Chapter 577: The Messenger

“My name is Leondorl. It is a pleasure to meet you! May I ask for your name, Sir?”“You can call me Lucien”

“Meeting you here must have been a quirk of fate, Lucien. I really thought I would have to go back. Though I doubt they would have let me try again if I had done that… Anyway, as I was telling you, I was hired by a lord from Heldeorlt to deliver a message on behalf of the king. Can you imagine that? That’s one hell of a gig. I’ll be swimming in riches when I'm done with this!”

“I would assume that you aren’t the only one hired to do this job”

“Ahah… Yep, that’s the catch. We are paid based on how many messages we were able to deliver and to whom we delivered them. We have a bunch of people and organisations we can deliver to… I was planning on going ahead and visiting a few of the sects controlled by the Elt clan, and then coming back through here and finishing with another one of the sects under their control. However, I unfortunately ran into trouble immediately in the form of the road having been completely decimated by a rockfall!”

Anoteros rubbed his chin.

“You wanted to deliver a message to the Sect Of The Horned One last? They are the only ones in the vicinity as far as I am aware”

“Indeed! You seem very knowledgeable about the area, Lucien. It really was my luck that I ran into you… Even if–I’ll admit–I was quite spooked when you noticed me back there. I had my clothes enchanted to make me stealthy, but… I guess I shouldn’t have cheaped out on the enchanter…”

Leondorl was a blabbermouth, which was a good thing as he had interesting things to say and didn’t seem to care much about secrecy… Leondorl was apparently a scout and messenger for hire most of the time. He was technically a mercenary, but didn’t do much fighting.

Which was an odd thing for him to say. He definitely had some skills and strength, but he seemed unwilling to reveal this despite being willing to reveal much more sensitive information about his mission.

From the looks of things, Heldeorlt was taking a completely different approach compared to Journomanp. The foreign cultivators were more about confrontations and underhanded tactics, such as attempting to bribe Edrick.

On the other hand, Heldeorlt was partaking in a much more traditional strategy, which was to try and openly promote themselves to various forces and individuals in Leynlornd. They were basically like a company offering free samples at the foot of their rival’s headquarters and factory.

The effect they aimed for was the same as what the foreign cultivators had tried with Anoteros, but they were simply more classy about it. Being public with it could also serve as a demoralisation tactic. If some accepted their offers and switched sides, it would sow doubt and distrust.

Of course, it was unlikely that they had anything to offer that could sway anyone in Leynlornd. They were a nation of knights, magic, and heavily enchanted weaponry. It was improbable for them to have anything interesting for cultivators of this country.

Nonetheless, even if Anoteros doubted the efficacy of this manoeuvre, hearing about it from Leondorl told him that Heldeorlt was indeed serious about fighting Leynlornd.

This really was what made the scion scratch his head the most. He was still unaware of the reason why a conflict was even brewing in the first place.

The three countries should be strong economic allies in spite of their great cultural differences. The best reason he could think of was that the king of Leynlornd had done something to deeply irk Heldeorlt, and Journomanp was simply joining in because they were simply the sort to try something like this.

It really wasn’t a good explanation, however.

Leondorl didn’t seem to know the reason why either. He was just taking a job he believed would pay well.

“Are you well known for your skills, Leondorl?”

“I am quite proud of my fame in this domain, I must say! There are surely many better than I am, but in the region where I operate? The lord called me first! That’s why I can’t afford to mess up. I have a reputation to uphold. I can’t go back without having done anything, or by having done less than messengers with less experience!”

“That’s why I can’t just deliver a bunch of messages. I must do it quickly enough to come back before any of the others! That’s why it is such an unfortunate event that rocks decided to fall today, of all days! I don’t go through this path very often at all–I don’t come to Leynlornd often either–But I remember taking it a few years back, and I never heard of any risks of falling rocks!”

“Neither did I. Something might have happened up on the mountain… Anyway, I heard that you wanted to deliver a message to vassal sects of the Elt clan, but why not the Elt clan itself? It is surely well-paid to deliver a message there, no?”

“The great clans are indeed spots that are handsomely rewarded, but I am a strong believer in keeping all my body parts attached. They are great supporters of the royal family of Leynlornd… I am afraid they wouldn’t take it too kindly if someone came to give them something, telling them to switch sides”

“...Well, neither would those vassal sects, but thanks to Meriri right there, I trust that I can at least outrun them if they don’t like what I have to give”

As he said this, he stroked the mane of his mount. An equid of more typical looks compared to Edrick’s. Anoteros wasn’t familiar with this particular breed, but Leondorl’s had a soot-coloured coat, a black mane and tail, and bore no white spots whatsoever.

It was a nice specimen.

“Does it have anything special?”

Edrick asked, even though he was already analysing the equine.

“She’s incredibly fast, can move silently for a certain period of time, and protects me from the incoming wind and weather conditions. She’s still young, so I have a lot of confidence in her future as well. What about your mount? It is quite the unusual look for an equine”

“Oh, I don’t really have a mount myself. I borrowed this one from the communal stables of my family, but I have been thinking about getting myself a proper mount. Would you have any recommendations to make?”

“Ahah, of course! My Meriri is an Equima Mour. They can learn a lot of things depending on their owner, and also… I feel like the ambience is a good one, so I’ll just go and say it: The stallions and mares pair very well with riders of the opposite sex, if you know what I mean”

“Is that so?”

“Yep, it’s like domesticated big birds. They get very, VERY attached to their caretakers”

“Interesting… And you have experience in caring for mounts?”

“Mostly equines, but I did work on farms producing all kinds of mounts in the past… I’ll probably start one myself when I retire from what I am doing at the moment”

Edrick chuckled.

“That does sound like a nice retirement…”