Imperial Crown.

Chapter 579: When the support stops, the feelings return to zero.
"My lord! My lord!!"

The hyena's distinctive, gruff voice boomed outside the castle. Raven, who was eating, put down his knife and fork and went outside.

"Oh wow"

Gazing at the griffin, which resembled a fully grown elephant, Raven's eyes flashed with surprise. "Where did it come from?" Raven asked, puzzled. He stepped forward and stroked the griffin's neck feathers. They were stiff and very dirty. It seemed to have flown for quite a while. However, these griffins had long been domesticated; they were gentle and not particularly aggressive.

The griffin's appearance is indeed unique. It has the body of a lion, the tail of a lion, and the two hind hooves of a lion, yet it possesses the head of an eagle, the two forelegs of an eagle, and the two wings of an eagle. Although Raven had seen them before, this was certainly the first time he had observed them so closely. Moreover, the griffin's overall imposing presence was truly terrifying, inspiring awe in those who beheld it.

The hyena jumped down from the griffin and recounted what had just happened. Raven listened, feeling something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Right, isn't Pain from the Kingdom of Podomichrie? Let's call him over and ask him," Raven said, suddenly remembering something.

Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Sam Vansnor might be just like the Insa Empire, prepared to see Raven and Habs go down in flames. That's why he's deliberately trying to be friendly, putting on this show.

Link walked over from the side, looking surprised, and said, "Don't you know, sir? Pan left several months ago. He said he went back to consult the werewolf clan."

"Huh??" Raven was taken aback. "When did this happen?" "He didn't tell me." He hadn't seen Pain since he sent him to the Bloody Highlands.

Link's expression turned grim. "Paine told the Eagle Army soldiers who were traveling with him that it was your order. He said you told him to confirm the boundaries of the Bloodstained Highlands and then return to the Orc Empire on his own." "So it seems that this cunning old fox sensed things were going badly and slipped away?"

"Ouch!" The hyena slapped its head hard, making a dull thud. "My lord, I remember now, someone told me a while ago that Goblin Chichigak from the arena had also run away. I didn't pay much attention at the time, but it seems Pain ran away with him." "The journey back is long, could Pain be planning to ride him back?"

"Kikigak ran away too???" Raven was completely bewildered. How long had he been living in Holloburg? So many things had happened in the territory that he didn't know about.

“It wasn’t exactly running away…” the hyena stammered hesitantly. “Kiki Gak left a letter for the arena, saying that he had found his long-lost brother and wanted to go home to visit him.”

"Could it be..." Link's expression grew increasingly serious, "that they went back to join Chuchulinga?" "These opportunists are all the same, they change their allegiance to whatever wind blows."

"Fine, let him run away then." Raven shook his head. As the saying goes, "The sky will rain, and a mother will remarry"—human nature has always been unpredictable. If someone is determined to leave, Raven can't stop them. Just like William, who disappeared the moment the contract was terminated. In this world, who doesn't yearn for freedom? This is the harsh reality. Some people only regret that they can't be both loyal to their country and filial to their parents. Some people only regret that you haven't given enough. Human nature is just like that.

"Take good care of these two griffins." "Give them to me after they lay their eggs." Raven began to consider strengthening these griffins. The hippogriff became the Wind King after strengthening; what would the griffins become after strengthening? It was truly something to look forward to.

As mentioned before, on the continent of Miders, each nation and race has its own trained aerial forces. The Keynes Empire primarily uses hippogriffs, while the Podomichre Kingdom mainly uses griffins. Comparatively, griffins are significantly more powerful than hippogriffs, as evidenced by their size; griffins are almost twice the size of hippogriffs. Therefore, among the human kingdoms, besides the two largest empires, Insa and Keynes, Podomichre possesses the most expansive territory.

While dragons are powerful, their unique characteristics make them unsuitable for large-scale breeding. Zolzann constantly needs Angel's Tears, eats enormous amounts, and requires live cattle, sheep, and pigs. Gregory constantly needs Soul Essence and occasionally demands to consume souls. Raven's affection immediately drops to zero if his sustenance stops. Hippogryphs and griffins, however, are different. They are well-suited for large-scale breeding. Moreover, once they develop a bond with humans, they rarely betray them.

"Okay, boss." "Exactly!" "Could you get me one too?" the hyena grinned foolishly. It's impossible not to envy the Wind King's forces. Who wouldn't want their own flying magical beast? Even Eric has Zolzann now.

“No problem,” Raven agreed.

……

Snow Maple Territory, Val Territory, Iron Sword Fortress.

