...

...

"That fool!"

In Eagle Castle, Count Hawk cursed angrily.

His face was livid at the moment, and his round eyes were full of fury.

On this same day, Count Hawk not only received Chris's report but also a reproach letter from Viscount Giant Bear.

Chris had actually attacked the trade caravan of the Giant Bear Clan!

The key issue was that he failed and left survivors!

Leaving himself vulnerable to having his weaknesses exploited!

Count Hawk felt that this Chris seemed like a heaven-sent punishment to ruin his plans specifically!

"Now what am I supposed to say to Viscount Giant Bear?"

He paced irritably, the letter in his hand crumpled.

Count Hawk certainly wasn't afraid of Viscount Giant Bear, but he couldn't make enemies lightly, especially not during this delicate period.

"How about we deny it?"

Chief Knight Balrog cautiously suggested.

"Just delay Viscount Giant Bear for now, saying someone impersonated Chris and have Viscount Giant Bear provide evidence."

Count Hawk's face was grim.

Now, he could only resort to playing rogue.

Having not succeeded in robbery, and without substantial evidence, the opposing party couldn't really do much.

But relations wouldn't improve much either.

"Should we notify Chris to retreat, or reinforce him, and then raid Baron Rod's granary?" Balrog asked.

"Since we're already bearing the infamy, how could I not want anything?!"

Count Hawk's voice was cold and vicious.

Since they were already exposed, they might as well go all the way!

Turning to his attendant, he said, "Notify Baron Halon to send 120 soldiers, I'll send him ten veterans and fifty new recruits to join Chris."

"Inform the messenger to wait outside White Rock Canyon, and once they join up, they should raid that granary."

Count Hawk's gaze was venomous,

"It's not only the granary; that Baron Rod must pay a price to compensate for my loss of reputation!

Do it ruthlessly, like a robber raid, and leave no traces!"

"Lord Earl, how about I personally lead the troops?"

Knight Balrog cautiously suggested, "Can this Baron Halon be trusted?"

As the Chief Knight of Count Hawk, he knew this Baron Halon very well.

This baron was a member of the Hawk Clan, Harun Falcon, Count Hawk's nephew.

But their relationship wasn't good.

On the surface, Baron Halon appeared compliant with Count Hawk, but secretly he harbored hatred toward him.

This hatred stemmed from the entanglement of bloodline and power.

— Harun's father was Count Hawk's biological brother, the eldest son of the previous generation of the Hawk Clan.

However, this eldest son died accidentally after falling off a cliff during a joint hunt with Count Hawk.

This accident allowed Count Hawk to inherit the title.

Rumors then flourished, with many speculating that Count Hawk had secretly schemed to kill his brother, Harun's father.

Notably, Baron Halon's title was not bestowed by Count Hawk but by the original Count Hawk, Harun's grandfather.

"It doesn't matter if he's trustworthy; do you think he'd be foolish enough to collude with Baron Rod?"

Count Hawk snorted coldly.

Harun didn't know Rod, and why would Rod trust Harun or Harun collude with Rod?

Count Hawk said leisurely, "Even if he bears resentment, he must carry out my orders, and by the way, weaken the strength of the barony through the battle."

Unlike titles bestowed by the Rod Empire,

Titles like Harun's, conferred by fathers or grandfathers, belong to lower-tier family lords, who must obey the commands of upper-tier lords and pay taxes on time.

Rod might not follow the Earl of the Tulip's orders, but Harun must obey Count Hawk's command.

"Understood, Lord Earl,"

Since Count Hawk had his plans, Balrog didn't argue further,

"I'll convey your command immediately."

...

...

When Luo De received a report from Durant, he was entertaining the trade caravan.

In fact, Luo De no longer personally handled these trivial matters; small trade caravans were usually managed by Lawrence.

But this caravan was transporting gifts that the Earl of the Tulip had given to Luo De.

Three guards from the Earl of the Tulip were escorting the caravan; Luo De had Lawrence entertain the three well, then took out the list given by the messenger and checked the items one by one according to the list.

The gifts from the Earl of the Tulip to Luo De were not highly practical, but all were very exquisite.

Two polished silver cups, two sets of elaborately carved silver tableware, and finely crafted oil lamps...

All looked quite valuable; if they weren't gifts from the Earl, Luo De would have directly exchanged them for resources.

These items exuded a luxurious and noble aura, starkly contrasting with Luo De's wild wooden house.

The only practical item was a full set of full-body armor and a nobly decorated sword.

In Luo De's view, these things were only suitable for showing off at certain noble occasions.

If taken to the battlefield, after a battle, those intricate patterns would surely become tattered beneath the blade.

Of course, receiving gifts is never unpleasant, and Luo De gladly accepted the Earl of the Tulip's offerings.

The messenger stayed in the territory long enough, and after the trade caravan unloaded its goods, he departed for the Earl of the Tulip's territory with Luo De's return gift of fine furs.

Afterward, Luo De had time to look over the reply from Count Hawk.

"You handle it, Durant."

Luo De handed the letter to Durant beside him,

"You don't need me to guide you on what's next, right?"

"Understood, I'll arrange everything in the agreed location ahead of time."

Durant bowed slightly, assured him, "Rest assured, I'll certainly send him a significant gift."

The location had been chosen in advance, and Luo De was well aware of the enemy's forces. The only thing to be wary of was that Harun.

