What happened next was beyond Martin's expectations. Earl White mercilessly killed the civilian, completely ending Belin's hope.
Martin looked at the look that Belin gave him before she left, feeling mixed emotions. He was not sure if he had done anything wrong.
Fortunately, Wayne and Derry expressed their understanding and expressed their gratitude to Martin for his care during this period.
After Eric took Earl White and his three companions away safely in several batches, Martin's mind still kept emerging with the complicated look in Belin's eyes before she left.
He couldn't help but ask Eric who had just returned: "Eric, did I do something wrong? Maybe I shouldn't have told my father about this at all."
Eric was silent for a long time after hearing this, and then he said very seriously: "Master, in my heart, everything you do is right."
Martin fell silent after hearing this. After a moment, he slowly said, "Forget it. Let's go see Beilin later and let her calm down first."
Afterwards, Martin took Eric to Yoder's office.
When Yoder learned that Martin had returned, he wanted to come and see him immediately, but Martin did not agree.
In view of the fact that there was a traitor in Yulong City, Martin planned to go to the Government Affairs Office to personally check the work situation there.
The Government Affairs Hall is located on the west side of Yulong City. According to tradition, the Government Affairs Hall should be set up in the main building of the castle.
However, Martin didn't want too many people coming in and out of his castle, so he moved the government office to the west of the city. In case of an emergency, the staff could contact him at any time through the communication crystal.
Martin and his party arrived at the Government Hall. The knights on duty saw the lord's arrival at a glance and saluted in unison.
Martin nodded slightly and walked straight inside.
This arrival was quite sudden and without any warning, so that everyone in the Government Affairs Hall was unprepared.
When Martin appeared in the hall, the staff who were busy with their own affairs were all stunned as if they were cast under a spell.
After a while, they finally woke up from their dream, stood up, and saluted Martin respectfully. Martin waved his hand, indicating that they should continue with their work, and then continued to walk inside.
Naturally, someone reported the movement outside, and the people inside hurriedly made preparations after hearing the news.
Martin turned a corner and saw Yoder waiting there with a group of people.
Everyone saluted Martin as soon as they saw him. Martin said bluntly, "Let them get back to work. Yoder, take me to your office. I have something to tell you."
Upon hearing this, Yoder wiped the sweat from his forehead and then respectfully led Martin to his office.
Soon, the three of them arrived at Yoder's office. After entering the office, Yoder carefully closed the door.
Martin walked straight to the main seat and sat down. He looked at Joad and said seriously, "Joad, you will continue to thoroughly investigate the spies. At the same time, recruit the slaves from Loyal Valley, train them, and let them serve as managers in various places."
When Joad heard this, he knew that this was Martin's chance to make amends, so he quickly promised with a solemn oath, "Yes, sir! I'll do it right away."
Martin stood up, walked up to Yoder, patted him on the shoulder, and then left the office with Eric.
Afterwards, Martin walked around Yulong City, carefully observing every aspect of the city.
He paid attention to the layout of the streets, the operation of the market, and the living conditions of the people, not missing any details.
After a thorough inspection, he did not find anything unusual, so he returned to the castle with peace of mind.
Returning to the castle's study, Martin walked straight to the military map hanging on the wall. His gaze slowly swept across the royal territory, the southern border, and finally stopped at the western border.
He just stood there quietly, gazing at the western border, as if lost in deep thought, and time seemed to stand still at this moment.
After a long time, he slowly sat back in his chair, his eyes revealing a hint of solemnity and consideration.
[Host: Martin]
【System level: Level 2】
[Current Level: Bronze Knight]
[Sworn Guards: 7,503]
[Contracted Dragons: 3, Dragonmen: 36]
[Energy Reserve: 203,210]
Martin cast his eyes on the level on the system panel, thinking to himself, why does it feel like my level keeps rising even though I haven't practiced much?
In fact, Martin had already vaguely sensed this when he promoted Eric to a legendary warrior, but he was not sure at the time.
Later, he promoted Shuang Ning and He Funa to legends one after another, and then he was convinced that the system seemed to have the effect of assisting his own cultivation.
Every time one of his men broke through to the legendary level, Martin would get some subtle feedback.
Thinking of this, Martin summoned the system in his mind and asked, "System, if I promote my subordinates to Legends, will I benefit from it?"
The system's mechanical yet clear voice echoed in Martin's mind: "Host, since the system has not yet been upgraded to level three, during the process of the host's promotion of his subordinates to Legendary status, the system will overflow a small amount of energy to repair the system in order to maintain its normal operation."
"This energy is mild in nature. Since the system is in the host's mind, the host absorbed this residual energy, which is why the speed of cultivation seems to have increased."
After hearing this, Martin couldn't help but feel overjoyed. He didn't expect such an unexpected good thing to happen.
It seems that I have to find a way to promote more of my subordinates to become legends in the future. In this way, I can not only strengthen my own power, but also speed up my cultivation process.
In the following days, Martin devoted himself to the management of the territory and Shadow Wasteland affairs.
Currently, Shadowmoor earns approximately 600,000 gold coins per month by collecting tolls from passing caravans and robbing certain targets.
Taking into account the income from minerals, Martin estimated that the total monthly income could reach nearly one million gold coins.
However, even with such a considerable income, the territory's financial situation is still in a state of deficit.
After all, the territory he controls is vast and the affairs are complicated, requiring a large amount of money to be invested in construction, management, and defense. The business is too big, and he can only hope to make a profit by operating it step by step and digesting it slowly.
With only one month left until the New Year, Martin already had a clear plan in mind.
He decided to concentrate his energies first on managing and digesting his existing fiefdoms, putting internal affairs in order, and accumulating sufficient wealth and strength.
Then, he would seize the opportunity and take over the entire Western Territory in one fell swoop. Only in this way would he have sufficient financial resources and capabilities to deal with the various adverse effects that might arise from occupying the Western Territory and ensure the stable development of the territory after expansion.
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