Chapter 11: Hey, I'm Back Again

To solve the problem of having too few hands, Luoning thought for a moment; there were mainly two ways.

The first was to spend money to buy slaves.

Slavery had not been abolished in this world; on the contrary, basically every city had a Slave Agency.

Luoning took a map out of the carriage and looked at it; on the road from Wushan City to Shanlin Town, one would pass through the territories of many nobles, and if he really wanted to buy slaves, he should be able to buy some in quite a few of those territories.

But as for which city was the most suitable, there were only two: the first was the largest city near Shanlin Town, Muma City;

The second was Wushan City, which he had just left.

"Should I go to Muma City to buy them? Or go back to Wushan City to buy them?"

Luoning tapped on the carriage, lost in long contemplation.

Of course, besides the method of buying slaves, there was another way to expand his manpower, which was to spend money to recruit.

Luoning could spend money to hire some people to go to Shanlin Town.

It was just that recruiting was not something one could do by simply choosing any city; first, he needed to obtain the consent of other lords.

Because, in essence, the subjects of a territory also belonged to the lord's wealth; without the lord's permission, if Luoning recruited privately, he would be violating the lord's regulations, and in serious cases, the other party could even use this as an excuse to start a war.

After thinking it over, Luoning still turned his gaze back to Wushan City.

Whether buying slaves or hiring commoners, returning to Wushan City was the best choice.

He believed that even if he privately recruited a group of people in Wushan City to go to Shanlin Town, Lulansi would likely not interfere, and Wiggins would be even more likely to turn a blind eye, hoping only that he would hurry up and take the people far away.

It was just that if he had to turn back, today's journey would have been in vain.

"If I really go back, I could consider asking the Earl for a bit more."

To put it bluntly, he wanted manpower, but he did not want to spend money.

So what could he do? He could only thicken his skin and "borrow" from Wushan Castle.

"Simple sob stories and playing the emotional card clearly won't work; are there any other ways?"

Luoning pondered for Along time.

First, the nine Guards arranged by Wiggins had betrayed him; it would be reasonable for him to go back and replace them, right?

Once this idea sprouted in his heart, he could not stop it, and in the end, he decided to return to Wushan Castle.

What was that about a good horse not eating the grass behind it? As long as the grass behind is tasty, what does it matter if one turns back or not?

After the Guards finished feeding the horses and everyone had a hasty meal, Luoning waved his hand: "Chahaer, tell the caravan to turn around; we are going back to Wushan City!"

"Huh?"

Chahaer was stunned, "My Lord, are we not going to Shanlin Town anymore?"

"Of course we are, it's just that I suddenly remembered there is another important matter I haven't taken care of!"

Although Chahaer was still confused, he did not continue to ask and quickly passed on the Baron's order.

Those five traitors became anxious the moment they heard they were returning to Wushan City; if Luoning went back and handed them over to Wushan Castle, wouldn't they be finished?

But seeing Knight Maiken riding his warhorse, they completely lost any thought of escaping.

The carriage swayed along, and after another four-plus hours, the caravan passed through Wushan City and arrived outside Wushan Castle.

Luoning did not choose to buy slaves in the city; instead, he chose to return to the castle first to try his luck. If he could get resources, wouldn't that save money?

Seeing his figure, the Guard watching the castle gate was instantly dumbfounded.

"My Lord, what is this?"

The Guard at the gate was full of question marks; didn't this young master leave in the morning? How was he back again at night?

Luoning kept a straight face and snorted, "Go tell Earl Wiggins that the 'elite troops' he arranged for me are all traitors; they actually tried to assassinate me halfway!"

"What?"

The Guard at the gate thought he had misheard; there were actually traitors among the Wushan Castle Guards, and they even wanted to assassinate the eldest grandson of the Wushan Family?

The five traitors whom Luoning had temporarily spared and not killed felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar upon hearing this, their faces changing drastically.

Sure enough, the worry on the way back had become reality; the Baron still had not let them off.

"My Lord, spare us! My Lord, spare us!" They knelt on the ground, begging for mercy incessantly.

Luoning did not look at them again; he would not kill them, he would only hand them over to Wushan Castle.

As for how Wushan Castle would treat them, that was not something he needed to worry about.

"Maiken, Chahaer, you two come with me to see the Marquis."

Luoning said as he walked into Wushan Castle, "These traitors are handed over to you, Guards; don't let them run away."

"Rest assured, My Lord!"

The Guard at the gate immediately took control of the five traitors, and one of them ran quickly into the castle, presumably to relay this matter to Wiggins.

Luoning did not delay for a moment and rushed like lightning to Lulansi's small building.

"Grandfather, Grandfather!"

He shouted as he walked, his expression becoming flustered.

"Young Master Luoning?"

The old Steward Moste greeted him with surprise, "Didn't you set off this morning? Why have you returned?"

Luoning's acting skills were fully online; he asked urgently, "Where is my grandfather? I need to find him!"

"Ah, this... the Marquis is inside." Moste stepped aside, preparing to let Luoning in.

But at this moment, Marquis Lulansi had already walked from the room into the courtyard, leaning on his cane.

"I could hear your shouting from inside the room; what is the matter? Why have you returned?"

The Marquis was draped in a robe, looking as if he had just gotten out of bed.

Luoning walked up in a panic, "Grandfather, those Guards Father assigned to me actually tried to assassinate me halfway!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Lulansi's hand, unable to stop himself from trembling, "I suspect, I suspect they were acting under Father's instructions; Father wants to kill me!"

Lulansi's expression changed; could Weijinsi really be so muddled as to want to kill his own son?

"You're talking nonsense!"

The person had not yet arrived, but his voice came first; Earl Wiggins, who had rushed over in a hurry, heard Luoning accusing him from afar, and his roar sounded as if he wanted to blow the roof off.

"I may wish you would die outside, but I am not so idle as to arrange for people to kill you!"

As his voice fell, Weijinsi had already arrived in the courtyard.

Although he was only an Advanced Knight, a level of strength that would not catch the eye of the great nobility, the surging Battle Qi all over his body at this moment still brought no small amount of pressure to Luoning.

"Stop!" Maiken stepped forward, blocking in front of Luoning.

Weijinsi let out an angry snort, "Get out of the way!"

He raised his leg and kicked toward Maiken, and Maiken did not dodge, raising his own leg to counterattack.

With a bang, their legs collided solidly, and the immense force made their figures unstable, causing them to stumble backward at the same time.

"Are you alright?"

Luoning hurriedly supported Maiken; it was clear that Weijinsi had the upper hand in this strike.

This was not strange, as the other party was, after all, an Advanced Knight, while Maiken was only Primary.

If Weijinsi had used his full strength just now, or even used Battle Qi, Maiken would likely have to lie in bed for several months after taking such a hit head-on.

"Who are you?" Weijinsi frowned and asked coldly.

Beside them, Lulansi's eyes flashed with a strange light, thinking to himself, why is there a knight by Luoning's side? And looking at this knight's performance, although his rank is not high, his foundation is relatively solid.

This grandson of his had once again made his eyes light up.

"Come in and talk."

The old Marquis turned and walked toward the house, "If word gets out that we are brawling in the courtyard, those nobles outside will think our Wushan Family is turning against each other!"

"Hmph!"

Weijinsi angrily flicked his robe and followed him into the house.

Luoning let Maiken check himself, and after discovering there was no serious harm, he also followed them inside.

The three parties took their seats, and only then did Lulansi say, "Luoning, explain today's events clearly; why do you suspect your father wants to kill you?"

(End of this chapter)