Forming the Territory Guard

Three days later, after Neil Bergman delivered the promised compensation, Roland readily fulfilled his end of the bargain and saw him out of his territory.

At sea, Neil Bergman, standing on the deck, stared intently at Roland, who remained on shore.

This was the first time the two had met, but through their gazes, they both knew this matter was far from over. Although both sides had their own concerns and avoided further conflict, Roland and Neil Bergman had already marked each other as mortal enemies in their hearts. The inevitable outcome was that one would eventually fall by the other's hand.

Meanwhile, watching the three two-masted warships gradually recede into the distance, Roland's expression was grave, showing no hint of joy from the substantial compensation he had just received.

The performance of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group during the recent war had also instilled a sense of crisis in Roland.

Although the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group had fought bravely, holding the enemy back at the outskirts of the settlement, they had spontaneously slowed their assault after Neil Bergman proposed a ceasefire, without receiving any orders from Roland.

Roland understood that they had acted to prevent further casualties, but he still couldn't accept an army that could be influenced by others.

This made him feel even more strongly that he needed an army that belonged entirely to him, an army that was absolutely loyal to him.

Furthermore, after experiencing this war, Roland finally gained a true understanding of the situation in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands. The protection offered by the Black Knight Pirates was simply not enough to guarantee his safety. If he hadn't spent a large sum of gold coins to hire the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group for this expedition to establish his territory, he might have been captured by Neil Bergman, let alone protecting his territory, with only Artur's team. He shuddered to think of the hardships he would have endured.

Most importantly, if he were defeated, he would undoubtedly lose Alice, whom he cherished dearly. He believed no one could resist an Elf maiden, especially one with such a stunning figure as Alice.

Thinking of this, Roland could no longer suppress his anger. He commanded Captain Feli, "Captain Feli, send someone to White Whale Island to ask Elizabeth what the point of their Black Knight Pirates' protection is!" "Why, after only three months of me establishing my territory, was I attacked by another Pioneer Knight?"

Facing Roland's fury, Feli immediately agreed. "As you command, Apothecary Roland."

"The rest of you, follow me," Roland said, leaving the shore and heading back to the settlement's conference room.

Upon entering the conference room, Roland got straight to the point without any preamble.

"Commander O'Neal, I am very pleased with the brave performance of your Loyal Lion Mercenary Group in this war."

Hearing Roland's praise, a hint of pride appeared on O'Neal's face. This was the foundation upon which the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group stood.

However, Roland's tone shifted, and he continued with a grave expression, "But why did the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group slow their assault after hearing Neil Bergman's proposal for a ceasefire? Aren't you supposed to be my mercenary group, loyal to me?"

Faced with Roland's questioning, O'Neal's expression changed instantly, and he stammered, unable to answer. In truth, his subordinates' actions during the war were not entirely wrong from his perspective, as the losses were borne by the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group. However, this reason was clearly insufficient as a response to Roland, who was a very generous employer.

Most crucially, with more than half of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group lost, O'Neal now desperately needed the thousand gold coins Roland paid monthly to cover compensation for fallen mercenaries and to recruit new ones to make up for the losses. Therefore, despite the heavy losses incurred by the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group in the previous war, O'Neal had no intention of terminating the employment contract with Roland. Instead, he intended to do his utmost to preserve it.

Seeing O'Neal's stammering, Roland understood the core of the issue and did not press further. "Commander O'Neal, with over half of your Loyal Lion Mercenary Group lost, you can no longer command your current price."

Upon hearing this, O'Neal's face paled. His greatest fear had finally come to pass. He immediately moved closer to Roland, his expression pleading, "Apothecary Roland, please give me some time. I will quickly recruit new members and restore our strength. It will not affect your safety or the safety of your territory."

"Don't rush, let me finish," Roland waved his hand.

"Yes, yes," O'Neal realized he had been too hasty and quickly stepped back, nervously awaiting Roland's next words.

"However, since your losses were incurred while fighting for my territory, I will not abandon you. For the time being, the employment price will remain unchanged. But you must use all your skills to train a guard unit for my territory."

Roland's proposal finally revealed his true intentions; all his previous words had been mere preamble. O'Neal knew that once he agreed and this territorial guard unit was fully formed, he would likely lose Roland's employment contract. However, he currently lacked the leverage to refuse. If Roland were to terminate the contract now, the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group, in its current state, would be unable to take on tasks with such generous rewards. The compensation for the fallen mercenaries and the cost of recruiting new members would become an unbearable burden for the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group.

After a moment of contemplation, O'Neal decisively agreed. "Alright. First, select fifty strong slaves from the territory for full-time training," O'Neal's reply finally brought a smile to Roland's face.

"Understood, Apothecary Roland." Now that he had agreed, O'Neal was quite cooperative.

"Good. Captain Artur, you will assist Commander O'Neal as co-instructor for the guard unit," Roland turned his gaze to Artur. After all, this was his territory's first army, and he wasn't entirely comfortable leaving its formation solely to O'Neal.

"As you wish, Apothecary Roland," Artur readily agreed without any hesitation. Unlike O'Neal, his relationship with Roland was not one of employment. The stronger the defensive capabilities of Rising Light Island, the greater the guarantee of his own safety. Having lost six subordinates in less than three months, he had thoroughly recognized the harsh survival environment of the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands and wished Roland would increase his military strength.

Seeing that both had agreed, Roland breathed a sigh of relief. As a mage, he knew nothing about training warriors and lacked the necessary breathing techniques for warrior cultivation. Therefore, he could only rely on O'Neal and Artur to establish the framework for the guard unit for now. He would look for opportunities later to purchase a professional soldier as a slave to help train the territorial guard. After all, neither O'Neal, a mercenary, nor Artur, a bodyguard, could truly train a fully standardized army for Roland.

After the two agreed, Roland was not stingy at all. He directly turned to Old Nob and commanded, "Old Nob, of the one thousand gold coins sent by Neil Bergman, reward the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group with four hundred, and reward Artur's squad with one hundred. They can distribute it themselves."

"The rest goes to the territory's ledger."

Because Old Nob played a huge role in the previous war, Roland had not only given him the position of deputy steward of slaves but also handed over the territory's material storage and financial authority to Old Nob.

Although Old Nob's ability was certainly far inferior to James', his loyalty to Roland was undoubtedly far greater than James'.

Roland, having experienced this war, valued this point more and more.

"Okay, Young Master," Old Nob grinned, a bright smile appearing on his face.

At the same time, O'Neal and Artur, who had received Roland's reward, both had a flash of joy in their eyes.

Especially O'Neal, with this reward from Roland, he could slightly alleviate his current pressure.

"James, after removing fifty slaves, how many people do we have left to use for land reclamation?"

"Reporting to Apothecary Roland, with the addition of the one hundred and fifty slaves sent by Neil Bergman, the territory now has a total of three hundred and eighty-four slaves."

"Removing the fifty slaves who are in full-time training, there are three hundred and fifty-four slaves remaining."

"Among them, one hundred and thirty-eight are female slaves," James reported in detail.

"Mm, from now on, the land reclamation tasks will be entirely undertaken by the slaves. All members of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group will be responsible for the security and defense of the entire territory through round-the-clock patrols."

"We absolutely cannot have a situation where the enemy is at our doorstep and we are still completely unaware," Roland said, his expression turning extremely grim again at this point.

"Yes, Apothecary Roland."

Seeing this, everyone quickly responded in unison.