Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 293: Chapter 96 William’s Test, Hill Passed Again

Hill had never understood why, even if Helen introduced the Earl to Edward, there was nothing about him that should have caught Edward’s attention.

Count Pelast wasn’t a noble of military exploits. A noble grand knight like him was only useful for waving flags and cheering in the struggle for the throne; he was never meant to be taken seriously, yet he could directly enter Edward’s palace.

Edward was even willing to withstand the pressure from the Kral Clan for his sake.

Edward himself only had a slight advantage by virtue of being the eldest son, and he would never casually discuss Manton’s right of inheritance.

However, he was absolutely willing to speak up for the lover of the Cardinal.

Hill touched his face, the Countess, who would have been in the Cardinal’s sight, probably during her first year after marrying into the Pelast Family. At the Royal Palace’s New Year’s banquet, the Earl had to introduce his new wife to the public.

This was a tradition among great nobility; before the banquet officially started, they would get acquainted with the girls who just entered the social scene that year and the ladies who had just married into the families.

For many great nobility girls, if they had nothing remarkable about them, then these two opportunities would be the highest honors they could achieve in their lifetime.

The lady of minor nobility, she would only have this one glorious appearance.

Unexpectedly, just this once, she caught someone’s eye.

Count Pelast probably thought he had made a good deal, only, he thought Edgar was his child, but he didn’t realize the Bishop didn’t even leave him that much face.

Otherwise, by all logic, no matter how many lovers she had, the lady should have ensured that her first child was her husband’s.

So Edgar grew older and less and less like the Saral nobles, that’s when he began to have doubts?

Why did Edgar’s hair start to darken slowly only while in exile?

Hill remembered Edgar’s bright golden hair from his childhood.

Then thinking of those brown and red-haired Cardinals from the Noble Church he had seen in Kexlote.

He sighed deeply.

No matter if the Countess had been prepared all along, or if Edgar was just fortunate, Hill saw no problem in it.

But it indeed served the Earl right to meet his current downfall.

If that’s the case, the Countess is fully entitled to seek revenge on the Earl.

Now, Hill could understand why she was so adamant about abandoning the Earl back then.

Luckily, Hill had helped Edgar back in the day; otherwise, if something had happened to the child, he would have felt regret knowing the truth.

Such a husband wasn’t worth trusting at all.

Moreover, the lady must not have thought that Edward’s brother-in-law cared so much about her; after all, she was just being used to deal with the Earl, but she never expected to encounter such unfortunate events.

In any case, she had already killed that man.

Both men had wronged her, and the World Will never deemed revenge as a mistake. So, the lady’s factional leaning wouldn’t be too severe.

In this world, most people are fundamentally neutral, with few leaning towards benevolence and a great number towards malevolence.

William was not one to kill without evidence; he still wanted the divinity of fairness and justice!

In all likelihood, the lady would eventually be released.

Even in the original world, she would just be guilty of incitement!

At most, they could only confiscate her street, but for someone backed by the Noble Church, what does that amount of money mean!

Hill scratched his head. The Earl brought this upon himself, and no matter the outcome, Hill decided not to get involved anymore.

He’ll tell Manton the truth when the time comes! As the heir, he should bear these matters.

Hill just has to be thick-skinned about it since nobody will bring it up to his face.

Hill stepped out onto the terrace, quietly admiring the beauty of his own valley.

That rascal William, actually probing Adrian, clearly hadn’t completely let go of his suspicions about Hill.

But what was he thinking, people from the modern era wouldn’t care about all these messy affairs, would they?

Perhaps William doesn’t surf the net for novels and comics? Doesn’t he look at those weird social apps?

Or does he think that if Hill really was a modern person, he wouldn’t tolerate such a disgraceful death for his biological father?

The mess of the nobility does follow certain rules, just that these rules aren’t part of the traditional morals of the previous world; conservative people indeed find them unacceptable.

Hill suddenly smiled. Did William keep a pure image of Hill because he saw how Hill avoided the advances of the Elf as if it was the plague?

Hill was just truly afraid of trouble and really didn’t care about the Earl as a father.

Well, that worked out; Adrian’s response was just right. William should now withdraw those strange observations.

Oftentimes, when Hill stood expressionless in the background, it wasn’t out of shyness, but genuine indifference.

As for Olivia, even Adrian, the elder of the family, didn’t intend to give her a hand, so Hill was even less inclined to be kind.

Hill now understood why Fran always said that children of noble families, without good teachers, could easily stray when learning to be a Mage.

This isn’t about gender; it’s about their nature.

What they saw from a young age fueled their strong desire for power, and once they achieved a little success, they yearned for more and greater power.

