Wizard Farming Guide

Chapter 10 Taking Stock of the Harvest

"The leader is dead. Disarm and you will not be killed!"

"Throw away your weapons! Or I'll stab you all!"

Upon seeing Rhodes' victory, the knights, squires, and soldiers around him shouted excitedly.

After Peggy's death, the already demoralized thieves completely lost hope.

He quickly dropped his weapon and was pinned to the ground and bound hand and foot by Rhodes' soldiers.

On the other side, the Ice Blade Wolf let out a furious howl.

But under the combined pressure of the two knights, as Holmes's sword slashed open its abdomen, staining the ground with blood, it finally collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

Only the warm breath exhaled from its nasal cavity proved that it was not dead, making people marvel at its tenacious vitality.

The noisy battlefield fell silent.

After a chaotic battle, Rhodes began to take stock of the prisoners.

Twenty-three thieves survived with minor injuries and were gathered and guarded in a corner after their weapons were confiscated.

There were also more than a dozen seriously injured people lying on the ground screaming in agony.

Rod glanced at them, then ordered his men to slash their necks, ending their suffering quickly.

Compared to the heavy casualties suffered by the bandit gang, Rhodes' soldiers were in much better shape, and their well-formed shield and spear formation showed a clear advantage in the battle.

No soldiers died, but ten suffered cuts to their arms and legs, though fortunately the injuries were not too serious.

Rhodes had his men, who were still in good health, fetch a large bucket of water and poured in a disinfectant made from high-grade lavender.

Then, a knight attendant who knew how to bandage was summoned to first wash the wounded man's wounds with this water to disinfect them, and then bandage them with clean bandages.

Limited by the medical environment and nursing knowledge, a large part of the casualties in wars in this era did not occur on the battlefield, but in the subsequent treatment of the wounded.

Bacterial infections and improperly treated inflammation are the most terrifying silent killers.

Fortunately, dealing with this kind of problem is what Rhodes is currently best at.

If an infection does occur, high-grade lavender herbal preparations can be used as antibiotics.

During this process, the baron's corpse was lowered from above.

Meanwhile, the village chief, a middle-aged man, rushed back after sending his daughter home.

Seeing that the village had been occupied by a much stronger army, he knelt down in unease:

"My lord, the village has been looted by those bandits. I beg you to spare us."

The villagers who had originally sought refuge from the battlefield gradually gathered together, cowering in fear.

This is their home. If they leave here, they don't even know how they would survive. They can only come back and pray for the mercy of the other party.

Rod asked the village chief to stand up and speak, but when he didn't respond, he simply had the soldiers lift him up.

"My soldiers will rest here for two days. We are not robbers and will not interfere with your lives."

"In addition, go and tally up the losses of each villager here and tell me. Whether you overreport or underreport, it's just fooling me. I hope this unpleasant thing doesn't happen."

After Rod finished speaking, he told the soldiers to release him.

The village chief was somewhat confused, not understanding the significance of being asked to do this, but he dared not refuse and quickly nodded to indicate that he would definitely complete it.

He breathed a sigh of relief; at least the other party hadn't shown any malice.

"And what about the baron's other family members?" Rhodes asked him.

The soldiers just checked the castle. The castle isn't big, so it was easy to find out that there was no one inside.

The village chief fearfully pointed to a corner, and when Rod saw the bodies of several naked women lying there with their genitals rotting, he understood what had happened.

After waving goodbye to the village chief who had left with a sigh of relief, Rhodes burned the baron and his family together as a final consolation to him.

The bodies of the other thieves were piled up in another location and burned to prevent the spread of disease.

As for the subsequent handling of this village, that is a matter for the baron's superior lord or other relatives to consider.

After dealing with things here, Rhodes approached the Iceblade Wolf.

Noah and Holmes were standing guard nearby.

The former was lying on the ground, panting heavily, while Holmes still had energy left and stood to the side, breathing steadily.

"Well done," Rhodes praised the two men.

Noah looked up as if he had just finished a marathon, as if he wanted to respond, but quickly fell back down and rolled his eyes.

Holmes bowed and said, "I admire your skill in defeating Peggy, and I apologize for my ridiculous doubts about you."

"No need to apologize. You made the right choice, and that's more important than anything else."

Holmes's change was within Rhodes's expectations, but it still pleased him.

What pleased him even more was the process of counting the spoils after defeating Peggy.

This was no small-scale operation like before. They looted a total of 16 gold and 65 silver from this group of thieves, and the various miscellaneous equipment was worth about 15 gold coins.

Unfortunately, most of the armor was damaged during the battle, causing its value to plummet; otherwise, the gains would have been even greater.

Noah and Holmes will each receive 2 gold coins based on their performance in the battle.

Soldiers and knights' squires can receive a bonus ranging from 1 to 5 silver coins, totaling 1 gold and 80 silver coins, depending on their performance.

The village chief is currently taking stock of the losses suffered by the villagers of Songguo Village, which are estimated to be around 4 gold coins.

Rewards will be given where they are due, and debts will be repaid where they are due. Rhodes calculated that after disposing of this batch of equipment, he would have 43 gold coins in his hands.

Fifty-two sets of brand-new chainmail are available for only 26 gold coins.

It was enough for him to replace the leather armor of fifty-two soldiers, making the overall combat strength even greater.

Besides the money, there's also this Ice Blade Fang Wolf.

The flesh and blood of monsters are rich in nutrients, and eating them regularly can help knights advance in rank.

The flesh, blood, and fur of this demonic wolf are worth 4 gold coins, equivalent to a basic set of cavalry armor.

However, it would be a bit wasteful to chop it up and eat the meat directly. Rhodes lowered his head and met the beastly eyes of the Ice Blade Fang Wolf.

One of the three major systems in the Wizard's Guidebook, Animal Husbandry, contains a lot of information about the taming and breeding of magical beasts.

Rhode has currently learned two wizarding techniques: [Spiritual Contract] and [Pasture Contract].

Both involve signing a contract with an animal, making it one's subordinate.

However, the spiritual contract is deeper, directly engraved on the souls of Rhode and the contracted animal, closely connected.

This allows Rhodes to directly control contracted animals within a certain distance and gain some of their innate abilities.

The contracted animal will also receive Rhodes' spiritual blessing, and its growth potential will leap forward.

Limited by his wizarding level, Rhode currently only has one racial slot for [Spiritual Contract], and he doesn't intend to waste it on the Ice Blade Fang Wolf race.

He's useless except for fighting, and he can't even beat his knights.

The constraints of the [Ranch Contract] are relatively weak. Rhodes can only understand the emotions of the contracted animals and locate them, but there is no mandatory binding force.

The relationship is similar to that between a human and a sheepdog. This contract can inspire animal intelligence and help Rhodes take care of the animals on his ranch in the future.

Rhodes had also searched for other binding contracts in the wizard's manual.

However, the book explains that for novices, such forced contracts require a powerful third party as a witness, such as a god or a demon.

It is not recommended for weak wizards to use, so there is no specific record of it.

Both contracts in the book are mutually beneficial, two-way contracts led by wizards and will not be interfered with by other beings.

(End of this chapter)