Soon, the Halfling chef brought out the cooked breakfast.
In the dining hall of the Lord's manor, Bestour was already seated in front of Shen Mu, respectfully expressing his gratitude: “Thank you for your generosity and kindness, Respected Lord Shen Mu. It is an honor to have breakfast with you.”
“Hmm, Bestour, you are a general I value, and you are diligent and responsible. I like that very much.” Shen Mu smiled, not stingy with his praise for Bestour.
After all, Shen Mu truly trusted his Mount & Blade Soldiers.
“So, you have something you want to report to me? Let's talk while we eat.” Shen Mu raised his hand, signaling that they could begin the meal, and then turned to a Swadian Light Infantry acting as a servant beside him, instructing, “Bring another large cup of honey mead for General Bestour. He was on duty and patrolled all night, so he must be very tired. I think a cup of honey mead will greatly relieve this fatigue, and then he can have a good sleep.”
“Understood.” The Swadian Light Infantry servant nodded, then brought a small oak barrel of mead from the kitchen and poured a full, large cup for Bestour.
The refreshing aroma of malt and the scent of alcohol immediately filled the air in front of Bestour, causing him to take a deep, satisfying breath, a smile spreading across his face.
Bestour was quite fond of alcohol, or rather, no Kujit on the Kujit Steppe disliked alcohol.
Although they preferred more fiery distilled spirits.
But they were also quite fond of this mead with its rich malt aroma and unique oak flavor.
After all, mead was a high-grade alcoholic beverage, second only to wine.
Although it was commonly drunk by freemen and minor lords in the Swadia Kingdom, for the tribal people of the barren Kujit Steppe, this mead was already considered a high-class alcoholic drink.
Only great tribal chiefs and nobles could enjoy it.
Bestour had, of course, drunk this mead before, but not that often, as he was merely born into a noble family previously.
Wanting to drink alcoholic beverages to his heart's content was not very realistic.
So Bestour took a big gulp, savoring the rich flavor in his mouth, which spread down his throat and into his stomach. He then let out a very satisfied sigh and happily said to Shen Mu, “This is the best I’ve ever tasted, Respected Lord Shen Mu. Nothing makes me happier than the wine you have bestowed upon me.”
“Drink more if you like it.” Shen Mu smiled and nodded, then asked, “So, I heard from the Holy Tree Knights that you have something to report to me. What is it?”
“Oh, it’s like this.” Bestour put down his wine glass and then gave Shen Mu a complete report of the Skeleton Cavalry he had seen last night.
“Skeleton Cavalry.” Shen Mu raised an eyebrow.
He, of course, knew about these Undead Monsters, and he had been quite wary of them before, because these Undead Monsters, riding Skeleton warhorses, could move quickly and had considerable charge power.
It could be said that even ordinary Spiritual Realm Commanders were no match for them. If encountered, one had to bring their Spiritual Realm Followers and quickly hide in a room, concealing themselves silently, to avoid the pursuit of these Skeleton Cavalry.
Moreover, if discovered and enraged by these Skeleton Cavalry, they would mercilessly launch a direct pursuit.
Even if hidden within Blue Star buildings, these Skeleton Cavalry, possessing death spirit rules that could ignore blue star rules, would directly use the weapons in their hands and their own impact force to smash through concrete walls, then rush in and kill all the hidden Blue Star Humans and Spiritual Realm creatures.
Therefore, in this era, no one dared to say they weren't afraid of these Skeleton Cavalry.
“That’s right, Skeleton Cavalry, and the arrows we shot were even consciously blocked by these Skeleton Cavalry to prevent our arrows from damaging their heads.” Bestour also detailed this situation: “At that time, there were a total of four Skeleton Cavalry that came in, and after a round of our mounted archery, only some of their bones were broken. Then they turned their horses and returned to the darkness, not engaging in a prolonged fight with us.”
“Yes, I’ve always suspected these Skeleton Cavalry have some intelligence of their own. Now it seems they do have the ability to assess battlefield situations and evaluate advantages and disadvantages.” Shen Mu nodded in agreement, because he had seen those Skeleton Cavalry before and could clearly tell that they were distinctly different from the lower-level zombies, gargoyles, and Skeleton Soldiers, and even fundamentally different from Skeleton Warriors.
The biggest difference, of course, was that Shen Mu had always suspected those Skeleton Cavalry possessed their own intelligence, capable of judging battlefield situations and making decisions accordingly.
Otherwise, like those low-level Undead Monsters, they would just charge straight ahead once they discovered a living creature, attacking regardless of life or death.
Completely instinctive.
Not an ounce of intelligence.
Although those Undead Monsters seemed terrifying because they feared no death, in reality, for experienced individuals, as long as they planned carefully, they could easily deal with those low-level Undead Monsters.
Even if the numbers were several times their own, they could wear down those Undead Monsters through normal thinking.
Unless those Undead Monsters were tens, hundreds, or even thousands or tens of thousands of times their number, forming an absolute numerical advantage, only then could they completely defeat creatures with normal thinking abilities.
Otherwise, creatures with normal thinking abilities could use simple tactics to deal with those Undead Monsters who only knew how to charge forward, with no formation, no cooperation, and no tactics whatsoever.
“But it doesn’t matter, Bali River Street is not an area where those Skeleton Cavalry will stay for too long.” Shen Mu frowned slightly, and at this point, he looked towards his New Rivadin in the east.
Because he understood very well that the Skeleton Cavalry’s activity range was in the wilder area further east, which used to be the rural area of Long City in the Blue Star World.
And his Vikia Castle, New Rivadin, was actually built in the gap between the edge of Bali River Street and the edge of Long City's rural areas.
More precisely, it should be an extension from Angang Street towards Bali River Street.
