Chapter 258: The Reason for Not Coming

Weituolinuo Danisi is the Viscount of Jianjiao City and a Silver Knight.

At the noble assembly held at Wushan Castle last month, he not only attended in person but also stated that he would personally lead an elite force to campaign against the Bolante Bandit Group and the like.

Luoning did not expect the other party to be absent, so he sent someone to inquire, only to learn the reason for his absence—

It is said that a large sea Magic Beast, a Sword Shark seven or eight meters long, suddenly intruded into Dennis Port, destroying many merchant ships recently and even causing dozens of casualties.

In order to resolve the port issue as quickly as possible, Viscount Weituolinuo took his elite knights and boarded a warship to attempt to eliminate this Magic Beast, but he did not expect the creature to pierce the hull, causing the warship to gradually sink.

If the Sword Shark hadn't been too arrogant and lunged onto the hull just as the warship was about to sink completely, only to be blasted to death by Weituolinuo and the others, it is hard to say what the outcome would have been.

Although they won this battle, Weituolinuo and his elite knights were all injured; the Viscount himself, in particular, had a chunk of flesh gouged out of his thigh by the Sword Shark and is currently still in the castle recuperating, unable to get out of bed.

Clearly, he will not be able to participate in this war against the Bolante Bandit Group.

Not only him, but those elite knights who went to sea with him to kill the Sword Shark and were seriously injured are also unable to participate.

Just hearing about defeating a Level 5 Magical Beast, the Sword Shark, at sea, one knows the level of danger involved.

Yet in Luoning's view, there is no telling how much of this is exaggerated; he even feels that a Sword Shark might not have appeared in Dennis Port at all, and everything is just an excuse Viscount Weituolinuo found because he did not want to go to war.

He sighed; with the other party not coming, his side's high-end combat power was needlessly reduced by two people.

But what other choice did he have?

Luoning could hardly ride a dragon specifically to Jianjiao City to see with his own eyes whether Weituolinuo was truly unable to get out of bed, could he?

Taking a step back, even if he really went and saw the other party jumping around, he had no authority to order the other party to the battlefield.

Luoning was only the commander on the battlefield; off the battlefield, he and the other party were both Viscounts of Wushan Castle.

Furthermore, Jianjiao City is much more prosperous than the current Wubei Territory.

However, although Weituolinuo and the elite knights under his command could not participate in this war, to express the loyalty of Jianjiao City to Wushan Castle, he still sent a force of three hundred men to arrive at Jushi Territory on schedule.

Luoning is not yet clear about the specific combat power of this force, but in terms of numbers, there is absolutely nothing to complain about; it is the largest among all the noble reinforcements.

Compared to Weituolinuo, the other nobles were not so "generous."

Excluding the bankrupt Baron Kona who had only three men, other barons, Pioneer Knights, and the like, bringing a team of thirty or fifty was considered many; most were in the range of ten or twenty.

Riding his Tayunjv, Luoning stood on a high slope looking at the disorganized camps of the nobles outside Jushi City and could not help but frown.

He truly doubted whether such a coalition army had any combat effectiveness.

A fine horse galloped over, and Luogena dismounted and came before Luoning to report.

"My Lord, I have already inquired about the situation in Jianjiao City in your name as commander. The one leading the team is 'Mahamet Levu', Viscount Weituolinuo's Conferred Knight, at the Bronze level."

"Under his command are two Intermediate Knights and five Primary Knights; the remaining infantry and Archers are all ordinary people, with no cavalry."

A Bronze Knight is not bad, but the combat power behind him is hard to describe.

"Luogena, tell me why Viscount Weituolinuo is unwilling to participate in this war?"

Luoning had some guesses in his heart about this behavior, but he still wanted to hear how others saw it.

Luogena hesitated for a moment before slowly expressing his thoughts: "He likely feels that there is no benefit to be gained from this war, and the more he invests, the greater his losses will be."

"Explain in detail why he would feel there is 'no benefit to be gained' from this war."

Luogena gave an awkward smile, "This matter is likely related to your father, Earl Wiggins."

Following this, he stated his entire perspective.

Simply put, whether it is Viscount Weituolinuo, or people like Mawen and German, as long as they are well-informed, they all know that Wiggins has a share in the Chishan Town iron mine.

If Wushan Castle recaptures Chishan Town in the coming war, it is absolutely impossible for them to continue to hand it over to Keruien to manage.

And according to Wiggins's nature, the other party will very likely place the Chishan Iron Mine, or even this town, under his own name.

Hearing this, Luoning could not help but sigh.

Weituolinuo and these people are worthy of being the old guard who have followed Wiggins for Along time; the latter's intentions were even guessed by them.

The only difference is that Wiggins does not want the management rights of Chishan Town, because he is too lazy to manage it, but is preparing to arrange it for Luoning.

Under this premise, the valuable things the nobles supporting the war can obtain become limited.

In the end, some nobles will likely only be able to plunder some spoils of war from the battlefield.

As for other things, such as improving military experience, increasing reputation and influence, those are all empty things; for small nobles, they are not as practical as money.

For these people, since the lion's share cannot fall to them and the scraps are dispensable, why send their own elites?

Just round up some serf soldiers to make up the numbers, have a few knights lead them, respond to the conscription order, and make some noise—that is enough.

As for why Mawen and German did not "hide their strength" as much, the reason is not hard to guess.

For the former, his second son Luogena works under Luoning, and Luoning is the commander of this war.

As a father, Mawen naturally has to put on a show for Luogena.

For the latter, his son and daughter's lives were saved by Luoning, and at the banquet, he also eliminated the hidden enemy Leisen; German would also send more men out of gratitude.

"So in the end, the main force of this war still has to be the three Knight Orders of Wushan Castle, plus the four forces of Wubei Territory, Muma City, and Lake Town, adding up to over a dozen Knight Squads."

"Over a dozen Knight Squads is already enough, My Lord."

Luogena said: "The enemy is estimated to have at most the strength of one Knight Order; the advantage is with us."

"Perhaps."

Luoning waved his hand, "I will have to trouble you to notify the leaders of these teams; since everyone has already arrived at Jushi Territory, let's start acting together from tomorrow. After entering Jushi City tomorrow and meeting with Tolu, Keruien, Feilipu, and the others, we will find a time to hold a meeting."

"Happy to serve you, My Lord!"

The reason he gave the liaison task to Luogena was mainly because the other party knew many people, unlike Maiken, Ruidar, Qiaofuli, and the others who had not seen much of the world; this was Luogena's advantage.

Luoning returned to his tent and called for Ruidar, Maiken, and Aierlong.

In this war, I am afraid the high-end combat power of Wubei Territory can no longer hide its strength.

But for the iron mine in Chishan Town, it is worth it. (End of chapter)