CHAPTER 233: CHAPTER 168: I’M NOT HARUN

Lawrence didn’t ask much, he directly headed to the back.

If such a list is still inaccurate, then Engle would be blatantly challenging Luo De’s dignity.

Luo De believes he wouldn’t seek death like that.

Luo De walked directly to the back of the cart, carefully observing the craftsman slaves.

Fourteen slaves, all male.

Though their bodies were a bit thin, their mental state was quite good.

There were three craftsmen aged around twenty-five or twenty-six in their prime, as well as two middle-aged craftsmen in their thirties.

Engle sensed Luo De’s gaze and quickly came over,

"Lord, we have bought all the craftsmen we could, there are no more slaves available in Border City."

Engle explained, "If it wasn’t for the intense war in the west, we might not have been able to gather these fourteen people..."

"Oh?"

Luo De looked curiously at Engle, "How intense is the fighting in the west?"

Engle looked around, leaned closer to Luo De’s ear, and spoke in a low voice,

"The Western Alliance, out of madness, has deployed an additional fifty thousand troops south of the border, and the Empire’s army has suffered several defeats, withdrawing their formations domestically."

"Fifty thousand?"

Luo De stared at Engle, somewhat incredulous.

"Do you know what fifty thousand troops mean?"

Luo De laughed and asked.

It wasn’t that Luo De didn’t believe it, but given the capabilities of this era, even in a warm place like the south, it would take a population of hundreds of thousands to sustain it.

If it were a regular standing army of fifty thousand, it would require millions of people to support it!

After all, no one had Luo De’s word entry ability bonus.

Engle smiled wryly, "Honorable Lord, how could I possibly deceive you, this is accurate information..."

He lowered his voice and added, "I believe it won’t be long before the Empire’s army decrees will come down..."

Hearing Engle’s words, Luo De couldn’t help but furrow his brows in thought.

After a moment, Luo De looked at Engle and asked, "Does Baron Harun know about this?"

"Just found out." Engle replied.

"Since you provided me with this information, go back and tell him to prepare for war, to represent the Hawk Clan."

Luo De slowly said, "If he actively responds to the Empire’s decrees, the Royal Family may likely side with him."

Typically, the Empire’s Royal Family doesn’t concern itself with the ownership of border Count titles, especially when Baron Harun has brought forth witnesses to question the legitimacy of the Hawk Count title.

But if Baron Harun fights for the Empire and performs well, he might just win the Empire’s favor.

The Empire might just side with Harun.

Even if he doesn’t win the Empire’s favor, at the very least, he can’t let Baron Zane show off in front of the Royal Family.

This is what Luo De referred to in his previous life as, inner competition.

"You truly are a wise lord,"

Engle praised with a sentence, then explained, "Our Lord Baron is already preparing for it, he thinks just like you."

Luo De gave a slight nod, not saying much more.

The Empire’s decrees probably have nothing to do with the Northern Wilderness lords.

Luo De and the other Northern Wilderness lords have just arrived here, having no foundation at all, what forces would they have to respond to the Empire’s decrees?

After all, other lords aren’t like Luo De, having various word entry bonuses to develop quickly.

What, abandon their homes, and the Baron lord personally lead ten soldiers to war?

Why fight then?

The most important thing for a noble is their territory, without it, their noble title becomes meaningless.

So even if the Empire has decrees, they wouldn’t drain resources dry.

The Empire wouldn’t possibly target Luo De specifically, issuing a special decree for his conquest, that would be a bit too targeted.

So although Luo De paid attention to this information, he wasn’t too concerned.

However, it’s uncertain how long the fight will last, and whether it will cause grain prices to rise.

"The slaves are not bad,"

Luo De waved his hand, signaling to Lawrence to come forward and make arrangements.

The new craftsmen need to be addressed, informed of the rules, and then sent to various craftsmen.

Luo De turned around, his gaze falling on the warhorse in the distance.

"Is that my Mosal Highland horse?"

Luo De asked Engle, "Stallion or mare?"

"Stallion."

Engle quickly replied.

Luo De gave a slight nod.

Hmm, a stud horse.

Luo De walked slowly forward, admiring the warhorse in front of him.

Its entire body had deep, smooth black fur, Luo De circled around it and didn’t find a single stray hair.

Unlike those slender, elegant horses, this warhorse had knotted muscles and robust bones, like a black beast.

Its stature and shoulder height were above average warhorses, its mane was thick, and its large hooves occasionally stomped on the ground’s stones, making low, dull thuds.

Noticing Luo De’s observation, the Mosal Highland horse raised its head, glanced at Luo De with its slightly purple eyes, then quickly lowered its head again, starting to pull back on its reins.

"Honorable Lord, please be careful, this warhorse has a fierce and wild temperament, it has already knocked over three horse trainers..."

Saying this, Engle quickly lowered his head, swallowed hard, not daring to look directly at Luo De.

"I wondered why Harun was suddenly so generous, gifting me such an excellent warhorse."

Luo De snorted coldly, glanced at Engle beside him.

The sharp gaze made Engle a bit tense.

This time the hardest part was this matter

—getting Baron Rod to accept this fierce warhorse.

"Sorry, Lord, it’s my miscommunication."

Engle quickly explained, "It truly is a trained warhorse, but because of this, it wants to choose its master..."

"So, Baron Harun failed?"

Luo De smiled and asked.

"Although I don’t want to admit it, yes, Knight Olaya also failed..."

Engle was a bit embarrassed, then returned to normal, persuading, "But I believe your knight will definitely conquer it!"

"Knight?"

Luo De looked at the tall and beautiful warhorse in front of him,

"I’m not your Baron Harun."