Chapter 12

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Alvin stood up and left with Graham.

Graham followed Alvin out of the guard post blindly.

He thought that the meeting just now was useless. He did not understand the topics at all. All he cared about was Alvin’s rewards, but in the end, none of them brought it up.

Alvin asked him to relax as it was the way nobles did things.

For the sake of mutual decency, Naberry would not talk about the rewards blatantly. House Garriott would do the same a hundred years ago.

This was the opposite of the new nobles, who prioritized money. Not that they were despicable, they just had different beliefs.

Indeed.

The adjutant caught up with them in a short while and gave Alvin his reward. Other than the huge sum of 50 Golden Lion Coins, there was a bastard sword. Although it was plain-looking, it was very well forged.

“Mr. Alvin, this is the gift from the Lord personally. Please keep it!”

As a swordsman, Alvin knew it was a good sword.

His late Grandpa Leo was a formal knight, and he owned an extremely good sword. Unfortunately, it had gone missing when they escaped.

The sword he was using right now was just a normal one from the blacksmith. It was nothing compared to this priceless military sword. If he had this sword with him while fighting Billy, he would have fought him face to face and won with ease.

“Please convey my gratitude to the Lord. I like his gift a lot.”

Alvin watched the adjutant return to the guard post and then left with Graham.

Before they separated, Alvin took out five Golden Lion Coins and passed them to Graham. Graham was so happy that he could share the reward too and accepted it with joy.

Alvin’s principle was very modernized. He did not want to take advantage of his friend in terms of profits and money. Graham had fought with him today and had brought him to Lord Naberry. He totally deserved the money.

Afterward, Graham would also receive the paycheck for the battle call-up from the authorities. That would easily amount to almost half a year of his earning, which was pretty rewarding.

…

The next day, Alvin’s journey did not happen as he had planned.

The consulate summoned him again. This time, it was Viscount Andrea. His title was the highest locally.

Through the chat he had yesterday with Lord Naberry, Alvin knew that the Kingdom of Phaletis was like the Kingdom of Ilia—there were conflicts between the new nobles and the old ones.

But the Kingdom of Phaletis had a strong royal family that controlled the nation’s best military forces and more than 80% of the professional army. They were the judges and referees for most of the things.

They had managed to deal with all the unwanted influences cleverly years ago, be it new or old, strong or weak.

Law and order were implemented forcefully by the queen, which helped to bring all the instabilities under control. No matter what the conflict was about, the participants all had to obey the queen’s rules.

Meanwhile, the royal family had created opportunities for themselves by using the conflicts between the feudal and new nobles.

They cooperated with the new nobles and the citizens to gradually encroach the lands owned by the old feudal nobles through urbanization movements. At the same time, they made a pact with the feudal nobles to involve them in the newly-built kingdom so that they could earn far more than they had in their enclosed estates in the past.

Moreover, they also set their chariots in different places through the constant development of new sea routes and overseas colonies. No matter which side was stronger, the royals and the kingdom would always be the greatest winners.

After a generation of hard work, Phaletis had become a strong kingdom in the region and had great influence in the Tulip Alliance.

Consulate Viscount Andrea was one of the feudal nobles that had benefited from the plan. The citizens had voted him to be in charge of the city.

Alvin met the most respectable man in Leopold in the meeting room at city hall.

He was a very dignified old man. All the traits that Alvin remembered from his previous life about the western nobles could be found distinctively in him. Rigid, stern, and unforgiving—a very typical upper-class man.

Since Alvin was a nobody, his words were straight forward too.

“Although Naberry has updated me about you, I want to hear about your views from yourself too. Are you keen to be one of the city guards for Leopold?”

With huge pressure on him, Alvin replied, “Leopold is your city, and also my hometown. It’s my duty to protect it. But I want to see the vast world out there while I’m still young.”

Seeing the sincerity and determination in Alvin’s eyes, the old man’s look softened slightly. He then smiled lightly.

“Good. It’s a pity, but I understand very well. You want to see how big the world is with your own eyes, go on. But remember, Leopold will always be your home. Our doors are always open to you.”

“Thank you for your understanding, my Lord! ” Regardless of how much sincerity there was in Viscount Andrea’s words, it was rare enough for an old man in his position to say something like that. Alvin did not feel offended.

Even though Alvin could not take his offer, he stood up and bowed to the old man.

The old man gestured to Alvin to sit down. He fondled his ring and said, “I heard whispers that you wanted to join the navy. I’ve written a recommendation letter for you. You can have it and use it at your own discretion. Although it cannot get you into the navy directly, it could save you a lot of trouble in the process.”

Alvin received the letter with both hands. There was an imprint of the old man’s house sigil on it. Alvin expressed his thanks again and left.

He ran out of city hall as fast as he could, as if he was running away from a nightmare.

He exclaimed silently in his heart, “That man is definitely a hidden Extraordinary, though I’m not entirely sure how strong he is! It was more tiring facing him than fighting the pirates!”

On the way back, Alvin started thinking about what had happened just now and admired this old noble’s way of doing things.

He had prepared the recommendation letter beforehand, and even if he had not managed to persuade Alvin to stay, he had showcased his generosity and kindness as much as he could to this Leopoldian talent.

Writing a letter like this cost nothing for this old man, but he would have a profitable return as there was a chance Alvin would repay this kindness in the future.

Alvin saw through the old man’s plan quickly. However, he was still grateful for this old man regardless of whether he was going to use this letter or not.

You might wonder how the old man had learned about Alvin in less than a day. Actually, as the man who ran this city, it would be strange if he could not do this!

…

Alvin geared up for the final preparations before the departure.

On the other hand, the mood on the Blood Anchor was totally different.

After the pirates withdrew from last night’s attack and did a headcount, the entire ship was enveloped in a depressing mood.

Blood Anchor Zack was mad!

The loss of the previous plunder and the threat from the navy had left Captain Zack in desperate need of a glorious victory to secure his position on the ship and to quell the foolish ambitions of the other scum and villains around him.

At the very least, he had wanted to eliminate those who had openly expressed disapproval toward him to serve as a warning to the rest.

Since Leopold was just a fishing city with no reputation, Zack had thought that it would be a good target. Thus, Zack had sent many who had questioned his authority onshore. It would be beneficial for him regardless of the battle’s outcome.

To be extra cautious, Blood Anchor Zack had even sent in his sailing master, Black Bear Billy, who had been very loyal to him. He thought nothing could possibly go wrong with his plan.

But Zack was in despair upon learning that he had about 60 casualties from this raid. Due to the lost battle, there were only 130 people left on his ship!

Moreover, given the time constraint of the raid, the pirates had not brought back enough loot to compensate for their loss.

Other than the 30 supporters he had left on board previously, fewer than half of the pirates had returned after the attack.

He had even lost Black Bear Billy due to his failed battle plan. Zack saw the doubting looks in the 30 supporters. He was very frustrated.

“Raise the anchor! We are going to loot some merchant ships!”