Chapter 148: [Pinch?]

The final sentence was entirely too earth-shattering, and its contents far too shocking!

For a thousand years since the founding of the Empire, having witnessed countless dynasties, who would have imagined that the Lancer Emperor would today publicly promise to bestow the title of... Duke upon a brat not even twenty years old?!

Though granting peerage based on military merit had always been the constitutional tradition of the Byzantine Empire, achievements varied in scale. For someone like Xiahua, who was not yet twenty and had only just been named a baron (and one who had not even been officially invested yet), the Emperor had directly made a verbal promise of a dukedom under everyone's watchful eyes... Such a precedent... was not entirely unheard of! It existed! It truly did! Yet, amidst the shock, as those present racked their brains and searched their memories for a moment, they realized that since the founding of the nation, there indeed had been one such person who had won the Emperor's such profound favor and trust—someone who, starting as a commoner at a young age, had achieved monumental merits and been granted the rank of duke.

Osgiliath! The Lord Duke of Tulip!

Although titles were merely honorary and could not be compared to actual political power, and the Empire often saw high-ranking nobles whose titles were prestigious yet devoid of substantive authority, still... after all, for the Emperor to casually toss out a ducal title with a single sentence was simply too terrifying!!

Yet some people also began to gloat—this Xiahua was likely headed for misfortune!

Greed blinds the judgment! The Emperor was throwing out this ducal title to buy the head of Hastings! Who was Hastings? The premier warrior among the Odin armies! Ever since he burst onto the scene, the Byzantine forces had suffered bitterly! God knew how many renowned generals, fierce warriors, and valiant fighters of the military had fallen at Hastings' hands!

Wanting to secure Hastings' head in exchange for this dukedom... Hmph, this kid was probably asking for trouble! Before he even got Hastings' head, he might just end up losing his own!

However, others thought a layer deeper... Beyond the dukedom promised by His Majesty, there was another condition: within three years, kill thirty thousand Odinites and be ennobled as a count!

A count might not be as illustrious as a duke, but once someone became a count, they could be considered qualified to enter the very core circle of the Empire's power structure!!

Hastings was hard to kill, but killing thirty thousand Odinites in three years... seemed a much more manageable task. Furthermore... hmph, everyone in the military was well aware of the practice of indiscriminately slaughtering the innocent to falsely claim military merit! It was just a question of whether this Xiahua was the ruthless sort.

If he were ruthless enough to unleash his troops on civilians to massacre them and scrape together thirty thousand heads in three years, it was not entirely impossible! Even if he were somewhat merciful, choosing not to let his troops slaughter civilians but instead spending money to widely purchase Odin slaves and buy heads... it still seemed... like a bargain compared to the title of a count.

Opinions and thoughts swarmed, but under the majesty of the Emperor, everyone could only bow in assent. Seeing all the nobles nod in agreement, the old Emperor gave a hearty laugh, flipped backward, and collapsed into his chair, instantly letting out thunderous snores as he fell into a drunken sleep...

The Lancer Emperor was quickly carried away by attendants. Once the Emperor departed, the crowd below instantly felt less constrained. Soon, they crowded around Xiahua, many raising their cups to congratulate him on winning the Emperor's favor. Acquaintances and strangers alike, with genuine goodwill or hidden malice, Xiahua found it difficult to tell them apart for the moment.

Fortunately, the country bumpkin still retained a shred of sobriety. He knew that many among these people probably harbored jealousy, and since he lacked experience, if he casually blurted something out in a social setting of this level, he might fall prey to overt attacks or hidden daggers. With a sudden flash of inspiration, he picked up several large goblets and drank continuously like an ox, refusing to utter a single word.

He feigned a rough and blunt demeanor, leaving the others helpless. A few Hawk-faction generals, however, recognized Xiahua's act and smiled inwardly: This kid actually knows how to conceal his brilliance.

Sure enough, after tossing back several cups, Xiahua fell backward, feigning heavy intoxication. Attendants nearby promptly carried him away, and Kato and Shalba, waiting just outside the banquet area, hurried over to receive him and take him back.

That night, everyone camped in the grounds outside the hunting reserve. Although Xiahua was a baron, he was young and his peerage was fresh, so he was only assigned a separate tent on the periphery of the camp, positioned very close to the garrison quarters of the Imperial Guard—this instantly demonstrated the hierarchy of status and nobility. The higher and more powerful one's rank, the closer one's tent was to the Emperor's golden pavilion, while Xiahua... still had a long way to go.

Though Xiahua was faking drunkenness, he had indeed consumed quite a bit that day. Upon returning to his tent, he hit the pillow and fell fast asleep.

Early the next morning, hearing the sound of military bugles, Xiahua sprang out of bed, casually washed up with cold water inside the tent, put on his armor, and stepped outside.

