Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 480 War begins

Li Wei coughed lightly, trying to salvage his image: "Ms. Mei Beixi, please allow me to introduce you to the members of Gaoyabao."

“No need for that, Lord Levi.” Meibessie smiled and waited for the lord to finish speaking before politely continuing, “I already learned about all the members of High Cliff Fortress on my way here. This is Tina, the pearl of High Cliff Fortress; this is Tiffany, the mermaid princess from the sea tribe; this is Miss Silver Dragon Sophia; and Princess Aishilu…”

She accurately called out everyone's name and identity, and even knew everyone's special skills and preferences, which surprised everyone present.

“As a housekeeper, understanding the family members is the most basic responsibility.” Mei Beixi gently raised her hand, and Helena immediately understood, opening the box that was even larger than herself and taking out several beautifully packaged gift boxes.

"Here's a little something to give you all. I hope you like it." Mei Beixi personally distributed the gifts to everyone.

Tina received a snow orchid crystal bracelet, Tiffany a beautifully designed ice crystal necklace, Ashley a fine dressing set, and Sofia a cute handkerchief engraved with a silver dragon pattern.

Even the lord received a gift—an ancient book of aristocratic etiquette.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the perfectly chosen gift, and even the initial awkwardness vanished without a trace, except for the lord who secretly complained.

What could Li Wei possibly find fault with in this absolutely perfect butler? He was already convinced of his worth almost at first sight.

In return and as a sign of recognition, Li Wei gave the little swan a beautiful longsword as thin as an embroidery needle. It was an insignificant weapon in the Sersni Dragon Nest, originally a sword used by a female elf. It was pure white and translucent, made of mithril, and as light as a feather, yet possessed a sharpness and toughness that ordinary weapons could not match.

The moment the gift was presented, the little swan couldn't hide her excitement. She hugged the longsword tightly and wouldn't let go, clearly adoring it.

"Thank you, Lord Li Wei. My dream is to become a Swan Knight, but my mother thinks I'm too young to have my own sword." Realizing her somewhat rashness, the little swan immediately expressed her gratitude politely.

The gift Li Wei gave to Meibessie was also a book, but it was a magic book about the wind element. It was one of the treasures that had been collected from a noble's garden in Gonda City, and it contained many powerful wind element spells and magical research.

Even Mei Beixi thought this gift was too extravagant.

You should know that anything even remotely related to magic is never cheap or inexpensive, let alone a magic book that contains magical information.

The Swan race is naturally drawn to the wind element, and occasionally a wind element priest will be born. Mebesie is an epic wind element priest.

This magic book was of great significance to her.

……

After a brief introduction, the swan housekeeper demonstrated her decisive and efficient personality, quickly getting to work.

With the arrival of a steward, the lord's leisurely days of wandering around shirtless every day came to an end.

Meibessie was an elegant and graceful, yet meticulous, swan housekeeper. She quickly settled into her role. As the face of High Cliff Fortress, her responsibility prevented her from simply watching a noble dragon knight, the greatest warrior under the stars, running around everywhere. However, regarding the lord's habit of lazing in bed every day, she not only did not stop him, but actually thought it was quite necessary.

As a noble dragon knight, having many outstanding offspring is an urgent matter.

As for the others in High Cliff Fortress, the Swan Butler thought their manners were already excellent. The orcs were warriors, and they had the right to be fierce and wild. This was a unique kind of etiquette and elegance that belonged to them.

Needless to say, the elders and girls were also quite different. The elder was a not-so-rigid old nobleman, and among the girls, Tina was a former princess, Tiffany was the mermaid king's favorite princess, Sophia was a silver dragon lady, and although Ashleigh was not valued, she had all the manners that a princess should have.

Only the lord, with his carefree and irresponsible behavior, is someone that Lady Meibessie cannot tolerate.

In fact, Lord Li has been making serious corrections. After all, every day, admirers travel from afar to Gonda to worship him. If the reality is completely different from the rumors, it will inevitably shatter the illusions of his admirers and leave them secretly heartbroken.