No matter how talented one is, without the right temperament, one cannot embark on the path of a Mage.

A suitable teacher would notice the shortcomings of a student and guide them onto the right path.

However, a Mage would not invest more in a student than necessary, and during the testing phase, many apprentices might be abandoned.

What Adrian said must be true, for before Melanie blindly married the Earl, Fran had already chosen him.

Hill could understand Fran’s choice quite well.

Both Adrian and Fran see the profession of Mage as their sole pursuit, which is why their paths have been so steady.

Even individuals like The Legend of Carl and Miller’s Legend were once very determined people.

Even now, all their strife is simply in pursuit of their own future paths.

And not to stray from the right path in a scramble for resources.

Those who become Mages are actually very intelligent. They understand that their choices could be wrong, but they’ve chosen what they perceive as a shortcut in their eyes.

Talent is fundamental to a Mage, but the distance one can travel always depends on willpower.

Like Olivia initially, before she had power, her qualities impressed both Hill and Adrian enough to give her the opportunity.

But possessing power without commensurate control and willpower made Olivia feel her future was surely not just being a small Priest in a village town, mocked by the Undead Tribe.

Hill’s indifferent attitude towards her departure, even offering his own Knights to her, did not make her appreciate Hill’s character; it only made her feel that the position of a Priest of the God of Time and Space was elevated.

The result of her unchecked expansion was a catastrophe, and even her family abandoned her.

Hill quietly reflected on his journey over the years; though there were minor errors, he indeed always stayed true to his own path, without deviation.

Whenever he saw such events, Hill would vigilantly inspect himself to ensure he didn’t stray from the right course.

Hill was actually quite interested in how William planned to deal with Edgar.

In the eyes of those with a bottom line, children always have privileges.

As long as Edgar doesn’t betray Saral of his own volition, William’s exploitation of him would have to be more covert.

Edgar is quite a clever boy, and Hill truly hoped he could remain stable. Moreover, if he could pass this test, he might have a chance to join William’s direct army.

That would be the place to establish military exploits.

Otherwise, as the son of a noble following Charles, even with a recommendation from Hill, Edgar could at best become the Guard Corps of some city, or at most the garrison commander of that city.

However, once William takes over, the Undead Tribe might start connecting some events back to Obastian.

Hill decided to have List pay closer attention to the conversations of the Undead Tribe.

Once they knew any news, they wouldn’t be able to help sharing the joy.

It’s a pity that the various live streams of the Undead Tribe on the big screen must go through William’s inspection, and Hill couldn’t see the forums of the Undead Tribe; otherwise, he would have been informed much sooner.

At that moment, Hill actually found himself missing Snow Cloud Peak.

Whenever he had nothing to do, he would join the fox in protecting the groups of Magical Beasts coming towards Hill Valley.

Hill knew that he had already established a Horned Horse Knight Corps and a Giant Elephant Knight Corps.

The Knight Corps of the Undead Tribe are usually thousand-man corps.

And these were his own family’s corps.

Aside from Black Rose, who recklessly established the Wild Boar Knight Corps, other families relied on various Magic Beast Horses to form their Knight Corps.

The elephant herds love to stick together, which is why they prefer to sign contracts with the families of Snow Cloud Peak.

Other professions tacitly sought other Magical Beasts to form contracts with, without competing with the Knights.

But now that William has issued the mission to watch over Edgar, given Snow Cloud Peak’s nature, he’s probably staking out near Kexlote.

A distinctive feature of the Undead Tribe is that tasks may not be completed perfectly, but mischief is easily done.

If Old Dog doesn’t arrange to have people guard day and night, and isn’t nearby to intervene, it’s only a matter of time before a mishap involving one of their own occurs.

After all, whims and fancies, playful mischief, that’s the daily life of the Undead Tribe.

Thorough planning and cautious care turn into a mere joke of ”heh, how interesting” in such behavior.

So, Hill has always admired commanders like those of Snow Cloud Peak.

Managing such a carefree Undead Tribe, no matter how many issues arise during the process, the final outcome is still perfect—it’s remarkable how much brainpower must be exhausted.

But for now, Hill just hoped the Undead Tribe that came this way would be more gossip-prone, letting List deduce the general plot.

Perhaps Hill’s wishful thinking was a bit much, which is why there had been no good news from the Undead Tribe in recent days.

Until the Old Age Striking King arrived at the valley with a group.

Seeing them enter the forest together, Hill almost instantly arrived at the small square by the fountain to sit and wait to overhear their conversation.

After all, this matter was inseparable from Hill, and the Undead Tribe would likely be unable to resist the urge to discuss upon seeing him.