Outside, the faint morning light was just breaking, the sky half grey and half white, and the entire camp was still largely plunged in silence. Evidently, the nobles had reveled late into the night, and most of them had not yet risen.

Xiahua's tent was at the very edge, having been awakened by the early morning drill sounds of the Imperial Guard nearby. Rising, he saw that at the periphery of the camp, squad after squad of the Imperial Guard had already begun their morning exercises!

The Imperial Guard was the most vital military force controlled by the royal family. Its personnel were selected elites from the standing legions, possessing not only exceptional individual capabilities, but also thoroughly vetted personal backgrounds.

As Xiahua looked on now, they truly lived up to their reputation! These squads of drilling guards were indeed strong in both men and horses—putting aside everything else, maintaining such vigilance in a prosperous place like the capital, drilling so early in the morning, demonstrated that military discipline remained strict. Just this single point commanded respect.

Xiahua stood to the side watching the guards drill for a while, divided into infantry combat and cavalry tactics. The infantry drill consisted of little more than marching formations and tactical maneuvers, but the cavalry drill made Xiahua's blood surge—having hailed from the Thirteenth Legion, he naturally harbored a special fondness for cavalry. Seeing these Imperial Guard cavalrymen execute their drills with neat formations, superb horsemanship, and practiced charges and flanking movements, though merely an exercise, it clearly reflected elite training worthy of a crack force.

Yet... after watching for a moment, Xiahua developed a strange sensation.

There was no doubt that this Imperial Guard was strong and well-mounted, with exquisite equipment—their weapons and armor were a tier above any standing legion he had encountered, needless to say. During training, their formations were proficient, and their drills were conducted with high spirits... and yet... he always felt as though something was missing from this army.

The bumpkin thought carefully for a moment before vaguely grasping the clue.

Indeed, something was missing... murderous intent!!

Murderous intent was something intangible and invisible, but anyone who had experienced it firsthand knew it instinctively!

In fact, judging from Xiahua's own experience, having served in the Thirteenth Cavalry Legion and witnessed its drills, their tactical maneuvers like cavalry charges and flanking movements seemed perhaps less orderly than those of the Imperial Guard.

Yet when the cavalrymen of the Thirteenth Legion charged, that aura of slaughter naturally rushed right at you! This was no illusion, but a temperament genuinely tempered in mountains of corpses and seas of blood! It was a desperate, fierce, and dauntless tenacity deeply rooted in their bones!

He suddenly recalled a saying he had once heard in the ranks of the Thirteenth Legion.

"To measure whether a soldier is a veteran, you don't look at the years he has served! A soldier, even if he has only been enlisted for three days, as long as he has experienced a single real battle of life and death, he is a veteran! Conversely, another man, even if he has served for three years and drills every day, if he has never set foot on a battlefield, he remains nothing more than a greenhorn."

"No wonder," Xiahua muttered softly to himself. "These Imperial Guard troops are permanently stationed in the capital; when would they ever have the chance to experience actual warfare? Though their drills are proficient, they lack murderous intent, and thus cannot be considered true elite troops."

Shortly after, Shalba and Kato also rose and emerged from their tents. Having originated from the Iron Armies, both were accustomed to military life. Awakening early, they saw that Xiahua was already fully dressed and armed. The three exchanged a knowing smile and looked toward the distant noble encampment, which remained as quiet as a dream; all three wore expressions of faint disdain.

Instead, the sound of the Imperial Guard's drills fostered a sense of familiarity among the three.

Soon, Xiahua, Shalba, and Kato drew their weapons and began practicing right in front of their tents. Though outside the active military, morning training was a daily routine never omitted. After practicing swordsmanship and defensive-offensive techniques for a while, Shalba and Kato engaged Xiahua in a two-on-one spar. For a time, the sounds of clashing steel rang out as they fought into a chaotic tangle. Only after working up a thorough sweat and feeling completely refreshed did the three finally shake off the heavy smell of alcohol that had clung to them the night before, dispersing it entirely.

Although the Lancer Emperor had not witnessed Xiahua and his retainers practicing martial arts in the morning camp with his own eyes, reports had been quietly passed to him by subordinates. By the time the Emperor awoke, it was close to noon. Upon hearing the news, he felt deeply gratified, convinced that his judgment of character had not been mistaken; this young man, though in the capital, had not lost his military roots—truly a moldable talent.

During the morning, while the Emperor slept off his drunkenness, the guests enjoyed free activities. Xiahua had remained by the Emperor's side the previous day without a chance to hunt. Having grown up as a hunter, his hands inevitably itched, so he simply took Shalba and Kato into the forest on horseback that morning, harvesting a bountiful yield by midday.

