During the battles, more and more new recruits began to learn Alexander's tactics in earnest.
Defense - Counterattack - Groin Kick!
Especially Alexander's soldiers were extremely skilled. It must be said that while the tactic was underhanded, its effectiveness was remarkable. With this set of combat methods, the new recruits quickly adapted to the battlefield.
This detachment was soon brought back to the military camp in Lisbon, where they would be thrown into real combat, facing the regular army of enemy countries.
At this time, Duke Ferdinand was dispatching scouts to gather information about the Empire.
"Interesting, interesting. It seems the Empire has run into a bit of trouble." He chuckled as he looked over the scout's report.
His subordinate asked, "Does Duke Ferdinand have some good news?"
Duke Ferdinand handed the scout's report to his men, letting them read the good news inside: "The Empire... is experiencing internal turmoil."
"Indeed!"
"This is great news."
...
However, just as everyone was enthusiastically discussing how to reclaim lost territories, the scouts returned with another report.
"The king has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Empire? The condition is that the Empire returns all occupied territories?"
The more Duke Ferdinand read, the louder his tone became, as if he had seen something unexpected.
"I shouldn't question the king, but this decision brings shame to us glorious soldiers of Saint Martin. Not being able to reclaim lost territories with our own hands is truly our disgrace!"
He grew angrier as he spoke.
Alexander sat quietly in a corner, not saying a word. For him, avoiding war was better. After all, in war, people died. What if he was one of them?
Besides, he had gained a lot from the battles against the pirates. Selling the spoils of war, Alexander had earned 200 dinars.
Now he had 350 dinars in hand. With the dinars he had earned before, he was getting closer and closer to completing the first step of the merchant's path.
Of course, the dinars in his hand were just a pile of rubbish. Only the dinars spent were real dinars.
Alexander decided to recruit some warriors. He waited until Duke Ferdinand's angry roar subsided, then quietly left and returned to Lisbon.
Here, a batch of new warriors could be recruited, including even noble soldiers. Noble soldiers were some of the noble sons who wished to make a name for themselves on the battlefield and could be recruited into the army. However, just the thought of these young lords, frail and delicate as they were, made Alexander recruit eleven ordinary new recruits instead. Spending a total of 110 dinars, his savings reduced to 240 dinars. The army expanded to 20 people. But these were still not enough; Alexander needed to recruit ten more soldiers to complete the second step of the Lord's Path.
[Lord's Path (Growing Stronger): Reach an army size of 30 soldiers] [Reward: Experience +1000, System Coins +1000]
He quickly led the group to nearby villages to recruit more soldiers.
---
In another part of the continent, nestled amidst the mountains, stood a towering city that should have been thriving but now appeared dilapidated. This was because the city had stood firm in battle for a hundred days. Soldiers on the city walls were wounded, and even gray-haired elders in battle armor could be seen patrolling, alongside children barely able to fill out their armor, standing guard. Women were seen ferrying supplies to repair the damaged walls. Outside the city, lay the vast enemy encampments.
Within one of these encampments, a "person" stood atop a high platform, overlooking the city. "My king, this is the last human city. According to those who surrendered from within, the city has run out of food. They won't last much longer."
Clad in green, draped in a white robe, an ancient "figure" spoke.
Addressing him was a towering, muscular green orc, his eyes filled with savagery. He grinned, exposing two fangs disdainfully, "I not only want to conquer this continent, but also the one across the sea. I heard it's teeming with gold and spices, what our ancestors called the Golden Continent."
With that, he pulled out a yellowed parchment from behind, depicting a crude map of the seas.
---
For several days in a row, Alexander had been recruiting soldiers. He visited several villages until he finally gathered a total of 30 people - after all, Duke Ferdinand had already recruited once in the vicinity.
[Congratulations, Lord Alexander, for completing the second step of the Lord's Path: Growing Stronger.] [Reward: Experience +1000, System Coins +1000]
His attribute panel changed to:
[Level]: 5 [Strength]: 9 [Agility]: 10 [Intelligence]: 6 [Charisma]: 6 [Available Attribute Points]: 0 [Experience]: 1400/1600 [System Coins]: 1000
Alexander hadn't finished celebrating yet when the system's voice chimed in.
[Detected: Lord Alexander has met the conditions. System shop unlocks new module - Set Sales]
The system shop unexpectedly unlocked a new module, and Alexander realized that he seemed to be able to unlock new modules by meeting certain conditions. He quickly opened the system shop and saw the new changes. Previously, he needed to purchase equipment piece by piece, but now he could buy entire sets of equipment directly. For example, the [Saint Martin Military Set] or the [Imperial Knight Armor Set], and so on. Purchasing entire sets of equipment might be more convenient because these sets were the best gear summarized by soldiers after countless battles, each with its own characteristics at most. As an outstanding potential noble of the Kingdom of Saint Martin, Alexander naturally... didn't choose the Saint Martin Kingdom set. His favorite was a set called the [Forest Ranger Set]. The total attributes were:
Head Defense +10
Body Defense +10
Leg Defense +10
Agility +5
Among them, what Alexander liked the most was the Agility +5. His own Agility was already as high as 10 points, so with this set, his Agility could reach 15 points, far exceeding the level of ordinary people. So, without hesitation, Alexander spent 1000 to purchase this set. In no time, he changed into a green cloak and the rest of the full set of equipment. For some reason, Alexander felt incredibly light all over his body. Now that he had this set, Alexander decided to get a weapon that matched his Agility of 15 - the Flaming Two-Handed Sword. He sold his iron sword, oak shield, and full set of leather armor, along with the money left over from recruiting soldiers, totaling 300 dinars, and went directly to the shop to purchase the Flaming Two-Handed Sword. Looking at the gleaming sword that could serve as a mirror, Alexander was very pleased. Although he had once again become penniless, the increase in combat power was real. Taking advantage of the recent absence of warfare, he immediately took his 30 men to eradicate the bandits.