"So you're with the Dawn Society?"

Luo De stared at Harun and questioned.

"Not quite."

Harun shook his head slightly and explained, "My daughter was recently discovered to have wizard talent and was taken away by Lusen."

"Then I had some cooperation with them."

Harun explained lightly, "There are many magical things in this world. I think those wizards and witches have been underestimated by us, so I'm willing to associate more with them."

"Aren't you the same?"

Faced with Harun's rhetorical question, Luo De remained silent.

It was also an acknowledgment of Harun's view.

"Alas, if I had known you had already captured Chris, we could have cooperated completely."

Harun, a bit loquacious, spoke again, "Half of the people who died were mine. It's really a pity."

"Those lightly injured I will bring back, the others I can only give up."

Luo De said expressionlessly.

Harun's unusual identity made Luo De feel a bit confused and disrupted his subsequent plans.

According to Harun, Simon was the one he killed, so the previous news was related to Harun.

Luo De said to Harun, "But now I can't let you go, otherwise your situation will be very dangerous."

"Of course, you can collect a ransom from the Hawk Earl."

Harun quickly chimed in.

"If he is willing to ransom me, then you've earned something; if he isn't, I will write a letter myself, and let my family send some ransom over."

What Harun was talking about was Luo De's original plan.

Harun continued, "You can keep the Earl's captives, but please let me take my soldiers away."

Luo De shook his head.

"Out of your previous goodwill, whether the Hawk Earl gives the ransom or not, I can let you go."

"But not your soldiers."

Luo De refused without hesitation.

Letting Baron Harun go was the greatest goodwill from Luo De.

Excluding those seriously injured, there were at least a hundred captives this time, more than half of whom were Baron Harun's people.

It's worth mentioning that the hemostatic potion formulated by Luo De showed significant effects.

Plus, with the low temperatures this season, almost none of the wounded had infected wounds.

As long as they recuperate well, they can recover.

And as for Luo De's soldiers, needn't mention, with the advantage of the entry bonuses, they healed faster than ordinary soldiers.

Despite them being assets of Baron Harun, Luo De couldn't let himself end up empty-handed from all this trouble!

A losing deal is not an option.

Even if selling these hundred people as slaves, they could exceed two hundred gold coins, let alone their armor and weapons...

Luo De could not tolerate such a loss.

Baron Harun hesitated, his eyes blinking rapidly.

"I can offer fifty gold coins plus an Extraordinary Gem."

He finally replied.

Extraordinary Gem?

Luo De slightly frowned, remaining silent.

He thought for a moment, then stared at Harun and asked, "The value of an Extraordinary Gem exceeds that of these captives, and even exceeds your own worth."

"Is there something wrong with the Extraordinary Gem you're talking about?"

"You're very wise; the effect of that Extraordinary Gem is a bit..."

Harun smiled awkwardly, shrugged slightly, and hesitantly said, "When you touch it, it allows you to see darkness."

Luo De was speechless and almost laughed,

"An Extraordinary Gem that lets you see darkness, what's that good for?"

"It indeed doesn't have much use."

Harun couldn't help but lower his head, not daring to look directly at Luo De,

"But the people of the Dawn Society said it contains an energy that might be useful... After all, it's still an Extraordinary Gem, worth at least a dozen gold coins..."

"Are you planning to fool me with this?" Luo De interrupted him.

"You should know that a useful Extraordinary Gem costs hundreds of gold coins... That Extraordinary Gem must have some function, it's just that its capabilities haven't been discovered yet."

Harun was still arguing.

"If it's so good, why don't you keep it?" Luo De retorted.

This time, Harun didn't say anything, as he couldn't find a suitable reason.

Luo De also fell silent in thought.

A gem that, once touched, reveals darkness—a kind of Extraordinary Gem he'd never heard of or seen; he didn't know if it would be valuable for his entries.

After pondering for a while, Luo De said, "You can first have your people send the gem over; we'll assess its specific value."

"As for those soldiers, pick them out and exchange them for ordinary slaves under thirty-five years old."

"Your militia trades at a 1:2 ratio, ordinary soldiers at 1:3, and your veterans at 1:7."

The price Luo De offered was very fair.

Normally, an adult male slave would cost 60 silver coins, a simply trained ordinary militia could reach a gold coin, an ordinary soldier would cost two gold coins, and a veteran at least five gold coins.

This price doesn't even account for their equipment.

Luo De didn't ask for more.

If not for these soldiers' families being in Eagle Ridge, keeping them, Luo De could only use them as regular laborers; he would have demanded more otherwise.

"Alright, what choice do I have after you captured me?"

Harun helplessly raised his hand and twitch his rope-restrained hand.

Luo De had already been very generous by allowing him to save his own ransom.

...

...

After capturing Baron Halon, the game of stealth and deception between Luo De and Lord Earl of the Hawk basically came to an end.

Having been deceived twice in a row, even the foolish Lord Earl of the Hawk could not be conned again, and Luo De was ready to close the net.

Returning to Frost Leaf Town, Luo De finally wrote a strong letter of condemnation to Lord Earl of the Hawk in his own name.

The beginning of the letter was sure to strongly condemn Lord Earl of the Hawk's bandit-like actions, denounce the shamelessness of the Hawk Clan, and Chris's acts of plunder.

