Indeed, Master Craftsman Beru was right when he said that Tonigel was not rich in crystal mines.

To forge the White Lion Armor, you need to imprint the Wind Sacred Emblem into the main joints and breastplates of the armor during the completion stage to reduce the weight of the entire armor and increase dexterity. To complete this step, the craftsmen of Eruin usually use amethyst, or citrine instead, both of which are extremely pure magic crystals and are one of the main materials usually used by witches, stars, crystal balls in Vainde, and light amethyst, also known as moon quartz, a type of calcite. The Golan-Elson, Enlek and Viero, and eastern Denel are all rich in these crystals, and they grow intensively in karst caves made up of water-eroded landforms between mountainous hills - but Toniguel does not include such natural conditions.

Even for Brando, Tonigel is a strange territory.

The drawbridge creaked down, the chains connecting the drawbridge to the city gate rubbed against the bricks with a screeching sound, and a ray of light shot in from behind the drawbridge and imprinted on the brick wall on one side of the doorway in the black hole. Brando sat motionless on horseback, his light brown eyes reflecting the blinding light behind the darkness—he pursed his lips and watched silently as the drawbridge slowly lowered, the gap between the bridge and the gate grew wider. More and more light was pouring in from behind the cracks, brightening his eyes.

Behind them was the streets of Fir City, and apart from a brief speech in the early morning after a bitter battle to the surviving mercenaries and the citizens of the city, this was the first time he had seen the city of his own from the perspective of a lord, at least for the time being. The Barony of Fir is located in the south of Toniguel, which is directly under the jurisdiction of Grudin, and the main population areas are actually only four Fir City, the mining town of Shavlund, the ferry port of Grace and the port of Griss to the east, with a population of about 80,000, of which about 30,000 live in the area around Fort Fir and its surroundings. Of course, there are many other settlements such as Green Village that are not counted, but Brando guesses that the total population of this area will not exceed 100,000.

However, this is the most densely populated area in the Toniguel region, and the whole of Toniguel is home to about 300,000 people.

The total area of Tonigel was about one hundred and seventy knightly domains, and the area under the direct jurisdiction of Grudinin was certainly not the only noble domain here. His retainers occupied most of the territory. Brando knew that Grudin's two biggest henchmen, Lord Mintai and Lord Pallas, of which Lord Pallas was a knight himself, with about the strength of the silver rank, and the only regular army in the region. Brando knew that this guy had a nickname, the Knight of Broadness, Sharuf, and said that he was lenient because Sharuf himself was in fact a strict and rigid knight compared to the usual brutal aristocracy of the place, and such a man could get along with Grudin and be entrusted with important tasks, and Brando knew that the only reason was that the other party had always had an almost stubborn loyalty to Grudin.

Therefore, the first thing he will face next may be the army of these two lords, these people are the pathstone for Count Denel, and only by letting them be taught "can the Earl, who is hiding behind the scenes and does not want to show up, become more and more cautious."

Therefore, their first goal was to make these Grudin's retainers fear them in the next battle.

The drawbridge door creaked down, and a white light reflected the blue sky in Brando's vision. He looked up at the day—from Fir Castle to the northernmost Parton Wilderness, where the flat Tonigal Plains between Horn Gap and Grahar Hills shared the sunny weather. It's the best time to get winter into the Denel region, the plains shimmer with gold, but after the autumn harvest, the temperature drops soon after.

Therefore, the nobles of the north were in full swing preparing for war, trying to launch an offensive before winter. If postponed, the war would continue beyond the spring of the following year, and neither Queen Anna nor Gluke would want to see such an outcome. Especially in the Yanirasu region, the Eruin royal family, the lion dragon, the fleet poses a great threat behind Kolkova, which could change the situation at any time.

Now that the Black Frontier of Siphah has entered the Lordal River, all that remains is for both sides to convince the Freeport merchants of Ampesel. If the queen's top lobbyists had succeeded among the mercenary merchants, thousands of Sifah hoplites would have crossed the Lodal River straight to the Vlada border - just as it had happened in history.

In the same way, in Tonigel in the south, the shape shì also became nervous because of his appearance, and the breath of war seemed to waft in the wind to represent the sweetness of the harvest, but there was a faint smell of blood.

Time marches methodically against a heavy, lead-gray background.

