The Record of Unusual Creatures

It was not Hao Ren’s first time in Becky’s estate, but it had been a long time since his last visit. Compared with the previous visit, the manor had changed little. Its furnishings and layout were still the same. It seemed that even though Becky had been a member of the nobility, she could not care less about the decor of her mansion. The only change there was the cellar in the basement. The radio equipment and emergency portal that Hao Ren left in the basement were still there. Becky had put the machine in a secret chamber and expanded the space outside, which she then turned into a wine cellar. The fragrance of the wines from all over the mainland filled the basement. Even mice in there were well fed.

Hao Ren was dead sure that Becky was a mercenary through and through judging from these details. But it was hard to imagine that a girl like Becky was a boozer. Or was she planning to soup up her drinking tolerance so that one day she could out-drink Ophra, who would then be at her mercy?

The three of them had dinners in the manor while the steward ordered the servants to prepare the rooms for them. After the meal, Hao Ren found the steward and once again asked about Becky’s assignment. “Where are Gloom Mountains? What happened there?”

Perhaps Becky’s mission was not classified, the steward had no intention to withhold it from Hao Ren. “The Gloom Mountains is in the southeast of the royal capital, a natural barrier separating the Black Forest from the Furtile Plains. The eastern side of the mountains is the famous Black Forest, once the territory of the Elven Empire during the ancient Magic Empire. There are many powerful ancient creatures in the mountain range, as well as some mysterious ruins and magic-energy nodes. So it is a dangerous place for ordinary people. Few people go there. Recently, there was a sudden burst of powerful energy in the Gloom Mountains. Even the mages the royal city had observed the energy waves. The king has sent a group of mages to investigate whether the dangerous ancient creatures or ruins have awakened. Our master is in the escort with the Knights, and she will return home after bringing the scholars and mages safely to their destinations.”

“The remains of the ancient Magic Empire?” Hao Ren was interested. “Does this happen often?”

Any residue of the First Born had been cleaned up. Theoretically, there should not be any dangerous ancient creatures left. But Hao Ren was still interested in what might occur here. It was one of the planets in the Plane of Dreams that survived the extinct-level disaster not long ago. There were many ancient relics and ruins in the world. Shocking clues might pop out behind those small incidents.

“I’m only a steward. I don’t know much about these things,” said the steward who looked reluctant. “I just heard that there are many ancient relics of the Magical Empire in the Gloom Mountains, where mysterious phenomena often occur. But then again, these incidents are more often than not the rumors circulated by those ignorant mountain people. They are secluded, superstitious, and ignorant, and also like to frighten outsiders with such topic.”

“I see.” Hao Ren nodded without commenting further.

It would be better to wait for Becky to come back.

The next day, the east gate of the royal city opened. A group of royal knights returned. Becky was among them. Her servant had come to wait for Becky. Learning that Hao Ren was in her mansion, she handed everything to her men and quickly rushed home.

Looking out from the manor, Hao Ren saw a heroic female knight appeared on the avenue, riding a tall and robust Kerzen warhorse that draped in a shiny horse armor with the emblem of the royal family of Holletta dangled on one side. The female knight wore a light-weight half-length armor, covered with a sky-blue battle robe on the outside. The robe was embroidered with golden dragon-eagle and short sword. That should be the insignia of the Knights. Behind the female knight, two squire knights a long spear each. Blue flag with white edges and family crest of a circle of thorns and roses with a wolf head in the middle was fluttering in the wind on each of the spears.

That was most probably Becky’s family crest.

Lily looked happy to see the heroic return of Becky. She poked Hao Ren’s arm and said, “Mr. Landlord, look at her; she has become a noble!”

“Yup, she looks better than before.” Hao Ren smiled with his arms crossed. “But I didn’t see the aura of the nobility in her. She looks more like a bandit who has just come out of the mountains—except for her royal costumes.

Insulting a royal-anointed countess was a capital offense. But this rule did not apply to Hao Ren and Becky because they were not only friends but comrade-in-arms. With Becky’s careless attitude, their interaction had always been coarse and filled with friendly sarcasm.

Very quickly, Becky had come to the gate. She pulled the rein, and Kerzen warhorse began to trot and then turned in a circle before Hao Ren. When the horse was still, Becky alighted and scurried up to her three old friends and raised her hands to give everyone a high-five. “Yo! I thought you had forgotten about my little place!”

Vivian was not used to the passionate welcome. It always reminded her about Hessiana, the neurotic bat, who might have a common language with Becky. But Vivian still greeted back with a high-five with a smile on her face. “How can we forget? We might be running around the universes, but we always send you our photos and videos.”

“I know, I know. You guys have been busy.” Becky said. “When I saw you guys living the life of Hollywood blockbuster, I started to envy you. Was the last video clip you sent me about Collow? I watched it; it was epic!”

The two squires, still holding on to the flag spears behind Becky, had no idea what their seigneur was talking about. But to them, Becky was a legendary hero, who commanded their respect.

Hao Ren saw the enthusiasm on Becky’s face, he could not help but tease, “Why don’t you resign from your job and come to work with me? Follow us to save the world!”

“Forget it, I was just saying.” Becky quickly waved her hands. “Your job is too dangerous. What will happen to this manor if I die? I still like the life here. But then again, I am not an idle person. I’m the captain of a division of the Royal Knights with 800 men under my command. Besides, I’m also a martial art teacher for two noble kids. I’m busy.”

While saying, they walked toward the manor. Coming before the entrance, Becky left her war horse and weapon to the two squires before she pushed open the door. “Ahh, I’ve been away for a few days. It’s good to be home.”

Hao Ren looked at Becky curiously. “I heard that you joined the Knights because you couldn’t stand the aristocratic life?”

“To a certain extent, yes.” Becky shrugged. “The life of the nobles is freaking boring. Especially a noble like me with only a title, property, and annuity but without a land. There is nothing much I can do except mingle with the noble ladies. I don’t know a thing about what they boasted, and they don’t understand what I’m talking about. So it’s better to find something else to do. Besides, there is an important reason why I joined the Knights.

Becky paused. Lily asked, “What is the reason?”

“It’s the land. It’s about the land.” Becky spread out her hand. “I am an honorable noble, not a real aristocrat. Since I have no track record in the military, there is no land for me. Joining the Knights would solve the problem. The rule is pretty strict in Holletta; not all nobles are entitled to lands; it must be earned. That’s my goal!”

“You are pretty ambitious, eh?” Hao Ren began to sit up and take notice. The female mercenary became more motivated since becoming noble. But he teased Becky again. “Perhaps there is another reason: do you meet Marshal Ophra very often after joining the Knights?”

Becky choked. But she quickly countered. “Ya! So can you see I look more heroic than before? Do I look more like Marshal Ophra?”

Hao Ren knew what Becky was up to. She was getting closer to Ophra.

But Hao Ren was not interested in Becky’s sexual orientation. He had a more pressing matter at hand. “We are here to discuss something with you. We need Marshal Ophra and your help.”

Becky became serious. Perhaps being a knight had changed her. She was more mature than before. After two servants removed the armor from her body, Becky sat in front of Hao Ren. “I have read your message. Do you really want to bring the survivors crossing the Wall of Reality? Hmm, things have come to this.”

“Yup.” Hao Ren nodded. “We need the cooperation from the highest echelon of Holletta.