Imperial Crown.

Chapter 464: The Living Dragon

Chapter 496: The Living Dragon

Outside the tent, Thor reported to Raven respectfully and excitedly:

"My Lord, I went out this time originally to investigate the situation, but I didn't expect to encounter the enemy's logistics troops, so I had to engage in a bloody fight."

"This battle did not disappoint your trust, Lord Earl. With only 4000 people, we defeated four legions of goblins head-on and even set fire to their military rations. It was a real victory!"

"And during the battle, we also discovered that the goblins had mastered a strange ritual..."

Listening to Thor's words, Raven's mind was not too focused, but his eyes were on the Eagle Army soldiers behind Thor that he brought back.

Basically everyone was injured and their armor was mostly damaged, but judging from their spirit, they had indeed won a victory.

Nodding slightly in his heart, Raven looked at Thor again, and saw Thor taking something out of the leather bag at his waist: "...In addition, we also found this storage ring on the corpse of the goblin who presided over the ceremony. I specially came to present it to the Earl!"

The hyena stepped forward, took the ring, and placed it on the table in front of Raven.

Thor looked at Raven with anticipation, obviously expecting Raven's reward.

Raven glanced at the ring and drooped his eyelids. "4000 people defeated 20000 goblins and destroyed their logistics. This is indeed a strong record..."

"This was all your own idea?"

Thor immediately said, "No, sir, this success was entirely due to the support of others, including Hojaz. There were 16 of us in total, and many soldiers worked together to win this victory!"

At this time, Thor was very happy, thinking that he had done his job in a meticulous and authentic way and knew how to share the credit.

"I said, you don't have the guts to do that alone." Raven's face was sullen, and it looked like water could drip out of it:

"If this was your idea alone, you should be beheaded to enforce military discipline!"

Thor's face suddenly turned pale, and Eric's heart sank.

Before they could say anything, Raven continued, "Although the 16 of you were lucky enough to win, you also lost more than 300 Eagle Army soldiers. Your motive was to disregard military discipline and attack without authorization. If you are not punished, it will not be enough to serve as a warning to future generations!"

"After the military merits are checked, all the merits and spoils you 16 people have earned this time and accumulated before will be distributed to the soldiers who participated in the battle this time."

"In addition, everyone will receive 120 lashes! Thor, Hojaz, as the initiators, you two will each receive another 120 lashes!"

"It's just that the other party is pressing us now. We'll settle the matter after the punishment. Now you all return to your teams and move out before noon!"

After saying this, he stood up and left the tent with the help of the hyena.

"Thank you, Lord Earl, for your kindness and generosity!" Eric stood up and said goodbye loudly.

Thor, Hoyaz and his group also reacted at this time, and stood up with the other dozen people, saying loudly:
"Thank you, Lord Earl, for your kindness and generosity!"

Only after Raven's back disappeared did Thor's face fall as if he had lost his parents.

This time, in a hurry to return and reunite, he only had time to bring back the bodies of the Eagle Army who died in the battle, and had no time to cut off their ears.

They then burned all the supplies in the goblin logistics camp, which was a great achievement. In Thor's opinion, everyone could get a few hundred merits at least. When the time comes, they could put them together and create a knight. Wouldn't it make Thor appear more capable?
As a result, he didn't gain any merit, but instead earned a lot of beatings from his brothers.

The only thing to be thankful for is that they have Hoyaz and those outsiders to share the responsibility with them.

"Hmph, pack up and get ready to go." Eric glanced at his son. Although due to the angle, Thor could only see his small green eyes:

"Fortunately, we won this battle, otherwise even I, your father, wouldn't be able to protect you!"

On the other side, Raven returned to his chariot, and the first thing he did was to ask the soldiers who had returned this time about the specific situation on the battlefield.

Soon, the news he wanted was delivered to him.

The content is basically the same as what Thor said, but it adds more relevant details.

Walking to the window of the chariot and sitting down, Raven opened his collar, letting the wind from the window blow in and take away the dryness on his body, and chuckled:
"These little guys..."

He was not really angry. He was the one who built up the Eagle Army, and they would not cause any turmoil because of the unauthorized actions of these little guys.

The reason for the punishment is that rules are rules. If Raven lets them off easily today, and others follow suit in the future, whether they are punished or not, it will damage Raven's prestige.

And this time, the actions of Thor and others did bring Raven a lot of surprises.

The enemy suffered heavy losses in food and grass, but in Raven's opinion it would not play a decisive role. After all, this was the enemy's territory, and if they ran out of logistics, they could always get supplies on the spot.

What is truly valuable is the information about that ceremony.

Judging from the words of the soldiers involved, once this ritual is initiated, even the lowest-level goblin will have the individual combat power of an ordinary human warrior. The hobgoblins and bugbears, which are monsters in the first place, will be able to be upgraded to the level of ordinary extraordinary.

