Chapter 8: Half a Day

The snow began to fall heavier around 1 p.m. In the complete silence, the sound of it falling was particularly distinct.

“I have to go to the South Fragrant Leaf Forest!” After checking the weather again,Neo rubbed his hands and said firmly to Millien and Dave.

Dave grunted and turned away, ignoringNeo. In truth, his anger had mostly subsided, but he was too embarrassed to reconcile withNeo.

“What are you going there for?” Millien asked concerningly.

“When we sneaked into the town and tried to destroy the Ghosts’ Tomb, we were discovered. I took over 40 Dark Claws with me and fled into the South Fragrant Leaf Forest, exhausting them to death there. Now I need to deal with the bodies so they won’t be buried under the snow and lost. They are proof of our achievements—no matter what we decide to do in the future, they’ll be useful.”

“Bluffing. Over 40 Dark Claws, all idiots? They chased after you until they were exhausted, and then you killed them one by one?” Dave said with a smirk. GivenNeo’s usual character, Dave actually believed whatNeo said but said it just to keep the conversation going.

“I don’t need to bluff. As for you, you need to think carefully about how to boast when you meet those nobles. At the very least, make them know that LordNeo fought bravely and sacrificed himself, with corpses as proof. In the battle of the South Fragrant Leaf Forest, we defeated stronger enemies despite being outnumbered. Those we killed were all Dark Claws under the influence of magic potions—our achievements are undeniable.”

Hearing this, Dave naturally understood thatNeo was attributing these merits to him and his father. This way, his father’s death would appear even more heroic and honorable, and he, by participating in the battle with such results, could also be considered to have fought bravely. It was an important proof that would prevent Thures from having its lands seized or divided.

The Frey Alliance’s code included a crime of failing to defend one’s territory, but it depended on the specific circumstances. Everyone knew there were rules regarding how many soldiers a lord could have. If a lord had not even a single knight and fought bravely to the death against a stronger enemy, eliminating at least 40 demonized Dark Claws, then if he were still deprived of his lands, who would be willing to fight to the death in similar situations in the future?

“Thank you,” Dave said, lowering his head in shame. He thought of his past disdain forNeo’s status and of reportingNeo and Millien’s affair to his father… Deep down, he had to admit that in terms of character,Neo was better than him, a nobleman’s son who wanted to be a true noble.

“Neo, thank you! The Manmoris family owes you so much,” Millien said emotionally, holdingNeo’s hand. Strong, handsome, intelligent, reassuring, and with a hint of wildness—Millien had likedNeo at first because he met almost all the standards of an ideal man in a girl’s eyes. But as they got to know each other better, those reasons faded away. Millien discovered what attracted her even more: the shining qualities inNeo’s personality and character. Like now, at this moment, Millien felt happy—such an excellent man was her lover.

Touching Milien’s soft little hands, Neo smiled slightly and said, “It’s those devil’s lackeys who owe too much. They should make some compensation, even if their souls are already in hell.”
Before leaving, Neo glanced at Dave again and said, “Hold your sword tightly!”
“Hold your sword tightly.” This was a common phrase among warriors, meaning “Be vigilant, be smart, stay motivated, be confident—don’t act like a novice.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of my sister!” Dave promised bravely.
This time, Neo was with White Sock. Wolves were far better at moving through mountains and jungles than horses. Moreover, following the secret paths through the forest, the journey wasn’t difficult. It only took a little over ten minutes to exit the North Fragrant Leaf Forest.
The fields were covered in snow, the sky and earth vast and endless. The snow fell intermittently—fast at times, slow at others. There was no wind, so it didn’t feel particularly cold. In the past, such weather would have been perfect for a walk or a snowball fight, but now there was no sense of comfort. Neo wasn’t worried about anything else—he was concerned about Milien’s health.
The last snowstorm had drained the heat from the soil. After this snowfall, even on the roads frequently used by carriages and horses, there would be little mud from melting snow. Instead, it would freeze quickly, with snow piling up on the ice—true extreme cold.
The bitter cold had already arrived through this snowfall. For any creature unprepared, this winter would be unbearable. Sleeping in wild caves or braving the snowstorm would certainly not be romantic or pleasant for a girl with a weak constitution, who had just lost her father and suffered many shocks.
“I need to spend more time studying how to reverse ‘life absorption.’ It should help Milien,” Neo thought silently. He could almost see Milien laughing and running happily in the snow. “That’s what health looks like—not being cold-handed all the time, needing to huddle by a fireplace or fire pit…”
By the time they reached the South Fragrant Leaf Forest, the snow had almost buried those stiff corpses. Fortunately, Neo remembered well that chase. With his strength, dealing with the corpses wasn’t too difficult.
The bodies of the demon dogs and demons contained dark energy and toxic substances. Even scavengers were too lazy to bother with them. And with this weather, there was no need to worry about preservation. Neo chose two natural small ravines and threw the corpses in. Covered by snow, he didn’t have to worry about others finding them.
This task took nearly two hours. During that time, he didn’t ask White Sock for help but let it play. White Sock was a good partner and an excellent hunter. When Neo finished and returned to the meeting point, he found White Sock had already caught a mountain antelope and two plump rabbits.
Touching the antelope’s body, Neo felt it was still warm. He skinned it on the spot and drained its blood.
“Want some fresh meat?” Neo asked.
“Hah! Hah!” White Sock puffed out white breath. It seemed quite interested in Neo’s offer.
Using a dagger, Neo cut off thick slices of meat from the antelope’s hind legs and buttocks, cooled them in the snow, and threw them to White Sock. He also cut a thin slice for himself, cooled it, and put it in his mouth. It was tender and refreshing, with the freshness of snow and the natural flavor of meat.

