svetikya Page 78
Page 78
Therefore, he instructed the barracks' kitchen staff to plan the consumption of this precious batch of adult wind wolf meat in a reasonable manner to ensure the nutritional intake of his soldiers.
Arthur's specific requirements were:
The remaining approximately 1,800 kilograms of wind wolf meat can be consumed within the next month or so.
Followed by.
Then there's the pillar industry built on the foundations of Rinfeng Village and Hanwu Village—the large-scale forging workshops.
The forging workshop has started operating smoothly and can stably produce ordinary iron-grade weapons and equipment for the soldiers of the demand corps.
Currently, the first batch of Fantastic-grade weapons and equipment transported back from the forging workshop is basically a repair of the Fantastic-grade equipment damaged in the previous Wind Wolf Annihilation Battle.
Today, Arthur personally inspected the repair status of this batch of ordinary iron-grade equipment. The quality of the equipment met his expectations, and some even exceeded the original quality.
This is all thanks to Mr. Lawson, a highly skilled level two rune blacksmith who oversees the large forging workshop.
Having him in charge of guiding and training both new and old generations of forging craftsmen and forging apprentices would undoubtedly be twice as effective with half the effort.
After inspecting the quality of this batch of ordinary iron-grade equipment.
Arthur immediately distributed the equipment to ensure that his soldiers could respond efficiently to any emergencies in the territory.
Meanwhile, to combat the increasingly biting cold of the North, high-quality warm coats made from wolf fur were also distributed to the soldiers.
His emphasis on the Black Rock Legion naturally received feedback from the system:
The resources the host has invested in the Black Rock Legion have deepened their respect for the host.
[Black Rock Legion, 153 members, overall loyalty increased to 40 (deepening trust);]
[The overall loyalty of some citizens has reached 40 for the first time;]
[Note: When they receive a power blessing from the host's "blessing," they receive an additional 20% boost.]
After handling military matters.
Arthur also did not neglect the development of other parts of his territory.
But he was willing but unable to do so.
Currently, within Blackrock Territory, aside from Frostraven Town in the center and Rinfeng Village and Coldmist Village in the neighboring Northern Wilderness.
There are five other villages, with nearly a thousand inhabitants.
Most of these people are engaged in agricultural production.
However, the northern border of the Kingdom of Grey is not a bountiful land.
Therefore, they were mostly living in poverty, barely making ends meet.
Therefore, Arthur implemented two policies.
On the one hand, he exempted them from miscellaneous taxes, easing their burden of living and encouraging agricultural production to ensure an increase in the population of the territory.
On the other hand, he granted land in the form of rent, which was collected on a village-by-village basis, which incentivized farmers in the area to reclaim wasteland and improve agricultural productivity.
Of course, these were all superficial knowledge that Arthur had learned from the peaceful era of his previous life, and his rather clumsy imitations of it.
Therefore, he was mentally prepared for the possibility that the subsequent development of his territory might deviate from his expectations.
He thought he could adjust things as needed.
Thoughts turn.
"Squeak!"
The door to the office lobby opened.
It was the butler, Leon, who walked in and came before Arthur:
“Young Master, I have made contact with Li Wei, the merchant from the Longyan Mountains in the Western Region, as you instructed.”
"Ah."
Arthur stood up and nodded in greeting:
"What plans has he made so far regarding the mining of black crystals?"
The Western Merchant, Li Wei, was a thin young man whom he had unexpectedly met through Linton, the deputy manager of the workshop, when he rushed back to Blackrock Territory yesterday.
This person cannot be judged by appearances.
This merchant from the West displayed extraordinary boldness to Arthur, intending to contract the mining rights to the Blackrock Territory's vital Ink Crystal Mine.
The main reason is that Li Wei possesses a cutting rune technique that allows him to efficiently mine black crystal ore.
According to him, it can be applied to large-scale mining equipment, greatly accelerating the mining progress of black crystal ore.
This made Arthur's heart flutter.
If what he said is true, then the annual output value of the black crystal mine could increase several times over, which would greatly alleviate the economic situation of the territory's development.
So Arthur used a clever trick to intimidate the young merchant from the West.
Then, he made three requests to Li Wei that would benefit the development of his territory.
Ultimately, he and Li Wei agreed to a one-month trial.
Back to the present.
After Arthur returned, the butler Leon was relieved of his duties in managing the Blackrock Legion.
He reported to Arthur what had happened after making contact with the Western Merchant:
"Mr. Li Wei asked me for an advance of gold coins this morning to purchase a batch of fine iron materials in Frosty Crow Town."
Then he asked for a site, saying he wanted to build molds for mining equipment.
So I took him to an abandoned old forge and gave him my use.
After that, he asked me to help select the first batch of young and middle-aged farmers with reclamation experience from the village requested by the young master.
He said he wanted to teach them mining techniques.