In the following days, Ms. Meibessie completely changed the way Gomburg operated.

She reorganized her schedule, and even the process of receiving visitors became efficient and dignified.

The once chaotic hall became orderly, the documents were categorized and organized, the chairs were arranged according to proper etiquette, and even at the appropriate time each day, exquisite tea snacks and fragrant black tea were already laid out on the long table.

Li Wei stared in disbelief at everything that was happening, finally understanding why the Swan Clan's butler was so sought after.

Now he has completely become a hands-off manager, with the elders handling political affairs and the swan housekeeper meticulously arranging his personal life.

The only sad thing is that I have to spend an afternoon tea every day learning etiquette, and even learning a few social dances and some poetry.

But this also made the lord even more elegant, making those admirers who had seen him once extremely excited, and they all thought that this dragon knight was even more brave and elegant than rumored.

Gundar also began to prepare for the new king's accession ceremony in an orderly manner. The food and setting needed for the banquet all represented face.

During this time, the two orca warrior brothers also obtained the armor and weapons they had always dreamed of.

Although these two were high-ranking guards among the sea tribe, due to the racial issues of the sea tribe, they were almost unable to complete the forging of weapons and equipment on their own. Therefore, the equipment and weapons they used were all cobbled together, such as the anchor of a sunken ship.

Later, they arrived at High Cliff Fortress. Although the lord had people forge weapons for them, they were all ordinary fine steel standard equipment made from the High Cliff Fortress iron mine.

This weapon is an extremely rare and elite weapon for ordinary people, but for the incredibly strong whale warrior, it is just a toy to make do with, and it can be turned into a lump of iron in no time.

This time, having plundered Gonda's wealth, the lord now has almost no shortage of magical metal. While it's not enough to arm an army, it's more than enough to forge weapons and armor for the various chieftains. It took twelve blacksmiths and fifty minotaur craftsmen a week, working day and night, to complete just these two suits of armor.

Crafting isn't too difficult; Gondar has military blacksmith shops that specialize in crafting magical equipment. The key issue is that wearing it is just too time-consuming.

And even so, it's not over yet. Since magical metals are being used, the functions that magical equipment should have will not be neglected.

Tiffany engraved a water elemental circle, a wind elemental circle, and a fire elemental repair circle on the armor.

Normally, a mage could only inscribe one magic circle on a suit of armor, but these two suits of armor were so huge and spacious that even three magic circles would be left over.

The water elemental magic circle meant that Van Gogh and Hyde, being sea creatures, no longer had to go back to the water every half day, while the fire elemental repair magic circle didn't unleash fire elemental spells, but rather slowly repaired the adamantite armor after it was damaged.

As for the wind elemental array, it can reduce the weight of the armor by two-thirds. In fact, it is already quite remarkable for a normal wind elemental array to reduce the weight by one-fifth. However, the one who personally engraved this array was Mei Beixi, the swan butler who was a master of wind elemental magic, which increased the effect by several levels.

The armor weighs around 500 pounds, a weight that is difficult for ordinary people to reach, but for the orca warrior who is four meters tall, it is equivalent to wearing a thick cotton coat.

In the past, Gaoyabao could have easily forged a suit of armor even if they had to sell everything they owned, but back then Gaoyabao only had a handful of people and not even a proper mage, so replenishing magic power was a problem. But now that there are plenty of mages, there's no need to worry about logistics keeping up with the demand for replenishing magic power for these magical armors.

Although the two orca warriors were brothers, their weapon requirements were completely different. Van Gogh, as always, was simple and brutal. His main weapon was an extremely terrifying giant iron anchor, but it had been modified into a long handle with an iron chain added to the end. Its weight alone reached an astonishing three thousand pounds! Even a light drop could crush a fully armed heavy cavalryman into a pulp.

No wonder the sea creatures have always looked down on the land races. If there were enough orca warriors to form an army, they would indeed have the arrogance to sweep away any army.

The sword is for decoration, it looks more fancy, but it weighs about 500 pounds.

