White Forest Castle, an ancient castle built on a mountaintop 500 meters above sea level, got its name because the dozens of observation towers rising from the castle resembled a forest.
This was the residence of the Boer Family, the Lord of White Mountain Territory.
At the foot of White Forest Castle was White Mountain City, the only city in White Mountain Territory.
Giggs Bohr, under the escort of his accompanying knights, returned to White Forest Castle smoothly.
However, as soon as he returned to the castle, Giggs quickly avoided the other people in the castle and went alone to the study to meet his father.
"How do you feel?" The Lord of White Mountain Territory, the Baron of White Mountain, and the patriarch of the Boer Family, who was almost fifty years old, was not surprised that his son's first action upon returning was to seek him out. "Where did that young man with the Flame Hound Bloodline get the Bloodline Secret Potion formula?"
"It was from a disgraced knight family whose inheritance had been severed," Giggs replied respectfully. "They even lost their surname."
The Baron of White Mountain, who had been reading with his head down, looked up upon hearing this, a look of surprise on his face: "They even lost their surname?"
"He called himself Yam and didn't mention his surname," Giggs recalled for a moment before replying. "The Bloodline Secret Potion formula was found by his father among his grandfather's belongings, which is why he had the idea to try it. ...Strictly speaking, he's a lucky fellow."
"A lucky fellow who awakened his Bloodline in three months?" The Baron of White Mountain snorted lightly. "His ancestors' origins are probably not simple; it's even possible he's a descendant of a collateral branch or distant relative of the Bourbon Family, which is why they abandoned their surname."
"This..." Giggs was startled. "My consideration was incomplete."
"Let this be a lesson for now; just be more careful in the future," the Baron of White Mountain shook his head.
He was actually not satisfied with his eldest son.
Giggs was not a genius in the traditional sense, and his Bloodline concentration was not high. Therefore, he had to spend a lot of time continuously stimulating his Bloodline concentration, which naturally left him less time to learn the ways of noble survival.
After all, to inherit the title of White Mountain Territory, one must possess corresponding strength; otherwise, royal approval cannot be obtained.
His second and third sons, unable to awaken their Bloodline, had long been excluded from the line of succession. Although he still had a young daughter, she was still young. Even if she could awaken her Bloodline, he wasn't sure if he would have enough time to teach her. Therefore, he could only resort to some trickery to confuse the outside world, fabricating a strained father-son relationship, hoping that his enemies would try to use internal strife to influence and disrupt White Mountain Territory, thereby seizing the opportunity to personally guide his eldest son.
"How about it, are you confident you can win him over?"
Changing the subject, the Baron of White Mountain brought up Yam again.
He knew Giggs's character.
Although his eldest son seemed not very intelligent and had some schemes but not many, he treated people with sincerity and possessed a certain personal charm. That's why he regarded winning Yam over as a test for him. To prevent his son from being constrained, he even revealed his bottom line, allowing him to grant Fisher Village as a fief to Yam. One should know that none of the three knights currently in the family obtained their fiefs without following him for over ten years.
"I can tell he's already tempted," Giggs's face rarely showed joy when mentioning this. "He's still hesitating only because he's not yet clear about the difficulties of Bloodline Noble advancement. But I've already hinted at it; once he figures it out, he'll definitely accept my invitation."
"So, what do you plan to do after he accepts?"
"The fief definitely won't be given to him now; otherwise, the other three knights in the family would be dissatisfied, so it must wait until I take over the title before I bestow it upon him." Giggs had clearly thought this through and truly understood the purpose of these actions, so his answer was not difficult and his Ideas was very clear. "However, before that, I will first collect some auxiliary and consumable materials for Magic Flame Vajra. When he becomes a second-order Bloodline User and has hope of reaching the third-order, I will then acquire the main materials for Magic Flame Vajra for him, and then present him with the secret potion formula along with it."
"So, why give him the secret potion formula instead of just the Bloodline Secret Potion?" The Baron of White Mountain pressed again.
"I remember you said, Father, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,'" Giggs replied slowly. "If I only give him the Bloodline Secret Potion, he might be grateful to me, but he won't truly be of one heart with me. But if I give him the Bloodline Secret Potion formula, then he will have the foundation to establish a Bloodline Baron family. At that time, he will certainly be more eager than me to acquire a territory."
At this point, Giggs paused slightly, then continued with some hesitation: "Moreover, by doing so, our family can also gain a steadfast ally. ...At least, we won't need to worry about betrayal within three generations."
"Very good." The Baron of White Mountain finally showed a slight smile. "As a Lord, you might not be outstanding, but to be able to understand these things, you are considered qualified. At least when I hand the family over to you, it won't be ruined in your hands."
Giggs's face showed no complacency, only a slight apprehension.
Evidently, his father's blunt mention of these things caused a slight fear in his heart.
...
Yam naturally didn't know that Giggs's visit, besides wanting his allegiance, also had the intention of extracting information. So he didn't realize that in those few short sentences, a lot of things had already been revealed. However, what he didn't know even more was that if it hadn't been Giggs who came to him this time, but his father, the Baron of White Mountain, he might have even exposed the existence of the Rusty Sword.
However, the reason he hesitated and didn't immediately accept Giggs's invitation was also because he was actually a bit undecided about his future plans.
After all, if his younger brother Yaka also successfully awakened his Bloodline, then all three men in their family—father and two sons—would be Bloodline Knights possessing Bloodline Power. Even if he didn't understand Bloodline Nobles very well, he knew very clearly that this power would be a considerable aid to any Lord.
So he was worried that if he easily accepted Giggs's invitation, it might cause some unexpected incidents or troubles.
But regarding swearing allegiance, he was not actually resistant.
