The development of a new territory was not for the rich to guard their homes. Not everyone could participate in it. It was not surprising to encounter a tribe of ogres or werebeasts in this kind of territory development. If a mercenary with insufficient strength went up, it would be no different from suicide. Therefore, as the organizer of the development, the Benedict family set a threshold of level eight professionals for the participants.
This was why Feng Chou found that his strength was completely at the bottom of the tavern; he had just reached the threshold.
Feng Chou came to the end of the long table of the Sword of Salma mercenaries and sat at the other end. A burly middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties was sitting at the other end. He took off his wide-brimmed hat and placed it in front of his chest. He bowed slightly and said, "Hello, respected leader, please allow me to introduce myself. I am the plenipotentiary of Baron Amborite. You can call me Allen. I hope you can consider accepting the employment of Baron Amborite. The Baron is willing to reserve your harvest in advance at the price of fifteen crowns per acre of land development rights.
Moreover, all the expenses of your trip can be paid in advance from this sum of money. "
The middle-aged man put down his wine glass, looked at Feng Chou for a moment, and asked, "Baron Amborite?
I have never heard of this title. "
Feng Chou said, "Of course, you have not heard of it. My Baron's territory is in the city of Adonis. We have some small businesses in Casalanca. Our Baron is very optimistic about the development of Benedict. He hopes to get at least one piece of safe and high-quality land development rights in this new territory."
The middle-aged man asked again, "How can I believe you?"
Feng Chou laughed. "Of course, a formal contract. Under the witness of a lawyer and a judge, a legally protected contract will be signed. My master will put up enough property as collateral."
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "Twenty crowns per acre, or you can find someone else."
Feng Chou said, "Your Excellency, you're too greedy. That's just development rights, not real land. Sixteen crowns, that's the most I can give you."
The middle-aged man said, "If it's real land, with Benedict's conditions, each acre is worth at least eighty crowns. Nineteen crowns per acre, no less. If you want to bargain, go find another team."
Feng Chou said, "Oh, that's impossible. Even the land on the outskirts of Adonis is only seventy crowns per acre. In a remote area like Benedict, and it's newly developed, the price won't exceed forty crowns. Seventeen crowns, I swear, this is my final offer."
The middle-aged man shook his head. "Seventy crowns?
You're probably talking about the land near the Ovendell River that's threatened by the Fishmen, right?
That was not a good piece of land. It was located outside Casablanca, far away from the threat of the Ovendale Fishmen. One mu of land was worth at least 100 crowns. Benedict's land was fertile and had excellent irrigation conditions. Furthermore, the wide Benedict River could allow magical ships to pass through. Such a good piece of land was not at all inferior to Motima Dominion. One had to know that Motima Dominion's land was worth 80 crowns per mu.
Eighteen crowns, that's also my final offer. "
Feng Chou thought for a moment and didn't bargain with the other party. Eighteen crowns was a bit high, but Feng Chou wasn't really buying land. He was buying his life!
Feng Chou agreed to the other party's conditions, which surprised the other party a little, but then he seemed very happy. "Very good. When do we sign the contract?"
Feng Chou said, "Tomorrow. My master and I will be waiting for you at the Western District Court with our lawyers at nine o 'clock in the morning."
The burly man nodded. "Very good. Come, sir, come to my side. Let's have a drink to our cooperation."
Feng Chou nodded and walked to the other end of the table. A middle-aged man in his forties gave up his seat for him.
After Feng Chou took his seat, the burly man stretched out his hand to him. "My name is Stewart, Stewart Salma. The Sword of Salma mercenary group was founded by my father. I'm now in charge of it."
Feng Chou reached out and shook the other party's hand. "Allen Denzel, Baron Amborite's squire knight."
Stewart called for two cups of Casablanca gold wine and handed one to Feng Chou. He started chatting with him.
Feng Chou obviously knew that the other party was trying to get information out of him. He was also happy to tell the other party what he could let the other party know.
On the morning of the same day, in a simple camp thousands of kilometers east of Casablanca, a group of powerful professionals was ready to go.
The Benedict Development Camp was located on the western edge of the Benedict Plains. From the camp, one could clearly see the mountains more than ten kilometers to the west.
The camp was located at a bend in the Benedict River. The river here was gentle and the water depth was relatively large.
At this location, the Benedict River was nearly two hundred meters wide. On Earth, it would be considered a large river, but in this world, it could only be regarded as a medium-sized river.
On the shore of the bend, there was a dock. This dock only had three berths, one of which was a large berth that could berth a hundred-ton ship.
If a mage with engineering experience saw this dock, he would be able to see at a glance that this dock was forcibly opened up using the three spells of "Stone to Mud," "Shaping," and "Mud to Stone."
The construction of ports in this world naturally could not do without the participation of magic, but to completely open up a port with magic was undoubtedly a very extravagant thing.
Close to the dock was a huge camp surrounded by wooden fences. Although it was called a wooden fence, it was actually a wooden wall. Every railing on the wooden fence was made of logs more than a foot in diameter. These logs had large heads on the top and small heads on the bottom, deeply inserted into the soil. They were abnormally sturdy.
Inside the wooden fence, which was five to six meters high, there was a defensive tower every twenty meters. On top of the tower, there was a huge siege crossbow. Every two towers, there was a crude stone tower built with mud to stone. On top of the tower, there were several small alchemy cannons. These cannons all had automatic aiming functions. Under the control of a low-level mage, their accuracy was extremely high.
Rows of wooden houses were built in the camp. These wooden houses were all built with unpeeled logs. They looked simple and crude, but were actually very sturdy.
Some of these wooden houses were dormitories, some stored supplies, and some were empty.
In the center of the camp surrounded by wooden houses, there was a simple circular stone castle.
This stone castle was four stories high, each story was more than six meters high. The walls of each story were covered with narrow and dense shooting holes. On top of the stone castle, there was a circle of medium-sized alchemy cannons.
At this moment, in the central hall on the top floor of the stone castle, a group of senior professionals were making final preparations for the upcoming operation.