Chapter 358 - 352: Return to Giant Stone City

「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Ronin summoned all the Transcendents, led by Elron, as well as the officials and clerks, led by Wilson and Chahar, to gather at the Swamp Castle fortress.

In the past, back in Mountain Forest Town, Ronin had very few people under him. The small fortress hall had plenty of empty space even when everyone was seated.

But now, Swamp Castle’s fortress hall was packed to the brim. There were even many Professional Knights, Political Assistants, and others with unfamiliar faces he had never seen before.

These Knights who had recently joined the territory had also been very excited for the past two days. After all, they were about to appear before their Lord. They were now watching the Lord at the head of the hall with rapt attention, listening carefully to his words.

Ronin naturally started with a few words of welcome, letting them feel their Lord’s enthusiasm.

Then, he recounted his experiences in Golden Feather City.

Wubei Territory was still somewhat isolated, so the news that Ronin had become a Kingdom Baron hadn’t reached here yet.

So when his followers heard the news, they immediately grew excited.

Only with a powerful Lord would their own futures be brighter.

This was especially true for Rogner and Yusuf. They never expected that this man, younger than them, had received such an honor just by making a trip to the Royal Capital.

Of course, they didn’t know that this was largely thanks to the cooperation between Wushan Castle and His Majesty the King.

Ronin didn’t elaborate. He just needed his followers to know that Wubei Territory had a limitless future.

After some words of encouragement, Ronin began to lay out his plans for Wubei Territory’s future.

The formation of the territory’s Knight Squads and Guards had to continue.

A standard Count was expected to have a Knight Order, a standard Ronin was still far from reaching.

In addition, Ronin also emphasized his plans for the territory’s housing construction, road building, agricultural development, and commercial expansion.

He particularly stressed commerce. Faced with rising expenses, Wubei Territory needed to earn more money to support more people and maintain more infrastructure projects.

The most important of these infrastructure projects were the construction of Wubei Port and New Wubei City, which required preparing a sufficient workforce in advance.

At the same time, Ronin also planned to recruit adult men from Swamp Town who were good swimmers to enlist as Sailors, and to recruit more Professional Knights to serve as the Navy’s fighting force.

It would be best if they could begin training once Reis Knight from Sharp Horn City arrived.

After he laid out this series of plans, both the new members with a vague understanding of Wubei Territory and the old members who had been too overwhelmed with work to think much about it gained a clearer vision of the territory’s future.

With clear goals, future development would be much more efficient.

The meeting lasted from the afternoon until evening. Ronin wasn’t stingy, and he had everyone stay for a banquet at Swamp Castle right then and there.

As the former steward, Chahar might have felt a pang of pain at the cost of grain and wine for such a large banquet. But now, he was the Finance Officer. He could just eat and drink his fill, leaving such worries for Gallon, the new steward, to have a headache over.

The stars were sparse in the night sky. After a joyous time, the knights began to leave one after another.

Those who had homes in Swamp Town returned to them, while those who didn’t spent the night at an inn in town.

Rig and Damon, good friends who had joined Wubei Territory together, were now walking shoulder to shoulder toward an inn.

One of them, a Bronze Knight, was assigned to Grey Soil Village in Sanfang Town.

The other, an Advanced Level Knight, was assigned to the relatively peaceful Mountain Forest Town.

"Very special!"

Rig thought for a long time before saying these two words.

Damon, however, completely agreed. "I always thought a lord’s life was all about idly enjoying the service of their servants. That apart from Cultivation, all they thought about was how to exploit the residents and slaves in their territory. But today, our young Lord has completely changed my perspective!"

During the meeting, Ronin didn’t even mention exploiting peasants to increase taxes. On the contrary, many of his policies provided numerous benefits to the common people.

What impressed Damon the most were those long-term yet clear plans.

Ronin felt like a true nobleman to him. In his presence, Damon felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.

"This is our opportunity, Damon."

Rig took a deep breath. The night air was cool, but his heart was burning with passion.

"Wubei Territory needs people everywhere. As long as we serve the Lord actively, we can definitely achieve things we never dared to imagine before!"

"I think so too!"

