Chapter 506: Chapter 506

"After the report, Shaliya continued: "The hiring in Dunes Territory this time is a good opportunity but the tribes there are rather dangerous. I have inquired about their situation before, the largest nearby tribe consists of three."

"And the most dangerous one, has a total of more than 10,000 people. Over three hundred of them are second-tier Quicksand soldiers, and there are also multiple shamans." Shaliya had also gathered information about these territories.

Du You nodded: "You’re worried about the inadequate strength of our soldiers, right?"

Shaliya nodded, admitting that her own soldiers were of excellent quality, but they were only first-tier. Facing the second-tier Quicksand soldiers nearly twice their numbers, they would not stand a chance.

Du You thought for a moment, saying: "Once we accept this task, I will personally step in. With me in the picture, there’s no need for worry."

"But..." Shaliya hesitated, after all, Du You was their lord.

Shaliya had already understood Du You’s strength during the last battle. As long as Du You took action, there would be no problems. However, having their lord fight in person was always something to keep on the low.

Du You wasn’t much concerned about his own reputation. The other nobility’s tactics weren’t applicable for him.

"It’s settled then. Now, according to our assessment, how much should we charge for this task?"

Shaliya quickly calculated. She had designed this evaluation system herself. "Based on our situation, we shouldn’t be accepting this task since the risk is too high."

After a pause, Shaliya continued: "If we do take it on, according to the usual mission evaluation, the tribes pose a threat to us. So, we should charge fifty gold coins."

Fifty gold coins was a substantial amount for the average person, but it was nothing for the lords. The price she offered was far from ordinary; it was more like they were giving it away.

Du You considered her offer, "Well, then let’s publish our evaluation standards. As Dunes Territory was the first to hire us, let’s give them a discount and only charge ten gold coins."

Ten gold pieces versus fifty, to these lords, weren’t that different. Dunes Territory, in control of the Desert Red Lizards, wasn’t exactly lacking in funds. What Du You offered, however, was not something that money could buy.

Most importantly, once this mission completes and their reputation is established, it will be much easier to pick up tasks from other territories.

Certainly, even some impoverished territories might come to inquire when the time comes.

"By the way, there are no dangerous situations in the other territories, right?"

Shaliya immediately replied: "There are a couple of relatively dangerous places. One is near the Magical Beast, and the other is inhabited by a very powerful creature, of which the specifics are unknown. Generally, those two places are peaceful, so they most likely won’t hire us. As for the other territories, we will have enough with our Giant Rock Heavy Armored Warriors."

Du You nodded, resting assured. If he had to follow the troop around all the time dealing with trouble, that would not match his idea. This time, after finishing with the matters regarding his territory, Du You planned on visiting other places as well.

Considering the massive expense of his journey to this world, the returns were not that significant. If this pattern continued, would he have as many Crystal Coins to use when he came back next time?

Generally speaking, Du You had already settled on his destinations.

Since the decision to accept the task had been made, Shaliya promptly put forth her conditions to the Dunes Territory. Upon seeing that she was asking for only ten gold coins, the representative of the Dunes Territory was astounded.

"Well, I would like to report this to the Lord first." Lucas said with a look of worry, afraid there might be some kind of trap.

Shaliya didn’t seem to mind and agreed immediately. Regardless of how one thought about it, there were no disadvantages to Dunes Territory. Even if the mission failed, it’s not like the Sandpeople would attack them.

As such, the employment contract was rapidly approved, and Du You unhesitatingly made the first employment contract public. Upon seeing this contract, all territory representatives were incredulous.

At this point in time, Shaliya had already begun to make plans for the mission. "To prevent our troop size from appearing too small and revealing our true capacity, I’ve decided we will dispatch 90 of the Giant Rock Heavy Armored Warriors for this mission, leaving only ten in the nearby town. Additionally, the armors we left behind last time and some of the disguised ones can also be used."

As she spoke, Shaliya jotted down on a piece of paper: "After this ruse, the outside world will perceive that we’ve dispatched a total of 300 soldiers. This will deter our adversaries significantly and provide an excuse for the subsequent appearance of our troops."

"Surely they will send out spies, but they won’t approach closely. As long as we plan, they won’t detect any problems."

Du You nodded: "Excellent, I will also disguise with this appearance. They won’t know that I, their lord, will personally take action." Du You was not conscious of his reputation, but people from other territories do care.

"Shaliya, you’re so brilliant to think of such a strategy." Lin Yushi expressed her admiration.

"Oh, stop it, you guys are amazing as well. Your individual strengths can match up to many soldiers, while all I can do is create deception." Shaliya admired them too.

Suddenly, Shaliya spoke: "Oh yes, some people have been teaching the civilians magic cultivation methods in the last few days. We’ve found that common folk can also cultivate. The soldiers too can cultivate without it affecting their status as a specific branch of the armed forces."

Du You was stunned, he never thought that was possible. If the civilians all cultivated, wouldn’t that equate to him indirectly having many powerful existences? Thinking about it, Du You hastily opened his panel. Google seaʀᴄh 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱

However, on the panel, the manpower still stood at a hundred, without any changes. This showed that although the civilians cultivated and obtained great strength, they were not recognized as soldiers by the territory and were still considered civilians. "Then, how are their talents?"

Shaliya did not conceal, "Most people’s talents are not good, only a few are suitable for cultivation. This rate is probably even lower than the rate of average people becoming mages." As expected, there are restrictions, Du You thought.

However, Du You didn’t find it odd. Without these restrictions, the functional structures would be useless.

The blueprints of these functional buildings were so rare and pricey, it certainly has its reasons. "In that case, you continue, and you can experiment with different methods of cultivation."