Chapter 197: This is Not Noble at All
"This is impossible, that's definitely not just a mid-level spellcaster!"
"Mr. Kaman, are you sure you didn't see it wrong? Was that really a true dragon?"
"Doesn't Bay Territory only have about a thousand soldiers? How could we have failed?"
"We have to fight back, we must!"
"With what? That was already one-third of our territory's forces, are we supposed to throw everything in?"
"For the time being, don't engage with Bay Territory again. We lack detailed information about them."
"We'll deal with the battle later; the key issue now is how to handle the aftermath."
"Exactly, the elite soldiers who didn't die must be redeemed. It takes at least three to four years to train one, and talent is hard to find."
"And the regular soldiers, if we don't want to use our own people to replace them, we have to redeem them as well…"
"That's right, and the biennial conscription day is coming up soon!"
"How are we going to compensate? The wealthy Bay Territory certainly won't back down easily!"
"What about the ruins? We've already invested nearly 100,000 gold coins!"
"It's already in their hands, what else can we do?"
"…"
The noisy arguments filled the room.
These Carlisle family nobles qualified to attend the meeting all had at least the rank of knight and managed one or two large villages or towns.
Although they were arguing fiercely, each of them was basically hitting the key points.
The chaos was naturally due to their vested interests being involved.
In this regard, they always became very shrewd!
Kaman, who had escaped with his life through an emergency teleportation array, had no desire to speak.
He just sat there with a gloomy expression, watching the others argue, occasionally glancing at Larry Carlisle, who remained silent.
This 40-year-old viscount, already a peak high-level spellcaster, wasn't paying much attention to their quarrels.
A well-dressed, brisk butler walked in, directly approaching Larry Carlisle.
Larry raised his hand to take the document the butler handed him, and the others immediately fell silent, waiting for him to speak.
Waving the document in his hand, Larry exhaled slightly and turned to look at Brown, who had escaped using a teleportation scroll:
"Set aside your personal biases and tell us about Bay Territory—its lord, soldiers, and people…"
Despite his unpleasant expression and deep anxiety, Brown relaxed a little upon hearing Larry's question.
Viscount Larry never wasted words, and this was giving him a chance!
He carefully considered everything he had seen, not exaggerating a bit, and answered truthfully:
"The lord of Bay Territory is a Level 6 Arcanist named Matthew Ser."
Arcanist?
A mid-level Arcanist!
The Carlisle family members were suddenly shocked.
They weren't afraid of someone being strong, but they feared someone with high status!
Arcanists were the highest echelon of the Netheril Empire!
Even if the Carlisle family defeated Matthew, they absolutely wouldn't dare to kill him.
"He's a member of the Ser family and has received strong support from them."
"Bay Territory produces a new potion called 'Vitality Potion.'"
The Ser family!
Vitality Potion!
As soon as these two names were mentioned, everyone in the Carlisle family took a collective sharp breath.
Some of them already knew about this, but most had been kept in the dark.
"The most important thing is that Matthew Ser seems to have signed a life contract with a true dragon."
"According to intelligence, the dragon was discovered in the Foggy Marsh, near Sweetwater Town!"
At these words, every member of the Carlisle family instinctively widened their eyes.
Sweetwater Town!
Every member of the Carlisle family could never forget the pain of that place!
It had taken the Carlisle family nearly twenty to thirty years and an investment of tens of thousands of gold coins to develop that large town.
It was hailed as the key hub for advancing into the Foggy Marsh and developing new ruins.
And the result?
It was destroyed in the most absurd way by a black dragon!
And now, hearing the connection between Matthew, the dragon, and Sweetwater Town, it was inevitable for them to let their minds wander.
"Could it be that the dragon was originally discovered in Sweetwater Town?"
"Or maybe Sweetwater Town took the blame for Matthew Ser?"
"That dragon should have belonged to the Carlisle family!"
"Exactly, I think so too!"
"We must continue fighting and take back what's ours."
"…"
Seeing these people becoming agitated again, Brown suddenly grew even more worried.
He was truly afraid that these fools would lose their heads and be stirred into launching another attack.
Recalling the blood-soaked, frenzied yet terrifyingly calm Beelzebub, Brown found himself completely losing any desire for battle.
He was left with a psychological scar!
As a high-level warrior, Brown thought he shouldn't feel such emotions, but reality left him no choice—he was terrified to his core.
He had been just half a breath away from being decapitated by that bloodstained axe if he hadn't teleported in time.
"Alright, quiet down!"
Viscount Larry spoke calmly, as if indifferent to matters like the true dragon.
The people who had just been riled up instantly quieted down, as if their previous excitement had just been a show for Viscount Larry.
Casually glancing at them, Viscount Larry gestured for Brown to continue.
"The true dragon's combat power is immense. High-level professionals are no match for it…"
Everyone dismissed the idea of going after the dragon…
"Bay Territory's elite soldiers are incredibly capable in battle."
How capable?
"Although the soldiers' average professional level is no higher than Level 3, with most only at Level 2 or 1."
Defeated by these low-level troops?
"But they all have enchanted armor and weapons…"
Impossible, there's no way Bay Territory could be that wealthy!
"And each soldier carries two bottles of 'Vitality Potion' and two bottles of 'Nutritional Konjac Potion'."
"Sir Tres must be very aware that Bay Territory also has a heavy infantry unit of about 200 soldiers."
"They wear full enchanted plate armor and wield powerful, heavy enchanted weapons…"
This…
Couldn't be true, right?
"Each soldier earns a monthly salary of 20 silver coins."
"If they die, their family receives a pension of 5 to 10 gold coins, and their relatives are cared for by the territory…"
This must be a lie!
There's no way that's true!
The more Brown spoke, the darker the faces of the Carlisle family members became.
If what he said was true, Bay Territory's soldiers would be extremely tough to deal with!
No one wanted to face them!
This is not noble at all!
This isn't just generosity!
It's sheer foolishness!
Even the Carlisle family's elite soldiers didn't enjoy such treatment!