Then he feigned pride in belittling the ineptitude of Chris and Baron Halon.

Naturally, Luo De demanded a ransom from Lord Earl of the Hawk, but only concerning Baron Halon's ransom.

However, higher lords rarely pay ransom for lower lords, even when lower lords fight on behalf of higher lords.

But following orders is the responsibility of the lower lord, and being captured is a shortcoming in skill; only a merciful higher lord would pay.

Moreover, Luo De dropped another bombshell: the letters he "confiscated" between Chris and Lord Earl of the Hawk.

These letters naturally contained instructions from Lord Earl of the Hawk to Chris to act as a robber, with the earl's emblem stamped on them.

If these got into the hands of Viscount Giant Bear or the noble circle, Lord Earl of the Hawk's reputation would be utterly tarnished.

So, Lord Earl of the Hawk had to pay a price to temporarily keep Luo De's mouth shut.

As for what the Baron of the Falcon would do, Luo De could not care less.

"Lord Baron, what should we do next?"

After sending the letter, Durant came to the Blacksmith Shop to ask Luo De.

After throwing all the issues at Lord Earl of the Hawk, Luo De returned to the Blacksmith Shop to finish his Longsword.

Luo De intended to keep this Longsword as a reward for the Knight Squad; whoever among them performed the best would receive the sword.

"Have the hunters set some traps around the outskirts of White Rock Canyon, but don't worry about anything else." Luo De waved his hand dismissively.

"Shouldn't we be prepared for Lord Earl of the Hawk's counterattack?"

"He should realize by now that if he attacks our territory, he would need at least five hundred soldiers."

Luo De put down the whetstone in his hand, speaking leisurely, "It will take him some time to prepare that scale of forces, and by the time he reaches our territory, it will be almost winter."

In the Northern Wasteland, temperatures drop below zero at the end of autumn.

"If that Lord Earl insists on attacking the Northern Wasteland during winter."

"Winter is indeed not a good time to wage war." Durant slightly nodded.

In the Northern Wasteland, in winter, armor with a bit of water can freeze to ice.

Luo De chuckled and asked, "Besides, if I give you five hundred soldiers now, could you capture Frost Leaf Town?"

Luo De pointed to the spearheads placed next to the Blacksmith Shop, "Once those Long Spears are finished, we'll have five hundred spears."

Durant thought for a moment and finally shook his head.

Even if there were eight hundred, he would still lack confidence.

To assault a town with just spiked barricades, the ratio of attackers to defenders should be five to one.

From Durant's personal experience, facing Luo De meant that ratio needed to be even higher.

The last time when ambushing robbers, Durant noticed one thing.

—As long as they fought with Luo De, this group of people turned into a pack of howling wolves.

"Unless we find a chance to use fire attacks."

Durant muttered under his breath, but then shook his head again.

Fire is not easily managed; soldiers can't just throw a torch to start a fire.

It requires soaking arrowheads in enough pine resin and oil to create fire arrows, which need to be launched at combustible materials to ignite.

"Fire attack?"

Luo De laughed, "Come winter, our wooden fences will turn into ice barriers, fire attacks will be useless."

As for next year, with enough manpower, Luo De could start building walls.

At the very least, they would be brick walls.

"I understand, Lord Baron."

Durant respectfully bowed.

At this point, he understood why his Lord was so confident and fearless.

It turned out every aspect had been calculated precisely.

"But we still need to train new recruits, and this autumn and winter is a good opportunity for us to catch up in strength," Luo De instructed.

"Yes, Lord."

Durant responded and withdrew.

Luo De's sword was already forged, and he had Hammer place it in a wooden box for safekeeping.

Returning to the manor hall, Luo De gave out more instructions.

After the autumn harvest, the workload lessened significantly, and now the main tasks for the townspeople were brick-making, chopping wood, and raking grass.

In past years, many would have started resting by this time.

But now Luo De would not let them rest.

Luo De ordered Lawrence to organize a team of twenty for construction work, to repair and build shelters for the people while inspecting each person's house.

The winters in the wasteland often bring heavy snow, usually dozens of centimeters thick, which can collapse the roofs of old wooden houses.

As Lord, Luo De had to prevent disasters caused by such natural calamities.

To develop animal husbandry, the livestock pens also needed expansion and refurbishment, so Luo De had Lawrence assign fifty people to Tina.

Animals also fear the cold; while wild rabbits may fare better since they are accustomed to snow, common cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese are afraid of cold.

They may not speak, but will fall ill, indicating their fear of cold.

Also, when the living area is warmer, livestock consume less feed.

Trees in autumn and winter have lower water content, making them more suitable for logging compared to spring and summer.

Luo De can take advantage of the people's free time during this period to cut more trees, preparing timber for construction next year in advance.

Meanwhile, Luo De had the carpenters, tanners, and weavers select suitable candidates from among the thirteen and fourteen-year-old children to teach them new skills.

These kids, under the education of Avril and Lawrence, had learned basic literacy and arithmetic; as for what they might become in the future, that would be left to the craftsmen to decide.

This winter, Luo De planned to train more apprentice craftsmen, so they could further develop the territory.

Once everything was arranged, Luo De finally had time to join the Hunting Team for a hunt.

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