What did you do with the dice?

Sanita: "I think of happy things."

Rusalka: "What's so happy?"

Sanita: "My wife is about to give birth."

Rusalka slapped the table: "I'm not kidding! Hey -"

Sunny Iron Tower: (The day before yesterday you were still yelling about plowing through the fields and restoring the glory of Earthlings, saying it was our duty, and yet today you're already like this? It's hilarious! I'm a Chinese medicine practitioner, and this is to nourish the stomach. I'm also a shepherd boy, and this is a sheep's tail.)

Rusalka looked at Phoenix who was waiting quietly at the door. He felt that the latter's eyes staring at him were as if he was looking at some kind of prey, which was quite terrifying. "Brother, I know you have many tricks up your sleeve. Save me, or I will sleep with you tonight."

Sanita was completely disgusted by his success. He could only say "I'll save you this time" in the PL channel. Then he turned to Phoenix at the door and said, "Rusalka said he's given up. He said he was embarrassed to speak up, so I told him to give him a day off to relax."

Phoenix nodded and went into the Shadow Plane - this was the first time she had returned to the Shadow Plane in the past few days.

Rusalka: (Ah, is that all? She isolated me for three days simply because she was unconvinced?)

Sunita: (What do you think? It's true that Phoenix got angry at times during your time in prison, but I think your impish, unconscious remarks probably made her angry more often.)

Rusalka was really puzzled. He had no idea what provocative words he had said.

Sanitta shrugged his shoulders. This was the source of his happiness, so he couldn't explain it clearly to Rusalka. He just let him think about it slowly.

----

Half a month later, the ransom letters from the two marquises finally arrived. There was not much statement in the letters. It was just the common style of the Sinedi nobles. They wanted to redeem their sons and the captives, and sent envoys to politely ask for the price.

Accompanied by the priest from Mengjili's side, Sanita negotiated with the other party for about three days before finalizing a specific amount and range of material compensation - if all the captives were to be redeemed, it would be around 13,000 gold coins.

It would be impossible for the Marquis to come up with so much money at one time, so Sani Iron Tower would of course allow the other party to use supplies to compensate for it. The reason why he readily agreed to use some of the basic supplies that were not worth much during the war to compensate for the relatively valuable gold coins was because the subsequent handover process of the supplies would take a long time, and they would be going back soon. The implication was that all these things would be handed over to Mengjili.

Sanita was never a philanthropist. What he was best at was negotiating with both sides and getting the best of both. After he had satisfied the envoys from the Marquis, he began to negotiate with Mengjili's staff and priests, telling them that he was willing to sell his share of the supplies at a low price and did not need their help in transporting them back to Silver City.

Simply put, it was a "subprime mortgage" and the IOU was sold to Mungili.

At first glance, it seemed that both ends of Sanita's transaction were losing money, but in fact, he was the one who made the most money - he used these basic supplies that might not be consumed for several years to exchange for a batch of unused weapons in Mingyue City, a large amount of equipment found on dead bodies or living captives, and a considerable amount of money in the warehouse.

There is no such thing as second-hand equipment. As long as it is not completely damaged, it can definitely be used after being repaired, cleaned and polished.

Money is of little use to the holy warriors on Esdi's side, because they are outsiders after all, and their network of relationships with local chambers of commerce is almost zero. It can be said that they have no ability to summon merchants in wartime, and few merchants dare to conduct large-scale trade with them.

Therefore, the money in their hands can only circulate within the city. Once a war breaks out, money cannot be eaten. Therefore, they are also willing to use money to exchange for the supplies mentioned by Sanita.

It's different for Rushaka. Once he has money, as long as he can go back to Silver City and show his strength, with the good reputation of the previous transactions as a foundation, and if the processing plant is not bankrupt, it can be regarded as a reputation building, presumably all the chambers of commerce will come to want to trade with him.

Another point is that the Chamber of Commerce does not dare to openly support Esdi within the territory of Sinidi, but they are very happy to support Rusalka, a Sinidi noble who has sided with Esdi. Obviously, the two can be equated, but here it is an inequality.

This reason actually made Sani Tieta a little confused. It might be the difference in thinking caused by the times and environment.

So after the first batch of ransom in the form of cash was delivered to Rusalka, at the signal of Sanita, Rusalka handed over the other prisoners in the army to Mengjili, and he personally led the army with the troops already loaded with supplies and ammunition and set off back to Silver City.

There were 4500 people when they came, and 6000 people when they left. The 1800 Shaddoll troops formed a remnant legion, and the Esdi troops brought in early 1400 and the support troops from Mungili formed two full legions.

