First lottery draw

Mu Sheng turned an inquiring gaze toward Zhao Xiyao; after all, she held the highest status here.

Zhao Xiyao hesitated for a moment, but after seeing Gao Yuan's confident expression, she finally nodded.

"Then I must ask Uncle to help make the preparations."

The next day, as a letter reached the hands of Ye Quan and Lin Yang, the two met up once again.

"What does this Princess want? She wouldn't be trying to gather our troops together to wipe us out in one fell swoop, would she?"

Lin Yang slapped his chest with a face full of confidence.

"They don't know, but don't we know the strength of the troops under our own command?

Relying on those few retainers of Gao Yuan's, plus a ragtag bunch of refugees recruited along the road—can they really defeat us?"

Ye Quan also came to a sudden realization.

"Hahaha, I actually forgot. Yesterday, seeing all those troops wearing armor gave me a scare."

"I reckon that brat Gao Yuan is just bluffing."

"That's just as well. Let that pretty boy see what real elites look like, so this lot can stop daydreaming all day."

"I see that Princess Roujia is just a green girl too. When the time comes, we'll use some methods, and those able-bodied men and military equipment will all be ours."

"Hahaha!"

The two old fogies deliberated, seemingly certain that the manpower Gao Yuan recruited and the equipment he obtained were already in their pockets.

The Mu Family's secondary residence had now been renamed the Princess Roujia Mansion.

After traveling for so long, everyone was already exhausted. Now that they had finally settled down, they naturally needed to take a good rest.

However, Gao Yuan could not rest yet, because even West City was not a place of calm waters.

He understood that if he wanted to use West City as a base to build a career, he had to ensure the rear was stable.

Thus, the three families—Xian, Lin, and Ye—had to be eliminated.

So after resting for only one day, he summoned Mu Sheng and Xia Luqi on the second day.

Once the two arrived, Gao Yuan didn't bother beating around the bush and went straight to the point.

"Local Chief Mu, I thought it over repeatedly yesterday. Since our goals are aligned, we should let down our guard;

Right now, although your local soldiers and the troops I brought are numerous, their training and commands are inconsistent, and their combat effectiveness is a mixed bag..."

Mu Sheng immediately understood Gao Yuan's thoughts.

"I understand County Duke Gao's meaning, however..."

"Local Chief Mu, please speak freely."

"Although the local soldiers of West City all follow my orders in name, they are actually divided into two parts:

The first is this thousand-strong core force stationed in Dehong. Aside from my two hundred Personal Guards, the rest of the military power can be handed over to you when the time is ripe;

The second is the fifteen hundred troops stationed at the border of West City and Menge. Those are led by people from my clan, and I cannot mobilize that part;

Moreover, there are five hundred elites from the Pacification Commissioners Office in this city. How does County Duke Gao plan to deal with them?"

To put it bluntly, Mu Sheng temporarily lacked confidence in Gao Yuan's current strength; this was a call for him to flex his muscles.

"I see. I will find a way to resolve the two families' Pacification Commissioner troops;

At the same time, I hope Local Chief Mu can do your best to persuade your clansmen. I hope they won't be stubborn and obstinate."

"Then this old man shall wait and see."

After saying this, Mu Sheng took his leave.

Regarding Zhao Xiyao and Gao Yuan's faction, he had the intention to place a bet, but he did not yet have the courage to do so.

Yesterday, when he learned the origins of those one thousand 'elites,' he even felt a bit of regret.

After seeing Mu Sheng off, Gao Yuan and Xia Luqi returned to the study. The fierce general had a face full of indignation.

"My Lord, this fellow has gone back on his word. Yesterday he spoke of cooperation, but today he's become noncommittal."

Gao Yuan reached out and pressed his hand down.

"Bang Jie, no need to be angry. After all, this matter concerns the rise and fall of a family; he certainly has to see clearly before he can place his bet;

The origins of our thousand troops are no secret; anyone with a mind to check will find out;

Once I've dealt with those thousand Pacification Commissioner troops, he will naturally change his attitude."

