Chapter 17: Dragon Breaker Fortress
"Two broken axes, three broken shovels, five worn chisels, and five bottles of armor maintenance oil and a cleaning bucket for chainmail."

Luke was carefully taking inventory of the tools in the carriage.

And record the list of supplies that need to be replenished when passing through the city.

Not long ago, the knight who led the team arranged several new positions for the villagers to facilitate management.

With literacy and arithmetic, he was assigned as the storekeeper of the carriage, responsible for counting supplies and purchasing vacancies.

This was an important duty, and Luke dared not slack off.

Each inventory is verified multiple times to ensure that nothing is missed.

When he stepped out of the carriage, the soldier guarding outside greeted him friendly, and he quickly responded respectfully.

When he returned to the villagers' camp, the villagers he met welcomed him warmly, and the serfs even bowed their heads and called him "Sir".

Luke responded one by one, with the same warm and friendly attitude.

He also corrected the serfs' way of addressing him, telling them that they were just servants serving the lord and should call him Luke directly.

Unlike the bad situation before, now he doesn't have to grit his teeth and stick to the militia.

My family already has a special status in the team.

And all these changes are thanks to his daughter Lily.

Luke returned to his family. His daughter Lily was proudly standing with her hands on her hips, and said to his wife happily:

"Hehe, the five of them just ran over to me in fear and apologized. They called me Lady Lily several times before I forgave them. Next time someone throws water on me, I will definitely teach her a lesson!"

"What happens after you make them apologize?" Luke sat down and looked at her.

"And then? Then I'll tell them to go away and not bother me again."

"You shouldn't be like this."

"Why? I didn't bully them." Seeing her father shaking his head, Lily's happiness faded away, and she pulled her mother, feeling a little aggrieved.

Knowing his daughter's personality, Luke began to educate her in the way that she was most interested in.

"Remember the story I told you about the reasons why those mistresses maintained their positions?"

"I know, they are the most beautiful. I am also very beautiful. None of the other girls can compare to me." Lily remembered her father's words when describing the hostesses.

Beautiful, she is too.

Although she felt a little inferior when she saw the knight's face, the contrast immediately made her regain her confidence after returning to the villagers.

I am just beautiful.

"You haven't listened carefully. That's just the surface." Luke shook his head unsatisfiedly. "What really makes the position stable is the help they can provide."

"If you want to stay with that master for a long time, you must learn to win over the people below you."

"Never touch a soldier, but you have to make those girls learn to listen to you. That lord is just starting out now, and there are no other maids around him. This is your only chance."

Only after coming into close contact with the adult did Luke truly feel the difference in him.

Whether it was the elite army that crushed the thieves or the other side's clear discipline of rewards and punishments, they all made him realize the bright future of this pioneering knight order.

His daughter seized the most important opportunity, but her vision was still too poor, and Luke had to make her change.

"Yeah." Lily listened carefully to what she cared about most and understood, "As the future mistress, how can I not have my own maid? I know what to do!"

Looking at his daughter who ran out in a hurry and disappeared, Luke felt helpless and didn't know whether she understood or not.

He brought beer with him and prepared to go and have a few drinks with several other families in the position to build closer relationships so that he could provide help to his daughter in the future.

As the team expanded, in order to reduce the pressure on the soldiers, Rhodes assigned some of the work to the villagers in the team. He didn't pay much attention to this aspect, after all, it was just a temporary position on the road.

While rushing to wipe out the thieves, they were getting closer and closer to the destination of this development.

Rhodes, who was riding in the front, looked up.

A striking city wall appeared in the distance, standing there as thick as a mountain, undulating and stretching as far as the eye can see.

It was once one of the barbarian royal cities. Now it is the immortal barrier of the Northern Frost Principality to defend against the northern barbarians. It took more than ten years to build the Broken Dragon Fortress in the Cold Wind Mountains.

It is also the capital of the principality today, a large city with a population of over half a million.

After spending more than two months on the journey, Rhodes felt a little emotional as he looked at the city wall getting closer and closer.

After crossing this fortress, he will truly step into the north, face the barbarians who are thousands of times more brutal than the kingdom's thieves, and establish his own territory.

On the main road leading into Broken Dragon Fortress, the road is no longer as deserted as it was along the way.

In addition to Rhodes' team, large and small merchant carriages, and soldiers in various armor and weapons were waiting outside and slowly entered.

The villagers in Rhodes' team looked around curiously.

Whether it was the luxurious carriage inlaid with jewels and gold, or the towering city wall that was over thirty meters high and full of oppression, they were all eye-opening and their mouths were wide open in amazement.

"The royal griffins, the golden wheat ears of the southern plains, the centaurs of the western plains, and the anchors of the East Sea Port. It seems that this royal expansion order has attracted nobles from all over the world."

Rhodes looked at the coat of arms flying above the troops. Many of them were flags of well-known families in the kingdom, and their names were well-known.

Unfortunately, these flags are not very effective in the Principality of North Frost. The current Grand Duke of North Frost is not on the same side as these nobles.

The soldiers guarding the city stood indifferently at the gate, and the official in charge of checking the pass shouted impatiently:

"Everyone line up honestly. The tax for caravans entering the city will be calculated one by one according to the vehicles, goods, animals and people. Don't even think about evading taxes! The army is prohibited from bringing heavy crossbows, explosive cannons and other prohibited items through the main gate. If you want to go through, go through the west gate! Except for the women in the caravan, everyone will get off the car and be inspected! No exceptions, do you understand me!"

The official shouted at the top of his voice, repeating it over and over again.

The convoys owned by these nobles had already been instructed by their masters.

No one dared to act recklessly on the territory of the principality, and the person in charge honestly carried out the officials' requests.

The team in front gradually passed by, and it was Rhodes' turn to pass.

The official examined the document he handed over and was stunned when he saw the emblem on it.

"Thank you for your cooperation, please come in." The official handed back the documents, his expression much gentler, and bowed respectfully.

The soldiers on both sides did not check and simply made way.

Rhodes was a little surprised, but he didn't refuse. He led the way in under the surprised or enlightened gazes of the surrounding convoy.

"Hey, don't we need to check?" Lily asked in a low voice as she followed closely behind Rhodes.

Seeing that all the big shots around were staring at them, she almost fell down nervously, but luckily Rhodes held her up.

"I have some relationship with the owner here, just relax and don't worry about other people."

The owner of this place? The legendary Grand Duke?!
Lily noticed the expressions of the other two knights.

Noah acted as if it was a matter of fact, but Holmes was a little worried.

"My lord, this may affect your relationship with other royal families here and the descendants of great nobles." Holmes reminded.

"My relationship with them isn't that great anyway, don't worry about it." Rhodes said nonchalantly.

What about the royal family? Listening to those legendary words, Lily's head began to heat up and dizzy, and she didn't dare to ask.

(End of this chapter)