Chapter 147: Augusta and Freyge

Realizing that this young man might be Catherine’s cousin, Donald did not approach him right away but continued to observe from behind, intending to see how Augusta would handle the situation.
It was the other young man who surprised Donald. Although he had used some method to conceal his strength, Donald, who already possessed strength beyond silver level and exceptional talent, could easily discern his true abilities.
A young man under twenty already at the peak of bronze level? He was practically a genius even among noble families, and his background must be quite extraordinary. Moreover, his accent wasn’t from Celt itself; he likely came from the mainland.
Donald couldn’t understand how such a person could be with Augusta—Catherine’s cousin clearly was an ordinary person with no real strength at all!
Then, Augusta pulled the young man to a quiet spot behind the crowd and said, “I know you’re confident enough to fight these people, but have you thought about this? If you clash with them now, even if you win, you’ll be wanted by a noble. If you lose, you’ll likely be killed in secret, and no one will speak up for you!”
The young man retorted indignantly, “So that’s it? Most of those are just ordinary commoners who can’t even afford tolls. If such nobles were in my family, their titles would have been stripped long ago!”
Augusta smiled and said, “Of course not. Don’t worry. Let’s endure for now, go into Shining Gold Town through the back roads with the others, and then report the situation to the town mayor!”
“Will that work?” the young swordsman asked in confusion.

Augusta said confidently, “Of course it’s useful. I found out just now that the former knight lord of Wildhorse Town was also an enlightened ruler. Since there wasn’t much arable land in his domain, he simply opened several inns and taverns there to provide rest for travelers and merchants. Over time, business grew better and better, and the domain quickly developed from a small village into a town!” “But he only had one son, and he doted on him too much, so the son grew up spoiled. He learned hardly any of the old lord’s skills. Recently, the old lord passed away suddenly from an illness. After the new lord inherited the title, with no one to restrain him, he began to squander extravagantly. People who are familiar with the situation around here can tell that Wildhorse Town’s good days are numbered!” “This new lord’s actions have greatly affected the trade in Shining Gold Town, and they will surely take action. You should know that Shining Gold Town has the support of the Celt royal family, and even the various shops in town have their own backing. They certainly won’t fear some local knight lord. Despite these guys acting so arrogantly and annoying here, if they were in towns like Shining Gold Town or Giant Stone City, they wouldn’t even be taken seriously!” “Once this matter is resolved and we get our revenge without getting involved, wouldn’t that be much better than acting recklessly like you?”
The young swordsman was greatly impressed.
“Augusta, you’re really smart. I always fail to understand these things. No wonder Grandpa always calls me an idiot!”
Augusta smiled at this. “Freg, you’re not an idiot. You’re very smart when it comes to swordsmanship training; you grasp things quickly. We just have different areas of expertise!”
Hearing his companion’s praise, the young swordsman scratched his head shyly, looking quite honest.
“Well said!” At that moment, a voice of approval came from behind them, startling them both. Augusta was surprised that their conversation had reached someone else’s ears, fearing it might cause trouble. The young swordsman was surprised that someone hadn’t noticed him from twenty steps away given his skills, implying that the person’s strength must be extraordinary.
When they turned around, they saw a young man dressed in ordinary noble attire, appearing a few years younger than them, but with outstanding looks and a distinctive aura.
The other person was completely hidden under a cloak, with even their face covered by a mask.

