Chapter 441 - 299: Territory Development 2

"After this, I’m planning to start an agriculture team. You’ll be the team leader, responsible for teaching the others the Land Fertility Technique."

There’s only so much one person can do. Right now, Old Neil was the only one who knew this magic, and he couldn’t possibly tend to too many fields by himself.

After this harvest, Levi had seen the potential of this magic and naturally wouldn’t let it go to waste.

If High Cliff Castle was to develop, its food supply had to be self-sufficient, which meant farming had to be prioritized.

"Yes, sir!" The old kobold clicked his heels together, crookedly placed a fist on his chest in a salute, a few grains of rice still stuck to the corner of his mouth.

He couldn’t hide the excited smile on his face.

He knew he had finally secured a firm foothold in High Cliff Castle. Having grown accustomed to this stable life, he wouldn’t go back to his old, precarious existence for anything in the world.

"Right, I also need to make a trip to Gonda in a little while," Levi mentioned offhandedly. "His Majesty the King wants to meet the heroic Dragon Knight who resolved the crisis. And I also have some business with the Holy Light Church."

The route he’d taken back to High Cliff Castle with the main force had bypassed Gonda. Besides, he figured it would be inconvenient to travel to Gonda with so many people, so he had decided to wait until he returned and handled his affairs before going.

The main reason was that if he went alone, he could fight his way out of any trouble. The more people he brought, the more he would have to worry about.

"Won’t that be dangerous? I’ve heard that Debei’s current king isn’t in good health, and he’s incredibly ambitious," Baisitina said with concern.

She was no naive little girl. She knew the value of a living Giant Dragon, and it was hard to say whether the King wanted to see Levi or Sophia.

This wasn’t her being malicious; it was just human nature.

"Heh." Levi let out a cold laugh and said, "If worst comes to worst, I’ll just fuck him up. I, your Lord, have even slain a Legendary Balrog Flame Demon. I haven’t had the chance to slay a king yet."

Coming from anyone else, these words would have sounded like empty blustering. But when the Lord of High Cliff Castle said them, they carried an undeniable, ruthless conviction.

"Fuck the king!" A chorus of agreement and raucous laughter instantly erupted in the dining hall.

As an outsider, Miriel couldn’t help but shrink back amidst the group of burly men.

Ever since the main force of High Cliff Castle returned, she had felt that something was off.

Now, she finally knew what it was.

If before they had been unbearably arrogant, looking down their noses at the Secret Silver Merchant Team’s Mercenaries as if a lion would not deign to associate with hyenas...

...then now, they were almost comically unassuming, with arms slung over each other’s shoulders, occasionally telling jokes and laughing heartily, like harmless country bumpkins.

Having traveled far and wide, she knew this wasn’t because their southern campaign had been a failure that had shattered their pride. Rather, their pride had reached such an unimaginable height that it had turned inward, becoming deeply concealed.

But once it erupted, it would be enough to shock the world.

Just like this very moment.

The King, who stood above all others as the pinnacle of power, was spoken of by these men as if he were nothing more than a worthless Goblin in the Wilderness.

In truth, Levi would only say such things within his own territory. The upcoming trip to Gonda wasn’t actually as dangerous as he made it sound; he just had a habit of preparing for the worst.

His power had already been displayed before the world. Unless the other party was out of their mind, they wouldn’t lightly provoke someone capable of slaying Legendary Powerhouses.

Although that "Legendary" title had been somewhat inflated, Levi was still confident he could take down a true Legendary powerhouse.

"Levi." Just then, Ash suddenly spoke up.

"Go ahead," Levi said, turning his gaze to the incomparably beautiful Elf Queen beside him.

Ash’s jade-white fingers, resting on her lap, twisted the hem of her clothes. She took a deep breath, and this widely-experienced Elf Queen seemed a little nervous. "I... I hope the Wind Speech Tribe can join High Cliff Castle."

If she had entertained the thought before without it being very strong, then hearing about what the High Cliff Castle contingent had accomplished in the south had made the idea impossible to shake from her mind.

