“What’s going on?”
Nightingale stared at Blackmoon Castle not far away; she looked a little lost.
She rubbed her eyes and realized that she was not wrong. Hundreds of thousands of magical beasts did carry something on their back, and there was a refugee in ragged clothes among every few magical beasts. She estimated that there were more than 10,000 refugees.
Those magical beasts did not eat those people. Instead, they protected them. It was a miracle.
At the Blackmoon Town entrance, a few Blackmoon Knights controlled a rock wall to move it. The wall was transformed from a Giant Lava Golem.
The Blackmoon Knights made a few announcements.
“Anyone who encounters a disaster during the winter or whose life is threatened by magical beasts can come to Blackmoon Town.”
“Blackmoon Town accepts all refugees and has prepared a free residence and food for all of you.”
“Thank You, Sirs!” A middle-aged man on the bridge bowed to the Blackmoon Knights.
An old woman with gray hair and dressed in patched clothes stood behind him. She shed tears of excitement and lowered her head repeatedly. “Thank you so much. A place to live and some food is enough for us. You are too generous.”
“The generous one is Blackmoon Town’s owner, Young Master Watson. If you wish to thank someone, you can thank him,” one of the Blackmoon Knights responded humbly.
The refugees got more excited when they heard those words.
“Praise Blackmoon Castle!”
“Praise Master Watson!”
Then, they walked into the town.
“Why are there so many magical beasts and refugees outside Blackmoon Castle?”
It was not only Nightingale, but the astrologer was also confused.
“Lord Astrologer, didn’t you say that we should protect our family and friends before saving others? Why do I feel like Watson is doing the opposite? Perhaps—”
“Well, there is no problem with my teaching. You have only seen the surface of things! Maybe Watson is saving those refugees to claim their property. In short, Watson is a brilliant child. He is not a person who will make a loss.”
Then, the astrologer’s team arrived at the outskirts of Blackmoon Town.
“Good heavens, these are walls made up of Giant Lava Golems. There must be at least hundreds of them. Even a silver-tier elite would think twice about attacking the wall! Well, Watson did build a building that can float in the sky. I don’t even dare to have such a bold idea. What a grand gesture!”
As the astrologer sighed, a huge shadow streaked across his head and left a deep black mark on the ground. He looked up.
It was not only the astrologer, but the Shadow Guards from Fairy Castle also got out of the carriages, one after another. They divided the essential materials into boxes and took them down. Nightingale was the last to get out of the carriage. She stared at the entirely different Blackmoon Town; her mouth was slightly ajar.
When she left, Blackmoon Castle was only an ordinary castle that covered several kilometers in radius. It looked like the castle had become a town, but it was not a typical town at all.
As she observed the situation, she heard a beast roar from the direction of the town.
A 100-meter long gigantic dragon covered in platinum scales soared toward the sky. Its wings stirred up a storm as its cold vertical eyes looked downward at the earth. A smaller magical beast was beside it. Its body was ablaze, and its feathers were colored like a Phoenix. It danced in the air.
The other magical beasts that were used as transport trembled when they saw the two new magical beasts. They moved even faster. The refugees who had just arrived in town also looked up toward the sky. They were speechless.
They had never seen such a powerful magical beast in their entire lives, let alone the winter. Fortunately, those two magical beasts were raised by Blackmoon Castle.
“Nightingale, is that the same Blackmoon Castle that you have been longing for? It is unique, indeed.”
“The border count sent us here to cast magic on the castle and let it float in the sky, and it looks like it is not in vain. Even the border count does not dare to do that! But it’s a good idea. There are too few flying-elemental magical beasts in the entire Misty Forest. Once we move the castle into the sky, we won’t be afraid of most magical beasts’ attacks. We’ll have to report that to the border count when we get back.”
A group of men, who were also the Shadow Guards, followed Nightingale and looked around the town. They nodded from time to time and exclaimed like country bumpkins. Nightingale did not feel embarrassed because she was the same when she was there for the first time.
The astrologer rode a giant rock golem, which was particularly eye-catching when they arrived at the outskirts of Blackmoon Town. The Blackmoon Knights also noticed them. The Blackmoon Knights leader touched his right hand and turned into a bolt of lightning, and he immediately appeared 100 meters away from the astrologer. “I am Gorman. Welcome home, Lord Astrologer.”
The Blackmoon Knight knelt on one knee. His smooth purple hair was wrapped with electric light; the Shadow Guards, the astrologer, and even Nightingale narrowed their eyes when they saw it. They all thought that the man had moved too quickly.
“Can you teleport 500 meters at one time?” Nightingale asked the people around her in a low voice. Her companions shook their heads to show that they could not. Nightingale pursed her lips. She could not do it either. The last guard who came to Blackmoon Castle was only a silver-tier elite. She did not expect to see a gold-tier guard; they were the same level as her.
Of course, Nightingale was ashamed of her inferior speed. If it were a face-to-face fight, she was confident that she could defeat Gorman.
