Chapter 18: The Knights’ Domain of Mathuya

The cold wind howled, the wilderness was desolate, snow reflected the moonlight, and the night was faintly lit. White Sock carried Neo toward the northeast of Croop, in an attempt to contact the non-existent Swift Wind Squad.

Alone, Neo didn’t feel lonely.

“Hey, buddy, let me sing you a song,” Neo said, patting White Sock’s neck.

White Sock let out a scoffing sigh, as if mocking, “You? Really?”

“Leaving home, wandering far and wide, sleeping under the stars and wind, beneath the dark sky—where faith is first discovered…”

What Neo was singing was the opening passage of an ancient poem titled “In Search,” written by Saint Andrew, the only person outside the mythic era to be granted sainthood. In “In Search,” he described how SaintHill once met the God Lord while searching for a suitable mount, eventually finding faith. At that time, humans faced extinction, living as nomads like the Gypsies described by the God Lord, with no fixed home.

The poem had a simple melody. Sung slowly, it carried a hint of desolation. Every time Neo sang it, he thought of his own origins and the dark werewolf tribe that lived in the wild forests north of the Holy Od Kingdom. Over a decade had passed, and his homeland had become a symbol of beauty in his memory. He longed to return one day and help his people with his abilities.

Uhh…

White Sock responded with a melodious howl. With a companion by his side, Neo wasn’t lonely after all.

In the fabricated lie, the Swift Wind Squad was tasked with scouting the way, a task that was essentially carried out by Neo.

About 11 kilometers northeast of Croop lay a valley path, the Fallen Leaves Valley. It was one of the two routes leading east out of Tures. Neo’s first stop was to investigate the situation there.

The overgrown dry grass and a golden-spined snow weasel that fled quickly after being startled allowed Neo to easily understand the state of the valley path. After all, the steep slopes on both sides of the valley were covered with trees, whose branches formed a canopy overhead, blocking out the sun. Under such conditions, it was difficult for wild grass to grow.

White Sock stopped and watched until the snow weasel disappeared completely before continuing onward. Even without using its secret weapon, the weasel’s scent was too strong for sensitive beings like White Sock and Neo.

After leaving the Fallen Leaves Valley, they entered the Knights’ Domain of Mathuya. Its lord, Sief Srod, was a veteran knight under Baron Clement. Though old, Sief still fought at the forefront of battles. During past winter and summer training sessions, Neo had attended two of Sief’s military lectures.

Compared to his excellence in combat, Sief was far less skilled in managing his domain. The Mathuya Domain was not much smaller than the Tures Domain, yet its population was at least half as large. It was divided into two large villages. Neo’s second stop was Quian, the southern of the two villages.

Kuan was built in the middle of a solitary mountain over a hundred meters high, with terraced fields surrounding it both above and below. On the largest open area, more than 50 houses were arranged in an orderly manner. Stone foundations made of green, black, gray, white, and brown stones protruded about a meter above the ground, with wooden walls added on top, giving this hilltop village a unique and easily recognizable appearance.

Nio arrived in Kuan around 2 a.m. The entire village was asleep, with no lights in sight. Yet, even from hundreds of meters away, five riders sped down the slope from the village. All of them were clad in armor and carried swords, looking highly vigilant.

Nio simply told White Socks to stop and wait for the five riders to arrive.

The lead rider charged straight at them. Just before collision, the rider pulled back on the reins. The magnificent horse beneath him neighed and lifted its long black mane high, as if ready to trample down with thunderous force.

White Socks didn’t back down an inch. Its mane bristled as it growled at the horse. Nio remained calmer, studying the newcomers with a steady gaze.

It was a female knight, young and full of vigor. Nio easily thought of one person—Valentina Srod, a highly renowned young knight from the March of Edrith. At just 20 years old, she already had the skill level of a near-Grade 6 professional. That was last year’s news. Nio believed that with Valentina’s talent, it was entirely possible for her to be at a mid-Grade 6 level by now.

Indeed, it was Valentina, the eldest daughter of Sir Saif of the March of Mathuya.

Valentina didn’t speak. One hand held the reins, the other rested on the hilt of her sword. She narrowed her slightly elongated phoenix eyes as she examined Nio.

The four riders who came with Valentina all had good horsemanship skills and a similar style, showing a fierce demeanor akin to military personnel. But judging from their attire, they seemed to be mere militia members. This reminded Nio of past militia training sessions—those brought by the knights of Mathuya always had the strongest overall combat strength and frequently won championships in various military events during the later stages of training.

