The Class Change Hall did not only serve future players; it also served the NPCs of the present.
The instructors working there were all Elves under his command.
William's Small Town had many Professionals, covering nearly every ordinary class.
As for the few missing instructors, he was not in a hurry. He would only recruit them after confirming the right candidates.
After all, for most NPCs and players,
it was enough for an instructor to be one rank higher than them. There was no need for them to be absurdly powerful. Simply put,
those Skills and Secret Manuals alone were enough to empty most people's pockets...
"My lord, thirty Knights, twenty Warriors, twenty Magic Swordsmen, and thirty Rangers are ready!"
William nodded at Nock, then looked at Odom Heavyhammer, who had come to see him off. "The Small Town's expansion will be in your hands for the next few days. Lotner and I will be back soon. If we can open up the trade route, we'll arrange regular Mithril transactions in the future."
"Rest assured, Lord! I'll protect the territory with my life!" Odom Heavyhammer had spent years fleeing hardship and had finally found a stable life. Of course, he had learned to cherish it.
Moreover, William had led troops to save them, so there was no chance of any mutiny.
As for leaving the Small Town's expansion to him?
Odom could not help twitching his mouth. When had this Lord ever managed such things himself?
"I'm counting on you, then!" William nodded shamelessly, mounted a White Horse, and led the group away.
Blackleaf Forest, which remained mostly in its primitive state, had hardly any broad roads. Even if mountain paths were carved out, if no one used them for long, plants would gradually cover them again and return them to their original state.
Fortunately...
As Lord, William could watch his subordinates use blades and swords to clear the way ahead while he rode behind them, drinking Fruit Wine and following at a leisurely pace...
As the executor and William's greatest bodyguard, Lotner followed quietly as well. He needed to preserve his strength at all times, not do manual labor.
But as he watched William enjoy himself so thoroughly, he always felt that William had taken a Lord's privileges to their absolute limit.
For example, during the town's expansion,
William had come up with many entertainment facilities that a town should not have had.
For instance.
There were three casinos. Why would such a tiny town need so many? They would not only gamble money, but equipment as well. How many idiots would do that?
However, he had heard that William planned to acquire some fine materials and have Odom forge an Epic-Class piece of equipment to place in one of them.
At that thought,
Lotner felt like trying his luck too...
There were five Taverns...
For a small town, five Taverns were still far too many, but Lotner had nothing to say about that.
But William had even secretly built three brothels...
Lotner could not help wondering whether his Lord had matured too early and entered heat.
After all, Elves did not reach sexual maturity until at least thirty...
Still, though Lotner had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. He would not underestimate the flesh trade of brothels. In any slightly larger human town, a brothel's daily profits could exceed those of two Taverns!
The only prerequisite was that William did not force women into it...
William glanced at Lotner without changing expression. He had the feeling this fellow was muttering about him in secret, so he said, "There's no helping it. We have to open a route to Blue Moon Lake. Otherwise, how many chests would the Gold Coins from selling Mithril alone fill?
Without a clear road, were people supposed to carry the chests back on their shoulders? Of course we need horses to pull carts.
And the longer we delay, the more dangerous things become for us. Though this is trade between Elves, Blackleaf Forest does not belong to Elves alone."
"I understand. You needn't explain yourself to me, Lord." Lotner understood, of course. He simply did not understand why the Lord had suddenly begun to value him so much.
"It's good that you understand. This journey will depend on you, Uncle Lotner!" William smiled warmly...
"Calling me Uncle again?" Lotner turned away and muttered. Whenever William called him Uncle, he felt he was about to have to give something up again.
For example.
The bloody battle against the Pale Orcs last time...
Or the time before that, when he had handed over the Dawn Watcher inheritance Scroll...
There was no helping it.
William was simply that kind of person. On wilderness Adventures like this, before he had fully grown stronger, he dearly wished for a strong, powerful real man who could help him take the damage...
Over a hundred li did not seem far.
But in a primitive forest, while opening a new simple road, it was definitely not so easy.
If nothing unexpected happened,
even with Professionals using Battle Aura to clear the way, it would take three to five days.
There were too few Mages, and most of the Mages under his command were only mid-rank. Otherwise, if he had a few Earth Mages or Wood Element Mages, clearing a road would have been much easier.
But the return trip would be much faster. As long as the road remained in good condition, they could return to the territory within half a day.
Blackrock Duchy covered an area roughly as large as Heilongjiang Province.
Its capital was called Blackrock City.
The entire city was built from a kind of black stone with beautiful patterns. At night, if the Magic Lamps along the roads were not lit, one truly could not see one's hand in front of one's face...
However, this black stone was sturdy and had a certain affinity for magic. As long as Mages enchanted it day and night, its defensive power could be increased. That was the key reason it had been chosen as a building material.
On a broad main street, Kuri was dressed in luxurious clothes, completely lacking the misery and weariness he had shown a few days ago.
Clearly, he truly was a Noble, a viscount of Blackrock Duchy.
Though he had come of age, he had no territory.
Blackrock Duchy's land was limited, while there were so many Nobles that no fiefs had long been left for him. Unless he ventured out to open up new territory, but how many Nobles would undertake such a laborious and thankless task?
The only interests Kuri could fight for now were his biological father's Count inheritance and territory.
But he had an older brother...
According to the inheritance principles of Legendary Continent, so long as there were no major issues, a title was generally passed to the eldest son. The relationship between the brothers was poor, so the final outcome was obvious.
Thus, Kuri, who had understood his future Destiny early on, used the inheritance his mother had left before her death to form a caravan. After seven or eight years of life-and-death struggles, the caravan had expanded considerably. Apart from the one he personally led, he had five smaller caravans, all earning quite a few Gold Coins every year.
He used those Gold Coins to recruit many Professionals as subordinates, planning to kill his brother in one stroke when he went hunting in Blackleaf Forest each year!
"Hunting in Blackleaf Forest." Kuri wandered Blackrock City for a long time, turning an unknown number of corners before finally entering a dark alley.
Unfortunately.
Not long afterward,
he emerged with a gloomy expression.
"The Shadow Killer Organization's price... is truly ruthless!" Kuri liked making two sets of preparations. Especially when it concerned his future Destiny, there was no such thing as too many preparations.
But as one of Legendary Continent's top assassin organizations, the Shadow Assassin Organization's prices were often beyond what far too many people could afford.
"But since it's hunting in Blackleaf Forest, then... perhaps I can speak with that Prince. After all, the hunt is only ten days away, and it isn't far from his territory."
Kuri truly did not have that much money. He was only a minor Noble. The Shadow Assassin Organization's price was too high; after paying it, he would not even have enough left to pay his subordinates hush money.
That was precisely why he thought of the Border Town Lord, whose expression was haughty but whose eyes revealed greed!
"You like slaves? Then I'll bring you more." Kuri raised an eyebrow, already having made up his mind.
Thanks to Come See the Handsome Guy for the tip.
Before you continue