I, the Knight King, wield my sword for my myriad subjects.

Since the beginning of this month.

In building and training this militia of more than 150 people, Arthur had carefully calculated that he had already spent nearly five thousand gold coins on recruitment, food, lodging and equipment, with equipment accounting for the majority of the cost.

This directly drained nearly a third of the Field family's liquid assets.

Moreover, despite having experienced the Battle of the Wolf Pack, this militia group was still in a period of intensive training with significant financial investment.

Arthur predicted that he would not reduce his spending on training this militia for at least the next two months.

Although Arthur was heartbroken that the gold coins in his vault were disappearing like water, he understood that this was a necessary expenditure for developing his territory.

To survive in this soon-to-be-turbulent kingdom, having a military force capable of defending the territory is essential.

Arthur constantly reminded himself that the development of other aspects of the territory must be based on having sufficient self-defense capabilities.

But Arthur also had to realize one thing—in the near future, he would face a serious imbalance in his economic balance.

To put it in the words of a past life, this is the deficit crisis!

The simplest and most brutal solution to this situation is to exploit the people of the territory, increase taxes, and even enslave them to increase income.

However, this goes against the original intention of developing Arthur's territory.

At that time, the loyalty of the territory's citizens, which has just been raised, will plummet, and there will probably be no room for further improvement.

Thinking of this, Arthur couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Returning to the conversation with Lani.

Arthur gave her a bitter smile and continued the conversation from where they left off:

"So, Miss Lani, do you have any good plans for developing the forging industry in Rinfeng Village and Hanwu Village?"

True.

The cold climates of Frosty Wind Village and Misty Mist Village are ideal for building forging workshops to forge high-quality tools and weapons, as well as to repair damaged equipment more quickly.

If the forging industry develops smoothly in Windwind Village and Mist Village as Lani just described, then Arthur's militia will have the necessary equipment, weapons, and logistical support they urgently need.

This will not only alleviate the excessive expenditure on militia equipment to some extent, but also increase the revenue from the development of the territory.

This is a decision that kills two birds with one stone.

Lani seemed to see the sorrow hidden beneath Arthur's clear, sparkling sapphire eyes, so she changed to a lighter tone and guided him to think:

"My lord, let me test you. If you want to develop the forging industry, what is as important as the forging workshops for production materials?"

"They are craftsmen who have mastered the art of forging."

Arthur answered the simple question without hesitation.

“That’s right! I have a brilliant plan to help the lord gather the town’s blacksmiths.”

A confident smile graced Lani's pretty face.

When this girl smiles, her cheeks dimple slightly, revealing two small dimples that add to her charming and lively temperament.

Seeing Lani's confident demeanor, Arthur immediately thought of someone closely associated with Lani, and he exclaimed in surprise:

"Can you get Mr. Lawson to help?"

Lawson, the owner of a tavern in Frostraven, is also Lani's grandfather and an old comrade-in-arms of his butler, Leon.

But Arthur remembered what his butler Leon had mentioned about the old man's more important identity—a true level two runesmith.

Runesmithing artisans and ordinary blacksmiths may seem to differ by only two words, but these two words make their professions worlds apart.

First, in terms of physical fitness.

Compared to blacksmiths, rune blacksmiths generally practice knight breathing techniques.

Even the lowest-ranking level 1 rune forging craftsmen are required to have the strength of a Black Iron rank knight.

This suggests that rune-forging craftsmen are physically stronger and possess greater endurance and strength during forging.

Secondly, regarding the forging process.

Runesmiths not only possess exquisite forging skills, but also have a special craft—inscribing runes of different levels onto equipment.

Runes make forged equipment more durable and give it unique attributes.

In other words, runesmiths are blacksmiths who specialize in crafting high-level equipment for extraordinary professions like knights.

Arthur's set of integrated plate armor used by the Black Iron Knights was crafted by a Level 1 rune blacksmith, and was inscribed with only one rune to increase its durability.

The mere inscription of this one rune can multiply the value of this integrated plate armor, bringing its purchase price to an astonishing 500 gold coins, equivalent to the price of 62 strong male slaves offered by that slave trader last time.

Because he needed to purchase equipment for the militia, Arthur had frequent negotiations and transactions with the blacksmiths in Frostraven.

He knew that this only forging workshop in Blackrock Territory only had one level one rune forging craftsman, and the rest were ordinary forging craftsmen without any entry-level runes.

Because of his extraordinary status, the first-level rune forging craftsman became the manager of the forging workshop, and the remaining forging craftsmen all obeyed him.

But let's return to Mr. Lawson.

On the surface, he is a tavern owner, but in reality, he has a close relationship with the head of the first-class rune forging workshop.

According to the butler Leon, Lawson, who had lived in the North for many years, had built up a certain reputation in the North by virtue of his status as a second-level rune blacksmith.

After Lawson was invited by Leon to move to Frostraven, the first-class runesmith in Frostraven immediately found out about him.

He wanted to further refine his rune forging skills, so he visited Lawson several times, asking to be taken on as his apprentice.

For this reason, the first-level rune forging craftsman was even willing to offer up his forging workshop, which he had run for many years.

But Lawson ultimately did not agree to his request.

He seemed to have given up his rune-forging skills for some reason and started running a tavern after arriving in Frostraven.

