Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Qiumu Forest.

Morris wielded his Transcendent Weapon to clear the path at the front. He never imagined that he would one day use a Transcendent Weapon for such a task, but compared to letting his teammates without Transcendent Weapons do it, it was much easier for him to handle.

The Qiumu Forest was located south of the Sis Territory. No one knew its exact boundaries; they only knew that it was filled with an abundance of trees with twisted, tangled branches.

This made the Qiumu Forest like a giant maze. Unless one could find exactly the right path forward, they would have to carve out a new route. Ordinary people would find it almost impossible to take a single step here.

On one hand, this was due to the harsh environment of the forest itself, where one had to hack through tangled branches blocking the way at almost every step. On the other hand, it was because of the various wild beasts living within the forest.

In the past, in order to open up new land, the Sis Territory had tried burning the forest during the winter. Yet as soon as spring and summer arrived, the Qiumu Forest grew back rapidly as if by magic.

Unless they could start constructing and truly utilizing the barren land immediately after it was burned, only then could they possibly destroy this forest. If they merely burned it down, they were likely just helping the forest metabolize.

As they walked, Morris suddenly stopped in his tracks. He stared ahead; the darkness was not enough to hinder an experienced Intermediate Knight, but the branches were.

Furthermore, the branches could also muffle sound, but even so, Morris still heard some unusual noises.

“We have a situation!” He lowered his voice to warn his teammates behind him.

In the next moment, the others all stopped and quietly sensed the movements around them. Soon, they also noticed the situation ahead.

“Such a loud commotion must be Aberrant Beasts, right?” Garrick asked in a low voice.

“It most likely is. Garrick, immediately report our findings to the other squads nearby. The rest of you, hurry and clear the area with me! We’ll engage them right here!”

“Yes.”*6

Upon receiving the order, Garrick immediately opened his armor visor, pulled out a thin string from around his neck, and brought the Bone Whistle at the end of it to his lips. The next moment, a series of incredibly penetrating whistles rang out.

Because the sound was so penetrating, it made the Bone Whistles of the Territory Guard very difficult to locate. Only experienced soldiers could pinpoint the direction without any obstructions.

This also meant that when transmitting messages, the Territory Guard often needed to provide their own location information.

Just like now, the location information Garrick reported was based on the Qiumu Sentry Post as the center, detailing the exact distance south and east.

Although this was an estimated figure, combined with the pre-assigned patrol directions of each squad, the rear command was more than capable of judging Garrick’s relatively accurate position at this moment.

While Garrick synchronized information with the other squads, Morris had already led the others in frantically chopping down trees.

Compared to trees in other places, the trees in the Qiumu Forest were indeed prone to having twisted branches. But on the other hand, this somewhat revealed the true build of the trees here: they were much slenderer than other enemies.

They were akin to shrubs, yet much taller.

Wielding his Transcendent Weapon, Morris served as the absolute main force in chopping down trees. During the day, when it was in Ron’s hands, the longsword had seemed nothing special apart from being heavier, but now, in Morris’s hands, it became extraordinarily sharp.

Wherever the blade passed, it was as if the trees automatically parted, without the slightest resistance.

“Captain, I’m so jealous! If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have exchanged my Ignition Potions! I want a Transcendent Weapon too! Damn it, looking at the sword in my hands now, it’s practically no different from scrap iron!”

“Marlin, isn’t that pure nonsense! The Captain has already grasped the essence of the Ice Breathing Technique; his use of Ignition Potions is practically without any waste. One vial for him is equivalent to two for us. If it were me, I would also prioritize exchanging for a Transcendent Weapon. Also, Marlin, don’t forget, you still owe the Captain a few vials of potions! If you want a Transcendent Weapon, shouldn’t you pay back the Captain’s potions first?”

“I will pay them back. Young Master Waynes will definitely provide subsidies for this emergency conscription. Once I get my potions, I’ll pay the Captain back first.”

“Both of you, say less. Marlin, your body has yet to fully break its limits, so your demand for Ignition Potions is higher. There’s no rush to pay back the vials you borrowed from me. My current potion supply is enough for my consumption. If anyone else needs some, you can come to me too.”

“Captain!” Meredith, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up. “I feel my internal organs are reaching their limit. I plan to attempt a breakthrough after this mission ends. Could you lend me a few vials of potions then?”

“No problem.”

Morris agreed without a second’s hesitation. Let alone the fact that his current physical enhancement had slowed down, meaning he simply didn’t need that many potions unless his Breathing Technique underwent a qualitative change, he was also now an Apprentice Instructor, which came with additional compensation from the territory.

He said there was no rush to pay him back, but in truth, he didn’t plan on taking them back at all. This applied even to Marlin, whom he was currently somewhat disappointed in, let alone Meredith, whom he would definitely support wholeheartedly.

As long as he could nurture a Senior Knight, giving away any number of potions would be worth it.

In fact, if he really could train a Senior Knight, he believed the territory certainly wouldn’t be stingy with its rewards. Of course, his greatest hope still lay with himself.

Ron was one such prospect, but Ron was too young. Perhaps before Ron could achieve the Senior Knight rank, the territory would already be destroyed by external threats.

During the day at the Blackstone Sentry Post, thanks to Ron, he had received guidance from Waynes and understood the key to reaching the Senior Knight rank. He now needed a sufficiently intense battle to break through.

The battle outside the Qiumu Sentry Post just now could indeed be called intense, but because of too many lingering concerns and the lack of coordination within the temporary team, he had fought with his hands tied.

Now, his long-term teammates were by his side. Perhaps the upcoming battle would be his opportunity to achieve the Senior Knight rank!

“By the way, if you want Transcendent Weapons, you can hold off for a bit. During the autumn harvest, I heard from the people at the Mailin Merchant Guild that next year they should be bringing a batch of Transcendent Weapons to sell at a low price.”

“What? Low price? How is that possible? Are those money-grubbing merchants really willing to sell Transcendent Weapons at a low price?”

Morris’s words immediately sparked discussion among the group. They found it somewhat hard to believe what he said about the discounted weapons, but Morris continued:

“Foreign merchant guilds naturally want to make money, but have you ever considered a question: do those merchant guilds actually make money coming all the way to the Sis Territory?”

“Are you saying they don’t?”

“Of course not.”

Morris explained while chopping down trees, “Among the inland merchants I’ve interacted with, past and present, apart from those from recent years, nearly all of them came from different merchant guilds.

“If you claim a trip to the Sis Territory is highly profitable, then why didn’t they ever return? In reality, they only came to the Sis Territory because they were obligated to fulfill the contracts established between the Kingdom and the various merchant guilds.

“As for the Mailin Merchant Guild, they haven’t been able to make money here either, but the person in charge behind this guild is very bold. They have taken a fancy to the prospects of the Sis Territory’s future development and are preparing to invest here.

“Low-priced Transcendent Weapons are just the first step. Later on, it’s even possible that they might provide support for Senior Knights.”

Everything Morris said was information revealed by the Mailin Merchant Guild to recruit him. If they were merchants from another country, they might spout lies at a time like this, but Helios merchants were almost incapable of lying under such circumstances.

However, to speak so candidly to a Knight who only had the potential to reach the Senior Knight rank, Morris could roughly guess that while the Mailin Merchant Guild might be able to hire one or two Senior Knights behind the scenes, it was absolutely impossible for them to send a Senior Knight to fight to the death in the Sis Territory.