I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 107 Baron Rhodes is not easy to deal with.
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"This Baron Rhodes is not easy to deal with. He has many soldiers under his command. Let's retreat first."

Chris ordered a retreat without hesitation.

Soon, the soldiers retreated like a receding tide.

Seagate, naturally, had no chance to return to the caravan and was taken away by Chris.

Rhodes arrived with his guards, but did not pursue Chris.

I just stood there, watching them walk away.

"You are safe."

Rhodes' gaze swept over the entire caravan, and he said, "I am Rhodes Tulip, Baron of Blackpine Ridge, and I will protect you as you enter my territory."

"Thank you for coming and saving our lives."

The caravan manager bowed, his voice filled with gratitude.

“I am Flo Greyclaw, the manager of the Greyclaw Caravan. Thank you again for saving us.”

"If it weren't for you, we would probably all be dead by now. Please rest assured, I will definitely give you sufficient taxes and rewards!"

I will also convey your goodwill to Viscount Leo of the Bear Family!

“You will naturally be under my protection in Black Pine Ridge.”

Rod smiled and then asked, "Who attacked you? Were they robbers?"
If they were robbers, I would wipe them out tomorrow.

The caravan manager, Flo, hesitated for a moment before saying, "He said he was Chris, a knight of Earl Falcon."

"The knights of the Earl of Falcon? What are they doing here? How did they become bandits?"

Rhodes looked puzzled, his eyes filled with surprise.
"Are you sure?"

“Yes, Your Excellency. I saw the Falcon Earl's family banner, and their armor also bore the Falcon family insignia.”

"What a surprise."

Rhodes let out a long sigh of surprise, then his face filled with anger.
"I never expected that a noble family would do such a thing!"

The caravan manager, Flo, nodded and sighed, "I never expected Earl Falcon to do such a thing. I will tell Viscount Leo everything."

“This is your right. Earl Falcon’s crimes should be condemned by all nobles.”

Rhodes was indignant. "Alright, now I'll escort you to Frostleaf Town. The wasteland isn't safe at night."

"Thank you so much!"

The caravan manager was visibly excited and immediately ordered the survivors to organize the caravan and set off with Rhodes.

……

……

under the night sky.

Chris led his soldiers a long way until they reached a ravine before stopping them.

“Sir Chris, why did we run away just now?” Seagate asked.

"Didn't you hear the sound of galloping hooves? Baron Rhodes' army is very powerful; we are no match for them."

He told Seagate, "Go back and tell the Earl that we need reinforcements."

Seagate frowned slightly.

He did not hear any dense sound of horses' hooves.

All that could be heard was a boy's shout.

It doesn't seem that scary, does it?

Seagate was puzzled, but did not question Chris's words.

"Okay, I'll send the message back."

Seagate bowed and turned to leave.

Suddenly, Chris struck out and slapped Seagate on the back of the neck.

Seagate's body went limp instantly, and a soldier next to him caught him.

"Tie him up and put a mask on him."

Chris commanded.

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied respectfully.

"Acting is really not easy."

Chris the Knight sighed and reached out to remove his closed-back helmet.

Durant's face was visible in the moonlight, with a few beads of sweat on his forehead.

Rhodes did not pursue Chris, because the so-called Chris was actually played by Durant.

Under the cover of darkness, no one could see who it was, but the presence of Chris's knightly insignia and Earl Falcon's banner said it all.

Rhodes was to use his identity as Knight Chris to investigate the caravan's true strength.

Sure enough, this led to the discovery of spies from the caravan.

Unfortunately, the final plan differed somewhat from what Rhodes had envisioned.

Seagate isn't as easy to fool as it seems.

……

……

noon the next day.

When Durant returned to Frostleaf, he was wearing a different outfit.

As for Chris and the soldiers' armor and equipment, they were all packed in boxes, and the army returned to the town in batches without making a sound.

"Your acting skills are just average."

In the manor's hall, Rhodes chuckled and remarked, "You ran away before you even saw my shadow. This Knight Chris is such a coward."

Durant looked distressed. "I'm afraid that if the soldiers get mixed up, we'll be the ones who suffer losses if a real fight breaks out."

Durant chose to play the roles of Chris's subordinates, choosing shrewd and loyal soldiers who knew everyone was acting.

However, Rhodes' army knew nothing about the situation, and if they actually started fighting, they might injure people.

"But I have to say, you're right, I really don't have much acting skill."

Durant's smile faded as he reported, "Seagate became suspicious, so I didn't have him drop the bait as you planned. I had to bring him back."

Durant initially wanted to kill Seagate, but then thought it might be useful, so he brought him back instead.

"It's ok."

Rhodes already had a second plan in mind and instructed, "When you reply to Earl Falcon next time, report on the attack on the caravan last night and also drop some bait."

They used the grain warehouse as bait.

"Your Excellency, are you going to use the granary as bait again?" "It's very useful."

Rod couldn't help but smile.

My own scheme was indeed outdated.

But iron ore and salt mines are both secrets and cannot be used as bait.

Food is nothing new, and everyone needs it.

"Okay, it really works."

Durant then asked, "Should we tell Earl Seagate about this?"

