Crown of Chaos

PS: Thanks to the leader of the book friend "People under the Wutong", the boss is generous, the boss spends wildly, and thanks to the helmsman of the book friend "Dragon Eagle Zhiling", the boss is awesome, and the boss is blessed by the four gods.

PS2: Due to force majeure, this chapter is currently blocked, but everyone can speak enthusiastically. I can see it in the background, thank you.

Milman-Raul, Countess Arabelle, a devotee of the lucky lady Taimora, and a master ranger.

The countess's situation was not good. Since the Goblin War, she lost her territory and was forced to retreat to Susar with her subjects.

No one dared to laugh at the countess, because she tried her best. She led her army to fight for her city to the last moment, but the enemy was too powerful. Even the legendary warrior Assan IV died in the battle, and Mir Mann had no choice but to retreat. The master ranger is currently taking up residence in the temple of Taimora in Susar, along with her few remaining vassals and loyal retainers.

It is normal for Milman-Raul to want to take back her territory. She is the lord of Arabelle and the owner of the largest city in the north. It is really embarrassing to become a landless count now.

However, how does Millman Raul plan to form an army that is strong enough to confront the Orc Great Khan Turgeon?

Aaron thought.

In the kingdom, there are three channels for building an army. These three channels are independent of each other and allowed to be used together.

The first channel is the traditional vassal service and allegiance system, that is, vassals are obliged to serve their lord. When the lord believes that war is needed, he will summon his vassals to declare war mobilization and assemble his own troops. They would each return to their territory to summon the lower-level vassals and their directly affiliated troops, and the lower-level vassals would then summon the knights and their troops.

This method of recruitment is called "vertical recruitment". The big lord can quickly rely on this feudal military structure to recruit a large but uneven army. Some vassals have good relations with the big lord or have direct interests tied to them. , they will send out a full force of elite personnel, and some vassals with average relations will be dealt with and sent out troops according to the minimum requirements.

Aaron currently belongs to the "lower-level nobles". If the regent on the throne requests to summon the army, Aaron must prepare weapons and equipment to participate in the recruitment.

The second channel is to directly issue a recruitment order to the territory and recruit troops from urban citizens and free people. This recruitment method will cause greater damage to production. At the same time, the lord must also provide weapons and equipment, food supplies, and a small commission. and the promise of promotion.

This method of recruitment is called "horizontal recruitment". The lord can get an army of decent quality in a short period of time. Although they are insufficiently trained, morale is not high, and the equipment is insufficient, they are large in number and are effective in defending the city. Fighting within one's own borders can often play a huge role.

The third channel is simple, mercenaries, that is, recruiting military groups composed of adventurers, mercenaries, and idle professional soldiers to fight for themselves. Mercenaries mean extremely high employment costs, unreliable loyalty, Limited obedience can also represent efficient, powerful combat effectiveness and organization.

This is a fantasy world, and the combat capabilities adventurers can offer are staggering.

Generally speaking, these three recruitment methods are the sources of all armies in the country, and requesting for reinforcements is generally classified as the third method.

Aaron wondered what was left of Countess Millman-Laure.

Vertical recruitment? She and her vassals no longer even had fiefdoms.

Lateral recruitment? How much fighting power can these northern refugees in Sousal provide?

Mercenary recruitment? Where does the money come from?

Aaron was really curious about how Milman Raul was confident that he could organize a large army to recapture Arabelle.

Unfortunately, cousin Robert only heard about it and didn’t know the specific situation.

"You also need to know more about hot topics, especially the Adventurer's Guild, what tasks, what events, and what everyone is talking about recently. These things often contain opportunities." Aaron couldn't help but said: "Don't You don’t want to just get a dead salary if you just work as your scribe all day long, do you?”

"But what else can I do besides being a scribe?" Robert muttered dissatisfiedly: "I didn't ask you to try to change my position, and you don't want to."

"You have to show enough skill if you want to change positions!" Aaron tapped the table with his index finger. He frowned and said: "Look at what you usually do. Now that you have time and money, what do you think of? It’s always to go to Xiacheng District to spend money, whether it’s to eat and drink, to play darts, cards and chess, or even to spend money on women’s bellies. If I’m not wrong, you know someone in Xiacheng District. A woman, right?”

"You know?" Robert was so frightened that he stood up directly.

"..." Aaron looked at him with a cold expression.

"I always feel that I deserve a better job, Aaron." Robert sat down helplessly.

"You first do your job well in the Adventurer's Guild. In addition, help me understand and inquire about all hot events on a regular basis. If I am in Susar, you will report to me once a week." Lun whispered: "Pay attention to the timeliness of things."

"I know." Robert agreed helplessly.

"Okay, let's go out and play with your friends." Aaron waved his hand to indicate that he could go out.