Mongili did not send the army to Rusalka to be placed in the safe Silver City as a decoration. This was the result of an agreement reached between Rusalka and Saint Theresa according to Sanitta's wishes. Sanitta decided to incorporate the entire east into its territory, so it needed such an army for military deterrence.

The joy of rebellion lies in that you don't have to worry about transporting supplies to the front line. You can just take all the supplies stored in Mingyue City, and you don't have to worry about what to do if the front line can't win. Aisdi has already planned to take over the eastern region of Sinidi. Even if Sinidi dies, it will be Aisdi who will hold up Mingyue City if the sky falls. Silver City and Zhulei Territory will have to wait a little longer.

The past year and a half has been full of ups and downs, and Rusalka has gained a lot. He couldn't help but sigh that being a lord is faster than being an adventurer. Not only does the battle give more experience, but even troops can be built, turning DND into an SLG strategy game.

The only regret is that the "Titan's Guardian" buried in the soil at the Silver City Lord's Mansion turned into a lump of earth after it was dug out. It was not analyzed by the Sani Iron Tower and could not be mass-produced for the defense of Mingyue City.

But for Rusalka personally, the biggest gain was actually Phoenix.

Of course, even though Rusalka could finally let go of her completely after the showdown with Phoenix, there were also downsides.

Sanita: (Brother Xiao, I have something to remind you. As a lord and commander-in-chief, although your status and reputation in the army are infinitely high, you still need to pay attention to your personal image. Even if you want to go to the woods with Phoenix, please go somewhere far away. I have heard many gossips from the army about you and her doing bad things late at night.)

Rusalka: (Brother, you can't blame me. I've been practicing swordsmanship with Qingfeng and Custer lately while on night watch, thinking of using non-systematic methods to improve my combat effectiveness. Isn't it inspiring? But ever since Phoenix knew I didn't need sleep, every time I finished training, she would drag me to the nearby woods. What should I do? That's why it's true that boys must protect themselves when they go out.)

Sunita: (Haha, even if Phoenix is ​​99% at fault, don't you have 1%? There's a saying that goes, 'It's hard for xx to roll around every day.' I think if you showed even 1% rejection instead of 120% willingness, Phoenix wouldn't come to you every day.)

Rusalka: (Haha... well... okay, I'll run farther next time.)

Sanita: (You never change despite repeated warnings, right?)

Chapter 123 Return and Change

When Rusalka finally led his team back to the vicinity of Silver City after walking and stopping many times, he rubbed his eyes repeatedly, looked at the map, and began to doubt whether he had gone in the wrong direction.

The entire Silver City was transformed from a weathered little city into a gleaming steel fortress.

The iron sheets of the city wall were recast and engraved with numerous golden runes. The weathered city defense crossbows were all replaced with Esdi's small radiant arrow launchers.

The appearance of this thing is very strange. It is a very thin 10mm water pipe mouth connected to a solar energy storage tank about one cubic meter in size on the ground. It is said that this thing can automatically absorb sunlight for storage, and then concentrate the heat energy and emit it during battle. To describe it in modern language, it is a solar laser device that jumps the technology tree very much.

Simply put, its advantages lie in its flexible shooting angle, light weight, bullets with brilliant magic damage, good impact on armor, minimal impact from gravity and resistance during flight, fast flight speed, and straight trajectory so the hit rate is high, making it a superior alternative to small and medium-sized city defense crossbows.

If technology were to advance a little further and the one-cubic-meter energy storage tank could be reduced to a few cubic centimeters, then congratulations to Esdi for successfully inventing something called a "semi-automatic rifle."

Unfortunately, no progress can be made because this world does not have a complete technology tree, and the result of jumping technology is that it is difficult to improve.

However, even such a device that has become a "hot weapon" is far inferior to Sinidi's other magical devices in terms of power and endurance. However, in this small border town, it is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito - a waste of firepower.

It was unfair to say that Sinidi was a bunch of rotten fish. At least after a quick look, Sinidi's magic cannon is indeed the most powerful weapon in the war so far - it can even threaten Rusalka.

Moreover, the magic cannon has a short cooling time, a long shooting distance, and strong power. It does not even require ammunition reloading. The barrel itself is very hard and difficult to destroy. If the core of the cannon is made by only the royal mages and blacksmiths of Sinidi who know the manufacturing process, and they are unwilling or unable to mass-produce it due to material problems, Sinidi might really think about expanding to the north or west.

