Evolution Online: Building a Kingdom with 100\% drop rate-Chapter 22: Ch-: Knights Join

"What the hell, will I encounter a sadist?" Victor’s eyes almost bulged out as he read the last information. His mind started to conjure various images which made his scalp tingle, and he sucked in a deep breath.

"Young Master Victor, are you fine? Why are you sweating all of a sudden?" Edward, who was standing beside Victor, asked with concern.

"Oh, nothing, it’s just the weather," Victor said as he wiped the sweat and comforted himself that he would not fall for the scheme now that he knew what would happen.

"Let’s go back," Victor said as he started walking back toward the manor. While he was walking, his eyes caught a group of people entering his territory. Edward also saw this and frowned. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

[Ding Dong]

[200 Tier 0 Knights have arrived]

"Halt! Who are you all?" Edward said with a narrowed gaze when he spotted a group of bedraggled refugees laden with bags. The guards beside him also pointed their rifles toward the approaching group.

’Damn! Are they really knights?’ Victor grimaced at the sight of the ragtag refugees before him. They had no armor on their bodies and only had swords, which made them look more like bandits than knights.

There were many wandering tribes and warriors in the lands, as many of them had their homes destroyed by monsters. In fact, many lords accepted them if they were useful to boost their population, so sometimes many of them were like this—weak and angry. Victor looked at them and thought, ’I just hope not all the summons are like them. At least they can fight’

If the summons he got by using the contract were crippled or could not fight, then instead of having an army he would only have more useless mouths to feed.

Despite their pitiful state, they still held the posture of people who had been trained to fight; otherwise Edward would not have been wary.

"Excuse me, is this the Silvernum Barony?" one person who seemed to be a bit better than the others stepped forward and asked.

"Yes, this is indeed Silvernum, and beside me is the young Lord Victor Silvernum," Edward replied and then pointed at Victor, who was looking at them with a grimace.

"What? You are the warlock who has awakened a mutated bloodline?" the man’s eyes widened in disbelief and then he muttered, "I did not expect it to be someone so young."

"Hey, watch how you talk to the Young Lord," Edward said sternly, seeing the disrespect.

"I apologize, I did not mean any offense," the man hurriedly said, bowing.

"It’s fine. So who are you and why are you here?" Victor asked, feigning ignorance.

Thud! Suddenly, the group knelt down, startling Victor. He was about to urge them to rise when the man at the forefront spoke.

"Young Lord Victor, we are a group of wandering knights. We have heard about your reputation as a new Warlock, that’s why we want to swear our loyalty to you and join House Silvernum. Please accept our allegiance," the man said respectfully as he bowed his head, and the others did the same.

Edward, on the other hand, was first stunned and then skeptical as he observed them from head to toe and said bluntly, "You are knights? You look more like bandits."

Hearing his words, the group’s faces flushed red as they awkwardly looked at Victor and said, "Actually, we were starving and were offered food by another group, but they were robbers who put a sleeping potion in it, knocked us out, and robbed us."

"..." Victor

"..." Edward

"..." The guards

"Young Master, they look unreliable, and who knows if they are spies. I think you should not let them join," Edward whispered to Victor.

"I am a good judge. I am sure they are not spies, and besides, we lack a proper army. These 200 men are a fine addition," Victor said calmly.

Victor had already gotten the information from the system that the troops and people he summoned through the contract would be 100% loyal initially and had no chance of being spies, and would continue to be loyal unless he messed things up.

"But—" Edward was about to continue but then paused. He remembered how Victor, after returning, had rooted out the spies and criminals. He wondered how he did it, but now seeing his confident expression, a thought appeared in his mind. Maybe the Young Master has awakened a skill which can identify spies.

"Rise," Victor said as the men rose to their feet in excitement and bowed again. "Thank you, Young Lord, for accepting our allegiance."

Victor nodded and sized them up. It was a pitiful number—only 200 knights—compared to the vast armies other lords had, especially the royal family. Compared to them, he appeared to be a destitute.

"Everyone, go eat and rest for the day"

"Then you will follow my lead to go hunting monsters nearby!" he said solemnly.

"Yeah!" Everyone roared with gusto, their voices shaking the surroundings.

I also need to get more vehicles, Victor clicked his tongue as he remembered that even the military vehicles were outdated and few.

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Territory Name: Silvernum Barony

Territory Size: 20 km²

Named NPCs: Edward

Military: 10 Gunmen, 4 Military Trucks, 200 Knights [Expand]

Professionals: 10 Farmers

Population: 513

Defenses: Broken Wall

Specialized Buildings: None

Landmarks: None

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Victor was about to close the interface when a sudden notification from the player forum popped up.

[Breaking News! Guilds in real life! A new bill has been passed! Evolution Online about to change the structure of the world! Governments of every country establishing an Awakener Academy]

"Oh right, it completely slipped my mind. Heh, looks like the top families managed to persuade the government," Victor said with a sneer on his face.

He had been harassed by the top guilds in his past life to join their guilds, but when he refused, they had planned to eliminate him because it wounded their pride and they could not face rejection. In fact, before his regression, the guilds which had surrounded him were all guilds belonging to the top families or affiliated with them.