239 - 245

Chapter 239: Preliminary Recovery Body

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

In the next few days, those farmers who were queuing up, worried that Zhang Tie won't purchase their earthworms finally became reassured. Zhang Tie, living in Chevli village, not only continued to purchase their earthworms, but also accelerated his purchasing frequency. He hired many men who were free at home to help him purchase and set the earthworms free.

He paid each person three silver coins a day which was enough for many people in Chevli village to long for that.

After moving into the Chevli village, on the first day, Zhang Tie hired seven people and bought three households' earthworms.

On the second day, he hired eighteen people and bought ten households' earthworms.

On the third day, he hired over forty people. A lot of the men were working for Zhang Tie that day and helped him buy twenty households' earthworms.

On the fourth day, he hired over sixty people to buy another thirty households' earthworms.

On the fifth day, he hired over one hundred people. All the men who were free in the village started to work, and on that day, all the earthworms in Chevli village returned to mother nature. Because he set many earthworms free that day, for the whole day long, Zhang Tie could feel a weird pleasant energy from it. The energy brought him a sense of lightness and pleasure.

That day, although they finished working very late, many people in Chevli village were very happy. Because Zhang Tie had paid each of them an extra silver coin. Additionally, no one had to worry anymore about when this idiot would leave and had finally sold their own earthworms. All those who did so today were also very happy.

And so were Hanna's family members. Zhang Tie had paid them ten silver coins yesterday to let them prepare a bumper supper tonight to celebrate it. Although they didn't know why this tenant would celebrate, now that Zhang Tie had paid for that, they would celebrate it. In places like Chevli village, it might not even take them seven silver coins to prepare for a bumper meal. Zhang Tie's generosity made old Harley reveal a big smile.

After living in old Harley's home for less than a week, all the family members there found that Zhang Tie was actually a very easygoing person. Even when Harley's dog tore his nice clothes that he had washed and hung over the rope, Zhang Tie still replied with a loud laugh and didn't order for someone to take responsibility.

He didn't blame the dog either. What was more, after supper these days, whenever Zhang Tie saw that dog, he would always play with it by throwing a bone to it, touching its head, scratching its stomach, making the dog so comfortable that it rolled over on the ground.

Therefore, the moment the dog saw Zhang Tie these days, it would always wave its tail like a windmill. A person who could even please a dog would also easily please people.

After he gave the last silver coin to a villager who had a big smile, it was already full dark. Taking today's compensation, all the villagers in Chevli smiled and greeted Zhang Tie before returning to their own homes and eating supper. Zhang Tie also felt as if he'd relieved a 500-kg burden inside, feeling very relaxed.

He knew that he would fully recover today. Yesterday, his inner wounds were already recovered by 93.6%, so after cleaning all the earthworms of the last over seventy households, the Fruit of Redemption on the small tree should definitely make him completely recover. It might even bring him some other surprises, because the biggest function of these Fruits of Redemption was to activate some DNA and genes of his which were related to the recovery ability of earthworms.

Zhang Tie really respected the strong vitality of the earthworms.

Today, something special might really happen. From the early morning to now, Zhang Tie kept feeling a stream of pleasure flowing inside him. Like an underground spring, that stream of pleasure gurgled out of each of his cell, bringing an unexpected pleasant state to his body and spirit.

Benefiting from this, Zhang Tie found everything as tender as a refreshing breeze and bright moon, even that dirty dung and those strange laborers. It was very marvelous. This was the effect of setting the earthworms free. The effect seemed especially strong today, dozens of times stronger than that several days a go.

'Is this the feeling after some of my genes and DNA is activated?'

Walking on the path, Zhang Tie thought about it with a bit excitement. Right then, he found that it was bright everywhere. It was already evening now, so how could it suddenly become as bright as in the daytime? He could see everything clearly, including the path, the plants in the fields, even that hay field not far away from him.

Zhang Tie was stunned and stopped. Raising his head, he saw two moons in the sky.

'How could that be? The sun has not risen yet. '

Such a feeling lasted for over ten seconds before everything surrounding Zhang Tie recovered. It was still evening, not daytime at all!

Seeing Zhang Tie stop walking and raising his head towards the sky with mouth wide-open, Hanna's elder brother who was walking together with him also stopped.

"What's wrong?" he asked Zhang Tie.

"Didn't you seen that just now?" Zhang Tie asked him with a dumbfounded look.

"What?"

Having made four silver coins, Hanna's elder brother, who was very excited, scratched his head and looked at Zhang Tie with a weird expression.

"Didn't you see daybreak?" Zhang Tie asked the others beside him as well.

All the others exchanged glances at before saying, "Daybreak? How could that be? The sun has just set. It would be at least ten hours before daybreak!"

"You didn't see light either?" Zhang Tie asked another person.

"No!"

Realizing that their expressions became a bit weird, Zhang Tie didn't ask any more; instead, he just fabricated a reason while still being curious about the ten-odd seconds just now. He didn't think that he was dizzy. How could one feel that the evening was as bright as daytime? Additionally... after such a short while, Zhang Tie felt that his mind seemed to have become more active.

He could only bury this question in his mind and walk towards Hanna's home together with her elder brother.

This was the outcome without the guidance a famous teacher. If Zhang Tie had a famous teacher from the Eastern Continent beside him at this moment, he would know that what he had felt was not an illusion, but the situation of "seeing everything bright when having no distracting thoughts inside", namely a weird and innocent situation that one immersed in both physically and spiritually.

It was a phenomenon that one could sense when one opened the gate of the treasure bank of one's physical potential. That brilliance was radiated from inside the treasure bank of one's physical potential, like what one would see after pushing open the gate of a brilliant palace. That brilliance originated from one's inner existence instead of one's outside.

Many people would not even have a chance to feel this after having cultivated their whole lives. However, Zhang Tie sensed it at such a young age yet didn't know what it meant, so he could only keep the question in his mind.

When Zhang Tie and Hanna's elder brother returned home together, the home had already prepared a table of bumper supper, which contained roasted goose, sausage, cheese. Hanna's elder sister-in-law even took out the beer that she had brewed.

When everybody sat down before the table, Hanna's family members all looked at Zhang Tie. Because it was Zhang Tie who paid for this supper, certainly, he needed to say something before it.

'Is this supper used to celebrate his complete recovery?' Of course not...

Raising his glass, Zhang Tie became a scumbag priest once again. In sacred and genial expression, he uttered, "This supper is to celebrate that tens of millions of earthworms in Chevli that have been set free to the Gaia, the mother of the land. Hopefully, the land under our feet can be forever fertile and full of vitality and provide endless grains and output for everybody. For Gaia!"

"For Gaia!"

Hanna's family members also raised their glasses respectfully and followed Zhang Tie. Even old Harley and Hanna's father looked sanctimonious too.

Although Zhang Tie was trying to remain as a scumbag priest for a long while, only after less than two minutes, he already couldn't stand it any more. At first, everybody at the table was eating supper regularly. When they talked about the beer festival in Blapei that would be held one week later, Hanna and Zhang Tie interrupted them from time, making it a happy meal.

Under the table, a beautiful foot of Hanna, who was sitting opposite Zhang Tie, was stretched toward him. Being covered with the table cloth, she constantly tempted Zhang Tie by slightly rubbing his sensitive part between the shin and the thigh using her instep.

Of course, superficially, Hanna was still eating supper at the table. Only Zhang Tie knew that since the start of the meal, she had not stopped her temptation all.

Not only below the table, even above, Hanna tempted Zhang Tie by some detailed movements that could not easily arise others' suspicions. For instance, when Hanna ate a sausage, she inserted the sausage using her fork and moved it over her mouth. When she was tilting her head and talking with the one beside her, she carelessly rubbed her lips using the top of the sausage. Finally, she carelessly opened her lips with the sausage on her fork before opening her mouth.

After rapidly licking the top of the sausage twice, she put it into her mouth before slowly chewing and swallowing it. However, even though she put in more, she ate less. She just rubbed the sausage between her lips, in and out. Hanna moved so fluently that with the exception of Zhang Tie, nobody else could identify so many familiar, special details from her movements.

After this meal, Zhang Tie felt hot and extremely stimulated. He could only keep drinking beer. Midway through the meal, after exchanging glances with each other, Zhang Tie, who had just drunk a mouthful of beer, dropped the napkin onto the ground on purpose. By the chance picking up the napkin, he peered at Hanna's legs on the opposite side of below the table.

"Puff!"

Only after one glance, Zhang Tie couldn't stand it any more. He then spat out the whole mouthful of beer onto the ground the moment he bent over.

"Ah, what's wrong? Are you choked?"

Sitting beside Zhang Tie, Hanna's elder brother patted his back with concern.

"Cough... cough..." Zhang Tie kept coughing as he sat up straight. "Yes, yes, I choked..."

"Hahahaha..." Hanna's elder brother burst out laughing. "My wife's beer is very famous in Chevli village. Drink slowly, we have more!"

"Yes, I drunk too fast just now!" Zhang Tie answered as he sat up well.

After glancing at Hanna, who was also looking over with concern like all the other members of her family, on the opposite side Zhang Tie immediately captured a wisp of temptation in her eyes.

Among all the people at the table, only Zhang Tie knew that the damned girl was wearing nothing under her apron and skirt, sitting regularly before him. When Zhang Tie lowered his head just now, he caught sight of Hanna slightly opening her legs, exposing everything below her skirt to him. The grass land last night had already become an adorable bald glen now...

...

As usual, after supper, Zhang Tie took a bath and returned to his own room. Because Hanna would stealthily come here in the deep night, Zhang Tie was free now, so after closing the door, he entered the Castle of Black Iron at once.

