Luo De squinted slightly, feeling a sense of familiarity in his heart.

This entry reminded him of the strategy games he played in his previous life—those "Aura" skills.

When activated, it could bring a significant boost in power to him and his soldiers.

This kind of entry is extremely useful, essentially a battlefield weapon.

One can imagine that whenever rushing to the battlefield, soldiers could feel their bodies full of strength, their morale soaring immediately and combat power sharply increasing.

If Luo De combined it with his gimmick of "Master of the Holy Land's Blessing," then the soldiers might very well become as fierce as tigers descending the mountain.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared at the corner of Luo De's mouth.

After unlocking the Commander's Blade, the unlock conditions for the next new entry also appeared,

[Next entry: Accumulate five battle victories (enemy number ≥50) and personally execute a hundred enemies to unlock: Bloodthirsty Commander]

Luo De thought that if it were his way of execution, it wouldn't be considered bloodthirsty.

"Lord Baron, should we bury those bodies on the spot?"

Durant's inquiry interrupted Luo De's contemplation.

Luo De paused for a moment, then understood Durant's meaning,

"Handle these bodies, but bring the skulls back."

"Yes, my Lord."

This was what Durant wanted to express.

He was aware of that special tax in the Northern Territory.

— The Empire requires the submission of 100 robber skulls annually.

Although there might be an overflow of robbers after the autumn harvest, it's best to prepare in advance.

Durant remembered clearly the positions of the robbers' skulls from the last raid at Frost Leaf Town.

If next year's tax is insufficient, they can still dig them up to make up the numbers.

"My Lord, do you think the Empire will really send someone to collect these skulls? Are they going to take them back?"

Durant was a bit confused, as many heads couldn't be kept for long after being chopped off.

Even if quicklime is used to preserve them, would the Empire really take back some shriveled heads?

"I don't know either."

Luo De shook his head slightly,

"Maybe they will take them back for display, but the cost seems a bit high, they might just send a tax officer to check."

In fact, Luo De already had an answer in his heart.

Rather than saying the Empire sent these lords here for revenge, it's more for land reclamation and Empire expansion.

These skulls are just symbolic evidence, and as for whether to take them back, perhaps even His Majesty hasn't decided.

After arranging the captives, Luo De returned to the bonfire to rest.

Durant, having been busy all night, cleaning the battlefield and counting the casualties.

So when Luo De got up in the morning, Durant brought over the report.

The results of this battle did not satisfy Luo De.

The gains were too little: 35 slaves, five war horses, 20 sets of chain armor, and more than fifty sets of miscellaneous weapons.

Most of the chain armor was in tatters, with cracked surfaces full of dents, needing to be sent back to the town's Blacksmith Shop for repair.

And these were obtained by Luo De gathering the power of almost half the town, taking great risks.

At the same time, fifteen of Luo De's recruits and wildmen were slightly injured, two died, and three were maimed, losing all combat capability.

Fortunately, only three veterans suffered minor injuries, without significant losses.

A one-sided war, with results like these did not please Luo De.

The injuries to the recruits were mostly due to poor psychological quality, panicking in real combat.

One recruit even twisted his ankle during pursuit, giving the opponent a chance.

Recruits must participate in combat training to reduce casualties.

"Arrange for those three disabled soldiers, and send someone to carry them back."

After hearing the report, Luo De instructed.

For his people, he would never abandon them.

Those three disabled soldiers naturally had to be brought back for care.

These people bled for him on the battlefield. Even if they couldn't fight again, he wouldn't abandon them.

If severely injured, they were abandoned, who would be willing to fight for him in the future?

"Understood, Lord Baron."

Durant nodded heavily, "I will handle it well."

"Hmm, arrange for our patrol team to continue monitoring the surroundings of White Rock Canyon closely."

A single victory won't make Luo De complacent.

There are still many things to deal with next.

"Also, find someone clever to memorize all information about Chris's retinue, then disguise our people as him."

Luo De instructed solemnly: "Identity, name, habits, even details about the Earl's Domain, must be mastered without a flaw.

In the future, he will report from the outpost outside White Rock Canyon."

He didn't want to fight now.

With the autumn harvest approaching, securely bringing the grain back to the town is the top priority.

To stabilize the Count, he planned to send a false report every seven days, reporting some fictitious "achievements."

Once the autumn harvest is successfully completed, Luo De will have the time to deal with this Count properly.

"Moreover, choose 10 obedient children from the town to form a Knight Squad."

Luo De continued.

The current manpower is loyal but lacks ability, so he's decided to train from scratch.

And those children, who ate and lived on Luo De's resources, now respect him greatly.

Nurtured by a rich diet, they have decent physical qualities.

Luo De just hopes they can withstand the potion awakening.

"Yes, my Lord, I will arrange it when I return."

For the first time, Durant replied confidently.

He had been paying attention to these matters for a long time.

"Knights need more than just a Breathing Technique."

Luo De reminded: "I need people who can lead troops into battle; they must learn military knowledge and basic culture, and their minds must be sharp."

"Don't worry, I understand."

Durant nodded.

"One more thing."

Luo De paused, raising his head to look at the wildmen sitting on the ground gnawing on bread,

"I think the wildmen spear throwers could be well developed."

This battle allowed Luo De to witness the power of spear throwers.

Those long spears weren't personally crafted by Luo De with armor-piercing metal spearheads, but ordinary shields and armor couldn't stop their penetrative force.

The only disadvantage is the short range, but if used for ambushes or night raids, the effect would be terrifying.

Luo De also had another idea: if facing a poorly defended town, a team of trained spear throwers could catch the opponent off guard.

More interestingly, these wildmen truly saw him as the Master of the Holy Land.

Especially after last night's battle, they took Luo De's orders as divine mandates, kneeling whenever they saw him with unwavering loyalty.

Even Luo De had to admit, the charlatan theories are indeed handy.

"You want to train these spear throwers?" Durant asked.

Luo De nodded slightly, "You can select some wildmen, while teaching them basic combat techniques, also strengthen their spear-throwing power."

The core power of spear throwers is in the waist, and the back muscles should be strengthened too.

Weight squats, stone lifting, and climbing, all can be trained.

Luo De offered some suggestions, based on training methods from javelin athletes in his previous life.

Having instructed everything, Luo De led the team back to Frost Leaf Town first.

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