Negotiating Salary

After settling Ryan and the others, Roland immediately returned to his residence.

The current residence on Rising Light Island could barely be called a village.

It now housed nearly five hundred slaves and dozens of mercenaries.

Its area had expanded several times since its establishment, with various buildings becoming more complete.

Returning to his residence, Roland summoned Old Nob, O'Neal, and four others to the conference room.

"Old Nob, how much gold do we have in the territory's accounts right now?"

"Young Master, the territory's accounts currently hold five hundred and thirty-four gold coins and sixty-eight silver coins," Old Nob replied swiftly, clearly very familiar with the figures. As he spoke, he cast a dissatisfied glance at O'Neal, who was seated to Roland's left.

Roland nodded expressionlessly upon hearing this.

Over the past three months, Roland had been quietly increasing his success rate in refining Level 4 Potions, which had now reached approximately thirty-eight percent.

He provided Leslie with about thirty-five bottles of Level 4 Potions each month. However, after deducting the cost of magic materials purchased from Leslie, the monthly profit was around thirteen hundred gold coins.

This income was undoubtedly significant for a Pioneer Knight who had just opened up a territory.

After all, Neil Bergman had opened up his territory for three years, and Yellow Stone Island was more than twice the size of Rising Light Island, yet he only earned five thousand gold coins annually.

However, Roland had to pay the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group a thousand gold coins in mercenary fees each month, leaving him with only a little over three hundred gold coins.

Fortunately, Roland's territory was now barely self-sufficient. As long as Roland didn't have any major plans, no additional investment was needed.

Therefore, over these three months, Roland had only purchased fifteen Magic Crystals from Leslie and no other supplies.

Perhaps sensing that Roland's territory was gradually getting on track, Leslie had also recalled two of the three-masted merchant ships, leaving only one for Roland's use outside Rising Light Island.

Meanwhile, O'Neal in the conference room felt a bit awkward under Old Nob's gaze.

He was well aware of Old Nob's dissatisfaction. Since accepting Roland's employment, O'Neal had reaped considerable rewards, earning a thousand gold coins each month.

But the sudden war three months prior had wiped out his earnings from the past half-year.

The compensation for over thirty people, along with medical expenses and resettlement fees for more than ten seriously injured members, had not only depleted the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group's reserves but still left them short. It was only this month, after Roland paid the employment fee, that they had managed to patch up the hole.

Consequently, the scale of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group had not recovered during these three months.

This made O'Neal feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, his eyes darting towards Roland, fearing any hint of displeasure on his face.

Roland naturally noticed the undercurrents in the conference room but showed no dissatisfaction.

Although the current scale of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group was far from worth a thousand gold coins per month, Roland had no intention of canceling the employment contract with O'Neal.

It wasn't because the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group had suffered heavy losses protecting Rising Light Island; that was their duty, and Roland had already paid them for it.

The reason was that he still needed O'Neal's help to train his own territorial guard.

If nothing else, the family's breathing techniques provided by O'Neal alone were worth keeping them around. Otherwise, Roland would have to spend a large sum of gold coins to purchase breathing techniques and hire trainers for the guard.

Therefore, to appease O'Neal, Roland smiled slightly and said to the five people present, "I have now been promoted to a Level 6 Mage and have successfully refined a Level 5 Potion."

"From now on, the territory's income will only increase. As long as you work diligently, I will not treat you unfairly."

As Roland finished speaking, the conference room fell silent.

They naturally understood what it meant for an Apothecary to be able to refine Level 5 Potions.

What shocked them even more was Roland's age, to be able to refine Level 5 Potions at such a young age. Such talent might even secure a place for him in the Terra Kingdom.

However, after the shock came joy. Being able to follow such a supremely talented Apothecary, they would undoubtedly gain immense benefits.

Thus, after Roland announced this news, James, Artur, and Fili, who were in the room, felt a subtle shift within them, placing even greater importance on their current positions on Rising Light Island.

"Congratulations, Young Master. With you here, Rising Light Island's future is bound to be brilliant," Old Nob replied first, his face beaming with joy.

"Congratulations, Apothecary Roland," O'Neal also breathed a sigh of relief, following suit.

"Congratulations..."

The atmosphere in the conference room was instantly filled with joy.

Seeing this, Roland raised his hands and gestured a few times, slightly controlling their emotions.

Roland was quite satisfied with their reactions.

After all, these individuals were truly indispensable on Rising Light Island.

Without them, how could Roland alone manage hundreds of slaves to work diligently, not to mention the various miscellaneous affairs of the territory?

