visit

At the end of the month, Locke finally had time to spend a few days with Suzanne and the others.

During their stay in Cardoj's territory, the four women from Shalor weren't used to it. The most basic thing was that there was no one else they could communicate with other than each other.

Their accents, which were obviously different from Faustian's, made the people in the small town under the baron's rule wary of them.

It was no wonder that even the people from Faustian couldn't eat well in the countryside of the southern province of Dor, let alone them.

Dor was the province with the toughest and most xenophobic people in the country.

Because there were many mountains and dense forests here, the saying that unruly people were born in barren mountains and unruly rivers.

Locke's arrival excited the women, especially Kristin.

She didn't act like a princess from a rich family at all. She pounced on Locke the moment she saw him and hung on his neck like a koala, unwilling to come down for the whole day.

Locke took the four women around the town. Locke's military uniform and the shining longsword at his waist made the residents of the town very enthusiastic.

Other than that, most of them were Locke's subordinates.

Most of the cavalry platoon's soldiers came from this small town. At first, someone saw Locke shopping with a few women, but soon, they all came to greet their platoon jarl.

Compared to Wyr, who was also a noble, it was easier for Locke to get along with this group of cavalrymen since he was also a commoner.

During the day, Locke belonged to Kristin, but at night, he belonged to Suzanne.

The little girl pouted and was dragged to sleep by Raffaele reluctantly. Suzanne couldn't help but rush into Locke's arms.

Because he wasn't short of money, Locke arranged for the women to stay in the most high-end hotel. He didn't have to worry about the noise being too loud. Locke hadn't tasted meat for more than a month, and Suzanne almost fainted from the arousal.

In the middle of the night, he went to find Grace. He knew that the women slept in separate rooms. Locke pressed himself on top of Grace when she exclaimed in surprise.

This time, Grace didn't reject him. She hugged him tightly, her nails digging into his back. Stimulated by the pain, Locke's attacks became more violent and violent.

After spending a week with the four women, Locke returned to Quarryton.

Before he left, he went to look for Cardoj.

It was his first time visiting the baron's castle. From afar, it looked like a bunker, but when he got closer, it looked completely different.

The towering walls of the castle and the tight security made it feel more like a fortress than a place for people to live.

John brought him to a living room and told him not to run around. He then turned around and went to call the baron.

Locke looked at everything in the castle. Although the castle wasn't as spacious as Felippe's mansion, it exuded an aggressive aura and a strict style.

This kind of scenery could only be seen in a military camp.

This made him feel very comfortable. It was his first time at the baron's castle, so he was more curious than nervous.

When the baron arrived at the living room, Locke reported the situation in Quarryton in the past month, focusing on the suppression of the bandits.

It could be said that no one dared to show themselves within a three hundred mile radius of Quarryton. This was also the main reason why Locke could take the time to see Suzanne and the others.

The baron first expressed his approval of Locke's results, then rewarded the soldiers of Quarryton with a considerable amount of silver thalers. Finally, when Locke was about to leave, the baron forced him to stay for lunch.

During lunch, apart from Solon, who was getting more and more distant, Locke was also lucky enough to meet the baron's other son, Barton, the second young master of Cardoj's territory.

Barton didn't give off a simple and honest vibe like his name suggested. On the contrary, at first glance, Locke felt that this man of the same age as him was very shrewd.

Barton, who had been taking care of Cardoj's territory for several years, had a temperament and demeanor that were very similar to Cardoj's.

Locke didn't deliberately befriend him, but after the meal, he actually had a pleasant conversation with Barton.

Barton didn't act like a noble at all. Instead, he lowered his status and called Locke brother.

Locke was indeed a little younger than him, but it wasn't up to him to decide his birthday in September.

Solon left as soon as he finished eating, which made Locke, who was about to say goodbye to him, feel awkward.

Although Barton was warm to him, Locke knew that it wasn't because of him, but because of his position and the rumor that he had a friendly relationship with Angelina.

From the depths of Barton's eyes, Locke could see a trace of disdain. It was the disdain that came from the bottom of the heart from a superior. In the past few years in the army, Locke had seen this kind of gaze too many times.

This Young Master Barton still didn't have enough experience.

After rejecting Barton's invitation to have dinner together, Locke rode back to Quarryton overnight.

Locke had also heard from the baron that the princess had left Shalor's royal capital in the middle of the month and was now on her way back to her country.

Cardoj also vaguely mentioned that the princess might arrive in Felor around the 10th of next month.

