Chapter 43: The Back-and-Forth Banquet, Appetizers, and Roast Lamb Leg

Before Bell had even arrived at the dining hall, the atmosphere inside was already bustling.

The priests of the Church of the God of Wealth were in close discussion with the invited Merchant Guild leaders about Bell's "Grand Plan," because regardless of the reliability of this "Grand Plan" of Bell's, it was already the best plan these priests could find at present.

After all, having a plan is far better than having no plan, right?

With the trade routes severed and everyone trapped in a besieged city, letting the various Merchant Guilds sit idly in the towns was simply unbearable for the priests. In fact, the leaders of the various Merchant Guilds could not stand the current situation either. They did not know much about the situation outside, but according to the intelligence provided by the God of Wealth Church, the biggest business opportunity at present was the massive army of over one hundred thousand people gathered near the Province Capital.

Don't look at Northern Sasi County as only producing grain and mineral dyes; these two things could also be supplied to the army.

First of all, the army needs to eat, right? Although the area around the Province Capital is also a grain-producing region, who could refuse cheaper grain procurement? The grain in Sasi County is cheap and of excellent quality; as long as it is transported out, money can be made.

Although the price of grain in various places had not been high before, as long as the volume of transport is large, and given that Borisfa City cannot transport large quantities of grain outward due to the rebellion, this business is viable. Moreover, the grain in Sasi County is truly cheap; recently they even heard that because of a lack of fuel, many commoners who could not afford to start a fire were even burning grain to cook!

This is simply absurd.

Secondly, dyes might not seem to have a direct connection to a massive army, but if one thinks about it a layer deeper, the numerous troops come from all over the Southern Province, and even include friendly noble armies that came from other provinces for long-distance support. They have no unified communication, no unified training, and many even have different accents when they speak.

At a time like this, aren't dyed flags and identification marks on the soldiers needed to distinguish the different armies from various places? Thinking about it this way, dyes for printing and dyeing are naturally in high demand.

Traditional dyes include biological dyes and mineral dyes; the former consists of insects, flowers, plant juices, animal blood, etc., while the latter is the various mineral dyes produced in Sasi County.

And to prepare unified flags and uniform markings for a large number of troops in a short time, the output of the former is difficult to increase quickly; only mineral dyes can achieve this.

"Therefore, we must support Young Master Bell's plan, defeat those parasitic monsters, open up the trade routes to the outside world, and fully utilize the transport capacity of Yemei Town to sell the large quantities of grain and mineral dyes needed by the outside world! This will surely make a lot of money and support the Southern Province Allied Forces in gaining an advantage. It will also make my Lord very happy, because commercial circulation is true power!"

A leading priest of the God of Wealth was excitedly saying this to the people of the Merchant Guilds.

These Merchant Guild leaders had naturally figured this out long ago; they had previously been summoned privately by Bell, who had asked for their views on the current situation and revealed some of the "Grand Plan." At that time, these Merchant Guild leaders had expressed hesitation and said they needed to see how things developed.

But now, with so many people gathered in this Sasi family dining hall, and everyone appearing to support the matter, many of the opportunistic Merchant Guild leaders decided to support it.

Thus, they praised the priest's words one after another, directly expressing their support for Young Master Bell's "Grand Plan" in front of everyone.

Although Bell-Sasi himself had not yet arrived.

Had he really not arrived?

Jier curled his lip; his hearing was sharp, so he had long since heard the sound of a servant whispering greetings to Bell outside the side door on the other side of the dining hall. That young Heir had actually finished washing and dressing long ago, but he was hiding behind the door, carefully listening to the discussions of the people in the dining hall.

This is something that can be done by Knights; as long as the situation is not extremely chaotic and complex, Knights can hear clearly if they focus on the words of certain people.

Clearly, before making his official appearance, Bell was also judging who in the dining hall supported his plan, who had not expressed an opinion, and who was explicitly opposed.

Yes, there were people opposing it.

An old man sitting in the first seat to the left of the main table was dressed gorgeously, and he said with dissatisfaction to the other members of the Sasi family: "Plan, plan, it seems everyone is discussing things after success, but has no one estimated what the consequences will be if the plan fails? Bobby, tell me, if the elite who go out to fight are lost, can this Yemei Town still be held?"

A young man of the Sasi family answered with a stiff upper lip: "No... that's unlikely, right? With so many capable people joining, it's unlikely we'll lose."

"But I once heard that when this kind of monster was wiped out before, some of the Kingdom's Knight Orders were dispatched! You are still young and may not understand the power of a Knight Order. Simply put, if a Knight Order composed entirely of Knights wanted to, they could completely kill the entire population of Sasi County—I mean all, the entire population—in just a few days." The old man of the Sasi family said these terrifying topics that sounded frightening just to hear.

