Warhammer Fantasy: I Have Total War System

"If we win, you must, according to the military law of Nangao, return all the goods of the caravans with ties to the government and the Nangao Craftsmen's Association."

Moreover, once you return to Nangao, you will have to go to court yourself.

The group of people you killed, led by Cui Fenghao, were backed by the Sima family, the Nine Venerables of Nangao.

"If you win, I guarantee with my position as one of the Six Princes of the Southern Dipper that no one will use this matter to blackmail you again."

After Shen Du finished speaking, he stared at Li Lin with a confident air.

The money and goods he intended to use to replenish the army's food supplies were all in the hands of himself and his men.

He couldn't refuse this duel.

"Hmm..." Li Lin didn't answer immediately.

His gaze didn't even fall on the four people in front of him, but instead turned to the misty mountains.

Two more days' walk and we'll reach the old Taoist temple I remember.

Heading east from the old Taoist temple, following the foot of the mountain, past two terracotta statues, you will reach the White Bone Pass.

These past few days have been spent raiding homes, and I haven't had a chance to properly come out and see the landscape of China.

Today, upon seeing the magnificent peaks and the surrounding clear waters, one can truly say that "the mountains are like jade hairpins, and the river is like a green ribbon."

It is very similar to the landscape of Guilin, but both the mountains and forests are more magnificent than those on Earth.

At the same time, it is shrouded in a mysterious and unpredictable atmosphere, as if something is always lurking in the shadows, making people uneasy and unable to calm down and appreciate it properly.

The calmer he remained, the more uneasy Shen Du and the others on the other side became.

The feeling Li Lin gave the four people at this moment was no longer that of the gloomy junior brother who had fled from disaster.

Instead, he was a master with unfathomable cunning who had long seen through Shen Du's schemes and disdained them.

What exactly did he go through to cause such a drastic change?

Could it be that his break with Wu Tamei wasn't just a rumor?

The stalemate lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

During this time, Ma Mingyuan was about to speak out several times, but Yue Pengrui silenced him with a single look.

If Li Lin really doesn't fall for the virus, and they simply give up the money and supplies, then things will be in trouble for them.

Those vanguard and central guard troops all received the rations and pay he withheld.

Even Young Master Wei wouldn't dare to confront them head-on, let alone them.

"Where is my supply train?" Li Lin asked, snapping out of a daze, unsure whether he was dreaming of a butterfly or dreaming of a butterfly.

Shen Du's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and he said loudly, "They have been placed in a safe location. No one is injured. Please rest assured, Steward Li."

He waited for Li Lin to ask him where exactly the person had been placed.

But Li Lin didn't ask.

He already had the answer in his heart.

Most likely, they were sent to Wei Qiankun's camp.

"Where's your construct?" Yi Ge's voice suddenly rang out from the communication runes, filled with undisguised impatience. "There are only so few of them. Hurry up and get started. I still have experiments to finish."

Li Lin looked at her as if he had seen a ghost.

"You know about constructs?!"

Yi Ge crossed her arms, rolled her eyes coquettishly, and looked like she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the idiot.

Honestly, I still miss your professional attitude when you had low loyalty.

"No," he transmitted his voice. "These four are young talents of Shangyang, and Yue Pengrui is the chief of Nandou. He can meet with Binlong every year. Killing them will cause too much trouble in the future."

"Then why did you dare kill Wei Qiankun?" Yi Ge pressed. "Did you think the Moon Palace wasn't as terrifying as the Dragon Prince?"

Li Lin was silent for a moment, then said:

"First, Wei Qiankun is a despicable person."

"Secondly, he tried to kill me first."

After saying that, he ignored Yi Ge and looked up at Shen Du, saying:

"A martial arts contest is acceptable."

Shen Du smiled and was about to speak when Li Lin interrupted him:

"But I have one condition."

"It's not a contest of strength, but a military exercise, with both sides having the same number of men, each leading three hundred troops."

Shen Du turned around and glanced at Yue Pengrui, who was still on horseback.

The latter finally raised his eyelids and slowly nodded.

Shen Du then agreed, "Okay."

"But the use of magical artifacts and puppets is prohibited."

He paused, then added, "They must be alive."

"Okay," Li Lin looked up at the sky, "Let's not delay any longer, let's finish this by noon."

"It's a deal!" Shen Du immediately agreed, as if afraid that Li Lin would go back on his word. "Then we'll wait here for Steward Li to prepare the candidates."

-----------------

Li Lin returned to the camp, handed over military affairs to Chen Guizhou and others, and then went into the inner palace of the Dragon Palace.

Beside the stone pillar, more than twenty Nanli guards sat cross-legged, cultivating by the light emanating from the dragon pearl.

