Chapter 31: Requisition

For nobles, they always preferred to define themselves as “gentlemen.” Whether in word choice or speech, they always ensured their language was proper in front of outsiders. They used this to highlight their status. To them, you could declare war. But you could not use extremely filthy words to humiliate them. Otherwise, they would be compelled to take action against you to protect their honor.

Farra was well aware of this. So after picking up the pen, he proceeded to write more than 100 words in a flowing manner. It was essentially a summation of all the insults he had heard over the years. He exhaled with a “Phew… .” After the ink dried, Farra elegantly folded the letter and placed it in the envelope. Then he handed the envelope to the trembling village official.

“Take this and deliver it to Engel’s castle.”

“Y-yes…”

Reluctantly, the village official took the letter and then turned to leave.

After he left, Farra looked at Yanis, who was standing to the side.

“Have the brothers rest properly and eat until they are full!”

“Yes, I have already arranged it.” Yanis replied at once, his expression showing some emotion. He knew that Farra was a noble, and the others knew this too. However, since they started wandering together, Farra had called them “brothers.” For them, it was also a great honor.

“Send a few people out to keep watch.”

“I have already arranged it.”

“Mm, very good.” Farra smiled, finally managing to bring these people out. He hoped that this expedition and real combat would instill something in them to their very bones. When they returned to their territory later, these over 500 men could immediately become centurions on the spot. Once expanded, it would amount to 5,000 men. Even if scaled down to one man leading five men, that would still be 2,500. With veteran soldiers leading them, the new recruits’ discipline would be leagues apart from when they had no leadership.

A short time later, Baron Engel received the letter that had been delivered to him. At the same time, he learned from the village official that the villages in his territory had already been occupied.

“How many men do they have?” Engel unfolded the letter and asked.

“My lord, the other side has about 500 men.”

“500 men? Huh… they dare to be so reckless here with only 500 men?” Engel paused mid-sentence. A look of contempt froze on his face, then turned into anger. His eyes quickly scanned the rest of the letter, and his face and neck gradually turned red… not out of embarrassment, but out of anger.

“Bastard! That fool actually dared to insult me like this!? A mere bandit dares to humiliate a noble so!” He ripped the letter in his hand into pieces and suddenly shot a glare at the village official.

“My lord! I… I was forced! I was only the messenger!” the official trembled and knelt down.

“You couldn’t even stop 500 men; you’re worthless!!” Engel rushed over and kicked the official away.

“Th-this really isn’t my fault, Lord Engel! I only had 500 men under me; I truly couldn’t fight them! They all had iron swords!” the official begged, sniffling and tearful.

“Soon after the fight started, we were completely wiped out! I didn’t even have that many swords! My guards were only armed with wooden spears! We couldn’t fight at all!”

“Trash! You lost because you’re incompetent!” Engel kicked the official again with a look of disgust. Then he shouted to his subordinates, “Count my manpower! I want to see what kind of waves that damned bandit can make!”

“Yes, my lord!”

After his subordinates left, Engel looked at the official still kneeling before him and said coldly, “Since you’re so useless, you don’t need to serve as a village official anymore! Scram!”

“No, my lord! Please give me one more chance, my lord!”

“Damn it, get him out of here and stop clinging to me!”

“My lord… ,” the deposed official was dragged away by nearby soldiers, his cries gradually fading.

In this era, a village official referred to an agent authorized by the lord, responsible for managing all affairs within the village. Its status was similar to “a noble without a noble’s title.” Barony lords, unable to manage many places, would enfeoff their vassals as village officials. They had no noble title, but within a single village, they held the power and legitimacy of a noble. Once stripped of this identity, a village official became an ordinary commoner, equating him with those he had once looked down on. No one could accept this change, but Engel didn’t care whether he accepted it.

Very soon, Engel finished tallying the forces available in his castle.

“My lord, we can deploy 800 men!”

“Why only this many?”

“My lord, the cost of maintaining 800 men is already very high.”

“Tch, draft another 2,000 men from elsewhere!”

“Yes… but this might take a little time.”

“Hurry up!”

“Yes, my lord…” His subordinate hurriedly left to arrange the militia mobilization.

Engel waited restlessly as he inspected his soldiers. Each held an iron sword, looking very strong. He felt that with his 800 men, facing only 500 bandits posed no problem at all. But to be safe, it was still more reassuring to bring in a few more men. After all, it was a matter of face.

Farra knew that drafting militia from the lord’s territory would take some time, so he was in no hurry. He first let his people eat and drink their fill, then rested in place. After eating himself, he studied the map the System provided. He could directly see information about his territory. With over a thousand people continuously reclaiming land, the arable acreage had already increased. Those plots had originally been unsuitable for crops. To actually grow anything, it was unknown how much effort would be needed. But with Resource points, none of that was a problem. If the Level 0 Resource Site had no output, the Level 1 Resource Site could directly improve soil quality, forcing the land to produce yields. He first lifted the baseline, then had people implement techniques like irrigation, drainage, and composting. All of this required time and manpower. Resource points greatly shortened the time required.

“I’ve upgraded wasteland to level 1 and non-wasteland to level 1; the rest will have to be gradually built up. Fortunately, all the resources are in my hands, so I can maximize their utilization.” Seeing the Resource points consumed once again, Farra sighed. It was still too few. Now the restored farmland already exceeded several hundred mu. Resource points were absolutely insufficient. It was spending more than it brought in.