Chapter 6  : The Eldest Son Returns

On a wide road not far from the farm Watson was at, six people wearing armor and holding longswords walked along the road. The leader had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a strong build. His looks were 70% similar to Watson’s, and the huge sword on his back was as thick as a door.

“Vincent, if you want to marry our daughter, you must prepare a betrothal gift! Lord Liszt said that it has to be a hundred gold coins. Any less and he would not allow you to enter.”

A sarcastic voice came from behind. The man who looked like Watson turned his head and noticed that the speaker was a middle-aged man with pointy ears, monkey cheeks, and a handlebar mustache. He squeezed out a smile with difficulty.

“Fret not, Captain Wesley. My ancestors were great nobles! Although my father left the family and is now only a poor baron, the family still has a piece of abandoned farmland. If we sell it along with some other miscellaneous things, we should be able to gather a hundred gold coins.”

“Seven days.”

“What?”

“I said I’ll only give you seven days. Our daughter is not only beautiful, but also well-educated. Those who want to marry her can line up from one farm to another! You’re just a small-time Iron-tier warrior. You’re the one who gets the glory if she marries someone like you. She can’t wait a few years for you to raise the money. If you can’t collect a hundred gold coins in seven days, you can forget about it.”

Wesley stretched out his finger and shook it. The sarcasm was clearly showing from his words.

One gold coin was enough for an ordinary family to live frugally for a year. A hundred was daylight robbery.

Vincent clenched his fists and sighed. “I know. I’ll do my best not to disappoint her.”

If Watson was here, he would definitely be surprised to see this man, because this man was Vincent Garry, Edward’s eldest son and Watson’s older brother.

Vincent was already a Iron-tier warrior at the age of 20, and was only one step away from becoming a Bronze-tier one. Due to his outstanding talent, he was valued by a big farmer named Liszt, who recruited him to be a guard. The people beside him were also farm guards, and Wesley was a captain. Like him, they were also warriors who had one foot in Bronze-tier.

As the eldest son, Vincent had left home from a young age in order to reduce the burden on his family. He had always been thinking about how to earn money.

The easiest way to become rich was to marry a rich woman.

It was not that Vincent did not want to work hard, but time waited for no man. There were still a bunch of younger brothers and sisters waiting for him to take care of them. If all of them relied on him to keep their feet on the ground, the whole family would starve to death sooner or later.

In that world, a man and a woman could get married if they reached the age of 16 and 14, respectively. The young lady he wanted to pursue was Liszt’s daughter. As a famous landlord in the neighborhood, Liszt was also a baron, but he was different from a down-and-out baron like Edward because Liszt was stinking rich. Aside from having hundreds of guards, he also had thousands of farmers.

Marriage was something that a man had to be responsible for. Even if he married a village girl, the other party’s parents might not agree if the betrothal gifts were not enough, and that was much truer for a rich daughter. He had been pursuing her for a long time before she was finally willing to marry him.

“I’ll just bear with these little losses before me in order to let my family live a better life.”

While Vincent was comforting himself, a dark cloud suddenly floated in the sky not far away, followed by a thunder-like sound. A fist-sized water ball fell from the sky. The wind in the sky rose and the clouds surged, while the ground was filled with mist. The whole scene took him by surprise.

“What’s going on?”

He had seen rain before, but he had never seen one of such magnitude. It did not seem like a natural phenomenon, but more like someone was casting a spell.

However, changing the weather was the symbol of a Bronze-tier mage. A mage of this level would usually enjoy a good life in a big city, so why would they appear in such a remote place? Moreover, looking at the area covered by the spell, it seemed to be his family’s unused wheat field.

“Not good!”

Feeling that something was not right, Vincent rushed over.

He knew that the only valuable thing in his family was a piece of farmland and a chicken farm. After years away from home, he had no idea how many hens were left there, and the wheat field was originally something he had planned to give to Wesley. What was he to use as a betrothal gift if the field was destroyed?

“Follow him.”

Wesley was initially shocked by the torrential rain in the distance and he frowned when he saw Vincent’s actions.

Although he did not know why Vincent was so agitated, he was a guard sent by the master. He could not let anything happen to Vincent, so he immediately waved his hand and led a few of his men forward.

