25: Gnolls attack

Looking down, on the stone floor of the castle's first level, apart from three holes, not even the tails of the bolts could be seen; they must have shot deep into the ground.

Seeing the immense power of the gale repeating crossbow and its ability to fire three bolts in succession, Arthur nodded with satisfaction.

He then arranged for Chris to be summoned, and in the castle's small training ground, he handed a gale repeating crossbow to Chris:

"Chris, this is a repeating crossbow I recently acquired. Test its power and see how it is. If you think it's acceptable, I will purchase a batch later as standard equipment for the army—one for everyone!"

Knowing that anything Arthur specifically mentioned must have its merits, Chris hurriedly and curiously took the gale repeating crossbow. After examining it carefully and looking at the mysterious patterns on the crossbow, he exclaimed:

"Could this crossbow actually be a magical weapon!"

To this, Arthur merely smiled:

"Won't you know once you test it!"

"The Lord is right!"

Having said that, Chris took a loaded gale repeating crossbow and fired a test shot at a stone fifty meters away.

The moment the bolt was fired, Chris, having heard no noise, thought the crossbow was broken.

But just as this thought emerged, an unusual sound from the distant stone shattered his doubts.

Chris then hurriedly went forward to check the situation and exclaimed:

"The bolt was fired silently, yet its power is so immense that it completely embedded itself into the boulder; it truly is a masterpiece! However, I have never heard of this crossbow in the kingdom before. May I ask where you purchased it, my Lord? Also, my Lord, what is the name of such a formidable crossbow?"

The excited Chris had his mouth going like a machine gun, asking questions non-stop.

Arthur was very satisfied with this reaction and replied with a smile:

"This crossbow is indeed new, and it is called the gale repeating crossbow. As for where it was purchased, it was from a merchant I happened to meet. He is very mysterious and did not reveal his origins!"

"I see. The Lord is truly blessed by the heavens to be able to meet such a capable merchant. gale repeating crossbow is also a good name! However, such a magical weapon would cost at least five thousand gold coins on the market. If we were to equip each of our current one thousand-plus soldiers with one, that would be over five million gold coins! It seems we don't have that much money!"

Regarding Chris's concerns, Arthur did not explain much, nor did he need to, directly stating:

"You don't need to worry about the money; I will handle it. Furthermore, I never said I would only buy one thousand gale repeating crossbows; our soldiers are still too few. I hope you can increase the number of regular soldiers to four thousand within a week. At that time, I will purchase a total of four thousand one hundred gale repeating crossbows. The extras will be for future use. The primary training project for these four thousand people will be using bows and crossbows. As for combat and the like, push them back; focus all efforts on preparing for the war against the Orcs."

"Four thousand one hundred! That many!"

Recruiting three thousand new people was nothing for the current Initial City; most of the people in the city were young and strong, and there was plenty of manpower.

But four thousand one hundred gale repeating crossbows truly shocked Chris.

After all, in Chris's impression, calculating at five thousand gold coins per gale repeating crossbow, this meant twenty million gold coins, equivalent to nearly ten years of tax revenue for the previous Counts Fief! Not to mention that this didn't even include the bolts; that would be another huge expense! But looking at Arthur's tone, it seemed none of this was a problem! Such boldness made Chris look at Arthur as if looking at a deity; he was just too wealthy!

Arthur had long anticipated Chris's reaction, but he wouldn't explain anything. A certain amount of mystery helps those in higher positions better control those below them.

He continued to give instructions:

"I recall that the current monthly salary for a regular soldier is thirty silver coins, right!"

"Yes, my Lord. The soldiers' food, clothing, housing, and transportation are usually taken care of by the army, provided free of charge. The remaining thirty silver coins are enough to meet the basic living needs of two of their family members. This is also the standard monthly salary for the kingdom's army!"

Upon hearing this, Arthur calculated that if a soldier's monthly salary was thirty coins, supporting four thousand soldiers would only cost about fifteen thousand gold coins a year. Even if increased to fifty silver coins per month, it would only be a little over twenty thousand gold coins a year. To Arthur, this was a drop in the bucket, so he didn't mind letting the people under his command live a little better.

"Thirty silver coins a month is still a bit low. From now on, the monthly salary for the regular soldiers under my command will be increased to fifty silver coins."

"The Lord is benevolent. With this measure, I believe they will be even more loyal to you!"

Hearing that Arthur was actually going to increase the soldiers' salaries, Chris was once again amazed by Arthur's wealth and was full of admiration for him.

After all, other lords would pay as little as possible, and many people joining the army wouldn't even get a thirty silver coin monthly salary. Arthur's move would inevitably cause a huge sensation, and there would undoubtedly be countless people coming to enlist; the soldiers selected that way would also be stronger.

"I am just doing what I can!"

Arthur still respected those soldiers who were about to shed their blood for the territory. If he hadn't also been in great need of gold coins himself, he likely would have increased it even more.

After a sigh, Arthur remembered there was one more thing to instruct:

"I will hand over the gale repeating crossbows to you in two days. You understand the preciousness of this item, so management must be handled well. Although I trust those soldiers, without supervision, it is inevitable that some will develop greed and resell military supplies!"

"Rest assured, my Lord, I will never let a single gale repeating crossbow fall into the wrong hands!"

"Hmm, I believe in your abilities. Go and recruit the soldiers quickly!"

"Your subordinate takes his leave!"

Afterward, under the temptation of Arthur's high salary, three thousand new soldiers were recruited in just three days. This was even after selecting the best of the best, making the quality of this batch of soldiers quite good. It is estimated that with a little training, they could become elites.

And after Chris completed the recruitment of the new soldiers, Arthur handed him the storage ring containing the gale repeating crossbows and bolts.

To this, Chris expressed wild joy and showed admiration for Arthur's efficiency.

While Arthur was busy recruiting soldiers in the camp during these three days, the outside world was not idle either.

According to those who escaped from the depths of the Barren Plains, the Gnoll tribe located on the border of the Orc Royal Court, after confirming multiple times that the kingdom's army had withdrawn, had already begun retaliation and looting operations against the human pioneering territories in the Barren Plains.

Therefore, the human pioneering territories closest to the Orc Royal Court had already suffered! The humans who fled here were proof of that!

According to previously received information, the Gnoll tribe was a large tribe with a population of over a million. Although no experts at the level of Sky Knight had been born among them, they could be considered a nation of soldiers. Both men and women were warriors, and Gnolls who reached a certain age would be abandoned by the tribe.