“Sir, eavesdropping isn’t a noble act at all!” In response to Augusta’s rebuke, Donald said jokingly, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I’ve been right here the whole time; it’s just that some people didn’t notice!”
“You…”
Augusta was speechless. She wanted to say more to probe the other party’s background, but her companion pulled her back to stop her.
Although the young swordsman Ferreg wasn’t as experienced as Augusta in handling people, he was highly sensitive to danger. He sensed a strong pressure hidden in these two individuals. Even though they showed no sign of hostility, he still didn’t dare relax his vigilance.
At that moment, the other party said, “You two don’t need to go see some mayor. Let me handle this!” With that, Donald led Kelsas back to the front, parted the crowd, and arrived at the checkpoint.
Augusta and her companion exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but follow out of curiosity.
Perhaps seeing that the troublemakers from before had been scared off and dared not show up again, those noble attendants proudly continued to loudly announce the rules for tolls to passersby.
When they saw two people approaching, followed by those very troublemakers, they immediately grew angry.
“What do you want? You must pay a toll to pass. Didn’t you hear?”
Seeing those obnoxious attendants shouting arrogantly, Donald snorted coldly.
“Who set this rule?” asked the leading noble attendant proudly. “Of course, it’s Lord Binder, the lord of Wildhorse Town!”
Realizing they had fallen for the trick, Donald said coldly, “Wildhorse Town? Your territory is over there. This road isn’t your land—it’s the kingdom’s land. How dare you defy the royal authority and set up roadblocks to extort money? You really have no sense of what’s right or wrong!”
Then he turned to Kelsas behind him and said, “Kelsas! Tear down those roadblocks!”
Kelsas stepped forward as ordered. How could those attendants understand any laws of the kingdom or noble customs? Already feeling guilty and fearful, they still tried to bluff and shout, “What are you doing? How dare you offend Knight Binder? This is an order from the lord himself!” But Kelsas ignored their words. With a wave of his hand, he struck, and the wooden roadblock instantly exploded in a burst of flames. Sparks and wood shavings flew onto the attendants of Wildhorse Town, scaring them into screaming.
Seeing this scene, the crowd immediately erupted into chaos.

Mage! Who would have thought that this mysterious figure wrapped in a cloak was actually a powerful and enigmatic mage! Just how noble must then be his master’s status? For a moment, everyone looked at Donald and the others with awe in their eyes. Although Donald didn’t like getting involved in politics or the intrigues of the nobility, his judgment was excellent. The Ansel and Thorne families he chose to associate with were both highly respected in the continent; it would be difficult for them to risk damaging their family reputations for profit, unless that profit was great enough to make them ignore threats from other powerful forces. But aside from the huge gains from the ruins, they weren’t that significant. Moreover, through his interactions with the Ansel family and others, he knew they were all upright people with broad minds and their own moral principles. Although he had only known the members of the Thorne family for a short time, they didn’t seem like people who would let greed cloud their judgment. As foreigners in Celt, they also had many considerations, so they wouldn’t harbor hostility toward him. Character is a very complex concept, but it is extremely important for professionals above the Bronze rank. No matter whether they are kind or evil, without a good character, it is impossible to break through ranks and reach higher levels. By “good” here, we mean qualities such as resilience, composure, openness, and cheerfulness—not simply good or evil, nor cunning and deceit, which can also be beneficial to some people. Emotions like timidity, cowardice, pride, and impatience, on the other hand, represent poor character. A person without perseverance cannot achieve lasting success. That’s why ancient families are cautious in cultivating their heirs. As a result, the infamous incidents of bullying others and abducting women, as rumored, mostly occur among lower-ranking nobles. Even if true nobles aren’t all humble gentlemen, they all have their own principles and would never stoop to such behavior. The knight Bind, one of these masters, is an example. His ancestors worked hard for half a lifetime to achieve this status, only to see it nearly ruined by their incompetent son. It seems such things happen in every world—starting a business is easy, but maintaining it is hard. The younger generation often doesn’t realize the hardships their ancestors went through; they’re willing to betray their own interests without hesitation!

Seeing that the roadblock had been removed and those who had blocked the road had retreated in disarray, Donald shouted at them, “Originally, you deserved to go to the nobles’ council for punishment. But I’m short on time and don’t want to soil my hands. Go back and tell your master, Knight Binder—if he has any objections, he can come to Thalassar to see me. I won’t bully someone weaker; I’ll give him a fair chance in the royal court! Of course, if your master insists on resolving this through a duel, I’ll definitely meet him with all my strength!” Without looking back, he turned and returned to the caravan, leaving the people there buzzing with discussion. “Thalassar? Could this be the kingdom’s hero, Baron Merlina, the lord of Thalassar?” “I think so. Only someone like that could have mages following him. I heard he has several powerful mage followers!” “Of course. His teacher was the greatest mage in the Northlands, and he himself trained the kingdom’s greatest genius mage. I heard our king refers to this kingdom hero by that title!” Hearing these remarks, Augusta would be a fool if she didn’t realize Donald’s identity. Initially, she had been sent by the queen to join this future brother-in-law, feeling somewhat dissatisfied, as he was not only a hereditary noble with vast lands but also a brilliant genius mage. Yet it was still far below being under the protection of a queen. But now, after seeing this future brother-in-law’s strength and demeanor, Augusta was immediately impressed and began to see hope for her own future. So she quickly pulled her companions and rushed after the caravan.