Chapter 495: Rocket's 20 Brides

The surrender of Hawthorn Territory was strange. From Leech’s perspective, its lord had surrendered purely because of overwhelming military force, yet his desire to annihilate Count Buffalo was incredibly sincere.

Leech didn’t know what had happened between them, but for one man to hate another so intensely, there were only two possibilities.

1. One man stole the other man’s woman.

2. One man wanted the other man’s ass.

Given his status, Leech couldn’t very well ask. He could only file it away as an unsolved mystery and privately speculate.

However, the nobility’s ability to make excuses for themselves was practically innate.

An army that should have been marching to crush the “criminals” of Mama City had, in a blink, been reframed as: “Lord Black Thorn of Hawthorn Territory has voluntarily brought his entire army to join Princess Sophia!”

A classic case of abandoning the darkness for the light.

Black Thorn’s earlier trip to Leon City was also re-spun as a loyal and noble knightly deed: “an attempt to persuade Count Buffalo to see reason and immediately return the territory that rightfully belonged to Princess Sophia.”

It was only because this persuasion failed that he had come to join them with his powerful army.

Among the upper nobility, the news about Princess Sophia was still met with scorn, while some of the lesser nobles remained on the fence.

But among the common folk, Lisu Muma was now firmly believed to be Princess Sophia’s lost daughter, blessed by the Immortal Spirits. She had returned, and she was going to overthrow the tyrannical rule of Count Buffalo!

As it happened, when it came to “tyrannical rule,” the Desert Area was even more excessive than other parts of Lu Leiyi.

The region had “Gaoxue City,” which was said to hold 500,000 slaves. Although it wasn’t under Count Buffalo’s jurisdiction, there were always nobles who enjoyed capturing people to sell to the slavers.

And there were countless nobles like Baron Jin Fu, who enjoyed watching people kill each other for entertainment.

When waging war, a legitimate bloodline often provided a huge advantage. It was just like the situation back in Waterfall Land; when Baron Wado’s illegitimate sons started popping up left and right, Lady Jie Lin was rendered helpless. Even her own soldiers were just going through the motions.

Leech hadn’t expected to trigger such a massive war himself. The ‘Desert Pearl,’ Lisu Muma, had become a powerful rallying cry. Countless minor lords emerged, and in just half a month, they had scraped together an army of twenty thousand. Over ten thousand of these were serfs who had just used their hoes to overthrow their own lords.

Revolutionary struggles are never top-down.

The upper class will never start a revolution; no one would willingly harm their own interests.

「Time quickly flew by, and soon it was late September.」

The war in the desert raged on. According to a message sent back by raven from the ‘Desert Pearl,’ Lisu, they would be able to retake Leon City in a month at most.

Leech simply had Lin Nuo, Bai Lu, and other Transcendents go along to help. Having learned from past mistakes, he was determined to keep a firm grip on the desert.

The sky was overcast, and a heavy rain was about to fall.

Contrary to the impression that deserts lack rain, this desert didn’t actually lack rain, especially near Mama City. The key problem was the inability to store water.

He arrived at the stables.

Over half the land in Mama City was dedicated to raising horses. Every day, one could hear the thundering of galloping herds, an exhilarating rumble of hooves that lifted the spirit.

‘With so many warhorses charging on a battlefield, even a Transcendent would have to flee for their life.’

A few stablehands were using brushes to groom Rocket.

Sensing Leech’s arrival, everyone stopped their work. “Good day, my lord!”

Leech nodded, then asked seriously, “Have you made the selection?”

“We have!” the head stablehand spoke up. “After a special selection process, we’ve found a total of twenty three-year-old mares. None have been bred before. They are strong, healthy, and have the best physiques!”

“Very good,” Leech said, satisfied.

‘Although Rocket was still young, his body was fully developed. It just wouldn’t do for him to be strutting around all the time. When he was in heat, Rocket was always restless and agitated, so Leech had rarely been riding him lately.’

But as for getting him gelded, Leech just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“COO COO.”

Rocket tilted his head to look at Leech, as if he didn’t quite understand what his master intended, yet somehow did, his gaze questioning.

