161: Chapter 161 Bradley

The Water Marsh Forest was a small forest located in the southwestern border region.

Flanking the forest were the Western Frontier Territory and tribal forces, respectively, serving as a small natural barrier.

However, the abundance of magic beasts and wild animals within it led to frequent attacks on Serfs by the surrounding powers, posing a significant threat.

Recently, however, these magic beasts and wild animals had become somewhat more subdued because the frontier lord Primo Defoe and the Giant Elephant Tribe were fighting tooth and nail over the ownership of the Earth Dragon Fish.

Originally, both sides had been in a state of mutual non-interference, but after investigations confirmed the existence of Earth Dragon Fish in the forest's lake, the fuse was naturally lit.

The battle between the two sides was intense; they were factions that already had no goodwill toward each other, so their strikes were exceptionally ruthless.

In comparison, however, the Giant Elephant Tribe was considerably more powerful, possessing Totem Warriors equivalent to Early-Rank Silver Knights.

In contrast, Primo's subordinate knights included only one Early-Rank Silver Knight, and in terms of the combat power of other Bronze-level knights, he was completely inferior to the Giant Elephant Tribe.

Consequently, after a series of battles, Primo's side quickly suffered significant losses, leaving him feeling extremely enraged.

But the preciousness of the Earth Dragon Fish went without saying, and he truly could not bear to give it up. Thus, after much deliberation...

He sought out his two neighbors, Lords Raglan and Malz, and formed a partnership with them on the condition of an equal split.

In this way, in terms of overall combat power, they were no longer inferior to the Giant Elephant Tribe and were even slightly stronger.

However, as both sides committed more and more people to the fight, the commotion of the battle grew louder, attracting the attention of some surrounding lords and tribal forces.

After discovering the cause of the conflict through investigation, these factions also began to harbor their own designs, sending troops into the Water Marsh Forest under various pretexts.

For a time, the entire Water Marsh Forest welcomed a bustling atmosphere it had never seen before.

At this moment, a Knight Squad composed of over a dozen people quietly appeared in the eastern region of the Water Marsh Forest.

“Spartacus, you go scout ahead first.”

Looking at the Water Marsh Forest before him, draped in a thick coat of snow, Lister gave the order.

Spartacus had just arrived alone from Telris yesterday afternoon.

At a normal horse's pace, he wouldn't have been able to cover the distance from Telris to the Iron Thorn Territory Branch so quickly.

However, before he left Telris, Rachel had gifted him a top-quality steed. Thus, by traveling at full speed, he was able to arrive so many days ahead of schedule.

In truth, he didn't need to arrive so quickly, but his heart of loyalty to Lister made him want to reach Lister's side to serve as soon as possible.

Of course, there was also the point that having been away from Lister for so long, he was afraid his position as one of the two personal guards would be snatched away; if that happened, he would truly be wearing a mask of pain.

Lister was unaware of his inner thoughts, but even if he knew, he would only smile dismissively.

After all, with Spartacus's strength, how could Lister possibly leave him on the sidelines?

“By your command, Lord Lister,” Spartacus answered respectfully, then tightened his reins and galloped toward the interior of the forest.

Watching his back gradually disappear into the darkness, Lister's mind was filled with a thousand thoughts.

Through just a few days of interaction, Rachel had completely lost her heart to Spartacus, and Spartacus was also very fond of her.

Furthermore, under Isabelle's introduction, the head of the Mandy Family and Rachel's father, Bradley, had also met Spartacus.

Upon learning that his daughter had made a Silver Knight friend and that they seemed to be getting along very well, Bradley's smile was so wide his mouth could hardly close.

Although the Mandy Family had many industries and had accumulated a vast amount of wealth, in the eyes of those nobles, they were merely low-status people with some money.

In contrast, nobles not only possessed great wealth but were also backed by powerful forces.

Those knights also held the status of minor nobility within the kingdom, as the kingdom was, after all, dominated by knights.

Therefore, even for many wealthy merchants, wanting to employ their own knights was a very difficult task.

Moreover, most knights were unwilling to be employed by merchants, even if the merchants could provide them with financial assistance or use money to help them purchase cultivation resources.

At the root of it was the fact that a merchant's status in the kingdom was not high; being employed by them was equivalent to debasing one's own status.

