Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

Seeing the lord's curious expression, Sky took a leisurely sip of hot tea before revealing a look of reminiscence and uttering a few words with considerable emotion: "Efficient and capable."

His tone was full of admiration and an ambiguous emotion.

"Hiss."

Li Wei inexplicably thought of Zhang Fei in women's clothing. For a girl to be described as 'efficient,' one could imagine the implications.

"Haha."

The lord laughed it off, subtly steering away from the topic: "Speaking of which, when is Furena planning to march south this time?"

"Around March."

Originally, the timing of such a military expedition would be considered a military secret, but since this lord was one of their own, there was no need for secrecy.

"This year's winter came too early and should last longer than usual. It should still be snowing heavily in March, right?"

Li Wei asked with some doubt.

He had thought Furena would choose to deploy in the season when everything came to life in the spring, when the wheat planted in High Cliff Fortress would also be ripe, just in time to harvest the grain before marching south. Now it seemed they wouldn't make it.

"Lord, you're a southerner, so you might not know," Sky said with a mysterious smile, "Northerners are more resistant to the cold than southerners. Choosing this time when it's still cold but not unbearably so is advantageous to us."

Li Wei slapped his forehead; he hadn't thought of that.

Indeed, northerners, having grown up in the cold North, were much more resistant to the cold than southerners.

This made the lord understand that he still needed to learn humbly, as such details often determined success or failure.

"Actually, to be honest, I've never understood where Furena plans to march south from to reach the Southern Territory. After all, we're separated from them by the royal court, and our King Debe wouldn't just sit idly by and watch two of his dukes fight each other."

Li Wei tapped the table, expressing his opinion.

When he took Liya north from the Southern Territory, he passed through Debe's royal city, but he bypassed it because he was in a hurry.

"Regarding this matter, it's one of the purposes of my trip," Sky first took out an invitation from his chest: "Lord, this is an invitation to a banquet hosted by Fujero."

Then he continued to explain, "This time, his achievements in resolving the wild people issue are sufficient. Duke Furena has granted him the title of Baron of Maple Lake. As a newly emerging nobleman, he's holding a grand celebration."

"The banquet has invited most of the nobles in the Northern Territory, making it a rare opportunity to interact and get acquainted."

"Duke Furena also plans to take this opportunity to discuss the marching route in advance."

Li Wei nodded, accepting the invitation.

He wasn't surprised by this. Although Fujero came from a merchant family, he had the ability, and Furena was an ambitious liege.

As long as there were achievements that could silence the critics, he could be conferred the title of nobility without much trouble.

He just didn't expect the commander of the Thorns Legion to invite him.

"Old Sky, look at you. Fujero has already become a noble with his own territory, and you're still a knight. You need to step up your game."

"You know, opportunities aren't always available. If you don't seize them, you may not have another chance in the future."

Li Wei turned to ridicule Sky in front of him, shaking his head.

"Cough, Lord, I'm trying my best," Sky said awkwardly.

Although he led a thousand soldiers to block the wild people's attack, this achievement was not enough for him to become a noble.

Now, hearing the lord's words, Sky made up his mind.

As a knight, he also had his own small manor, with dozens of civilians helping him cultivate a not-so-large piece of land and graze cattle and sheep.

He kept a dozen or so private guards. This time, he planned to bet all his assets on the southern expedition.

……

A few days later, a convoy set off from High Cliff Fortress and drove into White River City through wind and snow.

Seeing the gate of White River City again, Li Wei couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

It seemed like only yesterday that he came to the Northern Territory alone with Liya, facing an uncertain future. It also seemed like only yesterday that he took down the iron mine with dozens of orc barbarians, and it still seemed like only yesterday that he solved the dragon army and subdued the silver dragon.

One yesterday after another piled up, and it was already a different world.

Now he was a militarily strong pioneering noble, famous in the Northern Territory. Even the wilderness had to tremble when he stomped his feet.

He was no longer the small fry who worked as a mercenary and made a living in the arena.

It was as if no one was helping him achieve his ambitions, and he had climbed to the top of the mountain through the snow.

