8: Preparations before departure

Linn ate breakfast and sat alone at a simple desk, carefully studying the sea chart.

Iron Sand Island was about four hundred kilometers away from Tianhai City (calculated in kilometers for ease of reading) and was quite remote among the many islands. However, for Linn now, the Kingdom's allocation allowed no room for him to be picky. Its area of twenty-five square kilometers was smaller than a town in his previous life.

The sea chart clearly marked the names and areas of each island; Iron Sand Island was indeed pitifully small, as those larger islands had long since been carved up by powerful nobles.

The Kingdom's minimum requirement for a Baron was to possess five thousand subjects (including Slaves) and thirty square kilometers of land. Iron Sand Island's area alone was far from sufficient. As long as he became a Baron, he would receive the Kingdom's protection. Even Earl Ailisi could not openly target him. Of course, that was a matter for later; the main task now was to survive on Iron Sand Island.

Linn put down the sea chart. He picked up a pen to record recent expenses: 4 gold coins for military expenses, 50 gold coins to bribe Aldrich, 65 gold coins to purchase potions, totaling 119 gold coins. Of the 300 gold coins brought from the Iris Family, only 181 remained. He still had to reserve a portion for military expenses, so he could use at most 150 gold coins.

"This afternoon, I must spend this money where it counts. If I can't even save my own life, having more money is useless." Linn whispered to himself.

In the afternoon, Morton, Clay, and the others arrived at Linn's room on time. Except for Morton, everyone else had successfully achieved a Breakthrough in their Cultivation. Clay had promoted to Silver Elementary, and Carl and Angus had reached Bronze High Rank. Although such strength still belonged to the bottom tier on the Saidiroyat Continent, they finally had some ability to protect themselves.

Linn looked at Clay: "Were there any problems with receiving the Kingdom's supplies yesterday?"

Clay replied respectfully: "My Lord, I have carefully checked them. The supplies are correct, and all 200 Slaves are young and strong, under the age of forty, including 50 females. There was no substitution of inferior goods."

Linn nodded with satisfaction; the 50 gold coins for the bribe had not been spent in vain. "How much supplies can the three small boats carry?"

"They can barely hold the allocated supplies and Slaves. If you want to bring more, you will need to purchase additional ships. Other families brought their own large ships and didn't use the small boats allocated by the Kingdom at all."

Linn frowned. Adding ships meant another expense, and the Iris Family was not as wealthy as other families. He had originally intended to buy some Slaves, as early development was crucial. It was already July, and he had to harvest a season of grain before the cold winter.

"Morton, take Carl and Angus to the port with 50 gold coins. See if you can add some money to the three small boats and exchange them with the Kingdom for a medium-sized cargo ship that can accommodate three hundred people." Linn then said to Clay: "You take two soldiers and accompany me into the city for procurement."

Too many ships would easily be scattered by ocean currents and hurricanes during the voyage, which was not conducive to overall movement.

After making arrangements, Linn took Clay back to the Blue Silver Merchant Guild.

Lilith recognized Linn from afar and greeted him enthusiastically: "My Lord, would you like to purchase more potions? Lilith is at your service at any time."

"Do you have magic plant Materials here? I need to purchase a batch." As Linn spoke, he handed the prepared list to Lilith. These were the Materials required for the level two potion formulas he had learned from Dolia; with his current level, he could not yet refine a level three potion.

"I need fifty of each, plus one hundred seeds."

Lilith's eyes lit up. This was another big deal, so she quickly took the list: "Of course, our variety of magic plants is the most complete in Tianhai City. Please wait a moment, I will go and prepare them."

Before long, Lilith returned with a magic Storage Pouch: "My Lord, it totals 51 gold coins, but you only need to pay 50. The seeds are a gift; these are common varieties." She looked at Linn, "Do you need help transferring the items into the magic bag?"

Linn remained calm: "No need, just pack them up and let my attendants take them." He smiled bitterly to himself. Even the most ordinary magic Storage Pouch cost forty or fifty gold coins, and he couldn't afford one right now. Of course, the breath of life could have a huge storage capacity, but Linn felt like he had won the lottery and didn't want to expose it for the time being.