Damon agreed wholeheartedly once again.

In fact, it wasn’t just him. Everyone present today had been won over by Ronin’s plans and believed that Wubei Territory would only get better and better.

Ronin didn’t know what his subordinates were thinking. He was just developing the territory step-by-step according to his own plans.

Those who could keep up with his pace would naturally be given important roles, while those who couldn’t would be gradually phased out.

The next morning after breakfast, Ronin summoned Carlos to the spacious landing pad in the backyard.

The Giant Dragon looked him up and down and said in a booming voice, "I sense a stronger pressure from you, Master. Your power seems to have grown!"

Ronin leaped onto its back and said with a smile, "I am now a Meteor Knight and a Great Mage."

As Carlos took to the sky, he couldn’t help but let out a long breath. His master’s power was increasing so quickly it felt unreal.

The man and the Dragon sped off in the direction of Giant Stone City.

Along the way, Ronin instructed Carlos to swing by the Wushan Demon Beast Mountain Range when he had time and see if he could find any Storm Demon Wolves.

If he could, he should catch two male wolves in advance. Then they wouldn’t have to worry when Black Tiger went into heat.

Swamp Castle was far from Giant Stone City, but at Carlos’s speed, they arrived above Giant Stone Castle in just over two hours.

The former master of this castle, Coren Hansen, Leader of Wushan Castle’s Fifth Knight Order, had already faced judgment after his capture. If he was lucky, he had already been reborn for several months.

And this Giant Stone Castle, with a corner of its wall blown off, was now in Ronin’s possession.

Coren had been countless times wealthier than Reisen, so Giant Stone Castle was naturally far more magnificent than Swamp Castle.

’If it were possible, I’d really love to move this castle back to Wubei Territory. It would be a much better fit for my current status.’

Carlos slowly landed before the main gate of Giant Stone Castle. After jumping down, Ronin walked toward the gate.

"Halt!"

The two guards at the gate, both unfamiliar faces, shouted immediately. Seeing Ronin suddenly walk across the drawbridge, they assumed their own negligence was to blame for not spotting him sooner.

Ronin smiled, not bothering to argue with the guards. "Where’s Macken? Tell him to come see me."

The two guards exchanged a look. ’Macken is the current administrator of Giant Stone City. Who is this young man, to address him directly by name the moment he arrives?’

"What business do you have with Lord Macken?"

Ronin was about to explain when a familiar figure walked out from inside. It was one of his followers, the knight Dandy.

Dandy had originally come to see what the commotion was about, but he never expected the Lord to appear so suddenly.

"My Lord, what are you doing here!"

Dandy hurried forward and shouted, "This is Lord Ronin, the Count of Wubei Territory and the master of Giant Stone City! You two, can’t you even remember the Lord’s appearance?"

The two guards immediately began to tremble. They were commoners and didn’t know much about the nobility. They hadn’t thought much of it when they first saw Ronin’s silver hair.

Berated by Dandy, the two hastily dropped to one knee and apologized profusely, terrified of offending the Lord and being punished.

"It is your duty. I can see you are diligent and conscientious."

Ronin smiled and gestured for them to rise. As guards watching the main gate, their performance was more than adequate.

"Where’s Macken? Is he in the castle?"

Dandy shook his head. As he invited Ronin into the castle, he explained, "A merchant caravan was reportedly causing trouble in the city, so Lord Macken took the Knight Squad to deal with it. He left me behind to guard the castle."

"Knight Squad?" Ronin raised an eyebrow. ’Where did Macken get a Knight Squad?’

’If I remember correctly, when I made the arrangements, Macken only brought Wodun and Dandy with him. Oh, or three if you included Sailin.’

Dandy explained with a smile, "Lord Macken recruited them all here in Giant Stone City. Including Lord Macken, we now have a total of twelve Professional Knights, which is just enough to form a Knight Squad."

Hearing this, Ronin couldn’t help but laugh.

He had told Macken he could recruit his own team, but he never expected the man to go and form a whole Knight Squad.

"Go and inform Macken. Tell him to come see me after he’s finished."

Ronin added, "Oh, and have Sailin come as well."