Knight and Wand

Chapter 89 Financial Crisis
After eating and drinking his fill in Longka and resting for a night to regain his energy, Leon borrowed a packhorse from the village of Lohaknado and set out for home early with Corvis.

Instead of letting Lohak go with him, Leon temporarily asked him to stay in Longka to take care of the defense of his territory.

Undead attacks are not isolated incidents and may become more frequent in the future. If we really encounter a group of zombies, or a powerful creature like the Ghoul Knight attacking the village, one or two hunters on guard will definitely not be able to deal with it.

They rode back to Selva at full speed, crossed the hillside they hadn't seen for more than a month, felt the cool breeze and were surrounded by wheat fields. Leon felt a sense of relief as if he had finally returned home.

I asked the elders of Longka Village and learned that it was already January 673, 1 in the calendar of the Kingdom of Orland, and winter had already begun.

But the climate in southern Orlando is still not very cold. According to past experience, there is little snow throughout the winter, and the temperature feels basically just above zero degrees.

"This area is my territory." Leon turned around and introduced it to Corvis.

"What a beautiful manor." The blond boy looked up at the pastoral scenery below the slope, and his memory brought him back to his distant childhood.

The two drove their horses into Selva while chatting.

When the villagers saw their lord returning, they bowed their heads respectfully on the road.

Although Leon had been gone for more than a month, people still recognized the hero who saved Selva.

Not only because of his legendary bravery in crossing the Nightmare Forest and killing Baron Kantadar, but also because of his kindness and generosity.

The deceased relatives of every household were properly buried in coffins, and in the future there may be a huge ransom for the noble captives to be distributed to everyone. After experiencing that unexpected disaster, the people knew that their future livelihood was firmly tied to this kind young lord.

He walked through the village road and arrived at the door of his small mansion.

Leon glanced sideways and saw a blond knight on a warhorse not far away, walking towards the south end of the village.

Looking at the back of this person wearing plate chain mail and the familiar knight's sword, and looking closely at the golden ponytail, who else could it be?
"Olivia!" Leon shouted from afar to his friend who looked like a female knight.

The blonde girl on horseback heard the call, stopped her horse and turned to look.

"Leon?"

The girl pulled the reins back in surprise.

The warhorse tilted its head and turned sideways. The blonde girl riding on its back had her helmet hanging on her side. Her upper body was wearing a squire cavalry plate and chain composite armor, complete with a breastplate, arm armor, and iron gloves.

Although it doesn't fit her well, the slightly larger shoulder armor on both sides makes her petite body appear to have a contrasting beauty.

The girl's lower body was mixed with the leg armor of the Uriah cavalry, and the scale armor skirt was draped over her thighs on both sides, as if such a loose combination would not hinder her free movement.

Come to think of it, if the plate chain mail doesn't fit the upper body well, you can still use it, but if the width and length of the leg armor are too different, it will shake uncomfortably when you walk.

Leon looked at Olivia, who was wearing armor and carrying a sword, and was somewhat impressed by her heroic appearance in this outfit.

If it weren't for the wrong hairstyle and the exaggerated blue dress, he suddenly felt like the other person was COSing a certain Saber.

Of course, the armor on the girl at this moment was obviously much more realistic and detailed than the simple cartoon style in his memory of his previous life.

Olivia spurred her horse over, and was relieved to see her friend was safe and sound. "Azerien said you didn't come back together, and I was a little worried. God bless you, I'm so glad to see you're okay."

"What about you? I heard from Lohak that the undead attacked the village. Are you hurt?" Leon greeted.

"Undead. Are you talking about those monsters from before?" The blonde girl smiled and raised her gauntleted fist. "Of course not. The wolves and tigers in the forest look scary, but their movements are stupid. They are no match for me. Even if there are ten or twenty more of them, they can't hurt me."

"With your ability, indeed."

Leon looked her up and down and couldn't help but joked: "Come to think of it, this outfit really suits you. If I become rich in the future, how about making you a knight?"

Olivia waved her hands awkwardly. "How can a woman become a knight? Don't make fun of me. It was Azerien who insisted that I find a set of armor to wear when I go on patrol. I told her it was not necessary."

Leon raised his eyebrows. He really didn't know whether the Kingdom of Orland allowed women to be knighted.

As far as he knew, at least in the Middle Ages in Europe in his previous life, there had been female knights in many regions. There were quite a few examples, some of whom inherited the title, some were canonized based on their military merits, and there were even armed knight orders composed entirely of female knights.

However, what he said to Olivia was just a joke. He was just a newly promoted lower-level knight and didn't know the rules of Orland, so he didn't dare to confer titles on others at will.

Leon shook his head at Olivia: "Azerien's worry is nothing to worry about. If you are patrolling outside, you should be careful. In the future, the undead that will run out of the forest may not only be the zombies of wild beasts.

We have encountered more dangerous human ghouls, some of whom have even retained their martial arts from their previous lives. Don't be careless when facing them."

"Will there be more monsters coming out of the forest? Okay. Since you said so, I will be careful." Olivia had no choice but to nod obediently.

