“Lord Shen Mu.” After the Holy Tree Knight guarding the door confirmed his identity, Bandak quickly entered the castle hall.
“Hmm.” Shen Mu nodded when he saw Bandak approaching, saying, “Very good, Bandak, I feel much more at ease with you here.”
“Thank you for your trust.” Bandak humbly bowed and placed his hand on his chest in a salute.
Bandak understood that it was precisely because of his humility and cautious nature that he enjoyed Shen Mu’s special trust.
Bandak understood this point; after all, even with so many generals having emerged, Shen Mu had always entrusted him with important tasks, especially at night, where he was basically in charge of all defensive work.
Shen Mu did not feel at ease assigning this work to anyone else.
Now that a new castle had been built in the heart of the crucial Bali River Street, the first person thought of to oversee this new castle was him, which truly indicated Bandak’s unparalleled importance in Shen Mu’s eyes.
“Alright, now I’ll show you around this new castle. It’s best if you familiarize yourself with the environment first, as you’ll be responsible for guarding it next.” Shen Mu led Bandak outside.
“Understood.” So Bandak followed Shen Mu out of the castle’s lord’s hall.
This was also a standard Swadian-style castle.
It was made entirely of stone.
And above, there were many wooden structures, including wooden planks, placed on the city walls.
For Bandak, who hailed from the Rodok Kingdom and was originally part of the split from the Swadian Kingdom, belonging to the same lineage, he was very familiar with this style of castle architecture.
“Lord Shen Mu.” Bandak, having finished inspecting the castle, stood on the city gate, looking at the surrounding 6-meter-high stone walls, and nodded slightly, saying, “This castle indeed has a very traditional Swadian style—solid, reliable, and quite compact. It doesn't require too many defenders to hold it firmly.”
With that, Bandak nodded solemnly and said, “Give me 200 Archers and 300 Infantry, and I can hold this place firmly. Even a force of two or three thousand men would not be able to breach its defenses in a short time.”
These words were spoken with great confidence and conviction, demonstrating Bandak’s self-assurance.
“Very good.” Shen Mu nodded. This was also why he had brought Bandak here. He then said in a deep voice, “I will send all 100 Rodok Sharpshooters and 100 Rhodok Veteran Crossbowman here, and also assign 100 Swadian Sergeants and 500 Swadian Militia to you.”
“So many troops, and all elite soldiers.” Bandak was slightly taken aback. “Are we going to war with the Green Leaf Group?” He then looked towards the depths of Long City.
“Not war, but we plan to preempt them.” Shen Mu briefly explained his strategic arrangement.
“That’s true. I heard before that the Green Leaf Group consists of so-called Wood Elves, so it’s indeed possible that special conflicts might arise.” Bandak immediately understood, looking towards the west, into the depths of Long City, which was the deepest part of Bali River Street. “If we have conflicts of interest with them, then as the friction over interests intensifies, armed conflicts will certainly occur. Making defensive plans now is indeed a wise choice.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m entrusting this place to you.” Shen Mu looked at five Holy Tree Knights approaching from not far away and also said to Bandak, “I originally intended to only assign five Holy Tree Knights as your guards, but now I will assign ten Holy Tree Knights specifically as your personal bodyguards to protect you.”
“Thank you for your consideration.” Bandak bowed in gratitude.
“Don’t thank me, you deserve it. And it’s very dangerous here; I’m telling you in advance, I will not allow you to rush to the front lines in extremely dangerous situations.” Shen Mu said seriously, “The archery of those Wood Elves is no joke; their archery can rival that of Vigia Sharpshooter.”
Of course, this was just Shen Mu’s self-praise.
The archery of Vigia Sharpshooter was indeed startling, but when facing the famous shooting race of Wood Elf in fantasy, whether the archery of Vigia Sharpshooter could compare to that of these Wood Elf was truly debatable.
However, using Vigia Sharpshooter to compare with these Wood Elf Archers would leave a very deep impression on Bandak.
After all, Bandak also originated from the Mount & Blade Warband World, and he had traveled throughout the entire Calradia continent.
Therefore, he was very familiar with the level of Vekia Archers on the Calradia continent.
And he was even more familiar with the top tier of archers in the Vigia Kingdom, which was the level of Vigia Sharpshooter.
After all, throughout the entire Calradia continent, the only two top-tier ranged archers were Vigia Sharpshooter and Rodok Sharpshooters.
Rodok Sharpshooters, being the top-tier troops of the Rodok Kingdom themselves, Bandak was quite familiar with how powerful this top-tier troop type was.
And as for Vigia Sharpshooter, who were equally renowned as Rodok Sharpshooters, Bandak also had a deep impression.
Now that Shen Mu told him that the archers of the Wood Elf race could actually rival Vigia Sharpshooter, it naturally made Bandak’s heart grow vigilant.
“Are the archers of the Wood Elf race really that powerful?” Bandak furrowed his brows tightly at this moment, and at the same time, he looked up at Shen Mu, saying in a deep voice, “Then in that case, we really should be more careful.”
“Exactly, especially you, Bandak. I don’t want you to suffer any harm.” Shen Mu patted Bandak’s shoulder.
This was his only general who understood defense.
If something were to truly happen, it would be a severe blow to his current forces.
For Shen Mu, losing 100 Swadian Knights was not as important as losing Bandak himself.
Or rather, if 100 Swadian Knights died, Shen Mu would definitely feel heartache, but for him, he could still train these troops by upgrading them through combat.
But if Bandak died, he would truly be dead.
“Wait, if I remember correctly, in the game, these generals don’t die; they only fall unconscious, including the protagonist.” Shen Mu suddenly recalled this in his mind, but then a wry smile appeared on his face.
