Chapter 562: Howling City

Old Benson had curly brown hair, bright blue eyes, and slight wrinkles on his forehead. His face bore a shrewd expression.

Originally, he was just a tenant farmer on a knight’s estate, but from childhood he enjoyed thinking deeply. This yearning for an unfamiliar world meant that while other mischievous boys peeked at the steward’s daughter bathing, he instead spent his time studying.

By the age of eighteen, he could already read a short letter fluently, which was indeed something to be proud of.

Old Benson’s parents originally thought he would become a squire or clerk for the knight, thus bringing honor to the family, but on Benson’s eighteenth birthday, he directly approached the knight and pledged himself in exchange for the right to exploit a small forested area to the east.

“I only need one year to repay you with twenty golden Dalongs. Otherwise, brand me as a slave!”

That was what he said at the time, causing everyone to think Benson had gone mad.

But later events proved them all wrong!

The risk-taking Old Benson began cutting down trees in the forest, hired carpenters to make various exquisite pieces of furniture, and then sold them extensively in Kayan City.

This brought him a profit of two hundred silver Talers. Soon after, he used this money to hire a team of miners to prospect the forest, eventually discovering a small iron mine.

One year later, he handed one hundred golden Dalongs to the knight, obtaining the subsequent mining rights.

With this initial fortune and subsequent tributes, Old Benson quickly rose out of poverty and shed his status as a tenant farmer. He became a freeman, married the steward’s daughter, and opened a small trading business.

Nowadays, “Benson’s Black Rose” grocery store is not only famous in Kayan City but has also extended its trade routes all the way to Howling Castle, the center of the Windfly Plains!

This is the thing Old Benson is most proud of in his entire life.

“Make the boys hurry up—we need to reach Howling Castle before sunset!”

Looking at the slowly moving caravan, he slightly frowned and shouted loudly, “At the inn, there’s steaming meat soup, large chunks of oat bread, and soft women… or would you rather spend another night in the wilderness?”

The power of food and women is infinite; the speed of the caravan suddenly quickened.

Seeing this scene, Old Benson sighed helplessly.

In fact, the security near Howling Castle used to be quite good. Due to the powerful military might of Earl Lanshan and the region’s central status, the city guard frequently patrolled, clearing out bandits and large groups of wild beasts on the plains.

At that time, Earl Lanshan could proudly declare that every inch of land under his rule was extremely safe.

But now, the situation has changed!

The military defeat not only cost Earl Lanshan a daughter and a large ransom but also hundreds of brave young men.

The city guard’s main force became suddenly insufficient. Coupled with the sudden rise of Viscount Garcia, Howling Castle is now at its weakest point in history.

Nowadays, people on the plains must not only be wary of wandering wild beasts but also the unpredictable horse bandits!

Old Benson thought about this, estimating the combat capability of his small caravan, and sadly shook his head, realizing he had no ability to resist risks on his own.

Thinking of this, his gaze involuntarily turned to the end of the caravan.

There, a young man with brown hair and a very handsome appearance was riding a black horse, curiously looking around.

He was a freeman Old Benson met on the way, who introduced himself as William from Nia Town.

After receiving three silver Talers and verifying his identity, Old Benson happily agreed to his request to travel together.

Reality proved that his decision was not wrong.

This William was clean and bore none of the mannerisms of a commoner, instead resembling the nobles quite a bit, and also possessed a highly skilled sword technique.

One night, Old Benson personally witnessed him wielding his sword like a highly skilled dancer under the moonlight, taking the lives of one warg after another.

With that single act, he had at least saved Old Benson’s pocket from losing ten golden Dalongs.

Therefore, Old Benson immediately returned the travel fee in full and eagerly engaged William in conversation.

Later, Old Benson was surprised to discover that although William was highly skilled, he seemed genuinely to have never left the Windfly Plains, filled with curiosity about everything outside.

Unfortunately, Old Benson’s own knowledge wasn’t much better than William’s. When he had exhausted his last bit of information, William resumed his lazy demeanor and continued following behind the wagons.

The caravan slowly advanced and finally reached Howling City at dusk.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the city walls, towering thirty feet high, stood majestically, presenting a dark bluish color. Moss filled the crevices and dark corners, giving an illusion of historical vicissitudes.

“Mr. Benson, let’s part ways here!”

As the caravan waited for inspection at the city gate, Wu Ming came to bid farewell to Old Benson.

