Sain Territory, in the great hall of Baron Reisenās Castle.
BAM!
Reisen slammed 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 heād smashed a Crystal Cup.
"See for yourself!"
Baron Reisenās 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 hadnāt expected Wushan Castle to make Ronin the Baron of Mountain Forest Town, and he certainly hadnāt anticipated Ronin would move so quickly.
āIsnāt this guy supposed to be a good-for-nothing?ā
Philton took the letter and read it quickly, his brow furrowed. "I never imagined Ronin could be so efficient. He rushed to Wushan Castle immediately 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 mentioned that Ronin had earned Three Thousand Gold Coins from Wushan Castle for the Curved Plow.
"My lord, Roninās 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 doesnāt seem like the work of a good-for-nothing at all. Do you think heāll become 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 same 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 Haidās 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 Gremes but had also been Luransās apprentice. He was loyal to Luransās 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 hadnāt 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 moment before saying, "We donāt need to worry about Ronin himself. His ability to conquer three Wilderness Tribes so quickly is entirely thanks to his subordinate, the Knight named Macken mentioned in the letter. But at best, heās just an Advanced Peak Knight."
He looked at Philton. "When it comes to Advanced Level Knights, we have three, and thatās not even counting me, 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 Roninās 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 Tribeās borders right to the Grey Soil Tribeās doorstep, no one could say weāre encroaching on another nobleās domain."
Hearing this, Philtonās 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 wasnāt just the Black-collar Tribeās 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 Reisenās goal.
Philton nodded. "I understand, my lord."
As a Knight who had followed Baron Reisen for many years, he understood the intent behind these arrangements.
It was simply a matter of provoking the Grey Soil Tribe to incite a bloody conflict and demonstrate Sain Territoryās strength to Ronin.
While they couldnāt attack the Grey Soil Tribe directly, no one knew its exact borders. As long as Finris and the others didnāt fight their way into the tribeās stockade, they would be fine.
Baron Reisen flashed a cruel smile. "Ronin earned Three Thousand Gold Coins in Wushan Castle this time, and he took Six Hundred Gold Coins from me before that. That brat is loaded right now. If I donāt show him a thing or two, heāll think he can walk all over me!"
From the very beginning, Reisen had looked down on Ronin. He simply couldnāt 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 heād stolen from some Carpenter in Mountain Forest Town.
Baron Reisen thought resentfully, āI wonder how much longer that old man Lurans can hold on?ā If the Old Marquis died sooner, he wouldnāt have to be so cautious about certain things.
...
ćMidnight, Mountain Forest Castle.ć
Why do some people love to stay up all night?
The answer is: because the time spent lying in bed is the only time that truly belongs to them.
That was exactly how Ronin felt right now.
He hadnāt had a momentās rest since returning to his territory. Heād been eliminating Magical Beasts, learning how to tame them, handling administrative affairs, and even checking on Elronās progress with the Magic Scrolls...
It wasnāt until after he had taken a bath and was lying in bed that he finally had some free time.
Opening his Attribute Panel, he first glanced at the advancement achievement 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 Mageāall 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 wasnāt confident he could have handled it.
āI have no idea when Iāll be able to complete this achievement.ā
Ronin glanced at the achievement 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!
āI wonder how much Energy Essence it takes to advance from Bronze Level to Silver Level.ā
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 time, 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.
āItās November 4th. I get 139 Attribute Points from my monthly sign-in. By the time I go to Wushan Castle at the end of December to celebrate the Marquisās birthday, my strength will definitely reach the Fourth-level in both my classes.ā
There are quite a few Fourth-level Bronze Knights and some Fourth-level Great Mages, but a Transcendent who is both a Bronze Knight and a Great Mage is exceedingly rare.
āIf I want to advance faster, my only option is to complete achievement tasks.ā
For him, the next easiest achievement to complete was probably [Population Prosperity], which required his territoryās population to reach five thousand. He was still short by more than seventeen hundred people.
āBuying slaves is expensive and slow. Annexation is much faster.ā
The Wilderness Tribes around Mountain Forest Town were all gone now. The only one left that he had a grudge with was Sain Territory.