This way of eating originated from the sea people’s habit of consuming fish, and it was something Neo learned as a young boy in the gladiator training ground from a young gladiator from the Ice Ocean region. White Socks clearly liked this way of eating too; it had eaten almost all of the antelope’s front and back legs. After eating, resting, and making simple preparations, Neo took White Socks back to the Hidden Valley of Soldiers once again. The main purpose of this return was to do a thorough cleanup, ensuring that every shelter was in good condition for future use. This was a habit instilled in him by his father, said to stem from the nomadic tribes of the grasslands. While collecting corpses, Neo also rummaged around and managed to get a dozen dinars, over a hundred dirhams, and some Bahraini coins. Together with what he had earned in the town and his own savings, Neo now had more than 60 gold coins, over a hundred silver coins, and hundreds of copper coins—considerable wealth indeed. Even without accounting for craftsmanship, it was almost enough to buy a fine set of armor. With the invention of the steam engine, it became possible to create plate armor, and some steel mills could now produce high-quality steel as well as a material called “steel wire.” Lockmail made by coiling this wire into small rings while it was still soft and hot was light yet strong, comparable to the finest chainmail of the past. Not only armor and weapons but all metal products were greatly impacted, and the workshop industry gradually lost its former glory. Yet even so, armor and weapons remained expensive items beyond the reach of ordinary people. Neo’s possessions mainly consisted of that set of armor and weapons, along with the money he had. However, Neo never considered himself poor, for he possessed skilled craftsmanship, which he believed was the true wealth—wealth that would only grow. The knowledge he had learned from books was also valuable treasure. Whenever he thought of this, Neo would remember the kindness shown to him by the Manmoris family. Had he been under another master, he might not have had the chance to learn, even though he performed well and brought honor to his master in private noble combat competitions. He still didn’t feel this opportunity was his due or earned. Neo saw that in reality, nothing was guaranteed; otherwise, there would be no so much injustice, grievance, depression, and failure. “Carry a grateful heart—purity and beauty belong not to others’ souls,” his mother had taught him. Every time he touched the pendant around his neck, on every moonlit night, and whenever he transformed into a wolf, he thought of his mother. She wasn’t a beautiful woman, but she had a heart as pure and clear as moonlight and a gentleness like water. Besides gold and silver, Neo also retrieved most of the parts he had used to set traps; they were all iron materials that might come in handy someday. While fixing up the smelting furnace, the substance refined from the Soul Tomb came into Neo’s sight. It was hard to believe that when cooled, it had a metallic texture and weight, even heavier than that.

“The weight of the soul?” Neo didn’t know how such a phrase suddenly popped into his mind. He pondered for a while, reignited the fire, and brought back a few buckets of fresh snow from outside. He reheated and forged the material without much effort, creating a spear with a single blade that merged seamlessly with the shaft. It resembled a short sword without a edge, followed by a spear shaft; the blade’s ridge was thick, shaped like a flattened rhombus, making the transition from blade to shaft smooth and subtle. Additionally, four blood grooves ran along both sides of the ridge without compromising the strength of the spearhead.

What pleased Neo the most was the moderate toughness of the spear shaft made from this mysterious material—a quality usually found only in white rhinoceros wood, though that wood lacked such weight. Moreover, the shaft was slightly astringent and always cool, eliminating the need to wrap it in burlap to prevent slipping from sweat. Its dark gray color from rock iron was also unobtrusive, which suited Neo’s preferences even more.

