Zero Crossing City, the construction of three villages and towns is in full swing.
This enthusiasm wasn't genuine, because as time went by, the people in the three villages were starting to get restless.
They were all soldiers before, and the soldiers formed an army.
Simply put, they are all men.
They certainly have families, but now their families are in an uncertain situation; some are clearly gone, while others are waiting for them to return.
A fiery heart not only makes the body restless, but also makes the mind irritable.
Finding his family—his wife, children, parents, brothers, and sisters—became the top priority.
This is also because these people feel that the war is over and they need to return to a peaceful life.
The initial enthusiasm for building settlements thus seemed somewhat listless.
"The war kept the merchant caravans on hold for two months, and it's time for them to transport goods to other noble territories."
Within the Frozen Earth Territory, Steward Bilder is arranging a caravan to travel through the Northwind Province. This caravan cannot be too small, and most importantly, it needs soldiers to accompany it, as the Northwind Province is currently in turmoil.
"All the Laoli consists of those newly arrived peasants, since they also need to find their relatives and have them send representatives."
"The soldier's words..."
Bilder thought for a moment; he needed to consult Lord Ryan about this matter.
Bilder quickly received the answer from the castle.
"Send a few Armored Bear Warrior with us to Zero Crossing City and hire two or three adventure teams."
Bilder, having obtained the results, only needed to carry them out, but he still didn't understand why the master had allowed those peasant adventurers from Zero Crossing City to participate.
Perhaps they're short-handed? Bilder shook his head. He absolutely couldn't think that way. Under the Lord's leadership, the Frozen Earth Territory was thriving and growing stronger. How could they possibly be short-handed?
If you can't figure something out, just stop thinking about it and focus on doing things humbly. This is the principle his deceased father taught him.
"You wouldn't want to find your family, bring them here, only to find they don't even have a place to live, would you?!"
Bilder looked sternly at the people building houses on several construction sites and shouted loudly.
" Lord Ryan is merciful, allowing you to build villages and towns on this land and become its inhabitants. You must not be ungrateful and must complete the task Lord Ryan has given you within the specified time!"
"No one is allowed to slack off, or if you find your wives, I'll give them away to someone else!"
When facing these people, Bilder appeared incredibly cruel and domineering. After inspecting the construction sites in the three villages and towns, Bilder finally entered Zero Crossing City.
"Which three are the strongest adventurer groups in the guild?"
He got straight to the point: the Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild was originally a property of the Frozen Earth Territory, and it had been directly managed by him before. The managers here were all people who had worked for Bilder before, so naturally they wouldn't dare to do anything to him.
After receiving the results, Bilder summoned the leaders of the three adventure teams.
The Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild, after two expansions, now occupies three acres of gray-white stone buildings with many reception rooms. Bilki was waiting in one of them when three adventurer leaders appeared before him.
" Sack? Hmm, you have over twenty men under your command. I hope your reputation matches your abilities."
"Is this the leader of the Forest Adventurer Group?"
Bilder nodded, looking at the burly man. The man seemed to be a hunter. According to the guild leader, this adventure group came from the Mountain Forest, and they seemed to have been savages living in the Northlands Mountains.
As for the last one...
Just as Bilder was about to reprimand someone, someone dared to hide in front of him, even wearing armor.
But the next moment, he broke out in a cold sweat. This was armor from the Frozen Earth Territory, and it was the work of Master Brock.
He was the steward of the Frozen Earth Territory, so he was very familiar with this stuff.
Most importantly, he took it from the castle's storeroom.
"Young Master Lynn? What are you doing here?"
Lynn removed his visor and said to Bilder:
"I am the leader of the Ashen Adventurer Group."
"Why did you call us here?"
Bilder was somewhat shocked. The successor to Baron Hatton was actually the leader of an adventurer's group? He had previously thought that these were just common folk sticking together for warmth.
Bilder couldn't sit still any longer and stood up. After all, there was a difference in their status. Although he had already obtained the title of Lordship, Lynn was the heir to the Baron.
Between the two, he was of a lower status.
"Young Master Lynn, I'm here to hire an adventurer's group to accompany the merchant guild's caravan to transport resources for the nobles in the province, in preparation for next spring."
"Your adventure party..."
Bilder was perplexed. He had never imagined encountering such a scene: how could a noble heir become the leader of an adventure team?
Beside them, the two adventurer leaders were also shocked, looking at the Ashen Knight, who was actually a nobleman?
Not a knight loyal to the nobility?
They were somewhat excited, yet also fearful and dared not speak to Lynn as they had before. The difference between the circles of nobles and commoners was like heaven and earth.
"I won't participate in the adventurer's mission; my vice-captain will take people with you."
Lynn was also helpless; he didn't want to reveal his identity either.
