"Jack, are you really prepared to face danger?" Fabian could see Jack's youthful drive from him. Recalling Jack's heroic spirit of not fearing danger, Fabian sighed and asked Jack.
Nodding his head heavily, Jack stubbornly said, "Yes, I've decided."
Seeing Jack so insistent, Fabian shook his head and didn't say anything else. He understood that Jack had truly grown up. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing for him to temper himself at this age. Not to mention that Fabian understood that Han Shuo would definitely take care of Jack and wouldn't let Jack get hurt.
Fabian's silence indicated that he was at least no longer opposed. When Jack looked at Han Shuo expectantly, Han Shuo, who was half a head taller than Jack, walked in front of him and patted Jack's shoulder, saying sincerely, "Don't be in a hurry to make a decision. Stay in Brettel City for a few days. Let me know when you've thought it through."
Brettel City wouldn't be peaceful during this time. Perhaps Jack would automatically dispel this idea when he truly experienced the cruelty of war, Han Shuo thought to himself.
Han Shuo didn't continue this topic with Jack afterwards. Instead, he became interested in the girl Jack liked called Jessica and asked a few questions about this girl.
From Jack's stammering narration, Han Shuo learned that this girl called Jessica was the daughter of a minor noble. Her father had met Jack when he was doing business with the Boozt Merchant Guild. Up until now, Jack had only had a one-sided crush on her. Jack, who was only an accountant at the Boozt Merchant Guild, was naturally unable to attract the attention of this noble daughter. Not to mention that apart from his fat body, Jack didn't have any assets to be proud of.
Jack had also indirectly gotten Jessica's request for a partner from Jessica. In this Profound Continent where nobles dominated, even the owner of the Boozt Merchant Guild, Phoebe, wasn't accepted by the upper class, let alone a lowly accountant like him.
Therefore, on one hand, it was out of his fanatical love for Jessica, and on the other hand, perhaps because Jack truly had the desire to improve himself. That was why he hoped to borrow Han Shuo's help.
The banquet ended in a joyous atmosphere. The commoners outside the city lord's mansion were still unwilling to disperse after hearing the news. The allure of free food was far beyond Han Shuo's imagination. The servants he'd recruited this time were busy for an entire day, but still couldn't supply enough food. They dragged it out until the sun had set and night was about to fall. Only then did the commoners disperse under the amicable persuasion of the knights.
The moon that had disappeared last night was incomparably bright tonight, as if it wanted to make up for yesterday's laziness. Standing on the tallest clock in the city, Han Shuo looked down at Brettel City shrouded in the misty moonlight. The vast Brettel City covered an enormous area. Houses stood in great numbers between the four city gates. It was completely capable of accommodating millions of people.
The original purpose of Brettel City's construction was to serve as a base point for invading the seven grand duchies. Even after experiencing vicissitudes and humiliation, Brettel City still possessed an impressive height. If it hadn't suffered repeated failures during the invasion of the seven grand duchies and suffered fatal damage from the allied forces of the seven grand duchies, Brettel City would've become one of the most secure cities in the Lancelot Empire.
Large amounts of gold coins had been invested. Han Shuo didn't hesitate to raise the height of the newly renovated Brettel City. The six magic crystal cannons on the city walls were a great deterrent. Now, even more war chariots and catapults had been added to the originally empty city walls. All kinds of heavy firepower equipment had been set up.
Unknowingly, Brettel City, this enormous war machine that should've revealed its malevolence long ago, had begun to slowly bare its sinister fangs after millions of gold coins had been invested. It was ready to crush any arrogant person who dared to invade at any time.
In the direction of Seamist City, a company of a thousand soldiers gradually returned. The weapons of this company belonging to Dorcas were bright and shiny. Compared to the weapons of the random bandits from last night, they couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. Every longsword was worth at least three gold coins, while the armor and helmets were all forged from fine steel, worth five gold coins.