"Aaron, you know, I..." My cousin's face turned red, his mouth opened, and he could neither walk nor sit down.

"I know, I won't tell Mellie and Lothair about this, but you'd better know what's going on in the lower city. I think you know it very well," Aaron said casually.

Robert went out, and Aaron thought for a while and decided to go to the market in the uptown area to have a look.

He was carrying a gold ticket worth 1,000 gold coins. It would be a waste if he didn't use this money.

Money has to be spent!

The market in Susar is full of things, and the wars in recent years have presented a strange situation - the goods on the market are more abundant than ever before, and many people who have lost their jobs and homes are forced to sell their property They were sold cheaply, but not many people had enough cash on them, so many precious magic items were more or less discounted.

Just like the red dragon scale fine gold full-body plate armor in Aaron's home, normally if this heirloom is put up for sale, it should be able to sell for 20,000 gold lion coins, but if Aaron is in a hurry to sell it, he encounters a market In this case, it's hard to say whether it can be sold for 10,000 gold lion coins.

Aaron thought to himself, let's see if I can get some good stuff from the big market.

Ordinary equipment will be distributed uniformly by the Purple Dragon Knights, so Aaron walked around the market and didn't see anything he wanted to buy. He quickly slipped to the door of the largest war mage firm in the market.

This is the semi-official arcane trading house in Susar. The War Mage Group often sells things here, and also buys some spell-casting materials.

The Dharma Masters are very powerful!

Masters also spend a lot of money, so much that any Master will always be in poverty. A Master's finances are generally only in two situations: lack of money, and special, special lack of money!

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, the War Mage's Business Store was particularly empty. The counters were filled with all kinds of equipment, magic props, potions, raw materials, luxury goods, magic scrolls, and books. There were all kinds of items, but there were only a few customers.

Because things here are very expensive! Very few people can afford it!

A young and beautiful girl in a purple dress came forward. She smiled brightly at Aaron: "Welcome, sir. Do you want to sell or buy?"

What a handsome guy! The girl's eyes shone, and her attitude immediately became five levels of enthusiasm.

He is also a local noble!

"Buy." Aaron glanced around and noticed an older battle mage sitting behind the main bar. His strength was probably at the top of the elite level. He was wearing a pair of glasses that were thicker than the bottom of a wine bottle. Glasses, focusing on a piece of parchment in front of him.

Aaron knew what he was doing.

He's memorizing spells.

The mages in the kingdom can theoretically learn unlimited magic, but due to the restrictions of the magic network goddess Mystra, although the mages can learn all magic, the magic they can remember is limited.

For example, a mage may know 20 magics, but due to the restrictions of the magic network, he can only remember and use 5 of them in his head at the same time. The remaining magics will be automatically blocked from his mind and cannot be used. , if he wants to use other magic, he needs some time to rest or meditate, and then re-memorize the spell he needs from his spell book or magic scroll, replacing 1 of his existing 5 magic spells. .

It's like a mage owns a large warehouse with a large amount of goods, but his trolley can only hold limited things. What he can use is the goods in the trolley. Want to use something else? No problem, you need some time to go into the warehouse and replace the unwanted items in the cart with what you want, and then push it out of the warehouse for use.

The size of the cart and how many things it can hold are directly linked to the mage's professional level and his intelligence attributes.

The old mage raised his eyelids from behind the bar and glanced at Aaron. Seeing the Salian coat of arms on his chest, he looked a little more serious: "Just take a look and tell me what you want. Fanny, you can take charge of this sir. "

Aaron nodded, he walked around the secret shop a few times, and soon fell in love with two magic items.

The first magic item is called "Energy Storage Staff". It is a simple staff that is strengthened by magic. On the surface, it looks no different from a short stick, but it is stronger than a wooden short stick.

The effect of this energy-storage staff is that when someone casts a spell nearby, it can absorb trace amounts of magic elements and store them, then release them in one breath when the user needs them.

This staff is not a sustainable magic item. Every time it releases magic power, it has a 3-6% chance of being damaged, and it is constantly superimposed. That is, if there is no problem with the first release, the second release will have a 6%-6% chance. 12% chance of damage.

"This item is a trial product and may fail to be stored."

This staff can be used for transition, and spellcasters like Aaron can freely decide how to release the magical elements in it. The Viscount is very satisfied with this.

The second magic item is called the "Shield Brooch". This brooch can protect the wearer from the damage caused by the first magic - magic missile, and has a certain resistance when facing other force field magic.

"Just these two items," Aaron said softly.

"The energy storage wand is worth 400 gold coins, and the shield brooch is worth 550 gold coins. Young man, considering that you are a local noble, I will give you 20 gold coins for free." The old war mage glanced at Aaron: "A total of 930 gold lion coins. Did you bring any cash?"

