The Herb King

"Will you join the expedition?" Arnold asked as he moved a chess piece. The reinforcement army needs a capable leader and he believed that Aethelwolf was the perfect candidate for the position.

Aethelwolf chuckled and shook his head. He then moved his chess piece to counter Arnold's move. "I don't want to be involved in another war again. I already made a promise to my family."

Hearing this, Arnold sighed in disappointment. Aethelwolf had just broken through the Nascent Soul Realm, but his aura was not any less compared to him and the other patriarchs of the noble families.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he only discovered that he was losing the chess game. "Eh?"

Arnold put the matter on hold and focused on the game. He had never lost before when he played with his friends.

After putting more focus, he managed to prolong the game for another thirty moves, but he still ended up losing.

"Thank you for letting me win, Sir Arnold." Aethelwolf grinned at him.

"Let's play again." Arnold's fighting spirit soared after losing the game.

The two didn't even notice that Michelle was secretly laughing at them when she saw their faces.

A few hours later, Aethelwolf had already won six times and Arnold only won twice. If Aethelwolf didn't let him win those games, he would lose all face.

"I'm not playing with you anymore!" Arnold slumped into his chair with a helpless look. It was the first time he had lost so terribly in multiple chess matches. His two victories were even questionable. He noticed that Aethelwolf purposely made careless mistakes during those games to let him win.

Aethelwolf laughed at his words. "You should make preparations for the expedition tomorrow, Sir Arnold. I also need to return to go back to oversee the situation in our shop."

Arnold nodded his head. "I'll invite you again to come here soon, but we won't be playing chess next time." He would only embarrass himself if he played chess with this guy.

"I will clear my schedule for you, Sir Arnold." He chuckled.

"I will send you guys off." Arnold stood up from his seat.

"There's no need to trouble you. You still need to take care of more important matters. We can leave in on our own." Aethelwolf rejected him.

"That won't do. People might talk bad about us if they see you leaving our estate all by yourselves. I'll get Emerson and Tyrone to escort you back to the Golden Lake Manor." Arnold insisted.

"Fine. Let's do that." Aethelwolf could only agree.

"Good!"

***

Inside the spacious horse carriage.

"Sir Aethelwolf, I heard from Michelle that you won effortlessly against my father in chess." Emerson smiled at him. He had played chess with his father so he knew how good he was. He didn't expect that he would lose so badly to Aethelwolf.

"I was only lucky. If your father didn't allow me to win, I would have lost most of those matches." Aethelwolf humbly replied.

Samira and Julie giggled at his words. They knew that he was only bluffing.

"If we are not busy, we should play chess next time."

"Sure."

Soon, they arrived at the Golden Lake Manor.

Aethelwolf's family stepped out of the carriage and bid farewell to Tyrone and Emerson.

"I'll see you again soon, Sir Aethelwolf." Emerson bowed to him before he went back to the carriage.

A moment later, they left.

"Let's go inside." Aethelwolf held his daughters' hands and brought them inside the mansion, while Samira and Julie followed them.

"Husband, nothing will happen to Northern Trance, right?" Samira asked while looking at him worriedly. She had taken a liking to the peaceful life they had in Northern Trance. She didn't want this rare peace to be broken.

Julie didn't say anything, but she also had a worried look on her face.

Aethelwolf didn't answer her right away. He rubbed his daughters' heads and told them. "You two go and find Anselm and play with her. Papa will come and pick you up later."

"Okay!"

"Yesh!"

The two little imps excitedly nodded upon hearing this. They had grown closer to Anselm after they started learning music from her.

After they left, Aethelwolf turned his head to Samira. "The army will be led by five Nascent Soul Espers. With their support, Warmridge should be able to stop the rebellion. As for the beast gathering, the armies of the two cities will handle them. As long as they don't encounter someone as strong as the patriarchs, they will be fine."

"What if there's someone that strong in the rebel force of the beast gathering?" Julie muttered.

"If that's the case, the five patriarchs would have to go there to settle the issue, and if that's not enough…" His eyes suddenly turned cold.

It was the look he gave before he went on a rampage in the Regalis Continent.

"I hope that it won't come to that." Samira grabbed his arm and held him tightly.

Julie also hugged him from behind and buried her head on his back.

"Don't worry. You two should know what kind of person I am. Even if there's trouble, I will always find a way to deal with it." Aethelwolf was already contented with their life in Northern Trance. He even thought about staying here for good.

After pacifying his wives, Aethelwolf went to his study and summoned William. He was secretly nurturing this man to become his closest aide. After a week of eating his pills and undergoing strict cultivation, William has already entered the Core Formation realm.

"My lord!" William greeted reverently. He had experienced Aethelwolf's training methods. It was unheard of. If someone learned about the speed of his improvement, they would think that he was using demonic techniques.

"Tomorrow, the five noble families will gather an army to support Warmridge in dealing with their crisis. I want you to join them." Aethelwolf muttered with a serious look.

Hearing this, William knew that this would determine his future role in the Golden Lake Manor. Whether he would remain as an ordinary butler or become someone that Aethelwolf could trust would depend on the outcome of this task.

"I want you to give me regular reports about their situation."