39: Another windfall!

"Awoo~!"

Accompanied by a wolf's howl, Lister's blood boiled as white mist slowly rose from his body.

At this moment, he felt as if his body had plunged into a hot spring amidst extreme cold and snow. The comfortable sensation made him let out a long sigh: "Refreshing!"

Bronze Rank 2!

After so many days of cultivation, he had finally taken another step forward. Although the speed wasn't considered very fast, he was already very satisfied.

The next moment, the sounds of congratulations and praise from Red and the others rang out.

"Lord Lister, congratulations on your breakthrough!"

"The Baron is mighty!"

...After scanning the surroundings with a smile, Lister looked at Daisna, who had walked up to him.

"Congratulations, Lister!" Daisna congratulated him with a smile.

Lister said with a smile, "Thank you!"

Daisna brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and said softly, "I was watching your cultivation just now. I heard your Breathing Technique accompanied by a wolf's cry, and your aura was very strong. Its quality should be at the Rare rank, right?"

"That's right." Lister nodded slightly and continued, "This is my family's 'Silver Wolf Breathing Technique'. Without its help, it would have been difficult for me to break through to Bronze Rank 2 so quickly."

Daisna shook her head and said seriously, "You're being too modest. Based on what I've seen since childhood, comparing my father and other knights in the Tulip Territory..."

"Your advancement speed might not be that fast, but your foundation is very solid. This will play a crucial role in your key breakthroughs later on."

"Some knights in the Tulip Territory were like this. They might have fallen behind in the early stages because they were building their foundation, but later on, they achieved even greater accomplishments."

"Then I'll take your word for it," Lister said with a delighted smile.

In fact, he had thought the same before, but hearing it now from the well-traveled Daisna made him feel even more reassured.

Of course, there was another thing to be happy about today. Besides his breakthrough to Bronze Rank 2, another Apprentice Knight, Buck Rupert, had also advanced to Bronze Knight—a double blessing.

Counting it up, since arriving in the Ironthorn Territory, he had gone from having only three Bronze Knights...

...to becoming a lord of modest strength with one Silver Knight and six Bronze Knights.

While he might not compare to the second or third-generation descendants of those great nobles, compared to most other Barons, he was definitely very powerful.

Even a few Viscounts were inferior to him in terms of top-tier knight combat power... The moon was bright and stars were few, and nightingales chirped.

Sitting on his bed, after summarizing the day's affairs of the territory, Lister shifted his thoughts, and three pieces of divination information slowly emerged on the blank pages of the floating book before his eyes.

[Divination 1: Recently, a Reverse Cold Wave suddenly descended upon a small part of the Northern Wilderness. Several Orc tribes in the area failed to prepare in time, resulting in massive damage to their stored winter supplies. There were 237 deaths and injuries, sparking internal turmoil.]

[Divination 2: The Soldier you sent to the Tulip Territory to deliver a letter, Tony Matthew, was attacked by a low-level magic beast while passing through a mountain range. Fortunately, he escaped safely with only minor injuries.]

[Divination 3: Tomorrow afternoon, in the market of Leni Town in the Black Bear Territory, a merchant at a stall in the northwest corner will mistakenly sell a Spirit Essence Flower as an ordinary flower.]

A Reverse Cold Wave, simply put, is a Cold Wave returning in the opposite direction, but such a situation rarely occurs.

The losses and casualties suffered by the Orc Race in the Northern Wilderness might increase the frequency of their raids on the kingdom's border fortresses.

However, this had no impact on Lister. After a brief glance, he looked at the second piece of divination information.

Magic beast attack!

When these words appeared, his heart skipped a beat, but he breathed a sigh of relief upon reading further.

Fortunately, he escaped. However, he made a mental note of this messenger Soldier, Tony Matthew.

Being able to escape from a magic beast attack, even if it was low-level, showed that his abilities and qualities were decent; perhaps he was worth cultivating.

Then, shifting his gaze to the third piece of divination information, his face immediately lit up with joy.

A pie has fallen from the sky again!

The Spirit Essence Flower is a rare resource that can enhance Spiritual Power. For him, who was about to prepare to cultivate Wizardry, it was definitely an excellent item.

Moreover, it appeared in the territory of Baron Daniel, the fellow who had once tried to embezzle funds in his territory.

Lister already had no favorable impression of that man and had been thinking of finding an opportunity to punish him.

Now it was perfect; this Spirit Essence Flower would be considered a bit of 'interest' collected from him.

Yawning, Lister gradually fell into a deep sleep accompanied by the soft moonlight... Early the next morning, Lister woke up in the piercing sunlight. Having become a transcendent professional, he felt no lingering drowsiness after waking up.

As soon as he opened his door, he saw Red standing respectfully outside. He heard him say respectfully, "Lord Lister, I wish you a good morning."

Lister looked curious and asked, "Red, is there something the matter?"

"In response to Lord Lister, while Locke was leading the Soldiers on patrol last night, they caught a man sneaking suspiciously into Ironthorn Town. He is currently being held at the camp, awaiting your disposal," Red replied.

"Someone sneaked in!" Lister's expression changed slightly, and his tone carried a hint of urgency: "Let's go take a look."

Soon, the two arrived at the camp. Upon seeing Lister, a chorus of greetings rang out.

Lister waved his hand and walked to a pillar not far away. Bound to the pillar was a man about thirty years old, wearing black linen clothes.

He was currently unconscious, with some bloodstains on him. It was unclear whether they were his or someone else's.

Lister looked at Red beside him and asked, "Have you found out his identity? And what's the deal with the bloodstains on him?"

"In response to Lord Lister," Red stepped forward and said respectfully, "we interrogated him after catching him late last night, but he's very stubborn and hasn't said anything."

"The bloodstains were already there before he was caught, but I've checked—his body isn't injured. So the blood should be someone else's. Furthermore, I sensed a thick murderous aura from him."

"Murderous aura?" Lister pondered for a moment. After a while, he continued, "Have you searched him?"

"Because his identity is uncertain, I did not dare to search him without authorization," Red replied respectfully.

Lister nodded slightly and said, "Search him."

"Yes."

As soon as the words fell, Red began to fumble around the man's body. Halfway through, his expression suddenly changed.

He pulled out a blood-stained small black bag from the man's chest, and a dense bloody smell wafted out from within.

"This smell..." Lister couldn't help but cover his nose.

The next moment, Red opened the mouth of the bag and rolled it down. An unidentified soft tissue emitting a nauseating odor appeared before everyone's eyes.