The carpenters and building materials he had demanded from Ralph were enough to build a small castle...
But he only intended to use a tenth of them for that plan.
Still, given Count Oden's temperament, he might accept this extortion calmly.
After all, compared to military control over Long River Town, Li Ang's little demand was entirely acceptable.
Long River Town had originally been a base for pioneers. As long as it was related to developing territory, almost anything was sold here—including weapons, food, building materials, all kinds of tools and supplies, and... people.
As one of the requirements for a Pioneer Lord to pass the assessment, people were also commodities here, especially skilled craftsmen like carpenters and stonemasons.
But these craftsmen charged dearly—very dearly. They cost far more than mercenaries who only knew how to fight and kill!
The little money Li Ang had could not possibly hire many of them. Of course, he had to seize the chance to fleece the wealthy.
Besides craftsmen, mercenaries were also commodities in Long River Town.
After settling the supply preparations, Li Ang planned to find a tavern and recruit some men.
The thousand denars he had "borrowed" had originally been meant for buying building materials and baggage. But now that someone was "sponsoring" the carpenters and materials, he could use the money to recruit troops instead.
A few more hands would give Li Ang a little more sense of security.
Besides, it was uncertain when those Meitengheim tough guys would arrive. If they failed to make it in time, Li Ang could hardly go challenge Fletcher Village alone...
And if Ralph did not see his subordinates, that batch of sponsorship might fall through...
He found the largest tavern in Long River Town—the Adventurer Tavern, as usual. Every city seemed to have a tavern with that name.
This was also where he had agreed to meet up with his Meitengheim subordinates.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened when he entered the tavern this time.
"Hey! Any young men here looking for a future in war?"
Normally, it was hard to recruit reliable fighters so directly in a tavern in a large city. It was actually easier in remote villages...
But Long River Town was different.
Long River Town's taverns were full of adventurers—mostly aspiring adventurers or mercenaries with dreams in their hearts. Most of them were skilled in combat and had a solid foundation.
After all, everyone knew that Long River Forest was full of danger. No one would come here without some ability.
Li Ang could even set certain standards and choose only the people he wanted.
Of course, his standards were not high. They only needed to be good with a bow or crossbow. Thus, he quickly recruited over twenty mercenaries, every one of whom claimed to be an expert archer or crossbowman.
Sarah intended to serve as a recorder at his side, but she was clearly not good at this kind of military logistics work. Her records were a complete mess.
Li Ang simply told her to hurry up and rest. He could handle it alone—he had the system, so he did not actually need to keep records.
Sarah thanked Li Ang for his kindness. She truly was exhausted. They had been traveling nonstop for the past two days, and those two horses were nearly dead from fatigue. Li Ang was strong and full of energy, so he felt little strain, but Sarah had long since reached her limit.
And with Li Ang handling things alone, matters became much simpler.
He only needed to ask the mercenaries whether they were willing to join his party. As long as they gave an affirmative answer, they would appear directly on the party list, and he could tell at a glance what type of soldier they were.
Most of those he had just recruited were indeed listed as Mercenary Crossbowmen.
But he also discovered two slackers among them. They claimed to be crossbowmen, but the party list showed them as Farmers.
23 Mercenary Crossbowmen, 2 Farmers.
The two special companions, Ansen and Sarah, differed from these soldiers. Their names were listed separately.
Of course, that might have been related to the clear positions Li Ang had assigned them—doctor and External Affairs Officer.
Li Ang intended to kick the two Farmers out of the party, but then he discovered that the party list, which he had assumed was fairly comprehensive, had no "dismiss" option...
Forget it. Their pay would not be settled until a week later, and interviews did not cost money anyway...
Besides, those two Farmers might prove useful somehow.
Li Ang carefully calculated his expenses. He needed to keep the party at a certain size, ensuring enough combat strength while also making sure the denars in his hand could support them for a while.
So recruitment soon stopped.
He had nearly nine hundred denars left, enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for a lifetime.
But for military expenses, it was only enough to pay forty warriors for a month, and that did not even include food consumption—those Meitengheim people were all first-rate gluttons.
Still poor...
Just as he was tearing his hair out over the expenses, he heard a familiar voice with an obvious southern accent.
"My lord, you arrived so quickly!"
Li Ang rose in surprise. "How did you get here so fast?"
It was Ansen.
Li Ang found it incredible. Apart from losing a day in Lion City, he had ridden at full speed the entire way, barely stopping except to let the horses rest.
Kloze and the others had been traveling on foot and carrying a great deal of equipment, yet they had arrived only half a day later than him.
From the west coast to Long River Town was nearly two thousand li. Even walking would take at least eight or ten days, would it not?
Were all his subordinates long-distance runners?
Ansen smiled calmly. "My lord, shortly after you left that day, we encountered a caravan that happened to be headed for Long River Town. We served as its guards and rode here directly in their carriages. We did not stop once along the way... The caravan even intended to pay us a guard's fee..."
Li Ang was somewhat speechless, but also pleasantly surprised.
Just look at their luck!
Was this the good fortune earned by Ansen, that kind and upright doctor?
Sure enough, doing good deeds like a true knight really did have its uses...
See? Just when they were short on money, money came to them.
But then Ansen continued in the same calm tone, "However, nothing happened along the way. We did not do much, and instead caused them trouble. Taking money under those circumstances would not conform to a knight's principles, so I did not accept the caravan's payment..."
The joy in Li Ang's heart instantly collapsed... He had not taken the money?
He actually refused money offered to him? Had he read too many knightly novels?
That bookworm!
Forget it. It was good enough that they had arrived safely.
"Why are you here alone? Where are Kloze and the others?"
Li Ang looked behind Ansen but did not see those big men.
"They went to help the caravan unload its goods. Since we did not take any money, the caravan owner said he would treat them to a meal... I am a nobleman, after all. I could hardly do manual labor. And I did not want to eat their food for free, so I came to the tavern myself to take a look—I truly did not expect that you had already arrived."
Li Ang rolled his eyes. Those fools had been tricked into manual labor by a single meal!
Shaking his head, Li Ang suddenly remembered that after Ansen's father had lost his territory, he seemed to have become a merchant.
"Ansen, can you keep accounts? I need someone in charge of logistical support... I recruited more than twenty additional men."
But Ansen looked troubled. "My lord, I can do arithmetic, but I know nothing about logistics... I have never even traded with anyone before—my father never allowed me to touch such matters."
That was true... If he understood trading, he would not have led a group of tough guys to guard someone all the way here without taking payment...
"Forget it. Focus on being a doctor—it is a promising profession... Take me to see that caravan. I need to buy some food."
"Being a doctor is only a side occupation... I intend to become a Radiant Knight, my lord..."
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