Robin, inside the sword, listened as Burton explained the Bloodline matter clearly in just a few words, and naturally, he could tell that Burton's origins were extraordinarily noble.
And after hearing him, Robin gained a deeper understanding of the Bloodline.
Especially the phrase, “Bloodline advancement is actually just a continuous optimization of one’s own Bloodline,” which enlightened him greatly.
First and second-tier Bloodlines actually have no distinction of nobility; at most, it's a difference in strength, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The first awakening of a Bloodline only has success or failure, but no risk of death, so unless one has Bloodline protection or certain individuals with ulterior motives, no one would choose a first-tier Bloodline as the foundation for their first Bloodline awakening.
After all, for a first-tier Bloodline to break through to the second tier, it must face its first life-or-death trial.
Success means survival, and with good luck, the Bloodline ability might even mutate.
But the price of failure is death.
While choosing a second-tier Bloodline as the foundation for the first Bloodline awakening can avoid facing the first life-or-death trial too early, Burton's previous words made it clear that a second-tier Bloodline can only slightly enhance one's physical qualities, and the increase is far less than for a Bloodline User who needs a first-tier Bloodline as a foundation.
To put it simply, this is probably the difference between a practical faction and a theoretical faction.
Robin guessed that the later fourth and fifth tiers would follow a similar principle to the first and second-tier Bloodlines.
The true qualitative changes should still occur at the third and sixth tiers.
The third tier is called the Lord Tier and is also the mandatory requirement for Bloodline Nobles in this world to obtain the title of Baron—only those at the third tier are qualified to be granted territory and become a Lord. No matter how much first and second-tier Bloodline Users struggle, at most they can only become a Bloodline Knight, serving as a retainer loyal to others.
The sixth tier is called the Bloodline Tier, meaning, as the name implies, that one will acquire corresponding Bloodline symbolic abilities. Not only will one possess greater strength oneself, but it will also be much easier for one's descendants to awaken Bloodlines within the same Bloodline.
And Robin also keenly realized that the advancement to the Bloodline Tier is more like a convergence and regulation: from the myriad complex Bloodlines, one chooses the most suitable path for one's family, defining the entire advancement direction, thereby forming a fixed advancement route.
While this approach can reduce the risk of demise that descendants face when advancing their Bloodline, it also creates a vulnerability for one's family: once the Bloodline ability of a Bloodline is deciphered, then being targeted becomes an easy matter.
Robin did not believe that with so many types of Bloodlines and abilities in this world, there would be no natural counter-relationships.
But he also had to praise the brilliance of this move: to lower-tier Bloodline Users, higher-tier Bloodline Users are no different from ordinary people with no Bloodline abilities. Therefore, even if everyone saw the trap of the sixth-tier Bloodline Tier, they still had no choice but to charge forward, one after another, to pave a stable path for themselves, their families, and even their future descendants.
This is what it means to be a Bloodline Noble.
...
Although Yaka was intelligent, his knowledge was not extensive, so he naturally couldn't think so far ahead. He only instinctively felt that Burton had many things he hadn't explicitly stated.
But he didn't care about those things.
At this moment, he had only one thought: they must give birth to a Bloodline belonging to their family!
So, in the time that followed, he often tried to curry favor with Burton.
And Burton, because of Yaka's quick wit and agile thinking, thought highly of his potential and had already considered taking him on as a retainer.
As for the devourer that Hughes initially mentioned, Burton didn't believe it at all now.
How could someone who didn't even know these relatively basic Bloodline User common senses possibly be the devourer?
So Burton now only regarded what Hughes had said earlier as an excuse and means for the Gem Territory Baron to covet the Red River Territory.
However, he also did not intend to take Yaka under his wing at this moment.
He wanted to wait until Hughes made a move against the father and son before stepping in to save them. Only then could he gain their gratitude and have the two serve him loyally. And so that his future benevolence wouldn't seem too deliberate, he deliberately cooperated with Yaka's attempts to curry favor. For a time, their relationship was so good it was as if they were long-lost brothers.
Hughes, who was secretly observing all of this, had a desire to kill Yarn to avenge his comrade, but he also knew that hope was already slim.
Yarn and his son didn't know Burton's background, but as a retainer knight under the Gem Territory Baron, Hughes couldn't possibly not know.
Burton Cassein.
The eldest grandson of Marquis Vissen Cassen, now only twenty-two years old and already preparing for his third-tier Bloodline advancement. Although a large part of this credit goes to the Kasein Family's Bloodline, in the Bloodline theory that only looks at results and not the process, Burton Cassein is the undisputed rising star of the Kasein Family, the first in line to inherit the Kasein Family, and a sure future Marquis.
Therefore, let alone Hughes, even the Gem Territory Baron dared not offend this young master.
Hughes was already certain that this Young Master Burton had the idea of using him to gain favor.
So, for the rest of the journey, he tried his best to minimize his presence; he would not speak unless Burton asked. However, this, unexpectedly, made Burton feel somewhat annoyed and increasingly dissatisfied with Hughes, because if Hughes no longer showed hostility towards Yarn and his son, then how could he step in to show benevolence?
The group of seventeen, each with various ulterior motives, cautiously proceeded through the Deadwood Forest. It wasn't until nightfall that they finally had a brief opportunity to rest. However, due to the dangers of the Deadwood Forest, they dared not light a fire, fearing to attract the encirclement of demonic beasts.
“Lord Burton, you called for me?”
