A Sword Cultivator Has Arrived in the Lord’s City

Chapter 20: Setting Out

There was no distinction between day and night within the Underground Palace.

Outside Dusk Forest, the stars and moon had turned in the sky, and before anyone realized it, three days had already passed.

Jiang Lin had also cultivated within the Underground Palace for three days.

The Mana-Gathering Array had consumed half of the Magic Crystals as well. At this point, Jiang Lin only had a little more than fifty Magic Crystals left.

“Although the Mana-Gathering Array is better than simply absorbing Magic Crystals directly, the Spiritual Energy within mana is still a bit too scarce. After so many days, I have only barely reached the strength of the middle Foundation Establishment Realm.”

Jiang Lin exhaled a turbid breath. This was not like the time when he had first begun cultivating in the past. He was merely recovering, not cultivating from scratch.

To go from the initial stage to the middle stage in three days already felt unbearably slow to him.

Still, it was better than nothing. Being able to find a way to recover his strength was already good enough.

“You are awake...”

Trelis’s voice drifted over, carrying a faint sigh.

He had never seen anyone who could go three whole days without eating or drinking.

To him, it was simply inconceivable.

“Yes, I am awake.”

Jiang Lin rose to his feet, the brilliance in his eyes now restrained, and raised a hand to call back the longsword.

With a humming cry, the sword flew back into his hand.

Trelis, at the side, watched in astonishment, though by now he was much calmer than before.

As for Jiang Lin’s strange methods, he simply attributed them to the fact that Jiang Lin’s power did not belong to this world.

“I am going out to take a look. You can stay here and guard my abode for me.”

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Lin plunged the longsword back into the ground, then walked toward the upper levels of the Underground Palace.

Outside the Underground Palace, it was daytime now. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves overhead, making the whole of Dusk Forest noticeably brighter.

The corpses of Knight Kline and the other three were already gone, most likely dragged away and eaten by the Magical Beasts within the forest.

After roughly identifying his direction, Jiang Lin’s Divine Sense spread out ahead of him first, and he himself dashed rapidly northward.

He had been away from town for quite some time now. It was about time he went back to take a look.

He wanted to see what the situation in town was like now.

With his Divine Sense clearing the way, he did not run into any Magical Beasts along the road. Very quickly, Jiang Lin left Dusk Forest behind.

Looking up at the azure sky, he found himself in an excellent mood.

Then he headed toward Wheatfield Town in the distance ahead.

The town had not changed much. It was still the same town as before.

It was just that the townspeople were clearly much more cautious now.

Perhaps because of the deaths in the mayor’s family, there were now more townspeople patrolling outside the town.

Most of them carried Woodcutter’s Knives from their own homes and patrolled around the town in groups of two or three.

When Jiang Lin saw them, he kept his distance and avoided them from afar, attracting no one’s attention.

Only after entering the town did he gradually slow his pace, his expression returning to normal as he walked toward the Golden Traveler Tavern.

Along the way, quite a few townspeople saw him as well.

But none of them said anything. Compared to Jiang Lin, this “Demi-human,” they were far more concerned about what had happened to Knight Kline and his group.

“It has already been three days. Why have the knight sirs still not returned...”

Some of the townspeople had gathered together and were whispering among themselves.

“Could something have happened to them?”

“Do not talk nonsense. Those are knight sirs. How could anything happen to them?”

“That is hard to say. I heard the monsters in Dusk Forest are quite ferocious.”

The murmurs went on and on, worry or calmness showing on the townspeople’s faces.

Some had even started making up stories.

“I heard that Beastman Tribes live to the south of Dusk Forest. Could they have run into those savage Beastmen?”

Jiang Lin glanced over and found that the speaker was one of the tavern’s regular customers. He understood immediately.

He did not bother listening any further and simply pushed open the tavern door.

The tavern was deserted during the day. A thin layer of dust had already settled on the tables and chairs, clearly showing that Martie had not opened for business during the past three days.

“Miss Martie, I am back.”

Jiang Lin called out calmly and waited in silence. After a while, hurried footsteps sounded from upstairs.

Martie hurried down, her face still a little haggard. When she saw Jiang Lin, she smiled.

“I thought you had left on your own. I did not expect to see you again.”

