Chapter 28: Frost-Spraying Elk

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Frost-Spraying Elk

The young man’s figure instantly overlapped with the memories of his predecessor.

"Big Brother!"

Vilia immediately dropped Wally and exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "How come you’re back?"

Sopps walked forward and gently ruffled Vilia’s hair, not answering right away.

"Brother."

Vili stepped forward to greet his older brother for the first time.

"Vili."

Sopps stepped forward, patted Vili lightly on the shoulder, and said sincerely, "Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I never would have been able to pass the Junior Knight’s Squire assessment."

"It was only right. Besides, that money wasn’t just from me; Father’s and Mother’s savings were in there too."

Vili replied, but he was only halfway through his sentence when Lake and Mrs. Shaven heard the commotion from inside the house and rushed out.

"Father, Mother."

It had been half a year since Sopps left home. They had thought he wouldn’t be back until the new year, so they were surprised he had returned early.

Lake’s emotions were more restrained, as he had just seen his son not long ago. Mrs. Shaven, however, hadn’t seen Sopps in half a year and hugged him excitedly.

"Sopps, why are you home now?"

Mrs. Shaven’s voice was tinged with worry; she was afraid something had gone wrong with Sopps’s job.

Sopps smiled and replied, "Because I just joined the Personal Guard Team, Lord Kels gave all us new recruits a three-day leave. I took the opportunity to rush back home."

"Hm?"

Sopps was about to go inside with his family when he suddenly noticed a wriggling white bear cub at his feet.

Wally looked at Sopps with unfamiliarity in its eyes and instinctively drew closer to Vili’s feet.

"Is this your prey?"

Sopps asked in surprise. When he passed the apothecary where Kuer worked that morning, the two had a brief chat, and he had only just learned that his younger brother, Vili, had become a Hunter. This greatly astonished Sopps. It seemed that in the half-year he had been away, his brother had undergone a complete transformation.

"My pet, to be precise. I brought it back from Morse Forest. Its name is Wally."

Vili grabbed the little white bear by the scruff of its neck and lifted it right up.

Sopps glanced at Wally curiously a few more times before heading inside with his family.

The sun hadn’t yet set, but tonight’s meal was already prepared.

There was both meat and vegetables, an even more lavish spread than the one they had prepared when hosting Kuer.

Looking at the table laden with rich food, Sopps suddenly felt a pang of shame. As the eldest son, he served a nobleman, yet his family lived in poverty, even having to support him financially. Meanwhile, his younger brother had silently shouldered the responsibilities that should have been his, making their home better and better.

"Welcome home, brother."

Vili said with a smile. The family of five quickly fell into a warm and cheerful atmosphere.

Halfway through the meal, Sopps seemed to remember something. "By the way, Vili, in two days, Baron Kels will be at the Town Hall to invite Hunters to enter Bole Forest with him. Did you know?"

Vili swallowed the piece of meat in his mouth. "I know. Father and I have already discussed it. I’m going to sign up in two days."

Sopps nodded. "This is a great opportunity. Lord Kels is taking this hunt very seriously. If you perform well, you might even catch his personal attention."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Shaven’s eyes lit up. "Vili, you must do your best! If you and your brother can both serve Baron Kels, the Ferren Family will be the envy of all the villagers."

In Mrs. Shaven’s mind, getting close to the powerful meant honor and status.

Vili acknowledged her, then asked, "Brother, do you know why Baron Kels is organizing this hunt?"

’If Sopps knows the motive for this hunt, I can be more proactive.’

"I know a little, but you might not believe me if I tell you."

Sopps shrugged. In the six months since he had become a Guard Member for Baron Kels, he had learned many strange things.

Vili’s heart stirred. He had a vague guess as to what it might be.

"The reason Baron Kels is gathering so many Hunters is to find an animal..." Sopps paused and lowered his voice. "A red deer that can breathe frost."

"A red deer that can breathe frost?!"

Vilia had the most dramatic reaction, forgetting to even swallow the food in her mouth. To a child, this sounded like a creature that only existed in stories.

"How is that possible?"

Lake and Mrs. Shaven instinctively thought Sopps was telling a story.

Sopps looked at Vili. "Do you believe me?"

"I believe you."

’Of course I believe him. After all, I have a little white bear that can discharge electricity right here in my house.’

Sopps smiled. "There are many things in this world that we can’t understand, but they are real nonetheless."

Diamond Town was just a remote border town in the Lanton Duchy, rarely visited, so its people were ignorant of many things in the outside world. Sopps knew this was his family’s limitation and didn’t plan to elaborate. He couldn’t change the decades-old worldview of his father and mother with just a few words.

「After dinner.」

In the courtyard, Vili and Sopps sat on a stone.

"Why did you believe me when I said there’s a red deer in this world that can breathe frost?"

Sopps glanced at Vili.

"Because you once said that Baron Kels possesses true Knight Power, a power unattainable by ordinary mortals."

Vili repeated the contents of a conversation from his original memories.

Sopps was rather surprised. "You actually remember that?"

At the time, Sopps had only said it casually, but he remembered that Vili hadn’t seemed interested, so he didn’t continue the topic.

"Does that kind of power that transcends ordinary people really exist?"

’In my heart, I already have the answer.’

Sopps was silent for a moment before saying firmly, "Yes. That kind of power is real."

"Lord Kels has many Knight’s Squires under him, divided into Basic, Middle, and High Levels. But even a High-Level Knight’s Squire is just a powerful ordinary person. However, if you possess the Knight’s Breathing Technique, you can break through the limits of the human body and master an Extraordinary power, truly allowing you to crush ordinary people."

These were all things Sopps had gradually learned after joining Baron Kels’s Guard Team. When he first heard this information, he didn’t believe it either. Not until the day he had the good fortune to witness Baron Kels swing his sword on the training grounds.

In that moment, a jet of white energy shot out from the edge of Baron Kels’s blade, directly smashing a boulder as hard as iron to pieces.