hotmtlnovel Page 14
Page 14
Judging from the vendor's ashamed expression, Liu Tianyu guessed that the reason he had become a fallen nobleman was probably because his family fortune had been squandered.
However, he didn't say much, since it was their family matter, but it did give him a reminder.
What do you have here?
Liu Tianyu pointed to the vendor's stall and asked.
"My lord, if you are looking to buy rare and precious treasures, then you've come to the right place. These are all treasures from the Willin family's collection!"
Upon hearing that Liu Tianyu was interested in his products, the vendor, who had initially felt somewhat ashamed, immediately perked up and quickly began to introduce them.
"Look, this sword is the Quelin Longsword used by the first patriarch of the Weilin family. It is an enchanted weapon. Every time it is swung, it will spread parasitic seeds in the enemy's body and eventually drain the enemy's blood."
The vendor picked up a rusty longsword and began to describe it in great detail.
A rusty steel longsword, worth 10 denarii.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he embellished it, the system's assessment of it was quite simple and straightforward!
Liu Tianyu was initially somewhat interested, thinking that this fallen nobleman might actually have something to offer, after all, his family also possessed enchanted weapons, namely his father's lance "Dignity".
However, that lance could only unleash its armor-piercing power when wielded by someone with magical abilities; otherwise, it was just an ordinary lance.
Besides, that thing was too thick, and he wasn't used to using it, so naturally he wouldn't bring it out.
He was initially quite interested in the vendor's introduction, but his face immediately fell when he heard the system's notification.
“Oh, you’re not interested? Well, I have another one here. This scale is no ordinary one. It’s a scale from a demonic dragon, possessing powerful curse magic. You might be able to use it to curse your enemies.”
Seeing that Liu Tianyu didn't seem interested in the longsword, he quickly put it down and took out a palm-sized scale to introduce it.
Earth Demon Lizard Scales: Collect 30 scales to craft a weapon worth 60 denars.
Upon hearing the system notification, Liu Tianyu became interested, but when he learned that he needed to collect thirty pieces to synthesize it, his heroic face instantly darkened.
"Um, you still don't like it? No problem, I... I have a family heirloom treasure that will definitely satisfy you!"
Upon seeing Liu Tianyu's face darken, the vendor, who was also sweating profusely, quickly put down the scales and began rummaging through his box.
Liu Tianyu crossed his arms, wanting to see what other tricks this guy was up to. If he didn't come up with something that satisfied him, he wouldn't mind overturning the vendor's stall.
Make him understand that the difference between powerful nobles and fallen nobles is greater than the difference between a person and a dog!
"My lord, look, this is the most important treasure of my family, Weilin. It has been passed down for a hundred years since the first patriarch!"
The Willing family has been trying to figure out for over a hundred years whether this is a gemstone or a magic stone. If you know, please take a look!
The vendor carefully took a gem that shimmered with an unusual color from the box and walked over.
Liu Tianyu took the gemstone from the vendor, pondered for a moment, and continued to have the system appraise it.
[A strange gem, seemingly capable of being inlaid into weapons to grant them special abilities, valued at 9999 dinars.]
"?!"
Upon hearing the system's words, Liu Tianyu's eyes widened instantly. Both the special function mentioned earlier and the 9999 dinars mentioned later surprised him greatly.
"It seems that even fallen nobles have some skills."
Although Liu Tianyu was thinking this, he remained outwardly calm and composed, showing no sign of his true feelings.
"Um, sir?"
Seeing Liu Tianyu holding the gemstone expressionlessly made the vendor uneasy, wondering whether the young master in front of him was satisfied.
"This thing, besides being pretty, doesn't seem to have any practical use. However, it might be a nice gift for a woman. How much do you want?"
Seeing that Liu Tianyu seemed somewhat satisfied with the gemstone, the vendor was overjoyed. Then, with a slight tremor, he said:
"Well, sir, I think this gem is destined for you, so why don't I give it to you?"
"...It's free, so tell me, what do you want?"
Upon hearing the vendor's words, Liu Tianyu certainly couldn't just accept the money directly.
After all, free things are often the most expensive, and who knows what this guy is up to? So he asked directly and bluntly.
"My lord, um, I wonder if I could follow you and restore the glory of the Weilin family?"
