The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 96

Episode 96

After looking at the faces of those sitting in the conference hall, Raoul smiled slightly and said.

“Then shall we begin?”

Then Bernard put a screen on the magic screen at the front of the conference room and began his presentation.

“Then, let me start by telling you about the current status of the territory. Currently, there are a total of four territories secured by our First Guild. The [Calypse] territory where the main character is located is….”

Raoul’s territory currently has four locations.

First, [Calypse Territory].

This place was given to Raoul by the Count when he became an adult. The location was at the southwest corner of the kingdom and the southernmost of the Ashton Counties.

The size of the territory was large for a baronial territory. The total population is about 30,000.

Five small villages with a population of less than 1,000 people were subordinate to the permanent castle, Calypse Castle.

To the northwest, it faced the forbidden monster forest, to the south and north were a plain with a river, and to the east, there were hills and forests of a suitable size, making it a suitable terrain for a city to be located.

However, the problem was that if you go further south, there are wastelands and desert areas, and barbarians live below them.

They would sometimes appear at the end of the harvest season, pillaging villages and attacking castles.

The previous lord also died fighting the barbarians, and after only sending officials, it became Raoul’s domain.

The reason the Count gave up such a dangerous territory, facing monsters in the northwest and barbarian tribes in the south, was because Raoul himself wanted it.

There was, of course, a reason for choosing this place despite the count’s dissuasion.

‘If the scenario progresses, this will become the hottest place.’

When the ban is lifted and the southern continent scenario emerges, this place will become a transportation hub.

And the special products and resources that could be collected here were very valuable.

So, since receiving the first land, urban development has been steadily progressing and a certain level of foundation has now been established.

The remaining three fiefdoms were purchased from fiefdoms that suffered significant damage after the Gate Outbreak incident occurred.

Each was a Frannois Louisine Bates fiefdom, and they all had one thing in common: they were baronial fiefdoms and were located in the southwest of the kingdom.

The problem is that each territory is not connected, but is isolated like an island with other territories sandwiched in between.

So there might be difficulties in operating troops or moving supplies, but Raoul did not care much.

In any case, if a problem arose, a small number of elite knights could be mobilized in an instant by using the portal that was operated directly, and there were almost no threatening territories around to begin with.

‘Even if a threat arises, it will occur after the monsters and dungeons are stabilized. ‘There will be at least a year for that to happen.’

There was ample time to normalize the territory and train troops.

And the reason why it was difficult to obtain remote territories was because of the ‘gate’.

Right now, it was a disaster that devastated the territory and devoured countless residents, but soon the situation would calm down and players would flow in, and the situation would be completely different.

The mana stone monster corpses and various resources that could be obtained from the gate were of great value.

In particular, the value of gates where rare materials needed to make power armor or magic items were found was difficult to estimate, and later wars broke out between lords over these gates.

Raoul had already occupied the territory where such a valuable gate appeared.

I wanted to save more territory, but realistically, it was impossible to go any further.

“…As a result, a total of 56,000 residents, including 30,000 Calypse, 12,000 Frannois, 8,000 Louisins, and 6,000 Bates, have settled down.”

“What is the situation of the refugees in the Free City?”

“There is no exact count, but it is estimated to be over 100,000. “Currently, we are staying in temporary campsites prepared by each branch, but there are reports that we will soon run out of space.”

“Do we have enough food and supplies?”

“We have prepared some items in advance and are purchasing them at cost price with the cooperation of each market, so we still have room.”

After the Gate incident, almost half of the baronies were destroyed by monsters.

There were many cases where even Yeongju Castle fell, and even if that did not happen, it is safe to say that small villages were almost completely wiped out.

Naturally, many refugees arose, and there were many cases where they became food for monsters before reaching large castles or cities.

However, there were also those who were saved, namely the residents of the territory near the Free City.

Raoul had early established First Guild branches in the four Free Cities and gathered troops. After the situation in the capital calmed down, Raoul dispatched knights and commanders to each branch to rescue the surrounding territories.

More than five months have passed, and more than 100,000 residents have been saved.

Some of the refugees were working on construction sites in the Free City and paying wages, but most were living off of rations from the First Guild.

Although a huge budget was being spent, I was willing to accept it, thinking it was an investment for the future.

“How far have the preparations been for receiving immigrants?”

“The construction of the outer walls of Calypse Castle is scheduled to be completed soon. Then, up to 100,000 people can live there. Repair work on Frannois and Ruisin is expected to be completed in about 15 days. “Then we will be able to accommodate about 30,000 people.”