Locke pretended not to understand what Cardoj was hinting at.

Locke would never admit that a commoner boy and a princess were in love. Sometimes, Locke thought pessimistically about his and Angelina's future.

April and May were the busiest seasons in the countryside, and Locke was lucky enough to experience it.

Even though they had more than a thousand silver thalers in savings, Locke Senior and Tia didn't neglect the crops in the fields.

"We don't lack food at home, so why are we still so tired?" said Locke, who was bare-chested and holding a hoe while panting.

"That money is for your sister's dowry and your betrothal gift!" retorted Locke Senior bluntly.

At this moment, Locke really wanted to take out all the money he had hidden and scare them, but unfortunately, he could only think about it.

He couldn't explain the origin of the money. He roughly calculated his current total assets and estimated that it was about two thousand gold thalers.

There were bribes from Melson, the gains from Felippe's mansion, the large amount of spoils of war that he and Wyr collected in Audis, and the gifts from the squad jarls under him.

In just a year, Locke had already become a rich man with two hundred thousand silver thalers. It felt unreal to him.

Most of the money was in Kristin's spatial necklace, and the rest was with Henry. Henry, who had made a fortune from the war, wouldn't cheat him of his money.

Locke didn't want to think about those useless things, so he waved the hoe and continued to work hard on the ground in front of him.

When it came to Locke and Lia's marriage, both of them tried their best to avoid the issue. Locke looked down on girls from the same village, whether it was Suzanne, Glace, or Angelina. They were so much better than the other girls.

The two elders had some idea what Lia was thinking, but they didn't know how to persuade her. Quarryton was a conservative place, so they couldn't accept a relationship between siblings, even if they weren't biological siblings.

Locke, who had just drunk a ladle of water from Lia, was even more clueless about his sister's thoughts. Perhaps he knew, but he wasn't sure.

He waved the hoe vigorously and finished the work that would take his father a week to finish in one afternoon.

At night, Lia cooked a whole pot of mung bean soup for him to cool down.

Maybe it was because summer was coming, but Locke had been restless recently.

Locke wasn't a war maniac, and he liked to enjoy life. He had been very comfortable in the past few months away from the war. The main reason for his restlessness was that his strength had stagnated.

Locke's overall strength had been changing rapidly in the past year.

After practicing impetus, the redsea flower, major monster meat, and strengthening potions made Locke's strength rise at an incredible speed like a roller coaster. It was rare to see such a young low-rank Knecht in Faustian.

But now, although he hadn't fallen to the bottom like a roller coaster, his progress had slowed down to the extreme.

Locke wasn't bad at being hardworking. He was probably the most hardworking person among the group of people in Cardoj's territory who practiced impetus.

Every day, when Hans was still sleeping, he would wake up and train in the morning. But the results weren't proportional to the effort. Locke could only ensure that he didn't regress.

Angelina's warning echoed in his ears countless times when he wanted to take out the will-condensing potion. "You can only use it when you reach the peak of a low-rank Knecht."

"Why?" Locke asked.

"Because it's mainly for beginner-rank casters to break through their mental power. Using it hastily will only turn you into an idiot." Angelina said blankly. She wasn't trying to scare him, but the mental power of a beginner-rank Lehrling was not much weaker than that of a low-rank Knecht. Locke and Angelina had been together for a long time, so of course he knew that.

Since it was used for a breakthrough, of course it could only be used when he reached a certain peak. Locke had only just stabilized his strength as a low-rank Knecht. He estimated that it would take him five years to reach the peak.

Five years. Locke finally knew why Mond was still a low-rank Knecht after so many years. If he only relied on his own cultivation, he would never be able to reach a higher level in his life.

Locke was very envious of Wyr's aptitude. Compared to his own physique, Wyr could be said to be a once-in-a-fifty-years genius. A forty-year-old high-rank Knecht had the potential to reach a higher level.

June, the Month of Wildfire.

It was the hottest season of the year, and Faustian finally received some sweet dew.

It wasn't that it rained in the kingdom, but the situation around it had stabilized again under the mediation of Aomar.

Aomar's acknowledgement of Faustian's conquest of Shalor had been delivered to Felor last month.

Not only did Aomar's diplomatic mission bring the legal right to use the land that belonged to Faustian, but it also brought a huge deterrent to the surrounding countries.

The accompanying Erdritter allowed the diplomatic mission to suppress all the troublemakers around Faustian.

The surrounding countries either compromised or were oppressed, giving up on the idea of snatching a piece of meat from Faustian.