"And I heard from the Church that the last time this kind of parasitic plant ran rampant, it was ultimately a certain Knight Order of the Kingdom that came down to solve it. You tell me, with the current strength of Yemei Town, can we handle this matter? The best situation is to continue strengthening the defenses, dig deeper trenches outside the town, pile up higher earth walls next to the trenches, and arm and reorganize the young villagers outside so that they are constantly patrolling the defense lines; that is the right path."

"Not attacking, and not giving those monsters more people to parasitize, is the greatest blow to those monsters! As long as we wait until at most this winter, the Baron will definitely return. At that time, whether we ask for military support from other lords or spend an entire winter gradually and sparingly defeating those monsters, it is all possible. After all, the town has enough grain for everyone to eat for years; there is no need to take such a big risk to attack. Don't you agree?"

The old man's words also had a lot of logic; attacking carries the possibility of being defeated by monsters and having the population captured, thereby expanding the total number of monsters. When the trenches were first dug, there had already been signs of this, and the initial order to gather a large population of Northern Sasi County outside the town was also based on this idea.

As long as the parasitic monsters do not have enough population to parasitize, their total number cannot rise, and the elite soldiers currently in the town can handle that number of monsters.

But attacking could potentially expand the scale of the monsters, which carries the possibility of total annihilation.

As one of the ruling administrators, this old man did not first consider how to win against those parasitic monsters, but how to keep the Sasi family from being wiped out.

Because once the elite who go out are eliminated and transformed into parasitic monsters, it is only a matter of time before the tens of thousands of commoners outside the town turn into monsters. By then, with tens of thousands of monsters surrounding the town, the not-so-tall and insecure town walls of Yemei Town would not be able to protect everyone inside.

Not to mention that the parasitic monsters with some strength are very good at climbing walls; they can pop plant roots out of their fingertips, and these things can firmly grip rock wall surfaces.

The town had been breached by monsters like this before.

Hearing the old man's words, many people in the dining hall nodded secretly. After all, shrinking inside the town is not only safe, but it also sounds like a reliable way to avoid repeating past mistakes, right?

People are afraid of death, and many present were therefore having second thoughts, waiting only until after the meal to privately express their lack of support for the plan to Bell.

"Damn it!"

Jier heard a curse from behind the side door, and he couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. This old man not only had a point, but his status was clearly very high within the Sasi family; even if his words didn't make sense, some of the younger generation would listen, not to mention that they did have some logic and hit upon the desire of some people not to take risks.

'Let's see how much longer you can wait,' Jier thought, and he saw one of Bell's personal attendants walk in from the main entrance. As soon as this person entered, he announced loudly: "The Heir of the Sasi family, Apprentice Knight, Young Master Bell-Sasi has arrived!"

Bell-Sasi, dressed in standard young noble attire, walked quickly into the dining hall. He touched his hair slightly and said apologetically to everyone, especially the invited guests: "Sorry, in order to let everyone see how much I value you, I specifically fixed my hair before coming. Aunt, your hairdresser's skills are really good; is there a possibility of transferring him to work for me?"

The middle-aged woman sitting in the second seat to the left of the main table covered her cheeks with a scented fan: "Hehe, that won't do. He is someone I specifically invited from Borisfa City, and I went to quite a bit of trouble for it. You want to take him away with one word; what am I supposed to do?"

As she spoke, she fiddled with her beautiful and complex hairstyle, proudly showing it off to the others present.

Many Merchant Guild leaders immediately voiced their praise, and Jier also clapped lightly at the appropriate time. Only the woman's son, the exhausted-looking young man sitting next to Jier on the right, seemed somewhat dissatisfied, muttering under his breath: "It's just another one of your new lovers. If Father weren't away, would that guy dare to % my mother? I must find a way to kill that guy from out of town."

Jier raised an eyebrow; he hadn't expected this to be the case. But clearly, this sister of the current Sasi Baron had a certain status within the Sasi family, which was why Bell had flattered his aunt by complimenting her new lover as soon as he arrived.

It just happened to provoke the anger of Bell's peer, so that hairdresser would probably be in for some bad luck later.

"Thank you all for being able to come immediately upon receiving the invitation in such a short time. You've all been waiting a long time, right? Second Butler, let tonight's banquet begin! Look, as the main invited guest tonight, our Knight Jier is already hungry!"

Bell said with a smile, and Jier also spread his hands and smiled.

The crowd laughed in low voices for a while, and the Butler immediately opened several side doors of the dining hall. The waiters, who had been waiting for a long time, walked into this Sasi family dining hall with steady steps.

