[Edited] Chapter 6: I’m A Ball

Fort Comoy.

Beavis Elliott received the letter from the knight sent by Duke Bass Richards.

What the letter meant was that there were huge benefits to be gained from drying salt in seawater.

Cogit Ocean was like a gold mine waiting to be excavated in the Wissas Territory, but the “mining rights” of this gold mine were not in his hands.

There was currently only Xia Zuoyi Desinia left in the Desinia family. If something were to happen to him, Wissas would be taken back by the king, and then he could plan…

“I understand what the duke meant. I will take care of it for him. But, the plan is to let another earl… I’m taking a lot of risks.”

Beavis Elliott looked ordinary, with a wide forehead and a flat nose. Although he was in his prime, the hair volume on his head was very scarce. He had blue eyes and his face often looked tired because of insufficient sleep.

He was best known in Fort Comoy for the number of mistresses he had every year.

The knight who delivered the letter said, “After the matter is completed, the duke will include Pal Mountain in the territory of Fort Comoy and promise the earl 10% profit of the salt sales.”

Beavis Elliott was overjoyed, “The duke is generous indeed.” 

After he assured once again that things would be done as the duke wanted, the knight left Fort Comoy and returned to the royal city.

The butler said behind him, “My lord, the other party is an earl after all. In case…” 

Beavis Elliott scoffed, “Just a six-year-old child. Even if he is lucky enough to have a “treasure”, it depends on whether he has the ability to keep it.” 

“Old Desinia died too early. I was kind enough to reunite the father and son in the arms of the God of Creation as soon as possible.”

Butler: “You are right, my lord.”

Beavis Elliott: “Let a small group of knights pretend to be robbers and lie in ambush in Pal Mountain. When it’s completed, I will give them half a box of gold as a reward.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The Desinia motorcade returned slowly and finally passed through Pal Mountain again.

After going over the mountain was Wissas.

Xia Zuoyi was lying on the window, looking at the gradually passing scenery outside.

Pal Mountain retained the characteristics of the primitive mountain forest—the trees were tall and lush, and there were many wild animals in the mountain forest.

The mountain in the southeast was between the two cities of Wissas and Fort Comoy. It was usually used as one of the livelihood sources of the civilians in the two cities, such as hunting and gathering firewood. It was also a hunting site for nobles.

There was a small lake on the mountain—Lake Pal.

Bypassing Lake Pal was the mountain on the northwest side. Few people go there. It was said that brown bears often haunt the mountain, and the mountain was complex.

The natural asphalt mine was buried in the valley in the northwest.

Xia Zuoyi was thinking about the preparations to be made before digging out the asphalt mine when suddenly he heard a startled scream from the knight in front of him. Then, the moving carriage suddenly stopped and shook violently.

If it had not been for Udit quickly hugging him, he would have fallen out of the window.

“What’s going on?!” Xia Zuoyi held onto the carriage wall with one hand.

The coachman yelled in panic, “My lord, run away! The robbers are coming!” 

The sun was setting west, and the dusk gradually fell.

At this time, they were in the center of the mountain forest. The road in front was cut off and the back road was blocked. The situation was not looking optimistic.

The “robbers” seemed to have received the news ahead of time. When the convoy entered the already ambushed “encirclement”, they suddenly rushed out to harvest lives.

They were like death gods walking in the twilight, mixed in the heavy shadow sweeping by. They were extremely fast, killing the knights guarding the carriage almost in the blink of an eye. Then, they aimed at the coachman who wanted to escape.

Udit embarrassingly rolled down from the carriage with Xia Zuoyi in his arms.

Kelly screamed and fell to the ground but fortunately avoided the chopping blade.

The heads and faces of the “robbers” were all tightly wrapped in black cloth, with only their eyes exposed. They were wearing thick defensive leather and the weapons in their hands were mostly swords and machetes.

Their actions were silent but they cooperated tacitly with each other.

—They were not robbers!

At least not ordinary ones.

Xia Zuoyi was protected by the knights coming from the rear. In the gap between being hugged by Udit and dodging, he calmly analyzed —who wanted to kill him?

The “bandits” who besieged him were obviously more than the knights in his convoy. Plus, it should have been premeditated because the team was scattered first.

Kelly tried to dodge the sword that stabbed her, but she slipped and rolled down the hill. Another sword stabbed at Xia Zuoyi.

Udit turned around with him in his arms, trying to cover him with his back.

Xia Zuoyi seemed to be able to feel the unique sharpness and coldness of the iron weapon. The smooth sword surface reflected a blurred image and the faint smell of blood went straight into his nose… 

At a critical moment.

Xia Zuoyi forcibly pushed Udit away.

He fell to the ground while Udit leaned away to avoid danger.

“My lord!” 

The “robber’s” sword hit the ground as it missed the blow, causing mud to splash around. He did not pause and the next moment, continued to mercilessly stab at Xia Zuoyi.

“Bang!” There was a loud sound.

The sharp weapon stabbing head-on was blocked by a big sword.

The reason why Fernandi Edwards could become a knight commander at a young age and obtain sufficient merits to be awarded the title of nobility was by virtue of his unparalleled bravery and courage.