“Thinking about it, it’s quite interesting. If Bali River Street is the sphere of influence of the Skeleton, which is the Seventh Black Arrow Tower Dynasty, then the Skeleton Cavalry wandering near the rural areas should also belong to the sphere of influence of a certain Undead Dynasty within the death spirit rules, and Angang Street has already been clearly designated as the sphere of influence of the Hell Devil.”
Shen Mu raised an eyebrow, and at this moment, his eyes showed a hint of understanding: “In that case, it means my Deherim is actually caught in the middle of three forces.”
To be precise, Bali River Street itself was in the middle of three forces.
After all, Shen Mu had lived here for so long, and besides the former Diesel Company and Green Leaf Group forces, which were two small human and Spiritual Realm cooperative forces, there were no other forces in Bali River Street.
As for other rumored forces, they were actually in other cities.
“So this means that I am actually in a buffer zone between three forces here, which is why I have been able to develop steadily until now. However, this buffer zone might not hold much longer; as I grow stronger, these three forces should all realize that I am becoming increasingly powerful, and they certainly won't sit idly by and watch me become very strong.”
Shen Mu’s expression also became a bit more serious.
Earlier, when developing Deherim, Shen Mu had realized that he was slowly becoming like an elephant growing larger and larger, no longer able to conceal his size. After all, once one became powerful, no matter how much they tried to hide their presence, others would clearly see their strength.
Now, his town of Deherim alone was already very powerful, not to mention the addition of two castles.
His Mount & Blade Soldiers already exceeded 5,000.
Plus, over 30,000 Blue Star Humans were gathered under his command.
It was indeed a considerable number.
“Fortunately, I established a castle to the east and west of Deherim. If anything happens, those two castles can detect it in advance, giving me ample warning time. If there are any problems, those two castles can act as nails, firmly fixed there, helping me detect any malicious attacks first.”
Shen Mu thought of his previous arrangements and breathed a sigh of relief. He had to admit that his previous arrangements were indeed a wise move.
“By the way, Bestour, I need you to continue strengthening patrols, especially at night. You and Lezalit should pay extra attention and be careful not to let those Undead Monsters infiltrate our sphere of influence.”
Shen Mu looked at Bestour, who was still eating, and gave his instructions.
Every word, every sentence, every detail is perfect!
“Understood, Respected Lord Shen Mu.” Bestour immediately swallowed the bread and bacon he was chewing and replied seriously.
“Hmm, very good.” Shen Mu’s expression relaxed considerably at this point.
He continued his meal.
Since Bestour had reported what he knew, Shen Mu would now set about solving the problem.
The Skeleton Cavalry issue, though sudden, was not a major problem, but the deeper issues extending from the Skeleton Cavalry were what Shen Mu was more concerned about.
“I must train these soldiers to be more elite faster, and their levels must be raised. Also, these Blue Star Humans need to communicate well with them so they can quickly complete their transformation into Ten-Man Commanders.” Shen Mu thought to himself.
After all, relying on himself to lead these soldiers in training them was actually not as good as having these male humans help with the training. If these Blue Star Humans leveled up, they would be like another type of Mount & Blade Soldiers and could gain better combat power.
Applying the Mount & Blade Soldiers' templates to these Blue Star Humans was indeed quite strong.
After all, these Blue Star Humans were quick-witted.
Therefore, unlike the Mount & Blade Soldiers, who completely obeyed Shen Mu and could face death without hesitation, these Blue Star Humans' tactical skills and tactical arrangements were completely superior to the Mount & Blade Soldiers.
At critical moments, they could be considered as individual generals.
“Respected Lord Shen Mu, I have finished eating. If there is nothing else, please allow me to leave.” Bestour had finished his breakfast, then picked up a towel nearby to wipe his mouth, and stood up to bid farewell to Shen Mu.
“Hmm, alright. Go to sleep first. When you are well-rested and refreshed, I will notify you if anything comes up.” Shen Mu nodded and waved Bestour away.
However, just then, a Swadian Light Infantry quickly walked in from outside the door.
“Respected Lord Shen Mu, many Blue Star Humans outside wish to see you. Leading them is Zhang Caidong.” The light infantry reported, “They say they have accumulated enough combat experience and corresponding points, and wish to use you to complete the upgrade of those human soldiers.”
“They’ve accumulated enough combat experience and corresponding points?” Shen Mu raised an eyebrow, then waved them in.
This was a good thing.
So, as the Swadian Light Infantry went to convey the order, and then surrounded by 10 Holy Tree Knights, nearly 40 Blue Star Humans walked in.
“Respected Lord Shen Mu.” They respectfully saluted Shen Mu.
“Hmm.” Shen Mu nodded.
“We have accumulated combat experience and corresponding points, and are now ready to upgrade our human soldiers. Therefore, we request you, generous and benevolent Respected Lord Shen Mu, to help us complete the upgrade.”
Zhang Caidong stood at the forefront, speaking with great respect as he stated his request to Shen Mu.
And behind him, each of the Blue Star Humans, whether high-ranking or mid-ranking, looked at Shen Mu expectantly, their eyes filled with longing.
And with excitement.
“Very good, you’ve done very well.” At this moment, a dialogue box flashed before Shen Mu’s eyes. He had already seen that these Blue Star Humans, whom he had appointed as Ten-Man Commanders, had completed the most basic accumulation of combat experience.
They could indeed all be upgraded.
Not only could they themselves be upgraded, but the 10 soldiers they led could also be upgraded.
【Ding! You have Ten-Man Commanders and their led soldiers who can be upgraded—】
【Swadian Recruit: 30 experience points. (Pseudo-Believer level)】
【Swadian Militia: 50 experience points. (General Believer level)】
【Please select the Ten-Man Commanders and soldiers you wish to upgrade.】(End of chapter)