I've already helped them choose, and they've been placed in a room near the old forging workshop.
Then he said he probably wouldn't need any help for the next few days and would stay quietly in that old forge for a while to reflect.
Arthur listened:
"very good."
But after reporting on Levi's matter, the butler Leon did not leave:
"Young master, besides that, I have something else to report."
He paused deliberately, then whispered with a slightly somber expression:
"A major event has occurred outside our territory."
Chapter 87 The Blackwater Territory Extinction Incident
"Hmm? Butler Leon, please speak."
Arthur could tell from his expression that he was serious about what he wanted to say, so he looked at him intently.
"Young master, please follow me to the map of the Northern Territory."
The butler, Leon, looked anxious as he spoke, quickly walking to the wall behind Arthur's desk.
Subsequently.
He pointed to a corner of a large map posted on the wall, which was over three meters long and about two meters wide.
The above describes in detail the geographical location of the vast northern fiefdom of the Kingdom of Grey.
Arthur recognized the location of the finger as a baronial territory called "Blackwater."
Its territory is of moderate size and is 240 kilometers away from Blackrock Territory.
"Blackwater Territory and Blackrock Territory have never had any connection. In addition, there are two baronies between our territories, so we hardly interfere with each other."
After carefully searching his memory for information about Blackwater Territory, Arthur asked, puzzled:
"So, what happened here?"
The butler, Leon, did not rush to answer Arthur. Instead, after taking a deep breath, he stated a fact in a solemn tone:
"The baronial power known as Blackwater Territory, along with all the civilians under its command, has been completely wiped off this map."
The Blackwater Territory Extinction Incident!
Immediately, Arthur held his breath and focused, his brain working at lightning speed to extract the key words from the butler Leon's words.
He found this unbelievable and couldn't help but ask:
"What force wiped out the Blackwater Territory?"
In fact, the answer already existed in Arthur's mind when he asked the question.
Butler Leon withdrew his hand from the map and gave the answer that matched his inner guess:
"It's a band of thieves of unknown origin, but they're at 'bounty level three'."
Bandits, as the name suggests.
This refers to armed groups or individuals who acquire property and benefits through violence and endanger the order of the kingdom's territory and the safety of civilians through acts such as robbery, plunder, and kidnapping.
Even within the extraordinary profession of knight, there is a low-class subclass—the bandit knight.
They are usually upper-level members of bandit gangs, possess basic knightly breathing techniques, accumulate resources through robbery and plunder, rapidly increase their strength, and have relatively good weapons and equipment.
In response to the rampant bandits, the Kingdom of Grey, in conjunction with the earls of its four border regions, assessed the bandits' threat level and established different bounty levels:
Bounty Level 1: Small gang of bandits.
The bounty is between 100 and 500 gold coins.
These types of bandits are mostly scattered, itinerant criminals, usually forming a small team of 6 to 10 people.
Their strength is mostly between apprentice knight and black iron knight.
Lacking organization, they mainly operate in remote rural roads and forest edges, robbing passing merchants and travelers of their property and goods.
Because the threat level is relatively low, the bounty is also relatively low.
Bounty Level Two: Gangs of Bandits.
The bounty is between 500 and 3000 gold coins.
Level 2 bandits often form groups of more than fifty people, possessing considerable military strength and organization.
The leader is usually a bandit knight with silver-tier combat power, and he also has many black iron-tier bandit knights under his command.
In order to acquire wealth, they would use violence, attacking small caravans, robbing remote villages, and even forcibly extorting "protection money" from villagers.
Their strength is such that they can easily destroy a village and slaughter everyone in it.
Bounty Level Three: Local Disaster.
The bounty is between 3000 and 20000 gold coins.
These bandit groups are large, with a number of members generally exceeding two hundred.
They are usually led by a respected bandit leader, and there is a certain hierarchy and division of labor within the organization.
The organization typically has three to five Silver-rank bandit knights, as well as a larger number of Iron-rank knights.
They occupied nearby mountains, ruins, or remote castles as strongholds, and possessed relatively sophisticated weaponry, including even heavy weapons such as spears and shields.
It can be said that the overall strength of the level three bandits has reached the level of the Baron's territory.
The Red Leaf Mountains, which Arthur and Lancelot passed through on their way to Cedar Valley, will become a no-man's land with a danger level of three.
The reason for this is that several dangerous bandit groups with "bounty level three" are gathered there.
Back then, the band of thieves led by Wood the Eclipse Knight were only considered to be "bounty level two".
Returning to the topic of bounty levels four and five, we must now consider the threat posed by large fiefdoms.
The most important characteristic is that their leader, a Gold-rank bandit knight, is among the top-tier combat force.
Even within the Grey royal family, at the very top of the ruling class of the Grey Kingdom, Gold-rank knights are pillars of strength.
Therefore, the existence of such bandit knights poses a serious threat to the rule of viscountries that transcend baronies.