Chapter 80: Chapter 76: The Second Recruitment
"Honorable Lord Baron, I have realized my foolishness, and therefore, used the name of the Prophet to weave the tale of the Master of the Holy Land."
Prophet Bai Shuang looked at Luo De with a sincere expression,
"With your wisdom, you should be able to understand that if this lie is exposed, I will completely lose the title of Prophet."
Prophet Bai Shuang wanted to say more, but he held back with great effort.
Luo De noticed his hesitation and thought for a moment, then guessed what Prophet Bai Shuang wanted to say but didn’t.
Prophet Bai Shuang spoke of his sacrifices but did not mention what he hoped to gain in return.
Prophet Bai Shuang is not a person who offers selfless devotion.
"Rest assured, I will not discriminate against the White Frost Tribe because of past events.
I will be straightforward with you; as long as you work diligently for me, I will treat everyone equally, without distinguishing between the Wildman or the Imperial People."
Luo De stared at Prophet Bai Shuang, and then assured,
"You were the Prophet of the White Frost Tribe before, and in the future, you will be the Prophet of the Master of the Holy Land."
Prophet Bai Shuang’s eyes lit up, immediately understanding Luo De’s intention.
He hurriedly got up and knelt down with excitement,
"By the name of the ancestors, with the soul torn as punishment, the humble Prophet Bai Shuang, Earl Bai Shuang will forever serve the Master of the Holy Land, Luo De Tulip!"
...
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Apart from matters concerning the Holy Land, Prophet Bai Shuang mentioned more about the Wilderness Tribe in the Blade Mountain Range.
They are hidden deep within the mountain range, occupying larger areas of forest, rarely appearing on the outskirts.
It is said that they hold the path leading to the eastern coast.
Luo De was intrigued but knew that the inside of the Blade Mountain Range was beyond his reach at the moment.
There were still many matters to handle at Black Pine Ridge, things that were insignificant to him at the moment.
For the autumn harvest, not only were the carpenters and stonemasons busy, but the Blacksmith Shop was even busier.
Frost Leaf Town had never seen so many people, and the various agricultural tools for the autumn harvest needed to be crafted by the Blacksmith Shop in haste.
However, weapon forging could not halt, as protecting the town required a large number of arrows.
After the autumn harvest, everyone would have grain and time.
Various robbers and bandits would gradually emerge to prepare for winter.
There was no doubt that in the Northern Wasteland, many people were farmers at harvest and robbers afterward.
Of course, Luo De had to expand the army by recruiting thirty new soldiers.
This was a conservative estimate; if there was a bumper harvest, Luo De would need to maintain more troops.
Even if one did not go to plunder others, one had to protect their own grain.
With grain but no soldiers, wouldn’t one’s store become others’ granary?
The slaves of Frost Leaf Town had good meals, and Luo De’s slaves worked tirelessly, most of them were strong and robust.
Everyone knew new recruits received good treatment; hearing about the recruitment, they hurried to sign up.
Despite Durant raising the requirements, those who passed the preliminary selection among the townspeople and slaves reached a number of 73.
Luo De instructed Durant to select the ten most promising candidates, and the rest would be screened based on comprehension and intelligence assessments.
-- Knowledge was merely fundamental arithmetic and literacy.
At the very least, Luo De’s army needed to obey orders and understand and execute some basic tactics.
Of course, the key was having enough candidates.
Luo De’s criteria instantly filtered out most, leaving only eleven.
Luo De had no choice but to ask Durant to select nine more clever ones from among the rejected candidates.
"Actually, there are a few particularly strong individuals among the Wildman, all capable seedlings for charging into battle."
After selecting the soldiers, Durant couldn’t help but mumble beside Luo De, "It’s a pity they don’t even understand our language, unable to meet the basic requirements."
"I know what you mean, you don’t need to worry, they will eventually integrate into Frost Leaf Town."
Luo De already had a plan in mind.
After arranging the new recruits, Luo De returned to the manor and summoned Lawrence and Avril to his side.
Once they were seated, Luo De looked towards Avril,
"In recent days, Milly has learned many new words, thanks to your guidance."
Through these days of interaction, Luo De had pretty much figured out Milly’s background.
No noble or illustrious family, just the child of an ordinary lone hunter.
However, Milly’s memories contained no mother, only her father.
Her father did not return after a hunt, and Milly got lost while searching for him, chased by wolves, eventually encountering Lady Rose’s Slave Capture Team.
"Milly has brought me a lot of joy as well."
Avril maintained her sweet smile, "Besides, I’m supposed to help anyway."
"Haha, well then, I just have something I need your help with."
Luo De laughed and said, "The children from the Wilderness Tribe need teachers; I hope you, Us, and Lawrence can take turns teaching them."
Luo De explained, "Us can speak the Wildman language, but he can hardly write the common language."
Knowing how to do something and teaching it to others are two different things, and Us would find it very difficult to teach without writing.
"Lawrence can write many words, but he has many other things to handle, so this matter may rely more on you."
Lawrence and Us still need to teach other Wildmen the common language.
"I have no issue teaching the Wildmen, but..."
Avril explained, "I don’t know the Wildman language."
"You can start by being Us’s teaching assistant, helping him with lessons, and once you learn some of the Wildman language, you can take the lead."
Being a noble lady with a lot of fundamental knowledge, Avril’s learning ability was undoubtedly excellent.
This was like modern-day people on Blue Star who had received compulsory education, learning something faster than the Wildman.
Having enough insight allows one to draw inferences about other cases.
"Additionally, I will arrange for Prophet Bai Shuang to teach you regularly; I believe you will quickly master the basic Wildman language."
Luo De added, "But Avril, you don’t need to learn too much Wildman language; my main goal is for them to learn the common language, so just basic communication is fine for you."
"In that case, I can give it a try."
Avril said with a slight hint of fear, "But you need to send soldiers to protect me; those Wildmen look quite intimidating."
After the previous incidents on Razor Plain, Avril was now more cautious when facing some rough individuals.
"You don’t need to be nervous, nor do you need to be afraid."
Luo De’s smile carried a hint of mystery as he said slowly, "You can tell them you are tasked by the Master of the Holy Land to guide them on the path to the Holy Land."
Since his conversation with Prophet Bai Shuang, he could continue to weave the story of the Master of the Holy Land upon his return.
The identity of Luo De as the Master of the Holy Land had already rooted itself in the minds of the Wildman.
Despite the fact that Luo De couldn’t even speak their language.
"Is the Master of the Holy Land referring to you?" Avril asked curiously.
"You can understand it that way, but you’ll know the specifics later." Luo De didn’t explain further.
Avril nodded slightly in agreement, "Alright, I’ll give it a try."
"Lawrence will first arrange the location and teaching materials, and once everything is ready, you’ll be notified."
Luo De planned to provide Avril and Us with teaching materials similar to blackboards and chalks, which were not difficult for Frost Leaf Town.
Then Luo De also instructed Lawrence on arrangements for those children.
—The basic management would be similar to a boarding school, reuniting weekly with parents, while spending the rest of the time in school.
Luo De hadn’t been speaking for long when a sudden gust of wind sounded.
Turning his head, Frost was flapping wings and landing by the window.
Inadvertently, these little fellows had already learned to fly.