After paying, he left two attendants to wait for the goods, and Linn turned with Clay toward the Slave market in the west of the city.

The Slave market was bustling with noise. Various Slaves were tied with iron chains, including Orcs with beast features, Elves, and Dwarves. They stood on wooden platforms for people to choose from. Linn's Soul perception was stronger than his actual strength. Linn stopped in front of a stall and sensed that two of the boys might have the talent for Cultivation. He pointed to the two thin boys: "What is the background of these two?"

The Slave merchant quickly introduced: "My Lord has a good eye. These are brothers, Shirei and Evan. Both are sixteen years old, very healthy, and very nimble."

Linn observed for a moment and, seeing their clear eyes and agile movements, nodded: "Name your price."

"Five gold coins each, ten gold coins in total."

After understanding the current market situation for Slaves, ordinary Slaves were about 2 gold coins, healthy young ones were slightly more expensive, and Slaves with skills, such as carpenters or blacksmiths, were more expensive. Professional Slaves (knights, mages, Arcanist, etc., with Cultivation Rank) were even more expensive.

Linn did not haggle and signaled Clay to pay, bringing the two boys into his team.

Subsequently, he walked to a relatively quiet corner deep in the market. There, an Elf girl was locked up alone. She had long silver hair, slightly trembling pointed ears, and eyes as green as emeralds. She was so thin that it seemed like a gust of wind could blow her over. Faint arcane fluctuations radiated from her body.

She must be an arcane mage.

"What is the price for this Elf?" Linn asked.

The slave trader rubbed his hands and replied: "Bronze Junior Elf mage, proficient in arcane arts, sixty gold coins."

Linn looked at the Elf girl carefully and found that although she was in rags, she still maintained dignity in her eyes. "Fifty gold coins." He countered directly.

"My Lord, this..." The guard looked troubled, "She is an Elf mage, brought over from the Eastern Continent across the ocean. My cost alone is sixty gold coins; this price is too low."

Linn turned around, pretending to leave: "Then forget it. A Bronze Junior mage is not a must-have."

"Wait!" The guard hurriedly called him back, "Fifty-five gold coins, this is the lowest price."

"Just fifty." Linn insisted, "Look at her condition. I'm afraid she will be very difficult to tame, and keeping her in your hands is a loss."

The slave merchant hesitated for a moment and finally gritted his teeth: "Deal!" This unruly Elf had been on a hunger strike for a long time and had been stuck in his hands for a while. If he didn't sell her, he was afraid she would starve to death.

After paying, Linn walked up to the Elf girl: "What is your name?"

"Elise." She replied softly, her eyes filled with caution.

"Don't worry, I am not like the people you think. My mother was also of the Elf Race." Linn seemed to see through her thoughts. He continued, "As long as you serve me wholeheartedly, I will not treat you unfairly."

Elise nodded slightly, and the wariness in her eyes diminished. This young and handsome noble was indeed different from the other nobles she had seen; there was no aggressive look in his eyes at all.

On this trip, the two boys cost ten gold coins, and the Elf girl cost fifty gold coins, exactly sixty gold coins.

"Clay, let these two fellows follow you for now. Take some time to see if they have the talent for Cultivation. Elise, you come with me first." Linn instructed the three newly purchased people.

"Yes, My Lord." The two answered in unison.

With the newly recruited personnel, Linn felt a little more at ease. He bought a lot of grain seeds. The gold coins in his hand were almost spent. Excluding the 119 gold coins spent previously, the 50 gold coins given to Old Morton, the 50 gold coins for buying plant Materials, and the 65 gold coins for buying Slaves and seeds, there were only 16 gold coins left now. The expenditure had already exceeded expectations.

Originally, Linn had planned to buy another batch of Slaves, but buying Elise had almost exhausted his wealth. It could only be like this for now. He would make plans after settling down on Iron Sand Island.