Tommar hesitated for a moment with a changing expression, and seeing that the lord's expression was gradually becoming impatient, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, my lord! Your faithful servant will surely complete the task you have been given! ”

"Very well," Shepard smiled with satisfaction, "and when you come back from your mission, Tommar, I'll let you take care of the castle's food purchases." ”

"Yes! Thank you for your grace! Tommar was happy, he was originally just an ordinary attendant in the farm, and his income as a lord's attendant did not change much, but if he was responsible for the purchase of the castle's ingredients, it would be a good thing, after all, although most of the food in Prell Castle was the output of the manor, a small part of it still had to be purchased from Riverbend Town.

……

Twenty days later.

The vicinity of Prell Castle has changed dramatically, the river flowing from Lake Esmeer from north to south, and the castle surrounded by water on three sides to the land side, has now established a village that has begun to take shape, and most of the villagers are resettled refugees, who have no land and wealth of their own, and whose status is similar to that of the serfs of the barony, and is the property of the baron.

The name of the village did not take much thought, and the village of Prell, with its scattered houses built along both sides of a main road deliberately set aside in the center of the village, is different from the chaotic planning of most villages and towns in the world, although the inhabitants are still very poor, but there is also some happiness that they have survived the catastrophe and settled down again.

Shepard led a few of his retinue through the village on horseback, and all the villagers who saw them hurriedly bent down or took off their hats to salute him, and for a time the "Baron" was filled with awe and respect.

He smiled and waved his hand to the villagers, although the few entourages behind him looked proud, but no one dared to show that they were very rampant, including Tommar, many of the entourages had already been rectified several times by the free-handed Baron Prell, so that they could recognize the baron's tolerance for his subordinates.

"My lord! Look at the inhabitants of Prell, how much they respect and adore you! "Tommar has always maintained the professionalism of a dog, and spared no effort to spread the prestige of the new baron to every corner of the territory, otherwise Shepard would not have been able to tolerate such a person who is constantly slapping horses.

Shepard laughed and didn't say anything, but a guard in leather armor behind him couldn't get used to Tommar's behavior, and snorted coldly: "Sycophant." ”

Tommar turned his head, his smiling expression unchanged, "Captain Jeff, am I wrong?" You see that these lords are so respectful to Lord Baron, isn't it because of Lord Baron's majesty and power that they feel respected from the bottom of their hearts? ”

Jeffer, a veteran, was a surprise that Shepard had unearthed in Rivertown, and Jeffer, who had been promoted to captain of the Baron's Guard, was at odds with a courtier like Tommar, but every provocation ended in failure.

Shepard laughed, not participating in the small struggles of his subordinates, and sometimes helping Jeff, because people like Tommar have to make him isolated, so that he will know to be loyal to his master, and he must not hold real power to avoid delaying big things.

"Tommar! I originally asked you to be in charge of the castle's food procurement, but now that I have brought you out, will you hold a grudge in your heart? ”

As the group jolted rhythmically as the horses advanced, Shepard suddenly spoke, a smile on his face with his back to the group.

Tommar didn't dare to come up and overtake the lord in his position, so he could only hurriedly say loudly: "Lord Baron! The adults have put their trust in me by taking Tommar with them! I just want to follow my lordship, and always feel the majesty of the baron baptizing my soul and heart, this is a gift to me, my lord! ”

The expressions of the other people behind him were different, Jeff's face looked like he was about to vomit, and Shepard laughed: "I understand your loyalty, then you can take the first step and inform Viscount Dureth of our itinerary, and I will be there later." ”

Tommar's face turned pale and he said nervously, "Lord Baron, you said that I should go to the military camp of His Excellency the Viscount...... Messenger? ”

"Huh? Any questions? The baron's tone was cold.

Tommar said with a bitter face: "No! Absolutely nothing! My lord, I'm going to go! ”

He whipped his whip, neighed the horse under his crotch, and immediately rushed out of the group and ran away from the group, leading the way into the distance.

"My lord, let Tommar deliver the message, okay?" Jeffer lifted the reins for the mount to take a few steps forward, and whispered.

Shepard didn't care, "It's nothing, and it's not the first time he's been a messenger. After a pause, he suddenly smiled and said, "And I always feel that Tommar has something to hide from me, since this is the case, it is inevitable to hone and hone him more." ”

Jeff shrank his head, not daring to say anything more.

Shepard looked back at a few people and said loudly, "Speed up!" Since Tommar had already gone to tell us the news, by the time we arrived, the tent and hot water should be ready! Although I have spoken to His Excellency the Viscount to let them go first, I have also promised to join him before they reach the territory of Count Salibota! ”

The crowd shouted, "Yes!" ”

……

County of Salibota, Tesser's barracks.

The life of the army has increased the frost on Viscount Dures's face a lot, and even after resting in Bloucester City for most of the month, the process of fighting wits and courage with the nobles under his command has not made it much easier for him.

"Lord Viscount, Baron Prell is here."