Just look at this convoy. Dozens of orc guards and a dozen centaurs patrolled on both sides as guards. They were well-equipped, moved in an orderly and efficient manner, and their eyes shone with cold light. Anyone could tell that they were battle-hardened veterans, the elite of the elite.

And what they were guarding was just the inconspicuous carriage in the middle.

The small merchant teams queuing to enter the city quickly separated to both sides, for fear of provoking these fierce men and becoming the object of their anger without any recourse.

The lazy eyes of the guards at the city gate changed, mixed with vigilance and awe. Anyone who wasn't an idiot would know that a big shot had arrived.

With Sky and Mireille leading the way, no ignorant hooligans came up to stage a wave of extortion.

……

The Millers, brother and sister, came to the big city for the first time since they were born, and they were already dazzled by the endless streams of pedestrians, goods, and prosperity, looking like hicks from the countryside.

In the end, the lord generously gave each of them a gold coin for pocket money and let them play by themselves.

However, in order to prevent the two of them from being treated as fat sheep by others, all the High Cliff Fortress guards were sent to protect them.

"Boss, what do we do?" Zart scratched his head, smiling honestly.

"Let's go, let's meet an old friend," Li Wei snapped his fingers and walked towards the Pioneer Commercial Street of White River City.

Soon, a shop called "Migen Weapon Shop" was crowded by a strong orc and a human.

Clatter!

Li Wei slammed his sword on the counter: "The sword is called Holy Sword, made of mithril, worth at least six hundred gold coins. Does your shop accept it?"

The gnome who was standing on a stool, looking down and calculating accounts, was startled and opened his mouth to curse: "Where did this bum come from? What kind of fake goods dare to ask for six hundred from old Migen..."

However, as he carefully looked at the exquisite long sword on the counter, the gnome became more and more shocked. "No, this is indeed made of mithril... but the more I look at it, the more familiar it seems..."

He looked up and instantly saw a huge nostril... He quickly raised the stool under his feet, and then he could see the person in front of him clearly.

"It's you?" The gnome old man raised his eyebrows and began to sneer: "What, failed to explore and came to sell your sword again? I can say first, the previous six hundred gold coin loan can't be missing a single coin."

"Even if you go to be a male prostitute, you have to pay back the money first!"

"Look, look at what you're saying. Can't I, Lord, be successful and return to my hometown?"

The lord patted the counter with heartache. Looking at his current aura of a big shot, where was he like a bum who failed to explore and looked like a beggar?

The gnome folded his arms and gave him a solid white eye with a sneer. The gnome's eyes were big and lifeless, very much like dead fish's eyes.

"Damn, don't you really know me?"

Li Wei was very depressed.

"What, are you very famous?" Old Migen rolled his eyes and lowered his head again to calculate the accounts in front of him.

"Lord of High Cliff Fortress, Blood-Colored Waist Chopper, Lion Hunter Knight, don't you really know any of them?"

Li Wei seemed to want to evoke some memory from someone.

When he heard the last title, old Migen raised his head suspiciously, very doubtful: "With your thin arms and legs, I think it's enough to kill a kobold."

"At most, you hang out in noble ladies' circles."

The Lion Hunter Knight was indeed a hot figure in White River City, and he had heard some about him.

But in any case, he couldn't connect it with the young man in front of him.

"Hmph, I don't change my name or my surname, it's me."

The lord's nostrils were facing the sky, with a proud look, saying words that Migen didn't quite understand, but could barely understand what they meant.

"Then you come?"

"Pay back the money!"

The next second, a money bag fell on the counter, making a crisp and pleasant sound. When old Migen looked up, he squinted his eyes and saw a tall figure.

"He really is that Lion Hunter Knight?"

The gnome muttered in a low voice, and finally seemed to remember something. He quickly jumped off the stool and put up a sign at the entrance of the weapon shop.

"Lion Hunter Knight Visited Weapon Shop"

He looked at it with his hands on his hips, and old Migen nodded with satisfaction.

Now this Lion Hunter Knight has countless people learning from him from beginning to end, just wanting to replicate his successful path.

Now his shop is also a store visited by the Lion Hunter Knight, which will definitely attract a large number of his admirers to come to the store to spend money. This time he made a lot of money.

