14: Chapter 14 Advanced Battle Qi Techniques! Winter's Tremor!

In the White Cliff Territory, between the ridges of the fields, the winter wheat had shed its withered yellow, replacing it with a bright, tender green that rippled gently in the breeze.

The serfs working in the fields looked at the promising crops, a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

News occasionally arrived from outside about fallen knight orders attacking noble territories. The North seemed to be descending into chaos.

Some free folk from other troubled lands were also dragging their families along to come to this small coastal town.

Rowan stood on the castle tower, gazing at the town below where smoke curled from chimneys, his expression calm.

The details of spring plowing, the resettlement of refugees, the trivial administrative affairs of the territory... He was not good at these, nor did he have the heart to interfere too much.

Butler Henry and a few stewards would handle them.

He had always been clear that his identity and status as a lord were merely tools. In this otherworldly realm possessing extraordinary power, he had only one true pursuit. That was absolute power!

To this end, he needed massive amounts of resources, especially meat containing magic energy.

The body of an Official Knight was like a high-efficiency furnace; every operation of the Breathing Technique and every refinement of his swordsmanship burned energy crazily.

The meager output of his territory was far from enough. The Mess Mountains had thus become his exclusive hunting ground.

In the afternoon, Rowan led a team into the outskirts of the mountains again.

Beneath his feet lay years of accumulated rotting leaves. Overhead, the intertwined canopy filtered down mottled sunlight. The air was permeated with a faint scent of blood.

"Puchi!" The blade of the Frost sword sank cleanly and decisively into the eye socket of a newly matured Rock-backed Boar, and cold Battle Qi instantly surged in, freezing its brain matter.

This berserk beast, nearly a meter high at the shoulder, crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dead leaves. Rowan withdrew his sword and shook off the blood droplets. His movements were concise, without a trace of excess.

Three months of bitter cultivation and frequent hunting had made dealing with beasts of this level as natural as breathing for him.

[Winter Oath-Keeper Swordsmanship Proficiency +1]

Immediately after— [Winter Oath-Keeper Swordsmanship lv2 (0/2000)]

His swordsmanship had broken through!

The sword hummed, the ice crystals condensing on its surface becoming finer and denser, and the temperature of the surrounding air dropped quietly. Not only that, a large amount of new insights regarding the application of swordsmanship flooded into his mind.

"Winter Tremor..." Rowan recited this term in his heart.

This was not a new sword move, but a high-level Battle Qi application technique naturally comprehended after the Winter Oath-Keeper Swordsmanship touched the threshold of the Frost Heart Realm.

It could oscillate and superimpose Battle Qi at a special frequency, erupting the moment it hit the target. It not only caused physical frostbite but could also send extreme cold directly into the enemy's interior, freezing blood, embrittling bones, and disintegrating defenses from within. Simple, brutal, and lethal.

Sheathing his sword, he curled his lips into an indifferent arc, preparing to call the hunting team to process the boar's carcass.

Just at this moment, "Awoo—!!!" "Roar—!!!"

Two distinct yet equally wild and berserk roars erupted suddenly from the deeper mountain forests of the canyon! Immediately following were the responses of countless wolf howls, as well as the angry and pained wails of some giant beast!

The direction from which the sound came was not far from here. Terrifying sound waves reverberated through the mountains. Countless birds were startled into flight.

Rowan's expression changed slightly. He raised his hand directly and made a fist. Behind him, the hunter Finn and the other four hunters stopped all movements instantly upon seeing this, their gazes uniformly fixed on him.

"Up the trees. Silence." Rowan issued the order concisely.

The five did not hesitate, moving like agile apes as they quickly climbed the nearest sturdy spruces, using the dense branches and leaves to hide their figures. Rowan also tapped the ground lightly, leaped onto a horizontal branch, and looked toward the source of the sound.

After a moment of dead silence, there followed the rustling sound of running, mixed with the helpless whimpers of a young beast.

Three fluffy, Frost-white shadows stumbled out from behind the dense thicket. They were running blindly, already the size of small calves, round-headed and chubby, covered in thick white fur, but stained with grass clippings and mud.

Hunter Finn, lying on the branch of another tree, suddenly widened his eyes, so excited he almost cried out. He looked in Rowan's direction and whispered urgently, "My Lord! These are Frost Sea Giant Bear cubs! Alive! One... one can sell for at least a hundred gold coins!"

A hundred gold coins. Rowan's eyes narrowed. One had to know that the annual output of his territory was only a little over a hundred gold coins. But before he could think it through— "Awoo—!" The wolf howls rose again!

This time, they were closer, the sounds filled with the excitement and cruelty of the hunt. Branches and leaves swayed as at least a dozen lithe, silver-gray figures darted through the forest like ghosts, flanking toward the direction the bear cubs were fleeing!

It was a pack of Silver-blood Wolves! And judging by the scale, it was definitely not a small group.

Rowan's brows tightened slightly. But he did not hesitate. His hand reached behind his back, taking his bow and nocking an arrow. His movements were smooth and flowing.

The Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique operated accordingly, injecting Frost Battle Qi into the arrow, instantly locking onto the few Silver-blood Wolves charging in the front.

Silent Pilgrimage · Silent Speech Arrow! Three arrows fired at once! Yet not a sound was emitted. The arrow shadows passed through the gaps in the trees. "Puff! Puff! Puff!"

The three Silver-blood Wolves charging at the front stiffened, a burst of blood exploding from their foreheads, mixed with scattering ice crystals. Then they collapsed to the ground without a sound. The wounds did not spray blood, only dark red ice shards.

The momentum of the wolf pack's charge faltered. The remaining Silver-blood Wolves stopped in terror, beginning to pace back and forth, hesitant to advance. Their eerie green eyes scanned the surroundings with suspicion and uncertainty. They hadn't even discovered where the arrows had come from.

But Rowan did not stop. The bowstring vibrated again, and another three Silent Speech Arrows swept out silently. Equally precise, equally lethal. Three more wolves were killed in an instant.

This time, the wolf pack was completely thrown into chaos. Growling, they began to retreat rapidly, leaving the area.

Up in the trees, the other five hunters watched, dumbstruck. They knew their Lord's archery was godlike, but he usually used swordsmanship when hunting. Witnessing this god-like archery again this time, they still felt a shock that resonated from their very souls.

Rowan put away his bow. His gaze swept across the direction the wolf pack had retreated. He looked again at the three bear cubs, which were shivering and curled up in a ball.

"Finn." He spoke.

"My Lord!" Finn responded quickly.

"Take the bear cubs and return to the castle immediately. Take the valley; avoid the direction of the wolf pack." Rowan ordered.

"Yes! But my Lord, you..." Finn looked at Rowan and asked with some hesitation.

"This wolf pack is too close to the territory," Rowan said indifferently, "I am going to take care of it."

Hearing this, the hunters looked at each other, but said nothing more; they just nodded and obeyed the order. Several people slid down the trees quickly, used the ropes and sacks they had brought to quickly seize the three terrified bear cubs, and then retreated without looking back.

Rowan watched them disappear into the forest before turning his gaze back to the direction the wolf pack had retreated.