Not only Gao, but more and more soldiers also noticed the tense scene before them.
Yun Zhe pursed his lips, thinking to himself, "What's coming is coming." He then jumped off his horse and walked between the two men.
Jerok looked at Yun Zhe with disbelief and anger, while Akdina on horseback remained veiled, making it impossible to discern her emotions.
"I'll explain to you later," Yun Zhe said in a very low voice, staring at Jelock and enunciating each word clearly.
Jerok frowned. He realized that Yun Zhe had brought this woman back, clearly intending to protect her, but instead of forcing him to accept this reality, he said he would explain later? With this thought, Jerok's anger dissipated considerably. He nodded stiffly and was about to turn around when Yun Zhe grabbed him and whispered something else.
After saying this, Jerok started to laugh, but then he realized how meticulous Yun Zhe's ideas were, and he couldn't laugh anymore.
Akdina and Yun Zhe exchanged a glance, she nodded, and rode her horse towards the outer city as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that the conflict had finally subsided, Yun Zhe breathed a sigh of relief. It was truly fortunate that the two hadn't started fighting in front of him.
Yun Zhe walked over to Gao, who was still looking completely bewildered. "Come on, take me to see those soldiers. By the way, do you still have enough money?"
Upon hearing the word "money," Gao immediately perked up. He looked around and whispered, "My lord, food is really expensive among the elves. If it weren't for the generous amount you gave us, we would have run out of money to buy food and supplies long ago."
Yun Zhe sighed helplessly to himself. After all, he was asking the elf for help, so being ripped off was inevitable. "How outrageous is the price?"
Gao looked around again and saw that he and Yun Zhe had moved away from the crowd, then held up five fingers.
"What! Five times?" Yun Zhe was no longer calm.
"It's not adults, it's not five times, it's fifty percent more, and the price is fifty percent higher... and it's all ordinary grain."
"Ha, oh, is that so? It is quite expensive." Yun Zhe said this, but in his heart he was overjoyed. What? It turns out it's only fifty percent more. I thought they were selling it for double the price.
Yun Zhe waved his hand, interrupting Gao's rambling about the price. "Let's leave the price at that for now. Take me to see the soldiers we've gathered."
"My lord, those soldiers are far to the east of the city. Why don't we ride there on horseback? That would be faster," Gao suggested.
Yun Zhe turned to look at the other soldiers, then gestured for Jerok and Blaze to follow him towards the camp of the regrouped troops that Yun Zhe cared about most. The others were arranged to rest and recuperate.
"My lord, you have no objections to these changes to the castle, do you?" Gao finally voiced his biggest concern.
"That's great. When we have time in the future, we can build another wall to completely enclose the castle and turn Dorgnitzburg into a real fortress. That would be even more perfect."
Gao chuckled, pleased to see that Yun Zhe had the same idea as him.
When they arrived at the eastern camp, it was just past noon. The camp was filled with shouts and cries as groups of people rushed out of their tents, frantically fighting over lunch. Seeing this, Jelock felt utterly humiliated. He wanted to rush over and teach them a lesson. These defeated soldiers—when he was around, they at least showed some respect for the rules, but now that he was gone, they had completely abandoned all decorum and let themselves go.
Yun Zhe watched with great interest as the soldiers scrambled for food, carrying various bowls and basins. Although it was just the usual minced meat and vegetable porridge and dry, hard black bread, the soldiers were clearly enjoying their meal. They wolfed it down, chewing as they squeezed into the crowd to continue grabbing food.
"How many days have these soldiers been here?" Yun Zhe asked.
Gao looked at Jerok, signaling him to say something. Jerok, of course, knew Gao's little scheme, and he said with a forced smile, "Sir, it's been almost a week."
"It's been a week, and these soldiers still seem so insecure. How do you usually manage these deserters?"
Now Jerok fell silent. He looked at Gao, waiting for Gao to say something.
During this period, Gao's focus was entirely on expanding the castle. He treated everything else—the defeated soldiers and refugees—with a laissez-faire attitude, providing only basic shelter and food, checking on them daily, and considering that sufficient. This was partly because Gao was genuinely overwhelmed, and partly because he didn't fully trust these refugees and defeated soldiers. As for Gerald, he quickly established authority among the soldiers, but while his expertise lay in martial arts, his management skills were extremely poor. Furthermore, they dared not appoint a captain; with over a thousand people, if they were to organize themselves and develop malicious intentions, it would be a difficult problem to handle.
Yun Zhe shook his head, having lost count of how many times he had sighed inwardly today. He and Gao and the others arrived at the camp entrance, successfully drawing everyone's attention and turning the food-grabbing into a frenzy among a select few.
Gao cleared his throat. "Everyone, stop eating! This is Baron Yun Zhe, the one who gave you food and kept you alive. He's back today and came to see you as soon as possible. From now on, you must obey his orders and be loyal to him, understand?"
"Yes..." came a few scattered responses from the camp. Gao felt a surge of anger and was about to say something when Yun Zhe stopped him.
"Everyone, eat first. After you finish eating, everyone gather here. I have some questions for you. Of course, you can also choose not to come here and find a place to continue sleeping after you finish eating. However, after you wake up, you will be kicked out of this camp and sent to the construction site over there to contribute your remaining energy." Yun Zhe pointed to the faint outline of Dorgnitzburg in the distance.
This last sentence was obviously very useful. After the meal, nearly 90% of the soldiers came to the center of the camp. Although they were standing or sitting, lacking any sense of order or grace, at least they had come.
Yun Zhe gave Blazer a look, signaling him to lead his soldiers to search each tent one by one, dragging out anyone still sleeping or observing. A few, relying on their superior physiques, tried to resist, but were immediately beaten to a pulp by Blazer's men. Soon, nearly two hundred men were dragged out and assembled at the camp entrance.
Yun Zhe rode his horse to the group of people who hadn't assembled. "From now on, this camp is closed to you. You have two options. One is to run away and become a defeated army in the mountains and forests, surviving by attacking refugees. Although you might go hungry one day and have a full meal the next, it's more comfortable and free, as long as you don't get caught. Because if you get caught, you'll die. The other option is to go there and become a worker. It's tiring, but you'll have food and even money. Choose one."
The two hundred people looked at each other, their eyes filled with hesitation, until a voice suddenly rang out, "Why should I listen to an Aruru? How dare a lowly commoner order me around!"
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