System, open panel, host: Martin, level: zero, sworn guards: one hundred and twenty-two, energy: seventy-five thousand two hundred and eleven.
After leaving the valley, Martin saw a group of knights and squires who looked like miners appearing one after another in the open space outside. They were covered in black ash, and those who were unable to move were carried to the open space by their companions.
After everyone arrived, Martin strode up to them and said in a loud voice, "You are all great! You have endured hardships that others cannot endure, so you naturally deserve the blessings that others cannot enjoy!"
With that, he immediately instructed the system to upgrade the fifty individuals. As the five thousand energy points were deducted, the auras surrounding the fifty knight attendants began to fluctuate. As the fluctuations grew stronger, gradually, some successfully broke through and became knights. One, two, three... Before long, all were promoted. The newly promoted knights stood still, slowly consolidating their realm.
A moment later, some of the knights regained consciousness, still immersed in joy. Once all the knights had regained consciousness, all fifty knights knelt in unison, shouting, "Thank you, young master!" Some of the knights' squires, who had been injured, recovered from their injuries after being promoted to knights.
Martin then turned to Betan and reminded him: "If you have any problems in the future, don't hide them, just say it directly, and don't delay me from earning gold coins." Betan nodded in agreement.
Martin continued, "We'll open another mine in a couple of days. It's hard to recruit new personnel right now. Upgrading these knights will temporarily alleviate your manpower shortage. However, a hundred knight attendants will arrive in a couple of days. You can have them start mining and familiarize themselves with the process."
As for daily necessities and food, go directly to Yoder. If Yoder can't solve it, come to me." With that, Martin and Eric headed for the training valley. It was already nightfall when they arrived. After a warm reception from Del Luna, Martin dined and headed straight to his room to rest.
After a sound night's sleep, Martin emerged refreshed. He took a deep breath, stretched, washed up, and enjoyed breakfast. Then he instructed Druna to gather a hundred men and prepare to depart with him. Once the men were assembled, Martin led the hundred soldiers on their journey.
After walking for a while, they arrived at the valley they had broken through earlier. Martin had Eric conduct a thorough inspection before leading everyone into the valley. After everyone had settled, Martin loudly asked, "Are you willing to pledge allegiance to me?"
After this period of strengthening, everyone responded in unison without hesitation: "Yes!" Hearing the answer, as the energy was deducted, these one hundred people were instantly promoted to knight squires.
Martin then led the hundred men to the Demonic Copper Mine. Escorted by Eric, they arrived safely at the mining camp. After giving Betan a detailed briefing, Martin returned to Luoqiu Town.
As soon as Martin returned to Luoqiu Town, he went straight to find Yoder and Roland, wanting to know the status and profitability of the fiefdom during this period.
Yoder took the lead in reporting on the daily affairs of the fiefdom. "During this period, I have properly arranged accommodations for the thirteen surveyors sent by the Earl, and even assigned a small team to provide security. Previously, a few mercenaries caused trouble, and the guards decisively took action and imprisoned them.
However, the guards' current equipment is quite rudimentary and in urgent need of replacement. Furthermore, a murderer has appeared in the neighborhood, preying on women and causing widespread panic.
Several team leaders have investigated and found some traces. We preliminarily estimate this person's strength to be at the Bronze level, but he's very cunning and will be very difficult to capture." After saying this, Yoder stood respectfully aside, awaiting Martin's instructions.
After a moment's thought, Martin said, "I'll make arrangements for the equipment after I review Roland's report. As for that killer, Eric, you go and kill him directly. There's no need to bring him back."
Eric received the order and quickly went out to carry out the mission. Martin then ordered, "Those mercenaries who caused trouble should be locked up for now and dealt with later." After hearing this, Yoder stepped aside.
At this time, Roland stepped forward and reported to Martin: "Master, we have made a lot of money from reselling medicinal herbs recently, but it has also infringed on the interests of many people and caused us to encounter several assassination attempts. Fortunately, Lucas is here to protect us."
Martin immediately interrupted him and asked, "Have you found the mastermind behind this?" Roland replied helplessly, "There's no definitive evidence yet. Currently, there's only a hint pointing to Peter's Auction House, but I dare not jump to conclusions, so I wanted to ask what you think, Master."
Martin tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair. After a moment's contemplation, he said, "Don't worry about this anymore. If you have similar clues next time, just tell me directly using the communication crystal. You just need to focus on earning gold coins."
Roland quickly responded, "Yes, sir. These are the gold coins I earned these days." Then he handed over a space ring.
Martin took the ring and examined it, and couldn't help but exclaim: "So many, a total of more than 40,000 gold coins!" He looked at Roland and secretly admired him in his heart.
Martin then took out five thousand gold coins from his ring and gave them to Roland. He returned the ring to him and said, "Go ahead and do it without worrying about your safety." After Roland left, Martin turned to Yoder and said, "Yoder, is there an armorer in town?"
Joad replied, "Master, there are only E-rank armorsmiths in town. There should be better ones in the slave market, but slaves with this skill are very expensive, and they are difficult to manage after they are bought. Dwarf slaves are especially stubborn and will quit their jobs at the slightest provocation, and you can't scold or punish them."
After hearing this, Martin said, "It's okay, go find a suitable one first. By the way, here are 20,000 gold coins. You can first pay the payment for the 1,000 slaves that you ordered earlier, and use the remaining money to arrange knight armor for the guard. Then use the communication crystal to notify Deluna and ask him to come to the town to take these 1,000 slaves away." Yoder accepted the order and withdrew.
Martin walked to the window, looked at the sky outside, and felt that he did not have enough manpower.
Then, he ordered his servant to inform Alton, the captain of the first squadron of the guard, to come to the hotel to see him. Soon, Alton came to Martin's room and immediately said respectfully after entering, "My Lord, you are looking for me?"
Martin looked at him and said seriously, "Yes, Alton, I have seen your loyalty all along and I am very satisfied. Now I give you a chance. Come to the hotel to find me tomorrow morning. Your team will be assigned to other teams. From now on, you will be directly under my command and be responsible for working for me." After hearing this, Alton was very excited and took the order to retreat.
Martin rubbed his brow, feeling a wave of fatigue. With the current shortage of staff, he had to take care of all matters personally. If this continued, he would probably be too busy to handle everything.
It seems we need to speed up our search for talent and not sit idly by. Tomorrow, after I finish with Alton, I'll definitely have to try my luck at the prison and the slave market.
After all, prisons and slave markets may seem like dens of filth, but they are actually places where talents emerge. Perhaps in those chaotic and disorderly places, you can find a few capable people.
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