Chapter 156: The Meeting (Part 1)

A moment before the Sun rose, Dean, dressed in a neat knight’s uniform, appeared on the training ground—

“Regiment Commander, morning!”

Huck, bare-chested, greeted Dean, and then the day’s training began; the young people who arrived one after another did the same.

Listening to the loud chanting, Dean straightened his body even more involuntarily, like a javelin, and his eyes shone with a unique brightness, making the young people who subconsciously looked toward their Regiment Commander train even harder.

Because, no matter how one looked at it, their Regiment Commander had recovered.

If they didn’t train well, they would definitely be severely punished by the Regiment Commander—although being kicked on the butt by Huck hurt a lot, compared to Dean’s endless stream of punishment methods, the young people still preferred the former.

However, none of them felt any resentment.

Because, before every punishment, their Regiment Commander would convince them heart and soul; just like what Huck did when he became Vice Regiment Commander those few days.

Dean’s gaze followed his training subordinates without blinking—in fact, daily training was essential for any Knight and anyone who wanted to become a Knight; even Grand Knights and Silver Knights would not abandon this habit.

Because this was a necessary step for them to climb up step by step.

However, for Dean.

He obviously didn’t have such time.

He was better at using other ways to make himself stronger—

[Military Swordsmanship (Emerald) Lv4→Lv5]

[Military Swordsmanship Lv5 (Emerald): You have received the strictest training in the Military Camp, giving your Sword Technique the characteristics of this country; Effect: When attacked, gain a +0.6 Agility bonus; Duration: 6.6 (Constitution x2) seconds; Cooldown: 16 (50 – Constitution x10) minutes.]

(Special choice of +0.1 Agility has been made once)

[Cold Weapon (Sword/Hammer/Spear) Lv4→Lv5]

[Cold Weapon (Sword/Hammer/Spear) Lv5: In the Military Camp, every Warrior receives training in applicable weapons as much as possible; Effect: In battle, when using a sword/hammer/spear as a weapon, gain +0.30 Strength judgment and +0.25 Agility judgment.]

(Special choice of +0.05 Strength has been made once)

Upgrading the application Skill from Lv4 to Lv5 cost 160 XP, while the basic Skill cost 80 XP.

Immediately, the total XP dropped from 271 to 31.

After considering for a while, Dean didn’t keep these 31 XP points but directly allocated 18 points into [Ranged Weapon (Bow/Crossbow)]—although he was very skilled with bows and crossbows, leveling up just through practice was too slow, and when most of his main Skills had reached Lv5, [Ranged Weapon (Bow/Crossbow)] staying at Lv2 was not enough and would easily drag down his overall Strength.

[Ranged Weapon (Bow/Crossbow) Lv2→Lv3]

[Ranged Weapon (Bow/Crossbow) Lv3: The use of bows and crossbows seems simpler than the Longsword, but most of the time, it requires more Talent, even for the basics; Effect: When using bow or crossbow type weapons, gain +7.5% bonus to damage, hit rate, and block.]

[Ranged Weapon (Bow/Crossbow)], which originally had two points of practical experience, immediately reached Lv3.

And Dean’s total XP also dropped to 13 points.

Dean didn’t use these remaining 13 XP points again; firstly, the XP was too little, and secondly, the remaining Skills were not worth the investment.

Withdrawing his gaze from the character panel, Madel’s diary and the letters exchanged with Goth surfaced in Dean’s mind again—clearly, this unexpected gain saved Dean a lot of effort; not only did he easily obtain information on all Goth’s Spies in Vauban County, but he also directly obtained the method to contact Goth.

In that diary, such records were very detailed, showing that Madel had really gone all out to save his life.

Of course, Dean still needed to distinguish the truth from the false.

However, that was a matter for tonight.

As for now?

Dean looked at the young people whose morning training was about to end and shouted directly: “Theron, Ike!”

The two young Captains immediately ran out of the formation and ran towards Dean.

“In a while, I need to inspect the shop rewarded by Lord Marquis; after you two finish breakfast, come with me!”

Looking at his two young subordinates, Dean gave the order directly.

“Yes, Regiment Commander!”

The two young Captains answered loudly, and their eyes were filled with excitement that couldn’t be hidden.

Obviously, being able to go to the bustling Lower District was something they were quite looking forward to.

After all, except for a short vacation when they first arrived at Vauban City, they had been staying at their residence training non-stop, especially after the incident where Vauban Castle was attacked and Dean was injured, Huck strictly forbade them from leaving the residence a single step.

