Chapter 102: 103. Q&A

Luoning had just settled down to rest for a moment while waiting for the banquet time, but he did not expect the old Steward to send someone to bring news that Lulansi was summoning him.

His main purpose for coming to Wushan Castle this time was to see Lulansi, so he went to the back courtyard without delay.

"Mr. Moste, long time no see."

At the entrance of the back courtyard, Luoning saw the old Steward standing there as if waiting for his arrival, so he went up to greet him warmly.

"Long time no see, Young Master Luoning. You seem to have grown a bit taller since you left last time, and you have become much more mature!"

He chuckled and praised, "The Master is very appreciative of your conquest of the savage tribes!"

Luoning's heart stirred. After his contact with Huke of the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce that day, he knew the news of conquering the savage tribes would spread, but he did not expect it to reach Wushan Castle so quickly.

"The savage tribes have long lost the ability to resist head-on after the ravages of time; I just happened to find the exact location of their camps."

Luoning tried his best to downplay the difficulty of the matter: "I believe any noble could conquer them with two or three Knights."

"You are too modest."

Moste made a gesture of invitation, "The Master is in the back mountain; I will take you there."

The back mountain?

Luoning showed a look of surprise.

The back mountain of Wushan Castle was not small, and the environment was indeed quiet, but few people went there usually, and even Weijinsi would not easily set foot there.

Because Lulansi's mount, a Level 5 Magical Beast, the Thunder Chasing Beast, lived in the back mountain.

Although it was a Contract Magical Beast and would not easily attack people in the castle, for those who stepped into its territory, the Thunder Chasing Beast would show hostility when in a bad mood, making people feel afraid.

Luoning did not expect Lulansi to arrange the location for summoning him in the back mountain.

"Then I will trouble you to lead the way."

The two walked one after the other, following the bluestone path into the back mountain.

Although his predecessor had lived here for over a decade, he had not been to the back mountain many times; Luoning looked around as he walked, as if strolling in a forest park.

A luxurious house was built halfway up the back mountain; this was where the Thunder Chasing Beast resided.

After approaching, Luoning observed this house carefully; it had reliefs, shining agates, gemstones, and even hung with Magic Crystal Lamps.

It felt like the house he lived in at Shanlin Town could not even compare to a Magical Beast's residence.

"You've come."

Lulansi sat on a bench outside the house, leaning on his cane with his back to the foot of the mountain, not turning his head.

Moste bowed slightly, then turned and walked down the mountain.

Luoning walked over quickly, bowed, and said, "Grandfather, long time no see."

Lulansi nodded slightly, while looking Luoning up and down, "Compared to last time, you have indeed grown quite a bit taller and have become much more mature."

"Moste just said the same to me."

Luoning said with a smile: "It seems I have indeed changed a little."

Not a little, but a lot; Lulansi almost did not recognize him.

It was not about his appearance, but his speech and demeanor.

The former Luoning was seventeen and still like a child; his discipline was only verbally obeyed to his face, only to be forgotten completely the moment he turned around, which was very frustrating.

He did not know if it was psychological, but he only felt that the current Luoning looked reassuring.

"I heard you conquered three savage tribes."

Lulansi pointed to the bench opposite, signaling Luoning to sit down, "Come, tell me about the process of you conquering them."

Luoning naturally did not mind telling him; this could be a good way to draw closer to the old Marquis.

However, while narrating, he concealed some things.

First, things like sericulture and ceramics definitely could not be mentioned; after all, those two pieces of land had not truly become his property yet.

Secondly, he also vaguely glossed over his own strength; after all, going from an ordinary person to a dual-class Senior Transcendent in just two short months was too unbelievable to say out loud.

Luoning had no choice but to push the credit as much as possible onto Maiken, saying that Maiken was an Advanced Knight with powerful combat strength.

As for the commander Ruidar, he was directly hidden by Luoning and not mentioned.

"Maiken?"

Lulansi was surprised, "Is that the Knight who had a brief encounter with Weijinsi when you brought the traitor back that day? I thought he was just a Primary Knight."

"Maiken has good aptitude, he just lacked the opportunity to show it."

Luoning explained, "He broke through shortly after arriving at Shanlin Town."

Lulansi nodded silently, "Although you didn't exert much effort in the fighting, it can be seen that you have good insights in command; otherwise, you wouldn't have taken three tribes in less than a month."

Command requires information gathering ability, information analysis ability, and combat mission arrangement ability; looking at these three points, Luoning was much stronger than Weijinsi.

Lulansi sighed inwardly; had he known his grandson had command ability, he should have sent him to the Knight Order to gain experience instead of letting him study at the Wushan Extraordinary Academy all the time.

"Grandfather is too kind with his praise."

Luoning shook his head, "Actually, the defensive capabilities of the savage tribes were too weak; they didn't even have watchtowers, they were simply vulnerable."

