Brand didn’t understand much about things like Extraordinary Bloodlines, which sounded profound just from the name. He only knew that people with such bloodlines would display talent beyond ordinary people in a certain domain. Having Catherine undergo Knight Cultivation was also out of consideration for utilizing her bloodline talent. At least for now, the results were quite good.
Brand remembered Catherine writing last month to say she had become a Middle Level Knight Apprentice, and he wondered if she had made further progress since then. Curious, Brand asked directly.
Hearing this, Catherine said, somewhat ashamed, "Young Master, I am still at the Middle Level Knight Apprentice tier. It will take me at least another month to reach Master Yelsen’s current level as a Senior Knight Apprentice."
"Keep up the good work!" Brand replied.
Knowing Catherine’s cultivation progress, Brand thought to himself that it was a good thing he hadn’t told Yelsen about her. Yelsen currently only knew that Catherine was undergoing Knight training. If he knew her strength was about to catch up to his, who knew how sour he would get!
Since Catherine was still looking at him eagerly, Brand rubbed the head she offered him and said generously, "Isn’t it just Armor? Find some time, and I’ll go buy you another set."
Compared to a Mage’s various expensive items, a Knight’s equipment was relatively cheap. Catherine’s current set of Armor had only cost thirty Magic Gold Coins. Among all the Knight Armor in the store, Catherine’s set already belonged to the top-tier equipment. Anything better would only be masterworks or Magic Equipment imbued with Magic Effects.
On the Fains Continent, no matter what it was, as long as it was associated with Magic, its price would multiply several times over. Knight Armor was no exception. Although his collaboration with Professor Morian had significantly enriched his secret stash of funds, Brand felt that buying Magic Equipment for Catherine could wait until later!
***
Not long after Catherine brought Brand to the South Gate of the Imperial Capital to assemble, the merchant caravan loaded up their goods and swiftly set off. In addition to picking up Brand to bring him home, the caravan also had the task of selling and purchasing goods and supplies on this trip. However, by this time, most of the goods the caravan had brought from the territory were completely sold out, and the supplies they needed to purchase were already loaded. Therefore, other than traveling, they had no other tasks.
The journey from the Imperial Capital to the Holland Viscount’s Domain crossed four counties and more than ten territories, covering a total distance of over a thousand kilometers. If the journey went smoothly, with the normal traveling speed bolstered by the Holland family caravan’s Magical Beast Bloodline Horses, it would only take three days and nights to return to the Holland Viscount’s Domain.
From a practical standpoint, however, their return trip was bound to face some bumps in the road. Based on past experience, traveling near cities posed no safety hazards. But in the wilderness, far from human settlement, it was a different story. The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
After all, although no wars had broken out around the Kaya Empire in recent decades and no domestic turmoil had occurred, it was ultimately a feudal slave society, and the areas covered by law and order were very limited. In the wilderness, besides Magical Beasts occasionally coming out for a meal, Bandits and mountain robbers were a common sight. This had already become a major characteristic of the Fains Continent.
Fortunately, the caravan was currently still within the Imperial Capital region. Compared to other places, the public security around the Imperial Capital was significantly better. So, in a specially-made carriage equipped with a shock absorption system, Brand slept soundly for the entire morning.
In the afternoon, after leaving the Imperial Capital region, all the Guards raised their vigilance. Even though they had displayed the aristocratic crest of the Holland family and had a large number of armored Guards, the bold Bandits who lived on the edge of a blade might not necessarily care about such things. There were precedents of noble caravans being plundered. In the eyes of the Bandits, as long as they confirmed the goods were worth looting, no matter how well-equipped the other party appeared on the surface, as long as the numerical disparity wasn’t too extreme, they were willing to try their luck.
In the carriage, Brand, who had symbolically eaten some dry rations, suddenly sensed a commotion outside, and then the advancing carriage gradually came to a halt. Looking out from the carriage window, he saw dozens of "peasant men" dressed in motley clothes in the distant woods, shouting incomprehensible slogans and brandishing various weapons as they charged toward the caravan.
Faced with such a scene, the Holland family caravan demonstrated excellent discipline. Under Yelsen’s command, the accompanying personnel without Combat Ability immediately sought out cover to hide. The well-trained Guards instantly split into two teams; one team stood by to protect the safety of the carriage goods and the entourage, while the other team dismounted and formed an infantry battle formation to meet the Bandits’ charge head-on.
To avoid being injured by stray arrows, Brand pulled down the carriage window’s iron shutter, leaving only a small slit to observe the "battle" outside. Catherine also put on her helmet at this time, drew her Longsword, and guarded the carriage door with a cautious expression.
A few minutes later, the Bandits had suffered over half casualties. Leaving a field of corpses behind, they began to flee in panic. The entire caravan suffered zero casualties.
After a simple cleanup of the battlefield, Yelsen stood beside the corpses of the Bandits, gripping his bloodstained Longsword, his brow slightly furrowed. In his eyes, compared to the Bandits’ "flimsy" clothing, their weapons were a bit conspicuous. Although the quality of these weapons was not high, Yelsen could tell at a glance: they were not weapons forged by an ordinary Blacksmith shop!
Beyond that, the Holland family caravan had over a hundred Guards in plain sight, each with a warhorse and wearing standard Iron Armor. Although it was impossible to discern the specific strength of these Guards with the naked eye alone, anyone with half a brain would know that this was not something a few dozen ragtag men in cloth garments could shake. Even the strongest Bandit among them was nothing more than a Middle Level Knight Apprentice. This story is hosted at g.com.
At this time, Guard Captain Anderson walked over and said to Yelsen, "Eldest Young Master, according to the captives’ confessions, they are wandering rogues in this vicinity. They came out in full force this time, and their weapons were looted not long ago."
***
Inside Brand’s carriage, Catherine, who had scouted out the information, explained the situation to him, "Young Master, Guard Captain Anderson told us to raise our vigilance. Those Bandits just now were likely only testing the waters."
Brand nodded in understanding. As a weakling with self-awareness, Brand knew very well that the only thing he could do was not cause trouble for his own Guards.
Of course, if they really encountered a special situation, he wasn’t completely devoid of resistance capabilities as outsiders might imagine. After all, not long ago, Brand had latched onto the coattails of a certain "sugar mommy."
In the few days after being accepted as Celine’s disciple, Brand would drink several bottles of Awakening Potion every day. His purpose was to manifest some "precious local specialties of the Holland family" to express his "feelings of respect" for Celine.
Although Celine was not an Alchemist and wasn’t clear on the value of the "local specialties" Brand gave her, under Brand’s "sweet talk," she still looked satisfied as she gave him several life-saving Spell Scrolls as a return gift. Judging from Celine’s reciprocation, Brand had undoubtedly profited. Of course, Celine definitely hadn’t lost out either, as everything Brand gave away was a unique "precious local specialty of the Holland family."
Aside from the Magic Scrolls, as Brand’s teacher, Celine had also fully fulfilled the proper duties of an instructor. She taught Brand highly practical Magic Knowledge at the "Mage Apprentice" tier.
If asked exactly what he learned, Brand could only say it was somewhat "indescribable." Of course, if forced to answer, Brand could also tell you with absolute certainty that he hadn’t learned absolutely nothing! At the very least, his technique for activating Spell Scrolls and the like was a bit more proficient than before!