Chapter 147: 147 Wool-Gathering

Luoning wants to form a Knight Squad; this time, he needs to purchase at least six warhorses and twenty riding horses.

Among them, the warhorses are prepared for Professional Knights, while the riding horses are allocated to the cavalry.

The quality of horses in Muma City is renowned throughout the entire Wushan Territory and its surrounding areas, and since Luogena brought Luoning to a top-tier horse farm today, the quality of every horse here is excellent.

With good horse quality, the price is naturally higher, and the amount of gold coins a buyer needs to shell out is inevitably significant.

Through Luogena's detailed introduction, Luoning has managed to clarify the general price ranges for various qualities of warhorses in Muma City.

Ordinary quality warhorses are 40~60 gold each, fine quality 100~150 gold, and excellent quality 300+ gold coins;

As for the riding horses prepared for the cavalry, they also have price ranges and tiers, fluctuating between 3~20 gold coins depending on the quality of the horse.

When Luoning looked at the horses in the stables, he felt they were no longer flesh-and-blood animals, but glistening gold coins.

If these hundred-plus horses were sold at market price, there is no telling how much money could be made.

However, Viscount Mawen had already instructed Luogena to give Luoning the greatest possible discount.

Therefore, the warhorses Luoning purchased today were at the lowest price for each type, while the riding horses were set at a median price.

With such a good opportunity, Luoning would naturally not let it pass.

He currently has 1562 gold coins on hand, so he must buy as many as he can.

As the saying goes, one might not get another chance like this; he cannot expect Viscount Mawen to give him a discount every time, as the man is running a horse farm to make money, after all.

However, he cannot buy too many, as the conditions in Shanlin Town do not quite allow for it.

One must know that raising these horses requires a large amount of feed.

Besides grass, to maintain the condition of the warhorses, one also needs to prepare corn, oats, alfalfa, bran, soybeans, and so on.

The crops in Shanlin Town are too monotonous; there are few oats, let alone corn or alfalfa.

The limited area planted with soybeans is barely enough for Luoning's own expenses, so where would there be any left over to feed the horses?

Most of these horses will likely only be able to eat forage once bought.

After some deliberation, Luoning made his decision: he needed to purchase two fine warhorses, twelve ordinary warhorses, and thirty riding horses.

He did a quick calculation; these forty-four horses alone cost him a full nine hundred and eighty gold coins!

One must know that this was the price after the discount; if it were a normal transaction, Luoning would likely not have enough even if he emptied all his savings.

After paying the deposit, Luoning received the purchase contract and agreed to take these horses away after returning from Wushan Castle.

"With over five hundred gold coins left, I'll buy some more feed, seeds, and wrought iron later..."

Luoning sighed inwardly; the three thousand gold coins he earned from Wushan Castle last time were basically spent.

Purchasing is only the first step, raising them is the second, and arming them is the third.

One must put some armor on the warhorses for protection, right?

Putting iron armor on the horses would be another huge expense.

Luoning can only set his sights on the Black Iron Tree.

During the Three Kingdoms period, there were rattan-armored soldiers; now he has Iron Wood Soldiers, so forming an Iron Wood cavalry is not impossible.

But regardless, this is a significant expense.

Luoning now understands why it is said that a true Baron must have a complete Knight Squad.

Forming a Knight Squad is not only a manifestation of a Baron's strength but also a manifestation of his financial power.

Only a noble who possesses both strength and wealth can be considered a true noble.

With the matter of the horses settled, Luoning's tasks for this trip to Muma City were all completed.

When Viscount Mawen received this list in the evening, the corners of his mouth twitched, "This kid, he didn't say he needed this many when I asked him how many horses he needed earlier!"

Yesterday, Luoning only mentioned ordinary warhorses and riding horses; he didn't even bring up fine warhorses.

Now, the two fine warhorses on the list were clearly added at the last minute.

Luogena also laughed, "I think he must be running out of money; otherwise, he definitely would have bought more."

"He really knows how to take advantage."

Mawen set the list aside and stopped paying attention to it. He had even given away a Tayunjv back then, so giving away these few horses was nothing.

Moreover, he could see that the current Luoning was no longer like he was before; sponsoring him was completely profitable.

……

Since the Tieti Castle caravan needed a few more days to prepare, Luoning gained a rare few days of rest.

Originally, Luogena and his girlfriend, the female Knight Kelami, wanted to invite him to tour Muma City and visit places like the Colosseum and the Gladiator Arena.

But Luoning politely declined, using the excuse of being exhausted from his travels.

He told the outside world he needed to rest, but in reality, he was in his private residence practicing Level 4 Battle Techniques and Magic.

After his promotion, he could learn the Storm Blade battle technique and the Tear and Wind Tentacle spells in terms of Wind Attribute;

At the same time, for Fire Attribute, he could master the Flame Whirlwind battle technique that Leisen had used, as well as the Flame Beam spell.

Except for the "Tear" spell, which he obtained from the Magic Core of a Storm Magic Wolf, the rest were gifted to him by Lulansi.

Through his studies, Luoning discovered that battle techniques and magic are actually very similar in their forms of expression; both are applications of extraordinary power.

For example, Storm Blade is actually formed by attaching Battle Qi to mist, then cleverly condensing, controlling, and dividing it to form a dozen wind blades;

While Tear involves carving Spell Patterns to mobilize the Wind Element in the world to form an attack;

As for the difference, Storm Blade has a wider range, while the Tear spell has stronger damage.

"Storm Blade!"

Luoning gave a light shout, the Liuyan Sword traced a brilliant arc in the air, and the sharp wind blades whistled toward Maiken like sickles.

Maiken did not use a battle technique; he merely condensed Battle Qi Armor on his body while using his Battle Qi to strike out palm winds to neutralize Luoning's attack.

With a violent clashing sound, the power of Luoning's sword was basically neutralized by Maiken, with only a few stray wind blades passing through the palm wind to strike the opponent's Battle Qi Armor.

The Battle Qi Armor only trembled slightly before returning to its original state.

"The power is alright, but it is a bit weaker than Tear."

Luoning stroked his chin, the various Battle Techniques and Magic flashing through his mind.

"It is just a pity that the power of the same Magic cannot increase along with the Magician's strength; if it could be like Battle Techniques, where injecting more Battle Qi increases the power, then in terms of single-target attacks, the 'Wind Blade' Magic would still have the greatest power."

It is said that only those whose strength reaches the Magus Level can strengthen the power of ordinary Magic, but unfortunately, Luoning does not know the principles behind it.

Perhaps he needs to consult a mentor in the field of Magic, or raise Aierlong's strength so that he can gain more memories and knowledge regarding Magic.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Luoning had already mastered the second Wind Attribute Magic, Wind Tentacle.

This Magic involves manipulating wind to form ribbons that bind an opponent's limbs in mid-air, thereby controlling the opponent's movements; its effect is basically similar to Aierlong's Light Binding Technique.

But as a Wind Attribute Magic and a Level 4 Magic, its binding strength is much stronger than Light Binding Technique.

Luoning had tested it on Maiken and Tangmu; the former needed to exert his full strength to break free, otherwise, it could trap him for at least three to five seconds.

As for Tangmu...

Poor Tangmu was bound for a full three minutes without being able to move at all, and in the end, it was only because the Magic's power slowly weakened over time that he was able to break free.

"My lord, Steward Aierfengsi from Tieti Castle has arrived," Tangmu said as he walked into the courtyard.

Luoning's heart stirred; it must be that the caravan from Tieti Castle is ready, and they need to set off for Wushan Castle.

This time, Wushan Castle will be even livelier than the last.

(End of chapter)