Xiahua's hunting methods relied on more than just archery; he displayed his full repertoire, leaping through the woods, digging out dens and setting traps. By noon, without firing more than a few arrows, the game he had gathered far surpassed the combined total of Shalba and Kato.

In contrast, although Shalba and Kato had served in the Thirteenth Legion for many years and were accustomed to long-term wilderness camping, their survival skills in the wild fell far short of Xiahua's genuine mountain-hunter expertise.

Unburdened by the posturing nobles around them, the three behaved much more freely than the day before, galloping across the woods at will to chase game.

After wandering through the forest for a long time, Xiahua's sharp eyes suddenly caught a flash of white darting through the trees, swift as lightning! He immediately shouted, "It's a snow fox!"

Snow foxes generally inhabited only the bitterly cold northern regions, boasting pure white coats of fur that were exceptionally rare. Furthermore, because these creatures were naturally cunning and alert, even the most skilled hunters found them extremely difficult to capture. Consequently, snow fox fur commanded an exorbitant price on the market, and nobles took great pride in wearing snow fox garments!

Though Xiahua knew of snow foxes, he had never managed to bag one on the Wildfire Plains. Seeing one now, he was seized by the hunter's thrill, let out a whoop, and spurred his horse in pursuit along with his two companions.

Unwilling to use arrows for fear of ruining the pelt, he refrained from shooting and instead spurred his horse fiercely, intent on exhausting the snow fox's stamina first. This particular snow fox had originally been captured in the north by the royal estate's keepers and released here for the amusement of the imperial nobility. Being captive-bred, it possessed far less wild instinct than a genuine creature of the wild, and its native traits had degraded significantly. Driven back and forth by the trio, it was gradually and steadily cornered.

"Spread out to the sides! Surround it!"

Xiahua shouted. Kato and Shalba, both cavalrymen by background with superb horsemanship, immediately separated to the flanks for a turning maneuver.

Xiahua pursued the creature alone on horseback, but the little beast darted haphazardly through the underbrush. Having set out in a hurry, Xiahua had brought neither hunting hounds nor falcons, leaving him with immense strength like a lion tackling a rabbit, yet nowhere to apply it.

In this chase, Xiahua ran far and wide, darting through the woods for quite some time until he lost sight of both Shalba and Kato on his flanks. Far from panicking, his competitive spirit was ignited; today, he was determined to catch this little beast.

Along the way, he nocked and loosed arrows to the left and right—not to injure the fox, but to deter it from escaping to the flanks. Fortunately, Xiahua had packed a quiver of ordinary goose-feather arrows when he set out; otherwise, he could never have afforded such consumption of iron-spined armor-piercing arrows.

After this prolonged chase, seeing the fox ahead hanging its tongue out and slowing down by degrees, Xiahua felt a surge of joy. Suddenly, he saw the ground ahead rise steeply into a hill slope. Spurring his mount up the incline, he found the view opening up before him as the surrounding forest branched away to the sides, revealing a tranquil lake.

Enclosed within the royal gardens, the lake was not particularly large, spanning barely a hundred meters across. Its surface was calm as a mirror and emerald green, resembling a massive gemstone inlaid among the mountain woods.

The lakeshore was covered in lush green grass. Although it was the transitional period from winter to spring, there was no sign of decay, only vibrant vitality.

What startled Xiahua, however, was that someone was standing by the lakeshore!

A woman stood by the water's edge, draped in a snow-white cloak. The cloak seemed woven from velvet, and worn by a woman, it radiated an aura of profound nobility. She stood in profile to the slope below, gazing intently at the lake. A cascade of long blue hair flowed loose, bound only by a golden circlet resting upon her brow. Her skin was white as snow, and despite the cloak's generous cut, her graceful silhouette remained distinct.

Though Xiahua's aesthetic standards remained somewhat hazy at the time, after his visit to the pleasure quarters with Rulger, he had gradually come to realize that the old man had likely fooled him, turning notions of beauty and ugliness upside down. Still, years of habit were hard to shake off instantly... At that moment, the woman standing by the lake, facing the wind like a goddess rising from the mist, would have struck any other man with awe-inspiring beauty at first glance. Yet Xiahua merely blinked slightly and paid it no mind.

Xiahua had no leisure to ponder why there was a woman in the royal hunting grounds; his mind was entirely fixed on the snow fox. Having chased it all this way, he had already palmed several gold coins. Seeing the snow fox's speed drop, he suddenly flicked his wrist, scattering the coins like a shower of golden light. His aim was mediocre, but Lord Xiahua was wealthy now and used gold to hit people by the handful. The snow fox, unable to dodge in time, was struck by two coins and tumbled rolling onto the ground. Xiahua laughed heartily, spurred his horse forward, and leaned down to grab the fox, only to realize the beast had been playing possum. Seeing Xiahua rein in his mount and stop, the creature suddenly flipped over, leaped back up, bolted wildly for a few steps, and dived straight into the embrace of the woman by the lake.

