Chapter 276: Chapter 276

This type of merit couldn’t be settled in a short while. Du You left the badge here, took a spare, and then went back to his dwelling to rest.

Du You didn’t choose to live in the noble residential area. He knew those nobles didn’t view him favorably.

Although he didn’t encounter any battles on the way back, Du You was still exhausted. Not physically, but mentally. After all, rushing back from enemy territory put significant pressure on him.

In fact, he may have felt less pressure had he encountered a few battles on his way back. Latest content publıshed on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵

On the other side, the City Lord’s Mansion was bustling. The City Lord and officials of various levels, including the nobles, were all gathered here. Except for Xi Luoha, who was still at the oasis, anyone who was of any importance was present.

"This time, we successfully attacked the opposing oasis. Although we couldn’t capture it, all the Sandpeople were slaughtered. As a result, they won’t be able to gather a considerable force for at least the next ten years," someone said.

Everyone was invigorated. After all, preparing for a war against the Sandpeople every year was exhausting.

"Why don’t we destroy the oasis on the other side? If it weren’t for that oasis, the Sandpeople wouldn’t amass in such numbers. As long as the oasis remains, the Sandpeople will eventually flock there," a nobleman suggested.

The representative of the nobles looked at him coldly, and another person immediately responded, "Don’t talk nonsense. We can’t destroy the oasis. it serves as our wind and sand barrier in White Stone City. Without it, the winds would continuously erode us, and we might risk turning White Stone City and the empire’s border regions into deserts."

Realizing his mistake, the nobleman closed his mouth but still seemed unconvinced.

The noble representative spoke, "The real purpose of White Stone City is not to guard against the Quicksand Empire. We use this place for military training. Minor skirmishes won’t matter as long as a full-scale war doesn’t break out with the Quicksand Empire. If the oasis were not there, who would we train against?"

At this point, many who were previously unfamiliar with the role of White Stone City gained an understanding.

The City Lord coughed and continued, "Now, we have two plans. Let’s discuss them."

The Lord paused and then continued, "The first plan is to build a small fortress and some defensive measures at the oasis to ward off a potential Sandpeople return and train our soldiers a bit more. I believe this fortress defense system can last at least five years."

"If this plan is successful, then the time it will take for the Sandpeople to amass a large-scale attack force may be delayed even further. Maybe not ten years, but fifteen or even longer."

Even though they had always used the Sandpeople for training, it wasn’t ideal if the Sandpeople gathered in such large numbers. This wouldn’t effectively train their forces but would instead lead to significant losses.

Once a large-scale conflict breaks out and too many Sandpeople gather, some powerful beings would emerge amongst the Sandpeople.

Had the Sandpeople not rallied so hastily this time, there potentially would have been even more of third-tier beings, and fourth-tier beings might have been present. It would have been really dangerous trying to stop the Sandpeople in that case.

A carelessness could pose a threat to the destruction of White Stone City. The main purpose of the City Lord was to prevent too many Sandpeople from gathering. Hence, they needed to clear out the Sandpeople every year.

However, even then, each winter, a massive number of Sandpeople would gather and launch an attack.

"This problem is a matter for you military officials, not us. I only want to know, will this plan affect our interests as nobles?" the noble representative asked.

The City Lord shook his head, "Of course not. Although some things aren’t ideal, there are still some people among the nobles’ followers who prove themselves useful in crucial moments. We can station them in the oasis for protection."

"What about the time?"

"There’ll be a rotation system. Whether your subordinates want to stay there, want to rotate, or want to return, it’s all up to you. But there are certain quota limitations; you can’t replace everyone with the nobles’ followers."

The nobles’ followers were indeed powerful, but there was an issue: they weren’t very obedient. They were fine for one-on-one battles, but definitely unsuitable for wars of considerable scales.

"In that case, we have no problem," the nobles whispered among themselves for a while before their representative finally agreed.

Seeing their reaction, the City Lord heaved a sigh of relief. His biggest worry was the nobles making a fuss. If it were the military, he could just make a decision himself. But dealing with the nobles was a different kind of trouble.

"So, let’s move on to the second plan. The Griffins have hatched normally. According to those documents, we can tame them. After a few years, we can have our own Griffin Knights," the City Lord announced.

Everyone’s eyes lit up. Griffin Knights were a very noble profession, even within the empire.

Only their location was remote, so they hadn’t had the means to train Griffin Knights until they obtained the Griffin taming methods and dared to create a Griffin Knight legion.

Now that it was proven that the training manual was useful, everyone was excited. Civilians would rise in status by becoming Griffin Knights, and for nobles, it would be a matter of prestige. Many nobles treasured their prestige more than anything else; they saw this as a good thing.

"We also have the training methods for Sand Snakes and Sand Sculptures. Although Sand Sculptures are not as suitable for our knights as Griffins, they are more numerous and can be used as cannon fodder. Sand Snakes can be used to combat the Sandpeople’s ability to burrow underground," the City Lord added.

Speaking loudly, the City Lord said, "That’s why I plan to take control of the Black Stone Canyon and reopen the fortress construction project there. Once I control the Black Stone Canyon, I’ll have an endless supply of Griffins, and the environment there is also suitable for raising Sand Snakes and Sand Sculptures. Our city is not suitable for rearing these beasts."

Everyone was taken aback. They hadn’t expected the City Lord’s second plan to be this.

"I object," a military high-ranking official immediately voiced out. "The Black Stone Canyon’s impact is too significant. Once a fortress is built there, the Sandpeople would definitely launch crazed attacks, potentially even attracting the Sandpeople within the Quicksand Empire."

"I also object. The last fortress building project was relentlessly sabotaged by them, resulting in massive manpower and resource losses. I’m not saying Griffins aren’t useful, but we can employ other methods."