Lord of the Oasis - Chapter 101
Chapter 101: The True Value Needed
Asage’s body was like a broken ragged sack, the peasants picked it up and burned it.
There had been no peace between races.
Kant would never let go of this high-level Jackalan who were aware of itself, especially when Asage showed the wisdom and mind of a human, it was destined to die no matter what.
Because Kant needed it to tell him about the situation on the Mannheim Coast.
When he understood the details, its true value was gone.
Kant didn’t care about the situation in the Kingdom of Grey Mane and the Mannheim Coast that it described. He only needed to know that there was indeed such a place on the other side of the Nahrin Desert.
This reminded him of the Middle East Desert.
Merchants from the Middle East crossed the desert to the eastern Mediterranean coast and sold their goods to European merchants.
This was an extremely profitable trade.
In particular, Kant controlled salt mines and could produce large amounts of high-quality white salt. This allowed the trade to continue because the Jackalan of the Kingdom of Grey Mane was not the only species on the Mannheim Coast.
There was also the Kingdom of Lizardmen, which thrived in the sea trade, and the Elven Parliament, which was a colony.
After offending the Jackalan, there were also these two races.
Kant, who came from the southern part of the Nahrin Desert, was a merchant who had come from afar. He was a trustworthy friend, and definitely not someone who was close at hand and tried to destroy other race forces at any time.
The principle of ‘Befriend a distant state and strike a neighboring one’ was prevalent in every world.
Moreover, no one would be foolish enough to start a war across the natural moat of the Nahrin Desert.
After all, humans didn’t have high endurance like the Jackalans.
This was the reason why Manid was optimistic about it. As a Nord who had crossed the sea to the Continent of Caradia, he understood this principle. This was because the desert was not the sea, it could not be reached by the wind and waves.
As long as the Oasis Lookout maintained friendly trade with the races of the Mannheim Coast, they could even do business with the Kingdom of Grey Mane.
When it came to profits, hatred was only the means of the politicians.
Of course, before that, they would have to defeat the expedition army of the Kingdom of Grey Mane in the Nahrin Desert. Otherwise, if the army occupied the Oasis Lookout, it would be an absolute failure for Kant and the others.
Kant needed to win a victory and prove his ability in front of the forces of the Mannheim Coast.
The weaks could not protect their own benefits.
In the council hall, Kant had a conversation with Manid and Firentis cautiously. Since he had already decided to take this path, he should plan as soon as possible. Especially when dealing with the Jackalan the Kingdom of Grey Mane, who could attack at any time, he also needed to prepare as soon as possible.
Just as the three of them were talking, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from outside the wooden door.
Sarrandian horseman pushed the door open and entered. He bowed respectfully and reported, “My lord, we have returned from our patrol.”
“Mm, very good.” Kant nodded.
Five Sarrandian Horsemen led a cavalry team of 40 desert bandits. Even if a 46 Swadian heavy cavalry had to be careful when they encountered them. After all, these light cavalry soldiers with short javelins could not win in close combat. But they could fight and run at the same time, harassing them like flies was very simple for the bandits from the Sarrandian Desert.
“We also captured a group of Jackalan.” Sarrandian Horseman continued to report.
“How many?” Kant asked.
“About 120. They are relatively difficult to capture. We killed more than 300 Jackalans before these guys surrendered out of fear.” Sarrandian horseman shrugged and said with a regretful tone, “Otherwise, we could have captured more.”
However, Kant was slightly stunned and asked, “Captured 120 of them? ”
“That’s right.” Sarrandian horseman nodded affirmatively.
Kant could not help but praise, “Well done.”
He did expect that these bandits with scimitar would have no problem killing the scattered Jackalans. However, he did not expect that they could actually capture 120 Jackalans.
According to the calculation, each Jackalan worth 30 denars, it would bring Kant 3,600 denars.
“The captive trading is indeed profitable.”
Kant could not help but sigh. At the same time, he instructed the Sarrandian horseman, “Bring them to the training ground and keep an eye on them.”
“Understood.” The Sarrandian Horseman left after receiving the order.
However, Kant also felt a little regretful. He said to Manid and Firentis, “I suddenly regret killing that high-level Jackalan, Asage. I really don’t know how much denar he can sell for.”
“When the Jackalan expeditionary army arrives, we will know.” Manid smiled and comforted him.
The Nahrin Desert would exhaust the last strength of the Jackalan expeditionary army. Kant and the others, who were defending the fortress, could literally watch and wait for the Jackalans struggling. At their weakest moment, Kant’s soldiers could launch a fatal attack and win.
This was Kant and the others’ strategic plan.