Vale is located in the northwest of Snowmaple County, adjacent to Ghost Castle—formerly Baron Hudson's mountain territory and castle. This is the territory of the Eric family. Their castle was named Iron Sword Castle by Eric. As Raven's only Suncrown Baron, Eric's territory is vast, far exceeding that of a typical baronial domain. As for Denise, who became a viscount, she doesn't count. Everyone in Snowmaple County knows she's a wanton whore who only obtained her title by sleeping with Marquis Raven. How can she be compared to Baron Eric, who earned his title through outstanding military achievements? Denise wasn't popular in Snowmaple County to begin with, and now with Vesdon's betrayal, her reputation has plummeted.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Donkey Face looked at the guys who were all staring at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You've got guts." Baido gave a thumbs up. Although everyone thought the same thing about Denise—utterly disdainful—donkey-faced was the first to dare say it so openly.

"Tch," the donkey-faced man said nonchalantly. "Anyway, the Marquis can't hear me."

Turo waved his hand to stop everyone from talking, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Auntie! Auntie!"

Thor's mother, Romi, quickly heard the commotion and ran out of the castle. "Hey, what brings you here?" she asked with a smile and a hint of surprise.

"Haha, you've come to see Thor!" Turo laughed.

Eric followed closely behind down from the castle. "You were looking for him? How did you end up here? When did he ever come back?" Thor was quite the show-off; he rarely returned to Val Territory because it was incredibly boring there with practically nothing to do. So he always stayed in Eagle City. He seldom came back, and when asked, he'd always say he was a busy Eagle Eye Guard.

"Oh, oh." "That's alright, we brought lots of food." "We even bought a sheep. Uncle, let's roast a whole lamb today." Turo waved his hand. Magde, Severin, Hervey, and Lamb came up and indeed carried a plump, fat sheep that was still bleating incessantly.

"Hey? Hervey and Lamb are here too." Eric noticed the two and quickly greeted them. Compared to the others, these two were veterans of the Eagle Army. They were soldiers Eric had personally trained. "Why did you bring all this? I have nothing here," Eric said somewhat displeased.

“Baron, you’re really exaggerating.” The donkey-faced man walked up and said pretentiously, “I do have something that you don’t have, and I guarantee you’ll be drooling over it.”

Eric's face stiffened. These guys were all local rich kids who followed Thor, and they weren't particularly close to Eric. After all, Eric and Thor had a terrible relationship. Back in the Orc Empire, the father and son barely spoke to each other when they met. Seeing the donkey-faced guy's disrespectful teasing, Eric smiled, "I'll bet 20 gold coins."

"Haha," the donkey-faced man laughed loudly, "Auntie, did you hear that? The Baron himself said it."

Romi was jumping up and down anxiously, "Quick, quick, come in, kids!" She shoved Eric, "How old are you? Don't you have any shame?" Clearly, 20 gold coins had crossed Romi's line.

"Please sit down first, I'll get someone to cook right away." Luo Mi pulled everyone into the house and hurriedly went out to call for someone to cook.

Normally, she lives alone in this castle, cooking for herself and not wanting to hire servants. Now that so many people are coming, she'll have to call someone to help cook. That'll cost a lot of money, plus a 20-gold bet. Honestly. Thor has already spent thousands of gold coins buying merit points, and there's also the debt he owed from before, which he's only slowly paying off over the past few years.

As they entered the house, the first impression was one of simplicity. Extremely simple and unpretentious. Even the sofa was square and boxy. Baido noticed a drawing, quite ugly, like graffiti. It was clearly drawn by Thor when he was a child. However, there were four people in the drawing: Eric, Romi, Thor… and a little girl. The only distinguishing feature was that she was a little girl; she had flowers on her head and two long braids. Baido looked at it again and again, finally unable to resist asking, “This must be Thor’s sister, right?”

The laughter and chatter abruptly ceased. Eric's cheek twitched a few times, but he quickly regained his smile. "Yes." Eric once had a daughter, but she was starved to death. After that, Romi grieved too much, damaging her health and making it impossible for her to have more children. So, they only had one son, Thor. Romi also disliked having strangers in her castle, because she would often mistake the maids for her grown-up daughters. Everyone stared at the graffiti, falling silent.

Although they didn't have that experience and couldn't truly empathize with Eric, just hearing about his daughter starving to death was enough to make their hearts tremble.

Seeing the tense and oppressive atmosphere, Donkey Face hurriedly pulled something out of his ring and slammed it on the table. He exclaimed, as if seeking praise, "Baron, what is this?"

Eric looked down and his face immediately showed surprise. He picked up a bottle and examined it closely. "This looks like the Marquis's own brew? What's it called again?" "It's very precious. I've only had a few small glasses." "It's extremely spicy and intoxicating, much worse than Angel's Tears." "How come you have five bottles? Where did they come from?"

The donkey-faced man laughed heartily, extremely smug, and said, "The Marquis isn't in the castle right now, so I stole it."

