She Brought a Strange Man

The Long River Town Garrison Headquarters.

"Knight Commander Ralph, I believe you understand Lord Li Ang's good intentions."

Sarah sat upright, her expression sincere. Aside from her naturally alluring, fox-like eyes, she appeared every bit the dignified lady.

Yet, these beautiful, large eyes didn't seem out of place during this formal conversation. Instead, they enhanced her approachability and persuasiveness.

This was an advantage neither Li Ang nor any other skilled negotiator possessed.

In a one-on-one setting, making a man who wasn't good with words willing to listen attentively was child's play for Sarah.

Especially when she intended to turn him into a paying customer.

However, this time, Sarah was the 'Sales Director,' representing her boss in a business deal.

After 'guiding' things based on a prophecy from some novice god-monger, she had, just as Li Ang had envisioned, easily taken control of the conversation.

"Ms. Sarah, as you said, I am indeed willing to purchase a completed camp. If Lord Li Ang doesn't plan to govern that territory long-term... but..."

Ralph was clearly already persuaded, yet his expression held a hint of concern.

"Lord Li Ang's forces are insufficient to hold a fortress. Furthermore, Knight Commander Ralph, just as you were previously unable to enter the Horton Family's pioneer territory—as long as it remains the pioneer lord's land, the sentries who can truly protect Long River Town cannot be stationed there... otherwise, it would violate the kingdom's laws."

Sarah gave a slight, almost mocking smile at the Lionheart Kingdom's rigid laws, which only made her seem more trustworthy.

"My lord knows you've been in a difficult position, so for the safety of more people in Long River Town, Lord Li Ang would rather find a place to settle in the Long River Forest..."

Sarah felt Ralph was completely convinced, but for some reason, he kept hesitating.

Ralph stood up, placing a hand over his chest. "Please convey my thanks to Lord Li Ang. His wisdom and kindness will be repaid by the Rangers. However, Ms. Sarah, I..."

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Knight Commander Ralph! Urgent military intelligence!"

Just as he was speaking, a hurried knocking sound was followed by a ranger in green patrol armor rushing into the room without regard for etiquette, interrupting Ralph.

"This is a letter sent by flying horse from the front lines! Brave Shield Fortress has sent up signal fires! Three signal fires! The Gatu army is mobilizing!—Apologies, Madam!"

The ranger first handed Ralph a blood-stained piece of parchment and quickly relayed the military intelligence before finally apologizing to Sarah, his expression extremely tense, clearly having no time for politeness or appearances.

Ralph quickly read the letter, and the concern in his eyes instantly turned to resolve. He transformed his unfinished words into an irrefutable decision.

"Ms. Sarah, I will purchase that camp. But please reply to Lord Li Ang as quickly as possible and implore him to hold the Tongtian River at all costs!"

"The Horn Summon Ranger Corps will rush to reinforce as quickly as possible, but until then, I request Lord Li Ang... not to let a single Gatu person cross the Tongtian River!"

"I beg you! Take him with you to deliver my request to Lord Li Ang!"

Ralph pointed his finger at the reporting ranger.

The ranger immediately placed his right fist across his chest and saluted Sarah.

Sarah stood up.

She didn't know if this request would bring utter disaster upon her boss.

But the fire in Ralph's eyes made her see Li Ang at that moment, the one who had covered the sky and earth with a wave of his hand by the river.

Just before the sun set, she had seen almost the same expression in Li Ang's eyes.

Two different people, with different personalities, different ways of acting and different goals, but possessing a similar, irresistible determination and infectiousness.

My Lord... did he already anticipate something like this would happen?

Is that why he stayed at the camp and had me come to negotiate the deal...

"I will do my best, Knight Commander. I hope your reinforcements arrive soon! Friend, follow me!"

Sarah bowed in a hurry with the utmost efficiency of her life, took the ranger, went out, mounted her horse, and galloped north.

She was so fast that the ranger almost couldn't keep up.

By the Tongtian River, carpenters were resting at the camp. They had already built a low wall and were nailing boards onto it.

Li Ang had assigned Ansen a task.

He wanted to teach the boy some swordsmanship; otherwise, his dream would likely be hard to achieve.

If you want to become a knight, how can you not even tell which side of the blade is which?

You can't hide behind Sarah in every battle...

This isn't how a knight should behave!

Besides, as a medic, a glorious battlefield doctor, you can't be without self-defense capabilities—if you get cut down by the enemy, who will treat the wounded?

Li Ang's original assignment was for Ansen to find a way to stab Kloze with his sword.

Later, realizing that this assignment might be impossible for him to complete in his lifetime, he changed it to simply touching Kloze's body.

However...

For Ansen, the difficulty still seemed too great.

Kloze, holding a wooden stick, grinned sinisterly and continued to torment Ansen, who was already being whipped around.

The surrounding mercenaries watching the show burst into laughter, and some even placed bets – their wagers were quite elaborate, betting on who would be responsible for cleaning up the battlefield in the next fight…

This was probably because they were all broke at the moment.

Even though Kloze was holding a wooden stick and Ansen was wielding a long sword, the difference in their combat effectiveness was ten times greater than the difference in their physiques.

Even with all his effort, Ansen couldn't even touch the hem of Kloze's clothes.

Ansen panted heavily. If it were just about willpower, he was indeed a strong person—even though he had been beaten to the point where even Kloze felt a bit bad, he still hadn't given up.

As for cowardice, that could be trained slowly; no one was born brave enough to kill.

But the problem was, some talent issues couldn't be overcome no matter how hard one tried…

Ansen clearly had absolutely no talent for swordsmanship.

Even Kloze, who didn't like to comment on others casually, felt that this child would be better off switching to some non-melee equipment that could be useful from the back lines—like a light crossbow or a lady's crossbow.

He specifically mentioned the type of crossbow because Kloze knew that if it were a heavy crossbow, or the crude steel crossbows produced by their Meitengheim, Ansen would likely not be able to even hold it up…

This wasn't meant as mockery, just the truth.

But Ansen felt insulted and insisted on completing the homework assigned by Lord Li Ang, resulting in the two of them sparring for over half an hour.

Of course, it was a one-sided beating.

-- Daily training ended. Total experience gained by your soldier from training: 420

Lord Li Ang wasn't present, but the system notification was still delivered. This was the extra experience granted to subordinates by the Coach skill, but it still required personally arranging training sessions or assigning homework.

Lord Li Ang was reading a book on the roof of a wooden hut in the camp.

The so-called 'Officer's Memoir' was a rather good popular novel, though it lacked plot and mostly took place in bedrooms or bathrooms.

The writers of Pendor seemed to lack a certain wild imagination…

But this still didn't hinder Lord Li Ang's thirst for knowledge within the book.

"My Lord! Two horses are coming from the south… they look a bit like Sha… ah, it's Miss Sarah! But she's brought a strange man with her… a man with a green hat!"

On the newly built watchtower, a swordsman with good eyesight called out to Lord Li Ang—he was the unlucky fellow who had been impaled in the foot at the pirate camp, Sammer.

He was also the only tough guy in the charge squad who didn't drink—which is why he became a sentry. The benefit of good living habits was a heavier workload.

Of course, this was called being valued…

Lord Li Ang immediately put away his book, leaped off the roof, and quickly headed towards the riverbank.

"So impatient… I wonder if there'll be a fight?"

Sammer on the watchtower grinned, revealing a knowing look that men understood, and propped himself on the watchtower, ready to enjoy the show.