Rhodes shook his head: "No need, just assume he was killed when he attacked the caravan."

"Don't rush to send this letter; we'll send it to him after the celebration."

We will make sure everyone knows that anyone who invades Black Pine Ridge will pay the price.

A cold, sharp light flashed in Rhodes' eyes.

This Earl Falcon dared to invade Blackpine Ridge; Rhodes must tear a piece of flesh from him.

“Yes, Your Excellency,” Durant replied respectfully, bowing his head.

“Flo from the Grayclaw caravan was terrified last night; his legs were still trembling when he came back with me.”

Rhodes put away his stern expression and smiled again.

Another gain from this was drawing Viscount Bear into the vortex, putting him at odds with Earl Falcon.

If he hadn't wanted to get the viscount into the trap, Rhodes might have waited until Durant finished his acquisition before making his move, allowing the story of the Sands caravan to repeat itself.

This also prevents Rhodes from being too scheming.
—This was done under the orders of Earl Falcon; it was indeed to plunder the caravans of Blackpine Ridge.

Of course, this is just the beginning. Whether Viscount Bear will harbor resentment towards Earl Falcon remains to be seen.

"However, he was quite generous. He will sell all the goods to us at half price. There are fifteen sets of armor and skirt armor, so we can arm more soldiers."

"So, although we're about to start the celebration, you'll need to get busy first. I need to recruit more soldiers."

The Grayclaw caravan brought fifteen sets of armor, and together with what they had seized from the bandit gang and Chris's group, they had a total of 70 sets of chainmail.

If all this equipment can be put to use, Rhodes' regular army can reach one hundred men.

Rhodes' goal is to train these people into veterans, and then, with his own attribute bonuses, they will be more than just infantrymen in battle.

Rhodes gave them a nice name: Foot Knights.

Of course, it's just a wishful thinking right now.

In addition, Rhodes also planned to train fifty militiamen to farm in peacetime and be ready to fight in wartime.

These people were not considered savage spear throwers.

The savage spearmen are not used to wearing iron equipment, so Rhodes plans to prepare a batch of leather armor for them and train them specifically as ranged units.

"Understood, sir. May I choose new recruits from among those savages?"

Durant asked, his face full of anticipation, "They can now understand some simple language."

And when it comes to fighting for you, they're more frenzied than anyone else.

"sure, no problem."

Rhodes nodded and instructed, "But you must make sure they get used to wearing chainmail."

They were previously prevented from being drafted by Durant because of their language differences, but now there are basically no major communication barriers.

"Understood, I will select qualified soldiers."

"No further instructions, you can go and make the arrangements."

After Rod finished speaking, Durant bowed and took his leave.

Because Durant was impersonating Chris, just in case, Rod didn't let Durant appear in front of the Grayclaw caravan again.

Durant didn't have much extra time either, spending every day in the barracks training the fifty newly recruited soldiers.

Of these, 35 were savages and only 15 were slaves.

To get them ready to fight as soon as possible, Durant subjected them to hellish torture every day, with a training intensity that was terrifying.

With good food and attractive future benefits, the new recruits all put up with it.

Durant did not appear until the Grayclaw caravan left.

Two days before the celebration, Rod sent someone to inform him, and Durant finally agreed to come out of the military camp.

But before Rod could say more than a few words to Durant, the carrier pigeons from the northern patrol returned.

Frostleaf Town welcomed another guest.

—The Warblade family, Baron Warblade.

……

……

The next day.

Rhodes, along with Durant and the soldiers, personally went out of town to greet Baron Bronn.

In the sunlight, Rod could see two bear-like figures on horseback from afar.

One was the familiar Gungle, and the other should be Baron Bronn of the Warblade family.

"Rumor has it that the Warblade family has giant blood, and it seems today that the rumors are true."

Durant muttered to himself, unable to resist stealing a glance at Rod in front of him.

Rhodes nodded, then led Durant to greet Baron Bronn as he dismounted.

"I am Baron Rhodes Tulip, lord of Blackpine Ridge."

Rhodes nodded slightly. "Welcome to Blackpine Ridge, Baron Bronn."

Baron Bronn removed his helmet, revealing a face even more handsome than Rhodes'.

Baron Bronn bowed and said, "Please forgive my intrusion."

The voice was clear and crisp, tinged with a hint of apology.

"I led my soldiers in a surprise attack on Rock Village, intending to wipe out the Brotherhood of Blades, but found that there were only about twenty people left there."

“After interrogating the people left behind there, they told me that the Brotherhood of Blades was planning to raid your grain depot.”

"Because of our agreement, I am concerned about the safety of your territory, so I want to support you."

Rhodes was somewhat stunned.

It wasn't because of what Baron Bronn said.

It was his appearance and voice that mattered.

Is this guy a man?

But if it's a woman, is there anyone who is nearly two meters tall and as strong as a bear?
Suppressing his curiosity, Rhodes politely replied, "Gunler has already reported to me that your commitment to the contract has deeply moved me."

　Thank you so much, VAP, for the generous donation of 1500 coins!
　　Don't come anymore, I can't keep up. I've already exhausted my energy with 6,000 a day!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)