" The Ashen Adventurer Group currently has 120 people, 40 of whom are capable fighters. You can take them all with you."
Lynn, who was going to participate in the war, was well aware that the Northwind Province was not safe. However, like Bilder, he was also surprised that the Frozen Earth Territory would hire an adventurer group.
The Ashen Knight's identity caused a huge uproar in a small circle within Zero Crossing City. Fortunately, no one continued to spread the news. However, the fact that the nobleman was actually an adventurer still excited and thrilled many registered heroes of the Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild.
Their circle is so high-end! We thought the addition of knights was already a great honor for adventurers in the Northlands, and now nobles are among them too.
Like ordinary people like them?
Many people were very excited, but upon closer reflection, they themselves didn't know why they were so excited.
This led to the gathering of over a hundred adventurers from three different groups outside Zero Crossing City a day later, attracting considerable attention.
A caravan of nearly five hundred people, consisting of twenty oxcarts and thirty horse-drawn carriages, set off from Zero Crossing Prefecture and headed towards the noble territory of Northwind Province.
One of the objectives was to seize the resources within the noble territories from the previous quarter. With the outbreak of war, many of these resources were lost, but some were not actually targeted by the Orcs.
The Orcs plundered food, tools, warm blankets and clothing, and planks for building houses.
Of course, they wouldn't visit other resource points that couldn't be eaten or worn.
What the nobles need to do now is to convert these resources that are not for sustenance or warmth into money, and then use that money to buy essential supplies such as food.
The arrival of the Chamber of Commerce relieved these nobles of their immediate crisis.
Then came the second objective: to find relatives.
Of the tens of thousands of soldiers, more than four hundred were eventually selected, each representing a large group of people.
"All of you, find people properly! Don't blame me for not reminding you, each of you comes from a team in a village or town. Lord Ryan said that as long as you can help more than half of the people in your team find their families, you will be given priority to become the village chief of that team and be responsible for managing the others."
"If you can help everyone find their relatives, you will directly get the position of neighborhood chief."
"Want to know what a village chief is? He manages twenty or thirty households, but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that you will be able to enter the government office of the Frozen Earth Territory because of this, and your names will be recorded on the list of government office personnel and known to Lord Eteria."
"Becoming a village chief will lead to a better future, and you will have the opportunity to become farmers."
"Farmers are those who can help the lord manage the land and grain on his own; you will become rich!"
Bilder's voice thrilled the caravan members. They didn't understand much of what he said, but they understood the last sentence: make money, make more money, have better houses and land, and be able to burn firewood every day in the winter!
So, through their tireless efforts, they actually found three families in the Baron's territory. The sallow-faced, emaciated woman, dragging several children, stood awkwardly on the ground, looking fearfully at the two sides arguing.
"What do you mean? These are my slaves! How dare you plunder the wealth of a nobleman!"
A young man angrily stopped the soldier, glaring at Bilder. This was the reason why Bilder, the steward of the Frozen Earth Territory, had come in person. Only he had the status to bargain with the nobles. As the steward, he represented Baron Ryan behind that banner.
"Young Master Lanny, of course we won't steal your slaves, but they are my master's slaves."
Bilder said neither humbly nor arrogantly:
"Their men are already Lord Ryan's slaves, and so are they. I have a list here."
"Impossible! These are slaves captured by my soldiers in the Wilds; they don't belong to you!"
The young man angrily argued that it would be a great disgrace to have his slave taken away.
"Young Master Lanny, you might want to ask your father, Baron Gerard. Although the noble lords haven't made it clear yet who the refugees in the war belong to, there is one thing that all the nobles agree on."
"Those are the soldiers that my Lord Ryan took away. They and their families will all be Ryan's wealth."
"No nobleman has any objection to this matter. This is the only reward my master received after leading the Northwind Province in the war against the powerful Silvermoon Royal Court Orcs. My master did not ask for more, so I absolutely cannot let my master's only wealth become a worthless joke."
Bilder raised his voice. The person in front of him, Lanny, was not Lynn, because the other party's father, Baron Gerard, was not a friend of Lord Ryan, unlike Baron Hatton, who had a good relationship with the Frozen Earth Territory.
"Of course, to thank your soldiers for helping my master recover his wealth, I would like to express my personal gratitude to you."
Bilder glanced at the five adults and seven children on the other side, then took out nine Gold Coin and handed them to Lanny.
"This is my personal reward to you. I don't have many Gold Coin; this is all I have."
Bilder lowered his voice and said in a tone only the two of them could hear:
"When we were at Rhino Horn Mountain, I heard my master say that among Baron Gerard's sons, the eldest son, Lanny, was destined to inherit the Noble Title of Baron. However, after the war, a large amount of land became available and would be given to the nobles to choose from. Meanwhile, among Baron Gerard's sons, the second Far, had the talent of Mages."
