Can't I develop my own character?

Xue Yi's eyes flickered, and he finally lowered his head and said, "I'll go talk to the captain."

"Go ahead, and remember one thing: trust the Grand Duke."

After Xueyi left, Ryan rubbed his temples. It was really painful. The situation in the Augustus Empire was a little confusing to him.

Could this also be the impact of the 'war'?

"No, the Grand Duke must not fall. She still has to help me to the sky."

The sky is big, the earth is big, and the Duke is the greatest.

Grand Duke! My Grand Duke! Pacing, crying, rolling on the ground.jpg

Ryan sent someone to tell Jack to follow his old father to find the Gilded Corps first, while he drove to Edinburgh.

When they arrived at the castle, Ryan found Casradi, who seemed to have received the news as well.

"Ryan, I was looking for you."

Ryan said: "Something happened in the West."

Kasradi nodded slightly. "The latest battle report from the Imperial Capital states that the Western Barbarian Army has breached the Talma Line of Defense, the Iron Blood Army has been defeated, and Maganna's whereabouts are unknown."

This kind of war spread very quickly, and the news had already been received in the imperial capital.

"Gluck's people just told me that."

"They want to retreat?"

"Yes, but I asked them to stay. Even though I said a lot, I don't know if they listened."

"Perhaps it's difficult." Kasradi frowned slightly. "The Iron Blood Legion has always revered Maganna as the God of War. Now that she's in trouble, I'm afraid these Iron Blood Legion will rush back no matter what."

Not to mention that their alliance was temporary, even if it was a true alliance, she felt it was useless.

This is a big deal, and the chaos has just begun.

The most important thing is the empire's western defense line. Once the Iron Blood Legion is defeated, the entire western border will be lost. When the Western Barbarian Army rushes in, the consequences will be unimaginable.

As for her side, needless to say, it will be a mess.

By then, let alone controlling the three cities in the southern border, even his life would be a problem. Casradi felt a pain in his chest when he thought of this.

"Your Highness, don't you find it strange? The Iron Blood Army has been stationed in the Western Territory for so many years. How did those Western barbarians have the ability to defeat the Iron Blood Army without any resistance?" Ryan pondered. "If they really had that kind of strength, the situation in the Western Territory of the Empire would have been very different long ago."

Casradi was startled: "You suspect there's something wrong with this?"

"I guarantee it," Ryan said affirmatively. "It depends on how serious the matter is. Your Highness, what connections do you have in the imperial capital? Can you confirm what exactly happened in the Western Territory? The news may not be spread by people, and it may not be spread by people."

"really..."

If it is a transcendent person of some special profession, it is not difficult to influence the transmission of information.

Casradi understands the truth, but...

"I don't have many connections in the imperial capital," Kasradi said with a wry smile. "My mother had no family influence, so after she died, I was basically on my own."

"Who said there isn't? Don't you still have the Emperor, your old... ahem~ old father? His Majesty the Great Emperor will surely be able to find out everything."

"This... Let me give it a try."

Unless it is absolutely necessary, Casradi actually does not want to contact her old father unless she gives up the fight for the crown prince position.

But this matter affects more than just her. If something really happens to Maganna, the empire will be in chaos. How can her old father feel at ease?

...

After handing the investigation over to Casradi, Ryan returned to the office. Not long after, Gluck arrived from outside the city.

The two chatted again.

Gluck wanted to go back, but he listened to what Bloody-Cloaked said.

Ryan's reason was that discipline was the most important thing for the Iron Blood Legion. Without his orders and Maganna's orders, the army could not be mobilized.

Although Gluck was very worried, his temperament was calmer than that of the cold-faced killer Bloody Yi, and there was indeed something strange about this matter. He would continue to contact Childe and ask for more specific details.

He will only take people back when he is sure that the situation is true.

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, he finally managed to suppress this team. If the Iron Blood Legion really left, it didn't mean that they couldn't survive here, but it could only stabilize the situation with them.

And if there really is a trap, wouldn’t that be a huge loss?

Ryan thought about it and decided that he had to act quickly to gain complete control of the three cities in the west.

