When the Flying Giant returned from the Nordland of the Empire, Rhodes once again harvested a lot of gold coins and food. The gold crown and silver shillings could pay workers' salaries, while the food could be stored for the winter. The geographical environment of Blackhammer Castle made this
There is always a shortage of food in the area. Even in the north, you can grow your own food, but the threat of beastmen, ratmen and greenskins is always there. Coupled with the cold climate, farmers' harvests are often not very good, or they are about to harvest.
At that time, they were attacked by beasts and ratmen, and this happened from time to time. Compared to the north of Kislev, the life of farmers in the empire was already considered happy.
Blackhammer Castle is located at the very end of the northern border, and it needs to purchase enough food and grass to survive the winter. This has been the case every year. This has almost become a tradition.
Rhodes' idea is to stock up on food before the Evil Moon this year. The cement city wall is almost completed. If the solid city wall can once again block the beasts and werewolves during this year's Evil Moon, then Black Hammer Castle will
It has truly become a safe place in the eyes of civilians.
In this way, civilians from all over the country will continue to come and there will be hope for development.
"Sir, I purchased the finest Bretonnian wine in the city of Pren in Nordland. It is said that this bottle of wine has been aging underground for two hundred years. Only the great nobles of Bretonnia can enjoy it."
Captain Roberts said excitedly. Several months of sailing and trading life had made his wealth soar, and it was almost the same as the smuggler captain he had been. According to the salary Rhodes currently paid, and the profit from each cargo trade,
Taking a commission, in half a year, his assets will be twice as much as that of the smuggler captain. And there is no need to be afraid. He is now working for Mrs. Kisli and is doing legitimate business. There is no need to fear the shrinking ship.
and bribed imperial officials.
"Looking good, thank you, Roberts."
Rhodes said politely, then opened the cork on the wine cap and ordered the servants to pour a glass for everyone present to try.
"My pleasure."
The old captain returned. The smile on his face was warmer than the stove in this room.
"Sir, I saw the new city wall when I entered the city. Is that true?"
After taking a full sip, Roberts was satisfied, and he immediately asked his lord. When entering Black Hammer Castle, he saw the white wall. In his memory, when he left Black Hammer Castle two months ago
I have never seen such a city wall before. After two months in the empire and at sea, I came back to see such a tall white city wall. For Roberts, this was not just a shock, but a surprise. His limited
Knowledge cannot understand how such a strong city wall was built in a short period of time. Ever since meeting Rhodes, he felt that his brain was running out. First he conquered the Norscan pirates, and then he single-handedly killed the Manticore.
, and now, like magic, a tall city wall has been built surrounding the town...
In short, he had too much incomprehension in front of Rhodes.
"of course it's true."
Rhodes returned with a smile and continued to taste the luxuries brought by his "sea general" from other places.
"Is that magic? Or what?"
Roberts couldn't understand and asked curiously.
"Of course not. Apart from Caroline, are there any other wizards in Blackhammer Castle? Besides, Caroline is just a frost witch. She has to travel between places, and sometimes returns to Heidelberg to stay with her father. There is no such thing.
Don’t care about the construction of city walls. Besides, I remember that the Frost Witch doesn’t seem to know the magic of building city walls, right?”
"That's right...but this is simply amazing. With this city wall, people's sense of security will be much enhanced."
"That's for sure. I've done statistics. In recent months, there have been significantly more people coming to Blackhammer Castle to make a living. Whether it's month-on-month or year-on-year..."
Rhodes answered with a smile, while not forgetting to taste the wine on his lips. The smooth, mellow-tasting wine always reminded him of the past...
"YoY? MoM? What is that?"
Roberts asked with a frown.
"This... month-on-month means comparing with last month, and year-on-year means comparing with this time last year. Statistics require the collection and comparison of data from many aspects to be accurate. Only in this way can the truth be analyzed from the numbers."
After hearing this, the old captain Roberts nodded with understanding.
…
"Our sentries are back."
Just as they were drinking and enjoying themselves, the hurried footsteps of the messenger sounded outside the door. No need to guess, Rhodes also knew that such hurried footsteps must be that the sentry had made some new discovery and passed the information directly here.
"Sir, the army, a new enemy has appeared."
The guard reported with a solemn expression.
It's just that no one took it seriously at first.
"What kind of new enemy?"
Rhodes turned his head and asked calmly.
With fires, fine wine, and the rare summer, this is really not a good time to discuss military affairs. However, if something goes wrong, you still have to ask questions.
Rhodes signaled to the guards that they don’t need to be secretive. They are all brothers who can be trusted. There were not many people in the hut. The chief knight, Virgil, guarded the castle with Rhodes until the end of the Battle of Evil Moon; the ranger Lawrence followed him all over the country.
He went to Kislev to purchase ice pepper seeds. He was a ranger, but almost became Rhodes' affairs officer; Zelta, the captain of the Norscan Raiders, Rhodes' deputy, and even defended Rhodes during the Black Forest Battle.
There is also the old captain Roberts, who has followed the lord of Blackhammer Castle and has lived a well-off life. These people can indeed be trusted.
"Swamp Thing, sir, is Swamp Thing. They appeared in the Black Forest, about five days' journey from the border."
The guard looked solemn.
"How many?"
"About one or two hundred, or more..."
Swamp monsters, this kind of amphibious monsters, originally lived in remote swamps far away from human towns. They rarely went out. This time they took the initiative to appear in areas with human activities. It is probably because of food shortage that they had to go out to look for food before breaking in.
In the forest. Essentially, they are the same as the beastmen, monsters who believe in chaos, but compared to the beastmen, the number of swamp monsters is pitifully small. However, when a group of strange-looking amphibious creatures appear in front of you
, normal people will feel fear.
"These beasts broke into the forest and our people didn't notice them. They are lucky."
Celta said nonchalantly from the side.
"Don't underestimate the enemy, Celta. Swamp monsters rarely appear. We don't know much about them."
Rhodes said.
"They just appeared in the forest and did not move towards the castle. They are not a threat to us. Maybe we can ignore them."
Virgil expressed his opinion.
"But civilians will be scared and logging crews will be frightened."
Rhodes frowned and returned. Blackhammer Castle has just begun to revitalize, building city walls, and establishing standing patrols, all to strengthen the security here so that more civilians can come here to make a living. Basically, there is one in all border areas.
The same characteristics - they are rich in resources, but lack sufficient population. Because they are unsafe. If the security problem is solved, the surrounding resources and land can be developed on a large scale. Forming a strong local force is not a problem.
Therefore, Rhodes planned to eliminate this hidden danger. In addition, the training against the Norscans had been going on for some time. Now, a battle was needed to test the results of those trainings.
"Sir, what do you mean? Take the initiative to attack them and drive them out of the forest?"
"What's wrong? We need a real victory. We defend passively every time. This time, we need an active attack. Since they broke in first."