In the snow, the two of them sat around a bonfire. The ground was covered with tanned sheepskin, and an iron kettle on a rack was heating wine.

Panda and Levi warmed themselves by the fire, each lost in their own thoughts.

One was reflecting on how he had been too arrogant in the past.

The other was thinking about the information he had tortured out of the Pigman Leader, Tikli.

They exchanged a look, and Panda was the first to speak.

"Lord, I must thank you."

Panda was one of the Panda People. Though he was held in high regard by the Duke in Bailiu City, at the end of the day, he was still a member of an Alien Race—not even considered human. Most traditional nobles were cold toward his kind.

The world, after all, was an unforgiving place. Faced with such a stark disparity in status and Race, it was considered a good thing if most nobles did nothing more than look on with cold indifference.

But what had Baron Levi done? The moment they had arrived, weary from their hurried journey, he had generously waved them in, providing fine wine and food.

After the battle, faced with their losses, the officers of the Thorn Corps had said nothing at all. Only Fujero, the Legion Commander, had offered a few perfunctory words of encouragement.

Only this Lord had not only comforted him, but had also brought him out for a drink to lift his spirits and patiently listened to him ramble on.

He even had his only Shaman who knew the Healing Technique prioritize the treatment of his heavily wounded clansmen.

Fujero had also dispatched an Ice and Snow Priest who could provide treatment, but Levi, on the other hand, had had no prior dealings with them whatsoever.

The difference was stark when you compared the two.

The Panda People are sincere and forthright by nature.

He had seen all of Lord Li’s actions, and he had taken them to heart.

"I’m guessing you want to know why," Levi said, sipping the warm wine. Drinking hot wine in the middle of a frozen landscape was no less satisfying than eating an ice pop in the sweltering heat of summer.

The Lord let out a contented sigh, his breath turning to steam in the cold air.

"I really would like to know." Panda was genuinely curious.

In fact, he had arrived fully prepared to live a tedious and monotonous military life, expecting most people to remain cold toward his kind.

That is, no one would be overtly hostile about their arrival, but no one would be happy to see them, either.

’Perhaps, to these humans, we’re just tools?’

"Three reasons."

"First, seeing you all reminds me of the lovable simpletons from my hometown. As simple beasts of burden, watching them can sometimes soothe my weary body and soul. That’s why I feel a degree of compassion." Levi stretched, lay back on the ground, crossed his legs, and gazed up at the sparsely starred sky.

"Second, my own men are simple, earnest oafs, just like you. Seeing you makes us naturally fond of you. After all, who doesn’t love a bunch of idiots willing to give their lives for me, their Lord, just for a bit of food and shelter?"

Perhaps finding the ground too cold even with the sheepskin, Levi suddenly sat up again and shrugged, his tone clearly mocking.

And yet, the Lord’s smile was radiant.

"And the third reason?" Panda instinctively felt the last one must be the most important.

After all, any goal required both opportunity and a driving force. The first two reasons were merely opportunities; they still lacked a strong, compelling driver.

"Panda, I’ll be honest with you," the Lord said, looking intently at the huge Panda Person.

"Honestly, I, the Duke of Bravery, am a big fan of both your character and your courage. So naturally, I want to recruit all of you to my High Cliff Castle."

The Lord had always been one to tailor his approach to the person. You couldn’t coddle a strong woman like Fulina; sometimes, opposing her directly yielded unexpected results.

The more you yielded, the more she looked down on you.

With someone like Liya, who was smart but hadn’t yet been beaten down by the harsh realities of the world, the best approach was to give her enough face, go along with her for the most part, but always maintain your own principles.

As for Baisitina? That girl was the picture of a doting wife. The Lord only needed to praise her a little, and she’d be too happy to sleep for a week.

But getting back to the matter at hand, with the Panda People, the more straightforward you were, the better.

Beating around the bush would only make them think you were a schemer, and that you and their forthright kind weren’t on the same page.

The Lord’s candor, however, left Panda at a bit of a loss. But, true to his own sincere nature, he replied with a serious expression.

"Lord, I will be direct as well. Duke Fulina has shown great kindness to our branch of the Panta Race. Therefore, your wish will most likely be impossible to fulfill."

"I know." The Lord smiled faintly and nodded in agreement.

"Huh?"

The Lord’s expression, which clearly said ’I knew you’d say that,’ took Panda by surprise.

He had actually expected a bit of a back-and-forth negotiation.

After all, in human society, this was known as playing hard to get.

It was just like when he went to the market to buy tender bamboo shoots. As long as he pretended he was about to leave, the merchant would absolutely call him back with a lower price.

The Lord, right now, was like a merchant who had clearly expressed his desire for a sale. But just when Panda was about to feign walking away to get a better price, this merchant said nothing at all, simply letting him leave.