Looking into Liu Tianyu's obsidian-like eyes, the vendor swallowed back the words he had prepared and said loudly.
Chapter Twenty: Unlocking Kingdom Noble Troops (Two Chapters Combined)
Liu Tianyu looked slightly surprised, sized up the vendor for a while, and asked:
"What is your name? What is the title of your family, the Willin? Why did you choose to follow me? There must be quite a few nobles in Axel City, why don't you go and seek refuge with them?"
After hearing Liu Tianyu's series of questions, the vendor remained silent for a while before speaking:
"My lord, my name is Gilga Mesh, and my title is Lord Willing."
As for why I follow you, it's simple: it's because of the murderous aura emanating from your attendants, their elite status from head to toe.
And your age makes me realize that if I want to take a chance, I can only rely on you. Only a nobleman like you, who doesn't belong to Axel, might take me in and allow me to restore the honor of the Willing family.
"Tell me the specific reasons. I'm quite curious. Why did you say the nobles of Axel City wouldn't take you in, and how are you so sure I'll help you?"
Liu Tianyu nodded but didn't say anything more, simply letting Gilga continue.
"The reason why the nobles of Axel City dare not take me in is because it was the Earl of Axel City who stripped my Willing family of its fiefdom."
He had three sons. The eldest son would inherit his title of earl, while the second son's mother was very wealthy and therefore did not need a fief.
His favorite son was his youngest, the third son. The mother of the third son was exceptionally beautiful and adept at social maneuvering. She didn't want her son to end up with nothing after the old count's death, so she directly persuaded the old count to start by eliminating the vassals..."
"Therefore, your family has unfortunately become the target of the operation!"
"I'm very curious, how did your family get targeted? After all, taking action against a vassal without a legitimate reason is considered tyranny!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Tianyu looked at Gilga with great pity.
"Hehe, this is the next important point. My father, the previous Lord Willing, was a gambling addict!"
The old count saw this in my father, so he set up a betting scheme specifically for him, and in the end, he successfully lost the entire village of Wellin!
Not long after he lost Willing Village, the old Earl stripped my father of Willing Village in accordance with the bet, but the old man hypocritically kept my father's title of Lord Willing.
After losing Weilin Village, my father finally came to his senses and died of a sudden heart attack not long after.
As for me, the old count drove me out of Willin Village, only allowing me to pack my belongings before leaving. I've been wandering around Axel ever since, mingling with merchants, commoners, and beggars. And that's my story! Heh…”
As Gilga finished speaking, he suddenly laughed, but as he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes.
"No wonder you said you couldn't rely on the nobles of Axel. After all, even if the nobles of Axel aren't on the same side as the old count, they are still his vassals. How could they possibly dare to take you in!"
However, another thing I'm curious about is, how did you come to the conclusion that I would take you in? After all, this is our first meeting. How did you know I wasn't the old count's vassal?
Seeing Gilga's tearful face, Liu Tianyu could imagine the grievances he had suffered.
From a well-off nobleman to a down-on-his-luck street vendor, the difference in experience is not just vast, but utterly like night and day.
“The old count’s vassals come to Axel every year to attend the year-end banquet.”
But I have never seen you attend, therefore I conclude that your fief is probably near Axel, but definitely not a vassal of the old Earl!
After shedding his tears, Gilga looked much more relaxed and spoke directly.
His words, though seemingly reassuring, made Liu Tianyu somewhat displeased.
"Hey! Viscount Storm, did you know? I host a fantastic year-end banquet every year, attended by all the nobles around Axel City, but guess who won't?"
"you……"
For some reason, two figures suddenly flashed into Liu Tianyu's mind: one was the old count of Axel City, and the other was an unfamiliar nobleman mocking him.
Liu Tianyu's lips twitched slightly, a feeling of wanting to laugh but being unable to make a laugh made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Lord Willing!
Suddenly, Liu Tianyu's expression returned to blank, and he called out Gilga's noble title in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"grown ups?!"
Upon hearing Liu Tianyu suddenly call out his noble title with a blank expression, Gilga felt a sense of foreboding.
"I must say, I admire you very much. After all, even when you suffered a major setback and faced an opponent you could not defeat, you still thought about restoring your glory. You are truly a model of nobility!"
