"I'm back. The rewards from both lords will arrive shortly as well. The Baron also asked me to bring you a letter."
By the time the sun had begun to set the next day, Old Adam had returned from Tevalinburg too, bringing Ergons a satisfactory reply.
Ergons took the Baron's letter and read it. It seemed the Baron was genuinely quite satisfied this time.
In the letter, he not only stated that he would no longer tamper with the soldiers sent to Ergons and would provide him with a qualified fighting force, but also that he would supply provisions equivalent to those newly distributed by the Church.
Only then did Ergons Tevalin understand that the people who had collapsed at the first sight of the pirates last time had been secretly tampered with by the Baron.
This also showed that the Baron truly valued him. Otherwise, he would never have kept flaunting his strength, openly and covertly, while demonstrating how firmly he controlled Tevalinburg and its surrounding regions.
At the same time, this indirectly showed just how weak the Church was in Tevalinburg—or rather, just how weak the Church's control over the area was.
Just how unstable was its control here?
Judging by the current situation, those Pastor Alphons relied on were not merely all the Baron's men. He was practically being completely humored.
Aside from the Deacon group Pastor Alphons had brought with him, everyone else was probably wearing two faces, though they cared more about the Baron's face.
Ergons Tevalin did not feel sorry for Pastor Alphons, either. At least the Baron was still willing to play along with him.
On the surface, all of Tevalinburg still appeared to be under Pastor Alphons's control, while the Baron was on his last legs and thoroughly stripped of power.
But in reality... Forget it.
"That pastor can live or die as he pleases. It has nothing to do with me. But this also shows that, at least under Count Heffin Anduin, everyone is indulging the Church's people.
"They haven't truly treated them as if they were nothing and ignored them."
Because Old Adam's hunting horse was faster, it was not until the sky was completely dark that the two transport teams, one ahead of the other, arrived under the escort of a group of soldiers.
The dinner and welcoming ceremony prepared for the soldiers turned directly into a bonfire party and a late-night snack.
Fortunately, they were not strangers to one another. William Adena in particular recognized many familiar faces among those sent over.
The arrangement was still the same: two squads, each consisting of two sergeants overseeing six light infantrymen and twelve militia members.
But of those twenty people, William Adena could not claim that he had drunk and fooled around with every one of them, but at least he had shared drinks with them all.
William Adena became the one who connected the atmosphere throughout the entire bonfire party.
If not for Ergons Tevalin's strict order forbidding the disclosure of the Divine Favor and the affiliated warriors, he would have dragged the two old sergeants before Young Master Ergons, knelt down, and begged him to guide them on the path to becoming knights.
It was fortunate that he did not ask. Otherwise, he would only have put Ergons in a difficult position.
He had only six Level 2 Command uses per month. Upgrading these troop types had already used four of them.
He was saving the remaining two to preserve his life—for example, moving all his soldiers directly away from his current location, or...
Ergons, gazing blearily at the amber liquor in his cup, suddenly paused mid-thought and could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.
Alcohol really was a wonderful thing.
After drinking too much, his thoughts had somehow become incredibly nimble.
He had finally figured out something that had puzzled him for a long time.
Why was the Baron's attitude toward him so exceptionally good?
Was it really because he had killed the man who had cuckolded the Baron, or because he was useful to the Baron, allowing them to "trick and ambush" the Church's pastor together?
It was probably because he could "transform" into Sir Davis Tevalin, and even more because he possessed the ability to appear in Tevalinburg without a sound, kill several people, and carry away a large amount of supplies.
That also explained why the Baron had personally risked riding a griffin to the village, and why he had repeatedly gone all out to display his strength.
He had clearly already seen through it: the person causing all the trouble was Ergons.
That was why he had not hesitated to expose his control over Tevalinburg, even making a show of riding a griffin down from the sky.
Wasn't he simply demonstrating that he, too, could suddenly arrive here?
"Looks like I'll have to think more carefully when talking with this Baron. Otherwise, I won't notice the hidden implications in his words at the time, let alone give him a proper response."
After all, a performance only became harmonious when both sides sang together. A lofty tune with no one to appreciate it was always a form of loneliness.
This time, Ergons had finally caught up with the Baron's train of thought.
The welcoming bonfire party continued until the latter half of the night. As usual, before midnight arrived, Ergons used all his Level 1 Permits.
But this time, he did not put them all into experience. After the previous time had drained him dry, he had happened to level up as well. It would probably take quite a while before he could level up again, so he decided to replenish his money instead.
Only after replenishing Tynal could he continue upgrading his soldiers and buying equipment.
It had to be said that the soldiers themselves did not cost much in this game, and their weekly wages were not high either. The money spent each time they were upgraded was actually used to buy equipment for them.
But even the money for that equipment was very little, because the set each soldier wore could not even be called a complete set.
The money needed to buy that equipment would not even be enough to buy a single shoe in the game's market.
After using all six opportunities on money, he finally found the time to apply the points he had gained from leveling up.
At Level 26, his health rose from 65 to 72. He continued putting his Attribute points into Intelligence, because every point of Intelligence generated one additional Skill point.
His Strength remained at 17, Agility at 15, and Intelligence had reached 8 after adding one point. His Charisma remained unchanged at 6, because he still had enough Skills in that area for now.
As for Skills, Iron Bones was at 1, Power Strike at 2, Power Bow at 1, Riding at 3, and Weapon Mastery at 2. He put his Skill points and surplus points into Trainer, bringing it to 2.
Tracking and Path-finding were both at 1 point, while Persuasion remained unchanged.
His Weapon Proficiency had increased by varying amounts.
One-handed: 500 Two-handed: 410 Polearms: 480 Bows: 300 Throwing: 300 Firearms: 300 Cheat Command: Level 1 Function Commands: 6 Level 2 Function Commands: 2 Troop limit: 40 Current troop-limit modifiers: From base population: +30 From player leadership: +0 From player Charisma: +6 From player renown: +4 Total: 40
No matter what, he had to save the remaining Level 2 Commands until the end of the month. Who knew what might happen?
After taking reasonable precautions against possible events, he still had to find something for these foreign soldiers to do. Many things in the village had already changed without anyone noticing.
Being discovered was only a matter of time, but the later he was discovered, the more advantageous it would be for him.
Besides, he could not merely find things for them to do. He also had to display his strength and let the Baron understand that his blade was fast.
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