“Let’s go out and take a look. ”
Kant stood up and walked outside.
Manid and Firentis also stood up and followed behind.
So many Jackalan captives were indeed good news. When the trade caravan of Reyvadin arrived, they would replenish Kant’s half-used denar savings.
They walked out of the council hall.
Kant walked along the street. The five-meter-high city wall blocked his view from afar.
The endless sea of sand that could be seen at any time was now blocked by the city wall. He could not admire it whenever he wanted.
This might be a pity.
However, Kant shook his head with a smile and shook off the thoughts in his head. If not for these city walls, he would probably have been forced to withdraw from the Oasis Lookout. They couldn’t defeat the invading and plundering Jackalan expedition army on their own. So, they forced to invite the wolves into their house, attracting the noble families from Dukedom of Leo to come over here and help them. Only then, they could barely stop the Jackalan.
The wall was their safety measure!
Walking to the training ground in the eastern military zone, over a hundred Jackalans were squatting there with their hands and feet tied up by hemp ropes.
Groups of desert bandits were waiting beside their horses.
There were some rude desert bandits were riding on their horses. They were holding scimitars and circling around the Jackalan captives.
They were showing off their power, saying bad jokes and dirty jokes, which immediately made the desert bandits laugh out loud. However, it made the Jackalan captives look even more pitiful.
“Why do I think I’m the villain in a drama? ”
Kant shrugged helplessly.
Firentis didn’t answer, while Manid nodded affirmatively. “Look at these little cuties, they are indeed pitiful. I think we shouldn’t mistreat them. After all, they are walking denars. ”
“I like this saying.” Kant nodded with a smile.
The desert bandits quickly walked over, and they also noticed Kant.
All of them quickly bowed and greeted Kant respectfully. At the same time, they waited for the orders solemnly.
“You all did well. ”
Looking at the respectful manner of these desert bandits, Kant nodded to himself. At the same time, he asked, “Were there any casualties during the process?”
“No, Lord. They are as weak as chickens.” one of the desert bandits answered.
Everyone immediately burst into laughter.
However, because Kant was here, all of them appeared to be very polite. Although they were bandits, they were also bandits who had been recruited by Kant. They had to left behind their bad images in behind and did not want to show it in front of their lord.
Kant did not mind that they held back their rudeness.
It was good that there were no casualties.
The light cavalry formed by these desert bandits was one of his trump cards. It was not worth having any casualty.
“Keep an eye on them,” Kant ordered these desert bandits.
Turning to Manid behind him, he said, “You manage these captives. I guess that Reyvadin’s trade caravan will be here soon. When the time comes, sell these captives to them and buy more food and tools.”
“Understood. ” Manid nodded. He was a merchant, so it was an easy job for him.
Kant then said to Firentis, “You should also go and do your work. Arrange the sentries and patrols to ensure the safety of the Oasis Lookout.”
“Yes, sir,” Firentis replied.
After all the basic arrangements were done, Kant nodded and walked towards other places. He intended to inspect his own estate.
After all, he wanted to take a good look after leveled up the place.
Arriving at the east gate, Kant walked around the city wall.
He was observing his own estate.
There was still a lot of empty lands in the entire Oasis Lookout. These lands were reserved for future construction.
Because the funds were not enough, these lands could only be used as an open warehouse to store miscellaneous items.
There were 200 peasant workers busy with their works.
However, the number of civilians in the current fortress was still very small. Many tasks could not be carried out for the time being.
For example, harvesting of the chee grass required a lot of civilians.
In addition, feeding the livestock with forage, processing the forage, and leveling the land required a lot of manpower.
“We’re still short of people.”
Kant sighed deeply.
The special effect of a house could recruit civilians, but this special effect could only be activated when there was a shortage of people and extra empty houses. Now that the houses were full of people, this special effect would not be activated at all.
In order to increase the population, other than temporary system characters, they could only build more houses.
Kant had long expected this.
The entire area of Drondheim fortress was about half a hectare.
And this was only the area inside the city wall.
This was enough for the current construction of the estate to cover most of the buildings.
After all the buildings were built, perhaps the inside of the city wall wouldn’t be as empty as it was now, and it would become crowded.
At the same time, this would also promote the next level up of Drondheim. At that time, it would become a real castle. The buildings inside the city wall would become the internal buildings, and it would be the core area for the castle to continue expanding.
“Oh, the trade caravan is here.”
Kant noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw a trade caravan.
The familiar leader of the trade caravan rode in front. Six trade caravan guards followed him on their horseback. Twelve sentries were guarding five carriages on foot. They were from Reyvadin, just like the configuration of the trade caravan when they first arrived.