Arcane Journey

Chapter 135 After the War
In the early morning, Brian walked to an oak tree on the hill behind the rock bunker, overlooking the entire town from a commanding height.

From here he could see all the town's narrow, winding alleys and wide streets, and its many striking arenas.

These bowl-shaped arenas are scattered throughout the town like a ruined chess game.

The north outside the city wall is a golden sand sea, and the green grass and jungle outside Mokou Town are charging towards the vast desert like a green army as time goes by.

Brian frowned slightly when his eyes fell on some kind of far-sea swamp to the west.

Far Sea Swamp.

A lost civilization predating elves rests in this ugly swamp, its only remains being ornate structures of glass as hard as steel.

As the casters of the City of Shadows melted to the high glaciers, the climate near the Ennook Desert became unbalanced, so that the open sea swamp was expanding at an extremely slow speed along the Horn of Storm Mountains towards Mokou Town.

This swamp full of plagues and diseases is only more than 50 kilometers away from Mokou Town.

He knew very well in his heart that when the City of Shadows formed an alliance with the Dragon Cult, the Lizardmen and Lizardmen controlled by a black dragon of the Dragon Worship in the Far Sea Swamp would also become another threat to him.

Two days have passed since the Battle of the Rock Bunker.

In the unexpected raid by Graal's men and the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Group, a flag embroidered with purple dragons was flying on the wall of Mokou Town.

With only a caravan and mercenary group, he captured Mokou Town from the Zhentarim Society in less than a day.

The fierce battle was brutal and bloody, and when he captured the rock bunker, he fought with the improvised forces assembled by the remnants of the Zhentarim town defenders, slave owners, and other merchants in the town.

At the same time, with his secret help, many slaves rose up to resist and became the last straw that crushed the defenders.

The battle lasted until the dawn of the next day, and then gradually came to an end.

With the battle over, Bryan walked through the ruins and broken windows of Mokkou, through brick streets where gutters were clogged with stiff, swollen corpses, and jubilant slaves raised bloodied hands as he passed, chanting 'Mokou Town Lords'.

Now, as long as he successfully resists the counterattack of the City of Shadows and quickly builds his wizard tower, he can truly gain a foothold here.

After confirming the location of the Wizard Tower, Brian didn't waste any time and walked down from the hill overlooking the entire town.

Because there are more troublesome things that he needs to deal with in person.

Although he successfully regained Mokou Town, how to deal with the merchants, slave owners, free people, adventurers, slaves and captives living in the town is a headache for him.

Brian admitted that he is not a qualified lord, and he is even more confused about how to manage his territory well.

If he had a choice, he would rather be a hands-off shopkeeper and a ruler behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, it is obviously not that easy to find such a person.

Fortunately, the experience of dealing with this kind of problem has already been experienced once in the small world where he was reborn. Although this is a little troublesome for him, it does not mean that there is no way.

This made him can't help but miss his magic pet, the little devil.

This little guy used to be the Duke of Hell of Avernas on the first floor of Baator Hell, the chief commander of the bloody battle in the abyss, not only managed a group of rebellious devils submissively, but also resisted countless crazy attacks of abyssal demons And undefeated.

For such trivial matters as how to govern the territory and manage the army, it is not difficult at all.

At the beginning, when he established his own power in the small world, he was basically ruled by his magic pet, while he put forward his own opinions on the sidelines.

"After the wizard tower is built, we must find a way to find its location and bring it back." Brian thought to himself.

As his Demon Pet, he also signed a master-servant contract. If his strength allows, he has many ways to use the binding force of the contract to make it come back to serve him.

As Brian walked and mused, a fly buzzed around his head, and he waved it away angrily.

Seeing the flies, he immediately realized that the town seemed calm on the surface at the moment, but there were definitely a few people who were as annoying as flies.

He had to take measures to deal with these flies before the City of Shadows attacked Mokou Town.

To fight outside, you must first be safe inside.

He didn't want to be stabbed in the back by these slave owners and businessmen when he was fighting with the people of Shadow City.

Brian came to the audience room of the rock bunker. The spacious room was dominated by black marble walls, full of echoes.

Although solemn here, it is extremely gloomy.

At this time, his subordinates were waiting for him.

The old swordsman Baleris stood beside his seat, his gray hair loose and deep crow's feet around his light blue eyes, but the years had not bent his straight back nor worn his superb martial arts.

Salo, the head of the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Corps, was pale, with a thin and blunt face, standing next to the sharp-looking human ranger Puranda who was as thin as a sharp knife.

