Sain Territory, in the great hall of Baron Reisen’s Castle.
BAM!
Reisen slamd the letter in his hand onto the table, his face contorted with rage.
"What is it, my lord?"
Knight Philton asked tentatively.
They had heard the news of Ronin defeating three Wilderness Tribes a while ago from Pasture City. When Baron Reisen found out, he had been so angry he’d smashed a Crystal Cup.
"See for yourself!"
Baron Reisen’s face was livid. His greatest regret was not having conquered those three Wilderness Tribes in one fell swoop, which would have left Ronin no opportunity to exploit.
It had all happened too fast. He hadn’t expected Wushan Castle to make Ronin the Baron of Mountain Forest Town, and he certainly hadn’t anticipated Ronin would move so quickly.
’Isn’t this guy supposed to be a good-for-nothing?’
Philton took the letter and read it quickly, his brow furrowed. "I never imagined Ronin could be so efficient. He rushed to Wushan Castle imdiately after conquering the Wilderness Tribes and secured the rights to those three territories."
As he spoke, his gaze fell back to the letter, which also ntioned that Ronin had earned Three Thousand Gold Coins from Wushan Castle for the Curved Plow.
"My lord, Ronin’s performance has completely exceeded our expectations."
Philton said in a low voice, "Killing Princest, taking control of Mountain Forest Town, conquering the Wilderness Tribes, and then securing the land rights and a large sum of money... This series of actions doesn’t seem like the work of a good-for-nothing at all. Do you think he’ll beco a major threat to us in the future?"
Baron Reisen remained silent, but the serious expression on his face made it clear he was pondering the sa question.
Their plan was for Sain Territory to control the northern lands of Wushan Territory. Once they had grown strong enough, they could work with Haid’s County to pincer Pasture City.
It was common knowledge that in his youth, Viscount Marvin Ironhoof of Pasture City had not only been good friends with Gres but had also been Lurans’s apprentice. He was loyal to Lurans’s faction in Wushan Castle and had been very unfriendly toward the Hyde Clan over the years.
To prevent any unforeseen problems, Sain Territory was to be the bridgehead for any future conflict with Pasture City.
But now, a Ronin had suddenly appeared in the north.
Initially, Reisen hadn’t taken Ronin seriously, figuring he would be lucky to simply survive in Mountain Forest Town. He never expected Ronin to actually present him with such a problem.
"My lord, what should we do?" Philton asked.
Reisen mulled it over for a mont before saying, "We don’t need to worry about Ronin himself. His ability to conquer three Wilderness Tribes so quickly is entirely thanks to his subordinate, the Knight nad Macken ntioned in the letter. But at best, he’s just an Advanced Peak Knight."
He looked at Philton. "When it cos to Advanced Level Knights, we have three, and that’s not even counting , a Bronze Level."
Philton nodded. "In terms of Knight combat strength, Ronin is inferior to us. But both Mountain Forest Town and those Wilderness Tribe lands are now considered Ronin’s territory. We have no reason to move against him."
"Wushan Castle never drew any official borders for territories like the Grey Soil Tribe and the Black-collar Tribe."
Reisen narrowed his eyes. "Even if we were to extend the Black-collar Tribe’s borders right to the Grey Soil Tribe’s doorstep, no one could say we’re encroaching on another noble’s domain."
Hearing this, Philton’s eyes lit up.
"Notify Finris and Joffrey. Tell them to expand toward the Grey Soil Tribe. If anyone dares to obstruct them or cause trouble, teach them a lesson!"
The land of the Black-collar Tribe was far better than the area around Swamp Town, and Reisen was determined to have it.
No, it wasn’t just the Black-collar Tribe’s land. He wanted to incorporate that entire uninhabited northern region into his own domain.
The northern part of Wushan Territory was lacking a Viscount, and that was Reisen’s goal.
Philton nodded. "I understand, my lord."
As a Knight who had followed Baron Reisen for many years, he understood the intent behind these arrangents.
It was simply a matter of provoking the Grey Soil Tribe to incite a bloody conflict and demonstrate Sain Territory’s strength to Ronin.
While they couldn’t attack the Grey Soil Tribe directly, no one knew its exact borders. As long as Finris and the others didn’t fight their way into the tribe’s stockade, they would be fine.
Baron Reisen flashed a cruel smile. "Ronin earned Three Thousand Gold Coins in Wushan Castle this ti, and he took Six Hundred Gold Coins from before that. That brat is loaded right now. If I don’t show him a thing or two, he’ll think he can walk all over !"
From the very beginning, Reisen had looked down on Ronin. He simply couldn’t believe that an uneducated good-for-nothing could change so much in just three short months.
Even the invention of that so-called Curved Plow was likely a design he’d stolen from so Carpenter in Mountain Forest Town.
Baron Reisen thought resentfully, ’I wonder how much longer that old man Lurans can hold on?’ If the Old Marquis died sooner, he wouldn’t have to be so cautious about certain things.
...
「Midnight, Mountain Forest Castle.」
Why do so people love to stay up all night?
The answer is: because the ti spent lying in bed is the only ti that truly belongs to them.
That was exactly how Ronin felt right now.
He hadn’t had a mont’s rest since returning to his territory. He’d been eliminating Magical Beasts, learning how to ta them, handling administrative affairs, and even checking on Elron’s progress with the Magic Scrolls...
It wasn’t until after he had taken a bath and was lying in bed that he finally had so free ti.
Opening his Attribute Panel, he first glanced at the advancent achievent for the King of Slaughter:
[King of Slaughter]: Kill any Fifth-level Extraordinary Unit. Reward: Attribute Points 300, Energy Essence 600
A Fifth-level Extraordinary Unit was either a Fifth-level Magical Beast, a Silver Knight, or a Chief Mage—all of them incredibly difficult opponents.
Ronin had been purely lucky to kill the Fourth-level Storm Demon Wolf. If the wolf had been at its full strength, he wasn’t confident he could have handled it.
’I have no idea when I’ll be able to complete this achievent.’
Ronin glanced at the achievent panel, then shifted his attention to his Attribute Panel.
He now had 201 Attribute Points and 1027 Energy Essence.
Looking at all that Energy Essence, Ronin felt the kind of joy a child feels when they suddenly get ten dollars.
1027! It was far more than he had expected!
’I wonder how much Energy Essence it takes to advance from Bronze Level to Silver Level.’
He was eager to find out, but he would have to wait until he broke through himself.
With a thought, Ronin allocated all of his Attribute Points.
This ti, his Spirit and Physical Ability received a massive boost. He felt instantly refreshed, his fatigue vanishing as his energy returned.
[Level]: 3-Advanced Level Knight (119/300); 3-Advanced Level Mage (400/400)
He was close. He just needed 181 more Attribute Points to break through the Advanced Level.
’It’s November 4th. I get 139 Attribute Points from my monthly sign-in. By the ti I go to Wushan Castle at the end of December to celebrate the Marquis’s birthday, my strength will definitely reach the Fourth-level in both my classes.’
There are quite a few Fourth-level Bronze Knights and so Fourth-level Great Mages, but a Transcendent who is both a Bronze Knight and a Great Mage is exceedingly rare.
’If I want to advance faster, my only option is to complete achievent tasks.’
For him, the next easiest achievent to complete was probably [Population Prosperity], which required his territory’s population to reach five thousand. He was still short by more than seventeen hundred people.
’Buying slaves is expensive and slow. Annexation is much faster.’
The Wilderness Tribes around Mountain Forest Town were all gone now. The only one left that he had a grudge with was Sain Territory.
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