Imperial Throne

Chapter 14: Withered Wood Forest

Within the sword, Robin listened as Burton explained the intricacies of bloodlines with just a few words, making everything clear. Naturally, he could discern that Burton hailed from an extraordinarily noble background.

After hearing Burton's words, Robin gained a deeper understanding of bloodlines.

Especially the statement, "Bloodline advancement is essentially a continuous optimization of one's own bloodline," which enlightened him greatly.

First and second-tier bloodlines were not distinguished by nobility; at most, they differed in strength, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

The first awakening of a bloodline carried only the risk of success or failure, without the danger of death.

Therefore, unless one had the protection of a bloodline or harbored ulterior motives, no one would choose a first-tier bloodline as the foundation for their initial awakening.

After all, breaking through from the first to the second tier meant facing the first life-and-death trial.

Success meant survival, and with good luck, the bloodline ability might even mutate.

But failure meant death.

Choosing a second-tier bloodline as the foundation for the first awakening could avoid facing the life-and-death trial too early. However, as Burton had clearly stated, second-tier bloodlines only slightly enhanced physical qualities, and the improvement was far less than that achieved by using a first-tier bloodline as the foundation.

In essence, this was the difference between practical and theoretical approaches.

Robin speculated that the logic for the fourth and fifth tiers was likely similar to that of the first and second tiers.

True qualitative changes probably occurred at the third and sixth tiers.

The third tier was known as the Lord Tier and was the current standard for bloodline nobles to obtain the title of Baron.

Only those at the third tier were eligible to be granted a fief and become a lord.

Even if one reached the first or second tier, the most they could become was a Bloodline Knight, serving as a vassal loyal to others.

The sixth tier was called the Bloodline Tier, meaning one would gain the corresponding bloodline symbol ability.

Not only would one's own strength increase significantly, but it would also be easier for descendants to awaken the same bloodline.

Robin also keenly realized that advancement to the Bloodline Tier resembled a form of consolidation: selecting the most suitable path from the myriad complex bloodlines to define the direction of advancement, thereby forming a fixed route.

Although this approach could reduce the risk of death for descendants during bloodline advancement, it also created vulnerabilities. If the bloodline ability was deciphered, it would be easy to target.

Robin did not believe that, in a world with so many bloodlines and abilities, there would be no mutual restraints.

However, he had to admire the brilliance of this strategy: to low-tier bloodline users, high-tier ones were no different from ordinary people without bloodline abilities.

Therefore, even if everyone saw the trap of the sixth-tier Bloodline Tier, they still had to forge ahead, paving a stable path for themselves, their families, and their descendants.

This was the essence of the bloodline nobility.

...

Although Akar was intelligent, his knowledge was limited, so he naturally could not think that far ahead. He only instinctively felt that Burton had much more to say.

But he did not care about that.

At this moment, he had only one thought: to create a bloodline belonging to their family!

So, in the following time, he made many efforts to curry favor with Burton.

Burton, impressed by Akar's cleverness and quick thinking, saw great potential in him and had already considered taking him in as a vassal.

As for the Forager that Hughes mentioned at the beginning, Burton did not believe it at all.

Someone who did not even know such basic knowledge about bloodline users could not possibly be a Forager.

Therefore, Burton regarded Hughes's previous statements as nothing more than an excuse and a tactic by the Baron of the Gem Territory to seize the Red River Territory.

However, he did not intend to recruit Akar at this moment.

He planned to wait until Hughes made a move against the father and son, then intervene to save them. This way, he could earn their gratitude and ensure their loyalty.

To avoid making his favor seem too deliberate, he deliberately cooperated with Akar's attempts to please him, making their relationship appear as close as long-lost brothers.

Hughes, who observed all this secretly, wanted to kill Ion to avenge his comrade, but he knew that hope was slim.

Ion and his son were unaware of Burton's background, but as a vassal knight under the Baron of the Gem Territory, Hughes could not be ignorant.

Burton Kasein.

The eldest grandson of Marquis Visen Kasein, now only twenty-two years old, was already preparing for advancement to the third-tier bloodline.

Although much of the credit belonged to the Kasein family's bloodline, in the bloodline-centric world where results mattered more than process, Burton Kasein was undoubtedly the Kasein family's rising star, the first in line to inherit the marquisate, and the future heir apparent.

Therefore, not only Hughes but even the Baron of the Gem Territory dared not offend this young master.

Hughes was certain that this young master Burton intended to use him as a pawn to gain favor.

So, for the rest of the journey, he did his best to minimize his presence.

As long as Burton didn’t question him, he remained silent. Ironically, this only made Burton feel more irritable and increasingly dissatisfied with Hughes.

After all, if Hughes no longer showed hostility towards Ion and his son, how was Burton supposed to step in and offer his favor?

Seventeen people in total, each harboring their own thoughts, proceeded cautiously through the Withered Wood Forest.

It wasn’t until nightfall that they finally had a brief moment to rest. Yet, due to the forest’s danger, no one dared to light a fire, fearing they might attract a horde of magical beasts.

