This Lord Always Keeps His Word

"Sword, woman, sell to me. Thief, border, smuggle."

The warlord didn't dwell on this simple question; the sword's origin had no bearing on his tribe.

Ralph explained from the side, "It seems a thief sold it to him. That's actually quite common in Long River Town, my Lord. When thieves get their hands on weapons, if they have a way, they'll definitely find a way to sell them to the Gatu people. It's untraceable and they get the best price—the Gatu don't do smelting. Although it's aiding the enemy, Duke Alma has done it plenty himself..."

Li Ang chuckled strangely, as if joking, "Did Count Oden do it too..."

Ralph glanced around. Seeing that everyone else was busy cleaning up the battlefield, he whispered, "Discarded old equipment occasionally gets... Anyway, everyone sells them. The brothers have to make some money, and they need it to trade for Gatu horses for breeding..."

Li Ang really hadn't expected this. So, the Gatu people's strength was also nurtured by everyone else...

No wonder this warlord group, which didn't produce anything and only plundered, hadn't turned into savages after centuries of isolation on the grasslands.

The so-called never trading with any faction turned out to mean never engaging in official transactions.

To think he had considered it so mysterious...

"Can you find that woman?"

Li Ang nudged the somewhat stunned warlord.

"No, thief, mountains, cannot find."

"Alright... You gathered this large army just to cover for Duke Alma? How much did he pay you?"

Li Ang still wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

But when faced with such a question, the Gatu warlord stopped speaking. "Kill, me!"

What a shame to kill him...

Li Ang thought of the warlord's exceptional horse, the warhorse that didn't bolt even when wounded by arrows.

"I said I wouldn't kill you... Alright, I won't ask you anything about your tribe and army, but other casual chat should be fine, right? What's your name?"

The Gatu warlord looked at Li Ang suspiciously. "Drash."

"All those horses outside are my spoils of war. I need someone to take care of them, otherwise their only fate will be to become hot pot..."

Drash glared at Li Ang with hatred.

"Don't look at me like that. I have no choice. All my subordinates are infantry; no one knows how to care for horses..."

Drash looked at the mercenaries cleaning up the battlefield outside, sighed, and his eyes dimmed. "You, no, honor!"

"Don't talk nonsense! This Lord's word is his bond! ...Huh? You don't understand? This Lord always keeps his promises... Forget it, I'll be direct. I plan to have you take care of these horses, otherwise my subordinates will definitely eat them!"

Li Ang pointed at the iron pot, then waved his hand towards the big, burly men.

Kloze, in the distance, saw Li Ang waving at him and trotted over excitedly. "My Lord, are we eating horse meat for lunch?"

Li Ang almost wanted to give him a hundred likes. This guy heard nothing, yet his gluttonous instincts allowed him to cooperate so perfectly!

Drash finally broke down. "You! Cannot! Eat horses!"

And so, Li Ang's team list gained a new entry.

'Drash, Horse Keeper'.

The friendship level was definitely not high, but it didn't matter—this guy genuinely loved horses, and as long as he could take good care of them, that was enough.

Anyway, anyone who could get on the team list would definitely not cause any problems. This system might not be perfect, but at least it could identify if someone joined with genuine intent.

After reorganizing for a day, Li Ang decided to lead his team away. He needed to find another place to establish his territory and deliver the belongings of the fallen mercenaries to their hometowns.

Promises regarding his subordinates were indeed kept by the Pioneer Lord.

Lesley's caravan guards, along with the two fallen Meitengheim people, were also found in a nearby valley by the Rangers.

The Gatu people, eager to return to the grasslands, had only destroyed the caravan and not looted their equipment.

As before, the belongings of the Meitengheim people were entrusted to Kloze for safekeeping.

Meitengheim Infantry, 2/10.

Four mercenary crossbowmen had died, and one was disabled. The current team list read "Mercenary Crossbowman, 6/18".

The two refugees were safe and sound.

But everyone else, including Li Ang, was injured. Excluding the carpenter who hadn't officially joined the team, fewer than ten people in the entire group could still fight.

This was a grievous loss, but that was the nature of the battlefield. If not for the timely arrival of the Horn Caller Rangers, the casualties would have been even higher.

Li Ang didn't give an inspiring speech this time. He simply and silently fulfilled his promise.

Keeping promises without compromise was far more effective than any form of motivation.

The spoils of war had been distributed according to who captured what, but without exception, everyone requested that the items be converted to cash and distributed as bonuses.

It wasn't because the subordinates had suddenly become noble and felt sorry for their impoverished Lord, willing to let him profit as an intermediary. It was because no one wanted to carry a large pile of chainmail, nomadic shields, sabers, and other such items, adding to their burden...

They were all injured... They couldn't carry it.

This, however, put the Pioneer Lord in quite a predicament—this pile of junk wouldn't be easy to deal with. If handled carelessly, instead of making a profit, he might even have to pay out of pocket!

Looking at Lesley, who had mostly recovered her composure, Li Ang went over.

"Lesley, that... do you want to rebuild your caravan?"

The Lord asked somewhat cautiously, unwilling to agitate the poor girl.

"No, my Lord, thank you for your kindness... I can't rebuild the caravan anymore. Everything I had is gone..."

Lesley's eyes dimmed as she fiddled with a dagger in her hand, which looked like it might have belonged to her brother.

"But I don't think you'd want to sleep on the streets, Lesley. Your brother risked his life to let you escape, not for you to end up a stranger in a foreign land—you need a job to support yourself."

Li Ang's words weren't exactly polite, but his voice was gentle, filled with the magnetism expected of a great philanthropist.

Ansen couldn't bear it. "My Lord, we should take Lesley with us."

Sarah, standing beside him, dragged Ansen away. "Come, help me look at my hand. Lately, it's been acting up and wanting to hit people..."

Sarah was so clever and astute. She had already seen the familiar look in Li Ang's eyes as he looked at Lesley, much like the look a capitalist gives an employee when signing a contract for indentured servitude.

It was the same look Li Ang had given Sarah in the tavern.

Sarah swore she would never forget it. She had never met such a noble who, despite her obvious flirtations and beauty, only wanted her to work for him part-time!

"Lesley, you know, my team is short of a quartermaster—the pay is quite high."

"Lord Li Ang, if you really want to comfort me, why don't you have a couple of drinks with me."

"Cough, alright then..."

Two hours later, the Lord was spinning like a top and face-planted onto the carriage, his clothes disheveled and his face flushed. "One more glass..."

The mead in his hand spilled all over the floor.

"Lord Li Ang, I will be a good quartermaster."

Lesley clinked her wine glass against Li Ang's empty one lying nearby, saying calmly.

'Lesley has joined your team.'

By the time the half-drunk Li Ang woke up again, Lesley had already sorted everything into categories.

Still groggy, Li Ang unhappily pounded his aching head. He felt he had just been careless... How could he have been out-drank by Lesley?

Had he done anything stupid?

Only Kloze looked at Li Ang sympathetically. "My Lord, that day, none of us, more than a dozen people, were her match... By the way, who is this 'Little Sister No. 88' you mentioned?"

Ansen brought over a bowl of hangover soup from the side. "Um... My Lord, Miss Sarah is beating up those prisoners again... Mr. Ralph can't even stop her... it's quite brutal..."

With a group of bruised and battered subordinates, Li Ang set off south.

Ralph, the local expert, told him of a good place—an ownerless village that had just been plundered by the Gatu people.

It might be a very suitable place for a Pioneer Lord to develop smoothly.