Chapter 121: A Good Omen

“Good! So big!” This voice, slightly trembling and breathless, came from an unknown lady in the crowd.

As the saying goes, deep water is hard to see through, and even a dead tiger does not lose its roar. Although such a ferocious tiger in this world does not reach the top of the food chain, it is still a ruthless character who rules the mountains.

Even though it was already dead and its body was placed on a flat cart, the way its head faced forward with eyes staring straight ahead still shocked anyone seeing it for the first time.

When the cart pulled this beast close to the camp, the noble ladies and their relatives who were anxiously waiting for their loved ones to return were filled with terror upon seeing the tiger’s body.

Some of them started shaking their heads and shoulders, clutching their hands tightly together while trembling. Others covered most of their faces with their hands to hide their panicked expressions.

The two behaviors mentioned above were considered the better reactions. Some sank to the ground with weak legs, their upper and lower teeth chattering non-stop. Others fainted directly, but luckily they were in a crowd, so people around helped them and no one was hurt. However, it was unavoidable to rush around to wake them up.

George knew that bringing back the tiger carcass might stimulate others in the crowd, but he did not expect the reaction to be so intense. This was because as a man, George could not fully understand the way women thought.

Ferocious animals are just an amplified and strengthened version of ordinary animals. They are larger, stronger, harder to deal with, and more cruel than ordinary animals. Due to their danger, humans always try to kill them within their living areas as much as possible.

Therefore, in towns where the light of civilization reaches, it is rare to see their figures anymore. Even in a large city like Karada, you cannot find their traces within dozens of miles outside the city walls.

From this, it can be known that these women and children basically have no chance to see ferocious animals with their own eyes. They only know some related information from scattered rumors. Because of this, the news is either exaggerated or downplayed. This huge gap in information makes those waiting for news of their relatives in the hunt feel extremely anxious. After all, the unease brought by the unknown is tormenting these women who used to have very few worries.

After truly seeing the ferocious tiger, its huge size and fierce aura gave them an absolute shock. It also raised their impression of the entire group of ferocious animals in their hearts, making them even more worried about the safety of their friends and family.

Fortunately, after seeing this situation, Knight Val volunteered to step forward: “Alright, ladies, please do not worry. The ferocious tiger is the most fierce and powerful among all ferocious animals, and the one in front of us is probably a strong one even within the ferocious tiger family. Other ferocious animals simply cannot compare to it. Similarly, such a strong one would never allow any existence that threatens itself in its territory. So everyone does not need to worry that there are other beasts in the hunting ground that can rival it and threaten everyone’s safety. Most importantly, the brave warriors of the Duchy have already started their action. These battle-hardened warriors will surely bring back the safety of the gentlemen…”

Knight Val intentionally spoke in simple and easy-to-understand language, first analyzing rationally and then stirring emotions emotionally. Of course, there were some vague points and intentional bias in his words. First, he directed all the eyes of threat towards the ferocious animals. You should know that if someone really interfered this time, even throwing in a few magical beasts was not impossible. As for the claim that there was only one ferocious tiger, in the calculations of others, it was just a piece of paper.

However, the more one does, the more loopholes appear. If the opponent really arranged so many backup plans, even if the Duchy’s intelligence system was really as bad as George thought, it would be enough for them to follow the clues and find the mastermind behind the scenes. If there was such evidence in hand, even if the Court Nobility suffered some losses during this Autumn Hunt, it could be directed as anger towards the mastermind behind the scenes, thereby diverting and relieving the contradictions.

In short, relying on his excellent charm and reputation, Knight Val successfully let the women’s hearts, which were held high in the air, relax slightly. At the same time, he planted a seed of doubt in their hearts, making them suspicious of this accident that occurred during the Autumn Hunt. If any other accidents happened in the following days, it would be easy to guide public opinion.

The crowd, which had started to get a bit restless, finally calmed down. After finishing his task and waiting for half a day without seeing anyone or any news return, Knight Val left the group of medical personnel.

“Not bad! Even such a big beast could be handled so perfectly. And you three have not even a single scratch, which really surprises me!” Knight Val walked to the side of the flat cart, looked carefully at the tiger carcass, and then said with a smile to George and the others. After that, the flat cart drove into the camp, where it would receive further processing.

‘What does Knight Val mean by this? Oh! So he does not want too many people to know that Hiren is becoming a Formal Knight!’ George, who realized this in his heart, pulled Hiren, who was about to speak, by his side. Then he scratched his head and pretended to be a bit shy, saying: “That was just because this guy attacked directly in front of us. If it had hidden in the forest and launched a surprise attack, we would not have been able to do it so easily.”

