The two guards waiting outside the castle with Archduke Jonathan had different expressions.
Although the relaxed look on their faces softened a lot after Gugat appeared, they still looked calm compared to the others present.
Standing behind Archduke Jonathan is a large flat-headed man with a three-section stick wrapped around his waist and two maces hanging crosswise behind him.
This big man has slightly curly brown hair and a crew cut that makes his head look like a neatly manicured lawn.
With a height of over two meters, he was a full head taller than the Grand Duke.
Looking around, it's hard not to see him.
What is striking is that both his eyebrows and the beard on his face are white.
Even his eyes were slightly white.
This made him look a bit weird.
His relatively calm expression made this guy particularly eye-catching.
He did not release any power, but anyone with a discerning eye could easily feel the confidence that belonged to the strong guard.
And he only had one piece of armor that was so simple that it could be called a rudimentary one.
The armor had no patterns, and no traces of runes could be seen.
It's like low-level light armor that doesn't look amazing.
But the simpler it is, the more mysterious it is.
Next to him, on the left rear of Grand Duke Jonathan, was a woman with a ponytail that was as long as her waist.
This woman is petite and wears an earthy yellow robe decorated with green vines and red flower branches.
The cassock was hooded and tucked under the ponytail.
Although she is petite, she looks extremely mature.
There are even crow's feet at the corners of the eyes that represent time.
Her skin was smooth and fair, glowing slightly under the magic lights on both sides of the castle.
The light blue eyes are exceptionally deep, seeming to contain endless thoughts.
The petite girl lifted her feet off the ground and was suspended in mid-air. She was actually as tall as the white-bearded man.
If Zong Shen activates [Eye of Magic Sense] at this time, he can see that her body is surrounded by lines of earth and natural magic.
All the elemental lines formed a loop similar to a magnetic field circle, and she was the center point of this loop. There was no doubt that this woman must be a high-level dual-system spellcaster.
Demigod-level spellcasters are well-deserved top-notch.
Its gold content is even better than that of ordinary demigod-level warriors.
Moreover, most of the demigod-level spellcasters understand the divine rules of the elemental system.
Although there are suspicions of being a bad street, God's will is God's will after all.
Originally, the level of demigod meant that one had half a foot on the threshold of god.
The two of them were like two door gods, staying firmly by Grand Duke Jonathan's side and giving him enough confidence.
The two parties, Zong Shen and Grand Duke Jonathan, looked at each other for a few seconds.
Then Archduke Jonathan, who was standing not far away, suddenly laughed heartily.
"The powerful Chosen Son Rosen, welcomes you."
"Today's dinner is just for you. I hope we can have a friendly and meaningful conversation."
He took the lead and came to Zong Shen with his men behind him.
Rosen is a pseudonym made up by someone before.
Anyway, the name is just a code name when exposed to the outside world. Whether it is true or false is not important.
"I am honored to be invited by His Excellency the Duke."
Zong Shen smiled and said, polite and graceful.
But in his words, he still didn't put Grand Duke Jonathan on too high a level.
Before this, Grand Duke Jonathan would still be dissatisfied with Zong Shen's arrogance, but now he has no objection to it.
The atmosphere between the two parties actually felt somewhat harmonious.
"Please come in."
Grand Duke Jonathan returned the smile without saying anything and made a gesture to invite him in.
He glanced at Gugat calmly.
Everyone then walked into the castle.
The temporarily built castle is still a bit inferior in terms of quality and area.
But although the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs.
The necessary layout and design are basically all available here.
Including study room, reception room, banquet hall, temporary command post, etc.
In fact, the real function of a castle is not a residence, but a battle fortress with military functions.
Just because it is often built in strategic locations or in the core of the region.
Therefore, it is usually used as the daily residence of the lord, and it is also a place where power and majesty are demonstrated.
All in all, the castle is a functional building with great practicality.
Building a castle is still relatively time-consuming and laborious, even in this world with extraordinary power. Those castles that occupy a large area also take a lot of time to build.
Some family castles that have been passed down for a long time have even been built repeatedly over several generations.
Without wasting any time, Grand Duke Jonathan led everyone directly to the banquet hall.