Leech smiled at him and said, “Then let’s begin. Remember to feed the mares the herbs I brought first, but don’t overdo it.”

“Yes.”

The stables in Mama City weren’t as crude as those in Porcupine Territory; there was a dedicated breeding shed.

And so, Rocket was led, confused and oblivious, into the little building.

After taking that potent drug, even a saint would turn into a beast.

A few stablehands were inside to assist, and soon, the “sounds of battle” began. Leech, curious, went over to watch a bit of the live-action “horse show.” High on the drug, Rocket and the mare were going at it vigorously. A mare’s heat wasn’t typically stable—it certainly wasn’t supposed to happen in September—but again, after taking that potent drug, it wasn’t the horse calling the shots anymore.

The “battle” ended quickly.

‘Damn, only five minutes? Rocket, that’s a bit weak.’

Leech looked at Rocket, who was panting heavily, and shot a questioning glance at a stablehand. The man nodded vigorously. “He’s in good shape!”

‘It was unclear whether he meant he was in good shape, or Rocket was.’

In any case, the “battle” continued.

Leech wasn’t depraved enough to watch the entire process. His thoughts drifted back to Prince George. The prince could indeed contact the Half-Beastmen, but it was a one-way communication.

It was conducted by a mysterious witch.

She had probably sensed the annihilation of the Half-Beastman army, which was why there had been no further contact.

“My lord, would you like to try?” a voice suddenly sounded by his ear.

Leech froze, almost throwing a punch.

‘Rocket’s breeding, and you’re asking me to give it a try? Try my ass!’

When he turned his head, he realized it was a cavalryman out exercising the horses who had come over to greet him.

“Alright! I haven’t ridden in a while myself.”

A cavalryman quickly brought over a warhorse. Leech vaulted into the saddle, grabbed the reins, and shouted, “Hya!” The warhorse shot off like an arrow loosed from its string.

He had absorbed the experience of many skilled cavalrymen; there were few on the entire Lu Leiyi Continent who could surpass his horsemanship. The cavalrymen behind him strained to keep up, but Leech ended up lapping them into exhaustion.

The rushing wind considerably improved Leech’s recently sullen mood.

‘Once the breeding is finished, it’ll be time to head back and check on things.’

‘Coincidentally, Tangkx Scholar is planning a trip to Giant’s Foot soon. It’s on the way… If I can sweet-talk him into coming to my territory, that would be perfect.’

‘A group of scholars together might be able to cook up some of the things I want, like a portal that can actually be kept open long-term.’

‘But that’s just wishful thinking. That last portal snapped the bones of an Undead Flying Dragon. I’m not brave enough to travel through one. One careless move, and you’d be cut in half at the waist.’

‘Flying on Rocket is another option. As long as he flies fast, I can get back in about a day.’

By the time Leech’s mood had improved, Rocket’s hard work over there had finally ended.

He was led out, dejected and even a little weak in the knees.

“How’s it going, my good buddy?” Leech gently patted Rocket.

“COO COO~”

“I’ll give you something good to eat when we get back. The meat from those four-headed snakes… hss, I guess the scholars have used it all for experiments,” Leech said. “But there’ll be plenty of crabs and silkworm pupae, I guarantee it.”

“COO COO!” Rocket recovered a little bit of strength, but his little expression seemed to say, ‘Easy for you to say. You do it next time.’

Leech waved his hand. “The heavy burden of continuing your family’s bloodline is something you have to handle yourself.”

He looked at the stablehand and said, “Take good care of those twenty mares. If everything goes well, everyone gets a reward next year. Otherwise…”

“Yes, my lord! We will definitely take good care of the mares!”

“Get some good rest,” Leech said, gently patting Rocket’s shoulder. “Tomorrow, we’re going back to East Gorge.”

“COO COO~”

Rocket walked over to the mares, gently nuzzling his head against theirs, one by one. The mares stood there expectantly, as if waiting to be favored by their king.

“I didn’t expect Rocket to be such a romantic,” Leech marveled. ‘Still, come next July, we should have a harvest of twenty Little Horse-headed Eagles. I’d better start thinking of names.’