"During the war, Baron Gerard led five hundred soldiers to kill more than three hundred Werewolves. Such merit may be able to exchange for some of the mine's revenue, after all, Mages's training is very expensive."
Lanny's eyes widened.
"Is that so?"
Bilder's eyes showed displeasure.
"Is Young Master Lanny questioning my master?"
"Of course not."
Lanny quickly explained that he greatly admired Baron Ryan, and couldn't help but say:
"That's Gerard Family money, it's my money."
Lanny suppressed his anger and then pushed away the money bag in Bilder's hand.
"Thank you, but I can't accept your Gold Coin. As for these... you can take Baron Ryan's slaves with you."
As he left Gerard Baronial Territory, Bilder took out a note from the seam of his clothes, thought for a moment, and then crossed out Baron Gerard's name.
This is the third objective.
What will the arrival of war bring? It will bring enormous changes, even to the nobility.
War will accelerate the succession of hereditary power!
For example, in a war, some nobles may be completely wiped out, but many more nobles may suffer heavy losses and still have their bloodlines preserved. In the end, those nobles who survive may also be injured, which will shorten their lifespan and allow their heirs to inherit the Noble Title earlier.
Simply put, war will determine the rulers who will emerge on this land for decades to come.
Observing the successors of the nobles is what Ryan's men need to do. Ryan hopes that more talents will emerge in the Northwind Province, but he also doesn't want a second Ryan to appear in the Northwind Province. Therefore, observing the future successors is very important.
The first stop was less troubling. Bilder had clearly told Lanny that he was destined to become the future Baron, but Lanny was still furious that his younger brother would take the profits from the mine and a portion of the family's wealth to use for magical training. He couldn't accept it, believing it to be his own wealth, and he was unwilling to share it with a Mages brother.
This is not the kind of emotion and jealousy that a respectable nobleman should possess.
This is the first assessment, but it's unlikely to be wrong for at least the next three to five years; Lanny won't undergo any major changes.
Every three to five years, the future appearance of the nobles of the Northwind Province will form a cage-like structure in Ryan's mind.
This is the process of taking control of the Northwind Province.
The destruction of human civilization and social order brought about by war is extreme. A caravan of more than 500 people traveled through various noble territories, but the people searching for their relatives found very little.
Either those people had died in the war, and some of the tens of thousands of soldiers in Zero Crossing City had lost their loved ones forever, or they simply couldn't be found. After all, there was only one representative, and this representative couldn't move around freely within the nobles' territory, and might not even know those people.
Coupled with the aristocracy's authority, many slaves dared not acknowledge their past identities, resulting in some people being overlooked.
Bilder strictly adhered to the goal Ryan had set for him: even if there was no one to be found in that noble territory, he had to bring back a family, preferably women.
Ryan's goal was simple: he wanted to see which nobles in the Northwind Province would oppose him.
"Yes, that's her. Her name is Sabina, and her man is Bennett, the Bennett on the list."
"Their whole family are slaves of my Lord Ryan."
"Bilder said, and next to him, a rough-skinned man nodded vigorously, looking somewhat awkward.
"Yes, I know her. She used to live on the same street as me. Her boyfriend, Bennett, is my good brother. I can't be mistaken."
"That's impossible. She told me her name was Yamila."
Inside the noble territory, a knight frowned, looking at the woman and then at Bilder.
"She is now my slave."
The knight was displeased; he had not yet grown to dislike the woman.
"Knight, you'd better think this through. This is my Lord Ryan's slave."
Bilder snorted angrily, staring at the knight in front of him and the people standing around him.
"As a knight, you should be honored to have served as my master's soldier. What gave you the courage to steal slaves belonging to Lord Ryan?"
"Of course not, but her name isn't Sabina, and she's not the slave you're looking for."
"Maybe she was lying to you before."
"How dare a slave deceive a noble knight!"
Finally, all eyes turned to the woman, who trembled with fear. She clutched the silver coin under her clothes, her teeth chattering, and she kept telling herself her name.
"I, I... my name is Sabina Bennett."
Her man was indeed named Bennett, but there were three or five people with that name on Bilder's list alone.
"How dare you deceive me!"
The enraged knight drew his longsword, ready to kill the woman, but was stopped by the soldiers behind Bilder.
"This is Lord Ryan's wealth; her life or death is not something you can decide."
"But how dare a slave deceive..."
Bilder looked at the woman and then said:
"Five lashes, and your whole family will be reduced to slavery."
The initial group of over 500 people gradually doubled or tripled, forcing Bilder to embark on his return journey ahead of schedule and send some people back first.
Next time... we'll have to get a different representative.
Allowing these tens of thousands of people to gradually form cliques and divide power is also part of the rule.
A month later, Ryan looked at the growth on his Spirituality Panel and smiled with satisfaction.