63: hardworking porter

When Wren arrived, he saw Ross, Eric, and five other Magic Wolf Knights watching one or two hundred Kobolds mining.

Dozens of Cavalry Squad members were mining hard on the other side. By now, quite a bit of iron ore had already been piled up.

"Lord!"

"The Kobolds occupying the iron mine wanted to surrender. Seeing that they were still useful, I accepted their surrender and had them help with the mining."

Wren was very pleased that Ross had such a sharp mind.

"Well done, Ross. I didn't expect you to be able to subdue these Kobolds. With this group of Kobolds helping to mine, we can harvest a lot of iron ore this time."

With more hands, the mined iron ore soon filled Wren's spatial ring.

As soon as it was full, Wren rode Reck and rushed to the Black Iron Territory pier. Kent had not yet arrived when he got there; the speed of rowing upstream was far slower than Wren's speed.

Wren did not wait for Kent. He deposited all the iron ore from the spatial ring at the pier and returned directly to the iron mining area to continue collecting ore.

By the time he reached the pier on his second trip, Kent had arrived with the cargo ship.

Wren used the spatial ring to quickly load the iron ore onto the cargo ship.

The spatial ring could transport over a hundred tons of iron ore in one trip. Wren had transported over two hundred tons in two trips, which happened to fill the cargo ship.

Kent was startled to see the ship full of iron ore, but he quickly reacted and told everyone to be ready and wait for the Lord's orders.

"Kent, you return now, but don't enter the pier when you get back. After entering the territory, wait for me a few kilometers upstream from the pier."

"No one on the ship should say too much; just do your jobs. I'll have rewards for everyone once we're done."

"Yes, Lord!"

Kent immediately understood that the Lord didn't want the outsiders at the pier to know what was being transported on the ship.

After making the arrangements, Wren returned to the iron mining area.

Looking at the sizable iron mine before him, Wren was incredibly envious.

"Such a good rich ore deposit, and it's a semi-open-pit mine with high iron content too. If only it belonged to me."

The iron mine in the Black Iron Territory was excellent in every respect; the only drawback was that no high-quality ore resources had been discovered. It hadn't even reached the Black Iron Rank; it was all ordinary iron ore.

Being just ordinary iron ore, the value of this mining area was greatly reduced, but for Wren, it was still a rare fortune.

After filling the spatial ring again, Wren returned alone to the Red River Territory. After dumping the iron ore into the warehouse, he went to the place he had agreed upon with Kent.

Kent’s speed sailing downstream was much faster than when he came. Wren arrived to find him already waiting for a while.

Kent wanted to unload the iron ore himself, but Wren stopped him.

Manually unloading these two hundred tons of iron ore wouldn't even be finished in half a day. Using the spatial ring to collect and release was a matter of a blink of an eye, so there was naturally no need to waste manpower.

In just a couple of trips to the warehouse, Wren had cleared all the iron ore from the cargo ship.

Afterward, Wren repeated this operation, running back and forth like an industrious little bee.

While Wren was continuously seizing resources, at the junction of the Crimson Gold River and the Red Sand River, a massive fleet of ships was sailing upstream.

"Is this the junction of the Crimson Gold River and the Red Sand River?"

Alistair stood at the bow of the ship, squinting at the spectacle before him.

On one side was the Crimson Gold River, shimmering with dazzling golden light, and on the other was the Red Sand River, emitting a dark red glow under the sun. The two rivers were distinct yet finally merged into one.

"Yes, Master!"

"The Red Sand River is an important tributary of the Crimson Gold River. After we enter the Red Sand River, we'll soon reach the Red River Valley."

Butler Bart respectfully attended to Alistair at his side.

Behind the large ship where Alistair stood, hundreds of various types of vessels followed.

"Lord Alistair, I have come to bid you farewell."

Carter walked over, dressed in military uniform.

He followed his father's instructions to travel north with Alistair, and along the way, he had been constantly trying to curry favor with this son of the Archduke.

However, Alistair only responded to Carter's overtures with polite replies and no other reaction, which left Carter feeling somewhat frustrated.

"Safe travels, Knight Carter!"

"Thank you for your blessing, Lord Alistair. I also wish you all the best in your fief."

Carter left on a small boat. Alistair glanced at him and then paid him no further attention. His gaze was more focused on the two rivers of vastly different styles; such scenery, never seen before, touched his calm heart.

Dozens of kilometers behind Alistair's massive fleet, several other fleets were also sailing, following closely behind Alistair's fleet.

Paris looked at Alistair's massive fleet in the distance and marveled at the wealth of the Raging Bear Family.

"Didn't they say this Alistair was not favored by the Archduke? Why was he given so many resources? This doesn't look like he's being ignored!"

"If I could have matched a fleet like this, I wouldn't have had to ask Rex to help me bring a few ships over first."

"I also end up owing a favor to Wren and Rex!"

Paris was nearly fifty years old. Logically, he should be in his prime, but his hair was already white. After half a lifetime of desperate struggle, he had finally obtained a fief of his own, making his family Fief Barons.

At this moment, he was in high spirits; the struggles of the first half of his life had yielded a rich reward at this moment.

"Father, what kind of person is Baron Wren?"

Paris's son asked his father.

"We will be neighbors from now on. I wonder if he's easy to get along with?"

"Wren... that fellow is someone who shows his sharp edge. He does things with great vigor and has high talent. He broke through to the Silver Rank at a young age."

"He was very famous at the Raging Bear Fortress Knight Academy, being the top graduate of that year's Knight Academy class."

"Lord Sena thought very highly of him at the time. I also had several contacts with him. I originally thought he would be the youngest military merit Baron in the Border Defense Army."

"I didn't expect that he would encounter such a major upheaval and finally return to the family to inherit the title."

Paris looked at his son with a soft gaze. All his life's work up to this age was for the sake of his son.

His own strength could no longer improve. After half a lifetime of campaigning, he was left with a body full of hidden injuries and pain. Paris already had a premonition that his life might not have many years left.

His title and fief would belong to his son in the future, and the family would be passed down generation after generation.

"Don't worry, my son. Wren is a very easygoing young man. You two might have common ground, but you must maintain respect for him."

"After all, that fellow is too outstanding. As a descendant of the Wild Wolf Family, his future will at least be a Silver Peak Magic Wolf Knight. If his luck is a bit better, he might even promote to the Gold Rank."

"If that happens, it would be extraordinary."

"Our family has no deep background. I, along with my father—your grandfather—two generations of us walked step by step to this day, enduring countless hardships and overcoming many miseries to obtain the territory the family dreamed of."

"Fortunately, our family has made it through. Your grandfather struggled all his life to obtain a title, and I struggled all my life to obtain a fief. The family now has a foundation."

"In the future, your path will be much easier!"

Paris was full of expectations for his son and for the future of his family.