“Oh, that’s truly a pity…”

Old Benson spread his hands helplessly: “William, what are your plans next?”

“I plan to live in Howling Castle for a while, and also… the tournament! I want to give it a try!”

Wu Ming truthfully stated his intentions, having had this plan since he first heard about the event.

“With your martial skills, even if you can’t win the championship, you will surely catch the attention of those knights and noble lords…” Old Benson said, “Perhaps they will take you as their squire!”

“Perhaps…” Wu Ming waved his hand, turned around and left, a slight smile on his lips.

If all he wanted was to become a knight’s squire, why would he come here?

…

Inside Howling Castle, the streets were bustling with people. Mercenaries, adventurers, and wandering knights were clearly more numerous, creating a noisy atmosphere. Especially in taverns and inns, loud quarrels and fights became the norm, making Wu Ming realize that Old Benson’s information was indeed accurate.

“Ancient agricultural production was extremely important, and before the spring plowing began, there were similar celebration activities…”

“And in Howling Castle, the highlight is the tournament hosted by Earl Lanshan! Previously, it was limited to participation by warriors and knights representing various nobles, with the final champion receiving honor and prize money… but this time there will be changes. The standards will be relaxed, the rewards will be more substantial, and there are even rumors that the winner will receive unimaginable promotion, thus attracting a large number of speculators to come…”

Wu Ming understood Earl Lanshan’s intentions.

After the previous military defeat, with heavy losses of soldiers and generals, there was a need to replenish military strength now.

This tournament would serve as a kind of selection process, inevitably producing a large number of promising knights and warrior candidates.

Without absorbing these talents, how could he raise troops to counter Viscount Garcia’s pressure?

Wu Ming immediately sensed the scent of opportunity.

Of course, he was not the only one who saw this opportunity. The flood of mercenaries and adventurers almost overwhelmed Howling Castle.

In the end, Wu Ming had to pay a high price of one silver Taler per day to finally rent a room in a remote inn.

He had dinner in the inn’s hall, the main course being onion meat soup and a few slices of bread. The innkeeper’s cooking skills were clearly inferior to Auntie Roa’s, making Wu Ming slightly disappointed.

The hall was filled with the coarse smell of alcohol. In a corner, a bard was loudly singing beautiful fairy tales and poems.

Of course, there were also drunkards and streetwalkers.

The atmosphere was noisy and chaotic, and a fight would break out at the slightest disagreement. However, the troublemakers had to pay for the damaged furniture, or they would be unceremoniously thrown onto the street by the innkeeper and reported to the city guards.

Those who violated the rules of Howling Castle would at best be expelled, but there were also measures such as whipping and forced labor waiting for them.

“There’s still some time before the tournament…”

Wu Ming slowly drank his soup while silently thinking: “This time can be fully utilized… the church and books!”

These two things were luxuries in Nia Town.

Even in the knight class, there were quite a few illiterates. According to Wu Ming’s knowledge, perhaps only Baron Terry in Nia Town had a small study, but obviously, he would not open it to Wu Ming.

Of course, there was no public library in Howling Castle, but many scholars gathered here, and Wu Ming planned to visit them one by one, hoping that golden Dalongs could open their doors.

As for the church, even more so.

In novels or even history from his past life, wasn’t every medieval church a powerful entity?

Wu Ming was also filled with curiosity about how the churches functioned in this world.

“Gabriel! You fat pig, you dare to dream of participating in the tournament?”

Amidst a burst of laughter, two mercenaries, their faces flushed red, began the most common performance of brawling. The surrounding drinkers quickly cleared a space, raising their wine cups and cheering loudly.

Finally, the heavier mercenary had his nose smashed by a fierce punch and lay on the ground like a dead dog.

The victorious mercenary unhesitatingly stripped off his leather armor and took his money pouch.

At that moment, Wu Ming’s hand shot down like lightning.

Crack!

The sound of breaking bones rang out. Beside him, a man with narrow eyes flinched back his right hand as if bitten by a venomous snake, his eyes filled with malice.

“Pickpocket?”

Wu Ming coldly said: “Don’t let me see you again, or I will follow the common law and cut off one of your fingers!”

Puh!

While speaking, he directly picked up the bread-cutting knife and stabbed it into the oak table.

The knife was buried up to the hilt. This terrifying strength immediately turned the pickpocket’s malice into terror: “Please forgive me, sir! I promise this will never happen again!”

Bowing his body, he quickly retreated into the shadows.