Such a self-deprecating practice would easily lead to them being ostracized and despised by a large number of knights within knightly circles.

Furthermore, this would have a very unfavorable impact on their future development.

If a knight wanted a higher ceiling for development, then pledging loyalty to a lord or the kingdom's official authorities was the only proper path.

In other words, one was being employed by the government, while the other was being employed by a private enterprise—and a low-status one at that. The stakes involved were very clear.

Thus, even though the Mandy Family had no small amount of wealth, it was difficult for them to befriend powerful knights; even a High-Rank Bronze Knight was not easy to come by.

Let alone a Silver Knight, who would have a place even in a Viscount Territory.

Therefore, Rachel being able to befriend Spartacus would be of great help to the Mandy Family, and their influence would also be different.

What surprised Bradley the most was that Spartacus was actually so young, not even eighteen years old.

He knew very well what a Silver Knight of such an age represented. If no accidents occurred, there was even a high probability of him becoming a Golden Knight in the future.

If such a genius knight with extremely high talent could become his son-in-law, then the Mandy Family's future would also be incomparable to the past.

Isabelle had already seen through Bradley's thoughts, and things were indeed proceeding as she had anticipated.

So, she immediately proposed the suggestion to Bradley regarding the Mandy Family pledging loyalty to Lister.

After discussing it with the core members of the family, Bradley decided to lead the Mandy Family in swearing fealty to Lister.

This was not only because of the relationship between Spartacus and Rachel but also because of the rapid development the Cole Family had seen recently due to daily necessities like bath products.

He was very well aware of how his old friend Kim had recently led the Cole Family to make a fortune by vigorously selling bath products and other daily necessities.

In this regard, he had also asked Kim many times about the source of these items, but Kim had always laughed it off and bypassed the question.

Upon learning that these items were all personally developed by Lister, Bradley's thoughts of pledging loyalty became even more firm.

To be honest, when he first learned that the Cole Family had pledged loyalty to a Baron lord, he was truly shocked.

After all, with the Cole Family's commercial strength, they could have completely pledged loyalty to a Viscount lord with decent power, which could have brought them more benefits.

But after the explanations from Kim and Isabelle, he realized that he had been looking at the world from the bottom of a well.

Given Lister's age and ability, he believed that if he continued to develop, Lister could definitely become a rising star among the kingdom's lords.

Adding flowers to a bouquet is not as good as providing charcoal in the snow. Right now was the crucial period for the development of the Ironthorn Territory; if the Mandy Family could swear fealty at this time...

Then in the future, when Lister developed the Ironthorn Territory, the Mandy Family would also receive supreme glory along with him.

Such examples were not unheard of in the Pedan Kingdom; in history, many merchant families had elevated their family to a higher class by hoarding rare commodities and betting on the right people.

As the current head of the Mandy Family, Bradley naturally harbored this extravagant hope and ambition, and now that this opportunity had come before him, he naturally could not let it go.

Thus, Lister's vassal families had currently gone from one to two, and before Spartacus left, the Mandy Family had already begun to fully assist the Cole Family in selling bath products and other daily necessities.

Lister naturally kept the contributions of Kim and Isabelle, as well as Bradley's early efforts, in his heart.

According to what Spartacus said, Bradley would follow up by rushing to the Iron Thorn Territory Branch as soon as possible to complete his oath of fealty to Lister.

Although this matter was time-consuming and laborious, it was a sacred ritual that a vassal must perform for the one they serve; otherwise, they could not fully gain the trust of the person they pledged to.

The howling cold wind blew as Lister and the others waited by the fire on the spot.

About an hour later, the 'clatter-clatter' of horse hooves sounded from within the forest, and Spartacus's figure emerged.

Dismounting and quickly approaching Lister, Spartacus reported respectfully: “Lord Lister, I have completed the reconnaissance.”

“Currently, there are multiple factions in the Water Marsh Forest competing for ownership of the Earth Dragon Fish in the lake. Aside from the main competing parties—Lords Primo, Raglan, Malz, and the Giant Elephant Tribe...”

“There are seven other forces: five lord factions and two tribal factions. Among them, the strongest are Lord Cronin and the Flame Tiger Tribe.”

