Chapter 74: Jogorn Elven Village
"Please...I am begging you. Stop what you are doing this instant!", the young village Chief, who had inherited the position of power far too soon for the responsibility he had bear, begged
However, the three Landragon Heirs remained stoic. They had seen the true faces of elves already. Had they not been the victors, the elves would have shown them no mercy at all. To them, elves were just prideful humanoids with lesser intellect. They were an inferior species that loathed humans, and would bite the hands that fed them the moment they had the opportunity to do so.
'The seed of hatred is deeply rooted in him...I wonder how strong he would become', Arthur smiled at the thought of creating an enemy near his territory. In ten years, perhaps twenty, then this young elven chief with such high talent would surely make a worthy enemy.
[True Name - Sheel Beleth | Alias - Sheel
Class - Level 8 Intermediate Elven Swordsman
HP - 70 / 70
Attributes:
Strength – 8 | Agility – 6 | Vitality – 7
Status - Healthy
Perk - Grand Knight Talent (Growth rate increased by 300% until the Grand Knight Realm is reached)
Skills - Elven Swordsmanship (65)...
Enchanted Item - None]
'The lad is considered a child still, barely 20 years old, yet he is already an intermediate-rank elven swordsman. If he follows this growth rate, then he would reach the Grand Knight Realm in a matter of decades. By then, I will have finished my studies on [Frozen Warriors], and I would earn an incredibly strong subordinate', Arthur prophesized.
There were many reasons as not to burn the village to the ground.
Firstly, he was already taking everything of value from the village, sending John's men to look for every house, every chest, every underground cave from the elven housings. Food, planks, and even family heirlooms were taken from those elven villagers. Some cried, others begged, but in the end, the battle-hardened warriors did not see these elves as their own kind. Elves would have riddled the Landragon fief with arrows, if they were capable of doing so.
John insisted though: "Why don't we enslave them? I don't understand! They are free prisoners of war, and we will need this work force if we want to fully exploit the [Starlight Ore] mine in the future"
Victor nodded in agreement.
Both could not understand why Arthur would let an enemy out in the world.
However, while they both feared the growth of a monster enemy that could threaten the very foundations of the Landragon Household, Arthur saw an opportunity in the young elven chief in front of them. An opportunity to raise a Grand Knight-level guardian.
After all, training a knight to the Grand Knight level would take too long, and it would hurt Arthur's growth. Every second he spent on training Victor could have been allocated to personal training or meditation. Training an army would take over a thousand fold the effort he had spent to train Victor. And even if he gave his all, Arthur was not confident in creating a Grand Knight, who had the strength of a peak-rank acolyte at the minimum, and the strength of a Rank 1 Magus at best.
The young elven chief possessed [Grand Knight Talent], a rare knight perk that was only seen in Knight Household with deep bloodline in the Porfield Kingdom. The number of Grand Knights in the Porfield Kingdom did not exceed twenty, and that told a lot about the rarity of such strong powerhouses in Albion.
If Arthur wanted Grand Knight-level powerhouses, he had to create them, since attacking those century-old monsters possessing political alliances and high status in the Porfield Kingom would only bring him hostility from the rest of the kingdom.
The young elven chief Sheel was a perfect investment for the future.
As for the rest of the village, Arthur knew that if he enslaved them, he would have to escort them back to the Landragon fief, and that would destroy his plans of making trades with Baron Lark. If he took too long to reach Count Elderwood's main Army, then he would become suspicious in the Count's eyes.
Arthur smiled: "I will allow an opportunity to take revenge, young elven chief. Ten years...If you reach the Grand Knight Realm in ten years, then I will allow you to have a fair duel with me. May God be a faithful witness to my words"
John and Victor's faces fell.
[Grand Knight]
This was a realm they could only look up to, yet Arthur was planning on having a duel with such a powerhouse in the future. Worse still, the one who had the potential in Arthur's eyes to reach this realm, was bearing extreme hatred towards their family who had crushed his elders and friends.
