Chapter 89: Change (Part 1)

A banquet, a banquet of the Barbarians.

There was no magnificently decorated hall, nor gold and silver tableware.

It was just on an open space within the camp; whole Horned Sheep and cattle were carried onto blazing bonfire racks, and pots of Strong Liquor were brought out from the tents.

And all this was to welcome the guests: the crowd of the Ferrchelen Knight Order.

Of course, to be more precise, it was the Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander: Dean!

After Dean struck down that Barbarian Patriarch and pulled him up from the ground, the relationship between the two sides was instantly drawn closer—

“Huta, Huta!”

The Barbarian Warriors shouted like this.

Huta, slang of the Barbarians, roughly meant: friendship, battle.

This extremely tongue-twisting pronunciation was something even Dean, who had had quite some contact with the Barbarians in the past, could not truly confirm; after all, language had never been his specialty.

Especially with words like this, where a single syllable could extend into different meanings with changes in tone, it was even more distressing for Dean.

However, for Dean at this moment, everything was going smoothly.

Everything was proceeding as he had planned.

Having initial contact with the Barbarians, gaining their goodwill, and establishing a preliminary friendship.

Making preparations for the future war.

Of course, there were some things that were not entirely just excuses—

“Buchea, are there bandits or robbers around you?”

Taking the bowl of Strong Liquor handed over by the Barbarian Patriarch, Dean drank it all in one go and asked this.

Wine was the beginning and foundation of establishing friendship for the Barbarians.

If a Barbarian was willing to toast you, it meant you had at least gained a certain amount of respect.

And if you could drink it all in one go, you would take that friendship a step further.

Undoubtedly, Dean had done very well.

A hearty smile appeared on the Barbarian Patriarch’s face again, and then, facing Dean’s question, he did not hesitate to draw on the ground.

This was a very simple map, but Dean could distinguish that the position in the middle was their camp, and the two ‘X’ points not far from the camp were the strongholds of bandits and robbers.

“Here, here, bandits, robbers!”

The Barbarian Patriarch said in broken Emerald Common Tongue.

“Mm, Huck!”

Dean nodded and directly called out to his deputy.

“Yes, Regiment Commander!”

Huck walked over and saw the markings on the ground at a glance; almost instantly, he understood his Regiment Commander’s intention. After all, before entering the camp, he had already heard his Regiment Commander say what the purpose of their trip was—to thoroughly wipe out the bandits and robbers within a hundred kilometers near Tier Territory.

Therefore, the Vice Regiment Commander of the Ferrchelen Knight Order immediately explained to the Barbarian Patriarch for a moment, then led those young men, turned around, and left the camp.

“Aren’t you worried?”

The Barbarian Patriarch looked at the young Emerald Person sitting upright beside him, feeling a bit puzzled—according to the Barbarian Patriarch’s understanding, this seemingly thin but actually power ful young man should be closely following his own troops; after all, in battle, having a strong man like him might be the key to turning the entire tide of war.

“Tempering is indispensable—only when the eaglet is kicked off the cliff by its Mother can it learn Flight!”

Dean said slowly.

However, clearly, this metaphor was a bit difficult for the Barbarian Patriarch to grasp; it was only after Dean explained it several times continuously that he understood what was going on.

“That’s right, that’s right, bear cubs also need to leave their Mother’s embrace to defeat the jackals!”

The Barbarian Patriarch, having understood, nodded repeatedly, and then handed another bowl of wine to the young man.

At this time, the Barbarian Patriarch not only admired the Strength of the young man before him but also the maturity and steadiness in his chest.

And this kind of demeanor, he had only seen on his Elder—

Those who possess Strength are worthy of respect, and those who possess wisdom are also worthy of respect.

Those who possess both Strength and wisdom require reverence!

Thinking of the words his Elder usually said, the Barbarian Patriarch became even more enthusiastic towards Dean, and naturally, there was more Strong Liquor, roast sheep, and beef.

Dean accepted everything that came his way.

With [Constitution: 3.20], it was enough to allow Dean to do things beyond ordinary imagination.

At the very least, having a alcohol capacity three or four times that of an ordinary person was no problem.

As for worry for his subordinates?

Of course, there was some, but Dean did not show it on his face, and he had confidence in Huck’s command and the young subordinates; after all, under his leadership, they had already gone through several ‘mock battles’, and now, they needed to have a ‘real’ one.

[XP+1]

[XP+1]

…

And such prompts indicated that these young men were doing well.

