Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 376: Spoils Of War

"Sir, the damage and spoils of war have been counted." A soldier reported the results of the operation to Alan.

Thirty-two slaves, twenty-one infantry, three Mountain King warriors, seven other seriously wounded, and the rest were only slightly wounded. In exchange, Dick and the two captains ambushed and killed more than a hundred bandits and more than seventy prisoners. If Zhan Nu was excluded, Allen's main force would only suffer minor injuries. This part of the loss was still within the acceptable range.

Apart from the prisoners, the biggest reward of this cleansing operation was Dick's supplies intended for the Black Iron Fort. This spoils of war could already be described as a huge harvest. Most of these items were equipment, of which 30 were firearms. They were wrapped in tarpaulin, and each firearm was brand new. With them, Alan could arm at least one firearm squadron.

In addition to the fire/spear, there was also a batch of light armor, ten sets of plate armor, and a large number of good swords. Roughly speaking, this batch of equipment was worth 100,000 gold coins. Next up was gunpowder. Boxes of gunpowder added up to at least 200 kilograms. Gunpowder was widely used in the empire. Apart from the projectiles of guns and cannons, there was also broad space for mining and even civilian use.

Therefore, regardless of whether it was for personal use or for sale, this batch of gunpowder was of great value.

Finally, there was gold and jewelry. Although they were only one box, they were the most direct treasures. Even Alan was dazzled when he saw the round and smooth pearls, pure gemstones, and rectangular bars of gold. Dick's savings from all these years of operation had now become Alan's possession. He couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Sure enough, he was still rich from robbery.

After having the spoils of war fixed onto the carriage, Allen left with his team. Apart from bringing the spoils back to Storm City for proper disposal, the captives also needed to contact Roger as soon as possible. Selling them to Roger as slaves and letting him domesticate the bandits was the best way to deal with them.

Others stayed behind, mainly burying the war dead by cremation to prevent plague from forming due to the excessive number of corpses.

The setting sun was like blood, casting a long shadow on the ground. On a high slope several hundred meters away from the stronghold, someone put away a single telescope. Behind them was a group of cavalry. There were only twenty cavalry, all wearing black armor. Even the warhorses were unified into pure black, black cavalry, and black cavalry. They formed a formation of their own imposing aura.

The man with the binoculars said silently, "Let's go. Dick is finished and the history of the Bloodstone Wilderness is about to be rewritten. I think Sir Sharon needs to know that."

"My lord, they haven't gone far. Aren't we going to do anything?" A knight stepped forward and said, "They have Dick's goods. They should have belonged to us."

"Of course I know, but do you think we can eat them?"

The knight said proudly, "Our Black Cloud Knights have never been afraid of any opponent."

"Fearlessness is a virtue, but sometimes it is better to know something about reverence. Otherwise, fearlessness will become arrogance." The man shook his head and said, "Dick has already used the Blood Boiling Magic Crystal, but he's still been killed. Let me ask you, who among you can kill Dick who is in the Blood Boiling state?"

Knights, look at me, look at you, everyone is speechless.

'"So, we have to go back. Sir Sharon needs to re-examine himself and Dick, who can kill Dick in a state of boiling blood. Perhaps Black Iron Castle can't afford to offend such an opponent now."

A moment later, the knights on the high slope walked cleanly. In the western sky, the sun finally fell below the horizon, and the indigo night slowly dyed in the sky.

Night fell.

It was already two days before he returned to Storm City, so he handed the captives over to Legg to deal with. Legg frowned when he heard that Dick had temporarily upgraded his Origin Energy. "Judging from his description, Dick should have used the Blood Boiling Magic Crystal."

"Blood Boiling Demon Crystal?" This was the first time Alan had heard of such a thing.

'"Yes, that's the patent of magicians. Some powerful magicians can create this kind of magical item. The purpose of the Blood Boiling Demon Crystal is to activate the Origin Energy in the user's body, release their potential in an instant, and achieve the purpose of temporarily increasing their combat strength." Legg added: "However, the magic crystals are very low in production and therefore expensive. The side effects are very severe. Usually, the damage to the nervous system is very severe and irreversible after using the Blood Boiling Magic Crystal."

"However, there are two types of magic crystals above the Blood Boiling Magic Crystal: the Anger Blood and the Burning Blood Magic Crystal. Comparatively speaking, the side effects of the Anger Blood Magic Crystal are much smaller, while the Burning Blood Magic Crystal is known for its safety and no side effects. However, the latter two, especially the last type of magic crystal, are frighteningly expensive and not available to anyone."