“I probably will not be leaving anytime soon.”

Jiang Lin nodded with a smile, turned to shut the tavern door, then walked over and sat down at the bar.

“Have you not opened the tavern at all these past few days, Miss Martie? You must have lost quite a bit of money.”

Martie looked as though she had just woken up. Lying behind the bar with little energy, she waved a hand listlessly.

“I have not been in the mood.”

“Then give me a mug of Golden Wheat Ale.”

Jiang Lin nodded, smiling as he took out a bag of money, set it on the counter, and pushed it over.

“After all, I should still support Miss Martie’s business.”

Martie’s eyes lit up at once. She grabbed the money pouch and weighed its heavy contents in her hand, and her face immediately bloomed like a flower.

With a cheerful clinking sound, among the Copper Coins mixed with a few Silver Coins, a pale-blue translucent Magic Crystal slipped out.

“Didn’t you already absorb it? Then where did this one come from? You cannot possibly really have...”

Martie stared at him with wide eyes, but by the end, her voice had dropped very low.

“Consider it compensation for you. Although it is not the same one, it should still be enough to keep as a memento.”

Jiang Lin answered without directly confirming anything.

“No, no, there is no need. This money is already more than enough. I am not a mage, and I do not need this.”

As she spoke, Martie pushed the Magic Crystal back toward him, then turned around and poured him a full mug of Golden Wheat Ale.

“You really do not want it?” Jiang Lin looked at her seriously.

“No.”

Martie shook her head just as seriously and gave the money pouch a little shake.

“Money suits me better, hehe.”

Jiang Lin did not insist any further. After taking a sip of Golden Wheat Ale, he asked,

“Has anything happened in town lately?”

“Everything is normal.”

After thinking for a moment, Martie looked at Jiang Lin with a strange expression.

“Still, I heard that Mrs. Heath has been quite anxious lately. You know, those knights and mercenaries still have not returned.

“Mrs. Heath was even thinking about sending servants into Dusk Forest to look for them.

“Of course, those servants definitely do not want to go.”

Jiang Lin nodded as he listened. Mrs. Heath would indeed be anxious, because Kline had been her only hope of returning to a noble way of life.

But that hope was gone now. That knight was already dead.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, “What about Gerson City? Have you heard anything from there?”

Martie thought about it as well before saying,

“I heard that the Gerson City Lord seems to have died. His son inherited the lord’s position not long ago, so he probably has not had time to pay attention to this place yet.

“But after a while, they should probably discover what happened here.”

“He died... How did he die?” Jiang Lin was momentarily stunned and asked almost by reflex.

“I killed him.”

Martie looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Jiang Lin could not help laughing. He realized that his question had been a bit too pointed.

After thinking for a moment, he drained the rest of his Golden Wheat Ale.

“What are your plans from here on, Miss Martie? Are you going to leave this place?”

“I do not know. I will wait until I feel a little better before deciding.”

Martie looked at the tavern hall and let out a sigh.

“After all, this is the place where I grew up. If I really leave, I will still be a little reluctant to part with it.”

“Mm. I am going to Gerson City. Is there anything you want me to bring back for you? I can help.”

Jiang Lin nodded and asked.

“You are not thinking of dealing with the lord too, are you?”

Martie widened her eyes again and spoke in surprise.

“That is a noble of the kingdom. Can you really go there alone?”

“I am not that foolish. I only want to go take a look at Gerson City.”

Jiang Lin replied flatly.

After all, ever since arriving in this world, he had only lived in Wheatfield Town. He had not visited Gerson City even once.

So he wanted to see what the cities of this world were actually like.

After closing the tavern door behind him, he looked up at the sky.

Jiang Lin put away the list Martie had made for him.

In this world, although there were horse-drawn carriages, travel was still far from convenient.

Even the spread of information was somewhat sluggish. Jiang Lin walked to the edge of the town.

This was the place where the people of the town went when they needed to travel to Gerson City to buy supplies.

If any townspeople wanted to go to Gerson City, they would also come here to take a carriage.

Of course, a trip was not made every single day.

When Jiang Lin arrived, some townspeople were already preparing to set out.

After paying twenty Copper Coins as fare, Jiang Lin climbed onto the open carriage.

Then it began rolling toward Gerson City.