With the existence of the Title [Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander] and [Military Organization Lv3], the soldiers under Dean could not only improve their own Strength by 20%, but also, Dean could obtain 25% of the XP from enemies killed by his soldiers—of course, XP less than 1 would be displayed after accumulation.

Similarly, four consecutive battles gave Dean a deeper understanding of this Title and Skill.

First, in battle, only when he was on the Battlefield could his soldiers receive the Strength boost.

Secondly, regardless of whether he was on the Battlefield or not, he could obtain the XP.

Undoubtedly, the second point undoubtedly expressed a hint of joy for Dean; after all, in the subsequent wars, he simply could not stay with his subordinates all the time; sometimes, they even had to act separately; and the appearance of the second point minimized Dean’s loss of XP.

Even if the XP his subordinates could obtain for him right now was very little.

However, Dean understood the principle that many a little makes a mickle.

[XP: 46]

At least, counting the previous four battles and the two battles currently underway, his XP was steadily increasing.

And this was only under the condition of [Military Organization Lv3]; if the level increased further, or even special options appeared, then it would naturally be something to look forward to.

Special options of Skills—

When the Skill level reached Lv4, Lv8, or Lv10, special options would appear, further enhancing the effects and power of the Skill.

As for above Lv10?

Dean did not know.

In fact, Dean’s highest-level Skill was only around Lv5; if not for some special encounters, it would be impossible for him to reach Lv10.

Of course, the only pity was that this only Skill reaching Lv10 was not any of the basic or application Skills, but a general Skill—Drug Identification.

Regarding this, Dean expressed his helplessness.

If any of his basic or application Skills related to attack had reached Lv10 back then, perhaps he would have faced a different situation.

However, if he could start over now…

Dean exchanged toasts with the Barbarian Patriarch while scanning the character panel that only he could see—

[Basic Skills: Military Organization Lv1; Basic Swordsmanship Lv3; Riding Lv1; Swimming Lv1; Cold Weapon (Sword/Hammer/Spear): Lv3; Ranged Weapon (Bow/Crossbow): Lv1; Armor Adaptation Lv1]

[Application Skills: Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Emerald); Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Goth)]

(City, White Night are in incomplete status)

[Special Skill: Dragon Swordsmanship Lv2]

…

Clearly, excluding unnecessary Skills or those that could increase in level over time, the remaining main combat Skills, except for [Special Skill: Dragon Swordsmanship Lv2] which had not yet reached the level limit, were all growing more reasonably under Dean’s plan.

And the XP required for [Dragon Swordsmanship Lv2－Lv3] was 200.

This already exceeded the XP needed for Dean’s current profession level increase, but Dean did not prioritize raising his profession level because of this.

After all, every increase in profession level would affect the amount of XP he obtained—by staying at as low a level as possible to gain more XP to raise Skill levels, and then raising the character level.

Dean did not want to change such a plan.

At least, not for a short while.

[XP: 51]

He glanced at the XP bar again; the long-unchanged XP value informed Dean that the battle had ended, as well as the XP he still lacked.

“The strongholds of bandits and robbers near Tier Territory have been mostly swept away… if we go deeper, not only is the weather unfavorable, but those young men might also run into problems…”

Overdrawing was not a good phenomenon.

Knowing well that a bowstring snapped if stretched too tight, Dean would absolutely not do something quenching thirst with poison to his subordinates; therefore, the idea of going deeper into the Snowplains Dense Forest was quickly dismissed by Dean himself.

After all, apart from the Snowplains Dense Forest, there were other directions for sources of XP.

At least, in over ten days, he would head to Vauban County—not only on the journey, but within Vauban County, there were also people who could provide him with sufficient XP.

For example: that Spy chief of Goth, or that ‘Wild Fox’ Meeter Your Excellency who controlled the underground forces of Janel Territory in Vauban County.

Although it was not the originally planned time, due to the appearance of certain matters, Dean, who had completed the further improvement of his Strength and power ahead of schedule, thought that finishing such things earlier was not a bad thing.

“Huta, Huta!”

And just as he exchanged another toast with the Barbarian Patriarch, the latter was already starting to get a bit groggy—after finishing the Strong Liquor in his bowl, he slowly stood up and started dancing a dance Dean was familiar with but only understood a little.

The Barbarian Warriors and the Barbarian women and children all followed their Patriarch and started dancing.

Declining the invitations of several Barbarian girls, Dean sat there and watched quietly, while in his ears, a series of crisp sounds of horse hooves appeared.

His subordinates had returned.