Gao Yuan took a sip of water and continued.

"As the saying goes, to forge iron, one must be strong oneself. We must strengthen ourselves now;

Next, we will certainly have a battle with Xian Zhen and those people, so Bang Jie, I need you to train those thousand troops into elites as quickly as possible."

Xia Luqi rose and bowed.

"Rest assured, My Lord. In three months at most, I can train these thousand men."

"Good, you may go."

"Understood!"

Xia Luqi left, and Gao Yuan sat alone in the study, opening the system interface.

"Host: Gao Yuan. Character Attributes: Weak as a kitten, feminine features. Comprehensive Evaluation: F;

Strength: F-, Agility: F-, Endurance: F, Horsemanship: F-, Intelligence: B+, Leadership: F, Internal Affairs: F, Charisma: A;

Martial Techniques: None;

Skills: None;

Items: S-Rank Random Warlord Experience Card x1, One-time Random Soldier Martial Soul Card x1000, S-Rank Random Lottery Card."

The previous event was completed very well, earning an S-rank rating. The guaranteed A-rank lottery card had become an S-Rank Random Lottery Card.

The only thing that made him feel stifled was that if he had chosen to kill The Emperor at that time, he could have obtained an S-rank Specified Type Lottery Card.

But there was nothing to regret. If he had killed The Emperor then, he and his group would likely have fallen into an endless pursuit and wouldn't have reached West City at all.

It was currently the early stage of his venture, and Gao Yuan had to find every way to quickly increase his strength.

Therefore, there was no point in keeping this lottery card; it was better to use it directly.

With a thought, the system interface turned into a giant wheel, with countless rewards appearing on it.

"Host is using an S-Rank Random Type Lottery Card. Randomly drawing..."

The big wheel spun rapidly, so fast that Gao Yuan's eyes couldn't keep up.

After a long time, the wheel finally slowed down and eventually stopped on a reward.

Before he could look closely, the system notification arrived.

"Congratulations to the Host for randomly drawing an S-rank special reward: Learning Module;

Learning Module: After the Host undergoes any form of learning or training, during night sleep, the equivalent amount of learning and training will be conducted in the system space (Life Mentors can be obtained through lottery cards to increase learning speed in a specific area)."

"This..."

Gao Yuan didn't know what to say. Other people's systems gave them the Overlord's Legacy or the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline right off the bat.

But for him, it gave him a 'Little Overlord' learning machine, and he still had to practice hard every day.

However, if you called this thing a trap, it was actually quite impressive; it was directly equivalent to doubling the learning effect.

Especially now that his basic attributes were poor, the initial training effects should be very good.

Closing the system interface with a pained expression, Gao Yuan couldn't sit still. He got up, left the study, and went to the martial arts field.

Aside from those on duty, most of the retainers were training here.

Gao Yuan walked with his hands behind his back, looking left and right. Finally, with great self-awareness, he picked up a broadsword and left.

His current body was truly too weak; if he practiced here, he would likely lose face in front of everyone.

Although he was a famous 'pretty boy,' he was at least a County Duke now and the nominal supreme commander of the army. He needed to save face!

Carrying the broadsword back to his own courtyard, he followed the method he had seen in some web novels in his past life—Great Truths are Simple—and just practiced a single slash.

The broadsword, as a primary close-combat weapon, was certainly meant to be extremely light and portable.

The one Gao Yuan selected weighed about three catties after being unsheathed.

At first, Gao Yuan didn't think much of it, but after truly swinging the sword with all his might more than twenty times, his arms began to feel tired.

However, as a high-quality 'beast of burden' in his past life, he possessed an indomitable spirit.

Even though he felt very tired, he gritted his teeth and continued practicing until he reached fifty times.

The result... he was completely drained of strength by nightfall...