In addition to the nimble sharp weapons like crossbows and daggers, every soldier's equipment was worth ten gold coins. However, these soldiers that should've been knights had temporarily become foot soldiers due to the lack of warhorses. Warhorses were a scarce resource even in the Lancelot Empire. Although the seven grand duchies were experts in raising warhorses, it was a pity that Han Shuo didn't have the means to purchase them.
Under the leadership of Dorcas, a thousand soldiers marched towards Brettel City in an orderly manner. These people had obviously experienced many battles. Their expressions were cold and detached, and their eyes were filled with hidden madness. Although their armor and weapons were polished to a dazzling shine, the bloodstains under their breastplates were extremely obvious.
Han Shuo, who was looking into the distance from the highest point of the city lord's mansion, looked at Dorcas for a while. He said in a low voice with satisfaction, "In three days, all twelve bandit groups have been annihilated. Out of the thousand soldiers, nine hundred and sixty have returned. Only forty have died. What a talent!"
Half an hour later, Dorcas had changed into a clean set of clothes and arrived at the city lord's mansion under the bright moonlight. He was received by Han Shuo in his living room.
"Dorcas, you did well. Have all twelve bandit groups been annihilated?" Han Shuo asked with a smile as he looked at Dorcas, who was kneeling on one knee.
Dorcas shook his head and raised his head to look at Han Shuo, saying, "My Lord Count, there are still seven hundred or so survivors."
Frowning, Han Shuo wasn't in a hurry to have Dorcas stand up. His fingers subconsciously tapped on the armrest of his chair as he narrowed his eyes at Dorcas, asking, "Dorcas, you brought a thousand soldiers with you. With your methods, you shouldn't have let seven hundred bandits escape, right?"
Dorcas raised his head to look at Han Shuo, replying expressionlessly, "My Lord Count, all twelve bandit groups have been annihilated. All obstacles between Seamist City and Brettel City have been eliminated. However, this lowly one believes that blindly slaughtering is not a good method. Those seven hundred bandits didn't deserve to die. They were forced to make a living and had no other choice.
This lowly one believes that if your Lordship wants to develop Brettel City as quickly as possible, then you must add an appropriate amount of appeasement to the sharp weapon of slaughter. These people who have lost their bandit leaders are very easy to tame. Once they've been tempered and sincerely believe in your Lordship, they can also become your Lordship's loyal and valiant warriors. "
Han Shuo was silent for a while after hearing Dorcas' words. He looked Dorcas in the eye and slowly nodded, saying, "Dorcas, you're right. I was indeed thoughtless. Hmm, so you've subdued all seven hundred bandits, but I didn't see them? "
Dorcas nodded, still kneeling on one knee in front of Han Shuo before Han Shuo gave the order. He said respectfully, "That's right, all seven hundred and forty-two bandits have pledged allegiance. They're currently cleaning up the battlefield under my orders. My Lord, the road from Seamist City to Brettel City is littered with the rotting corpses of refugees. This kind of environment doesn't seem suitable for Brettel City's development, so I ordered the bandits to clean up all the eyesores along the way. "
"Very good, Dorcas. You've done very well. Oh, right, weren't you afraid that the bandits would flee when all your men returned? "Han Shuo first praised, then asked with some doubt in his heart.
"My Lord might not know, but the lives of the bandits aren't much better than those of the refugees. I only promised them the treatment of ordinary soldiers in Brettel City, and they agreed without any hesitation." Dorcas replied. He paused for a moment, then took out a bag of money and handed it to Han Shuo with both hands, saying, "The twelve bandit groups obtained a total of thirty-seven thousand and two hundred gold coins. There were also some gold, silver, jade, and ores worth about eighty to ninety thousand gold coins. The soldiers brought them back to the warehouse. As for the worthless weapons, they were temporarily hoarded in one of the bandits' lair because they weren't worth much and were heavy. I didn't think there was a need to bring them back, so I left them there. "
"Good, very good. You've thought things through. Get up, I'll remember your great contribution in this matter. As long as you continue like this, you'll get what you need sooner or later! " Han Shuo looked deeply at Dorcas, saying, "Brettel City is a stage for you. It looks like you've gradually adapted to your role. Our Empire's armies have invaded the seven grand duchies many times to no avail, but since we're standing here now, we must seize this opportunity to soar to the top at all costs. We'll show those mediocre people of the Empire what they can't do."
