Chapter 45: Defeating the Enemy
"Ding, your soldiers under your command have killed the Level 3 Rover Carter. You have gained 30 experience points, with a total of 4500 experience points."
"Ding, you have achieved a great victory and earned an additional 1000 experience points and 1 skill point, bringing your total to 7."
"Ding, you have changed the fate of 872 people and gained 1072 Fate Coins, with a total of 1080 Fate Coins."
The crisp and pleasant notifications signified the final conclusion of this battle, giving Matthew an odd sense of jarring surrealism from the peculiar and abrupt attack.
"The other members of the slaver group all claimed it was Bloodhand Kahn's order. Their original target was just Liana, but later it expanded to the entire Bay Village..."
"If they were only after Liana, how did they know about her potential?"
"Did they use some kind of mysterious prophecy spell?"
"Or is that just an excuse to cover up the truth, and their real target was actually me?"
"Logically speaking, I have no grudge against the Pfizer Merchant Guild, and the Ser Family hasn't had any conflict with them either. So why were we attacked?"
The oddity surrounding Bloodhand Kahn and the eerie attack imbued with a strong sense of fate led Matthew to focus on the choices of destiny.
Unable to figure it out for now, he simply decided to stop thinking about it.
However, based on this experience, it was clear that developing military strength was essential.
Glancing at the soldiers quickly cleaning up the battlefield, Matthew keenly noticed.
After two consecutive battles, the original 20 professionals in the team had increased by 8, bringing the total to over 30.
Moreover, Matthew believed that with continued training, having professionals guide and train the soldiers and providing them with ample food supplies,
As long as they solidified their foundations, they should all be able to absorb the combat experience and successfully become professionals.
Matthew felt a sense of eager anticipation, imagining the future arrival of a fully professional army.
After counting all the spoils, Angela walked briskly to Matthew with a hint of joy and asked respectfully and expectantly:
"We are about 2 kilometers away from the Bloodhand Slaver Group's camp. If we advance at full speed, we can reach it in just 15 minutes."
The next step was for Matthew to develop the Dark Forest, which required eliminating any possible strongholds and influences from other forces, so he responded decisively:
"For these heinous scum, we must exterminate them completely. Rest for 10 minutes, then move out again."
"Send someone back to notify them of our victory, but still assign people to patrol and be cautious of any stragglers."
Matthew's orders were quickly carried out.
The somewhat tense soldiers relaxed slightly as Angela prepared some food and water to help them replenish their energy.
Many soldiers gathered together, enthusiastically discussing their contributions during the battle.
"Hehe, I hope my rewards break two gold coins this time!"
"I think you will—I took down two rovers..."
"According to my estimate, our contributions could be exchanged for those weapons and gear. I want to trade for a longsword..."
"I've got my eye on a shield, but it's probably expensive..."
"I want to trade for a chainmail shirt. It'll give me some extra protection in the next battle."
"..."
Hearing the soldiers' aspirations for the future, Leon gently stroked his longsword, which had developed a couple of small nicks, and his eyes were also filled with expectation.
During this time, Matthew went through the spoils of war.
Most of the professionals' weapons and equipment were of quite good quality, custom-made military-grade products.
Compared to a 50 silver piece spear, their value generally ranged from 2 to 5 gold coins each, totaling around 600 gold coins in worth.
The only enchanted item was the large axe that Bloodhand Kahn hadn't managed to take with him.
"Slaughter—Replica, made of Mithril and Fine Steel, excellent quality, Sharpness +3, Durability +4, Anti-Magic +1, Enchantment—Fortitude, Constitution +1, Strength +1."
"A high-standard replica with a market value of 5000 gold coins."
Matthew raised an eyebrow in delight. With this weapon alone, all the costs of the battle had been recouped.
Indeed, fighting against professionals was the most satisfying—victory brought rich spoils and high returns.
Matthew overheard the soldiers' discussions, his gaze sweeping over the pile of weapons and gear.
The soldiers' thoughts were positive, bold, and proactive, mostly focused on improving their combat abilities for the next fight.
Matthew was more than happy to encourage this attitude, so he turned to Old John and whispered:
"Spread the word that these weapons and equipment will be available for purchase with contribution points."
"Each contribution point will be worth 2 gold coins' worth of equipment."
"Contribution points can also be exchanged for gold coins at a 1:1 ratio, but gold coins cannot be used to buy contribution points, and contribution points cannot be traded."
While saying this, Matthew pretended not to notice the shock in Old John's eyes and patted him on the shoulder, speaking leisurely:
"Every soldier's contribution will be richly rewarded!"
Watching Old John's somewhat dazed figure walk away, Matthew couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
Contribution points are a good thing!
Market value is also a good thing!
With these two tools, Matthew believed he could maximize the soldiers' enthusiasm for battle.
"Alright, guys, keep up the good work!"
"The harder you work, the stronger your lord will become."
"Building a Mage Tower and constructing a floating city all depends on you guys..."
When this news spread among the soldiers, everyone became excited, looking in disbelief at the lord standing in front of the kobolds.
If reputation could be displayed, Matthew figured he would have gained at least reverence from this wave.
After settling the matter of the spoils, Matthew's attention turned to the kobolds kneeling on the ground.
These trembling little creatures dared not move under Yaya's watchful gaze.
The little one blinked curiously and turned her head to look at Matthew:
"Papa, they seem to listen to me well, huh?"
"Do these guys have any use for the territory?"
"If we take in so many at once, won't we be unable to feed them?"
Taking kobolds as subordinates?
"Becoming a boss? That's not something I taught you!"
"Could it be... that this is just a dragon's nature? Naturally drawing in followers."
Matthew could see that Yaya was very interested in subduing the kobolds, just like many dragons in his memory.
On this vast continent, various races had established kingdoms, including dragons.
For example, to the northeast of the Netheril Kingdom, on the outer edge of the High Mountains, there was a powerful Red Dragon Kingdom.
Its ruler was an ancient red dragon with a challenge level as high as 28!
The Red Dragon Kingdom had a powerful ogre army and countless gnolls, and in earlier years, they frequently raided the northern regions of the Netheril Empire.
Right now, with Bay Town's population of only around 2000 people, even with all of Matthew's ideas, it was hard to implement them.
Although the Bloodhand Slaver Group had made a fatal mistake, Matthew believed that if he could successfully subdue these kobolds, they would play a huge role.
When it comes to magical research, I may not be a match for the great arcanists of the Netheril Kingdom.
But when it comes to farming and development, who can compare to the Super Inheritors of China?
Matthew had already verified this point in his previous life!