The city of Berman alone is isolated and helpless, and it will not be able to withstand any accident.

At present, Kosotoya has been hit by a fire. Although the fire was extinguished later, the losses were heavy and it will be difficult to restore to its previous state in a short period of time.

Therefore, the remaining Nad City must quickly take back power.

However, after what happened in Kosotoya, Kasladi couldn't leave rashly. Perhaps the person behind the scenes was waiting for her to leave.

After much deliberation, Ryan made a decision - let 'Xia Li' take the men over first and take control of the army in the name of the princess.

Although the old emperor granted the three southern cities to Kasiladi as a territory, there was already a lord here, so the local nobles had to be retained. It was just that Kasiladi was added as the Grand Lord, and according to the imperial system, the three major cities would pay taxes to Kasiladi on a regular basis.

This is the same model as how cities manage towns and villages.

It was just that Bill brought disaster upon himself by losing Berman City, which gave Ryan the opportunity to take over.

Having said that, Casradi couldn't directly strip those nobles of their titles, but he could mobilize the army in the name of the great lord.

If the city of Nad does not hand over the management of the army, then there is no doubt that they will be treated as rebels.

If it is handed over, then whatever happens to Nad City is fine. Ryan's goal is to expand the size of the army anyway.

As for the issue of city management rights, that is a matter for the future, and he has already thought of a solution that will definitely be foolproof.

It just so happened that the Dihuo Gang had just annexed the Dilong Gang's territory, and their industry needed to be reorganized, so they were not in a hurry to continue expanding. Therefore, "Xia Li" had time to go to Nad City.

In fact, the Earth Fire Gang is now the largest dark force in Berman City. Hundreds of core members of the Earth Dragon Gang were killed, but the Administrative Bureau actually closed the case. Why?

Anyone with eyesight in the underworld can tell that the Dihuo Gang is clearly in cahoots with the Administrative Bureau. With the black and white gangs joining forces, there's no point in fighting!

Anyway, Ryan has already let the Dihuo Gang spread the word that there can only be one gang in Berman City in the future, and Jonathan will secretly help the Dihuo Gang control the situation. It has to be said that this old leader is really open-minded. If he were replaced by someone with a more stubborn temper, this matter would be really difficult to handle.

With the support of the Administrative Bureau, Xia Li no longer has to worry about the expansion of the underground fire, so she can now focus all her energy on the army.

Ryan told Casradi about the plan to take over the power of Nad City. The latter expressed his full support and sent a letter to Nad City in advance in the name of the princess.

But the princess was a little worried.

"Wouldn't it be too dangerous to let Miss Charlie go? What if those people from before are colluding with Nad City..."

Ryan thought to himself, "You care about my second wife more than I do..." He shook his head. "There's no such thing as a safe place right now. This possibility exists, so we have to strike while the iron is hot. Kosothoa has just been burned, and the deterrent effect is still there. Besides, I don't think Nad City should have sided with them. If they really wanted to, they would have done so long ago. They should have acted with Kosothoa at that time. Since they didn't agree then, why would they agree now?"

"Too."

Casradi nodded.

More importantly, the matter of Maganna has not been fully spread yet. Now only the imperial capital has received the news. They know about it because the Iron Blood Legion is already there. It will take at least another day for the news to spread throughout the country.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Ryan felt that the success rate of successfully taking over Nad City was at least 70%.

Just do it.

However, 'Xali' couldn't go alone. Ryan had originally planned to gather the remaining soldiers in the city and see if he could get some men from Dihuo to make up the numbers. But then Casradi waved his hand and said, "There are still a thousand royal guards. Let Miss Xiali lead them."

Ryan agreed without a second thought.

The Royal Guards' deterrent power is much higher than that of the city defense forces of Berman City.

However, he also admired Casradi. These 1,000 guards could be said to be her greatest support. If the Iron Blood Legion left, leaving Berman City as an empty shell, who would guarantee her safety?

This is Casradi's courage. Of course, apart from this, she really trusts Ryan, which puts Ryan under a lot of pressure.

I really beg you, please don't throw favors at me so easily. I have to serve the Grand Duke and the Princess, and I can't handle it all!

