37: Chapter 37 Eternal Judgment! Frost Whisperer! Arctic Star Meteor Arrow!

Inside the Forge and Glory weapon shop, several shop assistants wearing leather aprons were busy at work.

A burly assistant with a burn scar on his face noticed Rowan, who was dressed as a mercenary.

He put down the work in his hands, walked over, and inquired:

"What do you need, guest?"

"A sword, a longbow, and some specially made arrows. I want the good stuff; money is not an issue."

Rowan changed his vocal cords, making his voice raspy, and directly tossed a small bag of gold coins onto the counter with a dull thud.

The assistant weighed the coin bag, and his gaze turned more serious:

"This way, please."

He led Rowan to a boutique display area on one side, where the weapons were clearly more refined; the decorations might be simple, but the materials and craftsmanship were obviously extraordinary at a glance.

"As for swords, these here are masterworks."

"Black Steel Blade. It's mixed with Obsidian Iron, making it sturdy and sharp, suitable for hacking..."

"Flowing Water Rapier. It has a Hundred-Refined Steel Core, flexible and swift, suitable for thrusting..."

"Rock Guard. The blade is thick and broad with a perfect center of gravity, integrating offense and defense..."

Listening to the assistant's introduction, Rowan quietly covered his eyes with battle qi, and his [Insight] trait activated.

His gaze swept over them, finally stopping on a longsword that was a dull silver-gray throughout, its hilt wrapped in some kind of deep blue magic beast hide.

It had no extra decoration, but as it lay quietly on the velvet padding, it naturally emitted a heavy, restrained chill that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.

"eternal silence verdict." The assistant noticed his gaze and introduced it: "The main body of the blade is rare Silent Cold Iron, produced from the Far North Permafrost Vein, naturally possessing the trait of suppressing energy fluctuations and sound."

"It's also mixed with a small amount of Star-fall Silver to increase toughness. It was personally forged by our shop's dwarven master, Copperbeard, and the quenching used the Unmelting Glacial Spring from the core of a thousand-year-old glacier."

"It is nearly silent when swung and has excellent conductivity for battle qi, especially for ice-attribute battle qi, providing a significant bonus."

"It comes with [Armor Break], [Tenacity], and [Frostbite] effects. The price is four hundred and fifty gold coins."

Rowan reached out and picked up the eternal silence verdict.

The sword felt heavy in his hand, but the center of gravity was perfect.

A trace of icy battle qi was injected, and the dull silver-gray of the blade immediately flared with a layer of faint light like frost under the moon; the air around the blade's edge seemed to distort slightly.

He swung it twice, and it emitted a piercing chill.

"A good sword! I'll take this one!" Rowan nodded: "What about longbows?"

"And longbows?"

Upon hearing this, the assistant led him to look at another wall where several longbows of various shapes were hanging.

"Forest Whisper, with a yew wood body and wyrm tendon for the string, it has a long range and high precision..."

"Hurricane Stalker, made of composite materials, featuring accelerated wind-attribute runes, the arrow speed is astonishing..."

The assistant began the routine introductions.

However, Rowan's gaze went directly to the innermost part.

There hung a longbow that was crystal clear throughout, as if carved from pale blue ice crystals.

The curve of the bow's body was elegant and smooth, with silver metal resembling starlight embedded in the tips at both ends.

"frost speaker." The assistant looked where Rowan's gaze landed and introduced it enthusiastically: "This bow is made from Frost-patterned Wood mixed with Ice Soul Crystal powder, and the bowstring is the main tendon of a Frost Giant Spider mixed with mithril thread."

"It has an extremely strong amplification effect on icy battle qi arrows, and the arrows fired carry the [Freezing], [Penetration], and [Ice Trace] traits, and can even guide the arrow's trajectory to a certain extent."

"It also comes from the hands of Master Copperbeard and can be considered a companion piece to the eternal silence verdict. The price is five hundred and sixty gold coins."

Rowan took down the frost speaker; it felt cold to the touch but did not freeze his hands. With a light pull, the bowstring tightened, showing impressive draw weight.

After testing it for a moment, he said succinctly:

"Arrows."

A flash of joy appeared in the assistant's eyes, knowing he had encountered a generous big spender.

He trotted over and pulled out a special cold iron quiver from under the counter, which contained twelve arrows neatly arranged.

He introduced: "extreme cold star-fall arrow, specifically designed to be paired with the frost speaker or similar ice-attribute bows."

"The arrow shafts are made of Cold Iron Wood, and the arrowheads are Polar Cold Steel; upon hitting a target, they will burst with icy piercing power, having extremely strong armor-breaking and killing capabilities."

"A quiver of twelve, including the quiver, is one hundred gold coins. We don't sell them individually."

Rowan looked over.

The arrow shafts were deep blue, and each arrow was inscribed with subtle runes.

Rowan thought for a moment and said: "The eternal silence verdict, the frost speaker, and one quiver of extreme cold star-fall arrows."

The assistant began to calculate rapidly:

"The sword is four hundred and fifty, the bow is five hundred and sixty, and the arrows are one hundred, totaling one thousand one hundred and ten gold coins."

"I can waive the ten-gold-coin remainder for you, sir; you need to pay one thousand one hundred gold coins, or equivalent gems or magic crystals."

Rowan didn't waste words and took out the prepared gold coins.

This expense drained most of his liquid capital, but it was worth it.

After all, to do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools.

Thinking of what he was about to do, a glint of dark light flashed in his eyes.

After the transaction was completed, Rowan left the weapon shop and did not stay in Ice Lake City for long.

