Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start - Chapter 278 - 277: Mithril

Chapter 278: Chapter 277: Mithril

“Useless!”

“Hodan is useless, and Amicus is useless too!”

“They’re all useless!”

In a lavish castle, Jesus clutched a letter and roared furiously, the flames of his anger surging within him.

The forces he had painstakingly built over so many years had been completely annihilated in a single day, before he even had time to react.

Jesus’s heart was bleeding!

His son-in-law, Ramsay, sighed from the side. “I heard Amicus was fortunate enough to break through to Meteor Level in his final moments,” he said with regret. “But it was too late. The drain on his Fighting Qi and stamina prevented him from turning the tide of the battle.”

“Don’t say another word!”

Jesus heaved, gasping for breath. The thought that he should have had another Meteor Knight under his command, only for that chance to be snatched away, made the ache in his heart unbearable.

“But the most useless of all was Coren!”

Jesus gritted his teeth. “To think I gave him so many precious resources to persuade him to swear his loyalty, and he turned out to be this useless. He couldn’t even hold the castle for a single day.”

At the beginning-of-the-year banquet, Coren had been publicly reprimanded by Lurans. Jesus had seized that opening, sent lavish gifts, and persuaded him to betray Wushan Castle.

Now it seemed all his scheming had been for nothing.

Ramsay couldn’t understand it either. It had only been a few days. How had everything collapsed so suddenly?

An army’s defeat can be like a landslide, but surely not this fast?

“Father, what do you plan to do next?”

Jesus slowly calmed his anger and dropped onto a nearby sofa, his brow deeply furrowed.

“The Kingdom is stable right now, and that brother of mine is busy bolstering his prestige, even trying to arrange a marriage alliance with Wushan Castle. At a time like this, even if I wanted to occupy Shore City, I can’t possibly send troops!”

The King might not interfere with the Polante Thief Gang, but if my Moonlight Valley takes action, it’s a different matter entirely.

If I had a long-standing feud with Wushan Castle, it would be easier. There’d be an excuse, and we could mediate later.

But the damn problem is, Moonlight Valley and Wushan Territory have no such feud.

With Amicus dead, it was as if Jesus had lost the crowbar he’d been using to leverage Wushan Territory. The impact on him was immense.

“No matter. I’ve already backed the Polante Thief Gang twice. If I have to, I’ll just wait two years and do it a third time!”

A vicious glint appeared in Jesus’s eyes.

A mere Moonlight Valley couldn’t possibly contain a member of the Royal Family like him. He needed far more expansive lands.

Looking at his surroundings, Wushan Territory was the most suitable direction for expansion. He couldn’t give it up so easily.

“Go to Shore Fort and bring back all the wealth I bestowed upon Amicus over the years.”

Jesus said, “I need it to hire and train more men.”

“I’ve already sent Idrisa and the other two. They should be back soon.”

Ramsay paused for a moment. “My lord, Brisot is still in the hands of the Noble Alliance Army. Should we ransom him?”

Jesus couldn’t help but tap his own forehead. This was another one of his headaches.

He wasn’t willing to give up a Golden Knight so easily.

“Go write a letter to Wushan Castle. Tell them Brisot is the uncle of your younger brother’s wife. Say you’re willing to pay Five Thousand Gold Coins to ransom him and see if they’ll agree.”

Ramsay nodded.

Five Thousand Gold Coins was definitely too low, but it didn’t hurt to start the negotiations this way.

As long as they established this connection, the other side probably wouldn’t kill him rashly. Then they could just haggle over the price.

…

Ronin and his party landed smoothly in the main square of Shore Fort, riding atop Carlos.

Although there were Knights and Guards left on duty, they were no match for the intruders. Macken dispatched them with ease.

Chaos erupted. The castle’s servants scattered and fled, scrambling for the exits.

Ronin couldn’t be bothered with these commoners. He simply grabbed the castle steward and ordered the man to lead them to Amicus’s private storeroom.