He shook his head and didn't take the matter seriously: “Forget it. They don’t die in the game; that’s set by the Mount & Blade Rules. But in this real world, if someone gets an arrow to the head or their body is directly shattered, and they still don’t die, that would be a complete joke.”
Game is game, reality is reality.
They must not be confused.
“Someone.” At this moment, Shen Mu also turned to the Holy Tree Knight following him and ordered, “I now require you to inform Deherim to dispatch 100 Swadian Sergeants, 100 Rodok Sharpshooters, 100 Rhodok Veteran Crossbowman, including 500 Swadian Militia, a total of 900 soldiers, to come here immediately.”
“Understood.” The Holy Tree Knight did not hesitate at all, immediately nodded, turned, and left this New Uzhhorod.
“My Lord, when you notified me then, you should have brought those soldiers with you as well.” Bandak shrugged at this moment.
“It was my mistake.” Shen Mu also showed a wry smile and said nothing more. At that time, he had only thought of calling Bandak over. Now, thinking about it, he really should have had those elite soldiers come with Bandak.
“Also, every three days or so, I will send you a food resupply. Everything here is now entrusted to you.” Shen Mu made his final arrangements.
“Understood, I know.” Bandak nodded.
At this moment, in the sky, the sun had gradually set, and the dim yellow sunlight spread across the entire Blue Star World.
The entire Bali River Street of Long City was gradually enveloped in a dim yellow hue.
“It looks like it’s getting dark soon.” Shen Mu estimated the time; it was probably around 5 PM. If those soldiers arrived, it would be around 6 PM.
Just right. By then, it would be dark, allowing all those soldiers to enter Uzhhorod, this new castle.
“My Lord, in that case, please allow me to lead these Holy Tree Knights to inspect the surrounding area.” Bandak looked at the dense buildings not too far away, a hint of curiosity on his face.
“Good, then go and check the surroundings, but be careful and return immediately if you encounter any danger.” Shen Mu nodded.
Then, after Bandak saluted, he took the ten Holy Tree Knights specifically assigned to him for his protection, turned, and walked down from the city wall.
Then they mounted their warhorses and galloped out of the city gate, heading into the distance.
“This Uzhhorod now has a troop strength of 1,500 people.” Shen Mu turned to look at the 600 soldiers and civilian units who had accompanied the establishment of Uzhhorod earlier, and his heart gradually felt much more at ease.
Although these 600 soldiers and civilian units were all low-level Swadian soldiers, those who were coming next were the high-level soldiers he had dispatched from Deherim.
Although most of them were the 500 Swadian Militia, even Swadian Militia were all-around combat soldiers equipped with hunting crossbows.
With shields and spears, holding the city wall was absolutely no problem.
Adding 100 Rodok Sharpshooters and 100 Rhodok Veteran Crossbowman, these were the absolute long-range precision crossbowmen he possessed from the Rodok Kingdom system.
In Shen Mu’s opinion, holding this place was absolutely no problem.
“If the Green Leaf Group truly dares to make any unwise moves, then this place will be like a nail. As long as it’s fixed here, even if they bypass it to attack my Deherim, soldiers can be dispatched from here at any time, whether to attack their Green Leaf Group stronghold or to reinforce my Deherim, allowing me to maintain tactical initiative.”
Shen Mu’s eyes showed determination.
On the battlefield, as long as one possesses tactical initiative, it means one controls the balance of the battlefield.
Currently, he still needed to develop and did not wish for too much conflict and friction with the Green Leaf Group. It was best to continue developing slowly, allowing him to fully absorb the newly acquired resources.
After all, although the Mount & Blade System thrives on war, being too well-fed is not a good thing. It needs a period of quiet dormancy to first digest this large chunk of fat it has already consumed.
Time was on Shen Mu’s side.
Shen Mu thought so too.
“As long as I can accumulate more and more Faith Power, my Faith Power will allow buildings to be constructed faster, caravans to travel more frequently, and food production to steadily increase.”
Thinking of this, Shen Mu also forcefully waved his hand.
Everything seemed calm now.
But he felt an unsettling sense of an undercurrent beneath the surface of the sea, ready to stir up a ripple, or even a giant wave, at any moment, from an unknown location.
“I just feel like a storm is brewing.” Shen Mu shook his head and walked down from the city wall.
And at this moment, outside, Bannak, riding his horse and accompanied by the 10 Holy Tree Knights, had descended from the earthen mound to the edge of the barren desert below.
At this time, Bannak’s face also showed some doubt.
“Holy Tree Knights, if I remember correctly, when we came here before, there didn’t seem to be this much desert terrain, right?” Bandak asked the Holy Tree Knights.
“That’s right, Lord Bandak.” These Holy Tree Knights also expressed their respect for Bandak and said, “We came here before when we were still Holy Tree Cavalry, and we even charged across this desert, but we haven’t been here for a while. In our memory, this desert has grown three to four times larger than before.”
The Holy Tree Knight’s words made Bandak nod: “It is indeed so.”
At the same time, he looked at the architectural ruins at the edge of the desert, some of which had even collapsed, and many resembling grave mounds, and his brows furrowed even tighter.
These were scenes that had not existed in his memory.
The grave mounds appearing in the desert were all collapsed Blue Star World buildings surrounded by sand, now appearing like sand dunes actively buried by sand.
They stretched endlessly, truly giving the feeling of the Sarranid Desert.
But this feeling also made him feel very strange.
Especially looking at the concrete buildings unique to the Blue Star World appearing at the distant edges, Bandak’s heart was filled with even more emotion: “This is truly magnificent… but why do I feel that the reinforced concrete of the Blue Star World seems to be disappearing?”
A thought suddenly appeared in Bandak’s mind as he looked at these disappearing concrete buildings.
He couldn’t help but purse his lips. (End of Chapter)
