Elite Team

The sound of horses' hooves grew louder as Kane successfully hunted down the last bandit and returned with his head.

Then, he dismounted and went up the hill with Volodya.

Back when Kane first met Ye Weian, he was just a low-ranking Purple Dragon Knight, only level 3.

But after half a month of battle, he officially entered Lv.5 and reached the standard of a Grand Knight. His purple dragon armor looked even more majestic against his increasingly muscular body.

Volodya was no less impressive; this infantry commander rose to Lv.4 during the intense mopping-up operations.

"Sir, all the rats have been eliminated." Kane gave a standard military salute, his tone filled with undisguised excitement. "Fifty-six decapitated, no prisoners."

"We captured over four hundred gold coins, more than seventy weapons of various kinds, and over thirty sets of inferior leather armor. Although we don't really want them, it's still good to take them back to Firefall Territory to be melted down," Volodya reported immediately, a rare smile appearing on her face. "Most importantly, we suffered zero casualties. Apart from two infantrymen who twisted their ankles while charging too aggressively, and three unlucky fellows who were scratched by the bandits in their death throes, all were minor injuries and don't require Sister Lina... or the lord's help to treat them."

Ye Wei'an nodded slightly.

His gaze swept past the two generals and fell upon the soldiers below the hillside who had just finished their battle.

The cavalry and infantrymen, leaning on their weapons, looked up at Ye Weian on the hill, their gazes filled not just with awe, but with an almost religious fervor.

This two-week "bloody training" has forged a team that would make any border lord envious.

A knight squad of 30 people, all of whom are level 3.

In Cormier, professionals of this rank are usually the backbone of noble territories, but now they are merely a sharp blade in Ye Wei'an's hands, capable of piercing through most infantry units with a single charge.

Sixty elite warriors who have reached Lv.2 are considered veterans even within the Purple Dragon Legion.

Furthermore, four outstanding knights have broken through to Lv.4.

In addition, there's Kane, who has already reached Lv.5, Volodya, who is Lv.4, and Morey, who was already Lv.6.

It can be said that the combat strength of Ye Wei'an's army is equivalent to the entire wealth of Firefall Territory at its peak.

Because they frequently gained experience during this period, Ellen and Lina, who were standing by, also accumulated enough experience.

Ye Wei'an glanced at their stats; they would both be able to level up to Lv.5 by the time they got back tonight.

With such an elite force armed to the teeth, he truly had the confidence to build his own business in the cannibalistic pioneering territory.

Just then, the shadows in the woods swayed, and Clayb appeared like a ghost at the bottom of the slope with his scout team.

This scout leader is now increasingly agile, and half a month of killing has allowed him to successfully level up to Lv.4.

"My lord, the bandit camp has been completely wiped out." Clayb reported proudly, "None of the dozen or so scum left behind escaped. Before we left, we made sure to burn the bandit camp to ashes... This is the remaining spoils."

Several scouts carried up several heavy boxes, which contained not only gold coins but also some loot that the bandits had not yet disposed of.

Ye Wei'an glanced at the fifteen scouts behind Kleb, four of whom were already Lv.3 scouts, and the remaining eleven were all Lv.2 wanderers.

This team is his carefully cultivated eyes and ears, and will provide him with intelligence support in future endeavors.

In Ye Wei'an's calculations, the bandits sent by the Yeland family were the last victims in this bloody training exercise.

Judging by the timeline, the news that he would "eradicate" Zantalin in Hurek Forest was probably already on the desk of Warden Varfred of the East.

The Eastern Guardian's expression must be incredibly interesting right now.

Yevian's retaliatory actions during this period wiped out the entire Santa Linde camp in the northern part of Hurek Forest. Even with the support of Earl Wafred, it will take the Santa Linde six months to recover.

Not to mention the losses in terms of materials and manpower.

It's safe to say that Vafred and the Santalin Society's smuggling trade will not be able to operate normally for at least a year.

Having caused such a huge problem, if that lord were to come and demand an explanation, I reckon his Purple Dragon soldiers would be appearing at the gates of Firefall Fortress in about two days.

"Unfortunately, you were still a step too slow." Thinking of this, Ye Wei'an's lips curled into a mocking smile.

He never fights a battle unprepared.

A week ago, he had already begun mobilizing resources. The territory's assets that he had "taken away"—half of the territory's elite armor and weapons, strong draft animals, and enough rations to feed five hundred people for a whole year, plus the massive amount of smuggled goods that he had "zero-costly" seized from the Gray Raven Mercenary Group and the Santalin Society during this period—had already been sent to the ferry near Firefall Town in batches.

After all, Firefall Territory is located in the eastern border of the kingdom, while the territory he plans to expand into is in the western border.

Traveling from Firefall to Frontierlands is equivalent to crossing the entire Cormir.

To rely on horse-drawn carts to carry so many supplies and complete this journey on the rubble of this era... that's not pioneering, that's suicide.

Even if he took all the livestock from the territory, it wouldn't be enough.

This level of cargo transport can only rely on water transport; livestock can never match the throughput of inland waterway shipping.

Fortunately, the Purple Dragon Kingdom has a well-developed internal water system: the Star River, Huailun River, Shen River, Hui River, Tuen River... major rivers and their tributaries form the arteries of the country, extending to all parts of the kingdom and ensuring its trade.

He had long ago ordered Morey to lead the remaining elite troops and personally escort this massive fleet from the Sunken River next to the territory, downstream into the Flying Dragon Water, all the way to Huailun Town.

When Ye Weian leads the last group of people to Huailun Town to meet them, everyone will transfer here to a larger boat, travel via the Flying Dragon River to Dragon Lake, and finally arrive at Komir's capital—Susar.

There are too many reasons to go to Susar.

Both his noble credentials and his pioneering orders had to be signed and stamped at the capital's office to be legally valid.

A more practical point is that he had too many smuggled goods seized from the Zentradi and the Grey Ravens:

Expensive tobacco, aged wines, and frivolous handicrafts—all of this is meaningless for expanding territory; carrying them only adds to the burden.

However, these supplies don't fetch a good price in a remote town like Firefall Territory if they're wanted to sell them.

Only in Susar, a city teeming with nobles and thriving commerce, could these smuggled goods be quickly converted into gold coins.

With money, he could purchase in the capital: farm tools made of fine iron, high-yield seeds, and enough arrows to arm an army... More importantly, he needed "talented people".

Firefall Territory is ultimately too small. He can find warriors and artisan apprentices here, but he absolutely cannot find a civil official who can manage the territory's finances, a mining expert who is good at mining, a designer who can plan the town's defenses, or even an agricultural expert who can guide farming...

Swords alone can only conquer territory, but to defend and manage it well, one must have these professionals as the foundation.

These top talents who support the operation of the territory all gather in Susar's taverns and salons.

Filled with aspirations for the future, Ye Weian led his army back to Firefall Fortress before noon.