——Handsome and Magnificent Castle Lord, welcome to the Castle of Black Iron!

When the familiar dialog box disappeared. Zhang Tie walked towards the small tree.

As usual, in the middle of the small tree hung a ripe Fruit of Redemption. However, compared to the ones before, this one was not bronze, but close to golden.

Zhang Tie's heart raced. Fruits of Redemption of different colors would definitely have different effects.

——Fruit of Redemption, from the appreciation of earthworms, has become ripe. Usage: Pick and direct eat it. Notice: The fruit cannot be taken out of the Castle of Black Iron. After twelve hours of having been picked off the tree, its energy and vitality will gradually decline.

——This fruit can recover your wounds by 6.4%, helping you completely recover.

——After Castle Lord completely recovers, some DNA and genes concerning physical recovery and healing ability will be completely activated.

——Through this activation, Castle Lord's body will be advanced to preliminary recovery body.

——The effect of preliminary recovery body is as follows:

1. The healing and recovery ability of all Castle Lord's wounds will increase by 215%. In the evening and underground, this ability will double.

2. Castle Lord's ability to bear fatal trauma will increase by 31%.

3. Smooth and clean skin. All wounds on your body will not leave any scars after recovery.

4. Castle Lord's immunity to all toxins will increase by 5%.

5. Castle Lord's digestive and absorptive ability of various food will increase by 18%.

——Castle Lord needs to set 160,000,000 earthworms free to advance to medium recovery body.

——Current progress towards medium recovery body: 0/160,000,000.

When he read this, Zhang Tie almost screamed. The preliminary recovery body had already turned him into a powerhouse as vigorous as a cockroach. All the wounds on him could recover and heal by 215% in the same period of time. That meant that he could recover from the same wounds in one day that would have required three previously. Additionally, similar to earthworms, this ability would double in the evening or underground.

The second function could also greatly increase his survivability. Some wounds that might be fatal to others might be survived by him. The third function was also good for him as at least he didn't need to worry about his face being ruined. The fourth and the fifty functions were also very powerful which could help him reinforce his digestive ability and his resistance to toxins. They would be very useful at a critical moment. Especially the fifth function which indicated that he could gain more energy from various foods and be more energetic and adaptive.

Generally speaking, this preliminary recovery body reflected earthworms' traits and abilities in special environment.

What made Zhang Tie excited was the last function. As long as the number of earthworms that he set free could reach 160,000,000, his preliminary recovery body could be advanced to a sharper medium recovery body. As a preliminary version had already made Zhang Tie so excited, the advancement would be even more shocking.

The moment he thought of the medium recovery body, the even a greater advanced recovery body, Zhang Tie was very fascinated. He dreamed that one day he could have the ability to regenerate broken limbs like earthworms.

At this moment, he didn't wait but carefully picked this Fruit of Redemption and swallowed it.

Half an hour later, Zhang Tie picked himself up from where he had been sitting, legs crossed. After slightly stretching his body, loud cracking sounds came from his muscles and bones. A familiar and wholly new physical experience rose in Zhang Tie.

Words started to show up in front of him one line after another...

——Congratulations, Castle Lord, you have completely recovered and advanced to the preliminary recovery body.

——Leakless Fruit has started to collect your physical energy and would start to grow...

——Iron-Body Fruit's growth conditions were satisfied, it will begin growing again...

——Seven-Strength Fruit's growth conditions were satisfied, it will begin growing again...

——All the effects of the first Toxin-Resistance Fruit have been recovered...

Zhang Tie howled for a long while...

Chapter 240: Weird

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

Zhang Tie only stayed in the Castle of Black Iron for less than two hours. The first thing he did after leaving was to find a dagger and cut a 2-cm long shallow wound on his left index finger like how he might get hurt when carelessly peeling a fruit. When he moved his dagger away, crimson blood started to flow out his finger.

Having long gotten used to being torn into pieces by a pack of wild wolves in the Trouble-Reappearance Situations, Zhang Tie certainly didn't fear this little pain. He put the bleeding finger under the lamplight in the room to carefully watch it without even blinking.

If it was under normal circumstances, such a small wound would stop bleeding in at least ten minutes. Zhang Tie wanted to see the effect of his preliminary recovery body. Because earthworms didn't like light, in the evening, preliminary recovery body could bring him a double effect, namely 430%. Zhang Tie couldn't control his inner excitement as he waited to have an actual experience of this preliminary recovery body.

After cutting a wound on his finger, Zhang Tie specially checked his pocket watch - 23:14:36.

In the beginning, blood drops rolled down his finger. Slowly, under the lamp light in the room, Zhang Tie found that the rolling blood drops on his finger were shrinking at a recognizable speed. Gradually, they even turned into a crimson string. Finally, when the wound didn't bleed any more, Zhang Tie had another look at the watch - 23:16: 54.

It took him two minutes and eighteen seconds to stop bleeding, which was truly about four times faster than the normal speed. Additionally, Zhang Tie felt that the pain also disappeared much faster.

If he had not exclaimed quite a while in the Castle of Black Iron, Zhang Tie might have been shouting loudly now.

Right then, a familiar rat-a-tat drifted from the door.

These couple of days, Hanna had become increasingly more audacious. When she came to his room the first time, it was midnight; after that, she came here earlier day by day. In rural areas, people went to bed at an early time. Most of them would go to bed between 9-10 pm. so these couple of days, this mad girl even slipped into Zhang Tie's room at 12:00 pm. Today, she came here earlier, when it was not even 12:00 pm yet.

Zhang Tie estimated that old Harley and Hanna's elder sister-in-law might already know about the clandestine affair between Hanna and him, although they pretended not to know about it. After all, Hanna was an adult and nobody suffered a loss in such an affair.

Especially at the table today, Hanna's elder sister-in-law seemed to have found something. When they finished supper, she stealthily pinched Hanna's butt while Hanna made a grimace by sticking her tongue out. All these had been noticed by Zhang Tie.

As expected, when he opened the door, Hanna embraced him while her hot lips were put onto his and a fragrant tongue immediately broke into his mouth and started to crazily and bravely wrestle with his own tongue, making him breathless.

Zhang Tie felt that Hanna was a bit hotter and more enthusiastic than before.

After a long while, the two separated and Hanna noticed Zhang Tie's wounded finger.

"Ah, what's happening to your finger?"

"I was playing with a dagger just now and carelessly cut it!"

"Let me have a look!"

Saying this, Hanna put Zhang Tie's wounded index finger into her mouth and started to suck on it. Undoubtedly, this was another temptation.

When he saw Hanna holding his finger and making it touch her lips on purpose while she licked his finger with a pair of big eyes watching him full of emotions, although Zhang Tie's finger didn't bleed, a part of him started to expand and become grim.

When Zhang Tie was prepared to deal with her, Hanna giggled and immediately held Zhang Tie's mummy and avoided his first invasion.

"Easy, follow me to my room. I'll show you something interesting..." Hanna told Zhang Tie with narrowed, alluring eyes as she continued to move her hand on Zhang Tie's mummy.

"In your room?"

Zhang Tie was a bit shocked.

"Don't you dare, little man?"

Hanna threw a contemptuous glance at Zhang Tie on purpose.

"Never..."

Few people would admit that they were timid at this moment. So was Zhang Tie. After saying this, he blew out the lamp before stealthily leaving his room together with Hanna.

Holding Zhang Tie's hand, she walked ahead. They both softened their footsteps. Not until now did Zhang Tie noticed that Hanna was wearing a skirt that he had never seen before yet one that looked a bit familiar.

"Is this your skirt? I've not seen it before."

"My elder sister-in-law gave it to me. It's a skirt for a young mature woman. Is it familiar?"

Hanna lowered her voice in the darkness while her eyes filled with excitement. Her lips almost touched Zhang Tie's ear, making it itchy.

The two of them then silently went downstairs and went through the passageway there. In the darkness, they went upstairs. Seeing that raised, plump butt waving in front of him, Zhang Tie immediately recalled the sight under her skirt at supper. Heavily stimulated, he was almost driven berserk.

The moment they reached the end of the staircase on the second floor, they were really startled by old Harley's cough in a room beside them. In the darkness, they both stopped and held their breath. At this moment, Zhang Tie became even more nervous than when he had launched a sneak attack on the base of the Brilliant Feathers Army for the first time.

After waiting for several seconds, they heard no other sounds from that room. They then once again begun to quietly move towards Hanna's room. Although it was risky, they finally reached their goal. Zhang Tie silently closed the door and let out a breath.

Hanna then lighted up her room, adjusting the luminescence to make it dim. The room was filled with a special fragrance that always existed in women's bedrooms.

Hanna didn't say anything, just pulled Zhang Tie's hand and came in front of a mirror hanging on the wall of her room. After removing the mirror from the wall, Hanna pulled out a small bar, revealing a narrow crevice.

"Come on, have a look inside!' she called to Zhang Tie full of excitement.

Zhang Tie had already heard something weird, but he still couldn't help but move his head there.

Through the crevice they could see the room of Hanna's elder brother and her elder sister-in-law. They were showing a big play. Hanna's elder sister-in-law had her open legs slightly bent as they were bound to the pillars at the head of the bed. The woman's mouth was bound with a towel. Hanna's elder brother was lying on her body and forcefully invading her by holding her snow-white butt, causing her breasts and butt to move like waves.

It was very bright in that room while the crevice was beside a cabinet not far from them. Under the reflection of the lamp lights in the opposite room, Zhang Tie and Hanna could even see clearly the oozing sweat on Hanna's elder brother and hear clearly those weird noises and sounds.