To sum up, it can be seen that Esdi is still very concerned about Silver City.

The entire city had changed drastically at this moment. As Esdi regarded this place as a core stronghold, he sent a large number of important personnel into the city to carry out construction. Not only did he clean up the vacant lots in the slums and transform them into churches, he also built some schools and training grounds. He also absorbed refugees from nearby to reclaim wasteland, overhauled the city defenses and houses, and made Silver City look brand new within half a year.

Work-for-relief is a very effective way to quickly build up a mass base and stimulate residents' vitality anywhere.

Facts have proven that the whale effect also exists in the other world. When Silver City became a place with excellent public security, enlightened politics, and great tolerance for the poor, a large number of outsiders wanted to move in with their families, which suddenly drove up the price of Silver City's limited "resident certificates" to the sky.

Even a nitpicker like Rusalka couldn't help but sigh at such a scene: (If it continues to develop at this rate, this place might even surpass Alice City in five years.)

Sanita: (Yes, it's a pity that you've returned. Everything is over now. The good days of Silver City's transparent internal affairs are over.)

Rusalka knew that her brother was deliberately insulting her: (You f**k.)

As soon as Rusalka returned to the city gate, no power seizure or usurpation occurred. The acting city lord sent by Esdi, a cardinal, also welcomed Rusalka's return very respectfully. Then he told him about the recent situation and took out a pile of documents to hand over to Rusalka.

Rusalka took the opportunity to retaliate and pointed at the Sani Tower: "Just show it to my staff."

Sanitta rolled his eyes secretly, looking as if he had seen a ghost. He could only say to the cardinal in a gentle tone, "Yes, thank you very much for helping us take care of the internal affairs of Silver City. Leave it to me from now on."

However, there is only one downside to this speed of development, which is that Rusalka's return did not cause much sensation. The imagined scene of residents lining the streets to welcome the victory did not happen. Only after Rusalka ordered a celebration banquet to be held in the city could one feel the warm atmosphere beginning to brew.

However, some are happy while others are worried. Throughout history, every time a war ends and people return, it also means that some people have to face the reality of losing their loved ones. Fortunately, Esdi has become very proficient in comforting the people after the war. This is where the Country of Faith is better. With gods and some theories about good and evil after death to endorse the top leaders, the efficiency advantage in controlling the emotions of the people during wartime is something that the Country of Sinidi can never catch up with.

The people may not express their opinions on Rusalka's return very clearly. If you don't take the time to go to the bars and restaurants on the streets and listen to the after-dinner conversations of people from all walks of life, you may not be able to feel their true thoughts about Rusalka.

However, it was different for those above the common people. On the second day after Rusalka came back, the entrance to the City Lord's Mansion was blocked by carriages, with carriages parked in all directions. It looked like a chain rear-end collision that blocked the entire road.

The messengers who had to dismount and walk gathered at the door, like a group of reporters who had not been able to find any news releases for months and suddenly found a big headline. They all shouted that they had brought gifts and asked the guards to notify Rusalka xxx's family to come and congratulate Viscount Pearl Tears on his victorious return.

To be honest, when they had already made up various versions of stories for Rusalka about his heroic killing of enemies on the battlefield, Rusalka didn't know when he would be able to scare the priests of the Church of the Seven Sins to death with just a look. It would be better to say that he didn't even know when he had fought against the Church of the Seven Sins.

The two versions don't match, so it's very embarrassing to just exaggerate. Fortunately, there are some organizations with more flexible intelligence, and they still know that Rusalka did not run to the front line, but came back after fighting with the El Empire in Mingyue City, so this version of the story is a little closer to reality.

But it wasn't much. After all, Rusalka didn't even touch a single hair of the fox's tail. But in the story, he had already captured hundreds of thousands of troops on the opposite side. The reason why the celebration was announced these days was because he had countless captured beast-eared slaves from the El Empire, and even many Fox warlocks, who were waiting to build momentum for the auction in Silver City in advance.

To be honest, Rusalka didn't even have a single slave from the El Empire. Even if he heard that there was one, it was in the hands of the United Nations Army. It was estimated that it was later transferred to the hands of the golden giant Mungili next door.

He was a gentleman, but was inexplicably labeled as the leader of a slave trader, which made the paladins around him look at him strangely, and Rusalka also felt quite troubled by these bards who kept their mouths shut and spread various versions of his story everywhere.