Previously, although High Cliff Castle was strong, its population was still under ten thousand. Even after their losses, the Wind Speech Tribe’s numbers weren’t that different from High Cliff Castle’s.

But after hearing of their deeds, Ash knew that High Cliff Castle’s rise was only a matter of time.

And opportunities like this never waited for the hesitant.

Joining them while they were still relatively small was a completely different concept from joining them when they were powerful.

She felt that if she didn’t change her way of thinking, the Elves would sooner or later fade into history.

When that happened, what would their so-called pride and dignity be worth?

For the future of her Tribe, Ash had made up her mind to join High Cliff Castle.

If High Cliff Castle could accept those Half-Beastmen, then surely they could accept Elves as well.

"Not a problem." Levi snapped his fingers, barely hesitating.

Joy blossomed on Ash’s face, and she couldn’t help but let out a secret sigh of relief.

The former glory of the Elves was long gone. If they continued to stagnate in isolation, refusing contact with outsiders, their disappearance into history would only be a matter of time.

This time, during the southern campaign, Levi had long since realized that no matter how elite the High Cliff Castle contingent was, a little over a thousand Warriors was simply not enough.

But expanding the army required elite warriors. With his System, he had always followed the path of quality over quantity and could not tolerate useless grunts; he would never pad the numbers with second-rate imposters.

But the reputation of the Elves was nothing to scoff at. Besides their beautiful faces, their Elf Rangers were some of the best Archers and Swordsmen.

Furthermore, the probability of Casters being born among the Elves was much higher.

Although the Wind Speech Tribe’s population would instantly rival that of High Cliff Castle’s current subjects if they joined, the Lord didn’t care in the slightest.

As long as he was around, no one could stir up trouble on his turf.

But speaking of expanding the army, he had been thinking about it for a while, so he decided to bring it up now.

He knocked on the table. In an instant, the sounds of shifting chairs and benches filled the air as every High Cliff Castle officer present straightened their backs and sat at attention.

The dining hall fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone waited silently for his instructions.

"High Cliff Castle urgently needs to expand its army, but the problem is a lack of outstanding warriors. Why don’t we all discuss it?"

Liya had promised to help him support a regular army of three thousand. An offer like that wouldn’t last forever, and Levi certainly had no intention of letting it go to waste.

On top of that, this world gave him the feeling that a storm was brewing. He had a hunch that opponents even more difficult to deal with than Demons would appear in the future. High Cliff Castle’s current strength was still insufficient. If he didn’t seize this chance to grow stronger, he would feel deeply uneasy.

"If you’re looking for outstanding warriors, I happen to know a place," Miriel said, raising her hand.

"The Persian Gulf Kingdom in the east is a major nation where slavery is legal. Even commoners keep a few slaves for farm work. The Mamluk Warriors they train are famous throughout the Seven Kingdoms."

"Once, two kingdoms were at war. One of them managed to turn a losing situation into a stalemate by purchasing ten thousand Mamluk Warriors from the Persian Gulf Kingdom."

"Oh?" Levi’s interest was instantly piqued.

"I’m just not sure how many you’re looking to add, Levi?" Miriel asked curiously.

The Lord held up five fingers.

"Five hundred, that should be doable." Miriel nodded. "Those Mamluk Warriors are always expensive. Five hundred would make a full unit, so you might get a discount."

High Cliff Castle should be able to afford that with its current resources.

"Five hundred?" Levi snorted in disdain. "At least five *thousand*! Seven thousand would be best, but in any case, no fewer than four thousand."

After all, during the southern campaign, those Northern Counts could casually pull together legions of ten thousand men. If he, a Marquis, didn’t even have five thousand soldiers, what kind of Marquis would he be?

Previously, the Lord’s Conquering System had a limit on his party size, which was why he had always focused on elite troops.

That party size could be increased by leveling up his Charm and raising his reputation.

After the recent wars in the south, his reputation had soared to an unimaginable level, and his party size had leaped from just over one thousand to ten thousand!