Before long, a man was brought up. Judging from his travel-worn appearance, he had evidently dashed all the way here.
"This is our lord’s token." The man handed a piece of paper to Du You. The paper bore a seal made with the noble insignia of Lucas, featuring special magical fluctuations.
This method was also used in this world to prevent forgery.
As a Professional, Du You could verify it more easily than others. A quick glance at the screen confirmed that this was the token of the lord of Dunes Territory, so it wasn’t mistaken.
"The token is correct. Now you can state your purpose." Du You casually tore up the paper.
The man immediately said, "Before I came, the Sandpeople mustered a large force and captured some of our people from Dunes Territory to interrogate about the location of Mountain Town, as well as information about you, my lord. Then they hurried here. Our lord ordered several of us to bring this news to you. I am the first to arrive; others may still be on the way."
Du You nodded, "I see the sincerity of the Lord of Dunes Territory. I’m very willing to make friends with someone like him."
Nobody would deliver a message without an ulterior motive. Regardless, since he had shown up, Du You couldn’t not offer him some benefits.
Thinking of this, Du You said, "I’ve decided that from now on, all mercenary jobs in Dunes Territory only need to pay half the commission." The man’s face broke into a smile at those words.
However, he quickly regained his composure, because Du You’s promise depended on the preservation of Mountain Town. If Mountain Town was destroyed, the promise would be worthless.
Luckily, Lucas didn’t do this purely for the benefits. He simply wanted to weaken the Sandpeople as much as possible.
"Take him down to rest. If there are other visitors from Dunes Territory, treat them well and let them stay together." Du You waved his hand, and the guard took the man away.
"We’re in trouble now. The Sandpeople are rushing at us, and our army is seriously understrength."
Du You nodded and said, "Indeed, we are a bit understaffed, but with me here, we can make up for it. We can’t let them find the real location of our territory. So, I’ve decided to confront the Sandpeople just outside the border town."
There are over 50,000 people in border town now, and Du You couldn’t afford to abandon them. Moreover, if he couldn’t even protect his people, what sort of lord would he be? He absolutely would not allow this to happen.
In order to speed up the development of his territory, he needed to retain these people. This was something Du You knew early on.
Just then, the guard from before knocked on the door once again.
"Come in. What’s happened?" Du You frowned slightly.
The guard immediately said, "Someone wants to see you, my lord. He claims to have an important matter to talk about. However..."
Du You waved his hand: "Let him in." Du You was supremely confident; he believed that among the second tier, no one could kill him, especially not these natives. Even third-tiered people would have a hard time killing him.
Besides, if someone had such strength and wanted to deal with him, they wouldn’t use this method.
Soon, a nondescript middle-aged man walked in, his eyes full of vicissitudes. The most noticeable thing about him was the mark on his forehead, the mark of a slave.
"What do you want with me?" Du You asked solemnly. Even though he had granted these slaves the status of commoners, if they thought they could treat him casually, then Du You would make them pay the price.
"Greetings, Lord. My name is Luo Jia. I used to be the Northern General of the Kingdom of Hanhai. Due to offending someone, my whole family was demoted to slaves. Fortunately, you messiah purchased us and gave us civilian status. Now my family has a stable life, and we are very grateful to you, Lord."
"A family?" Du You cast a puzzled glance at Shaliya.
Shaliya nodded slightly, "Didn’t you say you wanted to balance the ratio of slaves? I investigated, and if they had family members who had not been sold, we bought them back. We also purchased some female slaves to mix in with them. Some are still in transit, but once they arrive, our numbers will certainly increase."
So this was the case. Du You understood. "There’s no need to express your thanks so profusely. As the lord, it’s my duty to ensure that my subjects have a good life. You can leave now," Du You waved his hand.
For a man who came to express his gratitude, Du You wouldn’t treat him badly just because he bothered him.
Luo Jia suddenly said, "May I ask, Lord, is our territory about to go to war?"
Du You frowned, "Why do you say that?" Did someone let something slip?
"Lord, your feats have not been concealed. The destruction of the Sandpeople’s city is known to all. It’s just that sometime ago we saw some nobles come to our lands, but after their departure, nothing in our territory changed. Given the greed of those nobles, there is no doubt that they failed to receive the benefits they desired, so they must be planning to confront you."
After a pause, Luo Jia continued, "Just now, I noticed that the soldiers are more vigilant than usual, and some of them are even converging in a direction towards the town, which are all signs of impending war."
It was no wonder he had been a general before. His observation skills were indeed remarkable.
"So, what do you really want from me?" Now, Du You was interested.
"May I ask, my Lord, do you have plans for this battle?"
Du You casually said, "Of course, we’ll hit them back." Du You stated this matter-of-factly. Du You has always treated enemies in this way, unless he was outmatched, he wouldn’t even consider tactful strategies.
"Humph, dare to probe the Lord." Shaliya suddenly snorted coldly. Content orıginally comes from 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝
It dawned on Du You, he had yet to announce the war, wasn’t his response just now an implicit admission?
Luo Jia continued, "Since Lord does not have a plan, why not leave it to me? Although I lack other abilities, I have led troops into battle for many years and have a good understanding of war."
"Why get involved in this matter? If the territory fails, you won’t be able to get away if you’re involved."
"Right now, I’m a slave. No matter where I go, my life would be desolate. Here, I have a stable environment. So, I don’t want Mountain Town to be destroyed. Additionally, only under your reign, my Lord, would my expertise be valued."
That was true, to other lords, just the slave mark on their head would prevent them from utilizing him.