Following Betan's message, Martin and his group arrived at the secluded valley. The valley wasn't far from Luoqiu Town, but it was cleverly hidden among the mountains and forests. It was extremely difficult to find unless someone was searching for it. This showed that Betan had put a lot of thought into finding this place.

As soon as we stepped into the valley, we saw Betan standing in an open area, systematically directing a group of slaves to cut down trees and build wooden houses.

Noticing Martin's arrival, Betan flashed and quickly came to Martin, saying respectfully, "Master Martin, you are finally here."

Then he introduced the slaves in front of him to Martin: "There are more than 830 male slaves and more than 160 female slaves.

I thought of training these women well and having them stay with you, young master, so they can protect you and take care of your daily needs."

Martin couldn't help but feel a little amused after hearing this, but thinking of Betan's sincerity, he nodded in agreement, and at the same time reminded him: "During training, men and women must be separated in living and training areas."

Afterwards, Martin ordered Betan to gather all the slaves. He would reveal his identity and requirements to everyone so that these slaves would know clearly who their masters were and to whom they should be loyal.

Soon, under Betan's efficient organization, all the slaves gathered neatly under the makeshift podium. Martin walked steadily onto the podium, making sure everyone in the audience could see him clearly.

Then, he slowly spoke, "From today on, you are no longer slaves to be driven around by others. I am now undoing the collective slave contract. The past, whether it was unbearable experiences or the happy life in the past, no longer matters to me. I only have three requirements: the first is loyalty, the second is loyalty, and the third is still loyalty!

For the next month, you will undergo intensive training here. During this month, you don't need to worry about food, clothing, housing, and transportation; I will take care of everything. All you need to do is be completely loyal to me from the bottom of your hearts. As for those who still don't meet the requirements after a month..." Martin paused, then stepped down from the podium and signaled Betan to dismiss the group.

Martin called Del Luna and Betan to his side and instructed them separately, "The training intensity must be moderate, focusing on strengthening their physical fitness, but most importantly, strengthening their loyalty. The specific methods are up to you. Betan, you will be responsible for training the men; Del Luna, the women are yours. Remember, the training process must be standardized and no arbitrary actions are allowed."

After a brief pause, Martin added, "As long as the death toll doesn't exceed 300, there's no need to report to me. You can handle it on your own." He then handed Betan a space ring containing a month's supply of food and clothing for 2,000 people. Finally, escorted by the three golden knights, Martin left the valley, his figure gradually disappearing along the winding mountain road.

Returning to Luoqiu Town, Martin counted his belongings and discovered he had only a little over 7,000 gold coins left. However, the castle construction project required a massive sum of money, and this amount was a drop in the bucket. He knew he had to find another way. After careful consideration, Martin decided to establish a chamber of commerce and gradually accumulate wealth and resources.

Martin immediately ordered his servants to fetch Joad, who was supervising the construction at the castle. Joad came hurriedly, and Martin looked at the gray-haired old man and thought to himself.

Previously, he had used the system to test Yoder's loyalty, and the value was consistently around 70, which told Martin that he was trustworthy. So, Martin gave Yoder an order: "Yode, go to town and find some business savvy people. Even if they lack some skills, that's fine." Yoder took the order and immediately set out to carry out his mission.

At this time, Martin deeply felt the dilemma of lack of manpower. He sighed helplessly. It seemed that he could only take one step at a time and slowly build up his own power team.

It was noon, and Martin was having lunch when Yoder hurried over. Seeing Martin eating, Yoder stood aside, intending to wait until Martin finished before reporting back. But Martin, with his sharp eyes, saw Yoder and said, "Yode, just say whatever you want to say. There's no need to be so reserved."

Joad then said respectfully, "Sir, I have found several people with business acumen." Martin immediately became interested when he heard it, and asked Joad to bring the people over. He wanted to personally investigate and see if the people Joad chose were reliable.

Not long after, Yoder and three other men hurried into the room. Martin checked their loyalty levels using the system and was surprised to find that, even though they had just met, their loyalty levels were all around 40, which Martin considered quite high.

Then, Yoder began to introduce the leading man: "Sir, this is Roland, originally a fallen noble. He came to Luoqiu Town, hoping to try his luck in the Luoqiu Mountains, looking for precious medicinal herbs in exchange for gold coins to revive his family.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel. Not only did he gain nothing, but he also spent all his savings. If I hadn't discovered that he had some talent in business, I'm afraid he would be working for someone else or forced to sell himself into slavery.

As for the other two, Yoder explained that they all had business experience before, so he brought them along. Martin trusted Yoder's judgment; after all, he had been mayor for five or six years and had a good eye for people.

Martin thought for a moment, then took out two hundred gold coins and handed them to Roland, saying, "This is the start-up capital for the Chamber of Commerce. Just go ahead and develop it freely." Then he instructed Yoder, "Select ten knight attendants from the guard post and hand them over to Roland for assignment." After giving these instructions, Martin waved his hand and asked them to leave.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!