Chapter 612: The Berserker

"Who is Marquis Rock?"

"He was the second lord I followed, Pilov Earth-Fury, a long-standing marquis family of the Kingdom of the Eagle. The descendants of this family call themselves 'Bear-Pelt Warriors' and eschew mounted charges, preferring to fight on foot. Sometimes, their fists are mightier than spears or swords!"

"Bear-Pelt Warriors? What kind of profession is that?" Through the frontier edict, Liszt’s horizons had broadened, and he had encountered many martial traditions unlike those of knights and mages.

"I’m not sure either. Besides Bear-Pelt Warriors, there might also be Wolf-Pelt Warriors and Boar-Pelt Warriors. When I first became a sword saint, I challenged Marquis Rock. After eating a poisonous mushroom, his aura surged instantly, and with just one punch, he knocked me flying."

"Poisonous mushroom?"

"A toxic mushroom, quite common—a small gray umbrella-shaped one called 'pisscap mushroom.'"

Liszt knew about pisscap mushrooms. Even on Coral Island and Black Horse Island, these tiny toxic fungi sprouted after rain. He never expected such a mushroom could act like a stimulant, sending Bear-Pelt Warriors into a blood rage with drastically enhanced strength.

However, Bear-Pelt Warriors seemed somewhat similar to druidic bear-shifters.

In the Sun-Script books studied by Acheronides, there were detailed explanations about warriors among the Sun-Children who could transform into bears, eagles, or leopards for battle using natural magic and animal observations.

Perhaps Bear-Pelt Warriors and druidic bear-shifters were indeed connected.

So he asked, "Then, what changes occur in a Bear-Pelt Warrior after eating a pisscap mushroom?"

"They bulk up noticeably, their eyes turn slightly red, and their spirits seem to enter a state of extreme excitement. Marquis Rock usually radiates natural nobility, but after eating a pisscap mushroom, he becomes a beast-like human... almost frenzied."

Yevich tried his best to recall, but he had seen Marquis Rock fight only a few times, so he wasn’t very familiar with the combat style of Bear-Pelt Warriors.

After all, it was a closely guarded family combat tradition, rarely revealed to outsiders.

"Do Bear-Pelt Warriors have manuals for channeling mana like knights?"

"I don’t know."

"Do they cultivate magic or mana?"

"Probably mana."

"Mana, huh..." While Yevich spoke vaguely, Liszt gradually pieced together a rough idea of Bear-Pelt Warriors based on his descriptions.

They didn’t transform into bears, but they showed traits of 'going berserk.'

They disliked fighting from horseback, so they couldn’t be called knights—perhaps warriors. And warriors capable of going berserk reminded Liszt of a legendary Earth combat profession—berserkers.

Of course, Bear-Pelt Warriors and berserkers were only similar.

In reality, as a world with different languages and history from Earth, this world had no terms like dragons, spirits, mages, or knights—these were terms Liszt borrowed, mapping to Earth's legends for easier understanding.

For example, the term "druid" in *serpent tongue* was just a string of serpentine glyphs with no intrinsic meaning—no evolution of imagery like in Chinese or root-based changes like in English. He applied the term simply because of his own associations.

In Earth’s legends, druids were said to transform into bears, eagles, and other animals.

Thus, this meaningless string of symbols became "druid" in his mind.

Lich and vampire were understood similarly.

As for spirits, in Earth’s legends, they were high-intelligence forest-dwelling races like those in *The Lord of the Rings*. But in Liszt’s understanding of this world, no equivalent race existed. So, based on the literal meaning, he applied the term to enchanted beings that nurture plants.

"Yevich, having seen the Marquis fight, where do I stand against him?"

"I feel that you, my lord, are far more powerful.

When I first became a sword saint, Marquis Rock sent me flying with a single punch, but I wasn’t seriously injured. Now, after lingering at the sword saint rank for many years, I’ve grown much stronger than when I first entered it. Yet, you crippled me with one arrow and then defeated me with a single sword strike—my loss was far more decisive." Liszt nodded without speaking, but inwardly, he understood: "Indeed, dragon knights are the most powerful profession. Those clad in bear pelts are merely a strong lineage at best, lacking the strength to rival dragon knights."

In short,

Marquis Rock represents a new profession—the bearskin warrior.

It proves this world has multiple professions among spellcasters, and mana cultivators aren’t limited to knights alone. Bearskin warriors, wolfskin warriors, boarskin warriors—all are potentially powerful systems. The continent might hide even more professions.

At the ordinary cultivation stage, knights may not necessarily hold an advantage—after all, even a perfected sky knight wouldn’t last against a powerful bearskin warrior.

But with the cheat-like path of dragon-riding, gaining the power of dragons, it’s only natural for knights to dominate the world.

With the rise of dragon knights, not only have other mana-based professions gradually declined, but even the mages who once ruled during the Moon Empire era have faded. Times progress, civilizations develop, and anything unable to adapt will be discarded, just like the ancient spellcasters and warriors.

Even those who survive can only cower in fear under the dominion of dragon knights.

Liszt is grateful.

He is part of the ruling order of this era, not the ruled.

Soon, he shook off his excitement. The information about bearskin warriors broadened his horizons, but Yevich’s ransom came first.

He still didn’t want to accept Yevich: "Yevich, counting Marquis Raging Tide, you’ve followed four lords. How’d you burn bridges with the first three?"

Yevich took a deep breath and sighed: "When I became a candidate for dragon knight, riding high, my first lord promised to marry his daughter to me. But I was quickly eliminated from the dragon knight program, and that lord backpedaled fast, marrying his daughter to the heir of a great noble instead."

Enraged, Yevich refused to continue following him.

His second lord was Marquis Rock—powerful, refined, and elegant, but he valued loyalty above all. He deemed Yevich insufficiently loyal and thus treated him harshly in matters of battle merits and resource distribution.

Yevich just handed over his land and walked.

His third lord did value Yevich, but when a wild spirit bug was discovered on the land he had just been granted—before the transfer was complete—the lord snatched the spirit bug’s contract outright.

Having suffered poverty for so long, Yevich saw the spirit bug that should have been his taken away and immediately cut ties.

After wandering for a time, he followed his current lord, Marquis Raging Tide. After several battle merits, he was made a viscount, and their relationship remained normal—until his defeat and capture, which also dragged down Marquis Raging Tide’s nephew, Deborah. This mess would completely exhaust what little reputation Yevich had left.

That’s why he decided to leave the Kingdom of the Eagle and follow Liszt.

"I owe nothing to the Kingdom of the Eagle, nor do I feel indebted to any lord except Marquis Raging Tide. Now that I’ve been defeated and captured, I’ve fulfilled my duty to Marquis Raging Tide… From now on, I choose to follow you, my lord, charging into battle for you, rebuilding from the ground up!"

In this light, Yevich’s character is a cut above Lü Bu’s.

Still, Liszt had no use for a follower who flips on his lords. He simply said, "Since you can’t pay your own ransom, I’ll shake down Marquis Raging Tide. As your lord, two spirit bugs—grain or magic herbs—will secure your freedom immediately!"