met free Page 20
Page 20
“Mr. Leon, I remember you owed 300 gold coins for drinks at my tavern. Should I remind your good comrade, my old man Lawson, when we get back?”
Unexpectedly, Lani crossed her arms forcefully, straightened her back, looked at the butler Leon, and interrupted him in an aggressive tone.
"All the soldiers in the militia unanimously recommended that Lancelot be promoted from acting deputy commander to deputy commander."
But... I don't think this is urgent. I think we can talk about it another day.
The butler, Leon, seemed to have been caught red-handed by Lani. His tone became no longer hesitant, and he quickly changed the content of his report and finished speaking.
He then turned around decisively.
Immediately afterwards, he walked out of the main entrance of the office hall without stopping.
After exiting through the main door, the butler, Leon, thoughtfully turned back to close the door.
Before leaving, he cast a complicated glance at Arthur, as if to say, "Young Master, I really can't help you."
"Bang!"
Finally, with a loud slam of the door, only two people remained in the office hall: Arthur and Lani.
Look at Arthur.
He seemed to accept the status quo, decided to stop running away, and looked at Lani again.
But Arthur didn't know what to say:
"Miss Lani, I..."
To Arthur's surprise, Lani didn't dwell on the previous topic; instead, she began to inquire about the matters he needed to handle.
“Little Lion, I heard from Grandpa Lawson that you won the battle against the Wind Wolves and harvested a large number of adult Wind Wolves’ carcasses.”
Arthur was puzzled by this and asked curiously:
Why are you concerned about this?
"Isn't it because our ambitious lord uses being too busy as an excuse to avoid my sincere love?"
Lani naturally sat down in a seat next to the head of the long table and began to speak fluently:
"Therefore, I've decided to work with you to deal with this batch of adult wind wolf carcasses."
"Hmph! Let's see how you reject my love then."
Arthur grinned upon hearing this, but didn't respond.
However, putting aside Lani's "fervor" for him, after some rational thought, Arthur realized that Lani might actually be able to help him handle some affairs within his territory.
Because Lani not only has a beautiful appearance and an outgoing personality, but also the status of a friendly tavern granddaughter, she often interacts with the residents of Frostraven, the most populous town.
Now, Arthur wants to expand his territory, and he needs this kind of talent!
With this in mind, Arthur stopped resisting Lani and began to tell her about some things he had been thinking about the previous night:
"In the battle against the Wind Wolves, we obtained the corpses of eighty-one adult Wind Wolves and one Tier 3 Alpha Wolf."
Currently, in order to enhance my ability to unite the people as the new lord, I have already used the carcasses of ten adult wind wolves, along with half of the militia members returning home on leave, to give back to the villagers in the surrounding villages and spread the word about the success of this battle.
"My lord, please continue."
Lani blinked her bright eyes, abandoning her frivolous attitude and listening attentively.
"If properly processed, the remaining adult wind wolf carcasses and pelts can yield about 2500 kilograms of meat and 200 pieces of warm clothing for the winter."
The problem is, I don't yet have a concrete idea of who should handle these valuable resources.
Chapter 22 Rinpu Village and Hanwu Village
Who will handle this batch of important resources?
After hearing this, Lani fell into deep thought, a serious expression appearing on the girl's pretty face.
True.
Arthur had only been the Lord of Blackrock for a month. Although he had a clear general direction for the development of his territory, he was not sure about the details.
This is because he did not yet have a deep understanding of the specific conditions of the people's livelihood in the territory.
Currently, Arthur's rudimentary understanding of Blackrock Territory is:
Black Rock Territory is divided into an outer area and a central area.
The surrounding area contains seven villages with small populations, whose economy is mainly based on agriculture and is underdeveloped.
The central region, including the town of Frostraven, which contains Blackrock Fortress, has the largest population. Its economic lifeline is a valuable but slow-moving Ink Crystal mine, followed by handicrafts and commerce.
If it weren't for Lani's farce last night, Arthur's original plan for today was to complete his first territory patrol.
He planned to take some of the militia soldiers and travel across this northern land of over 300 square kilometers to find out the specific conditions of the people living in the territory.
But now that Lani is determined to help him manage the spoils from the Wind Wolf Pack battle, he'll try to test her abilities.
Arthur looked at Lani, waiting for her answer.
Shortly after.
Lani finished thinking and spoke:
"My lord, I have found a suitable person to handle this batch of resources."
"Then tell me."
Arthur sat in the main seat, casting an expectant look at her.
"Residents of Linfeng Village and Hanwu Village, which are located near the Northern Wilderness."
Arthur was not surprised by this answer.
Because, when he was thinking about this problem last night, he also thought about the residents of Rinfeng Village and Hanwu Village.
They might be the right place and the right people to dispose of the wind wolf's carcass.
But he was curious about why Lani had chosen that place, so he pressed her for an answer:
Why them?
There are three reasons.