It is located on the second floor of the castle, next to the side terrace.
The overall layout is still very spacious, but it is not a large banquet hall and can accommodate no more than 50 people.
A stage has been reserved for performances during the meal.
There are two chairs on the main seat, and even the tabletop has been widened.
This means that Grand Duke Jonathan placed Zong Shen on an equal footing with himself.
Zong Shen observed silently, sneering in his heart.
Comparing the strategy module, he knew that this was Archduke Jonathan trying to convey goodwill to him.
The guests of honor took their seats one after another. Zong Shen and Jonathan took the main seat together. He was on the left and the latter on the right.
Lexa and others also sat down according to the seats on the left.
Next to Grand Duke Jonathan was Mayfair Black Orchid.
Dinner plates were placed on the banquet table.
After everyone was seated, the meal began to be served.
As usual, it is a meal-sharing system, and is served by a dedicated meal-sharing maid.
Zong Shen enjoyed dinner with a normal expression.
It can be seen that Grand Duke Jonathan put a lot of thought into organizing this dinner.
Everywhere you look, there are orange and purple dishes.
Even the quality of the main course reached a golden epic level.
This is a rare high-level delicacy, and it comes with a short-term gain that is very effective.
Not only are the required materials all at level six, but there are also higher requirements for cooking skills of chefs.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It is no exaggeration to say that senior chefs themselves are indispensable talents.
Of course, there are usually two types of benefits brought by truly high-end dishes.
The first is a small permanent gain, and the second is a temporary gain with a significant increase.
And those low-level dishes and drinks only have temporary gains.
Just that main dish, after eating it, you can get the effect of permanently increasing the four major attributes by 10 points, and also get an additional 5 points of physical strength, which is equivalent to an alternative armor value, making the body tougher.
There is an upper limit to the permanent buffs gained from eating this dish.
But as long as it involves attribute enhancement, even just 1 point is very precious.
Zong Shen ate quietly, occasionally raising a glass and chatting with Grand Duke Jonathan.
Both parties had a tacit understanding and did not talk about Prince Carter and the giant city of Lentax.
It wasn't until the dinner was halfway through, when the soup bowls began to fill, that Zong Shen got down to business.
"Thank you, Your Excellency, for the hospitality."
"We had many misunderstandings before and had some minor conflicts."
"Now it seems that those contradictions are just the flowers of mistakes born from misunderstandings."
"Today I will abide by the contract, refer to the redemption rules of the nobles, and release His Highness Carter."
Zong Shen took the initiative to stand up and toasted with a glass of wine.
The corners of Archduke Jonathan's mouth twitched, revealing a meaningful smile.
After the two parties clinked glasses, Zong Shen raised his hand and opened a small dimensional passage in the open space next to the banquet.
Two heavily armed soldiers "escorted" Prince Carter out.
Prince Carter, who has been imprisoned for a while, is in pretty good condition.
Her face is rosy and her clothes are neat.
But there was a hint of fear in Zong Shen's eyes after walking out of the dimensional passage.
In fact, Zong Shen never abused him.
Of course, some necessary deterrence is also a process that cannot be avoided.
Otherwise, according to Carter's temperament, he would not be imprisoned obediently.
Zong Shen never treated him badly when it came to eating and drinking.
In the small dimensional world, a small manor was built for him.
Prince Carter, who came out at this time, first glanced at Zong Shen, and then looked at Grand Duke Jonathan.
His eyes that were filled with fear suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly ran to the Grand Duke's side.
"Uncle Jonathan!"
"Did you redeem me?"
It was common for nobles to be captured and then ransomed.
The other party in front has family and roots.
In order to squeeze out more value, the winner rarely kills.
After being captured, they will choose to have the other party's family or relatives pay a large ransom.
As for those little noble knights with no background, after being captured, they either surrendered or became slaves.
If you are unlucky, you may be killed directly.
Anyway, there are many ways in the Endless Continent to squeeze out a person’s value as a trophy.
Archduke Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Carter, and then became stern.
Before awakening, he would also worry about his apparent dignity in order to prevent others from suspecting him.
After awakening, it didn't matter anymore. He was surrounded by his own people, and Zong Shen was the chosen one.
