<h4>Chapter 1351: Meeting the Female Mercenary Again</h4>
Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion
It was not Hao Ren’s first time in Becky’s estate, but it had been a long time since hisst visit. Compared with the previous visit, the manor had changed little. Its furnishings andyout were still the same. It seemed that even though Becky had been a member of the nobility, she could not care less about the decor of her mansion. The only change there was the cer in the basement. The radio equipment and emergency portal that Hao Ren left in the basement were still there. Becky had put the machine in a secret chamber and expanded the space outside, which she then turned into a wine cer. The fragrance of the wines from all over the maind filled the basement. Even mice in there were well fed.
Hao Ren was dead sure that Becky was a mercenary through and through judging from these details. But it was hard to imagine that a girl like Becky was a boozer. Or was she nning to soup up her drinking tolerance so that one day she could out-drink Ophra, who would then be at her mercy?
The three of them had dinners in the manor while the steward ordered the servants to prepare the rooms for them. After the meal, Hao Ren found the steward and once again asked about Becky’s assignment. “Where are Gloom Mountains? What happened there?”
Perhaps Becky’s mission was not ssified, the steward had no intention to withhold it from Hao Ren. “The Gloom Mountains is in the southeast of the royal capital, a natural barrier separating the ck Forest from the Furtile ins. The eastern side of the mountains is the famous ck Forest, once the territory of the Elven Empire during the ancient Magic Empire. There are many powerful ancient creatures in the mountain range, as well as some mysterious ruins and magic-energy nodes. So it is a dangerous ce for ordinary people. Few people go there. Recently, there was a sudden burst of powerful energy in the Gloom Mountains. Even the mages the royal city had observed the energy waves. The king has sent a group of mages to investigate whether the dangerous ancient creatures or ruins have awakened. Our master is in the escort with the Knights, and she will return home after bringing the schrs and mages safely to their destinations.”
“The remains of the ancient Magic Empire?” Hao Ren was interested. “Does this happen often?”
Any residue of the First Born had been cleaned up. Theoretically, there should not be any dangerous ancient creatures left. But Hao Ren was still interested in what might ur here. It was one of thes in the ne of Dreams that survived the extinct-level disaster not long ago. There were many ancient relics and ruins in the world. Shocking clues might pop out behind those small incidents.
“I’m only a steward. I don’t know much about these things,” said the steward who looked reluctant. “I just heard that there are many ancient relics of the Magical Empire in the Gloom Mountains, where mysterious phenomena often ur. But then again, these incidents are more often than not the rumors circted by those ignorant mountain people. They are secluded, superstitious, and ignorant, and also like to frighten outsiders with such topic.”
“I see.” Hao Ren nodded withoutmenting further.
It would be better to wait for Becky toe back.
The next day, the east gate of the royal city opened. A group of royal knights returned. Becky was among them. Her servant hade to wait for Becky. Learning that Hao Ren was in her mansion, she handed everything to her men and quickly rushed home.
Looking out from the manor, Hao Ren saw a heroic female knight appeared on the avenue, riding a tall and robust Kerzen warhorse that draped in a shiny horse armor with the emblem of the royal family of Holletta dangled on one side. The female knight wore a light-weight half-length armor, covered with a sky-blue battle robe on the outside. The robe was embroidered with golden dragon-eagle and short sword. That should be the insignia of the Knights. Behind the female knight, two squire knights a long spear each. Blue g with white edges and family crest of a circle of thorns and roses with a wolf head in the middle was fluttering in the wind on each of the spears.
That was most probably Becky’s family crest.
Lily looked happy to see the heroic return of Becky. She poked Hao Ren’s arm and said, “Mr. Landlord, look at her; she has be a noble!”
“Yup, she looks better than before.” Hao Ren smiled with his arms crossed. “But I didn’t see the aura of the nobility in her. She looks more like a bandit who has juste out of the mountains—except for her royal costumes.
Insulting a royal-anointed countess was a capital offense. But this rule did not apply to Hao Ren and Becky because they were not only friends butrade-in-arms. With Becky’s careless attitude, their interaction had always been coarse and filled with friendly sarcasm.
Very quickly, Becky hade to the gate. She pulled the rein, and Kerzen warhorse began to trot and then turned in a circle before Hao Ren. When the horse was still, Becky alighted and scurried up to her three old friends and raised her hands to give everyone a high-five. “Yo! I thought you had forgotten about my little ce!”
Vivian was not used to the passionate wee. It always reminded her about Hessiana, the neurotic bat, who might have amonnguage with Becky. But Vivian still greeted back with a high-five with a smile on her face. “How can we forget? We might be running around the universes, but we always send you our photos and videos.”
“I know, I know. You guys have been busy.” Becky said. “When I saw you guys living the life of Hollywood blockbuster, I started to envy you. Was thest video clip you sent me about Collow? I watched it; it was epic!”
The two squires, still holding on to the g spears behind Becky, had no idea what their seigneur was talking about. But to them, Becky was a legendary hero, whomanded their respect.
Hao Ren saw the enthusiasm on Becky’s face, he could not help but tease, “Why don’t you resign from your job ande to work with me? Follow us to save the world!”
“Forget it, I was just saying.” Becky quickly waved her hands. “Your job is too dangerous. What will happen to this manor if I die? I still like the life here. But then again, I am not an idle person. I’m the captain of a division of the Royal Knights with 800 men under mymand. Besides, I’m also a martial art teacher for two noble kids. I’m busy.”
While saying, they walked toward the manor. Coming before the entrance, Becky left her war horse and weapon to the two squires before she pushed open the door. “Ahh, I’ve been away for a few days. It’s good to be home.”
Hao Ren looked at Becky curiously. “I heard that you joined the Knights because you couldn’t stand the aristocratic life?”
“To a certain extent, yes.” Becky shrugged. “The life of the nobles is freaking boring. Especially a noble like me with only a title, property, and annuity but without and. There is nothing much I can do except mingle with the nobledies. I don’t know a thing about what they boasted, and they don’t understand what I’m talking about. So it’s better to find something else to do. Besides, there is an important reason why I joined the Knights.
Becky paused. Lily asked, “What is the reason?”
“It’s thend. It’s about thend.” Becky spread out her hand. “I am an honorable noble, not a real aristocrat. Since I have no track record in the military, there is nond for me. Joining the Knights would solve the problem. The rule is pretty strict in Holletta; not all nobles are entitled tonds; it must be earned. That’s my goal!”
“You are pretty ambitious, eh?” Hao Ren began to sit up and take notice. The female mercenary became more motivated since bing noble. But he teased Becky again. “Perhaps there is another reason: do you meet Marshal Ophra very often after joining the Knights?”
Becky choked. But she quickly countered. “Ya! So can you see I look more heroic than before? Do I look more like Marshal Ophra?”
Hao Ren knew what Becky was up to. She was getting closer to Ophra.
But Hao Ren was not interested in Becky’s sexual orientation. He had a more pressing matter at hand. “We are here to discuss something with you. We need Marshal Ophra and your help.”
Becky became serious. Perhaps being a knight had changed her. She was more mature than before. After two servants removed the armor from her body, Becky sat in front of Hao Ren. “I have read your message. Do you really want to bring the survivors crossing the Wall of Reality? Hmm, things havee to this.”
“Yup.” Hao Ren nodded. “We need the cooperation from the highest echelon of Holletta.