Based on Raven's understanding of the gods, that should be the legendary "Sacrifice of Magnubiye".

Although Raven has no intention of fighting with a large army for the time being, if he really encounters a large army of goblins in the future, a sudden attack from the other side would cause great losses to Raven.

With preparation, we can make targeted responses in the future.

And then there's this ring.

Raven held the ring in his palm, his brows slightly raised:

"Tsk..."

As soon as he got the ring, Raven tried to open it, but his mental power was immediately bounced back as soon as it touched the outer barrier of the space ring.

This means that the previous owner of the ring is not dead yet.

Raven didn't think Thor had the courage to deceive him, so there was only one conclusion.

The owner of this ring somehow survived.

This made Raven even more curious about what was in the ring - no matter how he prolonged his life, the priest who could perform the Sacrifice of Magnubiye must be extremely powerful.

A ray of silver light flowed out from his eyes. As the Eye of Truth worked, Raven's mental power penetrated into the outer layer of the space ring as accurately as a razor, erasing the mark of the original owner bit by bit.

With a crisp sound, azure magic light exploded on the ring like a round of fireworks, which meant that the mark originally left on it was completely broken.

Raven bit his lip gently: "Let me see what good things are inside..."

Materials, all kinds of magical materials, are sorted into different categories in this space ring.

From magic plants to minerals, magic cores and various materials from magical beasts, there is everything. It is like robbing a royal caravan that specializes in transporting various magical raw materials.

Raven made a rough estimate and concluded that the total value was at least over 130 million gold coins.

Moreover, a considerable portion of them are materials that are out of market and are so rare that even if you want to buy them, you have to wait for the right time.

Raven's smile grew wider. He could even imagine the frustrated look on the face of the guy who lost the ring.

As his mental power continued to sweep through the ring, Raven's brows suddenly trembled:
“What is this thing…!?”

With a flash of light, a scale the size of a pot lid appeared in Raven's hand.

The scales were completely black with patterns like tree rings on them. They felt light to the touch but were extremely tough. No matter how hard Raven bent them, he could not budge them at all.

Judging from the magical elements contained in it and the faint majesty it exudes, this is undoubtedly a...

"Dragon scales!?"

Dragon scales have always been one of the best materials, whether used to make amulets or armor.

Now that most dragons have left the Middles Continent, the price of this dragon scale is at least 1 gold coins. What surprised Raven even more was that this dragon scale had obvious signs of aging - for example, the base of the scale had begun to fade, and the edges had uneven wear and tear over the years.

Everything indicates that this is a dragon scale that fell off naturally.

Just one scale may not mean anything, but there are three extra dragon scales in the ring. If all four dragon scales are like this, it can't be a coincidence.

It is very likely that the Goblin clan owns a living dragon!
……

Chapter 497: Crossing the Tallin River for the Second Time
The title of "Dragon Slayer" is indeed loud and clear, and is a classic element in the stories told by bards that is as enduring as "Dragon Rider", but Raven has no intention of being honored with this title.

Just kidding, even at the end of the Dragon Age, it was not easy to surround and kill a dragon. At that time, there were various "dragon-slaying weapons" specifically designed for dragons.

Now that time has passed, the methods of making these weapons have long been buried in a pile of old papers, and there is not even a trace of the real objects left. Raven would have to be crazy to think of attacking the dragon.

Run!
So at noon that day, Raven led his team and headed southeast, preparing to cross the Tallin River for the second time.

When they first entered the country, they crossed from the east bank of the Tallinn River to the west bank. Now that the pursuers have come to the west bank, Raven naturally has to go to the east to seek revenge.

As I said, only idiots would go to fight a decisive battle.

During the march, as the Eagle Army's aerial scouts repeatedly traveled back and forth, they finally confirmed the reliability and authenticity of Thor and his men's attack, and Raven generously gave out rewards.

However, Thor and his men had nothing to do with the rewards; all the benefits went to the soldiers who had fought in the battle.

Henry is one of them.

That night, after a day's march, Henry and his teammates in the same ten-man team set up their tents and took off their leather boots around the fire pit.

Xiaowei jumped up after being scratched.

It is already the middle of November. If it were in Henry's hometown, everyone would have already put on thick cotton-padded jackets and leather clothes, but here in Bloody Roar Province, it is still extremely hot during the day, and there is not a bit of coolness even at night.

Lighting a fire is more about removing dampness than driving away the cold.

Placing his right foot horizontally on his left knee, Henry stretched out his hand to lift the sole of his foot in front of his eyes, and saw a peanut-sized blood blister on the edge of the sole, the outline of which had turned white.

The last time I fought the goblins, I don't know what I stepped on during the battle. Since then until now, the blood blisters have grown again and again, and I don't know when they will heal.