"I've called you here today to discuss the compensation for the territory's freemen and yourselves," Roland continued.

With the appearance of two freemen in the guard, Roland would definitely have to pay them salaries and guarantee their benefits each month.

This was the right that freemen should enjoy. Although no one would dare to say anything if Roland didn't provide it, the consequences might dampen the morale of other slaves, especially the newly formed guard, most of whom were still slaves.

Therefore, even for the sake of the territorial guard, Roland would not let petty savings lead to greater losses by being stingy with these gold coins.

But since Roland was already paying the salaries and benefits for the recently pardoned freemen, he naturally couldn't overlook James, Artur, and Fili.

Even if they were still receiving payment from Leslie, Roland should have expressed his stance.

"Th-thank you, Apothecary Roland." Hearing Roland's suggestion, a hint of joy appeared on the three men's faces.

They didn't refuse. Although they were indeed receiving a salary from Leslie, the opportunity to get an additional one from Roland would be a considerable gain for them.

"No need, this is what you deserve. Let's first discuss the salary for those two Tier 1 Warriors. According to the armies of other noble territories in the Kingdom, how much gold coins should they receive monthly?"

James, who used to be a steward for the Oroko Family's merchant caravans traveling within the Kingdom, was undoubtedly the most qualified to answer this question.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Apothecary Roland, because the wealth disparity between the east and west of the Kingdom is quite large, the salary level for Tier 1 Warriors also varies significantly."

"From what I understand, some poorer nobles in the western part of the Kingdom only offer one gold coin per month for a Tier 1 Warrior."

"Whereas for nobles on the eastern coast of the Kingdom, the salary for a Tier 1 Warrior is often between three and four gold coins."

"Such a big difference?"

Roland wasn't surprised by the high salary of the coastal nobles.

After all, the average monthly salary for citizens of Highland City was two gold coins, and a Tier 1 Warrior would certainly earn more.

What shocked him was how cheap it was in the western Kingdom; the salary for a Tier 1 Warrior was even less than that of an ordinary citizen in Highland City.

"Yes, due to the prosperity of overseas trade, the income gap between the eastern and western regions of the Kingdom is quite substantial."

Upon hearing this, Roland slowly suppressed the shock in his heart.

"Tell me more about the income of warriors at different levels in the eastern coastal areas."

"Based on the average in the eastern region, a Tier 2 Warrior earns about five to six gold coins, and a Tier 3 Warrior earns six to eight gold coins."

"A Tier 4 Warrior earns around fifteen to eighteen gold coins per month."

"Tier 5 Warriors, twenty to twenty-four gold coins."

"Tier 6 Warriors, twenty-seven to thirty gold coins."

"Tier 7 Warriors, eighty to one hundred gold coins."

"Tier 8..."

As James finished speaking, a hint of awkwardness reappeared on O'Neal's face.

According to James's calculation, even with the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group at full strength, their hiring fee would only be around six hundred gold coins. Not to mention the current state of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group, which had suffered more than half casualties, clearly falling far short of the monthly price of one thousand gold coins.

However, Roland didn't show any dissatisfaction. When he hired the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group initially, he knew their hiring fee far exceeded their scale.

There was no need to dwell on it now. After all, Roland quite admired O'Neal and wanted to slowly turn him into his subordinate in the true sense, rather than the current employer-employee relationship.

"In that case, the monthly salary for Tier 1 Warriors on Rising Light Island will be set at four gold coins from now on."

"Not just for Tier 1 Warriors, announce it. The salaries for warriors of all levels on Rising Light Island will directly match Highland City." Roland made up his mind after a moment of consideration.

With his future income, he wouldn't lack gold coins. Now, situated in the perilous Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, who would be willing to fight for Roland without generous benefits?

Indeed, after Roland made the announcement, enthusiastic smiles instantly appeared on the faces of Artur, James, and Fili.

Especially for Artur, with his strength as a Tier 5 Warrior, receiving salaries from both Leslie and Roland, his annual income could reach five to six hundred gold coins, far exceeding his professional level.

When Roland's salary standard was publicly announced throughout Rising Light Island, it caused a huge stir among the slaves on the territory. Many slaves even spontaneously wanted to join the territory's guard.

Similarly, when the remaining forty-eight slaves in the guard learned of this, they poured all their energy into training. They even completed their daily training quota beyond expectations without needing O'Neal or Artur to supervise them.

Thus, under Roland's golden offensive, everyone on Rising Light Island erupted with immense enthusiasm, greatly increasing the efficiency of Rising Light Island's construction.