"I am the Baron of Black Pine Ridge, the Dragon Slayer, Luo De Tulip, and I welcome you to my domain."

Luo De stood on the stone-constructed high platform, looking at the bandit group trapped ahead, his voice unhurried,

"Who among you is the leader, step forward."

Luo De's tone was calm, his voice carrying an undeniable authority,

"Rest assured, if I wanted your lives, you would already be lying on the ground."

"I am Dias Blade, the leader of the Blade Brotherhood."

A deep voice came from the crowd as Dias stepped forward voluntarily.

He knew very well that Luo De's words were right, so he was not afraid.

"Are you the lord here? I thought you were a devil walking out of Hell, setting up such an insidious scheme to hunt us down."

Dias's voice carried anger, and a hint of unease.

"Insidious?"

Luo De looked at him and retorted: "A robber like you talks to me about insidiousness? Has the autumn wind of the Northern Wilderness blown away your brains?"

Luo De couldn't help but laugh at such ridiculous language,

"Why, as a robber, would you say something so foolish? Is it your first day being a robber in the desert?"

"But you are a noble, shouldn't you act differently from a robber?"

Dias said with some justification.

"Should nobles be bullied by you robbers?"

Luo De completely ignored the other party's "noble moral kidnapping," sarcastically, "In my view, nobles are even better at using such strategies because only foolish robbers fall for them."

"You!"

Dias glared, reaching for his sword, but an arrow instantly shot at his feet, scaring him to retreat repeatedly.

Rein's longbow was raised, aiming sternly at Dias,

"Rude fool, the next arrow will take your life!"

"I don't want to waste words with you, now I give you two choices."

"First, I will let my spear throwers advance ten steps, and then shoot all of your men, or leave a few barely alive lying on the ground."

Luo De stared at Dias, coldly saying:

"Or you can throw down all your weapons, take off your armor, kneel on the ground and surrender to become slaves."

Luo De raised his palm in the air,

"I only give you five breaths to consider, five... four... three..."

"We surrender!"

Dias shouted hastily.

The change in attitude surprised everyone.

Just now, his sharp words made Luo De think he would be very stubborn.

Dias was also in distress, just now he wanted to exploit the nobles' concern for face to find a way out for the Blade Brotherhood.

But unexpectedly, this lord didn't care at all and even forcefully pushed back.

As a robber, Dias was slaughtered like a dog, forced to the brink, and the few boastful words earlier were his last courage.

"But how will you deal with us?" Dias asked.

Luo De looked at Dias, understanding his meaning.

Robbers naturally deserve hanging, especially the leaders.

"If I wanted your lives, I wouldn't waste words with you here."

Luo De said calmly, his face without a ripple of emotion,

"Your fate is to work. As long as you work honestly for me every day, I won't trouble you – food and living will be normal."

"Besides, I heard that there are still some people left in Chaotic Stone Village."

Luo De squinted his eyes, "You need to tell me all their information. And your grain should now all belong to me."

"Alright, I will answer all your questions."

Dias breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and shouted to everyone: "Those who want to live, throw down your weapons and come out to kneel on the ground. If you want to fight to the death, don't drag me with you."

Dias was not foolish; in this situation, there was no chance of turning the tables.

He could only have everyone drop their weapons and accept the fate of being captured.

Luo De waved his hand, soldiers quickly moved forward to round up the captives and tidy up the battlefield.

Dias was also pressed onto the ground, face down eating dirt.

This time, Luo De captured seventy-six bandits.

Actually more, but nineteen severely injured and disabled captives were executed by Luo De with determination, the blade unwavering.

And the surviving captured bandits had lives of hard labor.

Among them were captives with rich combat experience.

But having just been caught, Luo De couldn't trust them.

They needed to suffer through labor, erase past habits, and only then might they become usable soldiers in the future.

For now, they were only fit to work.

Dias's fate was similar to Chris's, also destined for hard labor.

Currently, Luo De knew nothing about Dias, so there was naturally no opportunity given for him to pledge loyalty.

However, in Luo De's view, Dias had more opportunity for a turnaround than Chris.

After all, Dias had no family and had sworn allegiance to no one.

These matters would be discussed later.

Luo De now had more pressing matters to attend to.

He had his guards bring Dias forward for interrogation.

"But I am a bit curious,"

Luo De scrutinized Dias, who was kneeling before him,

"Your so-called Blade Brotherhood is nothing more than a roaming bandit group, how come you have so many horses?"

Whether warhorses or riding horses, they are much harder to raise than ordinary livestock.

Speaking from the perspective of warhorses, they must be well-fed, meticulously cared for, kept healthy and strong, maintaining muscular and physical endurance.

At the same time, warhorses must adhere to discipline, yet not be timid, unafraid of noisy and chaotic battlefields.

Otherwise, soldiers on horseback would very easily get killed.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

Dis asked tentatively.

