Chapter 58

From a distance, Crescent Castle still has a fairy-tale beauty.

But a closer look reveals that the castle is both dilapidated and crude.

The castle covers a considerable area, over 200 mu.

Its building materials are three kinds: rammed earth, wood, and white stone.

Rammed earth forms the main body of the outer wall; wood is used to construct various auxiliary structures, such as watchtowers, anti-climb wooden spikes, warehouses, barracks, servant quarters, and so on.

The most precious white stone was used to build the castle's sole stone structure.

It is a single-story longhouse with stone walls and a wooden roof.

This is the lord's residence, and likely the only stone building on the whole White Sturgeon Island.

As Luosen was escorted by the warriors toward the lord's longhouse, he noticed the ground was especially dirty.

On the black mud lay many rotten vegetable leaves, animal and human feces, and assorted unidentifiable household waste.

Many areas also semi-free-range chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, dogs, etc.; when chased, they squawk and scatter, leaving behind many warm little gifts.

The air naturally reeked of a strange odor composed of sweat and muddy stench.

But at this moment, Luosen had no time to worry about these irrelevant details.

The Forest Spirit's threat had become extremely urgent, and White Sturgeon Island is merely a small island six or seven dozen kilometers across, basically lacking strategic buffer space.

Thus, the current situation remains quite dangerous.

His speed must be fast, seizing every moment.

He must finish the next deployment before the Forest Spirit reacts.

He strode into the lord's longhouse, inside which was a stepped hall.

It was divided into three tiers.

The lowest tier is the most open, with the lowest ground, serving as the standing place for commoners during daily audiences.

On the second tier, along the walls on either side are two vertical long tables, with a hearth dug in the middle for warmth; this is the place for knights and honored guests.

The third tier is the highest; at the foremost end sits a high-backed chair upholstered with black bear fur, naturally the lord's exclusive seat.

To the left and right of the lord's seat are many steps, where the lord's confidants and guards stand.

In short, this layout dates back over two hundred years; if scholars from Dawn City saw it, they would likely label it as having a 'strong retro style'.

But for now we have to make do with it.

Under the escort of Yupu and other Flaming Battle Regiment warriors, he plopped down onto the lord's seat.

Smelling the faint sweat odor emanating from the bear hide beneath him, he silently resolved.

'Before the Princess arrives, hurry up and tidy the castle.'

Below the Flaming Battle Regiment are over fifty spirited Crescent Knights.

Below the Crescent Knights is a group of sheepish, guilty-looking traitor knights.

These are the surrendered mid- and low-rank Mountain Knights, plus some Crescent Knights who followed the two knight captains in betrayal.

Together they number over thirty, their battle qi all at mid-low level.

Just now, Luosen only said he would pardon their death sentences, but he did not say he would not judge their crimes.

After everyone had settled into position, Luosen looked at this group of traitor knights.

"I am keeping my promise, pardoning your death sentences, but crimes are crimes; they must be given corresponding punishment, which is the execution of justice."

The criminals listened in silence, their faces full of panic, with not a hint of rebellious thought.

Through his previous performance, Luosen has deeply imprinted an 'unyielding' mental mark on every island knight's heart.

Luosen continued: "Earlier, Alès said the Forest Spirit would destroy Mountain Town."

"For now we cannot tell whether that is true or false, but as the Supreme Lord of White Sturgeon Island, I absolutely cannot gamble with the lives of Mountain Town's populace."

"So, I intend to give you a chance to atone."

The traitor knights instantly perked up, afraid to miss a single word Luosen said.

Luosen's voice grew slightly heavier, his expression becoming more solemn.

"The lord of Mountain Town has rebelled, most of its warriors are also absent, and it currently lies in an extremely dangerous state of being unprotected."

"I now order you to take all the warriors who came from Mountain Town, rush back there immediately, and, before the Forest Spirit gets word, swiftly evacuate Mountain Town's 3,500 residents to the Crescent River Valley!"

As soon as this order was issued, everyone stared at each other in bewilderment, even the Crescent Knights looking puzzled.

A timid traitor Mountain Knight asked: "My lord, you just said to evacuate back, rather than organize a defense on the spot?"

Luosen nodded in confirmation: "Yes, it's to evacuate back."

The knight looked puzzled: "My lord, Mountain Town itself has decent defenses; if we had enough warriors, it should be sufficient to resist the Forest Spirit's invasion."

Luosen gave a faint smile and countered: "The Forest Spirit assassinated my father, yet the territories of the five great Knights, deep in the mountains and forests, are all still doing fine."

"Why?"

Upon hearing this, all the knights' faces showed shock.

Luosen knew they had all thought of it.

"Because these Knights are very likely all traitors to our human race!"

"Except for Alès. The Ed Knight of Howling Vale, the Sad Knight of Creekwood Town, the Corleone Knight of Blueflower Slope, and the Lansege Knight of Black Stone Town—eight or nine out of ten are secretly colluding with the Forest Spirit."

"I ask you, if these traitors join forces with the Forest Spirit, how could Mountain Town defend itself?"

When he said that, all the island knights' faces grew grave.

Luosen added: "The Forest Spirit excels at mountain and forest warfare; if Mountain Town were besieged by rebels, as the Supreme Lord of the whole island I would have to send troops to reinforce, and en route we would inevitably have to cross the mountains and forests, thus certainly stepping into the death traps the Forest Spirit has laid."

"Then, what should we do? Charge ahead knowingly into danger, or watch helplessly as Mountain Town falls?"

This convinced everyone.

In such a perilous situation, contracting the defensive line is the wisest course.

But the Crescent Knights still had an extra concern; one stepped forward and said, "Lord, I am Senior Knight Kosen. Over three thousand people are moving back to the valley, and we fear the food supply will be insufficient."