Because on this point, their family had actually already discussed the outcome: severely lacking knowledge of Bloodline Nobles, they would inevitably have to pledge allegiance to a Lord to acquire this knowledge. For this, Yaen's family had even thought out a series of explanations, like filling in gaps, which naturally included how their family came to possess the Flame Hound's Bloodline Secret Potion formula.
The only flaw was the strange iron saber Yam now carried.
This strange iron saber was originally taken from the knight with the Flame Hound Bloodline in Gem Territory. After establishing themselves in Fisher Village, Yarn secretly took it to have it repaired—he originally wanted to melt the saber down and reshape it into a two-handed sword, but unfortunately, the saber was much smaller than a two-handed sword. This approach was no different from re-forging a strange iron weapon; it was not only expensive, but he even needed to make up for the material cost, so he ultimately had to give up.
However, what Yaen's family didn't know was that when the Baron of White Mountain previously investigated Yaen's family, it was precisely because he discovered this action of theirs that he truly believed Yam's story to Giggs about their broken lineage and lost surname.
One could say that Yaen's family, unintentionally, acted in a manner quite consistent with their identity.
Time flowed by quietly.
In the blink of an eye, it was already late February, and Giggs once again arrived at Fisher Village with the tax collector.
But Yam's father and brother still hadn't returned. Calculating the time, the two had been gone for four months. If everything had gone smoothly, they should clearly have been on their way back by now, but they still hadn't returned, which obviously meant the trip was not smooth.
Yam trusted his father's experience very much, so he believed that his father taking his brother into Red Soil Territory would not encounter obstacles; the trouble encountered should be in finding parts.
However, there was nothing he could do to help with this, as the two places were far apart.
So, he did not hesitate to accept Giggs's invitation this time, which immediately brought a joyful expression to Giggs's face. He even directly invited him to return to White Forest Castle with him that very day.
Yam, however, expressed that he wished to stay in Fisher Village for a few more days, as he still had some matters to attend to.
Although Giggs's face showed regret, he still nodded in agreement.
After seeing Giggs off, Yam returned home.
"Mother, I'm home."
With his father and brother gone, only he and his mother remained at home.
"You're back?" A slight cough sounded, followed by a joyful voice, "How was your day?"
"Not bad, Uncle Alu finally won't hurt anyone else anymore."
"Cough, cough."
As Yam walked into the inner room, a pale-faced woman was lying on the bed, coughing. But upon seeing her son, a smile still bloomed on her face: "Auntie Alu said before that her husband is a bit clumsy, but he has a very kind heart; it's just that sometimes he easily does good deeds that turn bad. Now that you've taken over your father's duties, you must teach them well. Your father said this is a matter of saving lives."
"I know, Mother," Yam nodded.
"Auntie Al from next door came to see me today. Little Al is not young anymore, and she wants to ask if she can also follow you to learn some skills."
Listening to his mother's nagging, and looking at his mother, who was only in her forties but already as old as an old woman, Yam sighed softly.
During their escape, his mother was frightened and developed a chronic illness. Although her health had improved significantly after several years of recuperation, she had recently caught a cold due to her mental and physical exhaustion from worrying about her husband and youngest son, who had been away for over two months. As a result, in just half a month, she had lost nearly twenty catties, looking almost like skin and bones.
He remembered that a few years ago, his mother was a renowned beauty in the mercenary group, and even in Fisher Village, Yam felt that his mother back then was the most beautiful.
But looking at his mother, who was now barely better than a skeleton, Yam's heart felt a pang of hatred.
Hatred for that Baron of Gem Territory.
But he also knew that this hatred could only be hidden in his heart.
"Mother, I have accepted the invitation of the Baron of White Mountain Territory's eldest son to become his vassal knight," Yam's sudden words interrupted his mother's rambling. "If there are no surprises, I will be leaving for White Forest Castle in the next two days. I would like to ask you to come with me."
The woman lying on the bed was stunned for a while, then murmured, "Oh, is that so? That's good. But... someone always has to stay at home, otherwise, what will your father and brother do when they come back and can't find anyone?"
"We can leave a letter with the neighbors," Yam said slowly. "Mother, your health needs rest. Fisher Village won't do; only White Mountain City can help you recover, and with me by your side, I can take care of you."
Yam's readiness to accept Giggs's invitation this time was partly because his mother's health was clearly deteriorating. There was no medic in Fisher Village, so she couldn't receive good care. That's why he planned to take his mother to White Mountain City.
"I, I..." Though only forty-five or six years old, she looked like an old woman of sixty or seventy, and her face at this moment was filled with considerable hesitation. "Can I also go? Will it affect your future? Mother, Mother is old now, and, and she's sick. I can't help you anymore, I can't do anything for you. I... I don't want to go. Can I not go?"
"Mother!" Yam hurriedly stepped forward and embraced his mother. "Mother, you're not old at all. I can take good care of the family now, you don't have to worry. You just need to come with me to White Mountain City, and I will find someone to take care of you. Your health will get better."
The old woman tremblingly reached out and gently stroked Yam's head, then patted his back.
"I, I actually know it all; it won't get better. There's no need to spend that money, you... haven't married yet, you need to save more money."
At this point, the old woman smiled again and then said, "Many girls in the village like you, but I know you and your brother are different now; those girls aren't suitable. ...Your older brother didn't leave any descendants; you, you can't be like him. When you go to the city, if you meet a suitable girl, you must not miss her."
"Mother!"
"I'm fine." The old woman shook her head, gently patting Yam's back. "You don't have to worry about me. I have to wait here for your father to come back. Besides, you've become a Lord's vassal knight. With me in Fisher Village, everyone will only respect me more, so don't worry."