Chapter 76 - 74: Catherine’s Gift

Chapter 76: Chapter 74: Catherine’s Gift

Rock Lion Castle.

After Roy took Count Rock Lion away, Catherine and the others, who had been stunned by the Dragon’s Battle Roar, gradually recovered. They slowly rose to their feet, exchanging uncertain glances.

Under the watchful eyes of Wagner and the other Clan Knights, Catherine walked toward Nox without hesitation, her Fine Steel Cross Sword in hand.

Seeing Catherine walk toward him, Nox shouted, "Stop her! Stop her for me!"

Nox’s voice was loud, but not a single Clan Knight in the square responded to him.

After exchanging glances, the Clan Knights made a rational choice, following their survival instincts.

First, they sheathed their swords. Then, with an unspoken agreement, they retreated and parted to either side.

Although Roy was not in the square right now, they still did not dare to make a move against Catherine.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Roy would be back any moment.

Getting themselves killed to protect Nox simply wasn’t worth it.

Seeing the Clan Knights’ actions, Nox’s expression turned ugly. He whipped his head toward Wagner and Mitchell, screaming hoarsely, "I command you to seize Catherine! Now, seize her immediately!"

The Beluns Clan originally had four Peak Knights.

After Robinson’s "defection" and Medel’s death, only Wagner and Mitchell remained.

Neither Wagner nor Mitchell paid Nox any mind. They stood their ground with placid expressions, as if they hadn’t heard a thing.

Seeing that neither Wagner nor Mitchell had any intention of making a move, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief.

If Wagner and Mitchell didn’t act, the other Clan Knights certainly wouldn’t.

In other words, Wagner and the others were already pledging their allegiance through their inaction.

A moment later, Catherine stood before Nox.

Under Nox’s gaze, she raised the Fine Steel Cross Sword, which was wreathed in a faint yellow Fighting Qi.

"Catherine, I..."

Before Nox could finish speaking, Catherine swung the Fine Steel Cross Sword.

SHINK!

The sharp Fine Steel Cross Sword sliced cleanly across Nox’s neck, beheading him in a single strike.

Nox’s head flew high into the air from the force of the blow. Blood sprayed from the stump of his neck as his headless body crashed to the ground.

After finishing off Nox, Catherine walked toward the castle’s main keep without hesitation, Fine Steel Cross Sword in hand.

Soon, a cacophony of screams erupted from within the main keep.

Not long after Catherine entered the main keep, Roy returned to the square in front of it.

He hadn’t left Count Rock Lion’s corpse to rot in the wilderness; instead, he had stored it in Chaos Square.

His client had explicitly requested the return of Count Rock Lion’s body.

「More than ten minutes later.」

The study on the fifth floor of the main keep.

Untainted by a single drop of blood, Catherine sat in the high-backed chair behind the desk. She looked at Roy, who sat before her, her face full of gratitude. "Thank you," she said softly. "If it weren’t for you, I never could have had my revenge."

"Don’t mention it. We both got what we wanted."

Roy replied calmly.

He did not relay Count Rock Lion’s last words to Catherine.

If Count Rock Lion had intended to apologize to Catherine, he would have relayed his last words verbatim.

Unfortunately, even to his dying breath, Count Rock Lion never believed he had done anything wrong.

That being the case, there was no point in relaying the Count’s final words and allowing him to torment Catherine from beyond the grave.

Hearing his reply, Catherine said quickly, "Regardless, you’ve been a tremendous help."

"In addition to the payment I promised, I would like to give you another gift."

As she finished speaking, Catherine produced a rolled-up leather scroll from within her clothes and handed it to Roy.

"The technique I cultivate is the Golden Eagle Breathing Skill, an Excellent-Level Universal Breathing Technique."

"This is the Inheritance Map for the Golden Eagle Breathing Skill. You like collecting Inheritance Maps, so this is for you."

Roy accepted the Inheritance Map, unfurling it for a quick look. "Thanks," he said to Catherine.

Although the Golden Eagle Breathing Skill couldn’t be used to cultivate to the rank of Silver Great Knight, it was still a fine gift.

Aside from practicing it himself, he could also give the Golden Eagle Breathing Skill to Tony.

Putting the Inheritance Map away, Roy said slowly, "If you run into any trouble taking control of the clan, let me know."

"I’m not skilled at managing a clan or its domain."

"But when it comes to killing, I’m quite proficient."

Catherine nodded.

Roy said nothing more. He took out his mask, put it on, then stood and walked to the window.

Then, as Catherine watched, he leaped out the window.

After Roy left, Catherine picked up the exquisite golden Summoning Bell on her desk and shook it gently.

TING-A-LING!

The crisp sound of the bell immediately rang out.

An instant later, the study door was pushed open. Wagner and Mitchell entered swiftly and bowed respectfully to Catherine.

"Wagner, issue a county-wide notice in my name, announcing the deaths of Nelson and Nox, and that the Beluns Clan will henceforth be renamed the Olson Clan."

"After issuing the notice, take some men to Redwood City and the domains of the vassal families. Have the commanders of the City Guard and the patriarchs of the vassal families come to the castle in three days to swear fealty to me."

"If anyone objects, kill them."

"Mitchell, take some men to the Ice Wolf Domain at once. Invite Baron Ice Wolf to the castle, and make sure you are courteous."

’Invite Baron Ice Wolf to the castle?’

Wagner and Mitchell exchanged confused glances.

They weren’t surprised by her previous commands; in fact, they had anticipated them.

But they hadn’t expected Catherine to also invite Tony to the castle, let alone to insist that they be courteous.

Mitchell didn’t dwell on it, immediately asking, "My lady, if Baron Ice Wolf asks for a reason, how should I reply?"

"It’s simple. Just say that I want to form an alliance with the Wesley Clan to jointly rule Yorkshire."

Catherine replied.

’An alliance?’

’Is this to further curry favor with the Dark Night Knight?’

The same thought immediately flashed through the minds of both Wagner and Mitchell upon hearing Catherine’s answer.

They couldn’t imagine any other reason for it.

Though unsure if their guess was correct, Wagner and Mitchell didn’t press the matter further. They replied in unison, "Yes, my lady!"

...

The "Red Salmon and Cherry Pie" tavern.

Sandru’s office.

Sandru glanced at Count Rock Lion’s corpse on the floor. "With these," he said to Roy, "plus your previous balance, you now have a total of 4,700 Contribution Points. Do you want to exchange them for anything now?"

"Of course!"

Roy replied.

"Alright!"

With that, Sandru reached for the latest Exchange Scroll to hand to Roy.

"No need for the scroll."

"Last time, I didn’t exchange for six of the Secret Techniques: Fierce Strike, Flame Slash, Tornado Slash, Earth-Splitting Slash, Earth Trample, and Heart of Fury. I’ll take them all this time."

"Use the remaining Contribution Points for military supplies and have them sent to the Ice Wolf Domain."

Roy said quickly.

’I’m one hundred percent certain now,’ he thought. ’Once I master the basics of Flame Slash, Tornado Slash, and Earth-Splitting Slash, they’ll immediately trigger an Awakened Effect, just like Frost Slash did.’

’Furthermore, in all likelihood, the Awakened Effects for these three Secret Techniques will be Basic Flame Power, Basic Storm Power, and Basic Earth Power.’

’As for Fierce Strike, Earth Trample, and Heart of Fury, they also have a high chance of triggering an Awakened Effect.’

...