Luosen gestured and smiled lightly: "No need to worry about the food; this time I have brought back enough provisions."

Since that was the case, Kosen had no problem: "Lord, you are wise."

Luosen then looked again at the traitorous knights.

"Set out immediately, at full speed, and relocate the townsfolk at once. If anyone tries to block us, kill them on the spot!"

"Once this is done, I will pardon your treason and readmit you as Crescent Knights." "Yes, Lord!"

Over thirty knights shouted their acceptance, turned and strode out of the lord's manor, taking their retainers and the Highland town militia, and carried out Luosen's orders meticulously.

No one had any extra thoughts, because this new lord not only wielded great divine authority, but had also married Dawn Princess.

With the Princess's support, the new lord's victory over the Forest Spirit was only a matter of time.

Only a broken mind would betray.

Luosen was not idle either; he promptly issued a second crucial mission.

"At the Sturgeon Dock there are massive supplies, totaling 1,700 tons, including a great amount of food, which must be shipped back to Crescent City as soon as possible."

"This mission is extremely important, concerning the future fate of our human race on White Sturgeon Island."

"The coming winter—whether we pass it safely or suffer hunger and cold—depends entirely on this shipment, so there must be no mishaps."

"Now I need every Crescent Knight to act, striving to bring all the supplies back before nightfall."

Everyone knows the importance of supplies, and the poor island residents know it even more.

The Crescent Knights' eyes lit up, and they stepped forward to take orders.

Luosen said, "Warriors, I am still unfamiliar with you. So each of you will have twenty seconds to state your name, strength, and specialty."

"Knight Kosen, you first."

Kosen, the senior knight who just spoke, clearly enjoys a good reputation among the Crescent Knights.

He immediately stepped forward to introduce himself.

After he finished, the second knight quickly followed; everyone tried to say a few more words to make a good impression before the new lord.

Beside them, Yopu watched and chuckled inwardly: "The lord is still young; at this moment he should seize the big and let go of the small. Listening to each one like this, how can he remember?"

He thought Luosen was wasting time.

About ten minutes later, the last Crescent Knight finished reporting his basic information.

Luosen also had Laifu record this loyal subordinates' information into the archive, and he said immediately, "Aside from Knight Commander Kaodelin, I now need to urgently appoint two acting Knight Commanders."

"The two are, Kosen and Orsa."

The two senior knights instantly showed delight and stepped forward to accept the orders.

Immediately after, Luosen quickly made further appointments, reorganizing the somewhat loosely structured Crescent Knights.

Surprisingly, whenever he called a name, he immediately looked at the corresponding knight, never making a mistake.

Clearly, in just that short time, he had firmly memorized every knight.

The Crescent Knights were amazed, but Yopu was shocked.

Back then, it took him half a month to memorize every member's name.

He thought inwardly, "This lord's mind works so well; no wonder he became a favorite before the Count."

Soon, over fifty Crescent Knights were each assigned a task.

Some were tasked with recruiting townsfolk, some with scouting routes, and some as dedicated guards.

Under these knights' leadership, the whole Crescent City began to operate swiftly.

At least 6,000 people were conscripted to go to the Sturgeon Dock to transfer the supplies.

Finally, Luosen arranged a batch of messengers to the four major Knight territories, informing them to come to Crescent River Valley for the Glory Assembly.

Whether they attend or not is irrelevant; the main purpose is to test the Knights' attitude.

After these assignments were completed, only Luosen and the Flame Brigade remained in the hall.

Luosen's tense expression softened, and he said to Yopu standing beside him, "Regiment Commander, thank you very much today."

Yopu felt a bit embarrassed, because today he had contributed little; the toughest, most dangerous tasks were all done by Luosen himself.

He thought taking the money was unethical.

So he whispered, "Lord, I'll return half of the commission to you, since we didn't put in much effort."

He said this while reaching for the money.

As he made the motion, Luosen noticed the deputy regiment commanders behind him clearly disapproved, especially the mage deputy commander Harry, who was about to voice opposition.

Retrieving the gold coins already in the bag is something no one is willing to do.

It also shows this was Yopu's personal decision, made without consulting the troops.

Looking at Yopu's sincere face, Luosen sighed inwardly.

"This guy is too principled; no wonder he's been pushed onto my island."

But in this world, principled people are few, while greedy ones are many.

Human nature tends to be incremental greed.

For example, the Flame Brigade.

Now they are the island's top combat force, uncontrollable; after a while, they easily become arrogant and even overstep.

So, although this sword is sharp, it still needs a sheath to contain its edge.

Otherwise, it will inevitably cause unresolvable trouble later.

He thought this to himself, while his face remained impassive.

He smiled, "Regiment Commander, I am a lord of reputation; money given out cannot be taken back."

"Moreover, the future defense of Crescent Castle will also depend on your assistance."

"It won't let the soldiers work for nothing; a daily wage of fifty Ogres, with combat counted separately—how about that?"

Now, Yop greatly admired this young lord, and instinctively wanted to refuse.

The Count had originally ordered us to assist the lord in stabilizing the situation, so.

He wanted to say not to take extra pay.

But before he could finish, Deputy Regiment Commander Harry interjected: "Regiment Commander, the lord means well; how could we refuse?"

He then looked toward Luosen and loudly assured: "Lord, rest assured, we'll take care of the castle's defensive work."

Yop murmured a bit, but in the end still didn't voice opposition.

He knew deep down that his brothers all wanted to earn this money, but he had just been a bit dazed.

Meanwhile, Luosen took it all in, remaining expressionless, merely a silent observer.

(End of chapter)