Facing them are Graal, a businessman dubbed 'Fat Catfish', and Zander, who is strong and weather-beaten.

Except for the mages of the Silver Scholars Association who are still in Aldus King City, these people in front of them are Brian's current forces.

Seeing that Brian had already sat on the chair, Graal immediately moved his fat body, stood in front of him, and reported to him.

"My lord, the total value of this harvest has been calculated, a total of 89 gold coins. In addition to the treasure house in the castle, the gold coins include all the slave owners and slaves who participated in the rebellion in Mokou Town. merchant."

"Close to 90 gold coins." Hearing Graal's report, Brian nodded secretly, not feeling any surprise.

Because after the battle, he had paid attention to the property in the treasure house.

The belongings are very miscellaneous. There are complete sets of exquisite armor that have been forged, and weapons such as swords. Apart from ordinary equipment, the most eye-catching thing is naturally boxes and boxes of gold coins.

He also noticed that Graal personally took the documents and quills and recorded each item in detail, with a very serious attitude.

If it were Brian himself, these gold coins would undoubtedly be an astonishing wealth for him, but considering the reconstruction of Mokou Town after the chaos and the enemies he was about to face, even if he had more than 90 gold coins, it was not as big as he imagined. So sufficient.

"All this money will be put in the treasure house of Rock Bunker, and you will manage and dispatch it yourself." Brian pondered for a moment, and said to the fat businessman who was bowing slightly in front of him, "After all, there are still a lot of places that need to be spent in the future." .”

Although Graal is in charge of all the management, every expenditure and entry needs to be checked by him in person, and he must sign his name before he can move the money.

Brian knew that he was extremely short of manpower at the moment, and he was simply a poor commander.

To manage such a huge town, if he does not let go of any power and does everything by himself, he will not be able to spare time to study spells.

Moreover, these people are all within his control, and he is not afraid of them running away with money at all.

When Graal heard this, shock and joy flashed across his eyes, which were nearly squeezed into slits by the fat, and he nodded in agreement, expressing his loyalty to Brian sincerely.

Obviously, the lord's ability to hand over the financial power of Mokou Town to him without thinking about it means how deep the other party's trust in him is.

After all, the two perfect battles against the City of Shadows and the Zhentarim had already made him admire the new lord so much.

Faced with the high expectations placed on him by the lord, he naturally wanted to seize this opportunity, perform well, and display his due value.

Then, Graal immediately took out the ledger and some lists, and began to report to Brian about the reconstruction of Mokou Town and the purchase of supplies and food from other places.

Regarding the situation reported by Graal, Brian was well aware of the difficulties faced by this town.

Seeing that the problems reported by the other party were not very different from their own ideas, they all nodded in agreement and asked him to carry it out immediately.

At the same time, he was secretly surprised that Graal, who was born as a businessman, performed so well in the management and logistics of the town, apart from the defect of being obese.

Therefore, he immediately included the other party in his investigation scope, to observe whether he was the kind of subordinate who could cultivate a confidant.

"As for the issue of slaves and captives, don't worry about it. I've already thought of countermeasures."

Brian looked at Graal and said to him, "Arrange your men, plan multiple concentration camps in the town, and gather them all together. I will go there myself later to appease them."

Across the continent, the common peasant was a peasant or serf who was not protected by law and was the property of a lord who controlled the land on which they lived.

In a few cruel regions, slavery was even practiced, and their tireless labor was only exchanged for the threat of whipping or a quick death.

This form of slavery, bordering on desperate and brutal, was relatively common practice in the form of indentured slavery.

The slave owners of Zhentil Castle, dominated by the Bane follower Zhentarim, even brazenly engaged in this kind of slave trade almost anywhere in the central region.

Mokou Town, which is occupied by the Zhentarim Society, is no exception. Apart from the gladiators in the arena, the slaves here also have manor lands and mines outside the town.

Today, the entire town has been occupied by Brian, and the most serious problem right now is how to solve or appease this group of nearly 2000 slaves.

If one is not handled well, it may lead to riots.

As a person who has studied in the 'Starting Point Traveler Training Association - Farming Department', Brian naturally knows how to make these slaves belong to him wholeheartedly and let them play their due value.

Seeing the confident look of the lord, although Graal didn't see the final result, he couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief.

As a businessman who is good at reading words and expressions, he can read certain meanings from Bryan's expressions.

And Graal remembers very clearly that Brian's confident eyes and words, he only saw it when dealing with the City of Shadows and the Zhentarim.

Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and prepared to take a big gamble, simply betting all his treasures on the future of the young half-elf lord.

"My lord, I have one more thing."

After confirming his thoughts, Graal didn't hesitate any longer, and said directly: "I am willing to donate 50 gold coins to Mokou Town to jointly build the future of the town."

Donate 50 gold coins!
As soon as Graal finished speaking, there was a sound of air-conditioning in the audience room.

Zander even frowned and looked at his cousin in disbelief.

The head and deputy head of the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Corps looked at each other, and there was a hint of shock in their eyes at the same time, then nodded slightly, and exchanged glances secretly.

Even the old swordsman Balleris, who was standing upright beside Brian, couldn't help but look at the businessman.

Noticing the determination in Graal's narrowed eyes, Brian knew that he had met a businessman who liked to gamble a lot, and he dared to bet all his worth on him.

For this situation, he naturally welcomed it with both hands.

"On behalf of all the citizens of Mokou Town, thank you for your generosity, Mr. Graal."

Bryan looked at him carefully, nodded to him, and showed a smile, "I will remember your great contribution to the construction of Mokou Town."

"This is what I should do." Graal bowed deeply to Brian, and led his puzzled cousin to leave together.

Seeing the businessman leaving, Brian immediately recovered his calm and composed expression, and looked at the head and deputy head of the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Group.

"Captain Salo." He said blankly to the commander who was watching him a little nervously:

"Now, I appoint you and all the members of your mercenary group as the city defenders of Mokou Town. Your main duty is to maintain the security of the town and resist the invasion of foreign enemies."

Salo secretly exchanged a look with the deputy head of the group, Puranda. He subconsciously looked at his elder brother Balleris, trying to see the real intention of the lord from his eyes.

However, he was disappointed to find that when his eyes met with Balleris's, the other party immediately avoided without a trace.

Salo didn't dare to waste time, and quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Lord Lord, for your kindness. Starting today, the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Corps will be directly disbanded and become the city defense army of Mokou Town."

"Very good." Brian nodded slightly, with a hint of coldness in his words.

"I don't care whether your members were deserters on the battlefield, wanted criminals, or bandits who murdered and set fire. Since you have chosen to join the system of Mokou Town, I hope you can change your mind and start a new life. I don't care about the previous things. If I pursue it further, I will not even recover the stolen property.

From now on, I order you to restrain your men and stop the violence. If there are still disobedients, the killers will be hanged, the robbers will lose a hand, and the rapers will be cut off. I don’t want it The price of peace in the town will be a mass of bloody limbs and limp red worms. "

Like most of the fallen towns, Mokou Town was ransacked by some tempting mercenaries from the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Group after it was completely occupied by him.

Before the battle, Brian had emphasized this matter to the mercenary captain, and the other party also patted his chest and assured him that he must restrain his subordinates.

In fact, he didn't expect that the other party would really strictly enforce it.

Because even a well-disciplined army may not be able to do nothing wrong.

He just took advantage of this to beat the group of mercenaries.

"Lord, don't worry, I will definitely restrain my subordinates and train them into an army to protect Mokou Town." Salo, the mercenary leader, wiped off his cold sweat secretly, and assured Brian with righteous words.

"I hope you can do what you say."

Brian calmed down and said to him, "I know that you have lost many men in this battle, so I allow you to change into battle robes for all the mercenaries who died in battle, and bury their weapons together. For family members, the pension for resettling family members will be doubled, and each mercenary who participated in the war will also receive additional rewards."

"Next, I need you to do one more thing." After thinking for a moment, he added:
"In the name of the lord of Mokou Town, the adventurer union who went to the town issued a notice telling them that any adventurer who is willing to defect to Mokou Town and obey the rules and regulations can choose to join your army."

Hearing this, the head of the mercenary group subconsciously glanced at his deputy, a look of joy flashed across their eyes at the same time, and he quickly assured Bryan, "Don't worry, my lord, we will definitely complete the task you assigned."

After speaking, Salo withdrew with his deputy Ranger Puranda.

Seeing the two leave, Balleris said, "My lord, the priest of the God of Knowledge has been waiting for a long time. I will place them in the study."

"Priest of the God of Knowledge."

There was a look of surprise in Brian's expression. He nodded thoughtfully and asked, "What organization do they belong to?"

"Gold-plated laurel wreath, from the Temple of Knowledge in Araby City." Baleris answered truthfully.

"Gold-plated laurel crown?" Hearing the name of this organization, Brian smiled. "The bookbinders are quite good at finding opportunities. I'll meet them."

(End of this chapter)