She looked to the side and noticed the handsome blond boy beside Leon. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Excuse me, who is this?"

"This is a friend we met on this trip. His name is Corvis. He comes from a very far away place and has nowhere to go right now, so I invited him to stay with me." Leon raised his hand to introduce.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Olivia." Corvis habitually saluted with his hand on his chest.

"So you are the friend that Sister Elena mentioned. There's no need to be so respectful. I'm not a noble, just a commoner." Olivia looked at the other party's solemn etiquette and quickly clarified.

Leon waited until the two of them got to know each other, then asked, "Where is Azerien? I need to discuss something with him as soon as possible."

"He should be patrolling outside the village with others. I was just about to replace him. It just so happens that you guys go back to the house and wait. I'll call him back."

Olivia said as she pulled the reins, said goodbye to Leon and the others, and rode her horse again towards the south.

Corvis followed Leon and dismounted. Seeing Olivia's back gradually going away, he turned around and asked, "That lady, is your martial arts very good?"

Such a young girl, with such a petite figure, unless she is also a spellcaster, it doesn't look like she can take on ten or twenty jackals, tigers and leopards even if she is wearing armor.

But from what Corvis saw, Leon trusted her so much that it was clear that their conversation was not a joke.

"Her? She's not just amazing. I see your swordsmanship is pretty good too. Go find her to practice with when you have time. You'll know after you fight her." Leon said with a smile as he pushed open the door.

The lobby on the first floor, which was decorated to imitate the lord's hall, was still as clean as before I left.

Lina, wearing an old apron, hummed softly as she stood beside the high-backed chair that temporarily symbolized power, wiping the lord's throne that she had polished to a shine every day.

The little maid looked up when she heard the noise, and seeing her master coming back, she immediately ran over excitedly.

Leon rubbed the little girl's head, praised her for her hard work, and then asked her to ask Hawke to settle the horses outside the door, and ask the kitchen to prepare extra food for himself and Corvis tonight.

I went upstairs, found an empty room for Corvis, and settled down.

Leon returned to his room, took off the leather chain mail that was damaged in the battle with the mage, and asked the servants to put it back in the warehouse.

Sitting at the table, waiting for Azerien to come back to discuss matters, Leon suddenly found a piece of paper with words on it.

I picked it up and took a look. What was recorded on the paper seemed to be the expenses settled at the end of the month?

It records the salaries paid to stable boys, grooms, cooks and servants.

There is also the food consumed by the war horses in the stables, the rations consumed in the mansion, tools and utensils, and other unexpected expenses, each of which is very detailed.

Leon looked at the delicate handwriting and felt that it was not like Azerien's handwriting, so it should be written by Olivia.

After all, the other party has been managing his finances for more than a month.

He was impressed by the girl's attentiveness. Although he was not worried at all that she would embezzle the money, being able to write it so clearly did save him a lot of worry.

Leon continued to read on and roughly calculated the expenses summarized by Olivia to make sure that the girl had not made a mistake.

In the first month, 2034 dirhams were spent, most of which was on horse breeding, which accounted for more than half of the expenses.

Leon realized that this was the cost of keeping only six ordinary war horses in the territory after they had ridden away the three noble war horses when they set out.

He calculated the expenses based on the paper. If he added the three top-grade war horses from now on and kept other expenses the same, his expenses would be around 2,500 dirhams by next month.

As for the remaining funds on hand——

In order to save Lohak's sister, the three of them spent money lavishly along the way, buying dresses, giving gifts to the Falcon family's wedding, and even buying horses and losing them on the way to escape. All the money they took with them has been completely spent.

He did not regret helping his brother to save his only relative, and he did not care even if it cost him a mountain of gold.

But the problem is that while the territory is facing a security crisis, its own financial crisis is also about to come.

The Kantadar gold coins originally left for Olivia to keep were worth about one hundred gold crowns.

After more than a month of spending, there are now about eighty gold crowns left.

That is less than 8000 dirhams.

And the monthly expenses in the future will be 2500 dirhams, so the money on hand can only last for another three months.

Moreover, in order to cope with security pressure, the territory's expenses will probably increase.
While thinking, Leon soon waited for Azerien who came back from outside the village.

He stood up and hugged and greeted his overjoyed brother.

After chatting about their experiences, the two sat down to discuss the troubles encountered in the territory.

Leon told Azerien about the general process along the way and the fact that the area had disappeared, and then discussed countermeasures with him.

Azerien was shocked, this was far beyond the noble boy's previous speculation on the cause of the undead beast attack.

Because according to the memory of local people, the Nightmare Forest existed long before the founding of the Kingdom of Orland. Although it is scary, as long as you don't commit suicide by entering it, that man-eating forest is just a natural barrier separating the two countries of the north and the south, and it will remain unchanged forever.

Human settlements close to this ancient natural barrier have, on the contrary, been enjoying peace under disguised protection.

But now, the peace here is about to be broken.

Faced with the imminent threat, Azerien's original plan of relying on only a few villagers to patrol was definitely not enough.