"This lowly one swears to follow my Lord to the death!" Dorcas shouted in a low voice, straightening his spine in front of Han Shuo like another invincible "Demonslayer Edge".
"Alright, you may leave. Keep these gold coins for now, consider them your pay for equipping the weapons and armor of those seven hundred new soldiers." Han Shuo motioned for Dorcas to leave. After Dorcas left, Han Shuo sank into deep thought. He thought about Dorcas' words about the appropriate amount of conciliation, and felt that Dorcas' words did indeed make some sense.
The next day, early in the morning.
Dick hurriedly came to see Han Shuo, reporting to Han Shuo, "My Lord, several bandit groups of the same size as Troda are currently gathered in a dense forest twenty miles in front of Brettel City. This lowly one received this news from a Dark Mantle member who was on a mission in the seven grand duchies. I heard that there are fifteen thousand bandit groups this time, and they're preparing to wildly plunder our city."
"They should be here soon!" Han Shuo snorted coldly, saying, "Send people to pay close attention to their movements. Fifteen thousand bandits, this will be the first true challenge to Brettel City!"
"My Lord, do you want this lowly one to notify the mountain chief on the mountain? With just three thousand soldiers defending Brettel City, it's too dangerous this time. The mountain chiefs might even help us! "Dick suggested.
Shaking his head, Han Shuo said, "Not for now. This is a test for us. Whether or not we can make them behave in the future will depend on the results of this battle. Humph, although we only have three thousand soldiers, the current Brettel City is no longer the same dilapidated city walls as before. I've spent so many gold coins, how can Brettel City be so easily breached? "
The reason why Han Shuo dared to say this was because he had some confidence. The soldiers hiding on top of the tall city walls could use the heavy firepower of war chariots and catapults to bombard the city. The other six magic crystal cannons weren't to be trifled with. In the worst case scenario, Han Shuo could still summon the undead army to participate in the battle. Han Shuo believed that it wouldn't be so easy for fifteen thousand bandits to breach the current Brettel City.
Before anyone knew it, Brettel City had already become under martial law. Soldiers were often seen dragging huge rocks on the streets. But for some reason, the huge war chariots and magic crystal cannons that the commoners saw every day were pulled to the back with gray cloth, as if they were afraid of being discovered.
Towards this new City Lord, the commoners were indifferent at the beginning, but now, they gradually became more interested. The news of the annihilation of the bandits on Mount Tali, as well as the annihilation of a dozen bandit groups between Seamist City and Brettel City, had long since spread throughout Brettel City through deliberate propaganda.
In addition to the endless supply of food from the city lord's mansion during the Food Festival yesterday, the commoners in the city had had a great feast. Their resistance towards the new city lord had gradually lessened.
However, they were already used to the city lord's betrayal at critical times. Before the true crisis arrived, would this new city lord be able to withstand the test? Was he worthy of their trust? It was still an unknown at the moment. Therefore, these commoners hadn't truly opened their hearts to the new city lord yet. They only observed the changes in Brettel City silently.
Another day passed, and all four of Brettel City's city gates were closed. No merchants or commoners were allowed to leave. The sparse soldiers on the four city gates were all vigilant. Several squads of knights patrolled back and forth on their warhorses without rest.
Although these knights didn't say much, the commoners of Brettel City, who had experienced the pain of war, could already smell a familiar scent from these traces.
War was coming!
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