Unlike the commoners inside and outside the town who had no water to bathe or wash, these people working in the Sasi family, even the attendants, had enough drinking and washing water. Each one was in high spirits, and the attendant uniforms they wore were clean and tidy, without a single trace of mending.

The first dishes served were cold appetizers that had been prepared in advance and did not need heating. Different people had different favorite foods, so the things served were also different.

Jier saw that Bell, next to him, had the same thing as him: a gelatinous food similar to meat jelly. Jier tasted it; it had a meaty flavor, but the overall taste was sweet and sour, which was just right for an appetizer.

And the others were all different.

The old man who was the uncle of the current Sasi Baron, sitting in the first seat to the left of Bell, had a shallow bowl of vegetable soup as an appetizer, with even some fruit slices floating in it. Next to him, Bell's aunt, this lady, had some specially prepared crisp vegetables and fruits, and even a small bowl of edible petals. She poured the petals and honey water over a plate of sliced vegetables and fruits, eating in small bites with a silver lady's fork, which did not seem to damage the lady's demeanor.

She seemed very familiar with some of the Merchant Guild leaders in town, and while dining, she asked about the current situation of the Merchant Guilds she knew.

The Merchant Guild leaders who were asked shook their heads and sighed one after another, expressing that there was nothing to do in the Merchant Guilds now, and they were supporting the numerous shop assistants for nothing. Even if there was no work to do, they still had to pay the shop assistants, because if you didn't pay them, there would naturally be other Merchant Guilds willing to pay them to keep them for you. After the parasitic monster matter was over, the Merchant Guilds lacking manpower would naturally collapse, while those with sufficient manpower could use their staff to find ways to borrow money and directly swallow the trade of other Merchant Guilds.

After all, to the outside world, trading with anyone is still trading.

"Then you must support Bell more; his plan can solve your current troubles," Bell's aunt said with a smile.

Bell immediately raised the silver wine cup at his side and toasted his aunt slightly, thanking her for speaking for him.

Those Merchant Guild leaders also nodded one after another, put down their knives and forks, and followed by toasting Bell with a glass of wine. Their appetizers were also different; some liked boiled sour fruit soup, some liked spicy sausage slices to whet their appetite, and others used juice squeezed from lemons, poured in large quantities over torn chicken leg meat, taking the stewed chicken leg meat as the first course of the meal.

The young man beside Jier was absent-mindedly using the fork in his hand to poke at a piece of roasted fruit, seemingly treating the dish as an object upon which to vent his frustration.

Noticing Jier looking over, the young man raised the wine glass at his side to shield his face.

After Jier and Bell finished the small appetizers on their plates, the Butler immediately served them large, sizzling, oil-dripping roasted lamb legs.

These pieces of meat had been carefully sliced and coated inside and out with a delicious sauce, catching everyone's eye the moment they were brought out.

Knights do not need to be so particular when eating, as their food is different from everyone else's; at this moment, Jier and Bell were not afraid of the heat, so they grabbed a piece of sauced lamb leg, used the small meat-cutting knife placed to the side to slice it off, and then put it into their mouths to chew.

"Not bad. I thought that since we arrived so suddenly this afternoon, there wouldn't be enough time to prepare the roasted lamb leg for dinner. I didn't expect it to be roasted so well." Jier did not stop his hands, nor did he stop his mouth.

Bell was the same; because he was about to fight, his food intake was intentionally controlled to be higher in order to replenish more Life Energy for his body. Even though the Life Energy provided by normal food is far less than that of Monster meat.

"Yes, because my father often hosted those Knight uncles of mine, the chefs in the house are very skilled at handling the roasting of these large pieces of meat in a short time. Please eat to your heart's content; there is plenty of meat here. Furthermore, your Warrior subordinates need not worry about food; before coming here, I had already given instructions to send them several barrels of Cured meat, as well as a batch of vegetables and Bean. I assume they will be able to have a hearty meal as well, right?"

"After all, they are Refining Qi Warriors, and since they have to fight, they need to eat better." Bell was clearly implying something.

He appeared to be speaking to Jier, but he actually deliberately raised the volume of his voice: "Everyone might not know, but Knight Jier gave me—no, he gave us—a shock this afternoon! Haha, unlike when he came before, he now has several dozen fully armored Refining Qi Warriors under his command!"

Many of the people present were knowledgeable and understood the significance of the fully armored Warriors that Bell had specifically mentioned.

To put it bluntly, if those dozens of armored Warriors were to swarm in through the restaurant entrance right now, even though there were many Church Priests present, even if Jier and Bell tried their best to stop them, they would not be able to prevent those Warriors from slaughtering everyone else present, save for the two of them.

Because there was no time or preparation, the Church Priests would also find it difficult to deal with such a large number of armored Warriors at close range.

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