“This is truly an unexpected discovery!” After swinging the spear around a few times outdoors, Neo couldn’t bear to put it down.

“Dude, now I can pretend to be a cavalryman too!” Neo laughed and said to White Socks.

White Socks glanced at Neo as if to say, “Being fancy! Just because you have a spear, you’re a cavalryman?”

By the time they left the Hidden Soldier Valley, it was almost 5 p.m. The snow had stopped, but the clouds hadn’t dispersed. The sky was overcast and dim, and it would be completely dark in another half hour at most.

Neo wasn’t in a hurry to return to the North Forest Cave. He had another purpose for this outing: to head to Croop, located southeast of Tulip Town. Tulip Town was surrounded by wheat fields, while Croop was the area with vineyards. Although black iron tulip wine was supposedly brewed in Tulip Town, Neo had learned from Millien that the finest black iron tulip wine was made in Croop, as the brewers were also grape growers. Growing grapes and making wine were their passion and livelihood.

“Stubbornness born from passion!” At the thought of this, the gaunt face of the stubborn old man Graves appeared clearly in Neo’s mind. Neo had met Graves due to a misunderstanding, and their relationship was fairly good. When sneaking into Tulip Town to investigate, Neo hadn’t seen anyone from Croop, which made him realize that perhaps this place hadn’t been affected by the Dark Claws. If that was the case, he hoped to rest and replenish his supplies here. Additionally, it would be helpful to make the locals more aware of the lord’s presence and win their hearts, which would be useful for Diuf to take over his father’s legacy.

Croop was a small village with just over 30 households. It was bordered by forests to the east and a river to the west, with vast vineyards to the north. The entrance was in the south, surrounded by a low stone wall. Upon entering the village, one could first see a cemetery behind a gravel fence on the west side of the road, along with a small chapel with white walls, tiles, and a white roof. Behind the fence on the east side was a small hill. Neo remembered that in summer, the hill was covered with wildflowers of various colors, and sheep could often be seen grazing there. Now, everything was buried under snow—no smoke from chimneys, no signs of people, and no animal tracks, as if the entire village had fallen into a deep sleep.

Getting off his mount, Neo patted White Socks’ neck, held the spear in one hand, and led the way. Creak…

He pried open the door of the small chapel with the tip of his gun. Inside, rows of wooden chairs lined the sides, with a path leading to a low altar at the end. Behind it was a stone platform and a life-sized statue of the deity Brennes, whose face was vividly detailed. A faint holy light surrounded the statue—just these two elements indicated its authenticity and sanctity.

He stepped forward, clenched his right fist with the palm facing his left chest, and rendered a warrior’s salute to the statue with a solemn expression. Then he took another step forward and touched the altar; not a speck of dust was there.

Nio sniffed and turned to leave the chapel. He was certain there was no one in the back room.

Walking north along the road, sparse houses stood on both sides—stone foundations with wooden structures and steep roofs, two stories high. Most houses in the southern plains of Edrit were built this way. From the outside, they appeared rough, as if built from stacked logs, but inside they weren’t difficult to navigate.

No one. If there had been anyone, he would have heard them even through the door and smelled their scent.

A wooden bridge with a grass roof, about fifteen meters long, creaked under his feet. Nio stopped when he was still two meters from the bridge surface, slowly crouched down, then looked up at a wooden building about 20 meters ahead. The attic’s skylight was open. Though it was dark and he couldn’t see inside, Nio was sure there was someone there.

Whoosh!

In the sound of the wind, a glint of cold light shot out from the darkness behind the window, aiming straight at Nio.

He dodged to the side and grabbed it—bang! Nio firmly caught the arrow in his hand.

He stepped back two steps. From this position, the bridge’s roof blocked the shooter’s line of sight and the trajectory of the arrows.

“A Sharktooth Feathered Arrow, military-grade.” Nio immediately recognized that this arrow wasn’t the kind commonly used by villagers. The feathered tip was one thing, but the sharktooth shape at the front of the arrowhead—made of steel—was quite luxurious for ordinary hunters. Such arrows were usually found in the military.

Nio didn’t know what had happened in Croop, but he was sure the shooter wasn’t a local villager. Whether it was Tulip Town or Croop, the population was small and highly stable. The shooter must know him. And from his memory, no one in Croop could shoot arrows that well. When he caught the arrow earlier, he was impressed by its force. If it had been him before his strength improved, catching it wouldn’t have been as easy. The shooter had the skill level of a level 3 archer.