After watching for several seconds, Zhang Tie felt his face turning red and mouth becoming dry. It turned out that this was the "interesting thing" that Hanna wanted to show him...

...

Until way pat midnight, after staying in Hanna's room for over four hours, Zhang Tie slipped out of of there and returned to his own room. In that time, nobody knew what were they doing in Hanna's room except for themselves.

...

The next day, Zhang Tie woke up naturally. After that, lying on the bed, he started to carefully sense the crystal clear feeling in his mind and the energetic feeling after he had completely recovered. He was so happy that he broke into a big smile. Then he immediately got up and found it was over 8 am, which was not too late.

He then glanced at the wound on his left index finger. Only in one night, that small wound had almost healed, leaving only a fine line as if had been wounded several days ago. At the sight of it, Zhang Tie became merry and felt full of drive.

The breakfast was milk and oat bread. When he ate the breakfast, Zhang Tie peered at Hanna's elder brother and elder sister-in-law once again. He then felt weird inside. Hanna's elder brother and elder sister-in-law both looked frank and normal. Zhang Tie could never imagine that they had such a heavy taste.

Perhaps that was just like an interesting game that they both enjoyed, so it had nothing to do with others whatever they wished to play. However, they might not have imagined that ever since they got married, there was a hole in their wall. So under their gradual daily influence, several years later, an innocent heifer was ruined.

As Zhang Tie was thinking this, he didn't hear what the others were talking at the table.

"Have you heard what my elder brother asked you just now?"

Sitting on the opposite of Zhang Tie, Hanna slightly kicked him below the table.

"Ah, sorry, I was thinking about something just now!"

"My elder brother asked you whether you need assistants today. Villagers are relatively free these days!"

Hanna rolled up her eyes at Zhang Tie.

"Oh, are there any more households neighboring Chevli raising earthworms?" Zhang Tie asked Hanna's elder brother.

"Most of households that raise earthworms were in Chevli, but there are also households in the nearby villages that raise them. 20-30 households in total!" Hanna's elder brother answered after thinking for a moment.

"Are you familiar with those villages?"

"Of course, as I grew up here since I was born, how could I not be familiar with them!"

"Do you think those people who raise earthworms would sell them like you?"

"As long as you can pay as much as what you paid in Chevli, I think nobody would refuse!'

"Well, how about this, I'll pay you six silver coins. Can you help me buy those earthworms in the neighboring villages and set free those earthworms in the wild like what what we did in Chevli?"

"Six silver coins a day?"

Hanna's elder brother widely opened his eyes and his hand holding the bread started to quiver.

"Hmm, six silver coins a day, and you're my agent!"

"What about the money for buying earthworms and hiring helpers?"

"I'll pay you 25 silver coins for a pond of earthworms and the helpers! Additionally, I'll pay you six silver coins a day as an agency fee!" Zhang Tie replied.

"Fine!" Hanna's elder brother immediately agreed. He then felt a bit bashful as he scratched his head, "Isn't six silver coins a day too much?"

"Not that much. This time, as you'll be the commander, you deserve that amount!"

Based on the principle that locusts were also meat, of course Zhang Tie would not let go those earthworms in the nearby villages. Additionally, this time, he wanted to try and see whether he could get the benefits from setting the earthworms free only by paying the money and doing the overall coordination.

If that truly worked, he would have a broader source for Fruit of Redemption. Sometimes, even if he was far away, he could still control and guide others to do this for him. Otherwise, it would not be that easy to reach the next target of advancing to the medium recovery body by gathering the appreciative energy of 160,000,000 earthworms.

After staying in Chevli for so long, he had only set free over 10,000,000 earthworms. Besides money, he might hardly find a second Chevli across the former Andaman Alliance, even the whole Blackson Human Clan Corridor.

If he had to come to Chevli once a year, it would take him at least sixteen years to reach this target. And since the holy war between humans and demons was coming, god only knew how the world would be in a few years, let alone sixteen years later.

Perhaps just like what Donder had told him, many things in this world were not determined by you but by chance, without which, even if you had great talent, you could still not reach the target. Zhang Tie had met this chance in Chevli which would make him appreciate it for the rest of his life. As to whether there will be another chance like this, that really depended.

After negotiating the details at the table, Zhang Tie pulled out one gold coin and gave it to Hanna's elder brother, letting him use it for the following days.

After that, Zhang Tie recalled another thing, "Does anyone sell golden uangs in Blapei?"

"Golden uangs?" Startled, Hanna's elder brother and old Harley glanced at Zhang Tie. "It's just an insect that kids usually play with by chance. Who would sell this? If you need, you can pay someone to find them for you. I think you can get some!"

"I'm just wondering!"

Hearing that explanation, Zhang Tie completely gave up on that idea. What Hanna's elder brother said was true. Besides being useful for a few people, who would raise them and wait for others to buy them? Additionally, if he paid others to catch them and then set them free, based on the rules on forming the Fruit of Redemption, it would be useless.

As he had already completed the evolution of the preliminary recovery body in Blapei, he should not be too greedy. Later on, if there was a chance, he would see whether he could set free a batch of golden uangs. If he gained too many benefits in the same way, he thought even god would not stand it.

...

After eating breakfast at Hanna's home, Zhang Tie caught a chance to tell Hanna that he needed to go back to the city and stay there for a couple of days.

"Do you have a mistress downtown?"

Hanna stared at Zhang Tie with a weird expression.

"No!"

Zhang Tie didn't know why she would Hanna ask this.

"Liar!" Hanna pouted. "Why would you leave today, right after I told you that I'll start menstruating last night? Do you think that I can not satisfy you these days?"

Zhang Tie became speechless at once. He didn't know how to explain to Hanna that he had completely recovered. After recovery, he had to deal with something back in Blapei.

Hanna was so hot yesterday with high, rising desires. Last night, after Zhang Tie conquered her several times, she told him that she would especially want to make love several days before and after the menstruation every month. It seemed that many women were like that and would have a greater desire for making love before and after their menstruation, including Hanna's elder sister-in-law.

Hanna told Zhang Tie that her menstruation was coming today. Zhang Tie then told her that he was going to leave today; no wonder Hanna would misunderstand it.

...

Finally, after comforting Hanna, Zhang Tie left Chevli and came to Tonikas town. He then came to Blapei by a horse taxi.

For some reason, the atmosphere in Blapei hadn't become relaxed but rather even more intense. The moment Zhang Tie left Tonikas, he met two sentries on the way. He was then stopped and investigated. The carter told Zhang Tie that this was because the group of saboteurs and spies of the Sun Dynasty had not been caught by the Iron-Horn Army yet. Since that explosion two weeks ago, these people were as if they had disappeared, making the whole Blapei feel tense.

'Weren't those people killed by me? Haven't their corpses and that warehouse been discovered by others? How could that be...'

Sitting in the horse taxi, Zhang Tie looked through the window at those solemn soldiers of the Norman Empire moving in teams.

'If those corpses have not been discovered, should I send an anonymous letter to the headquarters of the logistics department to end the intense atmosphere in Blapei?'

Thinking of this, Zhang Tie directly told the carter to turn a direction...

Half an hour later, they passed by a suburban street. Sitting in the horse taxi, Zhang Tie noticed that the warehouse which he had left that night was burned into ruins. Like that charred charcoal in the ruins, Zhang Tie's face turned black...

Chapter 241: Mist

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

For some reason, since he caught sight of that warehouse burned to ruins, Zhang Tie, sitting on the horse taxi, had a bad premonition. He couldn't figure out the reason but felt a burden of a heavy stone in his heart, making him a bit uncomfortable.

'Who burnt the warehouse to destroy the scene?'

'Were they accomplices of those spies of the Sun Dynasty?'

That was possible. The fifteen people that he had killed that night might not have been all of the spies. There might be others in this city who might know that this warehouse was one of their secret bases in Blapei.

However, why would they ruin this place? To destroy the evidence? That was possible. But wouldn't it be too attention-seeking to set a fire? If there were truly other spies alive, what would they do after finding that all of their partners had been killed?

'If it were me, in that case, I would definitely escape at once. I would never stay in Blapei any more, let alone set a fire.　

'I wonder whether those corpses were still in the fire. In that was the case, someone should have come here to investigate the fire accident. If more than ten corpses were suddenly found in a fire accident, it would never be ignored no matter where it was.

'In the Norman Empire, according to the rules, any scene of fire would be surrounded with a yellow cordon once it was found. That cordon would remain for a very long time. However, just now, Zhang Tie had not seen any cordon around the scene of the fire accident. Did that mean that those corpses had been moved away by the time the investigators arrived...'

It was a good day, but the previous questions made Zhang Tie feel like he was surrounded by mist.

Because this event involved him and his top secret, Zhang Tie couldn't just ignore it. He had a weird and startling feeling about the place being burnt to ruins.

In the horse taxi, Zhang Tie arrived at the block where Mr. and Mr. Green house was located. He then got off the vehicle and made a mark on a roadside lamp before returning to his residence.

As usual, in the early morning, Mr. and Mrs. Green were still looking after their vegetables in the garden before their building. Perhaps what Zhang Tie had done on that night one week before had greatly shocked them, for at the sight of Zhang Tie this time, although Mr. Green still took off his hat to greet him, Zhang Tie saw a wisp of fear and hesitation on the faces of this old couple.

For two seniors who had peacefully lived in Blapei for dozens of years, Zhang Tie's cold-blooded deed of ordering a soldier to chop off a person's head without any hesitation that night made them very frightened of this military officer of Norman Empire, even if Zhang Tie felt that he was 100% merciful at that time.

