Lord: I can see loyalty.

The mansion in Kuoqiao Village was temporarily vacated by the local village chief for this selection. Although it was not as luxurious as the Earl's Castle, it was clean and tidy.

Two lamps hung at the entrance, along with two guards dressed in knight's armor.

When Vio pushed open the door, Cohen and Vance were already waiting in the hall.

The two had clearly just arrived, still bearing the dust of their journey. Vance's clothes were a bit wrinkled, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

Cohen was dressed in a gentlemanly manner that Vio had never seen before, his dark coat spotless, as if the long journey had no effect on him.

Several villagers were serving tea and water nearby. When Vio entered, they quickly bowed and greeted him.

"My Lord Earl!"

"You may all leave." Vio waved his hand, and the villagers tactfully withdrew, closing the door behind them.

Cohen and Vance stood up at the same time, about to bow, when Vio stepped forward and raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

"Let's skip the formalities." He sat down in the main seat, and Gina silently stood behind him. "Tell me first, was your journey safe? How is the Brotherhood doing in the capital?"

Cohen bowed slightly and calmly said, "Thanks to Your Excellency the Earl, everything went smoothly."

"The Brotherhood has established a firm foothold in the capital. Before returning this time, I handed over the overt business to reliable people and set up the covert network. There shouldn't be any problems in the short term."

Vio nodded, then turned his gaze to Vance.

Fans understood, stepped forward, took out two thin booklets from his pocket, and presented them with both hands.

"Please accept this, sir."

Vio took the booklet, flipped through it, and glanced at it. The handwriting was neat, the illustrations were clear, and it was indeed a complete knightly swordsmanship manual.

"Two sets?" He raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.

"Yes." Vance's tone carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement. "The Serpent Griffin Sword Technique and the Grey Wolf Sword Technique. The former was obtained from a knight named Colin. It is said to be a simplified version of the sword technique of the Golden Mane Griffin family in the capital. Although its power is not as great as the original, it is more systematic and simple, making it very suitable for group practice."

He paused, then added, "The Grey Wolf Sword Technique was obtained from Mr. Leon of the Grey Wolf Clan of the North... However, according to him, this sword technique has side effects; it seems that practicing it for a long time can easily lead to exhaustion? We haven't had time to investigate the specifics yet."

Vio nodded, suppressing his joy, and placed the two booklets beside him.

"Go on."

Vance took a deep breath and continued his report: "As for the advancement of breathing techniques, we've also inquired about it. The brother of the Knight Colin who provided the Serpent Eagle Sword Technique is said to have just broken through to become a Grand Knight. According to him, the advancement path for each breathing technique is different, and there's no single method, but..."

He took out a leather bag the size of a head and placed it on the table.

"There are some general-purpose materials that can speed up the training process. These were bought from a female knight named Ellie in the North. They are magic ore and rare herbs."

Vio opened the leather bag, inside were several pieces of ore emitting a faint glow, and several dried herbs that were still very fragrant.

Vio, who had mastered the simplest form of the [Stone Ball Magic], could sense the magical power contained within it; though faint, it was indeed present.

"Of course, what that Knight Colin said isn't necessarily entirely true," Vance added, as if he had just thought of something. "But his brother did indeed break through, that much is probably true."

Vio nodded and put the leather bag away.

He never expected to get a way to advance his breathing technique directly from this so-called "Knights' Party".

That kind of thing is definitely in the hands of the upper-class nobles in the capital; it's a real treasure, and ordinary nobles can't even dream of owning it.

These two sets of knightly sword techniques, however, surprised him greatly.

There are two complete sets.

Putting aside the somewhat abstract Grey Wolf Sword Technique, especially the Serpent Vulture Sword Technique.

What does it mean to call it a simplified version of the Golden Mane Griffin family swordsmanship...? This clearly means that it has been streamlined and systematized, making it more suitable for mass teaching!

The ordinary knights of the Azure Peak Knights were exactly lacking such a set of equipment.

As for the Grey Wolf Sword Technique, although it is said to have side effects, it wouldn't hurt to take it back and study it.

Perhaps we can find a way to avoid the side effects. Besides, that fatigue is just Vance's conjecture.

