Chapter 32: Poison

“Recruiting new people? I don’t feel I did anything wrong in that regard. This is my right, isn’t it? Could there be a problem with the people recruited?” George felt strange about Knight Val’s sudden inquiry.

“There is no problem with your power to recruit new people, but you should discuss it with me or Kobudo beforehand no matter what. Have you considered the consequences if someone suddenly comes to apply, and we are not in the camp and cannot get the news in time?” Knight Val said earnestly, “If those impatient adventurers wait too long and get into a conflict with the guards, that wouldn’t be a good thing. Although with our team’s strength, we wouldn’t suffer any loss on the spot, but what about after that! Rumors unfavorable to you might spread among those adventurers. That would have a bad influence on your future reputation and your dealings with other mercenaries or adventurers.”

“You also know that quite a few adventurers are very gossipy. They like to add all sorts of random things to events they know about. It would be fine if it were just related to this matter, but if strange rumors evolve from it. That would bring shame to your entire clan.” Knight Val began what could be called earnest persuasion, and he even used honorifics when addressing George.

Although from Mr. Val’s perspective, he had been thoughtless. But George felt that the soldiers in the Territory, having undergone professionalization, were fully capable of handling this situation. However, Mr. Val’s overall impression of these subordinates remained stuck a few years in the past; perhaps he saw the improvements in their combat abilities, but he probably didn’t pay much attention to other aspects. This didn’t mean George himself was superior to him; the latter was simply limited by the current history.

After thinking for a while, George understood the reason for Mr. Val’s nervousness. However, this kind of thing couldn’t be explained clearly to the other party in just a few sentences. For a strong expert like him whose worldview was already formed, he wouldn’t change his mind unless he saw it with his own eyes. George decided it was better to admit his mistake first.

“I didn’t consider it thoroughly enough. I thought that with you and Mr. Bart in the camp, there wouldn’t be any problem.” While apologizing, he didn’t forget to give Knight Val a small compliment.

“Forget it! Since no consequences were caused, let’s let this matter pass for now, but you need to be more careful in the future. After all, you are a Lord now; no matter what happens, you have to consider the related possibilities more.” Knight Val knew George’s character; since he admitted his mistake, similar things would never happen again. After pointing it out a few more times, he let the matter drop.

Finally, they stopped talking about this aspect, and George let out a big sigh of relief. He had been nagged twice in a row since getting up early today.

But Knight Val kept his face unchanged and directly stated the next question: “Do you know why the noble children who travel alone are mostly Formal Knights?”

“It should be a matter of strength. If the strength is too weak, it is easy to encounter danger.” George’s answer was standard.

“Hmph! Hmph! Strength? If it were just strength, that wouldn’t be a big problem. Nobles have better diets, good educational environments, inherited combat techniques and secret arts, and can hire excellent tutors. With resources exceeding in all aspects, the general strength of noble children is a cut above non-nobles.” Knight Val’s words carried a somewhat self-deprecating tone, but George, as a member of the noble class, did not comment on it. Because in any society there are classes, even in the society before his transmigration.

Indeed, as long as noble children are willing to work hard, reaching the Red Iron Rank is not too difficult. Looking at different examples, most adventurers spend their entire lives stuck at the Gray Rock Rank. This is not just a matter of personal aptitude; one must know that one must reach at least the Black Lead Rank to have an impact on the bloodline aptitude of their descendants. Most ancestors of Court Nobility didn’t have this ability, but the proportion of their descendants entering Red Iron is not worse than other nobles, which shows the importance of resources.

One of the most important points is the method of cultivation; although it counts as part of cultivation resources. But as a non-consumable item, its control is also the strictest. Even information well-known among nobles is rarely revealed to commoners, so many talented commoner adventurers simply don’t know how to enter the Red Iron Rank. There are not many ways to obtain the method, and they basically all require paying a sufficient price. The main two paths are Military Merit and monetary donations. And a Magic Contract will be signed specifying that it cannot be taught to anyone other than the signer. This is the power of tradition, and as a beneficiary, George dared not and did not want to resist it. He also didn’t have the ambition of some Transmigrators to create a world of universal equality.

‘Since it’s not entirely a matter of strength, then what else is there?’ George was puzzled.

Seeing George frowning bitterly, Knight Val directly uttered two words: “Poison!”