Henry pulled out a knife from his waist, roasted the tip of the knife over the fire until it turned black, then put it to the edge of the blood blister and cut it with force.

Blood spurted out like small arrows.

"Ouch!" Henry frowned and let out a groan of pain. He stretched out his feet and put them by the fire to warm them. He used his fingers to push away the blood and white dead skin that had been burned into jelly on the blade of the knife. He shook his hands, put the knife back into his waist, grabbed a piece of black bread and took a big bite.

Fragrant!
Is there anything more refreshing than having a bite of solid bread and a sip of hot soup after a day of marching?
After eating a piece of black bread in a few bites, Henry sat by the fire, warming his feet while watching the steam bubbling up from the camp stove.

Then he took off the purse from his waist, poured it into his palm, and began to count carefully.

“1、2、3、4、5……6！”

There were 6 gold coins in total, no more, no less, but Henry counted them nearly ten times before he carefully put them back to his waist, with a satisfied smile on his face unconsciously.

6 gold coins!

In the past, it was a huge sum of money that he could not even dream of, but now it was actually lying in his purse and pressing on his waist.

Earl Raven did what he said. Although he punished Lord Thor and the others, the bounty was indeed paid out. These six gold coins were the dividends Henry received.

Because Henry fought bravely, he got more than others - of course not the full 6 gold coins, but actually 13 silver coins and 61 copper coins.

Henry used some of the change to buy some wine from the merchant accompanying the army, which he drank when celebrating with his comrades in the same team of ten; and he used the remaining change to buy two pairs of brand new thick wool socks.

After the wound on his foot was dried and the bleeding had almost stopped, Henry took out a pair of brand new wool socks from his backpack and put them on his feet.

It was warm and soft, and Henry couldn't help but hum softly.

"so comfortable……"

In addition to gold coins, merits can also be obtained.

This time, after the goblin's logistics camp was destroyed, Earl Raven waved his hand and directly issued 10000 merits. On average, each person could get about 2.5 points.

But Henry fought more bravely, so he got 7 merit points in one go, which could be exchanged for another 7 gold coins.

But Henry didn't plan to redeem it right away, he wanted to save it up.

There are still many battles to come. If you can accumulate 100 merits, you can exchange them for a bottle of divine potion that can make you extraordinary!

extraordinary!

By then, he would at least be able to become an officer, and after becoming a transcendent, it would be easier to earn merits. Maybe, just maybe, he, Henry, would be able to become a noble lord one day!
"What are you thinking about? Why are you so silly here?" Henry's captain George came over and sat next to Henry: "Are you thinking about your wife?"

Henry blushed: "No, no, I don't even have a family!"

"Then take good care of your money. Don't follow their example and spend your money when you have some." George said with a smile, "Save it up and go home to marry a woman who knows how to live."

"Yeah!" Henry nodded vigorously.

Although gambling is strictly prohibited in the Eagle Army barracks, no one cares outside the barracks. In the past few days, the soldiers have been in a hurry to march and have not had any holidays. Once the rules are relaxed, many soldiers will not be able to keep the money.

"Captain, you already have a wife, so why are you saving money to find another one?" Henry asked.

"Get lost!" George cursed with a smile, "After you marry your wife, you won't give her money? Your family will be left with nothing."

"Besides, I have two children at home, both boys. In the future, the cost of buying a house and getting married will be higher and higher. Do you still think it was more than 10 years ago when you could get a wife with a bag of wheat?"

Henry was just joking, but he nodded repeatedly, obviously agreeing with it.

George stood up and said, "After you finish eating, go to bed early. We have to get up early and march tomorrow."

"Okay." Henry agreed and asked, "We haven't had a break since the fight with the goblins. Captain, when can we have a good rest?"

"It won't be long." George said, "Once we cross the Tallinn River and shake off the pursuers, we should be done!"

Henry watched George leave, sat around the fire for a while, ate four large pieces of brown bread, drank a small pot of hot soup made with potato chips and bacon, then lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

Next came several days of forced march.

Finally, on the night of November 11, Henry saw the Tallinn River again.

This place is already the lower reaches of the Tallinn River. Compared to the strong winds and rough waves on the upper reaches when crossing the river for the first time, the river surface here is much calmer. From a distance, it looks like a light green ground.

The Eagle Army did not cross the river at night as that would have been too dangerous, but instead set up camp on the spot.

Early the next morning, the auxiliary troops had built eight pontoon bridges.

Even so, it took a lot of time to cross the river. The operation started in the early morning, and it was not until the afternoon that Henry crossed the river with the last batch of Eagle Army.

After jumping onto the shore a short distance away, Henry breathed a sigh of relief:
"Finally here!"

Now I should be able to have a good rest for a few days.

However, not long after crossing the river, an order was passed down:

"Everyone, stay on the spot, build fortifications, be on standby at any time, and be ready for battle!"

……

(End of this chapter)