Chapter 130: Sherry’s Letter

“How could that be? I came to pick you up the moment I could.”

The scene left Charlotte even more shocked. She froze completely, as if turned to stone.

Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?

A wave of dizziness washed over Charlotte. Suddenly, she remembered something one of the soldiers had said:

Any Divine Chosen who meets his gaze for three seconds will be subdued.

“Wait… seriously? That can’t be real.”

Charlotte’s pupils trembled with disbelief.

“What’s wrong with this child?”

Ashina poked Charlotte’s cheek.

“Probably too happy,” Phield said casually, completely unaware that Charlotte’s brain had practically crashed.

“This is Ashina, one of Nightfall Domain’s Divine Chosen. From now on, everyone should get along.”

“Y-yes… yes… yes…”

Charlotte answered in a daze. It wasn’t until she followed the others into a crude mountain stronghold that she finally regained her senses.

“We found a bandit camp and wiped them out. After that, we took this place over,” Ashina explained.

“Why are there gold coins everywhere?” Charlotte’s mouth fell open as she looked around.

The entire stronghold was filled with gold and silver treasures. A few little girls in ill-fitting clothes sat on piles of coins, carefully stacking them one by one into chests. Jewelry and beautiful garments were casually piled across the ground.

From the trees around the camp hung strips of smoked meat. Large numbers of livestock gathered nearby—cattle, sheep, and horses—making the place feel more like a ranch than a bandit camp.

The demi-human warriors were slaughtering pigs and sheep, while weaker demi-humans handled whatever work they could manage—cleaning the camp, polishing armor, sharpening weapons.

“Meat for everyone today!”

Phield announced to the soldiers of Nightfall Domain.

There had been so many cattle and sheep seized during the raids that he simply couldn’t take them all. Following the principle of wasting nothing, he immediately delivered the exciting news.

“Yeah!”

“Long live!”

“Praise our beloved lord!”

The soldiers erupted in cheers.

The demi-humans looked somewhat confused, but Ashina—whose authority among them was extremely high—had spoken about her human lord many times before. None of them dared object.

“This place is practically a paradise,” Charlotte said in disbelief. “Did you really discover some hidden treasure?”

“It’s not paradise,” Ashina replied with a wink. Though they were the same age, their experiences were entirely different.

“But if you say we discovered treasure… that’s not wrong either. These past few days, we’ve been digging up treasure nonstop. Haha.”

“You’ve grown a lot,” Phield said with genuine admiration.

Although many things had been guided remotely through his Black Ravens, Ashina had not only carried them out perfectly—she had also begun forming ideas of her own.

“Hmph. After all, I am your sword.”

Ashina put on a modest expression, but her wolf tail spun behind her like a propeller.

Their relationship is… very unusual.

Charlotte suddenly felt a chill.

Wait… demi-human Divine Chosen can only be contracted by demi-humans, right?

Does that mean the lord is actually a… NTR king who stole someone else’s wife?

So the rumor about him abducting Divine Chosen in three seconds is actually true?!

Wait… wait… did I fall for it too?

Charlotte stared at her own hands in disbelief.

“What are you thinking about?” Phield patted her head.

“Go help count the money and tally the livestock. Tonight you’ll get roasted whole lamb as a reward.”

Charlotte came from a noble family. She could read, write, and even had solid arithmetic skills. In this era, that already made her an impressive intellectual.

“Alright, I’m coming.”

Charlotte shook her head and lifted her violet dress as she went to work.

It wasn’t until the following afternoon that everything was finally counted.

This round of plundering had yielded:

Eighty-six thousand gold coins.

One hundred eighty-three warhorses.

Fifty-two pack horses.

And countless other supplies.

During these days, Ashina had barely rested. She was either raiding, cutting people down, or on her way to set fires.

Numerous knightly families and wealthy merchants had been uprooted. It had been immensely satisfying. In a single stroke, they obtained nearly one to two years’ worth of Wind Orchid City’s total income.

The most valuable gain, however, was the warhorses.

There could have been even more, but after news of the raids spread, wealthy merchants and knights fled into Wind Orchid City. Many local bandits also took their share of the chaos.

“So many warhorses?” Phield said in disbelief.

“We could form a powerful cavalry force with this.”

Ashina’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Yes. We captured a horse ranch. Unfortunately, some of the horses were evacuated beforehand.”

“This time, I also need a cavalry unit made up of humans,” Phield said.

“Otherwise when I go out, I won’t even have proper prestige.”

During the rebellion suppression campaign, he had been riding alone. He hadn’t even been able to pursue fleeing enemies properly.

Ashina nodded in agreement.

“Perhaps forming heavy cavalry would be an excellent choice.”

Heavy cavalry were an extremely powerful unit. Five heavy cavalry could already contend with a first-tier knight.

A first-tier knight’s magical power was very limited. Once their magic was exhausted, they were little more than a stronger heavy cavalryman.

Of course, this comparison referred to knights rapidly trained by the Empire’s military. Knights trained by noble families or self-taught ones could be stronger—or weaker. There was no absolute rule.

“Let’s discuss it after we get home. This isn’t the place.”

After packing the supplies, they burned the stronghold to the ground. It was impossible to settle there permanently.

The high-tier forces of Wind Orchid City would eventually search the area, and imperial law would never allow it anyway.

The group traveled day and night until they reached the familiar Maple Leaf City.

Phield immediately ordered the soldiers to purchase slaves, food, and purification potions.

After buying three hundred human slaves, he purchased enough food to feed a thousand people for three months. The convoy now had no spare laborers left—some of the warhorses even had sacks of grain strapped onto their backs.

Then he bought seeds of various crops and had Charlotte store them in her divine artifact.

Her artifact could improve the quality of seeds. In appearance, it looked like a cute wallet-shaped pouch that she usually wore at her waist. A golden wheat ear was embroidered on it.

Finally, he purchased second-tier magic potions.

One hundred bottles.

The cost: fifty thousand gold coins.

“Money really does flow like water,” Phield muttered while doing the accounts.

“Nightfall Domain must eventually produce its own magic potions. And besides that, the population can’t increase anymore. We’ll have to wait until Nightfall Domain can produce its own food before considering expanding the population again.”

While he was calculating, Ashina ran over to report.

“My lord, a messenger arrived and delivered two letters for you.”

“Oh? I actually receive letters now?”

Phield accepted the envelopes and examined the seals to ensure they hadn’t been tampered with. Then he casually picked the more elegant-looking one and opened it.

“To Phield Ross, greetings from the Gassina family.

Sherry sends you her regards and hopes you are not reading this letter inside that drafty winery. Elsa mentioned that you participated in the rebellion suppression campaign. She is a friend of mine—if you encounter difficulties, you may seek her help.

I have already reported the threat of the corpses to Her Majesty the Empress. Soon, the Empire will likely strengthen its border defenses and encourage adventurers to purge corrupted creatures.”

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