The Viscount's guards reported, and then saw the baron in the cloak enter the tent, Shepard took off the cloak and handed it to the Viscount's entourage, laughing and said, "Lord Dures! See you again! ”

Viscount Dures also smiled and said, "Your Excellency Shepard! We're already friends, don't call each other so politely, if you don't mind, you can just call me by my name! ”

Shepard had no choice but to say: "Yes, Durees, please call me by my first name as well, is His Excellency Count Poppler here?" ”

Viscount Dureth shook his head: "Lord Vaster is on the way with the next five thousand men, they have already passed through the city of Bloucester, and they will arrive here soon." ”

"Very well, but will the army of His Excellency Vaster Poppler pass through my territory? You must know that I have barely supplied your thousand-strong army, and if the Earl's army passes any further, my subjects will probably starve to death before they receive the goods. ”

Hearing Shepard's complaints, Viscount Duris laughed and said, "It's just that you have provided a small part of the supplies and preparations for camping, Lord Vast's army will not pass through your territory, his army will sail from Bloucester and join us near the castle of the Count of Salibota!" ”

(Note: Dures is the honorary viscount of the earl, although the title can be retained, but there is no territory, and the status is not stronger than the real power baron, which is equivalent to the earl's retainer, but although the protagonist is only a baron, he is a real nobleman like the earl, so just call your Excellency)

Shepard raised his eyebrows: "This is good news, I originally thought that the Count was going to let your advance army take down the entire Salibota Territory, but now that we look at it, we just need to advance to the castle of the Count of Salibota?" ”

"That's right," Viscount Duris nodded, leading Shepard to the front of the map, picking up a long stick in his hand and pointing it on the map, "Justice is above!" I don't want to talk about it with the guys on my team anymore, but I can give you a brief introduction, here! The river between Lake Esmere and Bloucester City doesn't have a name yet, but once we've won, you might be able to name it Prell River! ”

Viscount Duris made a joke, but seeing Shepard's expressionless face, he had no choice but to continue: "Your Prell Territory just occupies the bay in the middle of this river, a flat land with an area of thousands of acres. ”

"It's mostly wasteland." Shepard corrected with a serious expression.

"Okay, okay! Most of it is wasteland! "Shepard is not his subordinate after all, and he has the identity of a 'mage', so Viscount Durise's attitude is much more accommodating, and he clicks on the map: "To the north of the Prell Territory, it is the territory of the Count of Salibota, and the large fertile territory along the river and Lake Esmeer has an area of at least tens of thousands of acres!" ”

"Count Salibota has placed his castle in a beautiful and precipitous spot by the lake, and thanks to your information, those damned fools have reported a location that is miles away from what it actually is! I can't wait to go back to the kingdom and hang those fools. ”

He clicked on the map, looked at Shepard and said: "There are still many hills on both sides of the Salibota Territory, sandwiching this land in the middle, reaching the lake in the north, bordering your territory in the south, and we passing through your territory are to advance from the south to the north to the Salibota Castle by the lake, and meet the Lord Count to take there!" As our second base for marching! ”

Looking at the marching route shown on the map, Shepard almost knew it, but he shook his head and said, "Just these more than a thousand people?" Don't you care about the two towns along the way? ”

Viscount Dures spread his hands: "[Wind Plains Town] and [Salibota City] are not like a rich noblewoman like Blost, just tearing her skirt can make her scream and collapse to the ground, although there are already unwilling barons and knights under the command of the Earl who are willing to open the city gate as traitors, but I can't trust them, or wait until the Earl comes, gather our forces to take these two places in turn!" ”

Shepard sighed: "Your Excellency the Elegant Viscount would use such a vulgar metaphor, although it is very appropriate, but it seems that the life of the military has indeed changed you. ”

Viscount Dureth smiled: "Mixing with those ruffians and hooligans all day long will inevitably be affected." ”

Shepard looked at the map and suddenly said, "Tell me about the route of the kingdom's march this time?" ”

"No problem," Viscount Dureth agreed, "The kingdom has divided the route of the march into east and west this time, the east road is the commander of Lord Earl, I am the vanguard army, and other nobles in the east will join in the follow-up, and the starting route is basically the same, all of them converge in the middle of the Surdasken River, a natural gap across the Star Swirl Mountains north of Fort Tether, pass through the [Northern Highway] through the narrowest section of the [Verdas Forest], and separate in the south of the [Broken Tooth Mountains], and the Eastern Route Army goes straight to [ Bloucester City], and the Western Route Army headed west to [Port Moulin], from where they boarded ships to attack [Askatra]! ”

Viscount Dures said helplessly: "Although there are no mages in the advance army, oh, I mean apart from you, but there are mages in the Earl's army, so you can also get some news of the Western Route Army, but it has been at least two days late to send me here, and the latest news is that the lord of [Ascatla] has surrendered directly!" They have established themselves and are ready to attack François! ”

"Surrender?" Shepard paused for a moment.

Viscount Dureth nodded: "Yes, what luck...... I heard that the lord of [Ascalla] was facing the attack of the cultists, and although he had the help of the church and adventurers, he could only struggle, so as soon as he heard the news of the kingdom's attack and the conditions for surrender, he chose to surrender. ”

"Maybe it has something to do with his belief in the goddess of wealth." Viscount Dures added.