Lord of the Oasis

Kant and Rolf entered the posthouse.

Desert bandits, who served as servants, entered and exited the side door. They quickly served the food in the kitchen. Soon, the long table in the hall was filled with the fragrance of the food.

It was all simple food. Dried sausage, roasted dried meat, and fruits from the Senwaya range.

Naturally, there were plenty of sweet date palm.

“Not bad.”

Kant nodded in satisfaction.

Rolf was very meticulous in his consideration of the details.

When he first set up the posthouse here, it was for the purpose of replenishing supplies midway. Whether it was outsiders, Kant’s troops, or the trade caravan, they could all rest here, obtain water and food, and have a good rest.

After all, the environment of the Nahrin Desert was cruel. Even if they were used to living like this, they could still feel the deep malice brought by the environment.

It was malice.

The title of the Forbidden Zone of civilization was not for nothing.

If it was not for the table salt found here, Kant could’ve done whatever he wanted with the place.

The noble families of the Dukedom of Leo were only interested in profits. If they came to the Nahrin desert, it would not benefit them at all. They would rather let Kant do whatever than have anything to do with this place.

Just like Baron Dylan, who was sealed by the stone pass, he was marginalized and ignored.

He would never be able to join the mainstream noble circle.

But Kant did not need it.

The so-called circle was just a platform to borrow each other’s strength.

Kant, who already had a powerful military force, could completely build his own platform. He could even flip the table. It was meaningless for him to join the so-called noble circle.

The meal ended quickly.

After a short rest.

Manide saluted and left. According to the plan, he needed to meet the merchants who were still waiting.

After all, the table salt trade had been interrupted for more than half a month. Those merchants were in a hurry. If they hadn’t seen Manide and his caravan, they would have wanted to barge in.

Of course, their thoughts were their thoughts. In reality, with Rolf around, these merchants didn’t dare to be presumptuous.

The piles of bones in the desert were proof.

This scoundrel noble wouldn’t show mercy.

A new trade caravan relied on the power of the noble behind them and dared to go head-on with Rolf. Then, at night, so-called horse gangs appeared and attacked the trade caravan. They killed the leader of the trade caravan and stuck his head in the ground with a spear.

As for the goods, they would be found by the desert bandits on patrol the next day, and the lucky ones would be picked up in the desert.

There were two or three incidents.

Under the threat of high pressure, the entire central posthouse was unusually harmonious.

Of course, the merchants who had been bullied would definitely have some complaints. The noble families who had not received sufficient benefits would also have a worse impression of Kant. At the same time, they would also force some noble families to join forces and really send troops over.

There were already signs of bandits in the desert, but Fatis, who was stationed at the Stone Pass, had strict management.

This was also a good move for Kant.

Kant would not wait here for too long.

He came to the central posthouse purely on the way. In fact, he planned to go to the stone pass, which was already under his control. He wanted to see the local situation and the movements of the Dukedom of Leo.

Fatis had been stationed there for two months, which was enough to get general information about the Dukedom of Leo.

That was the main point.

Although in the past, the Stone Pass was unknown.

But now, because of the table salt trade, the Stone Pass had become a gathering place for trade caravan.

As a result, there was a huge flow of people in the Stone Pass. It was not clear how many spies and secret agents there were from other forces, but there were also a lot of them. That was why Kant sent Fatis there.

The pass was a strategic location.

If one wanted to leave the Nahrin Desert, they had to pass through this junction built in the canyon.

They could send troops to charge straight into the Dukedom of Leo.

If they retreated, they could easily defend the Nahrin Desert.

If they walked out of the pass, the entire Dukedom of Leo would be defenseless, especially the Northern Territory. The entire terrain was a relatively barren plain, and the occasional rise and fall of hills would not be a problem.

A scholar had once conducted an investigation in the northern county.

He had come to a conclusion.

As long as there was a river similar to the river in the Resniston River, it would appear in the northern county.

Then, this seemingly barren land would be improved. A good water network would be built, and the entire plain would be included in the water source irrigation area. This would increase the grain output of the northern county by several times.

Even if it was not as good as the northern and eastern prefectures, it would not be much different.

This was a plain area.

It was suitable for farming.

The reason why it was barren was because it was close to the Nahrin Desert. The weather was hot and dry, and the land was short of water.

Of course, Kant did not care about this. With the power of the system’s rules, he could make up for this shortcoming at any time. Moreover, as long as he led his troops out of the Stone Pass, this endless plain would be his to rule!

The plain was suitable for large-scale cavalry battles. The plain that had no danger to defend was not a paradise for infantrymen.

Instead, it was a hell for infantrymen!

Kant’s cavalry was the heavy cavalry unit that contained the essence of caladia.

Even if it was the light cavalry, they were still desert bandits. This group of desert bandits learned from the light cavalry unit formed by the Kujits.

They moved like the wind.