The anchor is engraved with an earth elemental magic circle and a wind elemental magic circle, which are respectively designed to increase weight and reduce the user's weight experience in critical moments.

Simply put, Van Gogh using this weapon was equivalent to using a thousand pounds, but to the enemy, the weight of three thousand pounds was real and uncompromising.

As for Hyde's weapon, it was a halberd with a handle ten meters long. Although it was not as heavy as his older brother's, it still weighed more than two thousand pounds, which was the weight of a Herculean figure. His secondary weapon was a broadsword weighing more than three hundred pounds, which was still engraved with the same weapon magic circle as Van Gogh.

During this time, after things stabilized in Gonda, logistics for the expeditionary force naturally resumed. However, the lord chose to keep all of this from the expeditionary force. He didn't know how long he could keep it a secret, but every extra day he could delay was a bonus.

Good things happen one after another in an orderly fashion, but naturally there are also unpleasant things.

News of the uprising in the West to eliminate the usurper in Gonda finally reached the Lord's ears.

Li Wei chuckled upon hearing the news: "These guys really aren't afraid of death."

"Since you have such a great reputation now, even if they fail, they won't kill them all out of consideration for their reputation. Why not take a gamble?" The elder just smiled slyly. "Having a prominent reputation will certainly bring flowers and applause, but fame is like the clouds in the sky. Once you're up there, you can't come down. You'll either fall straight down and smash into a heap. So, are you already feeling a bit like you're not in control of your own destiny?"

"But there's no way around it, that's how heroes are; they gain something, but they also have to lose something."

"That's true to some extent, but why should I kill them? Couldn't the ones who killed them be bandits, robbers, or mercenaries who risked their lives for money?" The lord smiled slyly as well.

"My lord, you are becoming more and more like a ruthless and powerful figure."

The two laughed heartily at each other, looking at each other like turtles admiring green beans, finding each other more and more pleasing to the eye.

Soon, as the scouts entered Gonda in a steady stream, information about the enemy was fully revealed to everyone.

The total number of soldiers in the Western Frontier was over 200,000, with about 3,000 aura knights, more than 20 accompanying mages led by a legendary mage, and several renowned elite legions.

This lineup is undeniably strong. In the past, even if the lord himself didn't care, he would have made a strategic retreat out of consideration for High Cliff Fortress. But now he doesn't care at all.

However, both the old tortoise and Meibessie believed that war was not a dinner party and should be taken seriously, preferably with all their might. This is the same principle as a lion using all its strength to hunt a rabbit.

Faced with the two wise men, Li Wei adopted their advice. Now that the situation in Gonda was settled, there was no need for the soldiers to continue to feast and fatten themselves up here. They should be taken out for a spin.

After adjustments, they unanimously decided to block the western army on the Shuangyue Mountain Plain.

The nine hundred frost giants who had been staying in the designated area set off again, and Flina also dispatched one hundred thousand elite northern soldiers. The warriors of High Cliff Fortress left a few guards to watch over the warehouses, while the rest went out in full force.

Neither Sersne nor Sofia escaped; both dragons had to participate in this war.

In fact, ever since the Scourge was resolved, Ragras, the leader of the frost giants, has often shamelessly come to ask the lord when he will fulfill the contract he signed and return the Rings of Ice and Water to them.

Putting aside the fact that the lord has no time to deal with them right now, even if he did have time, he would never give the Titan Diamond to these treacherous traitors. So he keeps them hanging on for a while. These Frost Barbarians, even if they almost grind their teeth to dust and secretly curse humans for being exceptionally cunning, do not dare to openly turn against Li Wei.

Faced with Li Wei's renewed demand for them to join the war, they could only swallow their bitter pill alone.

Nine hundred frost giants, one hundred thousand elite troops, plus the elite legion of High Cliff Fortress and two giant dragons—this lineup is more than enough to fight a nation war.

Hyde even privately marveled, wondering if the enemy was really that strong, having to deploy two dragons and nine hundred giants. He also thought that those nobles of the sea tribe had underestimated humans so much; their brains must have been eaten by goblins.

(End of this chapter)