The herald did not look down on Luo De because he was a "Baron of the Wilderness," but bowed and presented the imperial edict to Luo De with both hands.

His salute was exceptionally standard, expressionless, with almost no emotional fluctuation, as if he were a machine.

Luo De took the edict, looked calm, and said to the herald, "Your Excellency, please take a rest first."

Luo De turned to Lawrence at his side and instructed, "Arrange a room for the herald."

"Yes, my lord."

Perhaps influenced by the herald, Lawrence also responded with a stern face, then made a gesture inviting the herald.

"Thank you."

The herald nodded and saluted, then followed Lawrence away.

After the herald left, Luo De opened the empire's edict.

After reading it, Luo De held the parchment tightly, his brows furrowed.

Durant standing by couldn't help but ask, "Your expression is… did we guess wrong? Does the empire want us to dispatch troops?"

"Not needed."

Luo De tossed the edict roll onto the table and sighed, "His Majesty 'understands' the plight of us Lords of the Northern Wilderness, so he exempted us from military service."

"Oh, well that's good news."

Durant breathed a sigh of relief, then felt something was off: "Then why did you frown just now? It's not that simple, right?"

"Hmm, you're not wrong."

Luo De couldn't help but chuckle, "No need to dispatch troops, but we must pay fifty gold coins."

"Fifty gold coins? War tax?"

Durant's eyes widened with a hint of dissatisfaction,

"Didn't the edict say we were tax-exempt?"

"Why are we still paying?"

"You're wrong; this isn't a war tax."

Luo De pointed to the edict and said, "The edict calls it 'Imperial War Aid Fund.'

"Isn't that the same thing?" Durant smiled bitterly.

"The edict says this amount is an advance by the empire; it will be compensated with captives after the war," Luo De explained.

Durant frowned, skepticism in his tone: "Compensate with captives? Sounds good, but… can it be done?"

"Whether it can be done or not, it's written that way."

Luo De was somewhat helpless, "Whether they return the captives to us later, we have to pay the money first."

Luo De, a small Lord of the Northern Wilderness, did not have the strength to resist the empire's edict.

Durant lowered his head, somewhat unwilling, saying: "You're right, for fifty gold coins, it's really not worth resisting the empire's orders."

"However, this is also a good thing for us."

Luo De smiled and turned to walk towards the wooden table in the center of the hall, reaching to take the map off the wall and laying it flat on the table.

Luo De pointed to the border city and White Rock Canyon: "Now, we don't have to deal with the mess over here."

"Other lords busy with the war have no time to bother us either."

Luo De's gaze moved northward,

"Next, our main target is in the north, taking this opportunity to nip those restless alien races in the bud."

"Indeed, this is an opportunity."

Durant nodded, "Shall I write to bring Gang Le back?"

"Yes, there's no point in him staying in White Rock Canyon anymore."

Luo De instructed, "Let him return to Frost Leaf Town for a few days of rest; the patrol team should head north, survey the terrain around Razor Plain, and locate the people."

"Hmm, we're unfamiliar with the environment there; we should first refine the map."

Durant looked at the blank map and said, "This might take some time; otherwise, those alien races will hide, and we won't find them."

"No, those alien races can't hide."

Luo De smiled slightly, explaining the incident about Tucson to Durant.

Bam!

Durant's eyes widened, slamming the table, "This is fantastic!"

Luo De, watching Durant lose his composure for the first time in front of him, couldn't help but laugh as well.

Realizing his rudeness, Durant quickly bowed and saluted,

"Sorry, Lord Baron, I was a bit inappropriate…"

"It's fine; there are no outsiders here."

Luo De shook his head slightly, "I know how important this thing is for a march."

"Yes, it's extremely important!"

Durant remained excited,

"With Tucson, we can clearly understand the enemy's movements and respond at any time."

Durant knew that the Eagle Feather Tribe had joined the territory and had heard some news.

But he originally thought it was just a regular hawk; he didn't expect it to be similar to a wizard's spell-like method.

With some military training, Durant understood how terrifying this method was.

Especially in such a wilderness, it could completely determine the direction of the war.

"By the way, Lord Baron, does Tucson's ability have a distance limit?"

Durant urgently asked, "Can he see wherever his hawk flies?"

"This may disappoint you."

Luo De slightly shook his head, "We tried not long before you arrived, Tucson borrowing the hawk's vision has a maximum range of about ten kilometers."

"That's fine, it's enough."

Durant nodded.

A ten-kilometer distance is enough to prevent enemy ambushes.

And for tracking targets, a ten-kilometer range is more than sufficient.

"Then…"

Suddenly, Durant's cheeks turned red, revealing a shy smile as if he were a lovesick girl, looking at Luo De.

Luo De felt a chill down his spine and goosebumps rising, couldn't help but step back,

"Durant, don't look at me with that expression, hurry and say what you want."

"Sorry, Lord Baron."

Durant was embarrassed, quickly saying: "Could you assign this Tucson to me?"

"This Tucson can't be given to you."

Luo De said, "Next, Gang Le is to go north as a vanguard to scout, and Tucson must go with him to figure out the situation there."

"But Rein is still catching hawks and falcons; you will certainly be equipped with such a person later."

Luo De reiterated solemnly to Durant: "If you have something to say in the future, just say it directly; don't give me that kind of expression again."

"Yes, Lord Baron, I won't do it again."

Durant quickly nodded, somewhat embarrassed.

"Alright, when Lawrence returns, have him arrange some people for you."

Luo De pointed to the northern border of Black Pine Ridge and arranged, "Build a sentry post here, in the future, expand it into a fortress to keep watch with Razor Plain."

"Do we start now?"

Durant was a little confused, "Isn't it a bit early?"

"It's not early."

Luo De gazed at the sky outside, "Better start early; if later, it will be time to reclaim and expand cultivating."

If this trend continues, the grain at Black Pine Ridge will not be enough again.

The war in the south will certainly lead to grain prices rising.

Unfortunately, I can't foresee the future; otherwise, I would stockpile more grain.

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