The worst thing was that a group of young paladins who had just arrived and didn't know Phoenix, after seeing how close Rusalka was to her in public, suddenly believed all those messy rumors. The way they looked at Rusalka was obviously filled with two contradictory emotions - envy from male instinct and contempt from the paladins' adherence to dogma.

Knowing that she would have to meet with the envoys one by one, Rusalka walked out of the City Lord's Mansion listlessly. On her way to the reception room along the corridor, she habitually raised her hand and greeted the knights on the training ground.

The old knight in charge of training smiled and returned Rusalka's greeting. After Rusalka walked away, he turned to the group of sweating young knights and said, "Look, even Lord Pearl Tear, who just passed by, was once a powerful paladin. But he broke the commandments and indulged excessively with those orcs from the Aiel Empire, leading to his current emaciated state. So everyone, remember to always abide by the paladin's creed, stay away from temptation, and stay true to your heart. Only then can you remain strong."

"Understood!"

No, I haven't gone far. I can hear you. Hello!

If Rusalka had not been mentally exhausted in a certain sense, he would have really turned around and used force to reason with them, proving that he was not physically weak, but only mentally exhausted.

There are some things that, as a man, it is difficult not to refute!

Rusalka endured it because the line at the door was too long.

"Oh, Viscount Rusalka, I'm so glad you've come! What a coincidence! Look who I brought with me!"

The first person to be arranged to meet was actually Baron Whitemy, which made Rusalka feel a little happier. However, he was also very curious why Sanitta made such an arrangement. Because in terms of priority, Whitemy, who obviously couldn't talk about anything nutritious, should be ranked behind dogs in Sanitta's mind - dogs can be interviewed first to see if they have the qualifications to be police dogs, but Whitemy really can't.

Sanita: (It is said that Whitemay and his tailor stayed in Silver City for several months, just to wait for your return. And according to the rules of the order of receiving nobles when visiting, Whitemay was a baron and a powerful noble who came to visit in person, so he naturally ranked ahead of the envoys.)

Well, I was moved by his sincerity.

Whitemay performed as steadily as ever. Perhaps it was because he had not heard the rumors that Rusalka had orc slaves, so he had no intention of asking Rusalka about the expedition. Instead, he introduced the people he brought with him.

Rusalka looked at the guy in the top hat standing behind him and didn't even need to guess: "The tailor you mentioned half a year ago?"

Whitemay clapped his hands. "I didn't expect you to remember this. That's great! Come, let me introduce you. This is Loft, the best tailor in my barony."

The old tailor, who looked to be in his sixties, bowed slightly to Rusalka and said, "Hello, sir. I don't have many skills, but I am confident in handling fabrics. No matter what style of clothing you want, just tell me and I can make it for you."

Rusalka clapped her hands twice. "It's fine, Phoenix, are you there?"

Black fog emerged, and Phoenix walked out of the fog, but she seemed to still remember Whitemai's previous speech. She looked at Whitemai with a little coldness, and then sat down next to Rusalka smoothly, hooked his arm with her tail, and swore her sovereignty, so as to dispel Whitemai's idea of ​​giving Rusalka a maid.

Whitemay immediately understood what was going on. He put on a surprised expression and said to Phoenix, "It's been a long time since we last met, Madam. You look even more beautiful than before. Viscount Rusalka, what kind of cosmetics do you use on Madam? Could you tell me a little bit about it?"

Facts have proved that as long as the heart is not made of iron, sweet talk will always work. Rusalka could clearly feel that if Phoenix's friendliness towards Whitemai was -10 before, then after those words, it probably jumped to -5.

The negative value of this part is still due to the natural contempt for Whitemay himself, which is a bit unreasonable and his style, that is, I forgive the part of his previous statement that wanted to drag Rusalka into the sea.

Rusalka laughed and said, "There's no need for makeup. She's naturally beautiful. By the way, can your tailor make clothes for the Filin people?"

Loft said confidently, "No problem, sir. As long as it's clothes, there's nothing I can't do. Could you please ask Madam to stand up and turn around so I can see her?"

Phoenix stood up and raised her hand to turn around. After Loft looked at it, he nodded and said, "I will go make a few patterns for you, Madam. You can pick them up in a few days. If you have any additional needs, please let me know. Then, Master, I will go back to prepare the fabric first."

"Hmm." Although Loft didn't measure with a ruler but just took a look, Rusalka believed that the eyes of a tailor who made clothes for the nobles in that era must be as accurate as a ruler - the noble ladies were not people they could touch, and if they wanted to make clothes for the nobles, they would always have to have the unique skill of visual inspection from a distance.

