"But you can’t be robbers just to make money!" Helen complained, "Richard, I know you’re always trying to help me get revenge on the Desert People, but I don’t want you to lose your way because of this."
"If we want to make money, we should look to Fawkes. It’s said that the Fox Tribe has the best business brain. Helen, let’s not talk about revenge for now. Let’s talk about how we can make money." Liu Zhenhan took out a cigar, threw it on the table, Avril took it with practiced skill, lit it up, took a puff, and passed it back to Liu’s mouth.
This detail made the nearby monks quite envious.
"In this wilderness, our Fei Lengcui is the only outpost. If we can provide protection to the human traders passing by, ward off bandits, and collect the corresponding money, we can soon prosper." After thinking for a while, Helen added, "But it’s a bit difficult. Just heard from those two Bear Goblins, there are too many bandit groups here, and their numbers far exceed our civilian defense force."
"I don’t have a high opinion of human traders. We’ll talk about that later." Liu nodded, "But it’s necessary to eliminate the bandits. Otherwise, even if we herd and farm crops, the bandits can mess up everything."
"Many years ago, a large tribe of Hill Dwarves moved here from a distance. But they couldn’t handle the endless bandit attacks and moved away again." The elder Andulan agreed with these points.
In fact, this was also the reason why Liu was banished here.
If it weren’t for the numerous bandits and bandits in this wilderness, this place should have been the territory of the Beamon nobles long ago. This is an old problem. The vast expanse of the Donau Wasteland is too large, providing too many hiding places for bandits. The neighboring South Cross Star, the pine forests at the foot of Mount Tamerlarya, and the Saline-alkali Forest can all serve as good hiding places when necessary. It is impossible to use troops to encircle and suppress such a large area, and the wide Sanggan River also makes it difficult for logistical supplies.
Liu understood deeply.
"Our population is sparse, and the militia doesn’t even have complete armor and weapons. So for now, we should focus on defense... What do you think, Richard?" Ning Yu stopped her pen and asked, looking up.
"You’re wrong! The best defense is actually an attack!" Liu reached up to smooth his hair. "Passive defense is undesirable. We need to attack the bandits first! If we allow bandits in the wasteland to rob others, why shouldn’t we rob the bandits?"
"With our strength, we should be fine in dealing with the bandits, as long as we defeat them one by one. But this would take too much time and energy, how about our development and construction?" Helen seemed a little lacking in confidence, "Besides, war costs money, and we don’t have any."
"War is the main theme of our development!" Liu Zhenhan lightly tapped the table and said, "Why build? I think about destruction! The blood of Beamon warriors flows with the love of fighting! Herding and planting sweet potatoes are jobs for the vassal clans, I would be embarrassed if I let my warriors do these things."
"What does this have to do with being bandits?" Helen began to vaguely understand what Liu Zhenhan wanted to say.
"What do you think I’m keeping so many slaves for? Do you think I really want to feed them?" Liu Zhenhan snorted disdainfully, " These Bear Goblins are familiar with the environment near the wasteland. Whether it’s the Ogre Tribe, wild men tribe, or their goblins, they all know a lot." Liu grinned, "These Bear Goblins will be the first cannon fodder, we will take them to the battlefield, to rob those bandit tribes. There must be some benefits in those bandit tribes, right? One by one, the more bandits in the wasteland, the better our business. They will be our inexhaustible treasure!"
"Wrap up these bandits and then go rob other bandits?" Ningyu laughed.
"So, you could say we are bandits. Of course, you could also say that we’re a righteous army!" Richard inhaled his cigar tightly, "Let’s discard unnecessary identities. I can provide the best food to these slaves, but only if they bring me the heads of other bandits."
"What if they rebel? Or run away? These ethically-challenged bandits have no burden," asked Helen. Chapters first released on novel※fire.net
"The larger the number, the harder to control. That’s a given,"Richard chuckled, "Easy. If we have too many rowdy bandits, we’ll send them straight to attack Dorott. We don’t need them to win, just use them as fodder for the fight."
Lord Richard, I don’t mean to pour cold water on your plan," Elder Andulan found himself compelled to speak, "but these Wasteland bandits are no fools. I just mentioned the Hill Dwarf Tribe that relocated long ago, they had the same idea you have, using attack as defense. They had over two thousand members, even a few of their close kin— Hill Giants. You know the strength and ferocity of dwarfs, but in the end, the Wasteland bandits drove them away. The incessant attacks of the dwarfs annoyed the bandits of the Wasteland, tens of thousands of fierce Wasteland bandits united, forming a formidable force! In the Southern Wasteland, there are no mountains from which to mine stone to build stone castles, but relying solely on wooden fences cannot fend off the large-scale coordinated attacks of bandits!"
"Oh?" Richard’s eyebrows furrowed, "Really?"
"Even though these bandits are but a disorganized mob, sheer numbers can bring down an elephant. Thousands of fully grown Dwarf Soldiers, along with Hill Giants, were still driven away by their force. Comparing your forces to the dwarfs of old, currently, you have no castles or towers, just Mammoth Warriors and a few vassal tribes, but there are only a few dozen adult Mammoth Warriors. If you insist on this path, you will eventually provoke a large number of Wasteland bandits to unite, and history will repeat itself." Elder Andulan continued, "The most significant local bandit group, the Razor Wasteland Goblin Tribe, already exceeds three thousand, and they occupy a steep wasteland hill, we are even weaker than they are."
Richard said nothing, only removed his blood jade thumb ring and tossed it on the table.
Helen also laughed, removing her own Medusa Badge and placed it on the table.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Elder Andulan was completely baffled by their laughter.
"You don’t need to worry about these things!" Richard reclined in his chair, stretching lazily, "As for castles, no need to construct them. I don’t have the time to chop wood; I might as well relax under the sun. I think the Red Earth Highland is quite good... it is thirty to forty yards high and over two hundred yards wide, the natural caves there would be enough to accommodate us. Who said nobles can only reside in castles? Living in red earth caves sounds nice! Towers? Hah... Those red earth spires outside, each four to five meters in diameter and twenty to thirty yards high, just set up a rope ladder and you’ve got yourself a tower!"
"You truly are an unconventional Lord," Andulan was speechless, a lord so casual was rare.
"I will overturn everything you believe to be true from your five thousand years of life," Richard smirked.
The statement seemed arrogant, yet Elder Andulan had an inkling:
This Piegel will do as he said.