"Huh?" Eric was startled. "Then you'd better put it back right away. If he finds out, he'll give you a good spanking."

"What's there to be afraid of? It's already been stolen." The donkey-faced man said nonchalantly. "We can talk about the butt problem later. We're not talking about the butt problem today."

Eric thought about it and agreed, so he got up, took out cups, and poured a bowl for everyone. "Come on, drink this bowl!"

The group clinked their glasses and drank it down in one gulp. Immediately, a hissing and spitting sound, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, was produced.

"Cool!"

Before long, several people began to feel hot all over, got up, took off their coats, and threw them under their bodies to press down.

Two hours later, the whole roasted lamb was finally ready. Golden and crispy, sizzling with oil. Just looking at it made one's mouth water. Everyone began to eat the meat and drink the wine heartily, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Romi watched this scene with a smile. It had been a very long time since her family had been this lively, let alone singing and dancing and singing a folk song from the Nord Province.

It's clear that Eric is genuinely happy.

"Auntie, have a drink!" Donkey Face called out, pulling out the last bottle.

Romi waved her hands nervously, "I feel like throwing up just from the smell, let alone drinking it."

With the last bottle of wine down his throat, Eric, exhausted from the relentless drinking session, was completely drunk and unconscious. "Auntie, which room is Uncle in? Let's carry him back," Turo asked, exhaling a breath of alcohol.

Romi led everyone up to the second floor.

Once everyone had gone upstairs, Hervé stood up and began searching around. Severin was also rummaging through drawers and cabinets, saying, "Hurry up."

Soon, Severin shouted, "Found it!" He pulled out an enchanted artifact and whispered. Hervé walked over, took it, and examined it closely. "Yes, this is it."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the excitement in each other's eyes. After hiding the items and waiting for the people upstairs to come down, Hervé signaled with his eyes that they had succeeded. Then, everyone bid farewell to Romi and left Val Territory, rushing towards Eagle City.

……

Orc Empire, Nightthroat Province, Moonrock Keep.

After a long and arduous journey of hiding and fleeing, Pan finally returned to Moonrock Keep, the place he had always longed for.

“Miss! Miss!!!” Pan En shouted hoarsely.

When Bai Yue came downstairs and saw Pan En, her face lit up with surprise and delight. "Uncle Pan En, why are you back?" Bai Yue said, glancing behind him. "Are you alone?"

"Miss! Great news! Raven has fallen out with Emperor Keynes! The entire Eagle Ridge is under siege and on the verge of destruction!" Paine said, his face beaming with joy. "I managed to sneak back! I was almost mistaken for one of Raven's men and had my head chopped off. Luckily, I had a quick wit and tricked Kiki Gak into running with me. With his protection, I made it back unharmed!"

"Raven is completely finished this time!" Pain said, still shaken. No matter how gifted a genius is, trying to fight against an entire imperial machine is a pipe dream. It was precisely because he saw this that Pain fled without hesitation.

"Oh~" Bai Yue nodded, but there wasn't much joy on her face. "I was wondering why the Eagle Army in Bloodstone Territory had all withdrawn. "Even the rune stone business we were going to buy has stopped."

Pan En looked at Bai Yue with surprise. "Miss, you... seem a little unhappy?"

Bai Yue pursed her lips. "I wasn't quite sure what was going on before, but now I finally understand." "So Raven got into trouble." Bai Yue helped Pan En sit down and made him a steaming cup of beast milk tea. "Uncle Pan En, we have a contract with Raven, don't we?"

Pan En's hand, holding the beast milk tea, trembled violently. He stared at Bai Yue in utter shock. Time seemed to have a particularly cruel hand on this little werewolf; aside from losing some of her childishness and cuteness and gaining a touch of nobility and majesty after becoming the clan leader, she had hardly changed at all. "You, you...you..." Pan En stammered, as if possessed, "You wouldn't...you're going to support Raven, would you?"

The little werewolf girl sat opposite him, her voice calm as she said, "Uncle Pan, you guessed right. I'm going to send troops to Nord to support Raven. And, I need you to make another trip to contact Igni and Chuchulinga. If they're willing, they can come together. If not, our werewolf clan will go to Nord alone."

Bang!
Pan slammed his cup down on the table, expressing his dissatisfaction. "You...you...you!" "Are you crazy?!" "That's just a piece of waste paper!" "It's not even a magic contract!" "Besides, Bai Yue, Raven is the one who killed your father!"

Bai Yue's voice remained calm, like a still lake without a ripple. "Uncle Pan, it wasn't Raven who killed my father, but my father who broke the alliance first." "Everyone says we orcs are savage and selfish, eating raw meat and drinking blood." "But I will take action to show everyone—"

Only beasts are heartless; we orcs... are compassionate and righteous.

……

(End of this chapter)