Whitemay laughed and said, "Okay, okay, hurry up and get ready. Don't keep my wife waiting. Well, I'm very happy to satisfy Viscount Rusalka. In fact, I also prepared some gifts for my wife this time, but I left in a hurry and forgot to bring them. I will go back and get them for you later."

Rusalka felt a little embarrassed by him. She had deployed troops in his territory, causing him to flee his home. Now he hadn't gained anything, but he kept giving her things. "You're too polite."

Whitemay waved his hands repeatedly: "Of course I should."

After watching Loft close the door, Rusalka motioned for Phoenix to go to the door and watch for anyone eavesdropping. Then, she said to Whitemay, "Actually, when I was recruiting soldiers, you also recruited the knight from your territory. Fortunately, he's still alive and well."

Whitemay immediately said, "If you like, then just let him stay with you. My barony doesn't earn much money each year, and I've long felt that the cost of supporting a knight is too high. Besides, keeping him in my house is a waste of his talent. I've long wanted him to truly realize his potential, but I've always struggled to find someone worthy of entrusting him. Now that Viscount Rusalka has appeared, I'm naturally relieved to leave him to you."

After listening to Sanita's suggestion, Rusalka smiled at Whitemai and said, "Don't worry, I'll compensate you. I originally thought that transporting equipment from Pearl Tear Territory to Silver City for trade was a bit long, so why not just build a highway in the middle and establish a transport and rest stop in the center? But isn't it a coincidence that your territory is right between my Pearl Tear Territory and Silver City? I remember there's a small village in your territory, right?"

In fact, this small village is not on the straight road between the two, and you have to take a slight detour, but if Rusalka intends to take a detour, she can definitely do it.

Whitemare understood and nodded repeatedly. "You're right, Viscount Rusalka. Although my village is small and can't compare to your Pearl Tear Town, our main attraction is hospitality. As for rest areas, feel free to build the road. I guarantee that every merchant along the way will be satisfied."

"That's fine. I'll also give you a tax exemption certificate that's valid for both Silver City and Pearl Tear Territory, so you don't have to pay taxes every time you bring gifts."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Whitemay stood up excitedly and shook Rusalka's hand. "Ah, but I have a question. If you become a marquis soon, can you give me this tax exemption certificate for use throughout the country? I promise not to lend it to anyone else, and it won't ruin your tax collection efforts. I'll just use it for my daily travels."

Rusalka thought this guy spoke so nicely: "Haha, of course."

Chapter 124 Three Major Chambers of Commerce

"Your Excellency, Grand Master Sani! I've been waiting for you to come! I've heard so much about you!"

"Well...my full name is Sanita. I'm not from aristocratic family, so I don't have a given name."

"Oh, sorry. I was so excited to meet a great wizard like you, whom I only see a few times in my life, that I forgot to ask your name. I apologize. It's just a small apology, not a sign of respect."

"Then I won't be polite."

Sanitieta accepted the box handed to him by the servant behind him without opening it to see what was inside. Instead, he nodded to the blue-haired man opposite him who claimed to be the vice president of the Snidi branch of the Maosi Chamber of Commerce. "Hello, President of the Maosi Chamber of Commerce, is this the first time we meet?"

The blue-haired man smiled. "My name is Bi Jones. It's not like we've met before. Our Chamber of Commerce actually has quite a few orders in cooperation with Silver City. It's just that you might be so busy that you haven't noticed our small business. In fact, most of the fabrics, dyes, jewelry, and some... magical alchemy materials in Silver City are the main businesses of our Maosi Chamber of Commerce."

Sanita suddenly realized, "Oh! That's indeed possible. I was so focused on military trade before that I didn't notice your Chamber of Commerce's support for Silver City. I'm really sorry."

The blue-haired man quickly stood up and bent over, holding the wine glass and offering it to Sanita, as if toasting him. "No, no, no, it has nothing to do with you. It's mainly because I was too busy and forgot about visiting you. When I remembered, you were no longer in the city. So, as soon as I heard you were back, I rushed over to bring the gift I hadn't had time to give you. I wish you and the Lord of Pearl Tears City prosperous business, abundant wealth, and victory in battle. I'll drink first in your honor."

"Thank you." Sanitieta politely stood up and clinked glasses with the other party.

People like this must have heard about Mingyue City.

Both Sanita and the other party knew each other very well, but they just tacitly kept it a secret.

Sanita was a superman who had independently handled most of Silver City's affairs. How could he not know what kind of business this Chamber of Commerce was involved in? He pretended not to know just to pressure them and squeeze out more money.