He looked up at Cohen and Vance, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

He knew that Vance spoke lightly, but behind these two sword techniques and these materials must have been a perilous journey with countless life-threatening experiences.

Cohen, in particular, although he did not mention his own contributions in his report, he personally worked to build the intelligence network and connections in the capital.

Without his help, Vance and his group wouldn't have even been able to get through the gates of the party.

"Well done." Vio's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was sincere. "You've had a hard time on this trip."

Cohen bowed slightly, still looking composed, while Vance scratched his head and chuckled twice.

The hall was quiet for a moment.

Vio was about to announce the reward when Cohen glanced at Vance, then turned to Vio, his expression becoming serious.

"My lord, there is one more thing."

Vio's gaze sharpened slightly. "What is it?"

Cohen did not answer directly, but looked at Vance.

Vance seemed to understand something, stepped forward, and lowered his voice.

"My lord, we met someone at the party, Miss Daphne, the eldest daughter of the Golden Griffin family."

Vio's eyes narrowed slightly. The Golden Griffin Clan had followed him in the capital last time, and their appearances this time were also quite frequent, which inevitably made him worried.

"She recognized me." Vance's tone carried a hint of shame. "I was disguised as a minor nobleman from the South, but she saw through me immediately, and she asked me to deliver a message to the master."

"What did you say?"

Vance took a deep breath and repeated, word by word:

"The Kingdom of Rovia is about to be engulfed in war once again. Be prepared."

The hall was completely silent.

Vio didn't speak. Gina stood behind him, her expression also somewhat unpleasant. Even a fool could understand the meaning of the word "war."

Cohen remained standing there, his expression calm; he already knew what that meant.

After a long silence, Vio simply nodded calmly.

"I see."

He stood up and looked at Cohen and Vance.

"You should go back to Bordeaux and rest. Vincent will arrange for a carriage to take you there. You've had a long journey, so take a good rest for a few days. You'll be well rewarded."

Cohen and Vance bowed and left, closing the door behind them.

Only Vio and Gina remained in the hall.

Vio sat back in his chair, leaning back slowly, staring at the beam on the ceiling, remaining silent for a long time.

Gina didn't say anything, she just stood quietly behind him.

"Will the kingdom be plunged into war again...?" Vio repeated softly.

He knew what had happened in the kingdom before, and after becoming a count, he thoroughly investigated all the information he could find.

Bandits had emerged in the southern border, but he has now wiped them out.

Pirates have appeared in the western border, colluding with local nobles. They still occupy several ports along the coast. The kingdom has sent troops to suppress them three times, but has failed to completely eliminate them.

The Eastern Territory was also in turmoil, with bandits harassing border villages, neighboring countries taking the opportunity to probe, and barbarian tribes from the mountains launching attacks from time to time.

Needless to say, the North and the capital were also in turmoil; it's said that the internal strife nearly brought the entire kingdom to its knees.

Now, apart from the pirates in the western border who are still causing trouble, the rest of the country has basically settled down.

But the young lady from the Golden-Maned Griffin family made him "get ready"...

Vio closed his eyes, his thoughts churning in the darkness.

Could it be that pirates are planning something?

That's probably not what it refers to. Although pirates are entrenched along the western coast and cause a lot of trouble, they only threaten Vio's southern border and can't amount to much, let alone plunge the Kingdom of Rovia into war.

The only remaining possibility is...

Is the Golden-Maned Griffin family up to something?

Vio frowned as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

The Golden-Maned Griffin Clan, a relative of the royal family, how many years have they operated in the capital? How deep are their roots? How murky are their influences? Nobody knows.

And their young lady even had someone deliver a message to her...

Is it a warning? An invitation? Or a declaration of war?

Vio opened his eyes and looked out the window.

The night remained deep and peaceful, and the southern border was serene.

The lights of Kuoqiao Village were scattered, and the occasional bark of a dog could be heard in the distance. Everything was so peaceful, as if the war was far, far away from this land.

But Vio knew that sometimes, the calmer the weather, the more likely a storm is to come.

He slowly clenched his fist.

No matter who is causing trouble, no matter where the war starts, he will not allow the Southern Territory to fall into war again.