When it ca to playing cards, the Lord’s ability to control the outco was purely due to his sleight of hand.
Just during the draw, he could use his practiced moves to swap out the bad cards in his hand.
Currently, playing cards were a one-of-a-kind novelty in this world. Therefore, the Lord was naturally the only one who knew any cheating techniques.
One only had to look at Muto and Hog’s nearly bald heads to know how much they had suffered at his hands.
And that wasn’t even ntioning Sophia, the Silver Dragon, who seed a bit dim-witted. She was terrible at cards but loved to play, all while insisting she was a master.
The Lord didn’t even need to look at his cards to beat her.
When he figured the ti was about right, Levi assembled High Cliff Castle’s fully equipped Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals. He led them to a spot several miles southwest of the castle.
The delegation from Bailiu City, traveling north to High Cliff Castle, would almost certainly take this road, which had been worn smooth by the wheels of rchant caravans.
In ancient tis, there was Boss Cao seeing Guan Yunchang off from the city. Today, there was Lord Li, riding out several miles to welco his Feudal Lord.
Levi felt this grand story was worthy of being sung by Minstrels all across the continent.
"Damn it. There’s no scribe-attendant to record a scene like this. What a total loss." Levi glanced left and right, looking thoroughly dejected.
To his left was Baisitina, High Cliff Castle’s Chief of Internal Affairs. She was clad in an azure, Northern Lands-style, wolf-fur robe, her small face set in a solemn expression.
To his right was the fully armored Zat, clad in cold, jet-black Iron Armor and a ridiculously exaggerated Horned Helt. He was currently picking his nose, looking utterly bored.
The Lord decided to ignore him.
Behind him stood the various commanders of High Cliff Castle and the Beastman Guards, who were all at attention.
’I looked around. Besides Baisitina and Mier, every single one of them, to a man, is a damn illiterate. Forget making them a scribe, they can’t even write a single letter.’
’The position of a scribe requires soone to follow the Lord closely, recording his magnificent deeds. That’s obviously not a job for a man, so Mier was imdiately out.’
’That left only Baisitina. But as thick-skinned as I am, I can’t bring myself to make her take on an additional job as a scribe. She’s already responsible for all of High Cliff Castle’s logistics, internal affairs, and so on.’
’In my past life, an unscrupulous boss like would’ve had all his employees quit on him long ago.’
’High Cliff Castle now has Zat, Muto, Hog, and Orak, which is enough for the military side of things. But it’s severely lacking in administrative talent. Finding people with these skills needs to beco a priority.’
A cold wave had already hit the Northern Wilderness. The temperature had plumted in recent days, and the won, children, and elderly of High Cliff Castle were finding it hard to bear.
The exquisite long robe Baisitina was wearing was one that Levi had specially asked Lorina to purchase as a gift for her.
It was a small reward for all her hard work.
As for a salary... Levi, who had never paid his commanders a single coin, chose to ignore that topic.
’After all, High Cliff Castle is in its start-up phase. Everyone is joining as a shareholder to build this venture together. Bringing up money would just hurt our feelings, wouldn’t it?’
Just as the fourth report from the Scout Squad arrived, a convoy appeared on the horizon.
At the very front were two Armored Knights, clearing the way while holding the banner of the Martel Family of Bailiu City.
Behind them followed a cavalry troop of about a hundred. They were superbly equipped with Cavalry Armor, spears, bows, and sharp swords. Their formation was orderly and their expressions solemn—this was an elite squad of Rangers.
They typically served as the vanguard, responsible for clearing the path. Each man’s individual martial prowess was among the most exceptional in the entire army.
Farther back was an exquisite carriage, protectively encircled by the guards. Liya was clearly inside.
Levi was left speechless by the extravagant procession.
’I’m not sure if Fulina provided such a large escort because she values Liya, or if she’s trying to flex a Duke’s power on , a re Pioneer Lord. Either way, she definitely succeeded.’
’In terms of equipnt quality alone, these cavalryn are clearly a tier above High Cliff Castle’s forces. Of course, if they were to fight my Guards, the speed of their defeat would be directly proportional to how fine their gear is.’
"Lord, long ti no see."
Just as the Lord was about to stride forward to greet them, a familiar voice ca from one of the flag-bearing Armored Knights.
"Hey, I was wondering who it was. If it isn’t the famous Knight Si Kai," the Lord teased. "Say, have you fallen on hard tis? Why are you doing grunt work like carrying a flag?"
One of the knights lifted his Face-covering Helt. It was indeed Si Kai, whom he had seen just a short while ago. He smiled wryly. "Lord, you still love to joke as much as ever."
"If we’re talking about who’s most famous in the Northern Territory right now, it could only be you. You’re the Dragon Slayer Warrior who repelled the Wilderness Alliance Army with an inferior force to defend the iron mine, and then achieved a total victory against the Giant Dragon Corps."
As he spoke, Si Kai’s eyes were filled with imnse curiosity.
It had been less than a month since he last left High Cliff Castle, and he never imagined the Lord would have already pulled off another earth-shattering feat.
Slaying a dragon...
In his entire life, he had only ever heard of such things in stories. He never expected to et a real Dragon Slayer Warrior in the flesh today.
"Oh, now, it’s just an empty title," the Lord said, waving his hand in embarrassnt. But his eyes clearly said, ’You’re good at this, so please, say more.’
Si Kai pretended not to see. This Lord’s shalessness was as renowned as his na. Praising him further would be giving him an inch to take a mile, so Si Kai changed the subject. "I actually started out as a standard-bearer myself. I had nothing else to do, so I thought I’d reminisce about those morable days."
A nostalgic look crossed Si Kai’s face; he seed to be a man with many stories of his own.
"I didn’t expect you to be so sentintal," Levi said magnanimously, clapping Si Kai on the shoulder after he handed the banner to another Knight and dismounted. "Now that you’re here, you should stay for a few days. I can’t promise much else, but I can guarantee High Cliff Castle has more than enough wine."
"I’m afraid there won’t be a chance for drinks this ti." Si Kai shook his head, his expression growing heavy.
"Sounds serious, then." The two exchanged a look, a silent understanding passing between them.
As the two spoke, the escorting knights parted their ranks, opening a path wide enough for the carriage.
With the coachman’s expert handling, the exquisite carriage rolled to a smooth stop in front of them all.
A Maid from inside lifted the carriage’s curtain, revealing the person within.
The world isn’t full of surprises. Just as expected, inside the carriage sat Leia Isely, whom he hadn’t seen in a long ti.
"Good day, Miss Liya."
Levi placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly in a nobleman’s salute.
Behind him, the long-rehearsed High Cliff Castle Guard Team snapped to attention. With a sharp CLACK, their leg armor struck together. They stood ramrod straight and solemn, striking their Chest Armor with their right fists. A single, crisp sound rang out, echoing across the Wilderness.
The salute from the uniformly Black-Armored Guard Team filled the air with a silent, iron-blooded aura, making it clear to all that this was a powerful army, forged in blood and fire.
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