“Direct attack? If it had experience of easily hunting humans before, it is inevitable to be misled by this. It seems that those who have successfully attacked humans like to do so in the future. But if it came from this part of the Taiswei Mountains located within Karada, there should not be no rumors about this at all!” Knight Val touched his chin and said in a somewhat puzzled tone.

Of course, the meaning of the sentence he did not say next was obviously: ‘This means it is not an original creature from the domestic Taiswei Mountains. Someone must have deliberately arranged it here.’

George did not really like this way of stopping halfway, but he had also gotten used to it. Moreover, some words were not suitable to be spoken openly in front of such a large crowd.

George pulled Hiren and Craig over to Knight Val and whispered: “Does our Sword of Dawn have any special news? Can this year’s Autumn Hunt continue or not?”

“Stop joking, boy. Whether this year’s Autumn Hunt can continue or not is not up to me. But judging from His Grace the Duke’s intention, even to stabilize the people’s hearts, he is prepared to hold on until the end. His Highness has already agreed to the Gothic Knight’s proposal and started sending garrison troops to strengthen the security of the Autumn Hunt. At the same time, they have entered the forest to hunt ferocious animals.” Knight Val’s voice was also pressed very low, so only the two of them could hear clearly.

George knew exactly what was meant by these words. He said helplessly: “Is such a depressing hunting activity still going to continue? But using this to train the troops is not bad. The garrison troops located in Karada have enjoyed peace for a long time, and moving around a bit is still beneficial. At the very least, they will not become old soldiers who cannot fight major wars like those in the southern countries.”

“Why are you so resistant to the Autumn Hunt? Did you not hunt back such a big beast? Honestly, just relying on this alone, you could beat everyone else’s catch.” Knight Val said while pointing his finger at the flat cart that was about to disappear into the tent.

“Anyway, this does not count as a score. It was just hunted back to be used as Alchemy material.” Before George could notice, Craig beside him pouted and complained first.

Knight Val was immediately blocked by this sentence. He touched his nose and said: “Uh! Although it does not count as a score, His Grace the Duke also has rewards for such rare catches. I think if combined with the special situation this time, the reward must be very good.”

“There is a reward? That’s good. But what kind of reward is it? Uncle Val, can you reveal a little bit first.” Craig jumped forward in one step. He could be seen shaking Knight Val’s arm and acting spoiled. At the same time, he extended his right index finger and thumb to make a gesture, saying, “Is it really just this little bit?”

Knight Val, who was annoyed by Craig, had no choice but to shake off the hand that was shaking him. Then he used both free hands to rub Craig’s cheeks. After Craig’s face changed into several shapes under his hands, he lifted the child’s face and lowered his own head. When the two of them looked into each other’s eyes, he said: “Asking me about this is useless no matter how much you ask. Because it completely depends on His Grace the Duke’s mood and his thoughts at that moment. There is no rule at all. If you ask me about the rewards for the top three in the Autumn Hunt, I am still clear about that.”

“We know this answer even without asking you. The first place is a Composite Longbow made of ox horn, the second place is a new oak leather saddle, and the third place is a silver meat-cutting knife. Anyway, it is always these items every year.” Craig could not help but complain. At the same time, he did not forget to gently rub his cheek, which was a bit sore from being rubbed by Knight Val. In his opinion, he felt very unwilling that his face was messed up by Knight Val, but the result was only such information.

Just as Craig opened his eyes wide and stared at Knight Val, George reached out and pulled him to his side, gently patting his head. “Do not be angry. I also prepared a bag of Sugar Cubes this time. Now I give them all to you for free.”

“Sugar Cubes? Where did you put them? I did not know at all.” Hearing the news of sweets, Craig immediately forgot about Knight Val.

He kept pestering George for sugar: “Why is it Sugar Cubes! If it were candy, it would be better.”

“That was originally prepared for Danny, Dandy, and Georgia. If you want it, I will give it to you.” George said somewhat casually.

“Prepared for Danny and them? You actually prepare sugar for horses.” Craig immediately jumped three feet high.

“Anyway, I have given you the things. You can take them or leave them.” George held Craig down with one hand so he could not jump around everywhere, while starting to threaten him.

Craig hugged George’s arm, afraid he might regret it, and shouted: “Yes! Yes! Yes! Why not take it.”

After calming Craig down, George asked Knight Val: “Mr. Val! Although this ferocious tiger cannot be counted in the official Autumn Hunt results, it at least brought honor to our family. So you and my father should not make too high demands on the following matters, right?”