Three knights under the command of the Earl of the Hawk were noteworthy. The Earl of the Hawk was an Advanced Knight, the Chief Knight Balrog was an Advanced Knight, and then there was Harun, who was about to become an Advanced Knight.

Of course, what Luo De meant by being wary was just not giving him a chance to fight back, but having Rein shoot him from a distance.

After all, even an Advanced Knight is still human and can't block blades with their bodies.

Durant thought for a moment and said, "I'll go myself this time."

If he can't win such a battle himself, then Durant might as well quit being a knight early.

"No, once you're ready, I'll go with you."

Luo De said firmly.

The key point was that Luo De wasn't sure if the effect would activate if he wasn't commanding on the battlefield.

Luo De didn't want to test it. With extra morale and strength boosts, they could achieve fewer or even zero casualties.

"No worries, I'll stand at the back."

Luo De smiled slightly, "Hurry and make the arrangements."

"All right, Lord Baron."

Durant had no choice, bowed, and then turned to leave.

Luo De then began building his first fire bed.

The mansion's rooms were spacious, and to ensure the entire room was as warm as spring in winter, more than just a fire bed was needed.

Luo De also planned to build smoke ducts about one meter wide along three walls inside, similar to the heating pipes from his previous life.

At the end of the smoke ducts would be a chimney.

Luo De originally thought about turning all the floors into fire beds, like underfloor heating.

But the wooden house was too large, the workload substantial, and it was still Luo De's idea, which might fail, so he temporarily gave up on the idea.

Since he had already started making bricks, Luo De planned to rebuild the mansion next year, making a better home for himself and Avril.

That would be a better time to implement these ideas.

The construction of a fire bed required some technical experience.

Apart from the smoke ducts, the cross-section of the fire bed itself was rectangular.

To ensure the bed heated evenly, the internal smoke ducts were usually designed in an "S" shape.

This would also allow the heat to circulate beneath the bed for a longer distance, fully releasing warmth.

After the smoke ducts were built, the bed surface was covered with thick stone slabs, carefully smoothed with yellow clay to ensure a flat, even surface.

The smoke duct was much simpler, with a central tunneling forming a firepath.

It too must be filled and sealed with yellow clay to prevent smoke leakage.

The newly built fire bed required a "seasoning" process, usually needing three to five days of continuous burning.

Starting with a small fire and gradually increasing it so that the fire bed could dry completely and stabilize.

During this period, close observation was needed for the smoke flow, checking for any smoke leaking through cracks in the bed.

If smoke leaks were found, they needed to be immediately sealed again with yellow clay.

After completely extinguishing the fire, one must feel the bed surface temperature with their palm.

This ensured there were no particularly hot or cold spots, indicating a reasonable smoke duct layout.

And this inspection process was entrusted by Luo De to Avril, who was following with curious eyes.

She carefully climbed onto the fire bed, crouched down, and touched it with her hand in different spots.

"It's really warm!"

Avril's eyes sparkled with amazement, "It feels so cozy; I want to lie down on it!"

Others, unable to suppress their curiosity, also stretched out their hands to touch it.

"It really is! Warm and comfortable, not at all hot to the touch!" Otto exclaimed in wonder.

As a native of the Northern Wasteland, he was the most shocked.

How would one's feet get frostbitten at night while sleeping on this?

"It's hot here!"

Reaching the head of the bed, Avril quickly retracted her hand cautiously.

"This is the closest spot to the fireplace; of course, it would be hot."

Luo De was still testing whether the yellow clay layer on the bed would crack, so he burned it quite large on the last day.

"If the fire in the furnace kept burning intensely, this place could get scalding hot, but laying wood boards would help a lot."

"On top of that, add a layer of straw matting; over that, you can place animal skins."

Even if ordinary families don't have animal skins big enough, putting bedding on top is fine.

Though it might be a bit hard, this is definitely a warming tool in the cold winter.

"The head of the bed is generally not so hot, but avoid touching the smoke duct near the fireplace, as it will be very hot."

The principle is the same as not touching a stove with bare hands.

Luo De glanced over everyone, advising, "Before you sleep at night, add some charcoal or coarse firewood, letting them burn slowly, and the residual heat can keep it warm all night."

He added finally, "It's still autumn now, the temperature is okay, so don't burn too intensely."

"Yes, Lord!"

The group responded in unison.

Otto cautiously stepped forward with a grin, "Master, can the next fireplace be built at my house?"

"Bullshit!"

Before Otto could speak, Lawrence pushed him aside, "Of course, the fireplace at the inn must be built first!"

Luo De waved his hand and said with a smile, "You've all seen it done once, and I've given you the blueprints, so now you should form your own teams and help build for others."

"But, everyone building fireplaces must pay work points."

Just a couple of days ago, Lawrence had given Luo De the territory's work point data.

As soon as Luo De saw it, my goodness, even the average woman had six thousand work points, and some had over ten thousand.

After the autumn harvest, Luo De gave each family five hundred pounds of rye, so they didn't lack food.

Thinking they might use their work points to exchange for some meat and wheat to improve their lives, but the townspeople just hoarded them without spending.

Luo De couldn't keep spending work points on charity; they had to spend some.

After all, he had to pay work points when hiring people for work!

"Not too many work points are needed, just one hundred and fifty will do."

"No problem, Lord!"

The crowd replied in unison.

Building a fire bed required two to three people working all day, and one hundred and fifty work points were definitely worth it.

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