"Surprised I’m not trying harder to persuade you?" The Lord gave a mysterious smile and snapped his fingers. "As you said, Fulina has only shown kindness to *your* branch of the Panda People."

"And, from what I understand, the Panda People are organized into family or tribal structures. This means that besides your own, there are other Panda clans. Furthermore, these different Panda groups tend to be in contact with one another."

"So, all I need is for you to pull some strings for me—to put me in touch with another Panda Tribe."

In this world, another name for Panda Warriors was Panda People, so Panda understood exactly what Levi was saying.

"What?!"

The Lord’s words made Panda’s jaw drop even wider.

He had assumed Baron Levi’s ambitions extended only to them. He never expected the Baron to bypass them entirely and set his sights on their distant relatives.

After holding it in for a long moment, he finally said, "I’ll do my best."

A wave of melancholy washed over him. ’This Baron Levi thinks so far ahead,’ he thought. ’I’m completely out of his league.’

The two of them set that topic aside and chatted about other things.

Levi asked Panda about matters concerning Qi.

People say not to bite off more than you can chew, but the Lord figured he had strong teeth. Even if it was a rock, he had to at least try to take a bite.

Operating on the principle of "the more, the merrier," he was naturally eager to learn Qi, a unique supernatural ability on par with Combat Qi.

Panda was very generous, explaining the entry-level method for Qi in great detail—something about how the mind is like water. When the surface ripples, it’s hard to see clearly, but when it becomes still, the answer is revealed at the bottom.

After a long session of meditation, his head suddenly drooped forward. Wiping a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth, the Lord came to the melancholy realization that this Qi business just wasn’t for him.

’I can’t learn Magic and I can’t learn Qi. All that’s left to try is Combat Qi. But I picked up Holy Light really fast,’ the Lord mused, stroking his chin. He was suddenly startled as he realized something peculiar.

’Could it be? Am I, this Lord, the Holy Light Goddess’s most devout believer? Is that why my progress with Holy Light has been so rapid?’

’That has to be it. If I weren’t the Holy Light Goddess’s most devout believer, then—setting aside my stat points—how else could you explain my unparalleled starting speed?’

Levi nodded to himself, agreeing with his own logic.

’So, O great Goddess, if you can hear my inner voice, please bestow a blessing upon your most devout believer. I’m not asking to be the Pope or an Archbishop or anything. Just a little goddess’s blessing to boost my cultivation speed or increase my power would be fine,’ the Lord prayed internally.

Ever since he started cultivating the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual, he had made a point to offer up a little prayer in his heart every day.

It was free, after all, and spouting a few insincere words was no skin off his back.

If this so-called Holy Light Goddess actually heard him, it would be all upside and no downside.

After a full night of fighting, most people were physically and mentally exhausted, falling asleep the moment they found a bed. The Lord, however, who was still bursting with energy, found that all this excitement had chased away any desire for sleep.

He roped Panda and Mier into a game of cards. By the time the sky began to lighten, Mier had a noticeable bald patch on his head, and even the Lord was clutching a tuft of hair.

In contrast, Panda, the hairiest of them all, hadn’t lost a single strand.

"Panda, were you cheating?" the Lord asked, thoroughly frustrated.

It was the first time he had ever been so thoroughly beaten at cards, and by a novice, no less.

It felt as unbelievable as watching a line of sows march single-file into a ditch.

"Lord, this is the Power of the heart."

Panda simply offered this explanation with a smile.

"Bullshit Power of the heart. Can’t you have some respect for science?" the Lord grumbled angrily.

Playing cards with Panda was uncanny. The guy played as if he had X-ray vision, somehow knowing the value of the cards in their hands.

As a result, the Panda Person had barely lost a single hand all night.

How come his Holy Light didn’t have a useful function like that? So far, aside from acting as a glorified lightbulb, Levi had found his Holy Light to be completely useless.

"Brother-in-law, I’m heading to sleep. I’m exhausted."

Mier, whose constitution wasn’t as robust as the other two’s, already had dark circles under his eyes and couldn’t stop yawning.

Levi waved a hand, telling him to go and get some rest. If he wore the kid out, he’d have a hard time explaining it to Tina.

"Boss, Fujero is looking for you."

Just then, Zat, who had been busy outside all this time, lifted the tent’s cloth flap and spoke.

He had been up all night organizing the High Cliff Castle Warriors to clear the battlefield, position the catapults, and direct the Auxiliary Soldiers in building fortifications.

"Panda, come with me. Fujero probably wants to deal with this group of Wilderness Natives today," Levi said with a laugh.

He hadn’t forgotten that Fujero had promised him an explanation.

He was only going over now to give the man time to prepare. He was curious to see what kind of story the guy had concocted.

The main reason was that he had already obtained a wealth of information from Tikli, so Levi was no longer in a rush.