19: Speaking of alliances

The two lords had already anticipated that Arthur would only see the two of them, so they did not object. After giving instructions to their subordinates, the two followed Chris into the castle.

In the reception room, Arthur waited for a moment before hearing movement. He looked up and saw two handsome men in their twenties following behind Chris.

They looked a bit more mature than the sixteen-year-old Arthur.

But that made sense; someone as young as Arthur, venturing out to pioneer as only a Bronze Knight, was a rarity.

As for their handsome faces, among the children of the nobility, there were basically none who were ugly.

“Lord Arthur, these two are the lords located to our left and right.”

Chris took the lead in introducing them.

“Mm, thank you for your hard work! You may head down first!”

“Yes, My Lord!”

After Chris left, the two visiting lords finally introduced themselves.

“Hello, Baron Arthur. My name is Butler Kadri; you can just call me Butler. I come from the Kadri Family of Ailan Province, and my territory is to your left.”

As long as one came out to pioneer territory, all parties defaulted to treating them as having the status of a Baron. Of course, this was only in terms of address.

To gain official recognition, one had to wait until the war against the Orcs ended in three years; that would be the time for the actual granting of titles.

“The one beside me is Martin Sane, also from Ailan Province, of the Sane Family. His territory is to your right.”

“The two of us didn't know each other either; we just met on the way here and got acquainted!”

Martin didn't react to Butler introducing him directly, merely nodding in cooperation, clearly giving his silent consent!

This also showed that among the two, Butler was more active, while Martin appeared relatively taciturn.

Hearing their introductions, Arthur also pondered their identities in his mind.

The Kadri and Sane families were the two great Marquis families of Ailan Province. Arthur's Mad Lion Family was only a Count Family, so they were somewhat weaker than them.

That Arthur, a Count's son, could establish a territory here was mainly due to geographical advantage—after all, the Fierce Lion Territory was right next to the border!

With thoughts swirling in his mind, Arthur also began to introduce himself:

“So it is Baron Butler and Baron Martin. Although you already know who I am, I should still introduce myself: Arthur Fierce Lion, from Mondo Province.”

“It is my honor that you two have come to visit. Why don't we sit down and talk!”

The three of them then took their seats in the reception room.

As soon as they sat down, the more active Butler said with a smile:

“As a province that was just reclaimed from the Orcs, the nobles in Mondo Province should all have surplus land to grant.”

“And as far as I know, Baron Arthur, you are the only one from Mondo Province who came to pioneer.”

“Although I don't know why, this kind of courage is something we truly admire.”

Without waiting for Arthur to reply, Butler continued:

“Furthermore, I have long heard of the illustrious reputation of Count Fierce Lion's golden sharp lion cavalry.”

“In the campaign to reclaim Mondo Province twenty years ago, Count Fierce Lion defeated an Orc army of ten thousand with only a hundred golden sharp lion cavalry.”

“The physical fitness of an ordinary Orc is more than twice that of a human. For Count Fierce Lion to achieve such results with only a hundred men, the golden sharp lion cavalry is indeed formidable.”

“One must know that there are also powerhouses within the Orc army; they aren't all ordinary Orcs who haven't Cultivated Battle Qi.”

“Originally, I had some doubts about the credibility of these rumors.”

“But after seeing them at the castle gate with Baron Martin today, I have truly come to understand the terror of the Golden Sharp Lions. With such a Sharp Weapon, Baron Arthur, you will surely succeed in your pioneering. It's truly enviable!”

After speaking, a few hints of envy truly flickered in Butler's eyes.

It seemed these words were heartfelt; but then again, in these Barren Plains where one could face an Orc attack at any time, having greater strength was naturally enviable.

Even Martin on the side showed a look of envy.

However, neither showed any signs of jealousy; it was unclear whether they hid it well or were truly broad-minded.

Arthur, having heard Butler's long speech, summarized it as flattery and couldn't help but smile:

“Baron Butler, you flatter me. My meager strength is nothing. You must know that the families behind you two are much more powerful than our Mad Lion Family!”

“Speaking of which, both of your territories are newly established, so there should be many matters to attend to. Why would you suddenly think of visiting me?”

Seeing that Arthur was indifferent to his flattery, Butler secretly raised his opinion of Arthur in his heart.

One had to know that from what he understood, Arthur was only sixteen. To be so calm and collected was truly rare.

No wonder Count Fierce Lion, who only had two sons, could feel at ease letting Arthur come to such a dangerous place as the Barren Plains!

Seeing Arthur's business-like demeanor, Butler's expression stiffened for a moment before he began to explain the purpose of their visit:

“Baron Arthur, you also know that the three-month period is up, and the kingdom's army that went to harass the Orcs will soon return to the kingdom's borders.”

“At that time, all of us here in the Barren Plains will be subject to Orc attacks. Our individual strength alone cannot stop the Orcs.”

“So we need to unite the forces of our various territories and watch over each other. Only then is it possible to prevent the Orcs from defeating us one by one!”

Hearing this, Arthur knew that Butler was telling the truth, even if the Orcs wouldn't exert their full strength just for people like them.

But the Orcs were, after all, a power that could go toe-to-toe with the entire Kate Kingdom. Even if they only used twenty percent of their strength, it would be a great terror for these lords.

Of course, it was also impossible for the Orcs to send out overly powerful experts all at once; after all, why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?

Moreover, the Orcs were not as united as the kingdom; they were bound together in the form of tribes.

Unless they encountered a food shortage, they would not gather together to attack the kingdom and carry out raids.

So, before these lords demonstrated a significant threat, the first ones to attack them would likely just be one or two Orc tribes near them.

However, all of this was based on the premise that Arthur didn't have a cheat. With his cheat, he didn't fear the Orcs.

Although an alliance was useless to Arthur and he wouldn't join one, it wouldn't hurt to hear what Butler's so-called alliance was all about, so he asked:

“Oh? And how exactly would we unite?”

Hearing that Arthur seemed interested in an alliance, Butler's face lit up with joy, and he continued:

“To form an alliance, one naturally needs to do so with people of comparable strength. And for those of us lords near the border, our strength won't differ too much! We are the best candidates for an alliance.”

“We can sign a contract: once one person's territory is attacked, the others must send troops to support them!”

“Of course, the best way would be for each territory to send soldiers to form a coalition army, but that is too difficult to implement. After all, if such an army were formed, no one would know who should lead it, and no one would be willing to submit. We can discuss that later.”