Chapter 135: The Tranquil River Bend

Brother Dewitt was a native of the North himself. Although his family had converted to the Holy Light centuries ago and no longer worshipped the Northern gods, he still participated in the temple rituals held by the lord every month.

One could hardly jump out and shout "heretic" at the lord.

Therefore, Dewitt felt only respect and appreciation for the temple in Riverbend, offering no criticism, let alone mentioning the construction of a Holy Light chapel. Bringing the Holy Light into the temple was impossible; just because the Northern gods were willing to share a roof with the Lord of Light did not mean the Lord of Light felt the same. Besides, once inside the temple, it would be difficult to decide which of the two true gods should occupy the seat of honor.

Every priest of the Holy Light dreamed of becoming a father, possessing their own church, and spreading the radiance of the Lord of Light. But not every priest was so greedy and shameless. Dewitt decided to maintain a good relationship with the Lord of Riverbend to secure future opportunities for missionary work.

As evening approached, the investigative delegation prepared to stay the night in Riverbend before departing the next day. However, Riverbend was still a small village, and there were no suitable accommodations for the knights. Under Leo's suggestion, Riverbend had long ago built a tavern with an inn near the wharf to provide entertainment, food, and lodging for villagers and merchants.

Whether traveling by land or water, the journey from Ethanpol to Riverbend took at least a full day. If visitors could only sleep in tents or borrow space in villagers' homes without any entertainment, the number of small merchants and speculators willing to come to Riverbend would surely be halved.

The tavern was managed by old Russev, with the young widow Agatha and two other girls working there. Because it was the lord's property, no one dared to cause trouble, and with the monopoly on alcohol, the daily income was quite substantial.

Ulyan was by no means a selfish man; Russev, Valery, and Rashka, who had been loyal to him from the beginning, were never mistreated. As soon as Riverbend stabilized, they each received their own assets: Russev’s tavern, Valery’s smithy, and Rashka’s farm. Although the output of these businesses could not yet be fully allocated to them—as the primary income was still needed to support the construction of Riverbend—Ulyan had secretly made promises and even had Olivia draft the deeds. Once his status as a pioneering knight was officially recognized, these deeds would immediately take effect.

Leo expressed that he also wanted some assets, such as the spacious and warm manor of the lord. But the moment his idea was voiced, he was chased up to the rafters by Ulyan and his daughter Olivia, and even the little mouse refused to help him, cheering from below instead.

However, a tavern with only a few small rooms and a large communal bed was clearly not suited to the noble status of the knights. Ulyan had no choice but to clear out an empty room in the manor, lay down sleeping mats, and let the three knights and Brother Dewitt stay the night. Their attendants and guards had to squeeze into the militia longhouse.

Such was the simplicity of the Northern countryside; even the lord's home was not opulent. The manor, at about three hundred square meters, was already considered quite large, at least enough to spare a few empty rooms. A smaller manor might be less than a hundred square meters, only two stories high, and barely larger than a villager's hut. The entire house would consist of one large hall with a central fire pit; the family lived on the upper level while livestock occupied the space beneath the floorboards. The whole family would eat, sleep, and live around the fire pit, and guests would do the same. In hot weather, one could smell the pungent odor of animal waste wafting up from below.

This was common along the North Ice River. Every winter, Agatha would tuck piglets into her bedding, and Olivia would confine lambs in rooms with stoves. The knights of the investigative delegation were all Northerners and understood the conditions of the countryside, so they were not overly critical; instead, they were deeply satisfied with Ulyan’s hospitality.

Brother Dewitt stood on the wooden steps outside the manor, watching the twilight descend. As the villagers, exhausted yet relaxed, slowly returned to the village from all directions, a sense of serenity and contentment welled up within him. This place, which the Holy Light had yet to touch, was remarkably beautiful. His heart was filled with peace, overflowing with the light, and he felt an impulse to settle here.

But among the returning crowd, some strange scenes appeared. A large group of kobolds, stronger than dwarves, swarmed out of the smithy and bolted toward the public kitchen with ferocious expressions. The villagers returning home were long accustomed to this, smoothly clearing a path to let the drooling, frenzied dogs rush past them. A squad of little kobolds, marching in neat formation, carried wooden spears toward the side of the manor and disappeared into the stables.

A giant beast, something between a bear and not a bear, approached the manor carrying a black-haired, black-eyed little girl. Behind them was a long line of unicorn boars, each with a small kobold sitting on its back. Seeing outsiders blocking the way, Freya cautiously remained silent, pretending to be a mount as unintelligent as the unicorn boars. Under the pretentious command of the little mouse, Freya led the boar procession back to the paddock behind the manor.

Dewitt felt anxious for the villagers' safety due to the existence of the kobold blacksmiths; he then worried for the safety of the delegation's mounts due to the little kobolds; and finally, because of Freya and the unicorn boars, he began to worry for his own safety.

As an elven druid, Freya possessed basic soothing spells and the ability to communicate with beasts. After arriving in Riverbend, she was able to calm these semi-tamed unicorn boars. The little kobolds, having spent a long time with these boars, rarely faced hostility from them. With Freya's help, Six and the other little kobolds successfully learned to ride the boars and could give them simple commands. After a few riding and herding sessions, the boars no longer rejected the little kobolds.

After all, they were usually confined beneath the floorboards of the manor and only occasionally let out into the paddock. Riverbend had no intention of treating these "reserve meats" kindly, nor did they expect to tame these beasts, which were fiercer than wild boars. Only when ridden by the little kobolds did they have the chance to leave the paddock and move about in the woods. Six and the others, who previously only knew how to eat, sleep, and crawl around the manor as pets, finally had a purpose: to care for and train these unicorn boars and clean up their waste, ensuring the manor did not become foul-smelling before the temperature rose.

After the investigative knights departed, the trouble brought by Nelson came to an end, but it was clear that the Gladstone family would not let the matter rest. Ulyan could only conspire frequently with Rigorav to discuss countermeasures and prepare for the dangers to come.

Rigorav still held a very negative impression of Sir Nelson. Although he had some estrangement from his second younger brother, he had initially opposed his eldest nephew's plan to develop the frontier land; when the latter insisted on his own way, Rigorav was forced to provide a large amount of supplies. While the family's strength had indeed improved, he was generally very unhappy about it.

But this was an internal matter of the Petukhov family. To think that this frontier land, which his brother and nephew had painstakingly managed, had been targeted by a scoundrel like Nelson! He had even recklessly approached him to ask if he could buy it!

Ulyan did not hide the truth from Rigorav, directly stating that he had killed Nelson. Rigorav only said, "Well killed!" and told Ulyan to return home with peace of mind, promising that he would keep a close eye on the movements of the Gladstone family.