He once again changed into the appearance of an unremarkable traveling merchant. This time, his target was to the southeast.

Mist Forest.

Half a day later, he arrived at the edge of the Mist Forest.

The climate here was more humid, and a faint mist lingered in the air year-round.

A sizable town was situated on the gentle slope at the forest entrance, with rows upon rows of gray-white stone buildings.

This was Mist Town.

The core of the Viscount Gladstone's fief.

It was also the outpost and supply point for entering the Mist Forest to collect medicinal herbs, hunt magic beasts, and explore mineral resources.

The town was very prosperous.

The streets were filled with all sorts of people.

Hunters carrying carcasses of prey, peddlers pushing carts full of herbs and minerals, wary-eyed mercenaries, travel-worn merchants...

Rowan led his horse and followed the flow of people into the town. Then, he found an inn that appeared to be named Forest Traveler and checked in.

After settling in, he walked down the stairs to the bustling public tavern area, ordered a glass of cheap ale and a plate of stew, found a corner seat, and ate slowly while listening to the surrounding conversations.

He had come here to gauge Viscount Gladstone's strength.

The rough rim of the glass touched his lips, and the bitter taste of the ale spread in his mouth.

"Damn it, the Gray Mane Mercenary Group lost three good hands on the east side of the forest this time, all for a Moonlight Moss that wasn't even of age!"

"Be satisfied; the guys from Poison Fang only carried back shredded meat yesterday, they didn't even see what bit them..."

"Buying pelts! Prime Shadow Wolf pelts, only trading for healing medicine or untraceable coins!"

"I heard the Iron and Blood Chamber of Commerce is going to raise the escort commission for entering the forest next month? Those vampires!"

"Old Buck's daughter was noticed by a manager in Lord Gladstone's castle; I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse..."

Most of it was the complaints of adventurers, the trades of merchants, and the trivial matters of townsfolk.

Rowan listened quietly without a hint of impatience.

He silently compared the news he heard with the information he had collected previously. Soon, an outline of Gladstone's forces emerged in his mind.

It truly is a very wealthy territory; no wonder that Viscount Gladstone would use any means necessary to seize his original portion of the Mist Forest territory.

While Rowan was thinking carefully.

Suddenly, at a table near the bar, several men clearly dressed as local hunters raised their voices abruptly because of the ale and a certain topic, drowning out the surrounding noise.

"...It's absolutely true! My cousin was in the perimeter guard team at the time!" A man with a full beard stared with bloodshot eyes and slammed the table:

"The young master... sigh, Little Gladstone, took that flashy guard team of his and insisted on going to Ghost Howl Valley to try his luck, saying he wanted to hunt a Moonshadow Leopard as a gift for the Count's daughter. And the result?"

The others at the table all showed expressions of schadenfreude.

"What happened? Tell us quickly, Huck!"

The person next to him urged.

The bearded man, Huck, gulped down a large mouthful of liquor, wiped his mouth, and lowered his voice slightly: "The result was they didn't see a leopard but ran into a Razor Lynx!"

"Damn it, that beast didn't know what it had eaten; it was freakishly large, more than two sizes bigger than usual!"

"Its fur was shiny black, and its eyes were like two clusters of ghost fire! That knight guard the young master brought from the county city had his guts ripped out in a single encounter!"

A chorus of cold gasps sounded around the table.

"And then? The young master..."

"Then? Then the guard team fell into chaos! That lynx was as fast as a shadow, its claws sharper than fine steel daggers, tearing through the formation in a few strikes."

"The young master tried to run but was pounced on from behind by that beast..." Huck shook his head, a complex expression on his face, whether it was pity or something else:

"By the time Lord Derek arrived with the follow-up forces, there was only a floor of shredded meat and the distant shadow of that beast left. The young master... they couldn't even piece together a complete corpse."

"Hiss—can a Razor Lynx grow that big? And be so fierce?"

"It's wicked! I think that patch of forest has been off lately; last month the old hunter Morris also said he heard strange noises inside and saw some claw prints that shouldn't be in that area..."

"This has really stirred up a hornet's nest! Lord Gladstone only has two adult sons, right?"

"Exactly! I heard the Lord was hosting a Tax Officer from the county city at the castle at the time; when he heard the news, he crushed his glass on the spot!"

Another thin, small man who seemed well-informed chimed in; he had clearly drunk a lot, and his tongue was a bit thick:

"Before dawn the next day, the Lord personally donned his armor and took Knight Derek, along with the strongest team of Black Armored Guards from the castle, and charged into the forest with murderous intent!

"Looking at that posture, he will absolutely not return until he has skinned and deboned that beast!"

"The Lord went personally? That really is... he's truly enraged." Someone remarked.

"How could he not be? His son died in the forest of his own territory; if word gets out, where would he put his face?" The thin man curled his lip:

"However, I heard that beast might not be simple. Some herb gatherers who escaped from the depths of the forest said they saw similar huge black shadows in further places, and more than one..."

"They heard strange noises like a baby crying and a woman laughing; it's very eerie. It's probably some mutated magic beast, or... something even more sinister..."

"Shh! Stop talking nonsense! Drink, drink!"

...

After hearing the conversation, Rowan's eyes lit up.

He had heard the news he wanted.

Viscount Gladstone's son had died in the Mist Forest.

The Viscount himself, taking his capable vassal Knight Derek and the castle's elite guards, had already entered the forest for revenge.

Looking at it this way, the defenses of Gladstone Castle must currently be empty.

A bold plan instantly took shape in Rowan's mind.

...