Zhang Tie went upstairs. At the entrance of the stairs of the first floor, he saw the woman of the young couple living on the second floor preparing to go off to buy vegetables with a basket. At the sight of him, her face immediately turned pale.

Previously, she was walking in the middle of the stairs, but when she caught sight of Zhang Tie, she immediately became still and leaned against the guardrail of the stairs, forcing a smile and waiting for him to go upstairs first.

Zhang Tie felt speechless, let out a sigh inside, and rapidly strode upstairs, arriving at his own residence on the fourth floor.

Several minutes later, after putting on his military uniform, Zhang Tie left the residence. On the roadside, he stopped a horse taxi before directly driving towards the base of the No. 9 Equipment Administration of the Comprehensive Logistics Relief Center.

Upon Zhang Tie's arrival, Second Lieutenant Pi Ping still expressed his passionate greetings like before; however, he obviously misunderstood the intention of Zhang Tie's arrival. Soon after Zhang Tie arrived in the office, Second Lieutenant Pi Ping gave him an account book and a purse. As the gray income of the 9th Equipment Center was once per two weeks, Second Lieutenant Pi Ping thought that Zhang Tie was here for the money.

The top and bottom of standard gold coins of the Norman Empire were respectively spinulose tree fern and two crossed spears of the Battle God. The first one was the national flower of the Norman Empire while the second was the symbol of the national church of the Norman Empire.

Rubbing that delicate gold coin in his hand, Zhang Tie sighed inside. This life was rightly what he had dreamed of before. He could have a lot of money without doing anything each day. Although not being fabulously rich, he was already well-off. With this amount of money, he could purchase real estate or have a great number of women. After that, he could just be accompanied by a lot of women and gold coins like a pig.

This kind of life seemed being so close to him. However, Zhang Tie knew that if he didn't try his best to run forward, he might not able to live this way for too many days before everything that he owned might turn to nothing.

For instance, there seemed to be a thing that might bring him a great trouble at the present.

Seeing Zhang Tie holding a gold coin and sighing, Second Lieutenant Pi Ping, who had been watching his face, thought that Zhang Tie might not be satisfied with his share.

"Although this share is not too much, it's a tradition of No. 9 Equipment Administration that has been formed for many years. If you want to break this tradition, you might offend many people.

Previously there were some people in your position who wanted a bigger share, but in the end, none of them could stay long in this position!" Second Lieutenant Pi Ping carefully explained to Zhang Tie.

After all, people were usually moved by money. When one could receive a share of 10% of the profits, one would consider gaining a share of 20% percent. Second Lieutenant thought that new first lieutenant administrator might want to receive more than what he was receiving, that 20%.

After glancing at Second Lieutenant Pi Ping, who was sitting in front of him, Zhang Tie forced a smile as he put the purse inside his coat. He weighed it and felt that there were at least 22 gold coins inside, which was about the amount of his father's two-year salary. For commoners, this was not a small amount of money.

"Second lieutenant, I'm very satisfied with the current situation and don't have any intention to change anything, so you don't need to worry about that!"

Hearing Zhang Tie's words, Second Lieutenant Pi Ping let out a sigh inside.

After drinking a mouth of water, Zhang Tie casually asked, "I've been in the rural area to recuperate during the past week, so why do I feel that the atmosphere in Blapei has become even more intense than last week. Haven't those saboteurs of the Sun Dynasty been caught?"

"On Wednesday, two soldiers of the No. 21 Division got lost in Blapei. Because of this, the atmosphere in Blapei became intense again this couple of days!" Second Lieutenant Pi Ping lowered his voice. "Because the Iron-Blood Army didn't want to cause any more tenseness in Blapei, they didn't release this news to the public!"

Zhang Tie became dumbfounded. "Was that done by the spies and saboteurs of the Sun Dynasty?"

"It's very possible. But I don't know the details either. It's those red gloves of the Norman Empire who are responsible for catching those people. Pitifully, they didn't make any achievements since they came here for two weeks ago. It seems that those guys only enjoy an undeserved fame..."

As he said this, a sarcastic smile appeared on Second Lieutenant Pi Ping's face.

"Red gloves?" Hearing the name for the first time, Zhang Tie became confused and he glanced at Second Lieutenant Pi Ping. "What are red gloves?"

Not until then did Second Lieutenant Pi Ping realize that this new officer from Blackhot City might not know who were those "red gloves", so he carefully explained it to Zhang Tie. Even if he was very talkative, speaking of those people, he still couldn't keep from showing a disgusted expression. Nobody across the Iron-Horn Army would like those guys in red gloves.

"You mean it's the secret police under the affiliation of the Order Review Committee of the Norman Empire who's responsible for catching those saboteurs and spies in Blapei?"

Learning of this news, Zhang Tie was shocked inside.

"Right, those guys might be involved with the conflicts between big figures above them. It's said that there were contradictions between marshal Lin Changjiang and some big figures of Order Review Committee of the Norman Empire..."

Second Lieutenant Pi Ping then explained Zhang Tie the inside story about those red gloves who came to Blapei to investigate the explosion case.

"Because two soldiers of the No. 21 Division disappeared, everybody doubted that it was done by those spies of the Sun Dynasty, but nobody knew what to do next. The higher officers were very irritated, so the atmosphere in Blapei became a bit tense these days. Additionally, many more red gloves were dispatched to Blapei this week..."

'Does that mean that there is another batch of spies in Blapei besides those who were killed by me?'

Thinking of this, Zhang Tie let out a small breath inside. Perhaps the warehouse was truly burnt by them. They really didn't fear death and didn't escape at once after the event was revealed. There might even be some unknown secret in that warehouse that they didn't want to expose to the public. After all, he was too hurried at that time and didn't make any careful check around the warehouse.

Zhang Tie then thought about several "proper reasons" inside for everything that had happened.

At this moment, Zhang Tie didn't feel that there was any connection between those "red gloves' mentioned by Second Lieutenant Pi Ping and him. "Red gloves" were just a fighting tool that was thrown into Blapei by a big figure, targeting those spies and saboteurs of the Sun Dynasty. How could he be involved with those small figures?

Thinking this, although being still a bit confused, Zhang Tie just ignored it.

"Do you have an acquaintance in the Equipment Center of the Army?" Zhang Tie asked Pi Ping.

"I know every military officer in the Logistics Department of the Iron-Horn Army!" Second Lieutenant Pi Ping proudly said.

People like Second Lieutenant Pi Ping were always well-informed. Additionally, he could help you get acquainted with a lot of friends. Although people like Leinhardt were very awe-inspiring on a battlefield, people like Second Lieutenant Pi Ping could also be very helpful in some aspects.

"Then go to drive a car, I will go to the Equipment Center of the Army."

"What are you going to... sir"

"I was told that the one who earns the Iron-Blood Medal can receive a special weapon in the Equipment Center of the Army."

Zhang Tie smiled. Since he was almost disabled several days ago, he didn't think about the reward at the time. After all, he would not able to use it, however, he had completely recovered now, so of course he would go to get such a benefit. He didn't have a proper weapon either, so it sounded reasonable to select a weapon in the Equipment Center.

Since it was the Equipment Center of the entire army, it should have many items that were better than those in the arsenal in Blackhot City.

Chapter 242: In the Arsenal

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

In the Norman Empire, which is strictly hierarchical, of course weapons for soldiers were also divided into many classes and ranks. A proper weapon was almost equal to a second life for those who usually fought in battlefields. So the more remarkable contributions soldiers made to the army on the battlefields, the higher their ranks would be, and certainly, the more excellent their weapons would be. Both the craftsmanship and the materials used could never be matched by common, standard equipment.

The super heavy "Man's Certificate" that Zhang Tie had once used was made of LV 2 tungsten manganese alloy while the weapons used by common soldiers of the Norman Empire were usually made of some average LV 1 alloy. For field officers, their weapons and equipment would be made of LV 3 special alloy, the value of which was greater than that of the the same weight of gold.

As a reward, warriors who won the Iron-Blood Medal could select non-standard equipment which was made of at least LV 3 special alloy in the arsenal of the Iron-Horn Army.

Now that there was such a great benefit, Zhang Tie, who had completely recovered, of course would not miss that.

Second Lieutenant Pi Ping then drove Zhang Tie into the base of the Equipment Center of the Logistics Department of the Iron-Horn Army in less than half an hour.

Because they were all officers of the Logistics Department, they could easily talk with each other. Additionally, Second Lieutenant Pi Ping had someone familiar here, so after learning of their purpose, a first lieutenant of the Logistics Department verified Zhang Tie's status before directly taking the two of them to the arsenal.

Compared to the arsenal of No. 39 Division, the weapons and equipment here were over ten times more numerous. Entering the army's arsenal for the first time, Zhang Tie really broadened his vision. Weapons and equipment that were even more exaggerated than the "Man's Certificate" were put everywhere, and all of them were well maintained.

As all the standard equipment was put into cases, Zhang Tie could only see non-standard weapons and equipment which could only be used by officers above lieutenant. Among those weapons and equipment, there were a terrifying shield covered with dense barbed nails the size of a gate, a person-high wheel axe, a horrible battle hammer weighing more than 500 kgs, a super heavy, grim flail with nine thorny hammers, a double-bladed spear longer than 5 m, and a super heavy knapsack crossbow which when fully loaded would weigh 1.2 tons. Zhang Tie wondered what tough man could carry such a great weapon to a battlefield.

Besides those, there were many other weapons and equipment, some of which, Zhang Tie didn't even know.

If he was to put his "Man's Certificate" in here, it would look trivial.

Zhang Tie smelt the richest breath of war across Blapei in this arsenal.

When he caught sight of several terrifying battle bows hung on the hangers in a row, for some reason, Zhang Tie remembered something special. Although he had never touched a battle bow before, at the sight of these battle bows, he suddenly felt very interested.

