Looking at the poised young Countess before him, Robson couldn’t help but marvel. She was exactly what one would expect from a family with a thousand-year heritage.

Not only was she beautiful, but her upbringing was clearly first-rate.

Achieving so much at a young age was something anyone would be proud of, let alone for Valentino, who was a Countess.

Robson admitted to himself that if he were in her shoes, he wouldn’t have been able to remain so composed and humble. His current mindset was only possible thanks to the accumulated experience of his past life.

Though his body was only twenty, his two lives combined made him a wily old codger.

’The human nobles of this world truly can’t be underestimated,’ he mused. ’Not every heir is an Ed...’

But what Robson didn’t know was that while he was astonished, Valentino was experiencing a storm of her own.

After listening to Viscount Leo’s account, she could hardly believe what she had heard.

This unit before her actually belonged to this seemingly insignificant Knight.

It wasn’t that she looked down on Robson, but given the elite quality of the force before her, not even the second sons of many great noble families could have assembled such a unit.

Of course, Ed was an exception. The Deriman Family’s situation was complicated, and he hadn’t received much in the way of resources.

Regardless, the fact that this young Knight could distinguish himself on the front lines made him worthy of Valentino’s serious consideration.

In the Frank Kingdom, noble titles changed hands frequently. As long as you had the ability, you could be a Knight one day and have an audience with the King the next.

According to Viscount Leo, this Knight had not only thought to retrieve his superior’s body from the battlefield but had also helped the Viscount without holding a grudge. This suggested he was a man of high moral character.

The Fengman Clan lacked a broad network of allies, so they had to expand their influence by promoting and assisting promising individuals.

For Valentino, it was imperative to not only inherit her father’s network but also to start building her own.

This young Knight before her was clearly a promising investment. Valentino wanted to secure his allegiance while he was still relatively unknown, but unfortunately, she hadn’t yet found the right opening.

"Your performance is truly astounding, Sir. I never imagined one could train such an elite force from a few hundred peasants," Valentino said with a smile.

"I’m honored."

Robson paused for a moment, then understood what Valentino was implying and returned her smile.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group rested where they were.

There would be plenty of opportunities to interact later. For now, making a good impression was enough.

....

Traveling at night was not a wise choice. Besides, they were about to reach the Siriel Defense Line, and he figured the reception party from there would arrive before long.

Fog rose in the mountains as the eastern sky began to pale. It was late autumn now; several months had passed since the war escalated from minor skirmishes to an all-out conflict.

The soldiers in the camp were awake at the crack of dawn.

Robson was also an early riser, but as he glanced aside, he was surprised to see Ed was already up. Ed stood before Count Offman’s coffin, and there was no telling how long he’d been standing there.

Robson sighed. They would likely reach the Siriel Defense Line today. Count Offman’s body would be returned to the Deriman Family, and as per the late Count’s arrangements, Ed would report to Marquis Oscillate’s command to officially begin his military career.

This would likely be the last day the father and son spent together.

Without saying a word, Robson decided to leave him to his peace. After packing, they set out.

By noon, their march had brought them back to the main road.

The road was filled with nobles and soldiers who had fled Sunset Fortress.

Most of them were dejected, their clothes in tatters.

Even the other Viscounts’ troops were in no better shape.

It seemed they hadn’t had an easy journey. Some of the raw recruits were probably already suffering from a mortal fear of the Beastmen.

Every time he saw such a scene, Viscount Fuman would secretly thank his lucky stars.

If not for his foresight in recognizing talent, he’d likely be just another one of these sorry figures now.

This only strengthened his resolve. Even at the Siriel Defense Line, Viscount Fuman was determined to stick close to Robson. If that meant managing logistics, so be it; that’s what he had done at Sunset Fortress anyway.

In his view, there was no shame in it. The nobles from the southern part of the Frank Kingdom were more open-minded to begin with.

Besides, this was a battlefield. Here, the man with the army was king. A Beastman’s cleaver wouldn’t spare you just because you had a fancier title.

Furthermore, Robson was a Knight now, but who knew about the future? In war, anything was possible.

He had also noted how Valentino treated Robson. Once they reached the Siriel Defense Line, he would make arrangements to double down on his investment.

By nightfall, they had arrived at Reya Fortress, part of the Siriel Defense Line. The defensive line itself was a series of fortresses built into the natural terrain.

Valentino said her goodbyes and departed. She also held a position on the Siriel Defense Line and didn’t have much free time.

After settling into Reya Fortress, Robson was about to turn in for the night when, to his surprise, he received invitations from other nobles to attend a banquet.

’A banquet? Now?’

Robson thought for a moment and understood their intentions.

After the culling at Sunset Fortress, some nobles were likely preparing to withdraw from the front and recuperate. The Kingdom—or perhaps the King—wasn’t overly strict with its demands on the lesser nobility.

Before leaving the field, it was only natural for them to "liquidate their assets."

Beyond that, they also had to jointly face the reassignments that would come from the command at Shirel Fortress.

Only by banding together could they negotiate for more resources.

Robson had no intention of missing a gathering where there were advantages to be gained, so he took a few of his men and headed over that very night.

"Sir Robson, you’ve finally arrived!"

"During the breakout, we were lucky to have you leading the charge, Sir."

"Robson..."

The moment Robson entered, a crowd of nobles surged forward to greet him.

No one here was a fool; they had all witnessed Robson’s performance during the retreat.

They had all fled at the same time, yet only Robson’s force had emerged unscathed. Even a blind man could see who the real powerhouse was.

Robson’s act of recovering Count Offman’s body had also won him major points with them.

Who wouldn’t want another friend who was both powerful and principled? Some were even ready to offer their daughters and granddaughters to forge a deeper alliance.

Robson was more than happy to play along, exchanging empty pleasantries.

After a while, once everyone had arrived, the crowd broke off into smaller groups to chat.

Robson glanced at his shoulder and felt a jolt of panic. Huang Na, who was always perched there, was gone.

’She might not seem useful now,’ he thought, ’but that’s only because she’s still a juvenile. Even so, if she were to release the faintest wisp of her phoenix aura, it would be lethal to any ordinary beast.’

’Huang Na is one of my most important assets for surviving on the Western Front.’