Chapter 60: King of the Land Lions (part 1)

Draxel’s eyes were lifeless, as if his soul had departed his body. At this moment, he kept praying, hoping that Safiya and Lein within the room could overcome this crisis.

Half an hour later, Bela slowly opened the door of the room, herself covered in blood, and the room reeked of blood.

“Thank heavens, they’ve been saved!”

“Count, did you hear that? They’ve been saved, they’re saved!”

Hearing this, Draxel finally calmed down, overwhelmed with joy, and shed tears in front of everyone.

Amidst this chaos, another commotion arose outside the lord’s hall, and a familiar figure appeared before Draxel.

“Ronnie, what brings you here?”

Profit Empress Ronnie, looking at a puzzled Draxel, furiously said, “Why am I here? Surely, this is your doing! Did you, with the soldiers I lent you, provoke the lion king?”

“Yes… it’s true.”

“I really appreciate it. What were you thinking with your pig’s brain? Now, the lion king thinks my troops are your allies! These mercenaries from the tavern, with their similar gear, look quite alike. That lion king, without distinguishing friend from foe, caused a ruckus at my place!”

Draxel was extremely frustrated and worried. Just when he had managed to rescue Safiya and Rayen from death’s door, before he even had a chance to care for them, he now had to deal with this mess caused by the lion king.

“I sent them out for hunting and training, I didn’t expect to provoke the lion. So, tell me, how do we resolve this?”

“Before you sent them hunting, couldn’t you have checked the situation first? The wolves of the Khergit Khanate might be easy to bully, but this is the Kingdom of Swadia. The strength of those land lions is not on the same level as those wolves.”

“I understand, it’s my fault. Ronnie, just tell me how to fix this, and I’ll help make it right.”

Hearing this, Profit Empress Ronnie shook her head and placed her hands on her hips, saying helplessly, “Fix it together? Really now, you’re dragging me into this again? What do I owe you?”

Thus, Draxel began to reason and state the facts, saying, “I am a reasonable person. You said it yourself, they’re not on the same level. If I go alone, wouldn’t that just be feeding them? In that case, they’ll be even more energized to wreak havoc on your place.”

“Stop using the Valkyrie Tian Yan’s catchphrase, it’s annoying. What did I ever do in my past life to owe you this much? Fine, let’s solve it together. You’re coming with me now.”

“Where to?”

“I’ll take you. Let’s both become their meal, or let them become ours. I hope for the latter outcome.”

“Wow, you actually have moments of uncertainty!?” It was the first time Draxel saw Ronnie unsure of victory.

At this moment, the system came online.

[System Alert: You’ve stirred up more than a hornet’s nest. You can’t touch a tiger’s butt, and you can’t touch a lion’s either! Looks like you’re in for more bad than good, more bad than good.]

‘Shut your mouth, can you ascend to heaven? Can you help or not? If you can help, then help; if not, get lost. Seeing you just annoys me!’ Draxel cursed the system in his mind.

[System Alert: Oh, remember, I’m helping Ronnie, not you. Go rummage through the pockets of those two dead tavern-hired knights. They left some land lion meat, which is better than the steppe wolf meat.]

[Steppe Wolf Meat: For the next battle, your strength, agility, weapon proficiency, and other abilities will temporarily increase by 30%.]

[Land Lion Meat: For the next battle, your strength, agility, weapon proficiency, and other abilities will temporarily increase by 45%.]

‘Well, well, this isn’t just meat; it’s practically a strength pill, a miracle maker!’

Draxel hurriedly searched the two corpses and indeed found a few pieces of relatively fresh lion meat.

“Ronnie, wait a moment, let me have someone cook this lion meat. After eating it, maybe we’ll be stronger.”

“Alright, it might as well be my last meal, so let’s eat before we go.” Profit Empress Ronnie chuckled bitterly. 

After all, the lion king had already wiped out her tavern’s troops, and it was waiting for her return. Let it wait a little longer then.

Draxel instructed Old Aubrey and his wife to make a soup with the lion meat, adding some beef and spices, and reminded them to save two bowls specifically for Safiya and Lein, hoping it would significantly aid their recovery.

At this moment, Xiao Yanzi, who had finished the surgery, also came out of the room. It had been a long time since she had seen Proft Empress Ronnie. They had been good sisters long ago.

“Ronnie, long time no see.”

“Ah, Sister Yan, you really came to help the count. I’ve asked you to come out of retirement so many times before, and you ignored me. This count must be really lucky!”

Xiao Yanzi smiled and said, “Then you don’t know how attentive and sincere the count was when he picked me up.”

Ronnie, sipping on the meat soup, said to the count beside her, “Sister Yan has a mysterious troop that’s very strong at night. Even the toughest knights from my tavern couldn’t beat her subordinates.”

Hearing this, Draxel and others pondered, realizing that the luxurious casino must have been built by this mysterious force.

Draxel responded, “Hmm… I’ve never really seen this troop, but it has indeed appeared in Uxkhal, and it’s truly formidable.”

In fact, Draxel had speculated about their nature in the night… Vampires? Werewolves? Japanese ninjas? But none of these traits seemed to manifest in Xiaoyan.

[System Alert: I’d like to know too. Why don’t you ask?]

Since Xiao Yanzi wasn’t ready to reveal it yet, Draxel wouldn’t press her. Everyone deserves their own private space and little secrets.

But thank you, system. This meat does seem to be effective.

After drinking the soup, an unprecedented strength surged through him, and Draxel felt himself brimming with vitality, almost overflowing with energy.

The same happened to Ronnie. She too felt an explosion of energy!

“Let’s go, Ronnie.”

“Mm, Sister Yan, if I don’t come back…”

Xiao Yanzi quickly walked up to her and playfully slapped Ronnie’s butt as a form of reprimand. Indeed, it was quite bouncy. 

She earnestly said, “Don’t jinx it. You’ll definitely come back safely. If possible, you should try to fight the lion king at night; that way, I might be able to help.”