He could single out a small team of knights and was stronger than most people.

The moment the “robbers” encircled and attacked them, Fernandi Edwards seized his opponent’s weapon and succeeded in fighting back. His unstoppable attack, to a certain extent, provided the knights and craftsmen in the rear with a chance to breathe.

Fernandi Edwards saw Xia Zuoyi push Udit away and heard Udit’s panic and frightened shouts.

He rushed over quickly and fended off the long sword.

“Find a safe place to hide, quick!” Fernandi Edwards shouted.

Xia Zuoyi also wanted to find a place to hide.

But the main target of this gang of “robbers” was him. Almost every moment, these people attack him in turn, so how could he have a chance to escape…

This group of “robbers” was determined to kill them all in Pal Mountain. Blood had dyed the ground red, the night was approaching, and the smell of killing in the air became more and more intense.

No one knew if Kelly was dead or alive, half the craftsmen and knights died, and Udit’s left arm was stabbed…

Xia Zuoyi gritted his teeth and thought that things could not go on like this.

He took advantage of the remaining faint light to observe the surroundings…

“Fernandi Edwards! Please be sure to save them!” 

The tender voice seemed to be coming across the night sky.

Fernandi Edwards was stunned. When he turned his head, he saw the small figure drilling through the gap, dodged the machete thrillingly, and then stumbled and rolled down the steep slope…

“My lord!” 

The last thing Xia Zuoyi heard was Udit’s anxious and hoarse cry.

He tried his best to tighten his small body, firmly protected his head with his hands, endured the pain of grass and gravel cutting into his skin, and tried his best to control the direction of his fall.

Xia Zuoyi jumped down deliberately.

The mountain roads of Pal Mountain were mostly winding steep slopes. It was late and it was dark below. You could not see anything clearly.

He took the initiative to jump down, wanting to gamble on the chance to survive.

The world in Xia Zuoyi’s eyes was spinning constantly. When he became dizzy and nauseous, his speed of rolling stopped slowly.

He was lying on the grass, panting faintly. His bare hands and feet ached, covered with scratches from grass leaves and bruises from crushed stones.

Especially his right arm. As if it collided with something, he felt some slight dislocation. He could not lift it now.

Fortunately, it was not his legs.

Xia Zuoyi tried to find joy in hardship, otherwise, he would not have been able to get up the next moment, let alone escape.

After taking two deep breaths.

Xia Zuoyi propped an arm to stand up and blacked out momentarily. After a little while, he found a direction and limped away.

However, he was still young.

He soon felt his physical strength gradually depleting, and his vision began to become blurred.

‘No, he could not fall down.’

‘Run a little further.’

Xia Zuoyi kept repeating in his heart, but he tripped and fell to the ground.

“…Little noble?”

Before he fell unconscious, he heard the surprised and doubtful voice of a young man.

Gibran Keno and his younger brother, Toby Keno, depended on each other. They lived on the fringe of the poorest place in Wissas.

His younger brother Toby was nine years younger than him.

For the sake of their living expenses, food, and clothing, Gibran Keno not only helped in verifying money every ten days in the market, but he also set some traps on Pal Mountain to catch small animals such as hares.

He had been out of luck since this morning.

The hoe he brought with him broke, and the trap he finally set up failed, causing the hare to run away. After that, he did not hunt any more prey.

Gibran Keno was anxious. If he had no prey to sell, he would have no money to sustain themselves. They would have to endure starvation for a few days and be frugal until the market reopened.

After all, it was not easy to come to Pal Mountain.

He temporarily entrusted Toby to Aunt Tana next door and walked into the mountain with plenty of dry food and water. He had been on the mountain for two days and one night.

Today was the last night. All the dry food was eaten. If he could not catch any prey, he would go back tomorrow empty-handed.

So, Gibran Keno went a little deeper into Pal Mountain but still got nothing.

But when he was planning to find a safe cave or rest in a tree for a night, he unexpectedly met the little nobleman he had seen in the market.

The little child should be only a little older than Toby.

Now he was covered with scars and fell pitifully in front of him.

Gibran Keno quickly walked over and picked up the little nobleman. He guessed that something bad had happened to him. His round face was covered with dirt, and he passed out with his eyes closed.

There was no one nearby and it was now dark. Even the way down the mountain could not be seen clearly.

Gibran Keno muttered to himself, “…We can only go back to Wissas at dawn tomorrow.”

He looked down at the little nobleman in his arms and sighed, “I hope you can make it through tonight.”

Before leaving, Gibran Keno covered up the traces of the little nobleman.

He found a safe cave and covered it with wattle grass and dry branches as a cover and camouflage.

Except for a broken hoe, there was only water on Gibran Keno’s person. After gently laying the little nobleman on the ground, he fed him a few sips of water. Thinking of the cold night in the mountains, he took off his thin coat and covered the other’s small body.

Gibran Keno rubbed his hands and breathed on them.

He stayed at the entrance of the cave. From time to time, he would see the situation of the little nobleman. He persisted dazedly until dawn.

---

The author has something to say:

Xia Zuoyi: I’m a ball. The grunting round ball rolls down…

---

Previous

Next