Aaron turned around and left: "Excuse me, I'm going to the Magic Lady Church right now!"

"Hey! Wait, boy, come back here!" The old battle mage quickly stopped Aaron from leaving: "This is an extraordinary item!"

"I'm a local and that's no reason for you to trick me. The shield brooch only costs 500 gold coins and can be ordered directly from the Magic Lady's Church. Don't think I don't know the market price. As for this energy storage wand... I don't know the production cost. , but this is obviously a defective product, how dare you ask me for such a high price?"

"If I want something similar, I might as well go to Xiacheng District and look for it. Someone will give it to me at half the price!"

The old battle mage looked at Aaron in surprise: "Young man, you know the market very well."

"Then you make a price and I'll consider it."

Aaron did not directly counter-offer. Instead, he said to the young girl leading him: "Are there any stockings sold here?"

"Yes, sir, which one do you want? One from Silvermoon City, one from the Underdark, or one from a local magic workshop?" the girl replied enthusiastically.

The highest-end unicorn velvet stockings in Silvermoon City range from 20 to 30 gold coins each (it fluctuates depending on the supply). High-end spider silk stockings from the Underdark region also cost 10 gold coins. The market price of stockings in local magic workshops is about About 2 gold coins.

Aaron asked for two pairs of white lace garter stockings produced in the Underdark, connected with two magic items: "800 gold lion coins, fixed price, including these."

Hey, Miss Pastor, I’m just waiting for you to come back!

"Too little, young man." The old war mage shook his head: "Let's do this, 850 gold lion coins. Since you are a local noble, I will give you 3% off. 825 gold lion coins. I still say the same thing. Did you bring any cash?"

Aaron also smiled. He first took out the 1,000 gold coin gold ticket, and then pointed to the magic scroll in front of the war mage: "Listen, sir, I also hope to complete this transaction. Time is money, my friend. , for you, and for me too.”

"I can go shopping elsewhere. I think the Magic Lady's Church also has these things, but considering that I am a local noble, of course I am willing to trade with you."

"As for you, of course you can refuse my deal, that's no problem, the deal is free."

"So these items will continue to be placed on the counter tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and a week later, they will continue to be placed on the counter."

"My deal will continue and you will continue to sit here, waiting."

"The decision is yours, friend."

Aaron held the bar with both hands and stared at the battle mage with his sky-blue eyes.

"...Okay then, 800 gold coins, fixed price." The old mage looked at Aaron, and after hesitating for a minute, he finally nodded: "This is my first business today. You are lucky, young man."

Charm success!

Aaron handed over the gold ticket, and the old mage waved his hand. A stone golem took out two bags from the room, filled with gold coins. He glanced at it, and the mage took out 200 gold coins from the bags and placed them in Aaron's hand. In front of Lun.

One Cormyr gold lion coin weighs the most standard 0.02 pounds, and 200 gold lion coins weigh 4 pounds. Aaron put the bag in his arms.

Before leaving, he glanced at the battle mage's stone golem.

This is an alchemy-constructed creature, two meters tall and strong enough to withstand most weapon attacks. Your own charm spell will have no effect on it.

Charming humans doesn't work all the time! Aaron warned himself, you never know what your opponent has.

With my current strength, if I go out on an adventure, there is a high probability that I will not be able to defeat a kobold dragon vein warlock.

Don't underestimate the kobold dragon warlock. Although he has a low IQ, he has dragon blood in his body. If you want to become a kobold dragon warlock, the kobold must have at least elite level strength. He can kill him with a precise fireball by raising his hand. A group of elite-level fully-armed warriors were blasted into a pile of rubble, not to mention that the kobold dragon-vein warlock also knew many other small spells.

I just went shopping and bought two pieces of magic equipment and went back. In the evening, I read the nationally famous best-selling novel "Elminster in Comando" borrowed from the royal library for a while. The day of rest was over.

For the next five consecutive days, Aaron trained as a new recruit in the Knights. He always got perfect scores in cultural classes, and was at an above-average level in swordsmanship classes. He quickly mastered his first sword skill [Sword Shi- Heavy split].

He began to learn the second sword skill [Sword Power - Revenge Strike].

However, on Saturday of the second week, when Aaron was about to continue mastering his second sword skill, his knight mentor Lucian stopped him.

"Aaron, that's it for today's training. There are some things you need to prepare for."

"What are you preparing for?" Aaron put down the wooden sword in his hand.

"Your magic instructor will arrive in Susar tomorrow." Lucian took out a letter with a ring from his body: "Be prepared and don't lose etiquette."

"After all, your magic tutor is famous for his... lively personality."

Updated, woo woo woo, taobo, my taobo, I’m going to be pissed off by you!

Ah Shui, you are no longer in this family! There is no place for you in this family! ! !