“Right. “The General Staff should prepare a migration plan so that refugees can be safely relocated.”

After the report on the general territory situation was completed, Pierce explained the situation of the knights and troops.

“The Knights Templar has expanded by 300 members, reaching a total of 500 members. The number of full-time technicians at expert level or higher is 180, and the remaining 320 are undergoing training. “At the current growth rate, we expect that everyone will reach expert level within six months.”

A large number of trainee knights who have absorbed experience points while fighting monsters over the past five months have reached the level of experts.

They had outstanding potential from the time they were first selected, and it was natural that they would grow quickly as they combined the Ashton family’s renowned swordsmanship and practical training methods.

If there had been support from the system, faster growth would have been possible, but because guild positions were limited, the benefits could not be provided to everyone.

‘A large guild update needs to come out soon…’

Thanks to steadily building reputation and earning gold, the guild level has reached the current maximum level, Medium 10LV.

However, the number of guild members was limited to 500. Raoul, who was anxious, could not help but feel regretful.

In any case, it was good news that the growth of drivers accelerated even without the support of such a system.

It was inevitable that he would catch up with the players at some point, but just because his level was the same did not mean his skill level was the same.

‘It makes no sense for a player who has grown comfortably with support from the system to win over knights who have been fighting the battlefield for at least a few years.’

That was the reason why Raoul continued to expand the knights even though he was overexerting himself.

If possible, I planned to raise the number of knights to 1,000 before the real uprising began.

“There are 3,000 elite troops, including the knights, 6,000 fiefdom soldiers, and 5,000 mercenaries, for a total of 14,000 people. We plan to recruit additional new soldiers after the migration is over.”

“good. The military will continue to expand as budget allows. However, there is no need for this, so pay attention to training new recruits. And as the military expands, the number of mercenaries is reduced and eventually all are converted to regular troops. “Appease useful mercenaries in advance and encourage them to settle down.”

“All right.”

After confirming the troop issue, the next step was the budget.

“Are there any problems with Bernard’s budget management?”

“For now there are no problems. But to be honest, I have a lot of concerns.”

“For example?”

“There are too many troops compared to the size of the territory. Last year, the total tax revenue of the Calypse fiefdom was only 200,000 gold. However, the current cost of operating troops exceeds 350,000 gold per month. “This is absolutely not a normal budget spending structure.”

What Bernard said also made sense. The average annual budget of a typical barony is around 100,000 to 200,000 gold.

However, we were spending more than the annual budget of the barony in one month…

“If you look at the territory alone, that’s true. What do you think it will be like if the four territories are normalized and the work to improve the constitution that is being prepared is completed?”

“If the population is set at 100,000 and the manufacturing and distribution industries are revitalized as you mentioned, I think we will be able to somehow secure maintenance costs.”

“Well, wouldn’t that be enough? “That’s not the main source of income anyway.”

“That’s true, but I’m worried about what will happen if the strangers you mentioned come in. “The prices of mana stones and various magic materials will definitely plummet.”

“are you okay. “I still have enough money and will be able to secure other sources of income by then.”

What is currently maintaining this abnormal budget management is none other than the profits from the sale of monster by-products, including mana stones.

In particular, mana stones were essential strategic materials for using various magic circles and power armor.

It is generally mined in mana stone mines and, in very rare cases, obtained from the corpse of a monster.

However, one out of ten monsters inside the gate and dungeon contained a mana stone.

Thanks to this, Raoul and the First Knights, who had been steadily attacking gates and dungeons, were able to secure a huge number of mana stones and by-products.

In that situation, the gate outbreak occurred.

The price of mana stones, which were originally expensive, rose sharply to the point where it was considered expensive, and Raoul was able to make a huge amount of money.

And it was going to be a reliable source of income for Raoul for the time being.

“If your budget is tight, let me know at any time. Just in case, I don’t mind releasing the high-grade mana stones I’ve saved for later.”

“I understand, Master.”

Now, I was in a situation where I had to buy time no matter how much money it cost. It will not be easy to maintain the current monopoly status once players are introduced.

“Now then, let’s talk about the oracle. Kane.”

“Yes Master. This is the information I received just yesterday. “The Holy See has announced the highest level of trust.”

Kane displayed the contents of the oracle on the magic screen.

[As the sun changes, saviors will arrive from far away to save the continent from tribulation. Greet them at the place blessed by God.]

The time for the players to appear was finally approaching.

(Continued in the next part)