Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

Beside Highcliff Castle flowed a calm, gently meandering stream. At its deepest, it barely reached one's waist. In Skye's opinion, even White Stream City's moat was wider and deeper, yet this stream held a title unmatched even by the broadest rivers of the Northern Region—Rushing River.

Some kobold pups and half-grown orc boys were in the river, collecting cobblestones of various sizes and colors.

Each time they filled a basket, they would be rewarded with a bright red apple by Li Wei.

These youngsters, as if devout believers blessed by their deity, would hold the apples in their hands with faces full of worship, joyfully running back, ready to treasure them.

"Lord, why do you need so many cobblestones?" Skye couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't there a pool of spring water beside my lord's hall? I plan to line the bottom with colorful cobblestones, and then plant tulips from the Southern Region on both sides. When I have time, I can sit in the nearby courtyard and have some tea. Of course, if there's time, I can also invite Miss Lyra for a stroll."

Skye couldn't help but mentally retort. He was still wondering how this seemingly boorish Lord of Highcliff Castle had the leisure to tend to a garden. Perhaps the real purpose was the last part.

No wonder he wanted to plant tulips…

"Hiss, spicy, spicy, spicy."

Taking a bite of the grilled skewer Li Wei handed over, Skye was so overwhelmed by the spiciness that he quickly gulped down a large mouthful of goat milk.

"Lord, to be honest, you are the most down-to-earth noble I've ever met. This kind of spice, which was transmitted from the Eastern Persian Gulf to Debe, is only used by commoners to adjust the flavor. Nobles often disdain this cheap spice. But even so, very few in Debe accept this spice."

Skye was sweating profusely. Even the cold wind couldn't dispel the heat in his body and mind. He had never imagined that this seasoning could be so delicious and have such an effect at the same time.

As a native of the Northern Region, only flames and strong alcohol could dispel some of the chill for him during the cold winter months each year.

In an instant, he thought of the vast business opportunities contained in this seasoning.

"But now it seems, it's entirely because they don't know how to use this spice. Lord, you have perfectly discovered its true use."

Skye, who had always avoided chili peppers, was for the first time both in love and hate with this seasoning.

This Knight Skye was also one with high emotional intelligence.

To put it nicely, it's called being down-to-earth; to put it bluntly, it's a lack of noble demeanor.

However, the Lord had never cared about these trivial matters, only smiling mysteriously, "I have already planted a large amount of chili peppers on a mountain."

"Next year, I will promote it throughout the entire Northern Region."

Skye's evaluation greatly boosted Li Wei's confidence.

Although chili peppers had been circulating in Debe, they weren't very well-known. Only some poor commoners who couldn't afford spices would use them to flavor their food.

But even so, many people would give up on this seasoning after their first exposure to it.

Not knowing how to use it was secondary; the main reason was that the people of Debe had a sweet tooth. Chili peppers, for them, were no different from feeding a newborn baby bitter gourd.

In his previous life, as a genuine Sichuan native, no one could bring the effect of chili peppers into full play better than Li Wei.

Originally, opening a high-end restaurant was the most profitable approach, but his basic plan was to expand his territory, so he didn't have the leisure to open a restaurant.

So directly selling chili peppers was obviously the most cost-effective approach.

What Li Wei had to do was to thoroughly promote chili peppers. These people who came to Highcliff Castle were obviously among those who would promote chili peppers.

As for dispelling the cold? This could only be considered an additional effect. Appropriate consumption was fine, but if commoners used it as their staple food to dispel the cold, they would only die faster.

After all, the premise of heat is the consumption of energy in the body. This is an unchanging law.

Those skinny, emaciated slum dwellers wouldn't have enough energy in their bodies to keep warm even if they ate chili peppers.

Skye frowned. To be fair, he had once tried this seasoning and then completely avoided it. Now, he didn't expect that this lord could create such miraculous effects, not only giving the food a different flavor but also dispelling the cold.

The business opportunities it contained were naturally not small, but it would be difficult to promote it in Debe.

Skye was an honest man; he thought so and said so, "Lord, with all due respect, this seasoning has indeed unleashed unimaginable changes in your miraculous hands."

"However, Debe's food is basically seasoned with honey, maple syrup, or pepper powder, etc. It's difficult for people to accept this seasoning, which is completely contrary to it."

Li Wei also understood this. It was like eating cilantro in his previous life: those who loved it loved it to death, and those who didn't hated it to the bone.

"Skye, haven't you accepted it too? The speed at which you're eating these skewers isn't slower than mine."

Difficulty was difficulty, but wasn't this Knight Skye the beginning? Li Wei was very optimistic.

"It's not the same." Skye was silent.

Could he say that he had originally refused, but later his arm couldn't twist his thigh, and after being forced to eat a few skewers by someone, he simply started giving up and then tasted the different flavors contained in them?

Even so, he both loved and hated it. There was a different kind of pleasure when eating it, but the subsequent pain made him want to drink the entire Rushing River.

"Forget it, forget it, let's not talk about this." Li Wei waved his hand. Originally, he was going to talk about the problem of Ke Xianri going south, but he didn't know how it got to commercial issues.

The relaxed and casual chat ended, and what followed was the real purpose of organizing this barbecue meeting.

"Miss Lyra wrote to me some time ago, saying that you and that group of stubborn people had a falling out?"

Li Wei waved his hand to dismiss the rabbit girl with a blackened face who was grilling meat.

Skye also tacitly dismissed his entourage.

"That's indeed the case." Skye sighed and couldn't help but rub his hands. This was a small action indicating that he didn't know what to do.

"The negotiation team sent was slaughtered by this group of Minotaurs, and their heads were stuck on branches to express their determination."

"A knight who escaped brought us more important information: this Minotaur tribe has squeezed out all their war potential. Sickles for cutting pasture have been cast into iron armor, and all livestock have been slaughtered to store military rations.

Tribes encountered along the way had their women and children used as emergency rations, and the males were coerced into this team.

Skye took a deep look at the Lord: "Lord, do you know that these Minotaurs have gathered as many as tens of thousands of people! This is a force that even the Duke has to take seriously, especially since they are snowballing. By the time they reach you, I don't even dare to think about how many people they will have gathered."

"This time, they are definitely not simply raiding south. I'm afraid they also have other intentions."

"What does Duchess Flina think?" The Lord also frowned.

He really didn't expect that this group of big fools had really made some achievements.

Highcliff Castle's guards couldn't even compare to a fraction of their numbers. The situation was even more serious than he had imagined.