Burton glanced at the sleeping group, and after confirming that everyone's breathing was steady and normal, he slowly said, “I noticed you no longer seem to be targeting Yarn and his son.”
Hughes was stunned for a moment, somewhat confused about what this young master from the Marquis's family meant, but after a moment of hesitation, he still bit the bullet and replied, “Yes.”
“I remember you said earlier that Yarn was the devourer, didn't you?”
Hughes looked up, somewhat surprised, at Burton.
Even if he didn't know many secrets and rumors about Bloodline Users, he understood one thing: it was impossible for clueless novices like Yarn and his son to be the devourer, no matter what. But now Burton was bringing up the old matter again, which left Hughes somewhat confused. However, his confusion didn't prevent him from continuing to speak, following Burton's implied meaning.
“Yes, Yarn is the devourer. He killed one of my companions.” Hughes sighed, “And unfortunately, neither of his two children possesses Bloodline abilities. Two years ago, their family already left the Baron’s castle.”
Burton knew the Gem Territory Baron's greed.
So he naturally knew that the poor Bloodline Knight's family certainly hadn't moved out voluntarily, but had been expelled.
Of course, he didn't need to say such things aloud.
“How pitiful.” Burton sighed softly, “But we don't have concrete evidence to prove that Mr. Yarn is the devourer. So I think, perhaps you could give them a small warning, what do you think?”
Hughes felt a slight sadness in his heart. He knew his conjecture was correct; this Young Master Burton indeed intended to use him to gain favor.
But he was also relieved, relieved that this was just an insignificant small matter, at least he wouldn't have to die because of it.
So Hughes nodded eagerly: “Of course.”
Then Burton said no more, but lay down silently. Hughes, understanding the situation, also carefully withdrew. Even as he passed Yarn and his son, he carefully observed them, confirming that the father and son were indeed asleep, and that his conversation with Burton just now had been in such a low voice that no one had heard it. Only then did he finally relax and begin to ponder how to cooperate with Burton to play out this act.
In a blink of an eye, it was the next day. After cautiously proceeding for another half-day, the group soon saw a cluster of ruined buildings.
Judging by the scale, there must have been at least dozens of buildings here originally, but now it was all charred, with many structures reduced to little more than the upper half of their foundations, their original appearance completely unrecognizable. One could only imagine the grandeur of the original complex based on the scale of these ruins.
Standing at a distance, observing for just a short while, more than a dozen demonic beasts had already run past in front.
They were creatures with entirely black bodies, only gray-white eyes, a back height exceeding forty centimeters, and a strong resemblance to foxes.
Second-tier demonic beasts, Ghost-Eyed Foxes.
Aside from Yarn and his son, Burton and Hughes knew that the hearts and eyes of these demonic beasts were the main materials for the second-tier Bloodline 【Ghost Fox】 and the second-tier Bloodline 【Ghost-Eyed Hound】 respectively. Some third-tier Bloodlines even required certain body parts of these demonic beasts as auxiliary materials.
The frontal combat power of these demonic beasts was not high, but because they often moved in groups, they were very troublesome.
Especially once they attached themselves to a Lord-tier demonic beast, these creatures would become deadly trackers, similar to hounds, and would attract a large number of other subordinate demonic beasts through howling to launch an encirclement. So, it was clear that no one present had the inclination to provoke this group of Ghost-Eyed Foxes.
“Armored Demon Rabbit, where did you encounter it?” At this moment, only a chill ran through Burton's heart.
The ruins in Deadwood Forest were larger than he had imagined. In the short time they had been hiding, they had already seen more than one demonic beast tribe moving about, and there were far more than the four types of demonic beasts Yarn had previously mentioned.
And this didn't even include the Fire-Eyed Flood Dragon and the Armored Demon Rabbit.
Yarn pointed his hand towards a ruin to the north and softly said, “I saw it over there before... But last time I came, there weren't so many demonic beasts here. Now there are two more types of demonic beasts that I hadn't seen before.”
Following the direction Yarn pointed, Burton gazed intently for a while, then asked Hughes in a deep voice, “Do you have a way to help us avoid these demonic beasts?”
Hughes observed for a long time, his expression always grave, but in the end, he still nodded, “It's worth a try.”
He knew that Young Master Burton certainly wouldn't just leave in such a dejected manner.
Although the danger level of this ruin was somewhat higher than they had imagined, it was indeed not to the point where he was powerless.
And this was also his objective when he was assigned by the Gem Territory Baron to accompany Burton: besides being most skilled at identifying and tracking enemies by scent, he was equally skilled at evading enemy searches and pursuits, because this also had to do with scent.
A light gray mist gradually emanated from Hughes, then slowly enveloped Burton, Yarn, Yaka, and the thirteen soldiers.
A slightly foul odor, accompanying the emission of this gray mist, continuously drilled into everyone's nostrils.
Yarn, Yaka, and the soldiers were fine; after all, the former had lived in a stable and storage room for over a month, and had already smelled all sorts of unpleasant odors, while the soldiers were able to endure this strange smell due to their training.
Only Burton couldn't help but show a look of nausea and revulsion on his face.
“Apologies, Lord Burton, please bear with it.” Hughes slowly said, “I must now transform all our scents into the scent of a Ghost-Eyed Fox. Only then can we move through this demonic beast lair.”
“I understand.” Burton nodded, suppressing his nausea.
The next second, Hughes exhaled deeply and led the way, “Go!”