The woman let out a start as the snow fox darted into her arms, exposing only its furry head while a pair of darting, vigilant eyes fixed upon Xiahua, letting out several plaintive whimpers.

Xiahua found himself in a slight predicament. He dismounted, strode to the lakeshore, and approached the woman. Only at close range did he clearly take in her appearance.

She appeared to be in her early twenties, at most two or three years older than Xiahua. A pair of autumn-water-like eyes possessed a clear gaze that held a lingering trace of melancholy—yet these eyes alone were enough to make one forget every other aspect of her features!

It was not that she lacked beauty; by ordinary standards, she was a supreme beauty. Rather, her eyes seemed imbued with a marvelous charm, large and bright, overflowing with spiritual vitality! Although Xiahua's standards of beauty and ugliness were still somewhat blurred at the moment, he instinctively formed a single impression: this woman's eyes were truly breathtaking! Among everyone he had ever seen in his life, not a single person's eyes possessed such a captivating allure.

"Um... Madam." Xiahua scratched his head and gave a slight, awkward bow—an action that even he found inexplicable! It was as if being watched by those eyes, combined with the indescribable noble aura she exuded that carried a sense of sacred dignity, made him involuntarily feel a sense of self-deprecation and awe, daring not to profane her. Accustomed as he was to acting like a bumpkin, his tone of voice unconsciously grew much more polite as he took the initiative to salute. "This... the fox in your arms is my prey. Kindly return it to me."

The woman stared closely at Xiahua, her gaze filled with a trace of curiosity. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she lowered them slightly as a slender hand pressed upon the fox's head, gently stroking it twice until the creature's furry head drooped down. "General... what did you just call me?"

"Huh?" Xiahua paused. "What did I call you? Ah, respected lady... um, madam? Miss?"

The woman looked at Xiahua, her eyes gradually curving into smiles that formed two crescent moons. When she smiled, her gentle gaze enveloped him, causing even Xiahua to feel slightly lightheaded. A blush bloomed unbidden on his face as he stammered, unable to find further words.

"General, you don't recognize me?"

Undeniably, the woman possessed a wonderful voice—soft, delicate, yet devoid of any alluring affectation, warm and approachable.

"Well..." Xiahua grew somewhat impatient. "I haven't been in the capital long... um..."

He glanced back at the snow fox in the woman's arms.

"Ah, were you newly transferred to the Imperial Guard?" The woman looked at Xiahua, thoughtful, and then nodded. She slowly walked forward, passing right by Xiahua. Her tone turned cold again, as if the mere mention of the "Imperial Guard" evoked a latent sense of indifference. Passing him, she dropped a cool remark: "Just in time. My horse was startled and bolted, and my servant went after it, leaving me stranded here alone. Escort me back."

The words were spoken casually, carrying an air of absolute entitlement. Xiahua felt a faint wave of displeasure and glanced at the woman's retreating back... Her gait was graceful and alluring, particularly the long legs outlined beneath her cloak, their curves faintly visible—unfortunately, these beauties were lost on a bumpkin like Xiahua.

At that moment, his mind was occupied solely by the snow fox he had chased for half the day. Not only had this woman clutched it with no intention of returning it, but she was now ordering him around to escort her back?

Damn it, does she take this lord for her servant?!

Irritated, Xiahua snorted. "Hey! Stop right there!"

Startled by the explosive shout, the woman spun around abruptly, frowning as she looked at Xiahua.

Xiahua strode up to her, furious. "You're an unreasonable woman! You snatched my prey, refuse to return it, and besides... I won't waste words with you. Give me back my prey!"

With that, he reached out with a large hand to snatch it. The woman froze in place, evidently unaccustomed to any man daring to treat her so aggressively. As Xiahua's big hand lunged forward, she let out a cry of alarm, clutching the snow fox and turning sideways to dodge. But how could a delicate woman evade Xiahua's reach? Her attempt to dodge only made things worse...

Xiahua felt his hand land squarely against the woman's chest. Closing his palm, he instantly encountered a full, soft mass, resilient and overflowing with volume, grabbing a huge handful of something...

Huh? This texture...

A trace of bewilderment flickered through Xiahua's mind, followed by a purely instinctive reaction—truly, purely an instinctive movement.

The bumpkin's palm even gave it a deliberate squeeze...

Silence...

For several seconds...

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

The woman's eyes suddenly widened as she shrieked, her body recoiling as if struck by lightning before she stumbled and crashed to the ground.