Wizard Farming Guide

Chapter 94 Identity Target

"You mean, we should join forces to take down that cult? Wait, isn't that part of the duchy's territory?"

After calming down, one of the knights suddenly asked in confusion.

His words brought the others back to their senses.

Indeed, I'm angry, but that's the territory of the Northern Frost Kingdom. Why should they be the ones to solve this problem?

It's not like the problem originated in their own territory. Whoever's problem is responsible for solving it; that's the norm for nobles.

Our own soldiers are precious; do you think we can get land from them just for helping the principality eradicate a cult? That's a pipe dream!

Why bother getting involved? I can hold on for a while longer anyway.

They didn't believe that the Northern Frost Duchy would just stand by and do nothing; they figured they could just wait for the rebellion to be quelled.

The knights who had been standing excitedly quickly returned to their seats.

Seeing that his momentum was about to dissipate, Kelvin quickly signaled to one of the knights opposite him.

Upon receiving his instructions, the Knight Carmen suddenly spoke excitedly:

"Everyone, think about this carefully. A month has passed, and the Duchy of Northern Frost has made no move! They might send people to quell the rebellion, but who knows when that will be?"

"As time goes on, the White Frost Cult will only grow stronger! They might very well launch a preemptive attack on us. Perhaps the Duchy is deliberately letting them run rampant, intending to use this cult against us!"

After the Knight of Carmen finished speaking, the crowd, who had just relaxed, tensed up again.

The group of pioneering knights looked at each other, realizing that this was indeed a possibility.

"Damn it, could the Duchy of Northern Frost really be that shameless?"

"Why not?" Knight Carmen declared confidently. "That's why we must unite. A single pioneering knight is insignificant, and the duchy won't care. But when everyone here unites, they will have to take a legion of tens of thousands seriously."

After receiving an approving look from Kelvin, the Knight Carmen became even more confident as she spoke.

His gaze settled on a blond knight, and he knew he had entered the final stage.

Once Kelvin completes the next step of establishing his authority and raising the flag, he will be able to unite everyone and will be given important responsibilities.

Knight Carmen was thrilled.

Noticing that he was looking at him, Rod, who had been sitting silently in the corner, looked helpless.

From the public's disgust and hatred towards the cultists to their outrage at the duchy's inaction, Rhodes had already discerned Kelvin's intentions.

This chief knight wanted to manipulate emotions and use the public's anger towards the duchy to form a large-scale military alliance.

In this process, he needs someone to establish his authority.

Given his bloodline and status, coupled with his previous pro-duchy behavior, he was essentially a sitting duck.

It would be a disgrace to one's noble status not to take action and cut down the enemy.

As Rhodes expected, Carmen, who was Kelvin's mouth double, suddenly looked at him with a cold gaze.

"Speaking of which, one of our members has an unusually close relationship with the principality."

The other knights followed his gaze to Rhodes, and Knight Carmen said with a cold smile:

"You may not know this, but this Knight of Rhodes, who was a pioneering knight of the king, actually joined the duchy and became a vassal of that grand duke."

"What?"

A surprised murmur rippled through the crowd.

Many ordinary knights who were unaware of the situation frowned.

As for the Knights of the Round Table who understood the reason, they looked amused, their eyes shifting back and forth between Rhodes and Kelvin.

They saw that this was Kelvin establishing his authority and did not object to it.

Because Rhodes had such a close relationship with the Duchy, he actually obtained two resource-rich territories of the Duchy for nothing, even with the help of the border guards.

Who wouldn't be envious of this!

In other words, they searched through their family genealogy and found no connection whatsoever with the Duke of Beishuang; otherwise, they would have already tried to curry favor with him.

Great-great-grandfather, I am your long-lost grandson!

They might feel envious and jealous, but if there are no conflicts in daily life, they might let it go.

But now the duchy has incurred the wrath of the people, and they are happy to see Rhodes suffer.

Carmen continued, "Sir Rhodes, shouldn't you give us an explanation for the Duchy's disheartening inaction?"

Rhodes could sense the dissatisfaction and anger of the others.

This made him realize that if he couldn't come up with something convincing, he would have a hard time leaving this place unscathed.

Fortunately, when he approached the duchy, he had considered how to handle a similar situation and was prepared in advance.

"The Duchy of Northern Frost suffered severe damage, and most of its manpower is currently engaged in disaster relief in the south. This is why we were momentarily negligent, allowing the White Frost Order to launch an uprising."