“I’m Nio from the March of Tures. Those who attended this summer’s training or last winter’s might remember me,” Nio said calmly, pulling down his scarf and removing his hood before saluting the group as a warrior would.

Valentina turned her head slightly. The militia member half a horse’s length behind her nodded and said, “The champion of the combat swordsmanship award, a swordsman from the Manmoris family.”

Valentina turned back, her sharp gaze fixed on Nio’s eyes. “Explain your purpose.”

Hearing Valentina’s voice, Nio became even more certain of her identity. It was said that Saif had treated Valentina like a boy since she was young, training her extremely rigorously. Valentina had injured her voice during one training session, resulting in a low, slightly hoarse voice, which earned her the nickname “Old Witch.”

“I’m here to scout and see if Kuan has fallen,” Nio said, meeting Valentina’s gaze fearlessly.

Valentina asked again, “Was Lord Manmoris who sent you?”

“No, it was Young Master Div, Tures’ current temporary lord.”

By this point, Valentina’s doubts had largely dissipated. As a promising young knight, she had always placed great emphasis on gathering intelligence. She knew that Tulip Town had fallen into the hands of the Dark Forces, that Xavier had been killed but his body not found. Valentina had considered rescuing Tulip Town but hadn’t had the chance to act yet. The Dark Forces had launched two attacks on Chebna, another village in Knight Matthew’s domain. It was already quite difficult for Valentina to lead a group of militia to defend themselves.

Just the day before, on an afternoon with heavy snowfall, Valentina abandoned the village of Chebna in the plains and moved to defend Quan. She sent out two reconnaissance teams the previous day, but there had been no news yet. Worried about her father, who held an official position, and unaware of the latest developments outside, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep—until Neo arrived.

“If you’re not in a hurry to return, please rest in Quan,” Valentina said politely.

Neo smiled. “Thank you very much, but I need to return by dawn to report.”

Five knights escorted Neo back to Quan, with White Socks growling softly in displeasure.

“Miss White Socks, be restrained. They’re just doing their duty; there’s no malice,” Neo said to comfort her.

White Socks didn’t understand Neo’s words, but she could roughly grasp his meaning from the tone. She grunted twice and then quieted down.

Upon entering the village and dismounting, Valentina gave White Socks a deep look, then glanced at Neo, thinking to herself, “A werewolf who can be companions with a wild wolf still untamed—his heart must be as free as the wind, or as wild and unbridled as a wolf. What binds this werewolf, making him willing to serve?”

Valentina politely invited Neo into the main hall of her family’s fortress and ordered her subordinates to find some fresh meat for White Socks. Neo declined her kindness with a smile, saying, “This young lady has been on a diet lately.”

Next, Neo didn’t touch the food and water brought by the militia. He carried a water pouch made of wild boar skin, filled with water personally poured by Millien, to which honey had been added.

Neo’s caution didn’t upset Valentina; on the contrary, it made her admire him even more. If entering Quan was a display of sincerity and courage, then refusing food was proof of responsibility and self-discipline. His calmness in the face of praise or criticism was an even more rare quality. All these traits made people overlook the ruggedly handsome appearance of this werewolf.

White Socks waited outside the main hall, while Neo sat on a thick, sturdy wooden stool near the fireplace, telling Valentina about recent developments.

After listening, Valentina was both worried and amazed. If what Neo said was true, then Lord Manmoris’s 14-year-old son, Dave, was truly outstanding.

Valentina remembered her father saying that at some banquet last year, Xavier had subtly suggested wanting to propose to her sister Dorothy for Dave, but Sayer had clumsily brushed it off. It seemed now that Dave could indeed be a good marriage prospect.

In Frey, among the nobility, although political marriages were common, they were not entirely devoid of sentiment. It was also quite usual for engagements to be arranged at the age of 14 or 15, after which the two parties would begin to interact more closely and develop feelings. Compared to the older Saifers, Valentina was more of a typical Frey noble—aware of and valuing the power that money could wield. She believed that the Manmores’ skills in business operations could rival the Srodos’ prowess in combat; a combination of Manmores and Srodos could be considered a classic complementary pairing. And now that Dief was performing so excellently, it greatly intrigued Valentina. Almost immediately, Valentina made two decisions: 1) to act as a scout herself; 2) if what Nio said turned out to be mostly true, then the people of Mathuya would migrate eastward together with those of Tures—giving Dief a chance and also Dorothy a chance to choose…