Recruit Your Army!

Li Shuyi nodded in agreement.

After Bai Xiaowen made her choice, the Spirit Realm Rules continued to provide hints:

"You have selected your identity: Lord of White Stone Town. Your teammate has been detected entering the Kane Plane with you via team play. Matching her identity..."

"Matching confirmed. Please choose a name for yourself and your teammates, preferably one that fits the naming conventions of the Kane Plane."

Li Shuyi laughed and said, "I received a notification that I've been matched with the sister of the lord of White Stone Town... We really do have a sibling bond. What name are you planning to use?"

Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment, then smiled and gave a name: "Dio Skellboom."

"Does this name have any special meaning?" Li Shuyi asked curiously.

"It doesn't have any special meaning. It's just the pseudonym I used when I ventured into my first dimensional world, the Aaron Plane," Bai Xiaowen said.

"Since the match is between siblings, then I want to have the same surname as you... Skellboom, that surname really is a bit strange..."

Li Shuyi muttered a couple of words and quickly decided on her entry point: Charlotte Skellboom.

After confirming their names, the void before them dissipated, and they entered the Kane Plane.

"... Are you sure this is the White Stone Town lord's house?"

Li Shuyi looked at the dilapidated wooden house, with cobwebs hanging in the corner and a thin layer of dust on the table. In the corner, a few mice were passing by, seemingly enjoying themselves.

Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "At least the house is quite large, about twice the size of our villa in Taoran Residence..."

Suddenly, Bai Xiaowen frowned slightly. A string of character information was inputted into his mind, transforming into a large illustrated book of characters, which he could consult at any time.

This data transmission occurs every time a ticket is used to enter the Spirit Realm. Moreover, for B-Tier Spirit Realm Ticket, if the identity is more complex, the data will be more extensive. For example, the data currently being transmitted to Bai Xiaowen's mind covers information on everyone a young lord has known up to this point.

Li Shuyi also accepted some of the information. The two of them closed their eyes and digested it for a while before Bai Xiaowen opened her eyes first.

"This young lord is quite a womanizer. Originally, the family had some savings passed down to his generation, but he squandered them all," Bai Xiaowen stroked his chin. "Now, bandits roam the territory, most of the people have fled, and those remaining are mostly the old, weak, and disabled. The mines and farmland have been largely occupied by bandits, and the daily income is negative..."

As Bai Xiaowen spoke, he shook his head, then spent 100 Psionic Points to convert the language into the Common Tongue (Old Latin) of the Kane Plane.

The costume that the Spirit Realm gave to Bai Xiaowen, the young lord, was a noble-style formal dress, but it was patched in inconspicuous places, enough to show Dio Skellboom's financial difficulties. Meanwhile, Li Shuyi, the lord's sister and the eldest daughter of White Stone Town, was dressed in a maid's coarse cloth outfit, without a single piece of gold or silver jewelry...

With a creak, the door to the house was pushed open.

A large, fat man squeezed in with difficulty, looked up and saw Bai Xiaowen and her brother, a fleeting look of impatience crossing his face.

"Young Master Dio, Miss Charlotte, stop daydreaming... The Imperial Sheriff has just issued a proclamation requiring every territory on the northwestern border to conscript troops to participate in the battle of the Blackrock Line ..."

When Bai Xiaowen saw this big fat man, his information automatically came to mind.

Jobb is the steward of the current lord of White Stone Town.

"I understand, Jobb."

Bai Xiaowen stretched his neck and walked towards the door of the house. "Give me a detailed introduction to the territory."

"Details?" The portly butler, Jobb, paused slightly. "You... I mean, which aspect would you like to know?"

"Population, territory, mines, farmland, bandits... tell me everything you know," Bai Xiaowen said. "I need to figure out how many people my territory can conscript."

Jobb said with a slightly sarcastic tone, "Young Master Dio, did you just wake up today? You only have a little over a hundred households left in your territory, all of them poor and worthless. If they had any ability, they would have left this dangerous and barren land."

"Those inferior fields yield barely enough to cover the seeds, and the taxes collected are barely enough to feed you and Miss Charlotte. There is also an iron mine within the territory, but it has been seized by the vicious Blackwind Bandits, and you have no way to reclaim it now."

"The sheriff's order requires the White Stone Town territory to recruit two fully armored knights and 15 auxiliary soldiers with at least leather armor to participate in the battle. I've roughly calculated that the weapons and armor alone will cost no less than one hundred gold coins, and the cost of recruiting soldiers will be even higher... Of course, you can also forcibly send people to capture a bunch of peasants to serve as auxiliary soldiers, as long as you have the ability."

The fat man, Jobb, concluded, "So, young master Dio, you're now on the verge of bankruptcy... You still owe me several months' wages. As I suggested, it would be better if you sold your territory to Lord Maki of Redleaf Fief Territory. Not only would that relieve you of your debts, but it would also exempt you from the obligation to conscript troops... And of course, my wages would be settled then."

Bai Xiaowen did not answer Jobb's question for the time being, because he and Li Shuyi had both received prompts from the Spirit Realm Rules.

"[Main Quest (Optional): Recruit Your Army!] Begins."

"Mission Objective: Recruit two knights with Elite Level 3 or higher strength, and recruit 15 fully equipped auxiliary soldiers."

"Mission difficulty: Unknown."

"Mission deadline: 15 days."

"Mission prompt: The stronger the army you recruit, the higher your status will be in the Human Allied Army. You can also abandon this mission, sell your territory, and explore the Kane Plane as a free citizen."

Bai Xiaowen calmly dismissed the fat butler, Jobb, then looked at Li Shuyi, and the two exchanged surprised glances.

"An optional main quest? This is the first time I've ever encountered one!" Li Shuyi exclaimed in surprise. "Should we give up?"

Bai Xiaowen pondered for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

"If we abandon this mission, we'll have to sell our territory to other lords and become free citizens. It's likely the Spirit Realm Rules will regenerate a main quest specifically for free citizens, rather than letting us skip it directly and explore freely. And what interests me most is the first hint in the mission..."

"The stronger the recruited army, the higher its status within the Human Allied Army?" Li Shuyi asked. "We're only staying in the Kane Plane for 15 days. Even if we recruit a sufficient number of troops, it probably won't be enough to cover the Blackrock Line's defenses, right? What's the point of this hint then?"