“This counts as you passing the test. But you still need to work hard to get more results in the next few days. After all, you slacked off too much in the previous years. The results were so embarrassing that I feel ashamed just thinking about them. There was even a year where you hunted for three days and only caught one wild rabbit. You really have the face to say that.” Knight Val agreed to George’s words somewhat unwillingly, but he still gave a few special instructions afterwards.

George argued back somewhat unwillingly: “That was all because of Ultrad. I spent those three days dealing with the aftermath for him…”

Before George could finish his sentence, the sound of horse hooves came from the distance. This time, the attention of George, Hiren, and Knight Val was all drawn to the figures returning. Only Craig’s attention was still on the Sugar Cubes that George had just promised him.

As the sound of horse hooves got closer and closer, the ladies in the crowd soon heard it too. This time, those women looked eagerly towards the direction where the sound came from.

Closer, closer, even closer. Finally, among the crowd, those with good eyesight could already see the appearance of the few people riding horses.

The one at the very front was a very tall and thin young man. His hair was golden. The dark brown leather hunting outfit was tightly tied around his waist, as if a girl was tying a waist armor. He wore a fox fur hat with a rope border, tilted to one side, making people feel he looked like a tired little messenger who had just returned from collecting taxes in the countryside. His two overly long mustaches stood straight up, constantly narrowing upwards, finally leaving only a single golden hair, so thin that people could not see its tip. It seemed to press down on the corners of his mouth, pull his cheeks, and leave a downward fold on his lips.

In short, although this gentleman’s appearance was not bad enough to offend the audience, it was not good either. But at this time, everyone felt that he was like a magpie coming to the door early in the morning, bringing good news to everyone.

It has to be said that sometimes people give themselves suggestions subconsciously. Excluding George’s team, who already knew the result, the result of the first team returning would have a very big impact on the people present in the crowd.

If this group of people returned safely, it would give a suggestion of safety. As long as the following teams did not suffer major casualties, basically all the nobles participating in the Autumn Hunt could maintain emotional stability. If the hunters of the first team returned with heavy casualties, even if the later returning teams only had some bumps or even were completely unharmed, it could still cause people’s hearts to be unsettled.

The key to everything lies in being the first. Just like everyone remembers that the first human to land on the moon was the American astronaut Neil Armstrong. While Edwin Aldrin, who was on the same spacecraft and landed just one step later, is rarely known by anyone. Although it is still hard to distinguish whether America’s first moon landing plan was true or false.

“Eh! Why are there so many people waiting here! Are they all hungry? Although my catch is still considered good, it is not enough to share with so many people.” Having never seen such a big scene, he had to start making jokes, hoping to use this to cover up his embarrassment.

Immediately after, the servants following behind him also rode their horses back into the camp. From their appearance, which seemed a bit messy but had no obvious injuries, many people in the crowd felt relieved. And the leather bag on the horse’s back, which seemed to have a bit of weight, brought a bit of joy to the scene after his words.

“Looks like the harvest was not bad! But this one returned at such a timely time!” Hiren stood aside with his arms crossed and made such a sigh.

George pouted and said: “Maybe he was specifically asked to come back first. Although he is not a noble with real power, he may not lack communication tools. Judging from his hunting situation, it should have been carried out on the grassland, where the danger is far lower than in the forest. Sending such a group to return first to stabilize people’s hearts is also a good choice.”

“It can’t be like that, can it?” Hiren turned his head and said in disbelief.

Knight Val, who was standing beside him, also nodded and said: “Although George’s statement is a bit too conspiratorial, it can also be said to be a good method. But what exactly the situation is, we do not know clearly either! This can only be considered a guess.”

“Father, so you even have this idea!” Hiren raised his hands to indicate that he had surrendered.

At this moment, Craig suddenly blurted out a sentence without any context: “That guy did not mention the catch, but can the meat on the tiger we hunted back be eaten?”

George, who was somewhat at a loss, answered: “Uh! If you do not mind that it is hard to chew, I will go try to see if I can cook a suitable taste. But it is just a try. The muscle of a ferocious beast is probably not tasty at all!”

At the same time, both Knight Val and Hiren stared at the two of them talking about eating ferocious tiger meat with eyes full of looking at a monster. The so-called ferociousness is basically natural in animals in the natural world, while in humans it is obtained through training. All meat-combat talents who entered the Red Iron Rank will have their muscles ferociously transformed according to needs.

While strengthening muscle strength, it also strengthens their intensity. So no matter what, their muscles after ferocious transformation can block the direct shot of a Crossbow to a certain extent. With such intensity, it is not something delicious to eat.