"You don't have to speak,"

Luo De's smile remained, but his eyes suddenly turned sharp,

"But I'll tell you, the last knight who kept his mouth shut, his name was Chris, didn't last past two fingers under my guard's torture."

Dis was silent.

Is this guy really a noble?

Why are his words all about blood and cruelty, with no room for negotiation?

"Alright, my lord,"

Dis confessed honestly, "I have a guy under me who's skilled at breeding horses, his name is Ward. All my horses rely on him."

Luo De nodded slightly, as he had expected.

Only a professional coachman could maintain so many horses.

"Tell me everything else as well,"

Luo De squinted his eyes slightly, "Those with special talents, don't wait for me to ask one by one."

"I also have a blacksmith, Dota, who is responsible for repairing all kinds of equipment and weapons,"

Dis answered, "And there's Li Si, he's our herbalist. If any of the brothers get injured, we rely on him."

"Bi Lie is the brewer."

"Gael is... uh..."

Dis hesitated for a moment, "Gael is the most attractive among us.

If we've been without women for too long, the brothers will turn to him, and he enjoys playing with everyone too."

"You don't need to tell me about those special preferences."

Luo De waved his hand, showing no interest in Gael.

Dis's confessions surprised Luo De, who had to marvel at how complete this brotherhood was.

Think about it, a bandit like this, it's hard to keep it going without various talents.

Dis then reported a lot of situations, including the state of Chaotic Stone Village.

Luo De entrusted the task of clearing Chaotic Stone Village to Gang Le and had Rein lead the hunting team to assist him.

Along with thirty fully armed soldiers.

Chaotic Stone Village had no defensive facilities, and Dis had disclosed all their lookout spots, so the forty men would be enough to take it down.

Of course, Luo De ordered Gang Le to rest the next day before setting out.

Now the soldiers were tired, and Luo De would not have them travel through the night.

Luo De's biggest gain this time was the coachman that Dis revealed.

Dis's thirty-six horses had a uniform bloodline, yet they all looked very spirited and healthy.

These horses appeared strong and were absolutely suitable for short-distance raids.

Luo De immediately summoned Ward, the coachman, to him and asked, "You're Ward, right? Dis says you're good with horses, where did you learn it?"

"Noble sir, my father was a coachman,"

Ward bowed his head slightly, his voice trembling, "He used to breed horses for Lord Doc of the Giant Bear Clan."

"Breeding for a noble?"

Luo De looked at him and asked, "Then how did you end up here as a robber?"

Luo De didn't know Doc, but he knew the Giant Bear Clan was in the Northern Province, not close from here, at least two weeks' journey.

"My father liked to drink,"

Ward's voice lowered, a trace of pain flashing through his eyes,

"He always got drunk and would hit me and my mother. One time, to protect my mother, I had to push him over.

I hurt him, and he got even more angry.

Afraid he'd hurt me and my mother, I had no choice but to escape with her to Razor Plain in the Northern Wilderness, joining Razor Town

After my mother passed away, I met the Blade Brotherhood and have been breeding horses for Lord Dis ever since."

"Ward, do you like being a robber?"

After hearing Ward's story, Luo De suddenly stared at him and asked.

"No one likes being a robber, noble sir,"

Ward replied with a bitter smile, his eyes filled with helplessness, "I was captured back then, and I had to do something to survive."

Luo De nodded slightly after hearing this, spoke plainly, "It seems you're different from others, you don't have to do hard labor, and you have a chance to become free."

Ward's complexion brightened, hope shining in his eyes, "Thank you for your kindness, I'll do whatever you want!"

Being a freeman is just like being a normal person!

Ward felt a bit excited, this way he could marry a wife, have children, and lead a stable life.

"I need you to do as you did for Dis, I need you to breed horses for me and establish a ranch,"

Luo De's tone softened a bit,

"As long as you can do all this well, in five years, I can grant you freedom, and you can marry and have children in Frost Leaf Town."

"Rest assured!"

Upon hearing Luo De's words, Ward was immediately excited and knelt down,

"I will definitely take good care of the horses for you!"

Breeding horses for a noble is a very good job, Ward knew that well.

From now on, he would be loyal to the noble lord, a status not comparable to ordinary people!

The most crucial thing is, with such a stable and solid job, Ward felt he could find an excellent wife even as a slave!

"Very good, starting tomorrow I will send people with you to find a suitable location nearby to establish the ranch."

Luo De nodded with satisfaction and instructed, "It has to be suitable for horses to grow, as well as concealed and safe, with winter feed prepared, you should understand this better than I do."

"For the thirty-six horses we've captured, you can select some for breeding, and you can also choose from the existing horses in Frost Leaf Town."

Luo De's eyes flashed with anticipation,

"I hope you can breed excellent warhorses for me, so I can have my own cavalry as soon as possible."

"I'll also purchase some quality warhorses for you to care for, overall, I need you to arrange these things quickly."

"Understood, noble sir, I will arrange everything!"

Ward promised solemnly, his eyes determined.

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