The Blade Is Still Sharp

"I've returned, and the two lords' rewards will follow shortly. The Baron also asked me to bring you a letter."

When the sun had already begun to set on the second day, Old Adam returned from Tevalinburg, giving Ergons the satisfactory reply he wanted.

He took the Baron's letter and read it, knowing that the Baron was genuinely quite pleased with this return.

In the letter, he not only stated that he would no longer tamper with the soldiers sent to him, ensuring he would receive a capable fighting force, but also that he would provide the same provisions as newly distributed by the Holy See.

Ergons Tervalin then understood that the men who had collapsed at the mere sight of pirates last time were the result of the Baron's covert machinations.

From this, it could also be seen that the Baron definitely still attached great importance to him; otherwise, he wouldn't have continuously flaunted his strength, both openly and subtly, demonstrating how powerful his control was over Tevalinburg and the surrounding areas.

This also indirectly revealed how weak the Holy See was in the Tevalinburg region, or at least how weak their influence was.

How unstable was their actual control here?

Looking at it now, the people Pastor Alphons relied on, if not entirely the Baron's men, were practically just fooling him.

It was likely that besides the deacons Pastor Alphons brought himself, everyone else was operating under two layers of allegiance, but they cared more about the Baron's layer.

Ergons Tervalin wouldn't pity Pastor Alphons, because at least the Baron was willing to play along with him.

On the surface, the entire Tevalinburg was still under Pastor Alphons's control, while the Baron was on his last legs, completely sidelined.

But in reality, forget it...

"Whether the pastor lives or dies is none of my business, but it can also be seen from this that at least under Count Heffenm Anduin, everyone is placating the people of the Holy See.

They haven't truly treated them as if they were non-existent and ignored them."

Because Old Adam's hunting horse was faster, they waited until it was completely dark before the two transport teams, one after the other, arrived under the escort of a group of soldiers.

The dinner and welcome ceremony prepared for these soldiers directly turned into a bonfire party and late-night snack.

Fortunately, they weren't strangers. William Adena, in particular, saw too many familiar faces among these newly dispatched men.

The setup remained the same: two sergeants leading six light infantrymen to command two squads of twelve militiamen each.

But out of these 20 men, William Adena wouldn't say he knew them all intimately, but at least they had all shared drinks together before.

William Adena became the one who livened up the entire bonfire party.

If not for Ergons Tervalin's strict orders not to leak information about the Divine Favor or the vassal warriors, he would have wanted to drag the two old sergeants with him to prostrate themselves before young master Ergons, begging him for guidance on how these two could become knights.

It was fortunate he didn't ask for advice, otherwise, it would have been difficult for Ergons.

He only had 6 Level 2 Command directives per month, and he had already used four to upgrade these troops.

The remaining two were for emergencies, like instantly moving all soldiers away from their current location, or...

Ergons, gazing at the amber liquor in his wine glass with a tipsy haze, suddenly paused in his thoughts and couldn't help but marvel.

Alcohol was indeed a good thing.

After drinking too much, his mind became so agile.

It allowed him to figure out something he had been unable to understand before.

That was why the Baron's attitude towards him was exceptionally good?

Was it truly because he had killed the man who cuckolded the Baron, or was it because he had value that could be exploited, allowing them to "deceive and ambush" the Holy See's pastor together?

He figured it must be because he could "transform" into the appearance of Sir Davis Tervalin, and even more so because of his ability to appear in Tevalinburg unnoticed, kill several people, and abscond with a large amount of supplies.

This would also explain why the Baron would personally risk riding a griffon to the village, and why he repeatedly spared no effort to display his strength?

It was clear that he had seen through it; the one causing the disruption was him.

That was why he was willing to expose his control over Tevalinburg, and even theatrically descend from the sky riding a griffon.

Wasn't it just to show that he also possessed the ability to suddenly appear here?

"It seems I need to think more when talking to this Baron. Otherwise, I wouldn't have grasped these hidden meanings and given good feedback at the time."

After all, a duet requires two voices to harmonize. A song too high will always be lonely.

This time, he finally caught up with the Baron's train of thought.

The welcome bonfire party continued until late into the night. As usual, Ergons used all his Level 1 Command directives before midnight.

However, this time he didn't allocate them all to experience. After being drained last time, he had just leveled up. It wouldn't be anytime soon before he could level up again. So, he decided to supplement some finances instead.

Only after replenishing Tynal could he continue to upgrade soldiers and purchase equipment.

It was important to note that soldiers in this game didn't cost much to begin with, and their weekly wages weren't high. The money spent each time they leveled up was actually for purchasing equipment for these soldiers.

But the money for buying equipment was also very little. Even for just one set of equipment on a single soldier, let alone a full set.

The money required to purchase this equipment, in the actual game environment, wouldn't even buy a single shoe.

After using all six chances on money, he then took the time to allocate his newly gained points.

Reaching level 26, his Health increased from 65 to 72. He continued to add attribute points to Intelligence, as one point of Intelligence could generate an additional skill point.

Strength remained at 17, Agility at 15. Intelligence, after adding one point, was now 8. Charisma remained unchanged at 6, as the skills in that area were sufficient for now.

In terms of skills, Iron Bones had 1 point, Power Strike 2, Power Draw 1, Riding 3, Weapon Mastery 2. The skill points and any remaining points were added to Coaching, bringing it to 2.

Scouting and Tracking each had 1 point. Persuasion remained the same.

Weapon Proficiency had increased by some amount across the board.

One-Handed: 500

Two-Handed: 410

Polearm: 480

Archery: 300

Throwing: 300

Firearms: 300

Cheat Commands:

Level 1 Function Commands: 6

Level 2 Function Commands: 2

Troop limit is 40

Current troop limit modifiers:

Base number: +30

Player command: +0

Player Charisma: +6

Player Reputation: +4

Total: 40

The remaining Level 2 Commands absolutely had to be saved for the end of the month. Who knew what might happen?

After reasonably preparing for potential events, he also had to find something for these foreign troops to do. Many things had already quietly changed in this village.

It was only a matter of time before he was discovered, but the later the discovery process, the more advantageous it would be for him.

Furthermore, he couldn't just keep them busy; he also had to flex his muscles and let the Baron know that his blade was sharp.