Breakthrough! Breakthrough! Another breakthrough!

With Voloja's outstanding performance as a precedent, Firefall Fortress has even higher expectations for Ye Weian's impending triumphant return.

To demonstrate the importance placed on this "prospective pioneer lord," and also to gain favor with Yevian, Lady Serena personally led Lucas, along with the castle's scribes, soldiers, and civilians, in a grand procession ten miles outside the city to welcome him. Grand Knight Morey also abandoned his previous reserve, donned his armor, and joined the welcoming party.

On the distant horizon, smoke and dust began to rise.

Ye Wei'an led the way, his dark cloak fluttering in the wind, exuding an air of authority. Two maids flanked him like stars surrounding the moon.

Behind them were forty victorious soldiers, their armor still bearing dark red bloodstains and scratches.

Each soldier led a warhorse laden with supplies, including heavy steel armor, bundles of crossbow bolts, and various supplies from the Santalin Society.

The prisoners of the Santalin Society, strung together in a line with ropes, staggered at the end of the procession, creating a visually striking image of a triumphant march.

"Long live Lord Ye Wei'an!"

"Lord Ye Weian is the guardian of Firefall Territory!"

The crowds on both sides erupted in cheers like a tsunami.

Lady Serena changed into a magnificent gown, a perfect smile on her face, and led Lucas forward quickly.

"Ye Wei'an, my child," Serena said earnestly, her face filled with surprise and affection, "you not only eliminated the threat to the territory, but also created the most glorious victory for Firefall Fortress in recent years! I knew that the bloodline of the Xia Xing family would never be mediocre."

"You flatter me, Madam. It was merely a matter of clearing out some low-level smugglers for the territory," Ye Wei'an said politely, sitting upright on his horse.

Serena nudged Lucas with her elbow, signaling him to take this opportunity to say a few nice words, showcasing his authority and approachability as a lord, and gain some fame.

But as soon as Lucas looked up, he met Ye Weian's calm eyes.

He immediately recalled the day he was burned to a crisp, and a wave of phantom pain washed over him.

The boy opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Serena cursed herself for being so useless and could only step forward herself to try to appease the soldiers who were returning laden with spoils.

"Brave warriors of Firefall, your loyalty and bravery have protected the castle's peace. I will have the steward prepare the most sumptuous banquet for you at the evening feast to recognize your efforts!"

"Oh……"

"Thank you, Madam."

The soldiers' responses were sparse and perfunctory.

In their eyes, this lady only knew how to hide in the fortress and point fingers; compared to Lord Ye Wei'an, she was nothing.

Lady Serena's smile froze on her face; she was so embarrassed she wanted to hang herself on the spot.

She had never been treated so coldly in her own territory. She was furious, but she couldn't vent her anger in front of everyone. She could only force herself to back down to Lucas's side.

The others, however, were very enthusiastic about the victorious team, including Morey and the soldiers who had been assigned by Ye Wei'an to escort them.

As Ye Wei'an passed by Grand Knight Morey, he was about to nod to him when Morey, under the watchful eyes of everyone, solemnly knelt down and performed a standard and extremely solemn half-kneeling salute to Ye Wei'an on horseback.

For a renowned knight, this was quite a show of courtesy.

Ye Wei'an met his gaze for a moment, and then understood the old man's purpose.

He was apologizing for his previous arrogance.

This was not only for Ye Wei'an's benefit, but also for the benefit of everyone else present.

This is using his reputation as a stepping stone for himself.

Ye Wei'an nodded slightly, which was considered as forgiving his actions.

Morey finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After he got up, he suddenly noticed that his rascal Volodya was staring at the returning team, pointing and gesturing, seemingly counting heads.

The problem is, his expression is getting increasingly strange.

"What are you doing here?" Morey asked, frowning.

"Father...Father, something's not right!" Volodya turned around, surprised. "This morning, the lord selected forty soldiers to set off. I just counted them three times. Forty soldiers, except for one who was lying on his horse covered with a white sheet, all the others returned unharmed! Not even a single seriously wounded soldier missing an arm or a leg was seen!"

After finishing his sentence, Volodya added, "Think about it, yesterday during the attack on the Santalin Society's camp, even with the Lord's brilliant command, five brothers were still lost in the chaos. Today, your losses are even fewer than yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, Morey's pupils contracted sharply.

To keep casualties below three percent in such a high-intensity raid was simply a pipe dream for him.

"This is outrageous..."

Just then, Kane rode by.

Volodya quickly rushed over and pulled him off his horse.

"Kane, tell me honestly, did you guys not fight at all today, just go and loot? How could only one person have died?"