John almost took his sword to kill the young elf, but Arthur's cold stare prevented him to do so.
On the ground, there was a pile of extremely valuable goods.
Elven beast skins, maps, ore, planks, sculptures and paintings...were abundant.
"As per the agreement, John has rights on 30% of the money raised by the loot in order to strengthen his cavalry unit. The Landragon fief will use 30% in order to develop roads and the Landragon's Capital Satbury. As for me, I will keep 30% of the loot for the future construction of the Magus Tower. Victor, you can use the rest for personal purposes, but I would advise you to upgrade your equipment with it", Arthur said
Victor smiled.
He knew that this was wealth beyond his imagination. A single elven sculpture could go for dozens of gold coins in a regular auction. If the pile of common goods were all sold, then his share of the loot would amount for roughly 5 000 gold coins. It was an incredible amount.
Arthur, however, was the one smiling.
The magical ingredients he found in the Elder Druids' alchemical laboratories were worth more than the pile of common goods. Not to mention the wealth of knowledge that could be found in their laboratory, the equipment and herbs were enough to rival the Arcane Faction's personal stocks.
Rare herbs that were thought to be extinct had been raised with care by the elven druids, who used their magic for growing these plants. Hundreds of [Sun Flowers] were carefully stocked in [Ice Seals] within his bag, dozens of [Elder Tree Flowers] were similarly kept, and they were only a fraction of what he had gotten his hands on.
'Hundreds...No...Thousands of magic crystals would not be enough to purchase all of these ingredients', Arthur analysed
[Market value of the magical ingredients looted: 1 864 Magic Crystals]
For the first time in a while, Arthur felt confident in his choice to return to the Porfield Kingdom. Raising such a huge amount of wealth would have taken him at least two years in the Ivory Tower, even if he monopolized all the treasures found in hunts with his team.
'Although I do not have the talent or the will to invest thousands of hours and experiments on alchemy, I just happen to have a very powerful alchemist friend', Arthur smiled as he thought of the Old Witch.
If he gave her these magical ingredients, then she would probably be able to brew hundreds of potions, many of which would be sold twice, or even thrice the amount his magical ingredients were worth. Although she would definitely take a big commission, it was a good opportunity for Arthur to raise the Black Widow Brotherhood's funds and strength, while increasing his personal wealth.
Considering the Old Witch's obsession of becoming a Queen in the Ivory Tower, she would definitely reward him with anything he would like, including body refinement medium-grade elixirs, as well as [Reactive Elixirs] which would allow his subordinates in the Law Enforcement Faction to break through the intermediate realm.
A knight from the [Dragon Army] suddenly shouted as an elven woman tried to stab him in the back. She did not live to tell the tale, as the knight instinctively punched her in the face, putting her to sleep. Teeth flew in the air, and blood splashed on the ground.
Arthur smiled and whispered to the young elf's ears: "I hope you tell your villagers to behave. I already showed leniency by not enslaving your kind...because life is sacred. But if you behave like beasts, then I won't mind treating you and your kind like beasts"
[Cruelty skill activated]
The young elf wanted to respond, to challenge the monster in front of him to a righteous duel. However, he could only endure the humiliation. His father, an advanced-rank elven swordsman had fallen in the battle, as well as the strongest Elder Druid from the village who had lived for over a century. This told a lot about the young Landragon Heirs' strength.
They were not any older than he was, yet they had already reached such a high realm of strength. All his life, Sheel had been called a genius. Today, he saw that the elven standards of his pitiful tribe were not the same as that of the world. This painful lesson had a cost. And this cost was his pride shattered to nothingness.
'But I will have my revenge', Sheel said, not bothering to hide his killing intent and will to train to death if it was what it would take to end the young Landragon Heir's life. It didn't matter if it took ten years, he would do everything in power to reach his standards of strength and have a duel with him.
Weekly Power Status
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