"Is there any troop that's equipped with battle bows in the army?" Zhang Tie asked that first lieutenant in the Equipment Center.

"As it would cost too much to curtain a bowman than a crossbowman, all the battle bows in the Norman Empire are non-standard. These battle bows were purchased from foreign countries for some powerhouses who are good at using bows!"

"Purchased from foreign countries?' Zhang Tie became curious and glanced at the first lieutenant. "Does it mean that the Norman Empire could not afford making battle bows?"

"There's a strict manufacturing process required for battle bows, as well as special materials. Of course the Norman Empire could also produce battle bows, but the most excellent ones in the Blackson Human Clan Corridor are produced by Jinyun country in the east of the corridor..."

Saying this, the first lieutenant glanced at Zhang Tie.

"Jinyun country is a human country predominated by Chinese. Those who can use bows in battlefields are all powerhouses who are highly praised by high-ranked officers. However, they have very bigoted, high requirements on the manufacturing process and materials of battle bows. Therefore..."

After that, that first lieutenant didn't continue. However, Zhang Tie understood what he meant, namely, none of those who were talented and confident in using bows in battlefields would want to use second-class battle bows produced by the Norman Empire. Instead, they all liked the battle bows produced in Jinyun country.

So the Norman Empire didn't want to produce any which would lose them face. Additionally, they were just non-standard equipment. The Iron-Horn Army didn't prepare too many of them, just directly purchased some from foreign countries to meet the demands of those powerhouses.

At the sight of these battle bows, Zhang Tie recalled Blues. Based on Zhang Tie's understanding of him, if that guy could make a choice, he would definitely choose the best battle bow. It was estimated that bowmen all had weird temperaments.

Jinyun country. Zhang Tie remembered this country's name. As a Chinese, he was a bit proud, but as two officers of the Norman Empire were standing in front of him, he hid his sense of pride from his face; instead, he just took a battle bow and had a look at it.

It was very heavy, over 20 kg. The handle of the battle bow was made of a weird material, which was neither gold nor wood. Zhang Tie didn't know what it was. The entire battle bow was well made. Holding it, Zhang Tie felt a sense of sharpness and killing intent.

After putting it back, he noticed two seal Chinese characters "Huai Yuan" on the handle of the bow.

...

Because weapons and equipment made of LV 3 special alloy were only available to field officers, the warehouse for these weapons was a bit smaller, only occupying less than 100 sq m. The weapons were put in a room deep inside the arsenal. They needed to pass another door before entering it.

Under the guidance of that first lieutenant, Zhang Tie and Second Lieutenant Pi Ping came to this room with more advanced weapons.

Compared to those weapons with terrifying looks and volumes outside, perhaps due to the precious materials, the weapons inside this room looked much more "normal". None of them weighed several kgs or even close to 1 ton like those before. Instead, the most numerous weapons in this room were sabers, spears, and swords as well as some weird items, less than 200 in total. Because they were all non-standard weapons, each weapon here looked unique.

Looking at these shiny, excellent weapons on the hangers, Zhang Tie's eyes were even brighter than ten thousand years' fluorite lamps.

Undoubtedly, these were the most valuable and excellent weapons that Zhang Tie had ever seen since he was born.

After taking Zhang Tie in, the officer casually pulled out a shiny long sword with fish scale-like grains and took an average finger-thick steel rod. Without using any strength, he put the steel rod horizontally in front of him while flicking the sword towards it.

With a sound of "clang", that steel rod was cut in two, part of it falling to the ground, rolling towards Zhang Tie's foot. Lowering his body, he picked it up and saw that the section was as smooth as a mirror.

Such a weapon really deserved the description—slashing iron as easily as slashing mud. Average weapons would be easily broken by it. The first lieutenant then brought the sword to Zhang Tie. Although it had cut the steel rod, Zhang Tie found that the blade did not even have a mark—it was as shiny as before.

Second Lieutenant Pi Ping also forcefully swallowed his saliva. These weapons meant a pile of gold coins in his eyes.

"Do all the weapons here reach this standard?" Zhang Tie asked.

"Almost like that. But they're different from each other. LV 3 special alloy have some weird attributes. Take this one for an example..." Taking a specially designed shield, the first lieutenant explained, "This shield is made of LV 3 memory alloy. No matter how you pound it, it would never lose its shape. As long as you heat it up above fire, it would soon recover its original look. "

After putting down that shield, that first lieutenant took up a heavy crossbow. Noticing him taking a heavy crossbow by one hand, both Zhang Tie and Second Lieutenant Pi Ping were startled.

The first lieutenant gave them a smile. "It looks to be very heavy, but actually, because it's made of special alloy, it's much lighter than a light cross bow; however, its power remains unchanged! Look at the weapons carefully, you can select one as you will..."

Zhang Tie then started to wander through the excellent weapons. Because most of the field officers in the army would select a long saber or a long sword here while brigade officers preferred long spears, the place was filled with the three weapons. However, there were also many other items in this room. Zhang Tie even saw two advanced battle bows.

Second Lieutenant Pi Ping suggested Zhang Tie to select a long sword. However, Zhang Tie shook his head. Although long swords were nice, they were too eye-catching. So were those sabers and spears. Actually, Zhang Tie wanted to select an item that he could use to fight at any time, so it had to be not that attention grabbing. If he had had such a weapon, it would have undoubtedly been much easier for him to respond to that abduction.

Finally, what caught his attention was a weird item. Unlike other weapons that were hung on the hangers, this item was put in a dark red tray. It was rolled up there like a waist band. Among all the other shiny and eccentric weapons, it was as humble as an ugly duckling..

Chapter 243: Red-Snake Sword

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

Zhang Tie picked that rolled up item and took a careful look at it. F*ck, it was truly a leather waistband. Although it looked nice and was worth dozens of silver coins, it was still a bit weird to see it put together with the advanced weapons that were only available to field officers.

Hold on...

Zhang Tie found something eccentric as the buckle of the leather waistband was a bit special. It was much bigger than that of average waistbands; besides, it was two snakes that wrestled with each other. Although grungy, it was also gorgeous. The space formed by the two wrestling snakes seemed like it could be used hold the waistband.

Zhang Tie noticed a raised button under the waistband buckle. The moment he pressed it, the metal buckle jumped upward and was tightly held in his hand.

At the beginning, Zhang Tie thought that this leather waistband was a soft sword that could be fastened around his waist. Donder once sold similar items in his grocery store. However, when the handle-like snake-shaped metal item jumped out, Zhang Tie thought this was a hidden dagger. However, when he held it, he became dumbfounded as this was neither a soft sword nor a dagger but purely just a sword handle without a blade at all.

Zhang Tie took a careful look at it. It was truly a handle with a 2-cm wide gap in the hand-guard where the two snakes were opening their mouths. It was so small, just like the wound that Zhang Tie had cut on his own hand last night.

'What's this? A hidden weapon? Although it holds good, there's no hidden button or switch on the snake-shaped handle at all. '

"What's this?"

Before Zhang Tie opened his mouth, Second Lieutenant Pi Ping who was standing beside him, asked.

"It's a very special sword!" first lieutenant said and took the item from Zhang Tie's hand.

"Keep away from me, I will display to you how to use this sword!"

Zhang Tie and Pi Ping moved several steps back.

"You'd better keep two meters away. This sword is a bit special, I cannot well control it..."

Zhang Tie and Pi Ping then moved several more steps back until they were two meters away from the first lieutenant. At the same time, they were wondering what kind of sword it was.

"Keep your eyes on it!"

Soon after he finished talking, the officer took a deep breath and flicked that sword in his hand. With a light sound of "cha", a sharp and thin sword blade popped out of that snake-shaped handle. A sharp, chilly light flashed and a steel rod on a hanger one meter ahead of the first lieutenant was cut into two parts.

And the chilly light kept sweeping over and striking in another direction disorderly for several times like a disobedient spring. Two times it even struck towards Zhang Tie and Pi Ping, who were so scared that they moved two steps back at once. That first lieutenant then forcefully controlled that sword handle to calm the freely jumping blade.

"The blade of this sword is completely hidden in the handle. You need to use your hidden strength, invisible strength, or battle qi to force it out. Because the blade of this sword is soft, thin, and flexible, it's hard to control. If one makes a mistake, one might easily hurt himself. That's why it has been here for a very long time,no officers wanting to select it..."

After the officer said his piece, Zhang Tie walked towards that sword. He pinched the blade which was as thick as cicada's wings and a bit wider than two centimeters with his two fingers and took a careful look at it. At this moment, the blade was not longer than 1 m. However, he had felt before that the blade was over longer than that.

"Watch out, I'm using my hidden strength to push the blade. If I collect my hidden strength, the blade would draw back and wound your hand..."

"What's the full length of the blade?" Zhang Tie asked.

"About 3 m. You can pull the blade by hand. I will slowly push it out using my hidden strength to show you its full length!"

Thus, Zhang Tie pinched the tip of the blade with his two fingers and moved back. Being slowly pushed by the first lieutenant officer's hidden strength, the blade was slowly pulled out. It was truly about 3 m in full length.

F*ck! Gazing at such an exaggeratedly thin and narrow blade, Zhang Tie immediately understood the source of the creator's inspiration.

Metallic tape!

The source of the inspiration for inventing this sword was such a common item in people's daily life. Zhang Tie could still remember that when he was very young, he took out his dad's metallic tape to play. In the end, because the tape drew back too fast, it wounded his face and hand at the same time. For this, he was even beaten by his mom, which really left a deep impression in his mind.

