Chapter 442 - 300: Treating Money Like Dirt

Miriel, her arms crossed under her ample chest, rolled her eyes. This Half-Elf had inherited the beauty of the Elves, but she had cast aside their aloofness for a human’s captivating charm.

Yet, the gesture was surprisingly provocative.

"Levi, do you know how much the cheapest Mamluk Warrior costs?" She held up two slender fingers. "A full twenty Gold Coins!"

"That means even if we only buy four thousand Warriors, we’ll need a whopping eighty thousand Gold Coins!"

"And that’s not all! We can’t just buy them and be done with it. We have to provide their equipment ourselves, or spend even more money to purchase it. Then there’s the consumption of all sorts of supplies. Surely you’re not ignorant of these costs!"

"To put it in one sentence: do you have the money?"

"Twenty Gold Coins per person isn’t that expensive," Levi muttered.

’He remembered how the Beastman Barbarians he’d bought from Fulina had cost forty Gold Coins each, and that was a discounted price. Normally, a natural Fighter like a Beastman would sell for at least seventy or eighty Gold Coins.’

Hearing this, Miriel grew even more agitated, even slamming her hand on the table. "Levi, you have no idea what an army of seven thousand represents."

"Even if you had the money to buy them, High Cliff Castle’s current population could never support that many people!"

"The Warriors at High Cliff Castle are already huge eaters. Each one eats enough for ten people! We’re barely managing to feed them as it is."

"If we add another seven thousand Warriors—and if they’re Half-Beastmen, they’ll eat even more—High Cliff Castle simply won’t be able to support so many professional soldiers!"

Zat heard all this, but as Miriel’s gaze swept over him, he just kept stuffing his face, completely unfazed.

The Shaman Beastman, Orak, however, looked awkwardly at the leg of lamb in his hand, unsure whether he should keep eating or stop.

In all of High Cliff Castle, besides the Centaurs, the Beastmen were the biggest eaters.

"And don’t think you can just buy grain. Everyone has seen what the weather’s been like these past few years. Harvests are poor in many places, and grain prices are skyrocketing." Miriel sneered; as a merchant, she knew this better than anyone. "Some nobles have even started hoarding grain, planning to drive the price up and only sell when it’s at its absolute highest."

"Those goddamn nobles!" Zat had been listening but hadn’t understood a single word of Miriel’s sophisticated explanation. All he grasped was that nobles were making grain prices skyrocket, meaning High Cliff Castle couldn’t buy food.

But in the next moment, as if he’d realized something, he ducked his head and scurried out of the dining hall.

Levi lowered his clenched fists. He refrained from punching the oaf purely out of respect for Ash. Getting physical in front of the Elf Queen would be beneath him as a Lord.

"The number of subjects is a genuine problem," Levi said with a frown. He had been single-handedly maintaining High Cliff Castle’s operations until now, so he hadn’t really considered the ratio of subjects to soldiers.

In this world, a noble’s territory generally maintained a twenty-five-to-one ratio. This meant that an army of five thousand standing soldiers would require a population of over one hundred twenty thousand subjects to support it.

"Well, we’ll just have to tackle both issues then. High Cliff Castle is definitely short on people right now. Let’s solve the population problem first, then the army problem." Levi declared his decision with a wave of his hand.

"On that topic, I actually have something to tell you, Levi." Just as everyone was wracking their brains about where to go and grab more subjects, Baisitina tentatively raised her hand.

"Go on," Levi said, snapping his fingers.

"In the Kas Mountain Range, there are some Northern Old Tribes who were on good terms with the former Feder Tribe. There are over ten thousand of them in total," Baisitina said, a little nervously. "They want to become Vassals of High Cliff Castle."

High Cliff Castle had already made a name for itself through several battles, becoming the undisputed hegemon of the Wilderness.

These Northern Old People were hiding in the Kas Mountain Range, where life was already difficult. With the near-constant heavy snow in the Wilderness this year, it became even harder to get by. Unable to survive, they naturally thought of joining High Cliff Castle.

After all, they had some ties to the Feder Tribe. Seeing how well their old friends were living at High Cliff Castle, they were tempted to make a move.

"Tina, you’ve done well. This is excellent news," Levi said, agreeing immediately with a smile.

He had been thinking about poaching subjects from the Kas Mountain Range for a while. Now that they were coming to him, he couldn’t be happier.

The Princess of the Feder Tribe couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although she was the steward of High Cliff Castle, she didn’t have the authority to make such a major decision.

"Where are they now?" Levi asked, his interest piqued.

For High Cliff Castle to grow, it first needed to increase its population of subjects. Luring commoners from Debei’s territory was completely unrealistic, so he’d had his eye on these Old People in the Kas Mountain Range for a long time.

"They’re at the iron mine right now. They said they’re helping to guard it, to ward off anyone with ill intentions," Baisitina said with a smile.

Nothing made her happier than being able to help Levi.

"What a warm-hearted bunch," Levi chuckled. He could tell they genuinely wanted to join High Cliff Castle; otherwise, they wouldn’t be guarding the iron mine. He snapped his fingers. "Gus, Hog, take some men and bring them over."

The iron mine wasn’t too far from High Cliff Castle, so even in the heavy snow, these veterans of the Wilderness wouldn’t get lost.

The main reason for the haste was that the Lord feared the snow would only get worse, so the sooner they brought the people over, the better.

Gus and Hog had already finished their meal. Upon hearing the order, they each gathered their men, packed sufficient winter clothing, and headed out into the blizzard toward the iron mine.

"Now that the population problem is solved, we can talk about expanding the army," Levi said, shooting a smug look at Miriel.