Lord of Rot

Holding a torch, Lady Jie Lin led Leech into the treasury.

The treasury of Longship Castle was quite spacious, but other than the torch in Lady Jie Lin’s hand, there was no other light source.

But that wasn’t a problem for Leech. He possessed an innate dark vision and could see perfectly even in a lightless environment. With the additional illumination from Lady Jie Lin’s torch, a single glance was all it took to survey the entire treasury.

”This is...!”

Leech’s heart skipped a beat.

Just inside the entrance was the taxidermied corpse of a monster.

A male lion, mouth agape in a silent roar aimed at the treasury door.

On the lion’s back was a goat, and a giant python also had its mouth open, facing the entrance.

’A Chimera!’

After the Griffin, he was once again seeing a Magical Creature.

The treasury was filled with specimens of Magical Creatures: a snow-white Unicorn, and even a young dragon the size of a small man.

Based on Leech’s knowledge of such things from the Black Market, even as corpses, they should have fetched a huge sum if Lady Jie Lin were willing to sell. It was impossible that she’d be reduced to clinging to Porcupine Territory as a lifeline.

”The Baron made all of those himself when he was alive.”

”He... made them himself?” Leech asked. ”My lady, are you saying these aren’t real?”

Lady Jie Lin nodded. ”Before he passed, the Baron was fascinated by Magical Creatures. He collected many books and created these based on the records within them. Take that monster, for example. He skinned it, boiled the bones, and scraped the flesh himself. The skin was stuffed with a kind of soft clay that sets and becomes very light after it dries.”

Leech walked up to the ”Chimera” specimen with its gaping mouth and gave it a gentle push. It only weighed a few dozen pounds. ’Ultra-light clay?’

’I can’t believe the late Baron of Longship Castle was a master model-maker.’

Look at this exquisite design. Leech stared at the joint where the goat’s body connected to the lion’s, unable to find a single flaw.

”And this dragon?”

”That was a green lizard he bought. He heard it had the bloodline of a Giant Dragon.”

Anything even remotely related to dragons could be sold for an astronomical price, so such claims had no credibility.

”Ever since I married him, I watched him spend all his time on these things, never leaving the castle. After we married, he would sometimes even hand over the castle’s administrative duties to me. People called him the Baron Who’s Afraid to Be Seen.” Lady Jie Lin was trying to set the mood, but the torchlight didn’t reach far. She could only vaguely see Leech with his head down, studying something.

He didn’t seem to be paying her any attention.

Here, in this absolutely deserted and silent treasury, dark and alone with a sexy Baroness—and he wasn’t eagerly closing in?

Lady Jie Lin bit her lip gently, switched the torch to her other hand, and walked toward Leech.

As she got closer, she saw Leech squatting down, studying a large, green, crystalline ore on the floor. The ore somewhat resembled a creature curled up.

”My lady, do you know what this is?” Leech turned his head, finding his face level with Lady Jie Lin’s stomach. He had to look up, but his view was blocked by a pair of mountains.

’This is a bit of an awkward angle.’

He leaned back slightly, but Lady Jie Lin was leaning forward, her upper body right over his head. There was no escape.

’Oh well, might as well stay like this.’

”Hmm, I remember...” Lady Jie Lin recalled. ”I think he spent a great deal of money on this.”

”I believe it’s called a Dragon Ore Gemstone.”

”A Dragon Ore Gemstone?” Leech was stunned. Weren’t Dragon Ore Gemstones those glass bottles used by Alchemists?

”The Dragon Ore Gemstones I’ve seen are a type of transparent material.”

Lady Jie Lin took a step back, giving Leech some more breathing room, and explained, ”You’re probably thinking of the Dragon Ore Gemstones touted by merchants. They found a pile of strange, transparent ore somewhere with a large supply. To inflate the price, they gave it the name ’Dragon Ore Gemstone’ and claimed it was treasure from a Giant Dragon.”

So that was the story.

Leech had a sudden realization. No wonder even Alchemists could afford it.

It was probably like the relationship between angel food cake and an actual angel. In other words, no relationship at all.