…

Watson stood in the farmland, summoning the wind and rain. He breathed heavily and felt very comfortable.

The fist-sized water ball fell on his body and bounced off like jelly. It would not hurt him because he was the wielder of the magic. The water ball fell on the ground and cracked the dry yellow soil open. Sweet water flowed freely, turning the soil from yellow to black.

In just a few minutes, the yellow soil had become fertile black soil.

The weeds growing in the field were also growing rapidly. They grew from the height of a calf to the height of an adult, burying Watson. If it were wheat in the field instead of weeds, their height would be enough to feed his family for several years.

His original intention was to nourish the land and make it more convenient to grow things. However, the weeds were growing so well that it would be troublesome to weed them in the future.

“It’s almost done. If this continues, the weeds will not be able to be removed.”

Watson’s body swayed. He wiped the water off his face and felt the magic elements in his body being rapidly consumed. He stopped casting magic and the clouds in the sky immediately dissipated.

Magic was essentially a kind of energy. That energy was contained in the soul and could communicate with heaven and earth. When that energy was almost depleted, people would fall into weakness. Most mages would appear thin and weak because they could not replenish their energy throughout the year.

Watson had been eating the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken’s eggs for the past few days, and his body size was already comparable to that of a 13- or 14-year-old boy, yet it was still intolerable for him.

“Where did you come from, Mage? How dare you secretly cast a spell in this field? Don’t you know that this is my family’s property? Hurry up and come out, or I shan’t be blamed for sparing you no courtesy.”

Vincent panted as he ran. He pulled out the huge sword on his back and stood outside the field, shouting.

Having seen the sudden change earlier, he expected that the field would be a mess but was surprised to see it being filled with greenery instead. He was surprised and relieved at the same time, as long as the field was not damaged.

“Who are you? Why are you speaking so arrogantly?”

Hearing the unfamiliar voice outside, Watson opened up a path among the weeds with great difficulty and walked out.

This was clearly the property of the Garry family. If the eighth child had not said anything yet, what right did the other party have to lambast him?

As soon as he walked out of the field and saw the man standing outside, both Watson and the other person were similarly stunned.

“Big Brother?”

“Eighth Brother! It’s you!”

Vincent’s mouth was wide open and he did not know what to say. He had never thought that the person suspected to be a Bronze-tier mage was actually his eighth brother. Watson ought to have no magic talent.

“Vincent, what’s wrong? Is this child a member of your family? How lucky of him to become a mage at such a young age.” At that moment, Wesley had also rushed over with a few guards. He could not hide the envy in his eyes as he looked at Watson.

He had just arrived when he heard Vincent address the child opposite him as ‘Eighth Brother’. Everyone knew that a mage was equivalent to ten warriors of the same tier. Even the farm where Wesley was stationed at did not have any powerful mages guarding it. The future achievements of a boy who possessed such strength at such a young age was limitless. Wesley initially showed little concern about Vincent marrying the young lady, but he was beginning to feel uneasy.

“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go.”

Vincent suppressed the shock in his heart as much as possible, then reached forward and grabbed Watson before heading home.

Half an hour later.

Catherine placed a plate of boiled eggs on the dining table. There were more than ten colorful eggs emitting a light fragrance.

Edward, who was sitting next to her, had a smile on his face. “You’ve been away from home for a few years now, Vincent. Why did you suddenly come back? It’s good that you’re here. These eggs were freshly laid by our Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken. They’re still fresh. Quick, try them.”

“I didn’t hear wrongly, did I? Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken?”

“I’ve heard Master mention this kind of chicken before. It’s usually a tribute for great nobles! Even Master never have the fortune to eat these eggs. Do we really have the right to eat them?”

Wesley and the other guards sat around the dining table. They stared at the eggs in front and did not even dare to lay a finger on them. They originally thought that Vincent was just a poor boy and never expected his home to own a hen that laid ‘golden eggs’. What was the reason for such a rich person to marry into another rich family?

The eggs of the Pentacolor Fragrant Chicken?

Vincent was also at a loss. He was well aware of what his family was worth and would not have gone out to work otherwise. Were they still the same poor family that could not open the pot and had to eat a piece of meat for an entire week? Was anyone able to tell him what had happened in the past few years when he was away?