Although they did not have the demeanor of the kujits who held bows and arrows and were invincible in archery, just by harassing, scouting, ambushing, harassing the grain path, attacking logistics and other strategic missions, they could also display their excellent abilities.

Although the troops of the Dukedom of Leo were also mainly heavy cavalry, their light cavalry was extremely poor.

Similar to the horse militia.

They could only carry out simple scouting and harassing tactics.

If they encountered desert bandits, they would probably be swallowed up clean.

As for the infantry, they were purely a troop class. They were all ordinary civilians who had undergone simple training to take up their roles. If the situation was urgent, they would most likely look for mercenaries to act as infantrymen to carry the line.

Only the noble knight group, including the knight squires who had been trained since they were young, was the main force in battle.

This was similar to the medieval Europe in his previous life.

Kant did not have any fear towards this kind of troops that clearly had shortcomings.

With the current cavalry group, the heavy cavalry with the Swadian man-at-arms and Sarrandian Horseman as the main force was enough to break through the defenses of any army. Even if they were to enter into a chaotic battle, they would have the Sarrandian horseman squires as the main force in hand-to-hand combat.

Most importantly, the number of extraordinary troops Kant currently had was definitely higher than that of the Dukedom of Leo.

Even in terms of quality, they had to be stronger!

Moreover, after the victory, Kant’s influence had improved by leaps and bounds.

It was not about quantity.

It was quality!

The experience points of all the troop class had been rounded up, enough to be upgraded to a higher-level.

If the Dukedom of Leo wanted to block Kant’s heavy cavalry group, it was like building a temporary earth dam to block the flood that flowed downstream. No matter in concept or in reality, they would suffer heavy losses.

At the very least, the many noble families in the Dukedom of Leo would not allow their troops to be wiped out.

This was the basis for them to become noble families.

Without their elite troops.

Not to mention the enemies around them, even if they were allies, they would take the opportunity to annex them!

Taking advantage of one’s illness to take one’s life, the noble families in this world also did not have eternal allies. They only had temporary interests. Other than their own strength, everything else was meaningless. This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak!

Kant had his own ideas for this trip to the Dukedom of Leo.

The troops would attack.

It was impossible for him to limit his power to the Stone Pass.

As the current overlord of the Nahrin Desert, Kant had the ability and strength. He also had the capital to let his troops charge into the Dukedom of Leo’s estate.

According to his impression, the supreme lord of the northern county, Viscount Wayne, did not have the strength to stop them.

Moreover, the military strength in the northern county was the weakest.

There was not even a city in the county.

Only Logue Castle, which nominally ruled the entire northern county, belonged to the Archduke’s trusted aide. In the northern county, Viscount Kevin and his Masburg, who were restraining the local noble families, as well as the inconspicuous Stone Pass that belonged to Baron Dylan.

All of this was not a problem for Kant.

Moreover, he already controlled the only natural danger to him, the Stone pPss!

If he did not control the stone pass, the noble families of the Dukedom of Leo would form a joint force and station their elite troops at the only gap in the Senwaya range. Then, what awaited Kant would be a long torture.

His troops could not pass through the Senwaya range. The mountainous terrain that was like a long dragon could block any troops.

Moreover, it was extremely dangerous inside.

Unless they took the water route.

It was the ancient passageway beneath Aaron City.

However, until now, this passageway was still in an unknown status. Even if they knew that it led to the river, the unopened passageway wouldn’t be able to form an effective logistics supply.

If they were attacked from both sides, Kant would also be in danger.

Most importantly.

His powerful land heavy cavalry group could not charge on the wide river!

Thinking of this, Kant fell into deep thought.

He could not give up on the stone pass.

This was a crucial point.

Only by controlling this pass would he have the right to pressure the nobles of the Dukedom of Leo. Then, he could use threats and bribes to gradually spread his influence throughout the entire dukedom.

As the second-in-line heir, Kant had the right to rope in those noble families.

Although the effect would definitely be weak.

There were no eternal allies, and there was also no eternal hatred.

In the face of benefits, everything could be compromised. Even blood feuds could be abandoned to the side.

Moreover, they did not have blood feuds. It was only because they were hostile to the Silver Platter Kingdom and Princess Sofia, who was born in the Silver Platter Kingdom, and was Kant’s biological mother.

Whatever happened remains unsaid. Even if there was a culprit behind Princess Sofia’s death, not all the noble families were involved.

“Alright.”

Kant wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

He stood up and looked at the lion knights around him who had also finished eating. He said calmly, “It’s about time. Let’s continue our journey and try to reach the Stone Pass by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yes!” The 30 lion knights answered in unison.

“Are we leaving now?”

Rolf was a little surprised. “Lord Kant, why don’t you stay here and rest?”

Kant waved his hand. “There’s no need.” He glanced out of the window and said calmly, “I’ve already given Manide the details. You can continue to guard this place peacefully, just stay vigilant.”

“Understood.” Rolf nodded.