Leech had also been puzzled before. A drop of a Griffin’s blood could become Griffin Grass, and a Horse-headed Eagle could be born from its relations with a mare. It made sense that every part of them was valuable. Why were a Giant Dragon’s ore gemstones so cheap? So they were just piggybacking on the name. He could also understand now why nobles disliked glassware; the merchants’ petty tricks weren’t fit for their dining tables.

”So is this a real Dragon Ore Gemstone?” Leech asked again.

”It’s just like the records in the book. I once read it with the Baron. I think it said they were the treasures of a Green Dragon—miraculous ores formed from life itself.” Lady Jie Lin shook her head. ”But this isn’t one. After he bought it, he discovered it was carved by a person, not formed from life.”

The Baron of Longship Castle must have been scammed often. Judging by Lady Jie Lin’s expression, she was used to it.

”What book?” Leech was very interested.

Because he also had a similar ore—a crystalline skeleton of a vibrant green Underground Fishman. It sounded very similar to what Lady Jie Lin described.

Did that mean that group of Underground Fishmen was actually related to a dragon?

”It’s in the study. If you’re interested, I can take you to see it tomorrow.”

”Thank you so much!” Leech was overjoyed. He should be able to determine if it was real or fake just by reading and researching.

Lady Jie Lin shook her head and said, ”You saved Longship Castle. I am very grateful to you. It’s just a few books. You can have anything you want in Longship Castle.”

’Including me!’

She winked at Leech.

’A hint? No, that was completely blatant.’

But her wink was wasted on a blind man, because Leech had been distracted by something else.

He really did seem to be here just to pick out treasures.

’This Baron Porcupine... how is he so impenetrable!’

It wasn’t that Leech was unaware of the beauty beside him. He had the same weaknesses as any normal man. When that ”lights-out lady” at Green Forest Castle had tickled his palm to give him a hint, it would be a lie to say his mind didn’t wander. But some things were more important than others.

Just then, for instance, Leech discovered a wooden stick in the treasury with a gemstone the size of a thumb-pad attached to it. The stick wasn’t long, just the right length and thickness to be held in one hand.

But when he tried to pull on it, the gem and the stick were firmly connected.

Moreover, he tried to channel his Spiritual Power into the gemstone. It absorbed 3 units, and the gem-topped stick still had capacity, as if it could take more. But Leech stopped in time. It was enough to know this was a wondrous object. He would study its specific function back in Porcupine Territory, lest Lady Jie Lin discover he was different.

”Who put this here?” Lady Jie Lin suddenly exclaimed.

”My lady, you know the origin of this treasure?” Leech looked at Lady Jie Lin, pleasantly surprised.

But Lady Jie Lin blushed and said awkwardly, ”Um, well, it was probably put in the wrong place.”

...

Leech seemed to guess what it was. The shape, the length, and that smooth, plum-shaped gemstone.

’Should I take it or not? This is really awkward.’

’Who cares? I’m taking it! Now that I’ve confirmed it’s a wondrous object, there’s no reason not to.’

At worst, I can use it when creating non-humanoid Corpse Ghosts in the future.

Because according to Leech’s research, the materials used in creating a Corpse Ghost would manifest as certain traits in the final product. It was best not to use this thing on a humanoid Corpse Ghost.

Leech searched a bit more, but alas, there was nothing else.

Holding the gem-topped stick, Leech pointed to the ore. ”I’m also very interested in this. Could you give it to me along with that ore?”

”That is your rightful reward,” Lady Jie Lin said with an immediate nod.

The two of them walked out of the treasury. Leech carried the gem-topped stick with him, while the ore would be moved out when he was ready to leave.

Yi Lin, who was guarding the door, watched her sister and Leech emerge with a look of astonishment.

Her expression seemed to ask, ”That was fast?”

Jie Lin shot her sister a glare.

... Leech stood to the side, watching the two of them stare each other down.

’It’s pretty awkward just standing here,’ he thought. ’But if I don’t say anything while they’re sending telegrams with their eyes, the air is just too quiet.’

”My lady, I’ll be heading back to rest,” Leech said.

”Let Yi Lin see you out.”

Yi Lin nodded immediately. ”Please follow me, Lord Leech.”