Rhodes said, "Don't worry, Governor Elena has already mobilized troops and will soon wipe out the cult."

Carmen chuckled and said, "You don't mean 'soon' in six months, after we're all dead, do you?"

Others were also very dissatisfied with his explanation.

"Of course not. We're anxious, but what about those nobles in the Duchy of Northern Frost who have no territory? Aren't they anxious too?" Rhodes laughed nonchalantly.

Upon hearing his words, everyone instantly understood what he meant.

Why did they come to expand their territory? It's because there's no extra land within the kingdom, so they have no choice but to risk their lives in the north.

However, the large-scale rebellion in the northern part of the principality has now freed up a large area of ​​territory.

Moreover, it is developed land that has been cultivated for many years, far superior to undeveloped wasteland!

These knights of the kingdom could not inherit, but what about the nobles of the duchies?

Putting themselves in their shoes, they'd probably be itching to come and quell the rebellion, dreaming of inheriting the territory as soon as possible.

As the crowd's anxiety gradually subsided, Rhodes seized the opportunity and continued:

"And this is precisely our opportunity. The duchy is currently short of manpower. In order to gain merit in suppressing the rebellion and to have a better chance of inheriting the territory, I think the duchy's nobles would be happy to spend a lot of money to recruit mercenaries."

Rhodes's gaze swept over the ordinary knights.

Unlike the Knights of the Round Table, they didn't have the financial resources to build their own territories; they came here as mercenaries to earn money.

With the arrival of the cold wave, the war with the northern barbarians came to an end.

These knights were living off their savings, and no one was more eager for war than they were.

Seeing the change in everyone's mood, Knight Carmen quickly said with displeasure, "You actually want us to send troops to help the Duchy?"

Rhodes smiled and said, "Why not? It's not like I'm not charging you. It didn't work before because of a lack of communication and trust, but now I can help. Count Elena, the governor of Coldwater County, will also be a witness."

Rod wrote a blank check, but he had his reasons.

It's been over a month, and Governor Elena has been letting Coldwater County descend into chaos. There's only one possibility.

She was unwilling to expend her precious military strength, so she wanted to wait for the private armies of other nobles in the duchy to come to her aid.

Given that, she had no reason to refuse the power of the Pioneer Knights.

Perhaps we should even thank Rhodes for his help.

"Moreover, previously our caravans would be charged hefty tolls when passing through the northern territories, but things are different now."

Rhodes looked at the Knights of the Round Table. "This is a great opportunity, isn't it? We can use this to improve relations with the new lords and, with military assistance, get them to lower their tax rates."

Since taking charge of the town of River Mouth, Rod has suffered greatly from the toll tax.

Because of the taxes levied on the goods, many caravans refused to come, and he even had to lower the price of his goods to find buyers.

The other Knights of the Round Table were no exception; almost a third of their income was spent on taxes.

"The duchy is right behind us. Instead of continuing to be at odds, let's take this opportunity to strengthen our relationship. As you all know, I have a close relationship with the duchy, don't you?"

Rod said with a smile, even though he still hadn't received a response from Elena.

But it didn't matter; the pioneering knights believed it.

Their eyes gleamed; compared to the tangible benefits right before their eyes, the mutual contempt between the kingdom and the duchy was insignificant.

Upon seeing this, Karl's forehead began to sweat, and he anxiously tried to argue back.

But Kelvin's cough interrupted them.

Once both the ordinary knights and the Knights of the Round Table were persuaded, the alliance against the duchy had lost its meaning.

Kelvin glared angrily at his incompetent subordinate.

Even if he was unhappy inside, under everyone's gaze, he could only smile and raise his glass to Rhodes.

"Thank you, Knight Rhodes, for everything you have done for us. We hope you can bring us news from the Duchy as soon as possible."

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, everyone clinked glasses.

Rhodes's corner, which had initially been ignored, was now surrounded by a group of pioneering knights.

They chatted enthusiastically about their upcoming plans.

This banquet, which was originally intended for him, ironically made Rhodes the center of attention.

Of course, this is on the premise that he can successfully communicate with Governor Elena and get the Pioneer Knights involved in suppressing the rebellion.

Rhodes wasn't worried. Regardless of the truth, in the Duchy of Northern Frost, he was now the representative of the pioneering knights of the Coldwater River region.

Behind him stood a powerful army of ten thousand men.

He may not have to give face, but this legion must!

The awkward position of offending both sides can be used to your advantage if you make the best of both worlds.

(End of this chapter)