Morey Sebastian

Looking at the two men before him, Ye Wei'an felt a sense of familiarity.

The leader was a burly man whose muscular frame was impossible to hide, even beneath his black mourning clothes. He wore a neatly groomed gray beard and carried a heavily worn greatsword at his waist.

Beside him stood a young man with the same gray hair and a resolute expression.

"Greetings, Lord Ye Wei'an," the bearded man spoke first, his voice gravelly and thick.

Ye Wei'an sized him up, nodding calmly. "Long time no see, Sir Morey Sebastian."

"Oh! By the womb of the Earth Mother (Chauntea), you actually remember my name?" Morey blinked, then let out a hearty laugh, clearly surprised and flattered.

"You are Lina's father; naturally, I would remember," Ye Wei'an said, offering the man a graceful opening.

Hearing this, Morey's smile widened even further.

Of course, he could not have known that Ye Wei'an had actually recognized him through the system's personal profile display.

[Morey Sebastian, Lv.6 Totem Warrior (Bear)]

He was truly one of the few great knights of Firefall Territory.

Totem Warriors were a sub-class of Berserkers who revered the animism of all things, with each tribe believing in a specific beast spirit. They used these spirits as their guides, protectors, and sources of power; this profession was quite common among the Rashemen tribes.

The Morey before him was the highest-level professional he had encountered since transmigrating.

Morey's smile faded, his expression turning complex. "Young Master, to be honest, four years ago when that girl Lina defied Lady Selina's pressure to look after you, I wanted to lock her in solitary confinement. I thought that in a noble household, blind kindness would only be her undoing. But who could have imagined..."

He looked at Ye Wei'an's eyes, which shimmered with a faint blue-white light. "That girl was only in her teens, yet her foresight surpassed her old man's. That unremarkable bastard son from back then has actually become a mage. Since she chose to believe in you, I, Morey Sebastian, have no reason not to place my own bet."

He stepped forward, lowering his voice, his tone becoming solemn and grave. "Ever since the old Baron fell ill and that woman took control of Firefall Territory, I've felt uneasy. That woman only has eyes for money and cares nothing for honor; I have long since grown tired of tolerating her."

Immediately after, he grumpily dragged the young man beside him to the front. "This is my son, Lina's younger brother, Volodya. I wanted him to inherit my mantle, to worship the family totem and channel the power of the beast spirits, but he insisted on listening to the nonsense of those bards and wanted to become some sort of 'knight.' A true traitor to the family!"

Though he complained, Ye Wei'an could hear the pride beneath his words.

"Volodya, what are you standing there for?" Morey barked at his son with a stern face. "Didn't you want to be a knight? The one standing before you is your liege! Go, swear your allegiance to him!"

Volodya was far more reserved than his father.

He performed a standard, solemn knight's salute, kneeling on one knee as he presented his sword to Ye Wei'an. "Volodya Sebastian, I am willing to serve you, my Lord. Though I lack my father's powerful rage, my sword and shield shall guard your banner."

Ye Wei'an looked at his profile.

[Volodya Sebastian, Lv.3 Champion]

He was seven or eight years younger than Cain, but like him, he was a level 3 warrior.

However, the Champion sub-class tended to focus on individual combat prowess, whereas Purple Dragon Knights were more adept at leading troops in battle.

This fit their family style perfectly.

"I am honored to accept your allegiance." Ye Wei'an took the sword and tapped it against his shoulder, completing the oath of fealty.

With the bond of loyalty established, Morey asked immediately, "Young Master, since our whole family has placed our lives in your hands, I won't beat around the bush. What are your plans moving forward?"

"Naturally, to recruit soldiers and horses in preparation for the expansion," Ye Wei'an said simply. "I intend to recruit a group of landless peasants in Firefall Territory."

"My Lord, I must say something that might dampen the mood." Morey frowned, curling his lip. "Twenty thousand gold coins sounds like a lot, but it is far from enough to develop a territory."

"To open up a new territory, there are countless places to spend money," he said, counting off on his fingers. "We need to build fortresses, buy farm tools, purchase rations, clear trade routes... the expenses are endless. This amount of money will barely last us half a year."

Ye Wei'an asked curiously, "Did Lina not tell you about our financial situation?"

"Tell me... what?" Morey looked puzzled.

"Those twenty thousand gold coins were merely support from my father," Ye Wei'an explained. "Beyond that, I 'squeezed' an additional compensation from Lady Selina—including another ten thousand gold coins, half of the territory's weapons and armor, half of the livestock, a year's worth of rations for five hundred people, and various other supplies."

Morey was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh and burst into a thunderous laugh. "By the hem of the Earth Mother's skirt! Young Master, you are truly remarkable to be able to carve meat out of that money-grubbing woman's mouth. I've led troops my whole life and have never seen anyone make her yield on money. For this alone, Lina didn't misjudge you!"

