Lord of the Oasis - Chapter 178
Chapter 178: The Development of Baron Dylan
The champion of this tournament was obviously the vassal knight.
The chubby butler personally brought a silver plate. With the light blue linen cloth at the bottom, there was a large silver coin as big as an egg on it. The edges were decorated with exquisite patterns, and in the middle was the head of the Archduke of Leo, Cameron.
This represented the legal tender recognized by the Castle of Leo.
It was a recently minted silver coin as well.
The gentries who attended the banquet subconsciously swallowed their saliva.
Just for the value of these 100 great silver coins, it was more than enough to buy over 100 acres of land in the village near the Stone Pass. However, no one was so stupid.
The land in the northern county was very poor.
If they bought more than a hundred acres of land in here, it was estimated that they would not be able to earn back the 100 great silver coins even after ten years of production!
The vassal knight took the silver plate respectfully and sincerely thanked Baron Dylan. At the same time, he left under the applause and handed it to his most trusted servant to put it back in his room for storage. After everything was arranged properly, he returned to the banquet. The atmosphere of the banquet was very harmonious.
Kant was still holding his wine glass and chatting with Baron Dylan.
The topic was also the tournament in the afternoon.
“Little Kant, I see that you are drenched in cold sweat. This is not a good sign. Although your noble etiquette is impeccable, your courage should also be improved.”
Baron Dylan instructed him as an elder.
Kant lifted his wine glass in embarrassment and took a sip. “I will.”
“Hahaha.”, seeing Kant’s expression, Baron Dylan shook his head and laughed. He hid the scorn in his eyes and looked at the guests in front of him. He raised his wine glass and shouted to everyone, “For the arrival of Little Kant, we congratulate him with a toast!”
“We congratulate Baron Kant on his arrival!”
In the entire Lord’s Hall, the gentries, celebrities, and the vassal knights all raised their wine glasses.
The sweet scent of drunkenness had already begun to spread.
Although they were raising their glasses for Kant, all of them were looking at Baron Dylan. To them, the actual controller of the Stone Pass was the person they should respect.
As for that Baron Kant?
Oh, don’t joke around!
He was just a pitiful person who had been exiled to the Nahrin Desert.
Everyone in the Dukedom of Leo knew that Cameron did not like this son of his. Even all the noble families did not like him. Otherwise, they would not have banished Kant and given the barren land of the Nahrin Desert to him.
The northern county was already sorrow and barren, and the Stone Pass was the most barren and desolate area in the northern county.
But compared to the Nahrin desert.
That was the true wilderness, the forbidden area of civilization, a terrifying area and all the harsh environments that one could describe.
An area that even escaped slaves were unwilling to set foot in.
They would rather be caught and killed instead of entering the Nahrin Desert.
Because living in the Nahrin Desert was comparable to the greatest torture in prison!
Once, the Dukedom of Leo issued a law in the chaotic political situation a hundred years ago. The prisoner who had committed treason and the crime of regicide was given a dull knife, a water sack, and a piece of bread. Then, they led a team to the Nahrin Desert, to throw this criminal into the depths of the desert.
This law was effective in intimidating during the chaotic political situation at that time, and it had continued until now.
It was enough to show the terror of Nahrin Desert.
………
The dinner ended late at night.
The drunken gentries and celebrities still maintained good manners and thanked Baron Dylan.
Then, the dinner was dismissed.
With the help of their respective servants, they returned to their own homes in a carriage.
Many people’s homes were close to the official residence at the Stone Pass.
There were also many people who came from many villages outside the Stone Pass.
Even the vassal knights left in the end. They had drunk quite a lot tonight, they were also drunk and satisfied. After all, for these people, the tournament and the sumptuous banquet were extremely exciting.
“Uncle Dylan, I’ll go to bed now.”
Kant’s face was full of excitement, and he said gratefully, “This is really a beautiful day.”
“As long as you’re happy, Little Kant.”, Baron Dylan laughed and patted his shoulder. His slightly red face had a bright and forthright smile. “I won’t forget the help you’ve given me. We’re the best of friends, and we’re also the best of family. No one can break us!”
“Yes, no one!”, Kant nodded firmly.
Only then the two of them separated.
Kant returned to his room. After drinking a lot of wine, he quickly fell asleep.
Manid and the ten Sarrandian horsemen who followed him also fell asleep in their respective rooms.
The entire mansion returned to silence.
However, Baron Dylan appeared in his living room. The two vassal knights were also there. The drunken look on their faces caused by the wine had disappeared. Even the redness on their faces had disappeared.
They looked like they had not touched a single drop of alcohol.
However, the three of them did not care about this small matter.
