1: "Good news"

“I have good news,” Evil Wolf Earl William’s voice was as cold and hard as iron, echoing in the study.

From his father’s stern expression, Arthur could not discern any hint of exciting news.

After all, as the youngest son of the family and a notorious playboy, Arthur had, in his short eighteen years of life, perfectly embodied the image of a dissolute young master.

The nobles in Esputa, the political center of eastern Amn, unanimously believed that if this philandering young man, whose energy rivaled that of a stud horse, were allowed to stay any longer, even their seventy-year-old mothers might fall victim.

Thus, a month ago, he was successfully expelled from the local noble circles and had to return to the family’s territory in disgrace.

On his way back, this noble scion, showing off by racing his horse, eventually fell and died, allowing Xing Ze, who had transmigrated, to take advantage of the situation.

Arthur, carried back to the castle, naturally brought great shame upon the family, which was why every wrinkle on Evil Wolf Earl’s face hid his displeasure with this “useless son.”

William continued with a straight face, “My application to the Amn Supreme Council for your title has been approved.”

“From today onwards, you are the Baron of Qingfeng Valley. Attend the inauguration ceremony of the New Temple, then set off for your post immediately.”

These words were like a heavy hammer, finally crushing Arthur’s hanging heart.

He never expected that, less than a month after transmigrating to Faerûn, he would be sent as a political pawn to that dangerous place, known as the “Baron’s Graveyard.”

Qingfeng Valley is located in the eastern part of the Amn Empire, nestled between Shirmingster Forest and the Snowflaked Mountains.

In the past thirty years, it had seen a total of twenty-eight different Barons.

The term Baron in that place was not a symbol of power and status, but rather synonymous with a consumable item.

After a brief shock, Arthur quickly calmed down.

As his father had said, his letter of appointment was issued by the Amn Supreme Council.

After the Amn Civil War, the merchant coalition overthrew the monarchy and established an oligarchy led by a five-person council.

If he refused to accept the appointment, he would be considered a traitor, and his entire family would suffer for it.

Arthur knew very well that if he refused, without the Supreme Council needing to act, his ruthless father would personally drag him to the council for trial.

So, instead of thinking about how to escape this, he might as well quickly find ways to arm himself and gather all available resources before departing, to increase his chances of survival in that dangerous place.

Seeing his son remain silent for a long time, only looking down at the floor, the Earl couldn’t help but urge, “Did you hear what I said?”

“Stop playing your little tricks; this is an appointment letter from the Amn Supreme Council. No one can stop it, except the Supreme Council itself.”

Arthur looked up and replied, “I understand, Father. This is my honor, and I will not fail the family’s expectations.”

His straightforward answer, however, made his father William ponder—why was this son, who usually caused so much trouble, suddenly so obedient?

Nevertheless, the Earl quickly stopped delving deeper, only wanting to send this troublesome fellow away as soon as possible.

He pushed the letter of appointment and documents over: “Here is the list of supplies provided by the Supreme Council. Go back and review it carefully. Tell me if anything is missing, and the Evil Wolf Family will try its best to provide it.”

Arthur thanked him again and then walked out of the study.

---

If Xing Ze, the transmigrator, had any advantages, it was his exceptional execution ability.

Upon returning to his room, he immediately began planning, but as soon as he opened the letter of appointment, a series of messages suddenly flooded his mind:

Map information loaded, daily intelligence updated:

[Purple Intelligence] The staff of Saint John of the Mother Earth Shanteya Church is about to be destroyed as trash. If returned to the Mother Earth’s statue before noon, Shanteya’s favor can be obtained.

[White Intelligence] Groda Ironfist’s wife, Valentina, gave birth to a son, whose real father is Groda Ironfist’s brother, Rom Ironfist.

[White Intelligence] The Dire Wolf Black Mane will give birth at 10:14 AM today and will die from difficult labor due to an abnormal fetal position.

Arthur took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

As a transmigrator familiar with Dungeons & Dragons settings, he already understood the gods and magic of Faerûn.

So, the sudden appearance of these messages in his mind did not overly surprise him.

His first thought was not a system, but an oracle from a certain deity.

If it were a benevolent god—like Mother Earth Shanteya, worshipped here—kindly helping, that would be a tremendous stroke of luck.

But he feared it might be a prank from some evil god on mortals, which was all too common in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

After a moment of thought, Arthur decided to verify the authenticity of these pieces of intelligence.

After all, practice makes perfect.

The difference in intelligence colors reminded him of the leveling system in modern online games.

White intelligence should be the lowest level—because he already knew Black Mane was about to give birth.

And her stable was in Wolf Fang Keep, so Arthur decided to start there.

---

The stable master was a lean fellow, currently in the house with his four beast trainers, bragging around the fireplace.

Since the Dire Wolf Black Mane was about to give birth, all the stable’s management had been gathered today.

Black Mane was the Earl’s favorite Dire Wolf, having accompanied the Earl through life and death several times, so everyone in the stable was on high alert, fearing any mishap that might incur the Earl’s wrath.

When Arthur entered the room, the stable master’s smile instantly froze.

This infamous young master was always absurd and unpredictable; his visit this time probably boded no good.

But constrained by Arthur’s noble status, the stable master could only greet him with a smile, while silently praying to Mother Earth that he wouldn’t make any strange requests.

After hearing Arthur’s warning, “Black Mane’s fetal position is abnormal, and she will have a difficult labor,” the stable master looked confused.

Abnormal fetal position? Difficult labor?

The veterinarian responsible for the delivery had been on watch for a whole day, checking every two hours; how could there be an oversight?

If these words had come from anyone else, the stable master might have pondered them, but Young Master Arthur… he had already heard suppressed snickers from inside the room.

Everyone’s attitude was within Arthur’s expectations.

Thanks to his years of “diligent cultivation,” his reputation in the family’s territory was already universally disliked and scorned.

If it were him, he probably wouldn’t believe his own words either.

He didn’t expect them to immediately believe him; he just wanted everyone to hear what he said.

It was like the saying, “You don’t know the answer, but the sound of you flipping pages must be loud.”

If the intelligence was true, even if Black Mane couldn’t be saved, he could use it to attract his father’s attention; if he could save Black Mane, that would be a meritorious deed, greatly improving his relationship with his father.

After all, a portion of the funds and manpower for Qingfeng Valley still had to be provided by his Earl father.

If the intelligence was false, it wouldn’t have much impact on him either.

His reputation was already at rock bottom; it couldn’t get any lower.

Seeing the stable master repeatedly give perfunctory answers, Arthur stopped wasting words. He had two more pieces of intelligence waiting to be verified, and he had already planned it out.

Next stop, Mother Earth’s Temple.

Having made up his mind, Arthur left with a remark: “Black Mane is Father’s most valued old companion; being more attentive is always right,” then headed to the stables.

As soon as he left, the beast trainers in the room all burst into laughter, mocking what new madness this good-for-nothing young master was up to today.

Only the veterinarian by the fireplace silently walked to the window, looking thoughtfully towards Black Mane’s hut.