The three of them left the underground treasury.

「The celebration at Longship Castle was far from over.」

A single drinking session can make strangers throw their arms around each other’s shoulders, and that was exactly the scene between the Porcupine Soldiers and the Longship Castle Soldiers.

They sang and laughed, celebrating their victory in battle.

When it came to holding their liquor, however, the Longship Castle Soldiers were no match for the Porcupine Soldiers.

”HIC!”

Quick Blade let out a drunken hiccup. He wasn’t used to the food at Longship Castle. What was so good about fish? You had to pick out the bones. He preferred to eat large mouthfuls of meat and gulp down his ale.

But there was one Longship Castle dish he quite enjoyed.

They would make a sauce with lemon and spices, then catch a fresh river fish, scale it, gut it, and slice it. The slices were cut incredibly thin and eaten by dipping them in the sauce. It went great with ale!

”What’s wrong?”

Quick Blade noticed a few young Soldiers gathered together.

These new recruits hadn’t eaten much and were sitting there in silence.

”Sir!”

”Sir!”

Seeing Quick Blade approach, the new recruits immediately stood up.

”Scared after your first kill?” Quick Blade could tell what was wrong with them at a glance.

After the initial adrenaline rush of a first kill, terror sets in. Before this, they were sons of farmers or members of the town watch. The most violent thing they’d ever done was probably get into a drunken brawl and end up with a black eye and a bloody nose.

The least affected in this battle were Leech’s two squires, Carrot and Little Joel, because they had already seen blood fighting the Fishmen at Green Forest Castle and could handle it.

The new recruits lowered their heads.

”What’s there to be scared of!” Quick Blade thumped his chest. ”When I first went to battle with Lord Lieder, I was so scared I pissed my pants! If Lord Lieder hadn’t saved me, I’d have died right there with my pants wet!”

Their hot-tempered Knight had pissed his pants on his first battlefield? Their interest was suddenly piqued, and they gathered around him.

”Sir Quick Blade, tell us about your first time on the battlefield!”

”Yeah, and about Lord Lieder!”

Leech had inherited his father’s title. Although he had performed exceptionally well, Lieder was a blacksmith’s son who had started from nothing. As commoners, they naturally admired Lieder more and hoped they too could achieve great things.

”AHEM...” Drunkards love to spin tall tales, and Quick Blade was absolutely the biggest braggart of them all.

Some reaped a bountiful harvest, some cast flirtatious glances at a blind man, and some got drunk and bragged wildly, even attracting a large crowd of Longship Castle Soldiers to listen to their stories.

Meanwhile, someone else received a message by raven while on the road.

”He won?” Sidor Sea Water stared at the letter in astonishment.

He was just an illegitimate son. Unlike his older brother who would become a Knight, he had never trained his body. So even though he knew the matter was urgent, he still chose to travel by day and rest at night.

As long as Leech wasn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t attack an enemy a hundred times his size at night. So, Sidor felt he could relax and get a good night’s sleep.

His plan was to catch up to Leech the next day and persuade him to give up. It was just a few slaves. He could even pay out of his own pocket to give Leech a hundred of them.

Once again, events had developed beyond Sidor Sea Water’s expectations.

When Leech had led a hundred men to attack tens of thousands, he thought the man was insane. Now, receiving news that Leech had won, he felt the whole world had gone mad.

Fortunately, there was a detailed explanation. It turned out that the day before Leech arrived, Wado Eighteen’s forces had already fallen apart.

Because Wado Eighteen’s management of his army was too lax, and with soldiers deserting every day, he couldn’t get critical information at the crucial moment.

”What a Baron of Luck,” Sidor Sea Water sighed, lamenting Leech’s bullshit luck. It was a reckless, suicidal attack, yet he’d luckily stumbled into a great victory.

From now on, there would surely be no shortage of people who would mock Leech for this, but a win was a win.

”We’ll head back to East Port tomorrow.” The ”side task” Sidor Sea Water had wanted to complete on this trip to Iron Stone City was now finished, so there was no need to stay here any longer.

The Extraordinary Knight, Wild Horse Chaotic Stone, who was resting against a tree, said nothing, his eyes closed in rest.