Longka and Selva, which are adjacent to the Nightmare Forest, must be equipped with weapons that can deal with large-scale zombie attacks.

When mobilizing the people to defend their homeland, they don't have to pay any military pay, and they can eat and drink at home, so there aren't too many extra expenses.

In an emergency, the sixty or so young and strong men who returned from Selva could be gathered together to form an infantry phalanx to resist the zombies.

Thanks to the military decrees of the Kingdom of Orland, they were equipped with simple spears and iron helmets. Most of them had ordinary coats and armor, and some wealthy families even had simple chain mail. At the same time, they had also undergone simple training when serving in the fortress. As long as they were properly commanded, they could be considered a force that could barely fight.

But the population in Longka is small, and if danger comes, there are simply not enough men who can fight. It is unrealistic to expect a few young men and some old people there to protect the women and children in the entire village.

Azerien thought about it and now the situation had to be reversed. He originally wanted to recruit archers from Lonka to help Selva, but after discovering the seriousness of the problem, he might have to withdraw people from Selva to protect Lonka.

The question comes back to money.

When transferring the militiamen to other villages for defense, Lohak would always be responsible for the food and drink expenses of the militiamen away from home.

There is already a shortage of labor in Selva village, and those soldiers have to leave their land and not do any production. We can't let those militiamen work hard but get nothing in return next year.

Either give money or give food.

The two men calculated that even if they only sent out twenty spearmen to garrison in Longka, their food expenses alone would be nearly three or four hundred dirs a month.

At this rate, Leon would be bankrupt and have to consider selling his horse in less than three months.

The problem lies in horse breeding. The biggest expense of the territory right now is the nine war horses.

Selling the extra six horses now may be a solution.

But Leon was reluctant to do so. They were all Uriah's good horses. The price he sold them for would be very different from the cost of buying them again in the future.

After all, before the three of them became lords, the main manpower of the territory was conscripted to fight in the war, which was very embarrassing.

If nothing unexpected had happened, we could have waited for the war to be over and the young and strong men to return, but who would have thought of using troops now so urgently.

"Can we ask Baron Elliver to send those young and strong men who were conscripted from Longka back to their hometown?" Azerien suggested.

Leon nodded. He was planning to go to the front line in Mamor County as soon as possible to report to the Lord the threat posed by the undead to the southern part of the Thorn Flower Family's territory after the disappearance of the cursed land.

As long as we explain clearly to Baron Elliver what happened in the Nightmare Forest, and if the war in Mammor is not too intense, he will not refuse.

After all, Selva and Lonka are not the only two cities under the Baron's rule that are close to the Nightmare Forest.

They asked Longka's archers to return home to defend their territory in order to fulfill their military obligations to resist the undead.

But the problem of manpower can be solved, but there is still no clue about the problem of money.

They could ask the feudal lord to return their subjects, but they could not ask the feudal lord to return the money and grain that had been collected from them.

The territorial revenues of Longka and Pleton will not be collected until the second half of the year.

If you don't want to sell horses or weapons, you will still be short of funds even if you don't have other expenses.

Leon seemed to see a big word "poor" rising above his head.

Of course, he was not too anxious. There was still a way. If nothing else, he could go back to the Nightmare Forest and find Miss Laura to get the few remaining gold and silver ingots in the Mage Tower. This should solve the urgent problem in the short term, although it was not a long-term solution.
So, what can we do to make money quickly in the future?
Are you going out to rob?

Leon supported his chin with a smile, staring at the wood grain on the table. In a trance, he seemed to have hallucinated it into a nightmare forest, and his head was full of wild thoughts.

Lack of money, robbery, war
The forest cursed land disappeared
Disappearance
Leon sat up straight.

An idea flashed through my mind that had been ignored because I was too focused on the undead.

"Leon, since the cursed land has disappeared, will the place where we are now directly become the border with Kantadar in the future?" Azerien seemed to have come to his senses and couldn't help but look up and frowned to confirm with Leon.

"Yes, that's it!" Leon slammed the table, cursing himself for neglecting such an important thing.

He took Corvis and fled northwards into the Nightmare Forest within the territory of Kantadar. The few villages and towns he saw near the forest were all unguarded.

There were few military outposts along the way. After all, in the Southern Kingdom, no one had ever imagined that an army would be able to launch an invasion from the direction of the Nightmare Forest.

Right now, the main force of Kantardar is maintaining the war against Serian in the east, and its lords in the north are gathering in Mamor County to resist the sudden attack of Orland. It is unknown how many lords responded to the call and were trapped in the two war zones.

The Nightmare Forest, a natural barrier that had existed for at least a thousand years, has disappeared. Now, no one knows about it except them.

This piece of information alone is worth more than a ton of money.
If the Kingdom of Orland can gather its army, it can take this opportunity to cross the Nightmare Forest and march south.
Leon stood up excitedly.

The hidden danger of the undead attacking the village is just a trivial matter.

The time difference that I have at the moment is a huge problem.

Go to the Marmore County military camp as soon as possible to meet Baron Elliver.

(End of this chapter)