"It's not just the money," Ye Wei'an corrected. "I also obtained the formal right to recruit from her—beyond peasants, I am free to recruit craftsmen, various talents, and even knights."

Hearing this, Morey's expression turned serious.

"My Lord, this is what I must warn you about. With your current reputation, it won't be hard to recruit a large number of refugees and peasants in Firefall Territory who are looking for a meal, but if you are counting on taking away large, organized units of soldiers or decent knights, I'm afraid you will be disappointed."

"Oh?" Ye Wei'an raised an eyebrow. "Please explain, my Great Knight."

"The logic is simple. Firefall Territory may not be large, but most of the soldiers and knights here, or their fathers, once served in the Purple Dragon Legion under the old Baron."

Morey's tone was heavy. "Ordinary farmers don't understand the perils of the frontier, but these soldiers know all too well—they have seen the bones of travelers gnawed clean by orcs, and they have seen comrades tortured to death by miasma. Without a visible, tangible 'future,' those experienced veterans would rather rot in the territory for a lifetime than go to the wilderness to die for you."

Ye Wei'an raised an eyebrow slightly. "I am a mage; does that not count as a sufficient reason?"

"My Lord, you are still too young." Morey shook his head with a wry smile. "Those soldiers and knights are not like us Rashemi... to be honest, they aren't that fond of spellcasters. In their eyes, while a mage is powerful, it also means being eccentric, requiring protection, and the risk of being dragged into some unexpected disaster at any moment. While you have a reputation for being considerate of your troops and fair in rewards and punishments, that only earns their respect, not enough to make them entrust their lives to you."

Having said this, he offered a solemn suggestion: "Young Master, if you want those veterans to follow you, you must find a way to make them believe from the bottom of their hearts that they can survive on the frontier by following you."

Ye Wei'an caught the subtext in Morey's words.

As a Great Knight who had been immersed in military life for twenty years, Morey might have a forthright personality, but he was by no means simple.

A simple man could never become the Great Knight of a territory.

His words were both a warning and a subtle way of establishing his own indispensability—Ye Wei'an had never led troops; if he wanted those proud soldiers to obey, the safest way was to rely entirely on Morey's prestige and hand over military command to him, the "Great Knight."

Ye Wei'an did not call out his little scheme, but he had no intention of handing over military command on a silver platter.

Wisdom from his homeland told him: the great affairs of a state are war and sacrifice.

If he, as a lord, wanted to live comfortably, military power could absolutely not be handed over to anyone else.

But how could he gain the soldiers' trust in the shortest amount of time?

He suddenly remembered the map belonging to the Zhentarim that he had found at one of their supply points earlier.

The Zhentarim was an old, evil organization on the continent of Faerûn, founded by the dark god of tyranny—the "Black Lord" Bane.

Externally, they often disguised themselves as a smuggling merchant guild called the "Black Network," but the Zhentarim was, in essence, a cross-continental criminal empire; they not only engaged in trade and smuggling but were also keen on manipulating the political situations of other nations through force and infiltration.

Most regimes in Faerûn were quite wary of such an organization, especially powerful monarchies like Cormyr.

The Obarskyr royal family on the Dragon Throne would never tolerate such an organization infiltrating the kingdom's government.

He had wondered before why the Zhentarim had so many secret strongholds in the Hurek Forest.

Given Cormyr's strength, it was impossible for them to tolerate such a thing.

After discovering evidence of the Amarisk Family's smuggling, Ye Wei'an finally understood what was going on.

So, there was an inside man.

Now, this map seemed like it could serve a purpose.

"Sir Morey, I understand your concerns." Ye Wei'an was not angered by the other's skepticism. "It is only fair that everyone does not trust a spellcaster who has never been on a battlefield. Since that is the case, before leaving Firefall Territory, I intend to make one final contribution to the family—I will lead troops to root out those bandit nests on the border and help my younger brother maintain peace in the territory. Please help me gather those soldiers and knights who wish to make a name for themselves, or who wish to test my mettle, and tell them that I will lead them out to suppress the bandits. I will use facts to show them whether I possess the ability to lead an army."

Upon hearing this, the expression on Morey's face stiffened for a moment, appearing somewhat awkward.

He had intended to make Ye Wei'an retreat in the face of difficulty and turn to him to take charge, so that they, the Sebastians, could secure an important position in this future new territory.

He had not expected this young master to be so... naive.

"This... the bandit gangs around Firefall Valley are not made of clay; they hide in the forest and are very cunning."

Seeing Ye Wei'an looking at him with unwavering resolve, Morey had no choice but to compromise: "Since the young master has such courage... very well, I will go and gather those brothers who are willing to participate and see who is interested in earning some merit."

After all, Lord Ye Wei'an is a mage; if it's just bandits, nothing major should happen, right—Morey thought to himself.