“The former has two Early-Rank Silver Knights, and the latter has two Medium-Rank Elementary Totem Warriors. The seven forces are each entrenched around the lake but are still in a wait-and-see stage.”

Earth Dragon Fish!

Red and the others couldn't help but show looks of surprise. Although they knew Lister wouldn't bring them out for no reason...

They hadn't expected Lister's target this time to be a precious creature like the Earth Dragon Fish.

For a moment, everyone's faces showed expressions of excitement.

Lister, however, remained calm. The intelligence Spartacus gathered was similar to a piece of divination information he had received this morning, but Spartacus's information was more detailed.

He still couldn't help but feel a bit surprised by the strength of these lordly factions.

Two Early-Rank Silver Knights!

This level of strength was already considered a very powerful force among the frontier lords of the West.

But on second thought, since this was already at the edge of the Western Frontier Territory, it didn't seem quite so strange.

After all, any frontier lord who dared to choose this piece of land must be confident in their own strength; otherwise, coming here would be seeking death.

According to what Spartacus said, the forces currently entrenched in the Water Marsh Forest had a combined top combat power of over a dozen Silver Knights.

With the overall strength of him, Red, and the others right now, they certainly couldn't directly intimidate them.

Moreover, most of the forces were frontier lords, and Lister had no grievances with them, so it was naturally impossible to make enemies of them for no reason.

In this peripheral area of the Western Frontier Territory, frontier lords still needed to maintain stable relations; otherwise, who could guarantee they wouldn't need the other's help in the future?

Therefore, if Lister wanted to obtain the Earth Dragon Fish now, he could only adopt other methods and avoid leaving a bad impression on those frontier lords.

After thinking for a while, Lister ordered: “The forces currently in the Water Marsh Forest are primarily frontier lords; it is not advisable for us to make enemies of them.”

“My suggestion is to first stir up a commotion among the magic beasts and wild animals in the Water Marsh Forest to create some threat and impact for them. For the item to cause the disturbance, we will use the ordinary blood of the Black Flame Demon Bear.”

“Then, Aier, you and the others will take the opportunity to spread news of the discovery of purple soul fruit to draw their attention.”

“Given the preciousness of the purple soul fruit, it should be enough to lure them away. Even if not all are lured away, those remaining will be affected by the magic beast disturbance.”

“At that time, Red and I will take advantage of the chaos to dive into the lake to find and kill that Earth Dragon Fish.”

“This is just a brief plan of action. There may be many changes in the middle, requiring everyone to adapt as they see fit.”

“But while executing the mission, you must first ensure your own safety. I do not wish for anyone to be harmed because of this mission.”

“It's still early. Once night falls, everyone will begin their respective tasks.”

As the orders were handed down one by one, Red and the others also understood what they had to do.

After a full meal, everyone began making preparations before the arrival of night to ensure nothing would go wrong.

Meanwhile, inside the Water Marsh Forest.

In a camp jointly built by the three lords, Primo, Raglan, and Malz sat around a campfire inside the lord's tent.

“Primo, this can't go on,” Malz, who had a rugged face, said after taking a sip of hot wine.

“We have been fighting the Giant Elephant Tribe for a long time and have lost many men.”

“Even if the combined strength of our three sides is slightly stronger than the Giant Elephant Tribe, the advantage is limited. We won't be able to take them down in a short time, and even if we do, we will suffer great losses.”

“Moreover, many forces have already gathered in the surrounding area; even Cronin and the Flame Tiger Tribe have come.”

“If we continue to fight the Giant Elephant Tribe like this, the final owner of the Earth Dragon Fish definitely won't be us.”

The fair-faced and handsome Raglan nodded in agreement: “Malz is right. We must change our approach. Making things easier for others is not my style.”

“I understand everything you're saying,” said Primo, who had sharp eyes and a powerful, martial appearance.

“The current situation is indeed very unfavorable for us, but no matter what, we cannot give up on the Earth Dragon Fish.”

“As for the frontier lord forces gathered around, every one of them wants a free ride. I naturally won't let them have their way.”

As he spoke, a potion bottle appeared out of thin air in his hand, containing flowing black-Red blood that emitted a dense, oppressive aura.

“Could this be——”