The blade of this sword was like the metallic tape which was rolled and hidden in the sword handle. One had to use special strength to push it out. Once that strength disappeared, it would draw back itself. With the exception of the materials, the craftsmanship, and that gorgeous handle, was there any difference between this special long sword and a metallic tape that cost only dozens of copper coins on principle and originality?

Was it because the inventor of this sword was once wounded by a metallic tape when he was young at home that he had such an idea when he grew up—it was definitely like that.

For powerhouses, plain clothes could be taken as rags, let alone such a delicate and sharp weapon. Besides hard control, the reason that the weapon had not been selected by others was mainly that it was designed a bit womanly in both style and usage, which was a bit inconsistent with the masculine, gorgeous, and magnificent weapons that were pursued by the soldiers who followed the Battle God.

Although others didn't like this weapon, for Zhang Tie, it was very proper.

That waistband was basically a portable hanger for that weapon. This portable and unattractive item was mot suitable to Zhang Tie's current situation.　

As for its usage in actual combat, the Trouble-Reappearance Fruits could solve this problem very soon.

This special sword had a very proper name—Red-Snake Sword!

Red snakes were poisonous. According to the first lieutenant, there were some special red decorative patterns on the blade that had undergone special treatment. When one used his hidden strength to push it out, one would see a shiny, swimming red snake. Additionally, based on one's strength to push it out, the colors and the quantity of red snakes displayed would also be different.

Undoubtedly, although a bit weird, this red snake sword was definitely qualified to be put in here.

Without any hesitation, Zhang Tie chose it straight away.

Because he could not easily try it here, nor did he want to reveal the truth that he had completely recovered, he chose this sword without even trying it once. Instead, he signed a document of taking it away before leaving with Pi Ping. By the time they arrived at the gate of the Equipment Center, Zhang Tie had undone his own average waistband and thrown it into a dustbin. Soon after that, he fastened the red-snake sword around his waist.

He was in a very good mood.

...

In the evening, Zhang Tie ate supper in the same hotel where he ate with Bilis last time. This time, he felt that his appetite had increased by almost 20%. It seemed like an effect brought by his preliminary recovery body. After eating the same amount of food as usual, Zhang Tie ordered one more steak, after eating which, he felt almost full.

After this meal, Zhang Tie felt that after digesting the food, the nutrients and energy in the food were making him more energetic, both spiritually and physically at a faster speed. There seemed to be one more warm qi inside him when he ate the food, which made him very comfortable.

Zhang Tie was certain since when Bilis was standing in front of him respectfully. After eating supper, Zhang Tie glanced at Bilis. After one week, the man had changed his clothes. He was wearing a casquette and looked good, at least much more decent than the last time.

"Take a seat..."

After being allowed to sit, Bilis carefully sat opposite of Zhang Tie and reported about what had happened this week.

As was expected, after the allocation of the twenty gold coins that Zhang Tie had blackmailed from Mr. Beise to those ruffians whose legs were broken by him, none of them hesitated. They all received the treatment fee and started to work for Bilis. For those ruffians, it was one hundred times more honorable to rely on Zhang Tie than that guy who had a ring on his nose.

Zhang Tie felt a bit pleasant inside as he experienced the effect of compliments and warnings for the first time. It also brought him a sense of achievement to have tamed some ruffians into his lackeys.

"I told you to collect information about those spies and saboteurs of the Sun Dynasty. How about that?"

Hearing Zhang Tie's question, Bilis became a bit nervous. "It's said that those people who were responsible for capturing those people were the secret police of the Norman Empire. As they work very secretly, I could not get any relevant news!"

This answer was also within Zhang Tie's expectations. As Bilis could tell him who were responsible for catching those spies and saboteurs of the Sun Dynasty, it seemed that he had done a lot However, people like him could only collect some gossip instead of secret news.

After the report, Bilis became a bit nervous and glanced at Zhang Tie. "Uhm... I've got one problem!"

"What's that?"

"Those people... still don't trust that I'm working for you. They... they want to see you, their true boss before being certain!"

Zhang Tie slightly frowned at first, but soon calmed down. This was also within his expectations.

"Have they recovered?"

"Not yet, but after receiving treatment, many of them can walk now!"

"Someday next week I'll meet them!"

"Okay!"

Bilis then lowered his head...

...

Now, Zhang Tie didn't have time to care about this trivial affair at all. What he mostly wanted to do was to return to his residence and enter the Trouble-Reappearance Situation to try his Red-Snake Sword..

Chapter 244: Carnival

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

All the average wild wolves and huge wolves in the surrounding mountains and plains surged towards Zhang Tie in waves...

At this time, the red-snake sword had become a flexible, spiritual snake that was swimming in the space 1 m-3 m in front of Zhang Tie. All the wild wolves that rushed into this space would be lose their heads or receiving terrifying wounds on their bodies, spattering blood; they wailed mournfully and rolled on the ground before dying.

Another three wild wolves charged at Zhang Tie with one in the front and two behind. Zhang Tie waved his red-snake sword and chopped off the head of the first wild wolf which was over 1 m away from him. Right after that, the blade elongated once again and reached 3 m away. After drawing an elegant "S" curve, it cut two terrifying two-feet long wounds on the wild wolves behind. Those wounds went from their heads to their tails, causing them to scream miserably.

The wild wolves attacked Zhang Tie like an endless tide. The moment he killed the three wild wolves, another one charged at him. When the wild wolf was about to open its bloody mouth and bite at Zhang Tie's shin, the blade that had been reaching 3 m away immediately drew back like a lightning bolt. Before Zhang Tie moved, that blade bounced back and flew past that wild wolf. As a result, the moment the wild wolf moved close to Zhang Tie, it spattered a great amount of fresh blood, then mournfully wailed and rolled away.

The blade was almost completely drawn back, only revealing a small section of less than 20 cm from the handle. Zhang Tie rapidly moved aside and avoided a huge wolf that had silently sneaked close and then fiercely charged at the most critical moment. However, while it was still in the air, Zhang Tie had used his dagger-like sword to thrust at it several times...

As a result, the moment the huge wolf fell on to the ground, it tilted down.

More wild wolves charged at him and just after a wave of his hand, an over 2-m long blade cut through the wild wolves like how it had dealt with the others before...

Then the blade drew back once again and turned into a 1-m long sword, like an average sword. Holding it, Zhang Tie felt as if he was using an average long sword. He then rushed into the wolf pack and brought a foul wind and a rain of blood...

Ten minutes later, Zhang Tie thrust his long sword into the last huge wolf's mouth. The rapidly elongating blade directly cut through the huge wolf's body and drilled out from its bottom before drawing back. Holding the sword, Zhang Tie glanced over the shiny blade with no fresh blood on it since the beginning of this massacre. He burst out laughing...

If Second Lieutenant Pi Ping and that first lieutenant of the Equipment Center would have caught sight of him using this red-snake sword so adroitly, they would've been greatly amazed, so much that their mouths could even hold a big duck egg.

The Trouble-Reappearance Situation broke into light dots once again.

...

Today was the third day after Zhang Tie got his red-snake sword. The fact was that if you wanted to adapt to a weapon, you had to practice it on a battlefield.

These days, holding this sword, Zhang Tie had experienced many battles and deaths in the Trouble-Reappearance Situations. He had been wounded by the sword many times due to his improper use.

After experiencing so many battles and deaths at the cost of his life and fresh blood, after being attacked by thousands of wild wolves and huge wolves in total, Zhang Tie sensed the secret of red-snake sword for the first time. Holding the sword, he finally understood how to flexibly use this sword from his inner heart.

Zhang Tie realized that he had truly gotten a treasure. This red-snake sword was definitely a top weapon in the arsenal. If Zhang Tie would've been asked to name it, the name he would grant would definitely give people a feeling of coarseness - Man's D*ck.

The whole sword could change length and hardness at his will. What else was it if not a man's d*ck.

The secret to manipulating the red-snake sword so adroitly lay in the frequently changing hidden strength that was poured into the blade. With hidden strength, the sword's blade could become hard and elongate. If it was too long, the blade would be a bit flexible which would make it hard to control.

At this time, the swordsman should make adjustments to the hidden strength that he had injected into the blade for the sake of performance so that the hidden strength that in the blade could keep in a mobile balance with the weird performance of the blade. This way, the swordsman would be able to freely manipulate this sword and exert its power to its largest extent.

For a warrior, when he used a weapon, the strength he injected into the weapon was relatively stable, so it was a huge challenge for many people to inject a changing hidden strength into the weapon they used. When one used this weapon, he needed to calculate and frequently change the amount of the hidden strength that was injected based on different situations, which meant a heavy burden on one's mentality and physical strength. Especially in combat, this burden could not be born by many people. However, for Zhang Tie, who had terrifying spiritual energy and the extremely great mental arithmetic by abacus, it was even simpler than drinking cold water in this case.

At the beginning, Zhang Tie had not adapted to this sword well, but after figuring out the know-how of changing the amount of the hidden strength according to the blade's performance and the actual situation when the blade was pushed out to a certain length through numerous times of practice, he was able to exert its power to the utmost.

Sometimes, Zhang Tie felt that the item in his hand was a mix a sophisticated weapon instead of being just a sword. It might be more fitting to see it as a cross-disciplinary weapon.

When the blade only reached a bit longer than 20 cm, this sword could be used as a dagger or a short saber.

When the blade reached a bit longer than 1 m, it could retain its largest rigidity and have a proper tenacity after being injected with hidden strength. This sword then could be used as a delicate long sword that could easily cut iron like cutting mud.