Therefore, their understanding of the bustling Lower District of Vauban City was still at a ‘fleeting glimpse’ stage.

Naturally, Theron and Ike earned the envy of the other young people; watching the two young people laughing and playing among their companions, Dean smiled slightly and turned to leave—Dean knew very well about the way young people got along and didn’t reject it.

Unfortunately, his identity undoubtedly prevented him from joining in.

Even though his age was suitable.

…

“Gem Beauty… here, it’s here, Regiment Commander!”

Theron, memorizing the name of that shop, looked up to search among the many signs in the Lower District commercial street, and when he found that sign, he immediately signaled to Dean.

“Mm!”

Dean looked at this location at the entrance of the commercial street, the most bustling spot, and nodded subconsciously.

Obviously, Lord Marquis’s kindness was shown once again.

Needless to say anything else, this shop alone was worth at least eight or nine hundred Gold Pultons on this commercial street; if rented out, an annual rent of forty or fifty Gold Pultons was guaranteed.

And this amount of Gold Pultons was enough to maintain the dignity of a Lord.

Of course, he absolutely couldn’t be like Baron Tier.

Otherwise, even several times more wouldn’t be enough.

“Are you Dean Ken, Sir Knight?”

Theron’s shouting naturally attracted the attention of the shopkeeper and the clerks inside; the middle-aged shopkeeper walked out, his eyes swept slightly over the three people, and very naturally landed on Dean, then asked with great respect.

Compared to Theron and Ike’s immaturity, although Dean’s face was equally young, that unusually mature temperament and the feeling of natural authority made the shopkeeper make the most direct choice.

As for the address ‘Sir Knight’?

Although Marquis Vauban had long released the news that Dean was conferred the title of Lord.

However, the actual title conferring ceremony had not been held yet, so the address ‘Sir Knight’ was appropriate.

“Sir Knight, I am Anders, everyone calls me Old Anders, and I have been managing this shop for Lord Marquis!”

The middle-aged shopkeeper introduced himself and led Dean’s group into the shop, arranging them in the back room, and the next moment, he placed the account book on the table in front of Dean.

The whole process was neither humble nor arrogant, and did not lack etiquette.

Undoubtedly, being assigned by Marquis Vauban, this Old Anders obviously had his merits.

“This is the account book; Lord Marquis specifically instructed that this year’s income and inventory are all yours—here, you need to pay special attention; apart from me, there are four clerks, and you need to pay five Copper Coins per person per week, excluding accommodation and food!”

Old Anders opened the account book and explained everything to Dean one by one.

“What about you? Unwilling to stay? Or has Lord Marquis arranged other work for you?”

Dean roughly glanced at the account book, and after finding no major errors, he raised his head and looked at Old Anders in front of him.

In fact, with Marquis Vauban there, Dean didn’t need to worry about fake accounts or errors at all—that old fox Marquis’s reputation was definitely not for nothing.

Compared to the account book, Dean cared more about the shopkeeper who managed the shop.

After all, he didn’t have anyone truly capable in this area by his side.

Although Huck was competent, he was needed to help manage the big and small matters of the Knight Order, especially the basic training, which couldn’t be done without him.

And with the future expansion of the Knight Order, and the recruitment of guards after he was conferred the title, Huck would be responsible for all that too.

Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for Huck to stay in Vauban City for a long time.

As for the young people around him?

The young people Dean selected were all capable of becoming excellent Warriors, meant to charge into battle with him; putting them in a shop would be a waste in Dean’s eyes.

And those young people left in the Tier Territory?

Although possible, their ability was a question, and they would need quite a long time to be competent.

Therefore, the most appropriate way was to keep the shopkeeper in front of him.

“Lord Marquis hasn’t arranged other work for me, but my weekly salary needs to be three Silver Horns!”

Old Anders shook his head and said this.

Theron and Ike standing behind Dean were immediately stunned, and then they gasped as if they had a toothache—if it was three Silver Horns a week, then four weeks a month would be twelve Silver Horns, equivalent to 1.2 Gold Pultons?

You know, under the repeated rewards from Dean and Miss Baron, the two young people had only saved two or three Gold Pultons.

“You are blackmailing!”

Theron, who had a somewhat impatient temper, immediately blurted out.

“So, I didn’t mention my salary before, nor did I intend to stay!”

Old Anders didn’t show the slightest panic at being accused; he looked at the impatient Theron, smiled, and said.

“If I pay you the same salary, are you willing to stay?”

Dean waved his hand to stop Theron from speaking further and asked Old Anders.

Immediately, Old Anders was stunned.