Now, recalling this incident, Arthur couldn't help but ask Mr. Lawson's granddaughter, Lani:

Why did Mr. Lawson give up the craft of rune forging in the first place?

"I'm sorry, this is Grandpa Lawson's secret, and I can't tell you, Little Lion, for the time being."

Lani's expression changed slightly when asked about this, and she shook her head, indicating that she had something difficult to say.

"Alright then, if Miss Lani can persuade Mr. Lawson, what would you do?"

Arthur understood and didn't press the matter further, instead returning to the main topic.

Although he has not had any deep dealings with Lawson so far, he has great respect for this knight who once served his late father Richard and was a comrade-in-arms of the butler Leon.

Then, look at Lani.

She quickly regained her composure and resumed the conversation about the development of the forging industry:

"I plan to persuade Grandpa Lawson to come out of retirement. As a level two rune blacksmith, I will first contact that level one rune blacksmith and take over his blacksmithing workshop. Then, I will gather and recruit some skilled individual blacksmiths."

I think that with Grandpa Lawson's qualifications, he should be able to establish the first blacksmith guild in Blackrock Territory.

Of course, the lord's endorsement will be needed for the creation to proceed smoothly.

Lani believes that the lord will not refuse this organization that can better meet your needs.

Afterwards, we will travel together to Rinfeng Village and Hanwu Village to select sites to build forging workshops. We will gradually train the residents of Rinfeng Village and Hanwu Village, starting them as assistants in the forging workshops, thus cultivating talent in the forging industry and developing the forging industry in these two villages.

After hearing this, Arthur felt genuine admiration for Lani's development plan for the forging industry.

He looked intently at the girl he had known since childhood.

Arthur wanted to express his gratitude.

However, he couldn't help but recall the girl's "fervent" infatuation with him.

Having lived two lives, Arthur's biggest challenge was dealing with relationships between men and women.

So now, this somewhat strange relationship between a man and a woman left Arthur at a loss for words, and he was unusually tongue-tied:

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Miss Lani. If things go smoothly, I..."

"puff!"

Lani was amused by Arthur's awkwardness and waved her hand, indicating that he didn't need to be nervous.

“Okay!

Actually, if the lord needs help, you could just ask him yourself. I think Grandpa Lawson would be more than willing to help you, little lion, out of respect for the old lord.”

Chapter 24 Lani's Secret Background

Two days later.

The Frosty Raven Town Tavern is open as usual today.

"Squeak!"

The tavern door was pushed open, and a tall, burly middle-aged man walked out.

He bumped into an old man who was about to enter the tavern.

The two collided, and the middle-aged man thought he would knock the other person down.

Unexpectedly, he felt as if he had touched an unshakeable wall, and was ruthlessly bounced backward by the other party.

In contrast, the old man he bumped into stood motionless in place.

The old man didn't hold a grudge against the accidental collision; instead, he gave the middle-aged man a kind smile and greeted him.

"Are you OK?"

"fine."

The middle-aged man was taken aback. While responding, he observed the extraordinary old man.

The old man was tall and straight, with a strong face, gray hair that was neat and tidy, and sharp, piercing eyes.

The other person was wearing a dark long coat with delicate silver trim on the collar and cuffs, and a string of exquisite keys hung from a wide leather belt around their waist.

Most notably, he wore a silver family crest on his chest, depicting a roaring lion.

Upon seeing this object, the middle-aged man instantly discerned the identity of the person in question:

"I'm sorry! You must be Mr. Leon, the butler of the Field family. Please forgive my rudeness just now."

"You must be Linton, the first-level rune forging craftsman and supervisor of the forging workshop."

I remember you're usually a very busy person.

Although the butler, Leon, maintained a kind smile, his next words were barbed:

“My young master has made several transactions with your forging workshop, and he has personally visited each time, but it seems that he has never met you in person.”

Linton could easily sense the butler Leon's displeasure, and he responded somewhat flusteredly:

“Mr. Leon, you are joking. You should know that the Lord entrusted our workshop to forge a batch of ordinary soldiers’ equipment that does not require rune inscription, which is why I handed it over to my subordinates to take over.”

But please rest assured, Mr. Leon, I personally inspect every piece of equipment commissioned for forging to ensure both quality and quantity meet the standards.

As a first-class runesmith, Linton possessed a rudimentary knight's breathing technique.

His strength has reached the level of a Black Iron Knight.

But right now, being stared at so closely by the butler Leon's sharp gaze, Linton felt his hair stand on end and his heart pound with fear.

He knew that this was the imposing aura that only a Silver-rank knight could possess.

Linton had only ever felt this way about Lawson, the owner of the tavern behind him, one of his visitors on this trip.

Fortunately, the butler Leon did not try too hard to intimidate him with the aura of a silver-rank knight.

He looked at the butler, Leon.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his sharp gaze softening, and asked:

"Now that you've met Lawson, are you willing to accept the backing of Blackrock Fortress to form the Blackrock Territory Blacksmith Guild?"

Linton answered without hesitation:

"certainly!

"As long as I can learn rune forging from Master Lawson, I'd be willing to do any job for free, let alone form and join the Blacksmith Guild."

The butler, Leon, smiled slightly upon receiving this answer; he had already heard a little about Linton.

This guy is extremely determined to learn rune forging from Lawson.