However, there is one very unfortunate thing. As you said, I am indeed not a vassal of the Count of Axel. But I came to Axel because I have important matters to discuss with him!
Do you think I would take in a nobleman like you who has a grudge against Count Axel? Not to mention you're a fallen nobleman!
To me, you're not even a hot potato; on the contrary, taking you in would only get me into trouble!
Liu Tianyu grabbed Lord Willing’s shoulder, showered him with praise, and then very realistically rejected his request.
"..."
Lord Willing's pupils contracted sharply, his mouth trembled as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
Defeated, utterly defeated! He had initially thought Liu Tianyu was a young and ambitious nobleman, judging from his youth and the presence of the Nord royal guards around him.
After hearing his complaints, even if they don't take him in, they will definitely sympathize with him and offer a helping hand.
Unexpectedly, Liu Tianyu, though young, was exceptionally rational in his thinking.
This caused a deep sense of frustration to well up inside him.
"Alright, sir, I was being a bit presumptuous. I apologize for disturbing your enjoyment."
Lord Willing bowed his head and apologized in a very respectful voice.
"No need for that, Lord Willing. I can only say it's a real shame. If you didn't have a grudge against Earl Axel, I would have been more than happy to accept you!"
It seems that unless Count Axel suffers some misfortune, we have no chance to be together.
However, don't worry, Lord Willing. Since you're not taking the money for this gem, consider it a favor I owe you. You can come to me anytime and ask for anything within my power.
Well then, until we meet again, Lord Willing!
Liu Tianyu sighed, then mounted Xueying again and led the Nord Royal Guards toward the grand hotel he remembered.
Watching Liu Tianyu's group leave, Lord Willing dug his nails into his flesh, clenched his teeth, and looked extremely pained.
"Ok?"
Just as he was hanging his head, speechless and questioning the earth, he noticed something on the ground that was glittering.
"This is?"
He couldn't help but lean closer to take a look and discovered that it seemed to be a black phoenix badge.
"!!!"
He seemed to understand something instantly, and without making a sound, he tucked the Black Phoenix Badge into his pocket and returned to his stall with a dejected look on his face.
[Ding! A noble from a kingdom has joined your party.]
Liu Tianyu, who had already walked away, heard the system's words and revealed a strange smile.
He then opened the system's troop interface and began looking at the troop badges and troop type trees of the kingdom's young nobles.
Noble soldiers are noble soldiers. Compared to the four-row troop tree of commoners, they only have two rows and can only be upgraded twice, which makes them look quite formidable.
First column: Kingdom Nobles – Kingdom Noble Knights – Kingdom Temple Knights
Second column: Kingdom Nobles – Kingdom Guerrilla Knights – Kingdom Ranger Knights
It's quite simple and clear: one is a super-heavy knight that's developing into a canned food unit, and the other is a ranger that's developing into a mounted archer.
The Kingdom's Temple Knights are a step above the Kingdom's Cataphracts in terms of both equipment and mounts.
Not only was he wearing a full set of plate armor, but it was also a double-layered plate armor style, and the helmet was a winged giant helmet that didn't even expose his eyes.
Besides being equipped with a full set of plate armor, the mount beneath him was now even covered in plate armor on all four hooves. It was unclear how it could still carry the load. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that this was no ordinary mount, but a hybrid of horse and magical beast—the Ironbone Horse.
This horse is so tall that it rivals the largest horse in my previous life, the Shire horse. But while the Shire horse is a draft horse, this thing is a true warhorse.
The Sharma can only pull a maximum of 5 tons, but even with a 5-ton load on its back, it can still move swiftly like the wind, easily reaching speeds of 140 kilometers per hour.
Then there are the Kingdom Ranger Knights. Despite their name, their equipment is not much worse than that of the Kingdom Temple Knights.
However, the plate armor on his body was not bright silver but painted a dark green suitable for camouflage, and the double-layered plate armor was replaced with a single-layered plate armor.
The guerrillas did not use bows and arrows, but crossbows with better armor-piercing capabilities. In addition, the plate armor of their Ironbone horses was replaced with chainmail armor, which was more suitable for camouflage and guerrilla warfare.
However, Liu Tianyu valued more than just these things. After all, even if a commoner soldier is promoted to the highest level, he is still just a canned food. There's not much difference between a noble canned food and a commoner canned food!