Chapter 32: The Council of the Territory

At night, lying in bed, Verin felt an unprecedented sense of ease.

After two battles, the population of his domain had reached four thousand, weaponry and equipment had been greatly enriched, and the strength of his knights had improved—truly a cause for celebration all around.

Next, Verin planned to organize three companies of one hundred infantry each, one company of one hundred archers, and to intensify the training of knightly squires.

Through these two battles, he realized he had too few knights under his command, making it impossible to mount an effective charge.

He recalled, with envy, how his cousin had commanded hundreds of knights and squires on the battlefield as if moving his own arms.

At eight o’clock, the pleasant voice sounded once again, bringing him valuable news.

“Fifteen days from now, thirty kilometers west of Lake Starprayer, a group of centaurs will be herding a group of blue-violet horses through this area. Among them, a brown centaur possesses low-rank silver strength.”

The moment he heard the news, Verin shot up from bed.

The blue-violet horses—good endurance, strong carrying capacity, gentle temperament, able to bear over a thousand pounds with ease. Most important of all, as long as the compatibility threshold was met, these horses could briefly form a mental link with knights, greatly increasing their value on the battlefield.

The only problem was that among these herding centaurs, one had reached low-rank silver—a challenge not easily overcome.

“Fortune favors the bold; the timid starve. As long as I prepare ahead of time, I refuse to believe I can’t take down a low-rank silver centaur.”

Verin made up his mind—no matter what, he would get those blue-violet horses.

With half a month’s time, it was enough for him to set traps along their route.

The next morning, as was customary, a new council meeting was held to summarize the previous month’s gains and losses.

First, Beld, the current regent, stood to deliver his report: “My lord, in July, we cultivated four thousand acres of land, and the construction plan south of Lake Starprayer is basically complete. There are two lumber camps, two quarries, one salt mine, and one secret mine. The population has reached four thousand two hundred, with free citizens making up seven percent.”

Next, Andrew rose to report: “My lord, the salt mine yielded forty tons this month. With more workers added, we expect to reach about one hundred tons.”

“My lord, the outer wall of the castle has two sides completed. With the increased workforce, half-elf maiden Eunice estimates that the scheduled construction will be finished in two months. She asks if we should add more building projects.” Randolph, the knight stationed at Lake Starprayer, reported.

“Pass on my orders: Once the planned projects are finished, select the most important facilities for construction.”

“Yes, my lord.” Randolph bowed deeply and sat down.

Finally, Greg, the knight in charge of the public warehouse, stood to report: “My lord, the warehouse currently contains one hundred and fifty sets of iron armor, six hundred sets of leather armor, fifty knight’s longswords, three hundred spears, three hundred bolts of cloth, twenty-five hundred pounds of grain spirits, three hundred pounds of fruit wine… thirty thousand pounds of processed mineral salt, fifty thousand pounds of unprocessed mineral salt, six hundred and thirty thousand pounds of grain, and one hundred and forty warhorses.”

Unwittingly, the supplies under his command had grown so abundant.

After hearing the reports, Verin prepared to deploy the plan for the coming month.

“Beld.”

“Your subordinate is here.” Beld, seated nearest, stood and saluted with a fist to his chest.

“In the coming month, I need you to reorganize the domain’s army, setting the quota at four hundred men. Form squads of ten, companies of fifty, and assemble six companies of infantry and two companies of archers.”

“Also, urge the craftsmen to continue building triple-bow ballistae—the more, the better.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Verin then began issuing orders to the other knights with official duties.

Finally, he looked around and said in a deep voice, “Hebrew.”

Startled awake at the last seat, Hebrew stood and responded loudly, “My lord.”

“I intend to entrust you with the management of one hundred and forty warhorses, to assist your brother in training knightly squires.”

“Yes, my lord!” Hebrew replied, his voice full of excitement.

After so long, he could finally contribute and serve his lord.

“This meeting is adjourned. Orlando, stay behind.”

Fourteen knights stood and left the wooden lodge one after another.

Once they had all departed, Verin turned to look at Orlando, who seemed to have grown a few centimeters taller.

“How have those children progressed in training this month? How many have reached my specified standards?”

Orlando answered immediately, “My lord, out of one hundred youths, seventeen have passed. The remaining eighty-three have all been assigned as apprentices to craftsmen as you instructed.”

“That’s not bad. A seventeen percent pass rate is higher than I expected.”

He had thought that if ten out of a hundred qualified, it would be considered good, but unexpectedly there were seventeen.

Verin recalled seeing a survey in Windsor Castle a few years ago, which recorded the results of the knight and mage academies in the capital as they sampled towns nearby, testing the training aptitude of commoner children.

The conclusion was: out of one hundred youths, seventy could meet the threshold to become warriors, five to become knights, and one to become a mage.

As for rarer professions, such as his cousin Brian’s magic knight Adrian, there was roughly one in three hundred thousand.

“By the way, how is your training progressing?”

Facing Verin’s inquiry, Orlando replied without hesitation, “My lord, I am now at the threshold of mid-bronze rank and expect to break through to high-bronze in a little over half a month.”

“Good. If you need anything, tell me.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

With that, Orlando took his leave, and Verin was left alone in the wooden lodge.

Looking out the window at the beautiful scenery of Lake Starprayer, his mood gradually relaxed.

The primary task ahead was to set traps, ambush the centaurs, obtain the blue-violet horses, and further strengthen his forces.

Two days later, once the domain was running smoothly, Verin took two knights and traveled thirty kilometers west of Lake Starprayer to survey the terrain and devise an attack plan.

Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never lose a hundred battles.

Along the way, apart from encountering a few stray goblins, all the other creatures were brainless beasts—easy prey for their meals.

Standing atop a hill, he looked down at a vast green grassland, with the occasional kobold or goblin wandering about.

Verin took out a pencil, spread out a blank sheet of paper, and began recording the topography.

Overall, the land was higher on both sides and lower in the middle, gently sloping, surrounded by low shrubs and weeds—hardly any good spots for an ambush.

“It seems we’ll have to set the trap elsewhere and use bait to lure that low-rank silver centaur away.”

The key question, then, was what could tempt a centaur to leave the blue-violet horses and follow the bait.

In the next moment, Verin found his answer.

“Come, let’s go take a look over there.”

Verin took the reins and, with his two men, headed off to another place.