Lani held up three fingers and began to speak eloquently:
"First, the extreme cold climate is due to its proximity to the Cold Ridge Mountains."
Large ice cellars can be built there, which is conducive to the storage of wind wolf carcasses and extends their shelf life.
Secondly, the weaving skills possessed by residents who survived in extremely cold climates.
They can utilize wolf pelts better and faster to weave high-quality, warm clothing.
Thirdly...
"And what's the third reason?"
When Arthur noticed that Lani paused suddenly when she got to the last part, he became even more curious and pressed her for more information.
The girl blinked her bright eyes, no longer keeping him in suspense:
"Thirdly, Linfeng Village and Hanwu Village have regional priority for territory development."
Compared to other villages within Blackrock Territory, its harsh climate ironically became a form of refuge, allowing for priority development and resource allocation.
"You mean the priority of development? Shouldn't it be Frostraven Town in the central region, where more manpower and advanced production materials should be invested to mine more black crystals?"
Arthur shook his head, adopting the perspective and viewpoint of the Blackrock Lord, and retorted:
"Furthermore, there is the situation outside."
The powerful Earl of the North is declaring war on the alien races living in the Frostridge Mountains.
Who knows, in the future, the northern wilderness area near the Cold Ridge Mountains in Blackrock Territory might be invaded and occupied by alien races?
If resources are invested in developing that area, how will we cope with such a disaster then?
"I've heard Grandpa Lawson talk about the war between the Earl of the North and the Snow Mountain tribes."
Lani was not flustered by Arthur's reasoned rebuttal; she seemed to have considered this point and continued:
"There is indeed a possibility that the Northern Wilderness will be invaded by the snow mountain aliens in the future, but it will not affect the current development priority of the two villages, Linfeng Village and Hanwu Village."
"Hmm! I don't quite understand what Miss Lani means."
Arthur stared at the exquisite and beautiful young woman with great interest.
Lani replied:
"Because the cold climate is suitable for the development of the forging industry, which can produce higher quality tools and weapons."
Lani paused halfway through her sentence, then got up and walked to the high window in the office lobby.
She pointed to the soldiers strolling outside the barracks:
"And the military forces that the lord has prioritized for development now require supplies from the forging industry."
"Clap clap clap!"
After hearing this, Arthur couldn't help but stand up and applaud her:
"That's right!"
Lani's words pinpointed the crux of Arthur's current predicament.
He frowned and continued, addressing her point of view:
"Although the Battle of the Wind Wolf Pack was a complete victory without any casualties, in fact, after the post-battle statistics were completed, our side suffered heavy losses in armor and weapons."
Although this battle helped soldiers gain combat experience and improve their combat skills, without a complete armed force, their overall combat effectiveness would likely have declined compared to before.
After the post-war inventory of equipment was completed.
Arthur immediately spoke with his butler, Leon, about how to repair the equipment and when it could be repaired.
The butler, Leon, gave the answer—at least one month.
He said that there is currently only one complete forging workshop in Frostraven Town within Blackrock Territory, plus some individual forging operators, totaling less than 20 people.
If we were to gather them all together and dedicate them to the equipment repair project for this campaign, it would take at least a month.
Moreover, their forging skills are mostly only sufficient for repairing the ordinary equipment of militia soldiers, and they cannot repair the more refined equipment used by Black Iron Knights.
Arthur's one-piece plate armor, which was smashed to pieces by the Tier 3 One-Eyed Wolf, was beyond repair and could only be remade.
This will be an excessive expenditure.
In fact, Arthur had already settled accounts for all his assets after taking control of the Field family.
He categorized them into fixed assets and current assets.
The fixed assets mainly consist of the two magical beasts raised, the Black-haired Horse and the Frost Raven, the most valuable strategic resources, as well as a thousand acres of land estate and the precious Black Crystal Mine.
The Field family's liquid assets consist of their treasury, which currently holds over twelve thousand gold coins.
Regarding income and expenditure.
The Field family, to which Arthur belongs, receives two thousand gold coins annually from the produce of their land and estate.
Every year, the steward Leon, acting as the lord's agent, would also collect approximately five thousand gold coins in various taxes from the residents of the territory.
Meanwhile, the family-managed Ink Crystal Mine also generates 7,000 gold coins, which is the main source of income.
And speaking of expenses...
Before Arthur succeeded him, the main task was to maintain the luxurious lifestyle of the manor and support the squires and servants, headed by the butler Leon. Maintaining the luxurious lifestyle of the manor was the biggest expense, costing around 10,000 gold coins.
Of course, all of this is "thanks" to his recently deceased father, Richard.
Although Richard, the elderly father, had lost his royal status and honor, he still maintained his consistent royal demeanor in his lifestyle.
Therefore, overall, while Richard was still alive, the family's expenses and income were balanced.
However, after Arthur succeeded to the throne, everything began to change dramatically.
Chapter 23 Runesmithing Craftsmen
The first thing Arthur did after succeeding as Lord of Blackrock was to develop military power.