Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 65 Disguise
“We just disguised ourselves as refugees to infiltrate and investigate,” Kruse explained, his tone resolute and unwavering. “I need to see the real situation there with my own eyes before I can ‘treat the symptoms’.”

"'Treat the symptoms'?" Butler Buffet was puzzled by this unfamiliar term and looked at Kruze with a questioning look.

Kruse explained helplessly, "What I mean is that we must first accurately assess the situation before we can formulate the most effective response strategy."

Butler Buffet nodded in sudden understanding, but still insisted, "In that case, please make sure to have Sir Wilstone as your personal bodyguard. With this Silver Knight by your side, your safety will be best guaranteed."

Kruze waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave. He needed his own space to cultivate.

He sensed that the energy crystal was about to be completely refined by him, and his fighting spirit surged, reaching the peak of the Apprentice Knight. He was only one step away from breaking through to the Bronze Knight.

He took a deep breath and decided to launch an assault on the Bronze Knights' stronghold tonight.

As night deepened, Kruze sat alone in the cultivation room, a faint energy fluctuation emanating from his body.

The energy crystal had transformed into the last pure stream of warmth, completely merging into his limbs and bones.

He guided the increasingly surging battle qi within him, as if riding a galloping wild horse, repeatedly crashing against that invisible yet resilient barrier.

Each impact was accompanied by a slight throbbing pain in his meridians, but he remained steadfast and did not back down.

Sweat soaked through his clothes, and his body was slightly hot from the rapid flow of energy.

Finally, in the darkest hour before dawn, he seemed to hear a faint but clear "crack" sound from inside his body, and the barrier that had been blocking him for so long broke down!

In an instant, an even more powerful and condensed battle qi, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly flowed through all his meridians, and the circulation speed suddenly increased to a new level.

A sense of power far greater than before filled his body, and his five senses became more acute, even allowing him to hear the faintest chirping of insects outside the window.

He slowly opened his eyes, a faint bluish gleam flashing in them before disappearing.

The Bronze Knight is complete!
Feeling the transformative power within him, Kruse smiled confidently.

His improved strength gave him more confidence in his plan to go to the refugee market the next day.

The next morning, just as the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, Kruze was already fully prepared. He left the castle silently with Wilstone and several carefully selected knights as his squires, heading towards the refugee market.

Rezal and a sleepy Elena were awakened by the noise at the door. They leaned on the windowsill, watching their older brother and his group walk away, filled with doubt and curiosity, but they did not go up to ask them anything.

The reason is simple: the meaning of the latest letter from his father couldn't be clearer—he fully acknowledged all of Kruse's actions during this period and formally, not just verbally, handed over full control of the entire territory to Kruse.

"Big brother is so busy right now!" Elena complained, rubbing her eyes and pouting.

Ever since Kruze discovered her astonishing talent for cultivation, her days of sleeping in until she naturally woke up were gone forever. Every day, she had to be dragged out of bed before dawn to cultivate. Rezal pouted, looking like he was happy to be idle: "It's better for my brother to be busy. When he's busy, the two of us can relax. Once Father is officially granted the title of Baron and the territory expands so much, we probably won't even have the chance to be lazy like we are now."

Although he understood that the butler Buffet no longer supported him as the heir, the old butler did not turn against him because of this, after all, Buffet was still Rezal's nominal tutor.

Recently, the butler has begun to systematically teach him some practical knowledge about managing the territory.

Although Rezal said he wanted to slack off, he knew in his heart that he would soon need to put his skills to use in these areas.

Looking back on his past actions, Rezal felt like he was a complete joke.

He actually harbored resentment towards his elder brother Kruze over the mere right to inherit a knightly territory, and they almost turned against each other.

Looking back now, how narrow-minded I was.

The former knighthood is now an easily attainable starting point, and the entire family is about to rise to the rank of baron.

Within the entire county of Campnor, the Liontooth family is about to become a force to be reckoned with.

Therefore, Rezal has long since put those childish squabbles behind him. He only wants to focus on his training without distraction, striving to condense his aura as quickly as possible and become a true apprentice knight.

He longed to be able to stand on his own as soon as possible and be assigned to manage a piece of land or a business.

A burning flame of defiance resided deep within him—he was determined to surpass his elder brother's achievements and make all those who had looked down on him take notice.

Led by Cooper, the group set off towards their destination. However, the location of the refugee market Cooper had mentioned was far beyond everyone's expectations—it was not within the territory of any baronial estate, but rather deep in the dense forest at the junction of the desolate Hornas Mountains and the plains.

The terrain there is treacherous, dangerous magical beasts roam the area year-round, and the environment is extremely harsh. To this day, no lord has been willing to allocate his fiefdom to this perilous region.

“The Hornas Mountains…the largest and oldest mountain range in the kingdom.” Riding on his horse, Wilstone gazed solemnly at the distant, undulating black mountains that resembled the spine of a giant dragon, and added in a low voice, “Ancient legends say that a real dragon may even be sleeping on the cloud-shrouded highest peak.”

Upon hearing this, Cooper gave a helpless, bitter smile, confirming the point: "That's right, Lord Wilstone. Robert, who led us back then, often said, 'The more dangerous the place, the safer it is.' Even if those noble lords were to conduct large-scale searches for refugees, they would never be willing to waste their troops in such a desolate and dangerous place teeming with monsters."

To conceal their identities, Kruze had Koob prepare disguises for them well in advance—all of them were rough linen clothes worn by refugees and low-class serfs, tattered and stained.

What Kruse found most unbearable was the overwhelming smell, so strong it seemed as if the clothes hadn't been washed for over half a month, a mixture of sweat, dirt, and some indescribable sour, rotten odor.

“Young Master, this is more in line with the reality of most vagrants.” Wilstone looked at Kruse’s furrowed brows and couldn’t help but tease him in a low voice, “Those who maintain cleanliness every day like you are a very small minority. Even in the aristocratic circle, not everyone is so particular.”

(End of this chapter)