"Haha, you are indeed much more modest than before."

After the laughter, a brief silence fell between the grandfather and grandson; they had not sat down and communicated like this for Along time.

"What do you plan to do about those three tribes?"

Here it comes; he had finally led the topic to the territory.

Luoning was just wondering how to bring up this topic; he did not expect Lulansi to mention it proactively.

He thought for a moment and decided to be a bit bolder.

"Grandfather, all 1,051 people from these three savage tribes have been taken in by me. The Transcendental who resisted have been killed by me, the remaining Transcendental chose to pledge loyalty to me, and the others work for me as Slave."

Lulansi's eyes flickered. Luoning said this lightly, but he heard the latter's attitude toward enemies from it; at least he did not willfully execute everyone, knowing how to absorb and grow was sometimes a good thing.

"Although I could move all these captives to live in Shanlin Town, the savage tribes have reclaimed quite a bit of farmland over the years, and I don't want to give it up."

Luoning paused, looked straight at Lulansi, and stated his purpose: "So I hope you, Grandfather, can grant me the territory where these three tribes are located and incorporate it into the domain of Shanlin Town."

He added: "By the way, I also discovered a large tribe that poses a threat to Shanlin Town, called the 'Heiling Tribe'. After I conquer it, I hope to be able to incorporate it into my territory as well."

From the beginning of this conversation, Luoning had gathered quite a bit of information.

First was the location of the talk, then the other party asking about the process of how he conquered the savage tribes, and finally the evaluation, etc. All of this indicated that Luoning's previous guess was very likely correct—

He still held a certain status in Lulansi's heart.

That was why Luoning had stated his purpose with such a lion's share demand; even if it wasn't granted by the other party, it didn't matter.

Anyway, there were only he and Lulansi on this mountain; no one would spread his ambition.

Lulansi looked at this grandson of his earnestly, the smile at the corners of his mouth becoming increasingly obvious.

"Nobles all love to expand their own territory. I didn't expect that you would have picked up this hobby so quickly, less than three months after becoming the Baron of Shanlin Town."

He shook his head as he said this, "But to grant you all this territory, the military merit of just conquering savage tribes is not enough."

He said: "In the war in August, we recaptured seven castles and forced back the Black Gold Brotherhood. But due to your father's failure in command and the mistakes you made, five of those castles were used as bargaining chips to compensate the Haide Family, with the other party appointing the lords, and only the remaining two were enfeoffed to the knights who pledged loyalty to our family."

Luoning's heart sank; he hadn't expected that incident to result in the Haide Family taking away five castles, a huge loss.

"There are many knights with greater military merit than you, but they did not receive fiefs."

Lulansi explained earnestly, "When I originally let you be the Baron of Shanlin Town, I considered that it was far away, remote, had no development value, and was fraught with crises, which is why no one raised any objections. If I were to grant you more territory now, it would be hard to explain to those outside."

Although great nobles are powerful, they cannot just do whatever they please; otherwise, it would be bad if the knights and minor nobles who pledged loyalty to them became dissatisfied, not to mention that Wushan Castle's current situation is not good.

Luoning understood this logic.

However, he also had a backup plan, "Then Grandfather, I wonder if I could temporarily manage these four savage tribes for you?"

If they couldn't be granted, then managing them on his behalf would be fine too.

"That is possible!"

Lulansi laughed; this was his original intention as well, "As the manager, you need to pay a certain amount of gold coins to Wushan Castle every year."

"Ah?"

Luoning's face showed bitterness, "You know, I am very poor; I can barely afford to support the Transcendental in my territory!"

"Hahaha~"

Lulansi laughed and shook his head, "Don't lie to me. You can produce so many Spell Scrolls in a month; selling them can earn you hundreds of gold coins. Paying a little management fee is nothing to you."

He held up a finger, "10 gold coins per tribe, 30 gold coins per year. Grandfather isn't bullying you, right?"

Only then did Luoning breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He had thought the other party would ask for a lot; this price was clearly a genuine 'friendship price'.

"No, Grandfather, it is 40 gold coins!"

He emphasized: "There is also the Heiling Tribe; I plan to take it down around the spring plowing next year!"

Lulansi, however, shook his head, "I'm afraid you won't have the chance."

Hm?

The smile on Luoning's face vanished, and he looked suspicious, "Why do you say that?"

"Baron Leisen of Sain Territory had his son, Tuobuleidun, bring a letter saying that after a fierce battle a month ago, and at the cost of losing hundreds of soldiers and several Professional Knights, Sain Territory finally conquered the most powerful Heiling savage tribe in the Wubei Woodland."

Lulansi took the piece of parchment from his bosom and threw it lightly, and it landed in Luoning's hand.

"Just like you, Baron Leisen also wants to incorporate the Heiling Tribe into his territory."

(End of chapter)