The scarcity of bows and arrows in the territory is mainly due to Luo De.

Luo De believes that as the only long-range means of this era, all soldiers should master the technique of archery and practice more.

Therefore, except for the Wild Spear Throwers, all soldiers must practice, with each squad equipped with at least two bows.

Luo De also plans to select the elite from each team to form a Longbow Team.

This has now led to a severe shortage of bows and arrows as the Wildmen of the Wolfhoof Tribe begin their Hunting Team training.

"Alright, no problem, you can handle all of this directly."

Luo De agreed without hesitation,

"In the future, if military support is needed, unless it's extremely important, you don't need to consult me, just approve it directly."

"They need resources and manpower, support them as much as possible, and report afterward."

"Yes, my lord."

Lawrence responded and stood there smirking.

"What? Anything else?"

Luo De looked at Lawrence.

"Master, the new wine Katie brewed, could you please come up with a new story for it..."

"Alright, I'll think about it when I have spare time."

"Thank you for your hard work, I won't disturb you any further."

Lawrence bowed respectfully and then withdrew.

...

...

At night, Eagle Castle's study was brightly lit.

Having just sent away the messenger of Viscount Giant Bear, Earl Hawk sat in his chair and let out a long sigh.

He stretched his shoulders, trying hard to relax his body.

In the next moment, he suddenly stood up and slammed the table hard!

Boom!

The loud noise was heart-stopping, and cracks appeared on the wooden table.

The muscles on Earl Hawk's face tightened with anger, his eyes as sharp as knives.

Due to what happened previously at Black Pine Ridge, his relationship with Viscount Giant Bear had become extremely hostile.

Viscount Giant Bear is a hot-tempered and stubborn person. Once he locks onto something, he won't let go, like a hound clamping down on its prey.

Earl Hawk had no choice but to try and persuade him with kind words, even willing to make some compensation.

In fact, Earl Hawk did not fear Viscount Giant Bear, but his superior, Earl Storm, was very powerful, second only to Marquis Cold Blade.

The Baofeng Clan is closely connected with the Royal Family, and can even be considered as a nail inserted by the Royal Family in the North.

And the entire Northern Province only has those few nobles, so the Hawk Clan cannot afford to offend them all.

Therefore, he had to spend more effort explaining, and even lower his posture slightly.

"Damn, it's all because of that guy from Black Pine Ridge!"

Earl Hawk cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth.

That guy was impervious to appeals, not only causing his own plans to fall through but also resulting in the loss of a knight!

His fist clenched tightly on the tabletop, veins bulging.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as Earl Hawk's mood was getting gloomy, the door was knocked.

"Who is it?"

Earl Hawk frowned and asked in a deep voice.

"Lord Earl, it's Knight Balrog."

The guard's voice came through.

"Come in."

Earl Hawk adjusted his mood and sat back down.

Then Knight Balrog pushed the door open, bowed, and reported: "Lord Earl, all those spreading rumors in the territory have been captured."

Since winter began, rumors had been flying in various areas of Eagle Ridge.

Everything revolved around Earl Hawk ignoring the lives of his people to send men to Black Pine Ridge for plundering, and then being caught after being defeated.

The story originally had some truth, but later it became more and more exaggerated.

Eventually, it was rumored that Earl Hawk refused to pay ransom for the captured soldiers, causing loyal knights to be separated from their families, which led to the death of Knight Chris.

He also refused to pay ransom for his nephew, Baron Halon, almost causing his nephew's death.

The rumors varied, but they all labeled Earl Hawk as insidious, ruthless, and cold-blooded, devoid of humanity.

These talks spread like a plague among the populace.

Plus, this year's war made life difficult for the people in the territory, with several deaths in each village during the winter.

In no time, everyone was in a state of panic, and many civilians began doubting the Earl's competence.

For serfs and slaves, such rumors had little effect since their lives were in Earl Hawk's hands.

But it's different for freemen.

Even though freemen rented land, if the lord was too cruel, they would flee.

They would migrate in large numbers, just like those refugees when life became unbearable or they lost hope in the territory.

It's even more so for craftsmen.

For blacksmiths, it might be slightly better, but carpenters, stonemasons, and weavers might very well pack their tools and leave with an ox cart.

Thus, Earl Hawk had to put a stop to these rumors.

He placed great importance on this matter, assigning Balrog to be personally responsible.

"It's just that..."

Knight Balrog hesitated, his eyes flickering.

"Just what? Speak!"

Earl Hawk leaned forward, his sharp eyes fixed on Balrog.

Already in a bad mood, he was utterly impatient by now.

Faced with Earl Hawk's inquiry, Balrog's face showed some embarrassment, his voice low,

"After I brought them back, before I could interrogate them, they all died in the prison."

"What happened?"

"They were poisoned, just like Simon..."

Balrog replied: "The physician examined the bodies and said it was the same poison as last time."

Earl Hawk's brows furrowed, his mind racing.

When Simon died last time, he interrogated and punished those guard soldiers.

Due to the negligence of the guards, those soldiers had already been demoted to slaves.

And now the soldiers guarding the prison were a different group,

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