"I remember, wasn't he gravely injured by a sneak attack, which greatly reduced his strength? His current strength should still be inferior to Giovanni's, right? This doomed duel, isn't it just going to inflate Rein's arrogance further?" the High Priest said with an unpleasant tone.
"That's true, but news from Baron Alonso's side states that Baron Norman's strength has already been restored to its peak by a magic potion, and he is now trying to break through to become a Great Knight before the bloody duel."
"Once he steps into the realm of the Great Knight, I believe the duel will be Rein's last battle."
"I see." The obese High Priest nodded, seemingly in a much better mood.
He paced back to the chair in the center of the hall and said:
"Lamar, since Giovanni has returned to the embrace of the God of Hunting, you will be in charge of contacting the Wilderness Brotherhood."
"This... High Priest, just moments ago, the Wilderness Brotherhood's headquarters in the County Town was destroyed by the Seasonal Winds and the Sea Goddess Church," Lamar wiped sweat beads from his forehead and said.
"What?" The High Priest felt as if his mood was on a roller coaster upon hearing the report, suddenly engulfed by a sense of irritation with no outlet, and his gaze at Lamar turned quite unfriendly.
"This is also because of Rein, isn't it?" He quickly recalled what Lamar had just mentioned about Rein handing Giovanni's body over to the Goddess Church, and he asked in response.
Lamar nodded and slyly suggested:
"Otherwise, why don't we gather some men in the next two nights and launch a night raid on Rein's new residence in the noble district? I believe even if he survives, his entire family will surely perish."
"No, that's not good!" the High Priest immediately shook his obese head.
He wasn't foolish enough to risk the entire Black Flame Church just to avenge Giovanni, openly making a move within the County Town would only make the Black Flame Church an immediate target of both the Empire and the Goddess Church.
This would only end up benefiting other powers such as the Sea God Sect.
"No hurry, isn't Rein going to take a position in Fishing Port Town? Since that's the case, let the Sea God Sect deal with him," the High Priest said calmly after a long while, shrinking his obese body into the chair.
The next day, the beautiful Baroness Crowley was up early and left by carriage.
For Jennifer, today was a busier day.
Following Rein's instructions, the first thing she would do is to rush to the blacksmith shop and arrange to quietly purchase chromium iron ingots on the market, as well as acquiring cold iron ingots or cold iron ore through multiple channels.
Later, she would go to Yakesen Auction House to inquire about purchasing the essence of a giant beast.
As agreed upon the previous night, if the high-level magic potion 'Beast Essence' could be purchased within a week, even if the cost was high, she would choose to buy a bottle at a premium price.
However, if the delivery was after the duel, then there was no need for it.
Last, she needed to make a trip to Master Holland the potion master.
At her feet at the moment was a delicate wooden box, which contained a giant beast's heart from Rein, also the most important raw material for the high-level magic potion 'Beast Essence'.
After waking up, Rein didn't head straight to the blacksmith shop to raise his Profession Level but instead rode in a carriage that had been arranged early on to Earl Habs Mansion.
Since he already had an agreement with the Earl, the first thing Rein needed to do after returning to the County Town was naturally to report to the Earl.
Soon, the carriage smoothly arrived at the gates of Earl Habs Mansion, and led by the butler, Rein quickly found himself in the luxurious study, face to face with Earl Habbs.
The Earl's pepper-and-salt hair was still impeccably combed, and he was dressed in a noble hunting outfit with grey and gold trim, looking very gentlemanly. On the chest of the hunting outfit was a pattern of the Calybird, woven with gold thread.
It was clear that Earl Habbs placed great importance on family honor.
"Earl, good day!" Rein bowed respectfully. Continue reading on empire
When Earl Habbs saw Rein enter, he put down his pen, lifted his head, and warmly sized up Rein, saying, "Rein, it seems your training has had good results."
"It has indeed been quite beneficial, I've learned a lot during my training," Rein replied with a smile.
"Very good, young people should have this kind of upward momentum. Actually, I was counting on your return and was about to send someone to find you."
"Tell me, Rein, what is your view on the matter of Baron Norman challenging you to a duel?"
"While I can't cancel it, I could still assign you official duties for a period."
Rein was inwardly moved as he could tell that the Earl leaned slightly in his favor.
But there was no need!
Moreover, against a Norman family that had been sending assassins after him, Rein naturally wanted to eradicate them completely.
In normal circumstances, Rein had no good solution to the continuous assassination attempts, but this time the other party had proposed a bloody duel, which, from a certain angle, suited Rein's desires.
Because he had learned from Jennifer that Baron Norman was the backbone of the Norman family, and once the backbone was broken, the family's fate was predictable.
Rein shook his head and said, "Earl, I also desire to confront Baron Norman to see how much progress I have truly made."