“Lord Burton, you were looking for me?”

Burton glanced at the group already lying down asleep. Once he confirmed everyone’s breathing was steady and normal, he finally spoke slowly, “I noticed you’re no longer hostile towards Ion and his son.”

Hughes was momentarily stunned, not understanding what this young master from a marquis family meant. Still, after a brief hesitation, he braced himself and replied, “Yes.”

“I remember you said before that Ion was a Forager, didn’t you?”

Hughes raised his head, looking at Burton in surprise.

Even though he wasn’t privy to many secret bloodline rumors, he knew one thing for sure: novices like Ion and his son, who knew absolutely nothing, couldn’t possibly be Foragers.

But now that Burton had brought up the matter again, Hughes felt confused. However, his confusion didn’t prevent him from going along with Burton’s implied intentions.

“Yes, Ion is a Forager. He killed one of my companions.” Hughes sighed. “Unfortunately, his two children have no bloodline abilities. Their family left the Baron’s castle two years ago.”

Burton was well aware of the Baron of the Gem Territory’s greed.

Naturally, he understood that the poor Bloodline Knight’s family had not left willingly, they had been driven out.

But that wasn’t something he needed to say aloud.

“How pitiful,” Burton sighed lightly. “But since we don’t have any solid evidence proving that Mr. Ion is truly a Forager, I think perhaps you could give them a small warning. What do you think?”

A tinge of sorrow welled up in Hughes’s heart. He now knew for sure that his suspicion was correct, this young Lord Burton indeed intended to use him as a pawn in a goodwill gesture.

Yet he was also somewhat relieved. At least this was a trivial matter, and he wouldn’t lose his life because of it.

So Hughes nodded quickly. “Of course.”

Burton said no more and lay down silently. Understanding the signal, Hughes carefully withdrew.

As he passed Ion and his son, he cautiously observed them, ensuring they were indeed asleep. He also confirmed that no one had overheard his earlier conversation with Burton, which had been whispered in a very low voice.

Only then did he finally relax and begin thinking about how to cooperate with Burton to stage this performance.

The next morning came quickly. The group proceeded cautiously for another half-day and soon encountered the ruins of a settlement.

Judging by the scale, there had once been dozens of buildings here, but now everything was charred black.

Many structures were reduced to little more than partial foundations, making it impossible to tell what they once looked like.

One could only imagine the grandeur of this place based on the ruins’ vastness.

Watching from a distance, in just a short time, more than a dozen magical beasts darted past the front.

They were jet-black creatures with gray-white eyes, standing over forty centimeters tall at the shoulder, and resembling foxes.

Second-tier magical beasts, Ghost-Eyed Foxes.

Aside from Ion and his son, Burton and Hughes knew that the hearts and eyes of these beasts were the primary materials for the second-tier bloodlines [Ghost Fox]  and [Ghost-Eyed Hound]. Some third-tier bloodlines even required certain body parts from this beast as supplementary materials.

While not very powerful in direct combat, they were notoriously troublesome because they often moved in packs.

Especially when aligned with Lord-tier magical beasts, these creatures acted like deadly tracking hounds.

Their howls would summon hordes of other subordinate beasts to hunt their targets. Clearly, no one in the group had any desire to provoke the Ghost-Eyed Foxes.

“Where did you encounter the Armored Demon Rabbit?” Burton asked, a chill running down his spine.

The ruins of the Withered Wood Forest were larger than he had expected.

During the short time they had been hiding, they had already spotted more than one beast group in motion. And this didn’t even include the Fire-Eyed Serpent or the Armored Demon Rabbit.

Ion pointed to a section of ruins in the north and said softly, “I saw one over there before. …But last time I came, there weren’t so many magical beasts. Now there are two species I’ve never seen before.”

Following Ion’s direction, Burton focused his gaze for a while. Then he turned and asked Hughes in a low voice, “Do you have a way for us to avoid these beasts?”

Hughes observed carefully, his expression grim throughout. But in the end, he nodded. “We can try.”

He knew this young master Burton wouldn’t leave so easily.

Although the danger here was higher than anticipated, it still wasn’t beyond his capabilities.

This was precisely why the Baron of the Gem Territory had assigned him to accompany Burton: his expertise wasn’t just in tracking enemies through scent, but also in evading detection and pursuit, skills that also relied on scent.

A pale gray mist began to emanate from Hughes, gradually enveloping Burton, Ion, Akar, and the thirteen soldiers.

A slightly foul stench accompanied the fog, steadily invading everyone’s nostrils.

Ion, Akar, and the soldiers fared better, Ion had lived in a stable and storage barn for a month and was used to all kinds of foul odors, and the soldiers were trained to endure such discomfort.

Only Burton showed a distinctly disgusted, nauseated expression.

“Apologies, Lord Burton. Please bear with it a little longer,” Hughes said quietly.

“I must now alter our scent to match that of the Ghost-Eyed Foxes. Only then can we move through this magical beast lair.”

“I understand.” Burton nodded, forcing down his nausea.

In the next instant, Hughes exhaled deeply and took the lead. “Let’s go!”