So he yelled sharply.
"Bastard thing."
"If you hadn't trampled on our agreement with the Lancaster family at will, how could the giant city of Lentax have fallen?!"
Prince Carter was startled by the sudden scolding.
His face turned red and white, and he subconsciously wanted to refute, but before he could speak, Grand Duke Jonathan, who had already stood up, slapped him twice.
The crisp sound of a slap in the face echoed in the banquet hall.
Everyone was silent in unison.
Zong Shen also watched the show with great interest.
What a scene of a father beating his son.
But it was a one-man show, because Prince Carter didn't know that he was the child of Grand Duke Jonathan.
What's more, before this, although Grand Duke Jonathan always regarded himself as an elder in front of him, he was also a duke with real power and his reputation was astonishing.
But he still maintained due respect for him.
But the changes now made him feel unexpected.
Prince Carter subconsciously wanted to get angry, but the life of imprisonment made him restrain his temper.
And he knew now was not the time to get angry.
If he offended Grand Duke Jonathan, who would be willing to redeem him?
Holding back a breath of resentment, he lowered his head.
"Yes...I'm sorry, Uncle Jonathan."
Seeing this scene, Grand Duke Jonathan's expression remained stern, but he said nothing more.
He turned to look at Zong Shen and forced a new smile.
"As you wish, the relevant population and soldiers are already ready."
"It's in an open space next to the camp."
"You can hand over at any time after the dinner is over."
Archduke Jonathan's mentality has indeed become much calmer during this period.
From a reckless "old guy", he became an old fox.
Zong Shen nodded and continued to eat without looking at Prince Carter.
There were also dancers making music during the period, showing off their dancing figures on the stage of the banquet hall.
After about an hour, the banquet was completely over.
Zong Shen didn't waste any time and led his people to follow Grand Duke Jonathan to the handover location.
As for Prince Carter, that good-for-nothing had long been forgotten by him.
It's like chewing sugar cane, leaving only the dregs.
For the awakened Grand Duke Jonathan, his ambitions were also inflated, and he was no longer willing to serve Prince Carter, his younger son, when he came to power.
From a practical point of view, Prince Carter's abilities are indeed insufficient.
Not even as good as any of Jonathan's upper-middle-class officers.
His level is simply that of a bastard among bastards.
If it weren't for his status as a prince, Carter would be worthless.
Zong Shen naturally has no interest in him.
Both parties had the intervention of the system contract and concluded clear terms of exchange.
In exchange for Prince Carter, Zong Shen will be able to get the following benefits from Grand Duke Jonathan:
[The population with an appropriate male to female ratio is 20 million, and the age range is between 16 and 45 years old]
[1.2 million soldiers, including corresponding knights]
[A craftsman group of 5,000 people, the craftsmen in it should at least start as apprentices, and there should be no less than 50 senior craftsmen, any type of technology is acceptable]
[20,000 third-level spell casters]
[There must be at least 1,000 dragon mages, of which the number of sixth-level mages must be no less than 200, and there must be three seventh-level magisters as the finale]
[Four sixth-level space masters]
…
That's all in exchange.
You can see that all Zong Shen exchanged was population.
Contains the general population, craftsmen, soldiers and spellcasters.
This is also one of his reserve plans to further enrich the territory's population.
After all, there are not many opportunities to gain a large population without war.
Someone in this sect still values this very highly.
Archduke Jonathan was riding in front of a group of magnificent military horses.
Zong Shen and others followed behind.
It didn't take long before we arrived at the temporary resettlement site.
It occupies a large area and is densely packed with tents as far as the eye can see.
On the inside are the soldiers and spellcasters selected in advance, and on the outside are the general population.
Since the total number reaches more than 20 million, the area is indeed quite large.
Just temporary resettlement will probably cost a lot of effort and materials.
Zong Shen activated the strategy module to quickly conduct verification and screening, confirming that Grand Duke Jonathan did not play tricks on the population. It seemed that he understood the power of loyalty, and he did not even place spies among so many people.
Zong Shen was impressed by Duke Jonathan's sudden change of wit.
Standing in front of the resettlement area, Grand Duke Jonathan turned back and said.
"This is the population agreed to be handed over."