He smiled and returned to the store, took out the IOU and burned it, and began to count the gold coins on the table.

……

An hour later, a mighty team drove outside the Maple Lake Manor.

The leading carriage was sitting a young nobleman, looking at the scenery outside the window with his cheeks in his hands, humming an unknown tune.

He was obviously the absolute core of this team. The carriage was burning a smokeless carbon stove, making it as warm as the spring sun. Two goat-headed girls were kneeling on the side, hammering his legs.

A burly orc was loyally acting as a coachman, and dozens of brave centaurs patrolled on both sides to protect him.

Maple Lake is a rich fief located near White River City, named after countless maple trees surrounding a huge freshwater lake.

The manor was built on the open space next to the lake.

It was said to be a manor, but it was actually no different from a small castle.

The outer periphery was a five- or six-blade-high wall built of marble. The manors inside were basically built of maple wood, with the exterior of the house painted white, about five or six stories high.

And here was Fujero's fief.

Generally speaking, a baron would at most be enfeoffed in a remote and poor place. It was rare for Fujero to be directly enfeoffed to a rich land like this.

It could even be said that this Maple Lake was Furena's private territory, but now it was conferred to Fujero.

Therefore, everything was readily available, and Fujero only needed to be there.

When he came outside the manor, what Li Wei didn't expect was that someone was already waiting here.

"Lord Li Wei, I have been waiting for you for a long time." A beautiful woman with beautiful green hair greeted him with an impeccable smile on her face: "Please come with me."

"Rolina, long time no see," Li Wei got out of the carriage and greeted her.

"In fact, for me, these few months have only passed in the blink of an eye." Looking at the young man in front of her, whose appearance had not changed much, Rolina smiled.

Li Wei gave Weiss Tina, who lifted the car curtain, a look, and then walked side by side with Rolina alone.

The team then went to the residence planned for High Cliff Fortress under the guidance of the servants.

"That's right, I have experienced things in these few months that others may never encounter in their entire lives, so it is inevitable that I have the illusion that a long time has passed," Li Wei shook his head.

"In just a few months, you have completed achievements that others cannot achieve in their entire lives. These slightly uncomfortable things make people feel a little more balanced in their hearts," Rolina smiled, and her words were much more respectful than before.

After all, things were different now. Although the lord was a nobleman, he might die nameless in the wilderness one day.

But now the other party has not only gained a firm foothold, but also has unparalleled military strength, so naturally he deserves to be taken seriously.

"How are those slaves doing?"

Li Wei turned to ask about other things.

After solving the dragon army, High Cliff Fortress captured a large number of prisoners. Since they couldn't eat so many alien warriors, it was unrealistic to release them directly.

In the end, they simply picked out the stronger ones and sold them to Rolina.

But it made the lord a good fortune.

"They have basically been bought by arenas all over the place," Rolina said truthfully.

These alien warriors usually have only two uses, one is to be sold to the arena to live by fighting each other, and the other is to be bought to serve as guards or soldiers.

No matter which one is better than dying directly, it's just that they have lost their freedom.

Finally, the two discussed some cooperation matters in this regard, and then separated to go to their respective destinations.

Although Mithril Chamber of Commerce has established a business in High Cliff Fortress, Mithril Chamber of Commerce does not engage in slave trading.

Since High Cliff Fortress will definitely have prisoners in the future, maintaining a certain relationship with Rolina is beneficial and harmless.

The residence allocated to High Cliff Fortress was a small courtyard with a garden.

Even the other party took into account the height of the centaurs and specially built a large room similar to a stable.

This time, Li Wei only brought Miller, Weiss Tina and Zart to White River City, and everyone else stayed in High Cliff Fortress.

There was no other meaning in bringing the two of them here, just to let them broaden their horizons. After all, one was the High Cliff Fortress manager and one was the military factory manager. It would be inappropriate if they were like country bumpkins.

There was still a while before the banquet, and the lord started a card game when he was idle.

Weiss Tina didn't play, especially after knowing how the lord had tricked Sophia into signing various treaties, she refused this matter even more.

She stood in front of the window, watching the snowflakes fluttering outside, but she was soon attracted by a group of people.