“My lord, it’s right in here!”

The middle-aged steward shakily pushed aside a row of shelves in the underground storeroom, revealing a hidden door.

Ronin took out a Magic Crystal Lamp, and under its glow, he motioned for the steward to lead the way.

It was a very small storeroom. With five people inside, it already felt a bit cramped.

Inside, three chests rested on wooden blocks.

Ronin motioned for the steward to open one of the chests. Instantly, a dazzling golden light flared, blinding them for a moment.

“Whoa! It’s all Gold Coins! How much is in here?” Elron couldn’t resist grabbing a handful. He was short on cash at the moment.

Ronin smiled. “At least ten thousand.”

He was so certain because a line of text had appeared in his field of vision:

[“Prosperous Fortune” achievement unlocked! Attribute Points +500, Energy Essence +1000]

This tier of the “Prosperous Fortune” achievement required him to obtain Ten Thousand Gold Coins in one go. Clearly, this chest contained at least that many.

He glanced at his panel. The next tier of the “Prosperous Fortune” achievement required obtaining Thirty Thousand Gold Coins all at once.

There were three chests right in front of him. ’If each one has Ten Thousand Gold Coins,’ he thought, ’I can complete two tiers of the achievement back-to-back.’

Ronin immediately ordered, “Open the other two chests.”

The second chest was opened, revealing the same brilliant gleam of a full chest of Gold Coins.

However, when the third chest was opened, there was no dazzling gold—only a faint, silver-white luster.

His hope of obtaining Thirty Thousand Gold Coins in one go was dashed.

“What is this?”

Ronin walked over in surprise.

“I don’t know!”

The steward quickly shook his head.

Ronin prodded the contents with his sword and found the silver-colored objects in the chest to be as hard as iron. His jab didn’t even leave a scratch.

He couldn’t help but crouch and pick one up. It looked like metal, but it was lighter than iron.

“My lord, if I’m not mistaken, this should be ’mithril’,” Ridder interjected.

“Mithril?”

Ronin’s eyes lit up. ’It’s a real possibility.’

This special metal was said to be stronger than steel yet lighter than iron—a superior material for crafting high-end weapons, armor, and accessories.

Beyond that, it also had numerous uses in Magic.

Although Ronin didn’t know the exact price of mithril, he knew it was extremely expensive.

This chest of mithril was definitely worth more than the other two chests of Gold combined.

’Not bad. The mithril in this chest should be enough to forge a suit of Light Armor.’

Ronin still had enough Dragon Scale to forge a suit of Armor. Now, with the addition of the mithril, all he was missing was a Grand Artisan capable of working with such special materials.

He placed all three chests into his Space Ring, concluding his tour of the cramped storeroom.

’It’s a shame the Noble Alliance Army will be disappointed when they get here,’ Ronin thought. ’I’ve cleaned the place out.’

Ronin had initially considered leaving two or three thousand Gold Coins behind. But then he remembered that Hodan and the others had amassed considerable wealth in their own little castles in Shore City, so he decided against it.

’I won’t bother with those smaller castles. Let the Noble Alliance Army have their small windfall.’

’After all, I showed my face here at Shore Fort. Being too greedy wouldn’t look good.’

Emerging from the underground storeroom, Ronin was in high spirits.

He couldn’t help but check his Attribute Panel.

His Attribute Points and Energy Essence had reached 1,510 and 3,000, respectively. The entire group was due for another massive upgrade.

WHOOSH~

Just then, a ripple spread through the air.

Carlos, who had been resting in the square, sent a message to Ronin: a big bird was approaching.

Ronin instinctively looked up at the sky and saw three black dots flying rapidly toward them from the distance.

Ridder and the others noticed it as well.

“Griffins. Heh…”

Ronin chuckled. “I didn’t expect the men from Moonlight Valley to actually show up.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com