“Gorman, it seems that you have completely understood the law of lightning. Your talent is outstanding! Right now, you can use a gold-tier mage card to unleash your combat aura comparable to the peak of a gold-tier elite. Your strength is among the best amongst the Blackmoon Knights.”
The astrologer stroked his beard; he looked relieved. That guard would not have achieved that without his guidance.
Nightingale and the others also heaved a sigh of relief when they heard that. Gorman was the best amongst the Blackmoon Knights.; no wonder he had such strength.
However…
“No, it’s because of your teaching, Lord Astrologer,” Gorman replied humbly. “And I am only ranked middle amongst the Blackmoon Knights. Several other people are more powerful than me.”
Really?
Nightingale and the Shadow Guards looked at each other in dismay. They saw the disbelief in each other’s eyes as if they were verifying Gorman’s words. Two figures flew from the Blackmoon Town entrance. Well, to be precise, they were two streaks of light.
One looked like a green storm that blew the snowflakes into chaos. The other was a meandering river that passed through the snowflakes and left a path made of ice in the air.
The two streaks of light only revealed themselves when they were close. They were Liszt and Allen. They cupped their fists toward the astrologer at the same time. “Greetings, Lord Astrologer.”
After they achieved the gold tier, the two men’s behavior had changed. They were less sharp and more mysterious.
“Elemental body? You guys have grasped the basics of the elemental body?” The astrologer looked at the two of them. He stopped stroking his beard; he almost pulled off a few strands of his beard.
The elemental body was an ability that warriors could master after they entered the platinum tier. Compared to combat aura wings and teleportation, the elemental body was a much more powerful skill. Its effect was to turn part of their bodies into elements so that they could penetrate tangible objects. Thus, the effect was similar to magic, and it was more direct than magic. Only some gold-tier warriors with outstanding talent had the chance to use elemental bodies at that level.
They realized that Liszt and Allen would be able to reach the platinum tier if they had enough time. The astrologer could no longer treat them as mere guards but as future elites.
“Lord Astrologer, Young Master Watson has been waiting for you. Please follow me!” Liszt made a gesture of invitation and turned to look at Nightingale with an elegant expression. “And Miss Nightingale, it’s been a long time. Please follow me too.”
“Okay.”
Nightingale nodded in response to Liszt’s invitation. She felt a little troubled. She knew about the elemental body even though she had yet to master it. It seemed like Liszt and Allen had already surpassed her in terms of strength; she did not know what medicine Watson had given them to increase their strength so quickly.
If she had known earlier, she would have stayed in Blackmoon Castle for a longer period. If she could upgrade her silver-tier medicine to gold-tier, perhaps she could break through to platinum-tier?
As she muttered in her heart, Nightingale suddenly smelled a fragrance. She looked up and saw a new group of refugees had arrived in Blackmoon Town. They sat opposite each other around a few large pots. Something was cooking in the pots, there were pieces of meat that looked like magical beast meat, and there was a ginseng-like side dish next to it. The fragrance assailed her nostrils.
Watson stood in front of the large pot and explained what he had made to the refugees in detail.
“The meat in this pot is silver-tier hybrid ice field wolf meat. It can help you to resist the cold and strengthen your body. The ginseng is also silver-tier. After you eat them, I will take you to rest. The houses are all giant rock golems that I summoned. All of that is free! Of course, if you are not used to living here, then you can choose to leave. For those who choose to leave, I will give them a set of silver-tier armor. It is also free.”
Watson’s voice was not loud, but it resounded throughout the entire place.
All the refugees looked excited; no one chose to leave. Instead, they thanked Watson. Some of them were so moved by Watson’s offering that they kowtowed to the young boy.
“They will get a set of silver-tier armor and equipment if they leave? Is Watson crazy?” The astrologer widened his eyes and looked at the large boxes that the Shadow Guards carried with them.
He had brought more than a thousand silver-tier armor for Watson. He had wanted that to be a surprise for him. However, when Watson asked for tens of thousands of pieces of equipment, was he not afraid that those refugees would choose to leave?
Even if they did not leave, the refugees were eating too well—silver-tier magical beast meat mixed with medicinal herbs. The astrologer also saw a few maids giving the refugees some delicately packaged red wine. The meal must have cost at least a few thousand gold coins. The astrologer thought that those tens of thousands of refugees ate better than he did in Fairy Castle for the past few days.
He felt that life was a little unfair. Then, he heard Nightingale’s faint voice. “Lord Astrologer, the situation is different from what you expected, indeed. Watson has to protect his family and also everyone else in sight.”
No one in that world could save everyone; that was the truth or, at least, the astrologer’s truth. However, many of them still did it even though they knew it was impossible. Nightingale thought those people should be called heroes; she looked at Watson with a gentle gaze. She admired and envied them.
Watson had given such good food to the refugees. One could only imagine the great food that the guards would have in their residences. No wonder the guards had managed to advance by leaps and bounds as if they were on steroids.
Nightingale bit her lips in envy. It seemed that the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken eggs that Watson had given her were not the best item there. She decided to stay in Blackmoon Castle for a while to see if Watson had any other benefits for her. If she could not become a platinum-tier elite before the end of winter, she would stay there forever.