Transmigrated with a Demon-Refining Pot: Hehehe, Refine in an instant

The messenger wore a dark blue uniform, a sword at his waist, and moved with composure, but there was a hint of tension in his eyes.

He stood in the center of the council chamber of Tomato Territory, holding a sealed letter in both hands, and said loudly:

"Baron Ron, my master has sent me a personal letter for your perusal."

Ron calmly took the letter and opened it. The handwriting on the parchment was neat and restrained, and the wording was polite.

"We deeply admire the Baron of the River Bend for his valiant campaign against these rebellious territories on behalf of the Duchy..."

After hearing a string of compliments, Ron continued reading.

However, in the face of the recent unrest in the Duchy, more than ten territories in the south have formed a mutual protection alliance, jointly electing me as their leader and vowing to advance and retreat together.

The allied forces numbered no less than five thousand, with dozens of high-ranking knights as their retinue.

They are all loyal lords of the principality and hope that there will be no misjudgment with the River Reef.

Ron also summarized it after reading it.

The general idea is...

If Ron continues south, they will perish with him.

Even if they can't defeat Ron, they can still breach his territory, and then everyone will suffer heavy losses...

Ron finished reading the letter, expressionless, and handed it to Hart beside him. Hart read it and passed it to Laun. Laun read it, and his lips twitched.

"Five thousand men? Dozens of high-ranking retainers?" Hart sneered.

"They certainly know how to boast."

"Whether it's just hype or not, we'll have to see for ourselves." Ron leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table.

"But he's right about one thing: it's hard for us to crush others with our strength like we used to."

"My lord, do you mean... we're not going to attack the south?" Abaddon asked in a muffled voice.

"It's not that we won't fight, it's that we'll fight slowly, deliberately, and rhythmically."

Ron stood up and walked to the map hanging on the wall.

"The dozen or so territories to the south, plus the viscounts, are difficult to conquer quickly. Once we get into a war of attrition with them, there are many more lords in the south who are watching from the sidelines. Once they see us make a move, they will all turn to our alliance."

"Then it won't be a dozen or so, but dozens."

"Sir, what should we do?" Karl asked.

"Let's go to the front lines and see how they are doing. We can't just back down after receiving a letter from them." Ron had already made some decisions.

That afternoon, Ron ordered the entire army to form ranks and advance south.

The army marched out of Tomato Ridge, with nearly a thousand soldiers in gleaming armor, and cavalry spread out on both flanks.

The troops stopped near the Confederate border that day, and the two armies faced off in the wilderness, but both sides exercised restraint and did not make a move.

Ron, mounted on his horse, peered through binoculars at the Allied camp in the distance.

The military camp was set up very solidly, clearly indicating that they were prepared for a long battle, which put Ron in a difficult position.

Just as Ron was observing the enemy camp, a group of soldiers emerged from the opposite tent.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his fifties with a square face, short beard, wearing a dark green cloak, and a long sword decorated with jewels at his waist.

He was followed by seven or eight knights, all dressed in full armor, presumably high-ranking squires.

Viscount Water Hyacinth has come in person.

Since a mere viscount dared to leave the camp with several men, Ron naturally had to go up and talk to him as well.

Ron rode forward, and the two met formally.

Viscount Water Hyacinth, seeing that Ron was such a young lord, felt bitter inside.

They became official knights at such a young age, while I spent a lot of money to get advanced breathing techniques, but I still can't break through. I'm so old, I've lived to the point of death.

Although he was filled with emotion, Viscount Water Hyacinth still had important business to attend to:

"Baron Ron, it's a pleasure to meet you. You are quite young and accomplished."

"Haha, you flatter me."

After a few casual words, the other party stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point:

"What exactly does Baron Ron mean? Does he really intend to swallow us all up or drive us away?"

Then we'll really have to fight tooth and nail.

Ron gave a forced smile: "How could that be? We're just poor, so we've come to borrow some military rations from our neighbors."

"The Melon Leaders are in rebellion; I am here to quell the rebellion on behalf of the eldest prince."

I have verified that everyone here is absolutely not a rebel.

Viscount Water Hyacinth's expression softened upon hearing this; it was good that he didn't have such a large appetite.

"Baron Ron, just let us know if you need any help. We'll do our best to help if we can, and please don't think we're stingy if we can't help."

Ron immediately changed his expression, smiling gently:

"The problem is that we're running out of potions. If everyone could sponsor me a potion-eating bug, that would be great."

Viscount Water Hyacinth was momentarily speechless. He had just praised him, and now he was making such a big fuss.

Although the total number is not small, each household only needs to contribute one.

It's not that it's unacceptable.

Although he knew this was strengthening Ron's power, Viscount Water Hyacinth had no choice.

If Ron can get more of these elf bugs, he can break through their alliance next time.

This indicates that his strength has made a qualitative breakthrough, and there will be no need to resist anymore.

It's not impossible for them to lead their families to surrender to the River Bend territory.

So Viscount Water Hyacinth thought about it for a moment and didn't object, only saying that he would go back and discuss it with the other lords.

After Ron returned, a message came back that same evening saying they had agreed.

Ron was secretly pleased; the nobles in the south were indeed wealthy.

They didn't haggle; they were just planning to take a chance, but they ended up with an unexpected bonus.

A dozen or so potion-eating insects, that's quite a lot.

They were locked in a standoff with the Confederate States of America for another two days.

On the evening of the third day, Ron kept his promise and left after receiving all the elf insects.

When the news reached Viscount Water Hyacinth, he was eating in his tent.

I put down my knife and fork, leaned back in my chair, and let out a long sigh:

"Baron Ron is a kind man!!"

They had no intention of launching a sneak attack on Ron; they were practically celebrating his departure.

After all, although they had the advantage in troop strength, no one could stop those two Tier 1s.

If war really breaks out, it wouldn't be good if a few more nobles among them died.

After leaving with his spoils, Ron returned to Tomato Territory.

He gathered his subordinates together again; his goal had only just begun.

We can't waste this great opportunity; we should go back to our territory and develop our strength.

In the conference room, Ron spread out a map.

Laue, Hart, Abaddon, and Carl sat around the table.

"The alliance in the south will remain untouched for the time being," Ron said, pointing to the southern end of the map.

"I'm a man of my word. What I say is what I keep."

"Sir, what is our next plan?" Laun asked.

Ron’s finger moved away from the south, across the Blackrock Mountains, and landed on a blank area in the east.

"East."

"East?" Karl paused for a moment.

"Aren't those poor, newly established lords?"

"They're poor, but there are a lot of them," Ron said.

"Moreover, according to reports from scouts, the east is in complete chaos."

They are separated from our pioneering land by the Black Rock Mountains, and their situation is currently unknown to them.

"In the past, it was very difficult for them to form an alliance to resist us."

After all, they were practically fighting tooth and nail just a moment ago.

"This is the opportunity." Ron looked up.