“How is it?”, Baron Dylan turned his head to look at the vassal knight and said with a depressed expression, “That Terrence actually became a grand knight. Did you feel anything?”
“He just became a grand knight not long ago,”, the vassal knight said.
“Of course.”, Baron Dylan snorted. “It seems that it has not even been half a year.”. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression was very awful. “Half a year ago, this guy was still polite to me. Now that he has become a grand knight, he dares to be rude to me. If it wasn’t for that old bastard, Viscount Wayne, I definitely wouldn’t believe it!”
“It’s also very coincidental that he appeared at the tournament.”, another vassal knight said, “They have a spy.”
“Let the rats handle it.”, Baron Dylan waved his hand. “They know what to do. I don’t want to let these rats eat and drink for free. They are useless. Now there’s a spy, find them all.”
“Understood.”, the vassal knight nodded.
He was in charge of leading the spy group, the rats.
“We need to speed up our plan.”
Baron Dylan opened his mouth and asked the two vassal knights, “I asked you to arrange for people to go to the territory of southern county to find some mercenaries. Any news?”
“Yes.”, the vassal knight nodded.
“How is it?”, Baron Dylan asked.
“There are 500 elite mercenaries who are willing to accept our recruitment. The price is 30 great silver coins per month. If we start a war with the enemy, we will need an additional 20 great silver coins per month during the war as well as a monthly silver coin reward,”, the vassal knight replied.
“500 people.”, Baron Dylan automatically omitted the so-called elite ranking and nodded. “30 great silver coins per month. I accept this.”
“There are still 500 pirates who are willing to join us. We only need 10 great silver coins per month.”
The vassal knight shrugged. “I think it’s useless to have them. We don’t have a river here. I think that these people were captured by the river patrol team of Lionheart City. They just want to hide from the storm When the storm passes, they will definitely return to the river of Resniston and won’t listen to our orders at all.”
“Then tell them to get lost.”, Baron Dylan snorted coldly.
“Yes.”, the vassal knight nodded.
However, Baron Dylan frowned and asked in a serious tone, “Are there no other mercenaries willing to accept our long-term employment? This is not in line with those greedy people that grasping of money!”
“You know.”, the vassal knight smiled bitterly. “Those famous mercenary groups in the Dukedom of Leo are in fact the forces of various noble families. If we really hire them, Stone Pass might be targeted by some noble families in the future. After all, our current table salt trade has already attracted the attention of Viscount Wayne of northern county.”
“That old dog!”, when Baron Baron Dylan thought of that old thing, anger rose in his heart.
He slammed the table heavily and stood up with his hands behind his back. He paced back and forth in the conference room as if he had thought of something, he turned his head and said to the vassal knight who was in charge of this matter, “Oh right, can we find the mercenary group from that crazy Countess Elsaiah in east county?”
“No,”, the vassal knight answered helplessly.
“Why?”, Baron Dylan frowned.
“The territory of countess at east county is still locked down, especially the recent conflict with the Silver Platter Kingdom on the other side of the river. It is said that they even clashed with each other on the river and almost started a war with the lord of Nazaire Castle on the other side. Our forces are unable to infiltrate.”, the vassal knight shook his head.
“Hmph, it’s still the same battle from ten years ago.”, Baron Dylan snorted coldly. He was used to it. “If it wasn’t for Archduke Cameron ceding countess’s Nazaire Castle to the Silver Platter Kingdom, their blood-related relationship wouldn’t be so stiff.”
This wasn’t a secret. He had obtained his title during the war between the Dukedom of Leo and the Silver Platter Kingdom.
Now, it had nothing to do with him.
Baron Dylan frowned and ordered, “These are all minor things. Go to other places and contact them. As long as they can introduce qualified mercenaries to us, I can give them commission. The higher the quality of the introduced mercenary and the more there are, the higher the commission will be. It will be settled in great silver coins, and there will be no limit!”
“Understood!”, the vassal knight nodded.
Another vassal knight asked, “Lord, what about Baron Kant?”
“Don’t act rashly,”, Baron Dylan said.
His face was slightly solemn, he slowly said, “Princess Sofia’s forces are still lurking, and they have only just revealed themselves. Sixteen years is not enough to completely wipe out them. Ten years ago, the Silver Platter Kingdom won the battle, and it is probably the result of the spies left behind by Princess Sofia. Now Kant is still developing rapidly, and it is probably supported by them. We only need to wait slowly and then contact them.”
“But… They have already given up on us.”, the vassal knight hesitated.
“Give up? Ha!”, Baron Dylan sneered. “No, we are now the lord close to Kant. We control the Stone Pass, the only passage between the Dukedom of Leo and the Nahrin Desert. How can they give up? They will come back for us!”
There was a dangerous look in his eyes. “I will make a fortune this time!”