“Poison?” George was a bit surprised. George hadn’t encountered any powerful poisons in this world, and his impression of them was still on the animal, plant, and heavy metal poisons of the ancient world before his transmigration. According to George’s current constitution, although he couldn’t eat arsenic like rice, he couldn’t be poisoned by small doses of medicine either.

“That’s right, poison. As long as you haven’t become a Formal Knight, that is, reached the Black Lead Rank, most poisons are still effective against you. For example, the quite famous ‘Dark Malice’ could very likely take your life. Although it might not kill you directly, by then you would have almost no ability to resist. At this stage, common drugs effective against you include Cruel Sting, Curse of the Priest, Crystallized Organs, Drying of Blood, Medusa’s Hair, and so on.” Under Knight Val’s narration, the dark side of this world that George hadn’t noticed was unfolding before him.

“So there won’t be any problems after becoming a Formal Knight?” George asked in confusion.

“Although Knights and Paladins have the strongest resistance to these things among the same Rank. It’s not to say there are no concerns in this regard at all, but, but how should I put it.” Knight Val stopped one hand in mid-air, not knowing how to answer for a moment, “I’ll just give you an example. The most famous poison known to be effective against Knights is ‘Hell’s Assault’. This is a bright, deep red paste poison that can be applied to weapons or put into food. This paste poison is made by mixing the ground teeth of a dead Demon with the blood of another dead Demon. The two Demons cannot have been dead for more than three days before the poison is made, otherwise the poison will not take effect. And the reason ‘Hell’s Assault’ is famous is because among the poisons effective against Knights, its method of acquisition is relatively simple.”

George suddenly realized: ‘So it’s because it’s hard to obtain? As far as I know, Demons appearing in the Prime Material Plane are quite rare. Coupled with other related conditions, if a potion like this counts as relatively easy to obtain. No wonder they say Knights don’t fear poison when traveling.’

Seeing the change in George’s expression, Knight Val understood that he had grasped his meaning. He then continued: “So I am very dissatisfied that you went to the Tavern alone this morning and ate the food they provided without checking it. If there had been an Assassin at that time, it would have been big trouble.”

George asked back: “How could there be an Assassin so coincidentally? Mr. Val, are you being a bit too careful?”

“Who knows if the mastermind behind that day has intelligence personnel left in this small town. That night’s Goblin attack, because of our joining, clearly didn’t achieve the effect they expected. And your sudden appearance is the biggest opportunity for them. The assassination of a Territory Heir would have a much greater impact on the upper levels of the Duchy than the destruction of a town.” Knight Val said in a serious tone.

Hearing Mr. Val’s argument, cold sweat broke out on George’s back. Although George trusted his ability to sense danger. But in such a magical world, who knows if they have any shielding methods. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

“You don’t need to worry too much about that, you came back safely, didn’t you. Remember to bring a few more people with you next time you go to that kind of place.” In this regard, Knight Val just gave a reminder, which could be considered letting him off easy.

Realizing that Knight Val had no intention of continuing the lecture, George quickly breathed a sigh of relief. He changed the subject: “Mr. Val, what do you think of the group of adventurers found today?”

“They should be passable. Originally, I didn’t expect to recruit any suitable people here. Since you let them come, let’s give them a chance to be selected according to your wishes. I didn’t expect the quality to be actually okay.” Knight Val’s answer to this question seemed somewhat casual.

George asked strangely: “Do you think there is no need to add manpower?”

“At the very least, I agreed with your approach when recruiting them. But after the news from Karada came, I think we won’t encounter much trouble on our future journey. Since diplomatic struggles have already begun, it’s unlikely that these two countries will make any big moves within our borders under their mutual restraint.” It seemed the chair was a bit hot, Knight Val stood up slightly and moved a bit before continuing, “Not to mention we just happened to run into it. So right now, instead of these mercenaries, recruiting some porters would actually be better.”

George said smoothly: “So plans can’t keep up with changes?”

“The combination of words ‘plans can’t keep up with changes’ is really not bad, George, where did you learn it?” Knight Val suddenly changed his interest.

‘Damn it, I actually didn’t control my mouth and said it directly.’ George was full of regret, thinking about how to muddle through.

“Let me think!” George scratched his head, pretending to be thinking, “I forgot which specific book it was, but I definitely saw it in the Grand Library of Karada.”

“Then I’ll go take a look next time too.” Knight Val said, “By the way, there is one more thing. There are a few people among the newcomers that might need attention.”