"Next... let's recruit new soldiers."

After sending away 'Xia Li' and the Royal Guards, Ryan began to work on the construction of the city defense army. Waiting for news was one thing, and he also had to do two things here... No, including 'Xia Li', it was a three-pronged approach. 'Vine' also needed to recruit soldiers. He deposited two thousand gold coins into 'Vine's' personal account. As long as there is money, there will be people.

At night, at eight o'clock in the evening, in Jack's mansion.

"Mayor Ryan, this is Mr. Keou, the person in charge of this Gilded Group."

Looking at the blue-haired man standing next to Larkin with a smile on his face, Ryan couldn't help but feel that the world is really small.

He remembered that the person he had been looking for to trade with the Gilded Group in the game was Keou. Although his appearance had changed slightly after jumping from the two-dimensional to the three-dimensional, Ryan could still recognize him at a glance.

Ke'ou is also one of the most favorite NPCs among many players, because this guy has a lot of good stuff on him, but the time and place of his appearance are not fixed each time, which makes players love and hate him, and even have the urge to rob him.

However, because he's an NPC, he can't be robbed... Someone on the forum mentioned, "Don't rob Keou, he's super strong!" It seems like they found some special method to successfully become a robber, but in the end, they were all wiped out.

As for what method he used, no one knows. Anyway, a lot of people asked under the post, but that guy just didn't say anything. He just said "Don't hit me, trust me". In the end, he became notorious and was permanently banned by the forum administrator.

Ke'ou came as a representative of the Gilded Corps, and before that, Larkin had already told him about purchasing guns.

It just so happened that the Gilded Regiment had a ready-made batch of about two thousand weapons, including pistols, rifles, as well as cannons and other high-powered firearms.

Ryan was envious, but because the things in the Gilded Group's hands were of high quality, the prices were also high, and the money he had now was not enough.

But when he took out the soul jade, Ke'ou's eyes lit up.

"Mayor Ryan, if you are willing to exchange the Soul Jade, I can introduce you to some other things."

Ryan cursed inwardly, "You bastard, you keep the good stuff hidden, right?"

"Of course, I have quite a few soul jades. Does Mr. Keou have anything good?"

"Take a step to talk?"

"No need to bother."

Ryan simply asked Larkin to go out first.

The other party is not a superhuman, so it’s better not to know some things.

"What exactly does Mr. Ryan want?" Keou asked.

"A wand, a good wand."

'Weinei' is still fighting with a pistol. Although 'Lin Qi' has obtained a lot of things recently, he does not have a magic wand. The drop rate of weapons is really low.

"Wand, I happen to have a good one."

Ke Ou took out a magic wand with black and white patterns from somewhere.

Seeing Ryan's surprised expression, Keou smiled and said, "This is a storage bag, a relic of Janus. Hasn't the mayor seen it?"

"Is this what you're talking about?"

Ryan took the wand and disappeared in a flash.

Ke Ou was stunned: "You have it too?"

"I was lucky enough to pick one up before."

Ryan certainly doesn't have it, but he has a system backpack.

【Staff of Depletion】

[Quality: Level 2, Excellent]

[Effect 1: Spirit +5, Magic +4]

[Effect 2: The target has a 10% chance of being cursed, with their health reduced by 1% per minute.]

[Equipment Requirements: Limited to Psychic Classes]

What a good thing.

Weapons are not only judged by their attribute values, their rank itself is also a basis of value.

For example, a second-level dagger is sharper than a first-level dagger and has higher basic damage, even if it does not have any additional effects.

"Good stuff, how many soul jades are you going to sell for, Mr. Keou?"

Ke Ou smiled and said, "Thirty thousand soul jades."

"..."

Ryan's mouth twitched: "Mr. Keou, you look like an honest man. I trusted you so much, and you cheated me like this?"

"No, no, no, Mr. Mayor, this weapon is absolutely worth the price. We in the Gilded Corps fully abide by the spirit of contract under the order and pursue fairness and justice. We will never make a random offer."

"Even if you say that, the value of something still depends on market demand, right? Are you sure this thing can be sold? Most people can't use it."