"Finding a bargain?"

Kane looked down at Volodya with an expression that was a mixture of smugness and pity.

"Didn't you witness the master's command? I can only say that his performance today was even more outrageous than yesterday. He knew better than the enemy commander where the sentries were and where the heavy crossbows were positioned. Combined with the master's magical support on the battlefield, and his and Miss Lina's healing magic after the battle—"

Kane pointed to the spirited soldiers behind him: "Except for one who was really unlucky and was hit by several crossbow bolts and couldn't be saved, all the others, even those who were seriously injured, have recovered, and not one of them has been left with any disabilities."

Volodya froze on the spot, his mind blank.

Before he could recover from the near-zero casualties of the victory, Grand Knight Morey suddenly brought up another matter:

"Kane, you... broke through your bottleneck?"

Kane was somewhat surprised, then straightened his chest and nodded emphatically.

"That's right, I've finally broken through."

"Hey, you're just bragging!" Volodya scoffed, giving Kane's shoulder a hard bump as usual. "With your skills, I still managed to outmaneuver you during sword practice the other day..."

A muffled "bang" was heard.

Volodya's collision was like hitting a firmly rooted iron tower.

Kane remained motionless, while Volodya herself was thrown back half a step by the recoil.

He stared wide-eyed at Kane as if he were a monster.

It's worth noting that, while both are Lv.3 warriors, Volodya's subclass is Warrior, which specializes in combat, while Kane's subclass, Purple Dragon Knight, excels at supporting allies.

In comparison, Volodya is definitely better at one-on-one combat, and naturally, he is also stronger than Kane.

"Where...where does this strength come from?" Volodya rubbed her shoulder, looking incredulous.

"I've learned something from today's battle," Kane said with a hint of fervor. "I'm still grateful to the master for creating such a good environment for me, allowing me to hone my skills and overcome that hurdle in the face of life and death."

"Damn it, you actually broke through at a time like this!" Volodya's tone couldn't hide his jealousy. "I spent half the day transporting goods and didn't get anything!"

Morey ignored his son's complaints, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers behind Kane, growing increasingly alarmed with each passing look.

"You're not the only one who's broken through, are you, Kane?" He looked at Kane. "I can sense that the entire team's aura is completely different from when they set off this morning. That elite appearance can't be achieved in just a day or two of training. I remember many of you were just militiamen with only rudimentary training, not even touching the threshold of becoming formal professionals, but now..."

"You read that right, Lord Morey." Kane confirmed Morey's guess. "All the militiamen in our ranks are now full-fledged soldiers. In fact, it's not just them; quite a few of our old brothers have also broken through to higher levels."

"There are still quite a few?!" Volodya exclaimed in surprise.

"Really." Kane raised his chin slightly and pointed to a figure that had silently walked past to his side. "Take Clayb for example, he's truly transformed."

Volodya followed Kane's gaze, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

He then realized that someone had walked past him less than three steps away.

When Volodya looked over, Kleb greeted him.

He was clearly within her line of sight, yet Volodya had completely ignored his presence. If Kane hadn't specifically pointed him out, Volodya would have thought it was just a gust of wind.

The previous Claybe didn't have this level of skill.

Clearly, Claybe has also broken through.

Today, during the attack on the second outpost, Clayb acted alone, killing three people before the guards noticed and destroying the outpost's heavy crossbows, making a great contribution and accumulating enough experience for upgrades.

So Ye Wei'an helped him break through to Lv.3 and chose the sub-profession: Scout.

[Scout]: You are skilled at stealth and survival in places far from cities and streets, which allows you to leave your companions and lead the reconnaissance during expeditions.

This subclass specializes in wilderness movement, survival, and ambush capabilities, making it ideal for military scouts.

He now truly deserves the position of leader of the scout squad.

Regarding the issue of on-field breakthroughs, Kane only had a general idea; only Ye Wei'an had complete data.

根据统计：出发前，40人中有8个Lv.1民兵，25个Lv.1职业者，以及5个勉强算得上精锐的Lv.2职业者。

After a day of fighting, all the militia members have been promoted to Lv.1 professionals.

Ten of the original Lv.1 professionals have been promoted to Lv.2.

In fact, the soldiers in the team themselves also noticed something was wrong with the unusual breakthrough.

If such a "breakthrough on the spot" happens only once or twice, veterans might feel that their ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke, or privately thank a certain deity for their favor—although in this era where the gods are silent and have not issued any divine pronouncements for nearly a century, such prayers are mostly just for psychological comfort.

But when dozens of people all advanced in one day, even a fool could see that this was inextricably linked to their commander, Ye Weian.