Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

“My lord!” Hershey exclaimed in surprise and joy.

She suppressed her excitement and responded.

“I have been well. How about you, my lord? I heard about what happened recently. I was worried about you.”

Alaric smiled at her. “I’m alright.”

Truthfully, he was still affected by his uncle’s words, but he didn’t want her to be needlessly worried.

“I’m glad that you’re alright.”

The two talked about other matters and their conversation flowed smoothly as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.

Suddenly, the two noticed a group of people approaching them.

Alaric raised an eyebrow when he saw these people.

“My lord. My lady.” The person leading the group respectfully greeted before everyone followed suit.

Hershey politely smiled at them, while Alaric wore a strange look.

“How have you been, Lord Dylann?”

Dylann forced a smile. “Thank you for asking, my lord. I have been well, but I not feeling good these past few days after I heard that my brother has offended you.”

Upon saying this, he grabbed the chubby man behind him while keeping his eyes on Alaric. “I brought my brother here with me to formally apologize for what he had done.”

“I hope you can forgive him for his terrible behavior.”

“I have already punished him, but I feel that it is not enough.”

Dylann was really afraid that Alaric would come to Redonia to seek revenge. He had heard about what happened to Liam Paxley in Ryvaad. The events that happened that day made the neighboring cities and towns take notice of Alaric.

Alaric glanced at Ryk’s fat face which had a bruise on the left side.

He would have forgotten about his encounter with Ryk in Turtle Fort if they hadn’t come to visit.

“That was just a minor issue, Lord Dylann. Let’s forget about it and move on.” Alaric turned his head back to Dylann.

This man would one day become a powerful warrior. Alaric didn’t mind doing him this small favor.

Dylann was relieved to hear that. “Thank you for your magnanimity, my lord.”

He then glared at his brother and said. “What are you waiting for? Go and thank Lord Alaric!”

Ryk didn’t dare go against Dylann. “Thank you, Lord Alaric!” He lowered his head.

Alaric waved his hand. “Just don’t do it again.” He uttered with a stern look.

If it weren’t for Dylann’s sake, he would have already beaten up this guy.

Alaric and Dylann exchanged a few more words before the latter excused himself.

In the next few hours, more guests arrived, making the banquet hall more festive and noisy.

Alaric had to leave Hershey for a while to help his father entertain the guests.

After lunch, the most exciting part of the celebration began. It was the gift-giving ceremony.

Lucas sat on the main seat, waiting for the guests to hand over their gifts.

One by one, each representative stepped forward to give their gifts.

“Happy birthday, Lord Lucas! I am Dylann Heinrich of House Heinrich. I bring you this oceanic jade bracelet which symbolizes stability.”

Dylann presented an aquamarine jade bracelet to Lucas.

As soon as this item was revealed, the crowd gasped in shock. This jade was unavailable in the North since its main material could only be found in the southern section of the empire.

It was a rare jade worth over a thousand gold coins!

“Thank you.” Lucas seemed to be pleased with the gift.

The next person came up to give his gift. Although it was also a valuable item, it wasn’t as rare as the oceanic jade bracelet.

A few more people came up, but no gift exceeded the value offered by House Heinrich.

At this moment, the representative sent by the city lord of Vale presented his gift. “My lord, I came here under the city lord’s command to give you 50 tons of grain, 50 tons of corn, 50 tons of potato, and 50 tons of wheat!”

The crowd clapped their hands and cheered when they heard his words. During the winter when food was scarce, that many resources could already feed more than a thousand people for two months.

Lucas nodded at the representative of the city lord. “Please convey my thanks to the city lord.”

“Yes, my lord.” The man nodded in response.

In the next moment, more guests stepped forward to present their gifts. Some offered large quantities of food and resources, while there were also others who presented the baron with rare metals for production.

Soon, it was finally House Paxley’s turn to offer their gift and the person who presented their gift was Hershey.

Under the curious gazes of the crowd, Hershey gracefully walked towards the baron, and following behind her was Cassandra who was holding a wooden box.

Hershey bowed to the baron and said. “I wish you a happy birthday, my lord. I am Hershey Paxley and I came here to present to you one of the treasured relics of House Paxley.”

After uttering those words, she gave a cue to Cassandra to reveal what was inside the wooden box.

The female Knight uncovered the lid, revealing a dark-colored diamond-shaped shield.

“Isn’t that…”

“No way!”

As soon as everyone saw the shield, they were all dumbfounded.

“A relic! That’s a relic!” Someone exclaimed with an agitated look.

Even Alaric was surprised by this.

This was because a relic wasn’t just an ordinary item.

Relics are items that could be imbued with mana without breaking. Unlike normal items, relics can withstand high-intensity mana!

Hershey smiled at the baron. “This is one of the three treasured relics of House Paxley, the ‘Dark Diamond Shield’.”

“From now on, this shield will be yours, my lord. Only someone like you is worthy of wielding this relic.”

As her words fell, Cassandra put down the box with her head lowered.

“Insane! They actually gave that relic as a birthday gift!”

“This is probably their way of compensating House Silversword for what happened in Ryvaad.”

“Unbelievable.”