Upon Li Lin's arrival, everyone rose to greet him respectfully: "Young Master!"

Li Lin did not see Song Yu.

He waved his hand, signaling the others to continue their cultivation, and called out only one person: "Where is Captain Song?"

"Steward, Captain Song is currently in the Earth Marrow Bath, injured, and preparing to break through to the Outer Qi Realm."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a straightforward young man in the crowd muttered under his breath:

"We agreed to take turns soaking in the pool, but he hogged it all. Who else is going to—"

Before he could finish speaking, someone next to him nudged him, and the young man immediately shut his mouth.

Li Lin immediately understood what had happened.

He remained silent, told the others to go back to cultivate, and teleported himself to the Earth Marrow Bath.

Upon entering the bath, a wave of heat carrying a rich spiritual energy rushed towards me.

The light gauze curtains that used to hang by the pool, as well as the rouge, powder, perfume, and dressing utensils in the bedroom, have all been removed.

Instead, a coarse cloth screen and a shelf for displaying armor and swords were installed.

Several new stone piers have been erected by the pool, on which are placed soap beans, bath beans, several sets of short tunics for changing, and two wooden ladles.

It has clearly transformed from a luxurious bathhouse exclusively for women into a training room in the style of a men's bathhouse.

On the first day everyone came to cultivate, Li Lin arranged for the place to be renovated.

Seeing that her private bath had been taken away, Yi Ge was extremely indignant and had been giving her the cold shoulder for the past few days.

Strangely enough, despite her tantrums, her loyalty didn't drop.

Unlike before, they are not capricious and will drop loyalty if they are unhappy.

Sigh, maybe she's fallen for me.

In the center of the Earth Marrow Pool, Song Yu sat cross-legged in water that was about waist-deep, with his upper body bare and his lower body wrapped in a coarse cloth. His eyes were closed.

The earth's spiritual energy rippled slowly with his breathing rhythm, forming a milky white water ring around his body.

"Song Yu, come out for a moment."

Song Yu suddenly opened his eyes and saw that it was Li Lin. He immediately grabbed a short brown robe from the shore and put it on.

He flipped himself out of the water, knelt on one knee, and gave a military salute.

"Manager."

"How's your cultivation progress these days?"

Song Yu bowed his head and reported: "Reporting to the chief steward, in addition to my subordinates, there are four guards who are preparing to break through to the Outer Gang Realm. The rest of them have no prior martial arts training or foundation, and most of them are still trying to break through to the Tong Jin Realm."

Li Lin nodded, his tone indifferent:

"During your training, you will be the team leader. I will not interfere with how you manage the team."

But at the latest, everyone must break through to the Inner Strength Realm within six days.

Those of you who are already at the peak of the Inner Strength Realm must break through to the Outer Strength Realm.

He paused, letting the oppressive silence linger for a moment, before continuing:

"If you can't finish it, it means you're incompetent."

A few beads of sweat appeared on Song Yu's forehead, and he lowered his head even further: "Understood, subordinate."

"Also, there's a military exercise scheduled for this afternoon," Li Lin continued. "It's called a military exercise, but the other side is no pushover; there will definitely be bloodshed."

"Tell everyone to get ready and gather in the afternoon, just to stretch their muscles."

Song Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute once more.

Li Lin didn't say much, turned around and left the Earth Marrow Bath.

He had already realized that Song Yu was different from Xing Ganqi. This man had no faith and had his own little schemes, just like Yi Ge.

Li Lin didn't dislike this kind of person; after all, if their positions were reversed, he, Yi Ge, and Xing Ganqi would be the same kind of people.

Therefore, as long as the other party can get things done, he doesn't intend to delve into the process.

After leaving the Earth Marrow Bath, Li Lin returned to the Sinan Cart and asked his staff to report on the mercenary information they had gathered over the past few days.

He has been paying close attention to this matter and has already listed several key recruitment targets.

The Nanli Garrison was not the main force in this military exercise; it was just to give them some opportunities to move around and get used to each other.

The real main force was the mercenaries he had his eye on.

Li Lin planned to use this military exercise to select the most ruthless individuals who could survive the carnage.

Looking at the transcribed list, which was written in tiny characters, it contained the names, hometowns, martial arts levels, and asking prices of various martial arts figures and mercenary groups.

Li Lin's focus was mainly on two targets:

"Long-Toothed Warrior," a surrendered ogre from the Path of Long Teeth, is deeply loved by Binlong and has always represented Binlong's court in the Shangyang Martial Arts Tournament.

"War Dogs" are foreigners from the Western Regions, a foreign legion long-term employees of the Binlong Palace.