Chapter 220 (1/2)
Chapter 220: Such Measly Power Is Easy to Dispel
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gildern was pretty smart and could vaguely understand Link’s motive. He admired how Link managed to make this decision. He could feel that they were no longer the small mercenary troop they were in the past. They were now in charge of developing a territory with great prospects. Their decisions might determine the fate of thousands of people. This meant that they had to handle everything that happened in the territory more cautiously as compared to before.
Recollecting Link’s handling of the situation, he felt extremely inspired. He hence ran to execute it immediately.
After Link reached the parliament hall on the second floor, the core members Jacker, Lucy, Gildern, Carrido, and Celine arrived within 15 minutes.
Amongst the five of them, four had followed Link very early in his journey. Celine was the only one that joined recently. Although she did not show any capabilities in terms of combat power, she seemed to be extremely smart and was on good terms with Lucy. Celine would often give Lucy inspiring advice and solved many problems regarding the territory. She had proved herself to be a capable person.
“Please take a seat.”
Link nodded to the five of them to acknowledge their presence. When he saw Celine, he felt a warm fuzzy feeling in his heart and smiled.
Link immediately went straight to the point and said, “I will have to leave the territory for a while. Before I leave, there are some things that I have to arrange.”
Everyone listened carefully.
“Firstly, I have already seen the refugees. Most of them are ordinary people. However, to be able to get past the Black River and travel all the way here is a testament to their adventurous spirit and courage. If we manage them well, they will definitely prove themselves to be excellent citizens.”
Link had no reason not to take these refugees in.
Upon hearing this, Lucy said, “I’m afraid we might encounter some problems with the Kingdom of Delonga. They are essentially still citizens of that kingdom. If they request that we hand them over, we have no reason to refuse.”
This was truly an issue. Although the Ferde Wilderness could simply give an outright rejection, they would still have to trade with the Delonga Kingdom in the future. It was not cost-effective to make that move. The mercenary band had grown over this period. They all now understood the dangers without anyone specifically voicing them out. However, their experience of dealing with these issues was still limited. Jacker, Gildern, and Carrido all frowned at the thought.
Celine then interrupted, “I have an idea.”
Link smiled as he said, “Please continue.”
Celine said, “Please think. The Kingdom of Delonga has suffered a defeat in the war. They might even have to pay reparations to the South Moon Kingdom in the future and will definitely be in financial crisis. If the Kingdom of Delonga truly wants to claim their citizens back, we can simply purchase them using gold coins. They should be very happy with this trade.”
The relationship between two nations boiled down simply to interests. As long as their interests aligned, anything was possible.
The Ferde Wilderness would never run out of gold coins after all.
Lucy thought for a moment and commended, “That is a good idea. There is no problem then.”
Link also nodded. He then continued, “The Syndicate in the North is running rampant trying to spread their sinister doctrines. They will probably try to infiltrate our territory. Jacker, please make sure that the Syndicate does not extend its reach into our territory.”
“I understand!” Jacker’s voice was low and reassuring. As the military commander of the territory, he had been practicing even harder to meet that expectation. He had already reached Level-4 and was about to breakthrough to Level-5, becoming the strongest Warrior in the entire territory. This was already a significant strength. However, as the one holding the highest military power in the entire territory, it was still lacking.
The limitations of Jacker’s power lay in the Level-3 Secret Battle Aura Link taught him. It was merely a low-level Battle Aura skill, and Level-5 was probably the maximum anyone could go practicing that skill. It was preposterous to even think about reaching greater heights.
Previously, Link was also out of options. He could only find the Level-3 Secret Battle Aura in the game system. However, he now had seven Epic Battle Aura scrolls and many other ordinary ones with him. It was time to bring them out.
“That is all for the refugees’ case. Now let’s move on to the next issue.”
As Link spoke, he brought out a scroll and gave it to Jacker. “Open it.”
Jacker was slightly puzzled by Link’s actions. After browsing through the scroll briefly, his eyes widened and immediately stood up, “My lord, this…this is way too valuable for me!”
Jacker had a natural affinity for the earth elements. Link hence gave him a scroll named the Ares Tactic, an earth elemental Epic Battle Aura stance that focused on defensive techniques. Jacker had already learned how to read. Although he could not understand the technique at a glance, he knew that it was a terribly strong Battle Aura the moment he saw the named Ares Tactic. He was extremely honored to be entrusted with such a piece of treasure.
Link merely smiled before giving Lucy a wind elemental Emperor Duel Battle Aura scroll and Gildern, a fire elemental Overlord Tactics Battle Aura scroll.
“This is only meant for the three of you. No spreading of the scroll without my permission,” Link commanded.
“Yes, my lord!” The three of them answered immediately. A single scroll would be able to be passed off as a treasured heirloom in a strong, noble family. To think that Link could produce three of them at once. However, Link was still not done. He then took out over ten more ordinary Battle Aura scrolls and handed them to Gildern and Jacker.
“There will be more people coming to the territory in the future. We will have to increase the scale of our army and scouts inevitably. If you see any powerful and competent people, you can reward them with these Battle Aura scrolls. Those with exceptional talents can then be temporarily considered to read these Epic Battle Aura scrolls. You can pass the name list to me for the final deliberation.”
Jacker was the captain of the army while Gildern was the captain of the scouts. Their eyes flashed with excitement upon hearing those words. With these Battle Aura techniques as a foundation, both of them believed that the strength of their army would increase exponentially.
They then started discussing some other superfluous things which took the rest of the day. The meeting ended in the evening.
Link had not gotten any rest in a long time. After dinner, he was prepared to have a good night’s rest and set off to the North the next day. The moment he lay on his bed, he heard knocking on his door. The sound was light, almost as if they did not want to disturb anyone else. From the magic fluctuations, Link could tell that the person behind that door was Celine. He opened the door with his Magician’s Hand without any hesitation.
Celine then quickly entered the room and closed the door behind her. Seeing Link lying in bed in just his pajamas, she felt slightly embarrassed. She got these thoughts out of her head before asking, “Are you seriously going to the North?”
Link was speechless. He felt that King Leon was not doing a good job keeping his mission a secret. How else would everyone around him know what he was going to do?
“Who did you hear this from? That’s not true…” Link denied.
“I gave Dorias a roasted lamb leg, and he told me everything,” Celine silenced Link in just one sentence.
“What a gluttonous overweight cat.” Link smiled bitterly. He was, however, certain that Dorias only gave in because the other party was Celine. If it had been anyone else, he would have stayed silent even if they had brought him 100 roasted cows.
Celine said, “Let me accompany you.”
Link immediately shook his head. “No, that is a terrible idea. You cannot be exposed, especially in the North. If that happens, the Norton Kingdom army and the Dark Elves will both become your enemies.”
Celine rebutted, “But have you ever thought what would happen if I stayed here? My father might send ferocious demons to your territory and cause a disaster.”
Link fell silent immediately and frowned. This was indeed a problem that he had neglected. Although sending a large army of demons to Firuman required a huge amount of resources, Celine had a special type of bloodline which till this date, no one knew the value of. What if it was indeed so valuable that Nozama would risk anything to get his hands on it?