"The next day, according to the standard of communication in this era, the letterhead with the news of the mercenary riot should have reached Lord Mintai in the north of Minsberg. And the first batch of knights were leaving the limestone castle and gathering their forces in all directions, Brando silently thought that the only thing he could control now was the area around the fir castle, and the cavalry in this manor had already fled with the news, and after the initial preparations, Lord Mintai might be able to pull up an army of two or three thousand people, and the same aristocratic private soldiers, although the black iron rate was less than twenty-one percent, but for the mercenaries who were less than a thousand, they were also facing a bitter battle. ”

"Lord Mintai probably expected the mercenaries to defend the fir castle or flee to the forest", but Brando's ideal place to fight was in the hills north of Grace's Ferry, and it was up to the scouts to hear when the army would leave. Before that, he had sent a small group of Lubis mercenaries to the latter's territory - at the moment in the fir barony, there was no one better suited than the druids to act as spies.

Brando pondered this qiē silently, because this battle seemed so important in everyone's mind.

This is not just Lord Mintai's imminent dispatch of troops, it is just a small test, and Brando's real headache is the possible step-by-step approach of Count Denel behind the scenes. He thought he would have about a month to lay out the qiē, repair the defenses, and organize the territory - and until then, it was more important to build the mercenaries' confidence in him. Although the mercenaries in the city are temporarily in the same boat as him, it is impossible for them to stand so closely with him in the long run. Unless they are confident that they can provide them with the necessary shelter.

None of the three Grand Masters Juta, Clensia, and Fern were idle, and Brando knew that he couldn't keep them with a single good hope. And this battle will set up such confidence.

In fact, Antitina privately believes that this battle is not just about stabilizing the original group. It was also to declare Brando's legitimacy to the subjects of the Barony of Firs, as the Count of Denel would slow down if the battle achieved its desired goal. In this way, the people's hearts will naturally turn to their side.

The people need not only a benevolent lord, but also a lord who can protect them.

By this time the drawbridge had been halfway down, and Brando could see the red roofs of the fir city in the distance. Toñigal is close to the western shore of the Dead Moon Inland Sea, and the wind from the sea brings abundant rainwater, so ordinary houses use extremely sloping roofs, and in addition to the pointed arches of the attic, there is a channel to divert water from the eaves. New green vines hang down from the attic windows, contrasting with the vermilion tiles.

The influx of light brightened the inside of the gate, and with the exception of the face, the light outlined the half of Brando's body on horseback from the darkness, and then traced behind him the graceful curves of the bodies of two beautiful maidens. Akane carried a spear on her back, standing straight on horseback, with amber eyes, although she deliberately maintained a calmness like a guard, but deep down she couldn't hide a trace of girlish expectation and excitement, after all, she was an independent girl, and she grew up in the mountains and forests of the south with the gray wolf mercenary group, of course, she would not get used to the dullness in the castle.

As for Miss Elf, most of her feelings are still indifferent.

Brando's gaze shifted to his two retinues, and then he looked ahead, his mind settled. The drawbridge was lowering little by little in front of him, and the scenery on the other side was becoming more and more visible to him—a street that was in fact still being cleaned, but there were already pedestrians. Most of the shops and workshops were not open, but the young man's keen senses had already noticed that the suspicious and wary gazes in those windows had fallen on him, and the inhabitants of the city had already noticed the movement in the fir castle, and they were watching the new lord, who was not so legitimate.

Although Brando had ordered Antitina to reformulate her tax policy, not only did she get rid of most of her taxes, but she also cut off her old accounts. However, although this approach is attractive, most people are more skeptical about how much execution this thing has. What's more, it is still a question whether he will be able to stand on his feet again.

There was a loud bang, the dust was flying, and the drawbridge was finally completely lowered. Brando smiled inwardly, not paying much attention to the attitudes of the men, and secondly, he saw the group of Fern, Juta, and Clenthia waiting for him outside the castle - and Antitina was standing beside them.

"Your Lord."

Seeing him appear, the silver-haired middle-aged man Clenthia was the first to bury his head deeply. As someone who had fought alongside Brando, he knew better what the young lord was capable of. Although he was just as worried about whether Brando would be able to carry the Denel family head-on, or whether he would throw them out as scapegoats, the more worried he was, the more respectful he became.

Juta pursed her lips slightly, but Brando's behavior today made her eyes light up slightly, thinking that this god-like young man actually had such an amiable side. Only Fern held his head high and was expressionless.

"Do you know what I'm looking for you?" Brando asked.

All three shook their heads.

"Your lord," replied Clenthia respectfully, "you have to give your orders, and we will go to the soup and the fire." ”