Ryan, possessing the physique of a fully initiated knight, landed on the ground in just a few nimble steps by pushing off the wall.
By then, the fifteen-meter-long Frost Serpent, a magical beast, was lying motionless on the ground. A large amount of blood and flesh spilled from its abdomen. Brand and Harrington still clung tightly—one to its head, the other to its tail.
"It died that easily?"
Even Harrington’s eyes revealed disbelief. As he looked at Brand, soaked in blood, a rare expression of awe flickered in his gaze.
"Am I really... this weak?"
In that moment, Ryan realized something: his noble side seemed to outweigh his knightly side. Had the ease of his past life dulled his instincts for danger?
"Good thing I’m still young,"
Ryan thought to himself. He could no longer afford to be a noble who only knew comfort and luxury.
In just a few short minutes, Brand’s performance had fully lived up to the impressive traits Ryan had read on his stat sheet:
From scanning his surroundings and helping Ryan avoid the serpent’s most dangerous strike, to quickly crafting an effective plan—using the knight’s longsword the serpent had swallowed to kill it, and recognizing that letting Harrington restrain the serpent’s tail would minimize casualties. Without that tactic, the beast’s violent thrashing could have killed someone.
"You’ve hunted magical beasts before?"
Ryan asked curiously. This was his first time encountering a magical beast—creatures most nobles feared to even speak of. Not once had the Frost Serpent even had the chance to cast a spell—it had died by Brand’s hand before then.
Brand nodded and replied:
"On the continent of Aexniel, only powerful beasts and magical creatures can survive through the Long Winter. They’re adept at lurking within the snowstorms to hunt."
With enough experience, one learns how to deal with them.
"In that case, the flesh and blood of this Frost Serpent is yours—and Harrington’s."
"Thank you, Lord Ryan."
Brand’s eyes lit up with gratitude. He then pulled out a dagger and sliced open the serpent’s jaw. Moments later, he extracted a blue, rhombus-shaped crystal, two fingers wide.
Brand handed it to Ryan, who was pleasantly surprised. A magic crystal was worth hundreds of times its weight in gold.
Just this one piece could sell for at least 2,000 gold coins.
"Hahaha! That’s a big haul!"
Ryan laughed heartily. But just then, a soldier shouted:
"Lord Baron, we’ve found three eggs!"
Ryan’s eyes lit up and he hurried over. Beneath a pile of twisted, broken branches was a nest, clearly built by the Frost Serpent. In it lay three snow-white eggs, each the size of a grown man’s head.
"Frost Serpent eggs."
Ryan’s breath quickened.
Many nobles dreamed of taming magical beasts. But the vast majority of them were untamable. The only known method was to brand the beast with a magical sigil before birth, and then raise it with extreme care after hatching, imprinting obedience from youth.
After all, magical beasts were no less intelligent than humans.
"So that’s why this Frost Serpent came to the Frozen Territory—because of these three eggs."
Over 90% of newborn creatures require a relatively warm environment to gestate. For a Frost Serpent—a species from the far northern regions—its young needed to be born somewhere milder before they could adapt to extreme cold and return north.
"This pit... it wasn’t dug by the serpent."
Harrington, limping with the help of a soldier, approached and said:
"Young Lord Ryan, I believe this is actually a mine vein."
"Mines tend to be warmer than surrounding terrain. The Frost Serpent, adapted to frigid conditions, must also be highly sensitive to heat."
Ryan nodded and ordered a few soldiers to dig a little farther out.
Sure enough, moments later, a fist-sized chunk of iron ore was unearthed and brought to Ryan.
"The Northwind Province is poor in everything—except iron. As expected, my territory does have a mine."
Ryan smiled broadly. His territory finally had a stable economic resource.
Of course, for now, the iron was more useful to meet domestic needs.
And now wasn’t the right time to begin mining.
"Secure this area first. Then head to Lingdu County and buy a few spell scrolls. Once these three eggs hatch, we’ll start mining."
Ryan looked down at the three quietly resting Frost Serpent eggs, uncertain if even one or two could be successfully hatched.
"This pit was probably dug by people before. The Frozen Territory hasn’t had a lord for decades, but the locals here aren’t completely ignorant of their surroundings."
Hearing Ryan’s words, Rosen, following close behind, asked:
"Shall we round up the original villagers of the Frozen Territory after we return?"
"No need. Besides, the carpenters and blacksmiths who once lived here fled to warmer regions. If anyone knew about this place, it would be those blacksmiths."
"And even if they did know, they would have told me—especially after seeing how well the Bane family has been treated."
One good thing had followed another. After discovering the magical beast eggs and the iron vein, one of the serfs Ryan had brought along had even identified soil suitable for farming on the return journey.
"Very good. From this day forward, I revoke your status as a slave. You and your family are now my subjects."
The rugged man named Dudley immediately collapsed to his knees, bowing repeatedly.
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!"
In the Frozen Territory, things were different from elsewhere. Commoners were entitled to their own homes. Even if a freed slave initially only had the right to use, not own, the property, it was still possible—through effort—to claim full ownership in a decade or two.
It was policies that had kept the Frozen Territory free of serious conflict, even in Ryan’s absence.
Looking over the vast mountains ahead, Ryan felt no regret over rewarding someone of such humble origins.
All he cared about was this:
"May this land yield more fertile fields for the future."