Alan finally understood that the Blood Boiling Magic Crystal Dick used was equivalent to some kind of stimulant, and it was the one with the greatest side effects. Even so, because they could temporarily increase their combat strength, some experts would purchase magic crystals for a rainy day. As for the Anger Blood and Flaming Blood Magic Crystals, they weren't something Dick could obtain. These two types of magic crystals had extremely low yields, and the Blood Burning Magic Crystals were only available to the royal family and one or two of the empire's top experts.

Unfortunately, there weren't enough conditions on this planet to make magic energy equipment. Otherwise, low-grade magic energy equipment could completely replace the Blood Boiling Demon Crystal without any side effects. Thinking about it, if he had such equipment, he wouldn't have to worry about sales.

The thought flashed by and Alan focused on the work at hand. First, Legg used the Gale Eagle to send a message to Roger, asking him to send someone to receive the captives. These prisoners were all bandits, and they were all strong enough to be sold as war slaves. In the slave trade, the price of war slaves was higher than that of ordinary slaves, but considering the long-term relationship with Roger, Allen lowered the price a little.

In any case, with the expansion of his territory in the future, the least he needed was prisoners. This would be a long-term cooperative project. josei

He then sent Reese another message, mainly about selling a batch of weapons and equipment he had obtained from Dick. Apart from the 30 firearms left for his own use, Alan only left a small portion of his swords and armor in the warehouse for backup. He intended to sell the rest to Reese for gold coins. Originally, things like weapons and equipment were better sold to Chambers of Commerce like the Iron Flag Chamber of Commerce, which specialized in equipment trading. However, the current attitude of the Chamber of Commerce was not friendly, so Alan could only take a back seat.

As for the gold bars and jewelry, he intended to leave the gold bars behind and leave the jewelry to Jessica of the Lily Chamber of Commerce. Jewelry was also a high-end handicraft, a major business in the Lily Chamber of Commerce, and Ellen believed it was easier for them to exchange it for cash. Now that Storm City and Sur City had undergone their initial integration, there were steel mills, weapons workshops, and Father Miro's religious cause on the agenda.

Either of these required money, so Allen had never needed it as much as he did now.

After he finished arranging the matters that needed to be dealt with in the near future, he raised his head and saw that it was already dark. Alan exhaled and leaned against the chair, feeling a burst of exhaustion. It had nothing to do with physical fitness. It was purely a feeling of fatigue after a high degree of mental strain. He smiled. Now he finally knew how difficult it was to be a lord.

Sitting in this position, there was simply too much to consider. Everything from military power to territory economy to people's livelihood and public opinion must be taken into account. Only in this way could the territory grow rapidly. Of course, there had to be a focus here. Without a doubt, in an empire where wars between nobles continued, martial power naturally surpassed other elements.

Speaking of the army, Storm City's current strength was barely justifiable, but in the end, its scale was still unable to shake off the situation of a knight's territory. This was also a matter of helplessness. After all, there was only so much land, and the territory was limited. Of course, there was no way to continuously inject fresh blood into the army. If the army is to expand, a wider territory is necessary. With territory, there would be people. With the citizens, they would naturally be able to recruit new recruits.

War was the only way to obtain more territories. All of this was closely intertwined, and no one could bypass the theme of war.

War! War!

Ellen rubbed his eyebrows. The situation in this border area had stabilized. He already had two cities, and his territory should be bigger than an ordinary knight's. The Bloodstone Wasteland was also cleaned up, and the remaining bandits would soon have to leave, or leave from Liang. Dick was no longer around, and the biggest group of bandits no longer existed. How could the other weak survive?

The only thing he needed to worry about was the Black Iron Castle on the other side of the Blood Rock Wilderness. Alan didn't know what kind of person Sir Sharon was, but from Roger's words, he shouldn't be an easy character to deal with. Allen calculated the power he had and began to consider whether to uproot this dangerous neighbor before marching into the empire's heartland.

Otherwise, if the rear was unstable, how could he have the mood to head north?

Since he had decided to deal with the Black Iron Castle, Alan immediately had many ideas. One of them was to sneak into the Black Iron Castle to scout. Every commander should understand that only by knowing one thing and knowing the other would they be invincible in a hundred battles. Of course, Allen was no exception.

Apart from him, there was another suitable candidate to sneak in.

Belmond!