our enemies in Athel Loren! Don't forget our cousin Durthu, he is our enemy in Athel Loren!"
—Wood Elf Nursery Rhyme
"Good," Ryan continued, "What about the dwarves? I see the smithy workshops along the river seem to be expanding quite a bit."
"Runesmith Throngi Fyrinson can now produce over two hundred sets of complete dwarf craftsmanship armor and weapons each month. The business for these ironwares is booming. Just the pre-orders from the wood elves and nearby lords are more than enough to keep up with demand. Consequently, the dwarves have decided to call upon their kin to come and help. To date, more than a dozen dwarves have left the mountains to settle here," Olica gently pressed on Ryan's back, her small hands moving with care. "Dwarves are hard to trust others, but they're willing to trust a Grail Knight, that is, my lord. It's said that many mountain dwarves are intrigued by the outside life, and the Dwarf King of Karak Windbreeze heard your name and did not stop them from leaving."
"Did they allocate a special community for them as I instructed?" Ryan asked next.
"Yes, they did."
"Good." Ryan felt satisfied and did not inquire further. After soaking for a while longer, he stood up from the wooden tub. The scar on his chest was very conspicuous, and the dark elf could tell at a glance that her master had gone through many fierce battles.
However, unlike knights or Amelia and others, the dark elf did not show any worry at seeing this scar. Instead, her face was filled with pride and admiration as she helped Ryan dry off, cheerfully saying, "Such a great master. In the dark and cold Naggaroth, if a dark elf could defeat a Chaos Lord, you would definitely be granted an audience with the Witch King."
"Would he make me a Dreadlord?" Ryan joked.
Olica's expression froze, and she awkwardly shifted her gaze, "I wouldn't know about that."
Ryan did not notice the dark elf's discomfort. He changed into a set of comfortable clothes, hugged Olica close, her cheeks flushing as she embraced him, "Master~ Let's talk about anything else tonight, Princess Morgiana is waiting for you."
"Alright! I'm going to deliver the things now." Ryan carried the hot water and towels up to the third floor's prayer room.
The prayer room, under Olica's supervision, had been refurbished once again. The sanctum of the Lake Fairy and the shrine remained unchanged, but the walls were now adorned with wallpaper and paintings, and the floor was covered with carpets.
Morgiana sat on the room's large bed, her long dress touching the floor. Seeing Ryan enter with a bucket of water and towels, she complained a bit, "Why only now?"
"Sorry, my princess, I had to wash up before I dared to see you," Ryan placed the bucket and towels down, casually asking, "Would you like to join me and my subordinates for dinner tonight?"
"No, just bring the dinner here," Morgiana took off her soft boots and sighed softly, thanking him in a gentler tone, "Regardless, thank you, Ryan, for defeating the Chaos Lord and for my sake as well."
"It's my honor, my princess," Ryan bowed gentlemanly and then left.
"Wait..." Morgiana wanted to say something more to Ryan, but he had already closed the door and left.
Coming down from the third floor, the tax collector, Gaspard, immediately found Ryan, "My baron, there are matters that require your attention."
Ranger Knight Oliver also popped up from one side, "My baron, I also have an immature suggestion."
"Let's discuss it in the office, Gaspard," Ryan signaled for them to talk while walking.
"The tax revenue for the first quarter has already exceeded 500 gold crowns, my baron," Gaspard said with a pleased expression, following behind Ryan, "My suggestion is to allocate a part of it to upgrade our sergeants' equipment."
"That's exactly what I was going to say, my baron. There's been a band of thieves in the Chalon Forest recently, and my suggestion is to let me lead a force to eliminate them," Oliver followed behind Ryan.
The three entered the office, Ryan sitting in the baron's seat and signaling his tax collector and ranger knight to sit, "Have the sergeants been equipped with enough hand crossbows?"
"Yes, my baron. With the help of the dwarves, the sergeants are now fully equipped with dwarf-made breastplates and dwarf hand crossbows," Oliver continued, "The range of these dwarf hand crossbows is longer than that of serf archers but shorter than Bastonne longbowmen."
Ryan nodded, "Give me a brief on the bandits, Oliver."
The ranger knight laid out a map, pointing to an area in the Chalon Forest towards the Duchy of Bastonne, "Recently, a band calling themselves 'the Brotherhood of Berelac' has gathered in the Chalon Forest. Led by a notorious serf fugitive, they ambush travelers and merchants. Interestingly, these bandits never kill or rob people outright; they only take a small portion of the passerby's belongings and then let them go. They even claim to be 'Robin Hoods' and often leave the forest to aid struggling serfs, making it difficult for Bastonne knights to subdue them, eventually leading to an impasse."
"Pff! These bandits understand the concept of sustainable development?" Ryan laughed.
Gaspard and Oliver were puzzled, sustainable development?
The baron did not explain, and Oliver, not daring to pause, noted Ryan's increasing aura of authority. The ranger knight coughed and continued, "Anyway, I suggest we dispatch troops to eliminate these bandits. However, they are quite strong, especially their leader, dressed in green, known as Robin Hood Bertrand. It's said he can shoot a pegasus in the eye with a single arrow."
"Mm, let's not rush this. It's the time for spring plowing, and it wouldn't be good to call up troops now. Let's send scouts to gather intelligence first," Ryan made a tentative decision, "I hope for a year of recuperation. The decision to dispatch troops must be carefully considered."
"Is..." Seeing Ryan had no intention of dispatching troops, Oliver was somewhat disappointed, as military achievements and glory were the ladders to promotion. Ryan currently had two vacant kingdom knight positions, and several ranger knights were quietly competing.
After dealing with the accumulated internal affairs, it was already evening.
After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, Ryan knocked on the third-floor prayer room door, "Princess Morgiana? I've brought dinner."
"Come in."
The update was delayed a bit today because yesterday's three chapters were too draining. Please forgive me.
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