When the 3 m blade was fully extended, this sword could be used as a terrifying battle sword that could even match the "Man's Certificate". Its attack radius could reach over 4 m if counting Zhang Tie's arms and steps. Additionally, the super thin blade made of unknown metal was definitely more effective than that of the "Man's Certificate". Used with enough strength, this red-snake sword could definitely be used as a whip and a spear.

When one used it as a whip, its blade could whip the opponent. After using it adroitly, one could bundle something using the sword and bring it in front of him. When one used it as a spear, the sharp sword tip, it could easily cut through a huge sword or a varanid within 2-4 m. After being injected with hidden strength, the triangular-shaped sword tip could rapidly stretch out like a hidden weapon to reinforce the piercing effect.

The guy who invented this sword was definitely a genius. However, a genius' work would always be isolated and buried among a great amount of fierce weapons that shone with icy lights. Even if someone didn't complain about its feminine look and took a casual look at it, how could one immediately know the design's essence and usage of this weapon. They would only feel it was not easily controlled. Due to various reasons, the red-snake sword was in the end discovered by Zhang Tie.

In truth, if not because Zhang Tie didn't want to expose his real strength and was not in the frontier, he would not have chosen this weird weapon as the reward for him winning the Iron-Blood Medal. However, based on the weapon's capabilities, he made the right choice this time. He was filled with surprise inside.

...

The next few days were Zhang Tie's most relaxed and pleasant days in Blapei.

Being in the weird state where she bled yet wasn't wounded, Hanna became obedient and didn't come to Zhang Tie at midnight like before, giving him more time to immerse himself in the Trouble-Reappearance Situations to constantly improve his fighting skills.

In contrast, Hanna's elder brother always got up early and returned home late each day as the "agent" for setting free earthworms for Zhang Tie. The farming households in the neighboring villages of Chevli eagerly sold their earthworms to Hanna's elder brother, whom then had all the earthworms set free in the wild.

Although Zhang Tie wasn't set the earthworms free himself, the merit value points of having Hanna's elder brother do it were still making the Fruit of Redemption grow, the effect of which was still on Zhang Tie.

He could check the effect of having Hanna's elder brother set the earthworms free, which really surprised him. Learning that it was truly feasible, Zhang Tie estimated that even if he didn't have to go to Blapei, he could still have an agent like Hanna's elder brother to set the earthworms free for him. Perhaps in a few years, even before the holy war, he would have achieved the medium recovery body. He was really happy from eating fruits at such a stable frequency.

Additionally, the affair of Zhang Tie buying earthworms in Chevli village had not only spread across Chevli but also the neighboring villages. Tempted by the silver coins, some households in Chevli and some in neighboring villages started to raise earthworms. Although they didn't know whether that idiot would come here to purchase their earthworms a year later, it was not bad to just have a try.

Of course, Zhang Tie was happy they thought of doing it.

During the most leisurely and relaxed days, many people across Blapei and even in the Chevli village were actually busy in a nervous and joyful state, because a few days later, the most important and grandest annual beer festival in Blapei would arrive.

On the day of the beer festival, villages like Chevli would organize several festooned vehicles to travel to downtown in Blapei. The strongest men and the most beautiful women and the most delicious beer in Chevli would go together with the festooned vehicles to celebrate the carnival for one day in downtown. It was a big event for the entire village.

With such a hot atmosphere, the carnival of the beer festival in Blapei was coming..

Chapter 245: An Elder from Zhang Clan

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

At dusk, an airship appeared above the civic square of Blackhot City. It arrived so abruptly as if it was emerging out of the void. Before most people in Blackhot City noticed, it had already appeared.

For most average citizens in Blackhot City, airships were a rarity. That's why when some people with sharp eyes noticed the sudden appearance of an airship above the civic square of Blackhot City, many people nearby raised their heads and stared at that it hovering over 200 m above the ground.

Nobody had seen that airship before. The flat, smooth, and streamlined airship had two stable flaps like a bird's wings. It's light shone silver. Looking from the ground, it was like a flying silver fish floating in the sky.

Because it wasn't too high up, people on the ground could clearly see the propellers on the tail and the two flaps of the airship.

Generally speaking, this was an elegant and domineering airship. The moment people saw it, they would know it was definitely an advanced airship.

The arrival of the airship excited the photographers who were soliciting trades on the civic square. They adjusted the right angles and supporting their photographic equipment, saved the citizens of Blackhot City from missing such a chance to take a photo with such a beautiful airship. Certainly, there were many citizens who wanted to take photos.

The airship kept hovering above the civic square. Nobody knew what it was going to do. Many people in Blackhot City speculated that it came from the Norman Empire. There might be a big figure inside.

Such a peaceful ambience remained unchanged for over ten minutes until a great amount of fully-armored soldiers and vehicles of the Norman Empire arrived as if to face a formidable enemy. An officer of the Norman Empire ordered the soldiers to evacuate the population from the civic square. Not until then did the citizens realized that something was not right and hurriedly left.

Looking at that airship, an officer of the land-to-air defense camp of No. 39 Division oozed fine sweat over his forehead. This airship moved so fast. The moment the air-defense troop in Blackhot City noticed it flying towards the air territory of Blackhot City without any symbol of the Norman Empire on it while its patterns and specifics didn't meet any airship in service or produced by the Norman Empire, the air-defense troop had delivered an air-defense warning to the land troop here.

Since the main stream-driven boiler of the air-defense weapons on the city wall of Blackhot City was in active state, after receiving the warning, the well-trained soldiers of the No. 39 Division pressurized the main boiler and prepared the air-defense weapons. During this process, the soldiers of the No. 39 Division really performed perfectly. However, this airship flew so fast that before the air-defense weapons were ready, it had already rushed into the LV 1 air territory within the city walls.

Because this airship hadn't come from the Norman Empire, if not for the officers of the air-defense camp who were absolutely sure that there was no such airship in the Sun Dynasty, the air-defense warning would have long been rung throughout the city.

However, the officers of air-defense camp were still oozing cold sweat all over.

"Sir, the lamp message vehicle of air-defense camp is already in place!"

"Contact those people on the airship using plain codes, inquire their status and purpose here!" the on-site officer delivered the order.

...

On the ground of the civic square, a professional land-to-air communications vehicle was already ready. On the vehicle was a group of special optical communications equipment. After receiving the order, the soldier rapidly peeled off the cover off the equipment and sent the same lamplight message twice towards the airship.

The airship soon replied as its lamplight signal equipment also started to twinkle towards the land.

Seeing the airship contacting the land, the officer of the air-defense camp finally let out a breath.

...

In only a few minutes, Colonel Leibniz, who had received the news, arrived at the civic square in a vehicle. The people in the airship wanted to talk directly to him and Colonel Leibniz didn't find it improper at all, because no matter whether in the Norman Empire or elsewhere, any people who could take such a luxurious airship were undoubtedly big figures who had both great status and background. At least Colonel Leibniz was not qualified to take such an air traffic tool.

When he arrived at the civic square, Colonel Leibniz raised his head and looked at that beautiful airship. He then re-confirmed that none of the generals' airships in the entire Iron-Horn Army could match this airship. In the entire North Border Army of the Norman Empire, perhaps only the personal airship of marshal Lin Changjiang which was customized from the east could match this airship.

Colonel Leibniz wondered why any big figure would be interested in this remote, small city.

After receiving the news that the supreme commander of Blackhot City had arrived, the people inside the airship started to get off.

Yes, get off. They directly got off from hundreds meters high in the air.

The moment the soldiers and officers of the air-defense camp of the Norman Empire caught sight of the black spots that jumped out of the airship in a tidy formation, everybody became dumbfounded as they widely opened their mouths. The black spots jumping out of the airship were people.

Those people rapidly jumped off the airship like dumplings diving into the water. They quickly narrowed the distance between them and the ground and reached the height of less than 50 m above the ground in a wink.

When everybody on the land thought those lunatics jumping out of the airship were going to become meat paste, they all felt that the sky had turned dark for a short while since all the lunatics had opened a helical rotor in hand which kept rotating. As a result, all the lunatics slowed down. Soon after that, they collected their parachutes before directly hitting the ground like meteors falling from the sky.

"Boom!"

All the soldiers standing around the square felt the ground tremble a bit. In a split second, many bricks on the ground broke into pieces like spider web stretching through the square.

All of a sudden, all the Chinese soldiers with black hair and eyes were standing straight like javelins, revealing a killing intent.

Seeing those people falling to the ground from several hundred meters high in a split second, everybody forcefully swallowed their saliva, including Colonel Leibniz. These people were powerful, very powerful, which could never be matched by the average troops of the No. 39 Division, or so the soldiers of No. 39 felt about them.

Face pale, the officer of the air-defense camp had watched those terrifying Chinese soldiers dropping from the airship to the ground at that fast speed, and he immediately recognized that the items they used just now were foldable rotachutes. What the most elite imperial airborne troops of the Norman Empire used were these rotachutes which were more advanced than common parachutes. This was not amazing. What made the face of the officer of the air-defense camp turn pale was their speed of decent, which was almost half of that needed by the imperial air troops.

This meant that if his troop was defending here, before all the land-to-air weapons were launched and a series of tactic movements such as locking on and aiming at those people were completed, they would have already fallen to the ground. In front of those people, the air-defense camp of the No. 39 Camp became absolutely useless. That was to say that those soldiers might face the overwhelming massacre next.

'Who are they? The Norman Empire cannot have such an elite troop!' the officer of the air-defense camp asked himself inside.

Not only the officer of the air-defense camp, even all the soldiers and the other officers of the No. 39 Division had the same question. Everybody was shocked by such a sudden appearance as the moment they caught sight of these people, they knew that they could never match them.

