Chapter 429: The Soap Baron
"Distant cousin?"
Phield racked his brain, but he couldn’t remember her at all.
With noble families constantly marrying into one another, finding a distant relative with some connection to the family was perfectly normal.
Anyone he didn’t recognize was probably related to him from so far back that the connection was almost impossible to believe.
"Knights, lower your weapons. This is nothing more than a wonderful misunderstanding."
The tense atmosphere instantly disappeared.
The woman rode forward and casually knocked on her own armor, producing a series of loud clangs as she laughed heartily.
"I’m Relyca. Remember me? When we were little, I even used to tug on your little banana."
"Uh... when did that happen?"
Phield was embarrassed.
He vaguely remembered something, but those were memories belonging to the original owner of this body.
"Miss, please watch your language. It’s bad for your reputation."
Even the knight retainers standing beside her couldn’t take it anymore.
"Lord Kote ordered us to keep an eye on you. You’re not allowed to say strange things like that."
What noble young lady opened a conversation by saying something so vulgar?
It certainly wouldn’t make finding a husband any easier in the future.
Relyca waved her hand and rolled her eyes before continuing.
"You were probably four or five years old. Isaac was there too, my little brother. The three of us used to play knight games together all the time when we were children."
"You always played the role of the warhorse."
"Back then, our family’s territory was still a garrison territory under House Ross."
"Unfortunately, a lot happened afterward."
Phield sighed as well.
His family was practically nonexistent now, and quite a few of its former vassals had already left.
Relyca sighed and dismounted.
"We actually wanted to come visit you. We heard that House Ross had dealt a heavy blow to the Shadow World Sect, and that you had even been sent on a diplomatic mission and obtained a powerful border fortress, where you were stationed."
"I never expected that timid little boy from back then would eventually have a place of his own."
"By the way, how did you convince the count to send troops?"
"Actually, I didn’t convince the count."
Phield answered with a completely serious expression.
"My private army wiped out thirty thousand rebels in a single battle. It had absolutely nothing to do with my family."
"HAHAHA! Phield, you’ve become more and more humorous."
Relyca couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.
Even her retainers wore expressions that clearly showed they were struggling not to laugh.
She wiped away the tears that had formed from laughing.
"Thank you for the joke. You’ve given me enough entertainment to stay happy for the entire day."
Phield shrugged.
The truth was always like this.
Most people simply couldn’t accept it.
"On my way here, I heard your name being talked about everywhere."
"The Soap Baron."
"Keep it down, keep it down. Most of those rumors are complete nonsense."
Phield was just about to let his ego swell a little when he suddenly froze.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
He stared blankly at her.
"What baron?"
"The Soap Baron, of course."
"Nightfall Domain’s soap and scented soap have become extremely popular among noble ladies. Every noble young lady takes pride in owning your scented soap."
It removed unpleasant body odors while leaving behind a faint fragrance.
Combined with its expensive price and limited supply, the product had immediately exploded across the market.
Phield staggered backward two steps before finally recovering from his confusion.
He was furious.
"Why do I keep getting more and more ridiculous nicknames? I’d rather be called the Lucky Bean Baron."
"All right, all right. Enough with the complaints."
Relyca patted Phield on the shoulder, grinning.
"Do you still have any soap? I couldn’t get my hands on any. I want the kind with lily fragrance."
"Of course I do."
The moment Phield heard there was money to be made, his spirits immediately lifted.
"I came here precisely to trade and pay a visit."
"By the way, before we do that, help me with something."
Relyca crossed her arms.
"Come with me and help capture a group of slaves who have been corrupted by darkness."
"The slaves we bought for farming were apparently bewitched by demons. They killed the guards and escaped."
"According to eyewitnesses, they’ve been catching fish along the way and fleeing toward other territories."
"I won’t rest until I catch them."
"No wonder I ran into you by the river."
Phield immediately understood.
"I have to criticize you for something."
Relyca suddenly changed her tone.
She pointed at Ashina’s face with a serious expression.
"You don’t even have a proper guard beside you. You brought nothing but a plaything and came all the way to such a dangerous place."
"That’s incredibly arrogant and foolish."
Ashina scratched her head.
She had already grown accustomed to being discriminated against by humans.
"Having no sense of danger and remaining as timid as you were when you were young isn’t acceptable."
"The Empire’s situation is terrible right now. Your life could be in danger at any moment."
"Thank you for your concern."
Phield nodded with a smile.
"Actually, I’ve hidden a heavy cavalry unit in the woods behind you on the right. They were waiting to charge into your rear."
Relyca burst out laughing again.
"Oh, come on. You were so scared that you wouldn’t even dare cry when my little brother beat you up as a child, and now you’re telling me you have cavalry?"
The very next second, however, she stopped laughing.
Phield gave a sharp whistle.
"Cancel the ambush. No need to attack."
A heavily armored cavalry unit immediately emerged from the woods.
There were around thirty soldiers.
Every one of them wore the armor of the frontier army.
The only noticeable differences from the regular frontier troops were the horse caparisons and the banners they carried.
The black banners emblazoned with white wolf patterns made it obvious at a glance that these soldiers were not ordinary troops.
They looked like moving mountains.
Every cavalryman was strong and disciplined, and the lances in their hands gleamed coldly.
Most terrifying of all were the killing instincts in their eyes.
Such a murderous aura could never be forged without years of constant warfare.
"Wait... you’re actually serious?"
Cold sweat poured down Relyca’s back.
She had been far too careless.
She had completely forgotten to send scouts ahead.
If such a heavily armored cavalry unit had suddenly charged from behind, everyone in her group could have been wiped out in an instant.
She had actually come within a hair’s breadth of death.
Relyca could hardly believe it.
The retainers also put away their playful expressions and became somewhat wary as they faced the nobleman before them.
"You stay here and guard the camp."
"I’m going out for a little while."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized.
As the heavy cavalry of Nightfall Domain, these men were completely dedicated to military service.
Unlike the First Army and Second Army, which still had to rotate between military duties and labor, the heavy cavalry spent every day either hunting large numbers of corrupted corpses or undergoing high intensity training.
Their combat strength was extraordinarily powerful.
The air remained frozen for a moment.
Phield was the first to break the silence.
"Haha, don’t be so tense."
"My younger brother, Adrian Ross, is already dead. With so few heirs left in the family, there’s nothing strange about assigning me some powerful guards."
"Oh, I see."
Relyca unconsciously relaxed.
"Ashina, help me find the slaves."
Ashina nodded.
She closed her eyes and gently twitched her nose.
A moment later, she opened her eyes.
"There is a filthy smell mixed with the scent of fish."
"The slaves must have caught some fish. I’ll lead the way."
"Let’s go."
Phield mounted his horse and turned around.
"It’s a good opportunity to tell me what’s happened recently."
"No problem."
Relyca had finally recovered from her earlier shock.
"Phield, you’ve changed a lot from the way you used to be."
"How has the old count been lately?"
"Just like before."
Phield gave a vague answer.
He hadn’t returned to the family for half a year.
How was he supposed to know what that man was doing?
"That’s what I thought."
"I heard a really funny rumor, though."
"They say Count Kote managed to overcome the grief of losing his son and somehow recovered from his old injuries."
"Apparently, he has regained the strength of a Sixth Tier Mana Knight."
"Now he can run, jump, and walk faster than anyone else."
"Huh?"