Even though those powerful soldiers jumping off the airship shocked everybody who saw it, the next scene almost popped out their eyes.

Soon after those powerful Chinese soldiers landed, another person jumped off the airship. He moved as fast as an arrow shot downwards from the airship. Almost in a blink, he had already drawn close to the ground from several hundreds meters in the air. Compared to those powerful soldiers who jumped off the airship and decelerated using rotachutes, this person didn't even use any equipment to decelerate at all. When he was close to the ground, he just suddenly stilled like a feather before lightly landing on the ground like stepping off the last step on a staircase, not even arising any dust.

Many soldiers and officers of the Norman Empire below were forcefully rubbing their eyes repetitively. They couldn't believe their own eyes. Among them, only the hearts of a few officers including Colonel Leibniz kept racing fiercely as they knew what the last person's amazing ability meant—he was a knight, a real knight. Only people above LV 15 could display such an immortal ability.

In this age, those talents who reached knight ranks were the real back bone of human beings' survival on this continent.

In the Norman Empire, a knight undoubtedly meant an army. All the armies of the Norman Empire were battle groups centered on knights. Any knight was qualified to be an army leader. The army leader of the Iron-Horn Army was a knight, a well-reputed knight in the Norman Empire—Black Iron Knight Lord Clausewitz. The Iron-Horn Army was an army centered around Lord Clausewitz.

Among all the countries and powers of Blackson Human Clan Corridor, the quantity of knights was the most direct and important standard of a country's national strength.

So undoubtedly, the last person getting off the airship would be able to match Lord Clausewitz's status regardless of his nationality. Of course Colonel Leibniz dared not neglect him.

Seeing that person focusing on him, Colonel Leibniz kept his shoulders square and walked towards him in a dignified way, giving him a military salute.

"I'm the highest ranking officer in Blackhot City, Colonel Leibniz, your excellency. Your airship has entered the LV 1 air territory of Blackhot City, may you tell me your purpose here?"

Because the opposite was a Chinese, Colonel Leibniz spoke in Chinese. In the Norman Empire, Chinese was a necessary language that had to be learned by everyone in the top class. It was also the standard language in all the top class receptions and salons. Chinese symbolized dignity. If Zhang Tie had heard Colonel Leibniz speaking Chinese so fluently, he would definitely have been stunned.

Hearing Colonel Leibniz's words, that old man who had gotten off the airship slightly nodded towards him before waving his hand to let another soldier beside him present Colonel Leibniz with a document.

The moment Colonel Leibniz caught sight of the bloody dragon of the Norman Empire, his spirits rose and he carefully took that document, getting a look inside. There was a special communications certificate and an action memo in all the air territories of the Norman Empire jointly presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Military Department of Norman Empire, based on which, that airship coming from Jinyun Country could legally enter the LV 1 air territory of any city in the Norman Empire.

Additionally, no matter what they did, they could still freely leave while the outcome should be charged on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Military Department of Norman Empire. When necessary, at the sight of this document, any local officers and stationed army were obligated to assist and coordinate with the possessor of this document to carry out required actions.

Certainly, Colonel Leibniz could see through the truth of this document; however, the content made him muddle-headed—what for would a big figure ranked knight from Jinyun country come here with such a document? What was worth them traveling such a long distance?"

...

Of course, that airship hovering above the civic square of Blackhot City was very eye-catching. Not only the people in the civic square could see it, actually, as long as they raised their heads, almost all the people in the city could see the huge airship that shone with silver lights.

Already promoted to the manager of the workshop, Zhang Tie's dad was walking back home after leaving work. When he noticed that people beside him were pointing and looking far into the sky, he raised his head. The moment he caught sight of that huge airship, he became stunned andh is lips slightly trembled. He quickly returned home, face turning pale.

Zhang Tie's home had remained unchanged. As his parents had to look after elder sister-in-law who was pregnant and was going to deliver a baby, Zhang family's rice brew store had not been opened for a long time. Each day, Zhang Tie's mom would spend most of the time on her daughter-in-law. These days, Zhang family's kitchen was filled with the aroma of various foods and soups, making passers-by drool. For this, Zhang family's relatives by marriage were very satisfied.

When Zhang Tie's dad returned home, he found that his wife was still stewing soup in the kitchen but looked not as energetic and spirited as usual. The moment she saw him, she bit her lips and wanted to say something.

"I know, I already saw it on the way back, it's the silver-wind level airship of the Huaiyuan Palace of Zhang Family..."

"Can they be here for other things?" Zhang Tie's mom hopefully asked.

"There's a mark of the Clansman Pavilion of Huaiyuan Palace. I'm sure!" Zhang Tie's dad gave a bitter smile. "This time, it must be the elders of the Clansman Pavilion who came here for our affair. If not, the elders of the Clansman Pavilion would have never come to this small city no matter what happened here!"

"We've been here for dozens of years. How could they find us?"

"I'm just a trivial figure in Huaiyuan Palace. At that time, I pretended to die to escape. Dozens of years soon passed with us being safe and sound. The fake corpse must have rotten away and been found by others recently. I guess that it must be Guoguo, he must have awakened his ancestral blood ties and exposed his trace..." Zhang Tie's dad smiled. "I didn't imagine that although I was average my whole life, but by marrying a good wife I'll have a son who will awaken the ancestral blood. I have no pity any more..."

Zhang Tie's mom stretched out her hands and took a tight hold of his, tears rolling down from her eyes while he comforted her by patting her hands.

"Don't worry, I just pretended to die and escaped together with you. It's not a big mistake. The worst that can happen is that I'll be recorded on the "Guilty Deeds Record" and be punished to do labor work for a few years back in the Huaiyuan Palace. As the recent years have been becoming less and less peaceful, perhaps with Huaiyuan Palace at my side, it'll be a good thing for me!"

"It's my mistake. You could have..."

Zhang Tie's mom's tears fell like rain...

"I wouldn't be qualified to be a man if I hadn't been brave enough to escape with you. Compared to you, that real estate was nothing at all. "

At this moment, Zhang Tie's dad became very masculine and fascinating.

...

At supper, Zhang Yang, Zhang Tie's elder brother returned home after a day's work. Dad pulled him in to a room. Ten minutes later, Zhang Yang came out with a shocked expression. He then looked at his mom and his dad. He felt like seeing a fairytale, a real life love fairytale which had always been beside him during the past dozens of years. It was featured by daily firewood, rice, oil, and salt...

After supper, Zhang family was covered with a restless ambiance. About an hour later, when it became completely dark, the barks along the whole street outside suddenly stopped, replaced by the sound of "Kaka" caused by heavy and tidy footsteps.

Hearing the footsteps stopping outside their house, Zhang Tie's dad, mom, Zhang Yang, and elder sister-in-law all held their breath.

The gate of Zhang house opened by itself and a figure with crossed hands behind its back slowly walked inside.

The moment he saw that figure, Zhang Tie's dad trembled all over and hurriedly pulled his wife to kneel in front of him. Seeing their parents kneeling down, Zhang Tie's elder brother also hurriedly knelt down together with his wife.

"Zhang Ping, the unworthy descendant of Huaiyuan Palace of Zhang Clan welcomes Sixth Uncle..."

That one was rightly the last person who had jumped off the airship. Looking emotionless, that person didn't say anything. After glancing over everyone, he took a look at the rice brew store, the the kitchen, and finally the main hall. When he caught sight of the incense tablets that were placed respectively on the incense burner table in the middle of the main hall, his expression became a bit better.

The elder gave a cold harrumph through his nostrils. After glancing at the people kneeling on the ground, he pointed at the elder sister-in-law. "As you've married a member of the Zhang clan and are pregnant with a blood-tied descendant of Zhang clan, you don't have to do this, stand up!"

"Zhang Ping, do you know your fault?"

The elder's voice immediately became solemn...

At this time, when the dusk fell in Blackhot City and a group of people got off the airship and came to Zhang Tie's home, everybody in Blapei was making the final preparations for tomorrow's beer festival and carnival. The entire Chevli village was filled with a rich atmosphere of of the upcoming festival.

As a girl who would travel along with tomorrow's festooned vehicle downtown, Hanna stayed with the girls in the village for almost the whole day. They were decorating the festooned vehicles, preparing new clothes, and dressing their hair. Of course, they would load their own beer into the barrels when they came back in the evening to sell them in Blapei tomorrow.

From unmarried girls in Blapei, the girl whose beer was the most delicious in tomorrow's competition, she would have the honor to win the title of "Beer Queen". For girls in Blapei, that was sovereign praise and agreement. What it meant to the girls of Blapei was what for an average soldier of the Iron-Horn Army would mean to suddenly become an army leader.

There was a "Beer Queen" from Chevli before, but it was over 30 years ago. Yet it was still often mentioned with pride by the villagers—Chevli was a treasure land which once had a Beer Queen! Additionally, this honor was not awarded every year. Only the girl who could brew the truly delicious beer that won everybody's praise had the chance to win this special honor. In the last four years, nobody had won this special honor in Blapei

Although Hanna also had the ambition to become the "Beer Queen" in the beer festival like all the other girls in Blapei, she knew that it was almost impossible. She had learned brewing beer from her elder sister-in-law and her mom. Although it was not the worst, it could only reach an average level in Chevli village. It was really hard to make her craftsmanship outstanding among all the other girls. Even her family members didn't think that she could win such a special honor.

But no matter what, happiness counted most in the beer festival.

Hanna's family members thought this as they helped her pour the fermented beer into wooden barrels from the beer fermenter...

But the moment they opened the lid of the fermenter, old Harley was the first to smell the special fragrance which was utterly different from before. The moment he smelled it, old Harley loudly exclaimed.