According to the [Laws of Lords] of the Glorious Empire, nobles who lose their fiefdoms will be deprived of their titles.
But there is a way to restore the original title.
That is to regain the fiefdom by one's own strength.
Otherwise, even if the fiefdom is regained, it will be rewarded to the new nobles who have made meritorious service in the reconquest war, rather than being returned to the old lord.
Such a rule of survival of the fittest ensures the metabolic function of the imperial aristocratic system and prevents the emergence of aristocratic scum who only rely on the shadow of their ancestors to eat and wait to die.
It was with this in mind that the real Karn Sudor chose to go to Fallen Eagle City to find Count Uman after his family was destroyed, instead of going to the Duke of Saint Hilde, the lord of the Sudor family.
If you go to Duke St. Hilde, even if the Duke sends troops to recover Ice Rock City, it will not be returned to the Sudo family.
It's different when it comes to his uncle, Count Uman. Although Count Uman won't help Kahn without asking for anything in return, he will definitely take a little care of him considering his relationship with the Sudo family.
At least, Ice Rock City should return to the hands of the Suduo family.
Now, the real Kahn still doesn't know how the discussion with his uncle went, but Colin's fake Kahn knight here already has a sponsor.
"Mr. Oliver, thank you very much for your kindness. However, forming an army capable of attacking a city is different from recruiting a mercenary group to escort a caravan. The costs required for the two are completely different concepts."
"Of course I understand." Oliver chuckled, with a strange light shining in his eyes, "My father used to be a quartermaster, and was later...removed because he made some mistakes. However, the cost of a real army, I I also know a little bit about it."
"Oh?" Colin finally looked at the fat businessman next to him.
If Oliver was a crazy speculator in Colin's mind before, now he has transformed into a bold and crazy speculator.
Although he knew that he was a fake, Colin still became interested and wanted to find out the background of this ordinary-looking businessman:
"So, I wonder how many gold coins Mr. Oliver can sponsor?"
"Hehe, well, of course I don't have that much money to help you form an army. In fact, our Chamber of Commerce intends to sponsor you."
"Chamber of Commerce?"
"Yes. Please allow me to reintroduce you. I am one of the stewards of the Tulip Chamber of Commerce.
If Knight Kahn is willing to accept sponsorship from the Chamber of Commerce, I can apply to the president.
After that, the Chamber of Commerce will take into account your strength and the cost required to regain Ice Rock City to determine the scale of sponsorship, and of course the rewards after the event is completed. "
"Tulip Chamber of Commerce?" Colin suddenly felt that the name of this chamber of commerce seemed familiar. After searching in his memory for a while, he asked, "Ice Lake Town two years ago?"
"That's right!" Oliver puffed out his chest and nodded proudly, "Two years ago, Baron Billy accepted the sponsorship from the Tulip Chamber of Commerce to reorganize the army and recapture Ice Lake Town."
The status of businessmen in this world is not high. After all, no amount of money can buy a title.
But obviously, some keen and bold businessmen have begun to try to use the gold coins in their hands to expand their influence.
The Tulip Chamber of Commerce seems to be one of the best.
"So, what kind of reward did Baron Billy give your Chamber of Commerce?"
"Sorry, Knight Kahn, this is a business secret. Please forgive me for not being able to disclose it to you."
"Okay." Colin touched his chin and asked in a different way, "So, what do you want from me?"
"Hey, we can discuss the specific conditions in detail when you see our president." Oliver replied without missing a beat.
"I need to think about it."
"Of course, you can come to me at any time if you think about it." Oliver narrowed his eyes and added with a smile, "However, I can assure you that neither Duke St. Hilde nor Count Uman can give you Provide more favorable conditions than our Tulip Chamber of Commerce."
"But the help you provide is certainly not comparable to that of a Duke or Earl."
"Of course, but our appetite is also much smaller."
Colin nodded, suddenly feeling that this Tulip Chamber of Commerce was quite interesting.
Although he himself is a fake and does not need the other party's sponsorship, he still asked: "Does your Chamber of Commerce have a station in Fallen Eagle City?"
"Of course, it is right next to the slave market in the west area of Fallen Eagle City. You are always welcome!"
Colin secretly wrote down this location for future use.
Then, he changed the subject and started chatting with Oliver all over the world.
This Oliver has been doing business abroad all year round, so he is well-informed. In addition, he is deliberately trying to please Colin, and the two of them immediately have a lively chat, and they seem to be reluctant to meet each other at a late date.
Unknowingly, the night got darker and the camp gradually became quieter, and most of the mercenaries had already rested.
Oliver strongly invited Colin to rest in his tent. Colin resisted for a while and saw that the other party's tent was indeed quite luxurious, so he nodded and agreed.
But while everyone was sleeping, Colin was suddenly awakened by a small sound.
He stood up immediately, listened for a while, and then shook Oliver beside him awake: "Wake up, wake up! Someone is approaching our camp!"
Oliver was also quite alert and quickly got up, but after listening carefully for a while, he wondered: "Really? Why didn't I hear anything?"
"Listen carefully again." Colin said confidently.
He found that his hearing was greatly enhanced at night, and even the smallest movement a thousand meters away could not escape his ears.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Sure enough, the mercenaries responsible for keeping watch also discovered the enemy and immediately started shouting.
"Calm down, don't panic! Light the torch, look for your companions, be on guard, and don't leave the camp!" Saru, the leader of the Fire Fox Mercenary Group, spoke with a rough voice, immediately calming the chaotic camp.
"I'll go out and take a look." Oliver was worried about the safety of his goods. After hesitating for a moment, he ran out of the tent.
Colin also followed out, and then saw that the enemies who rushed into the camp had already fought with the Fire Fox Mercenary Group.
He did not join the battle group. After all, Oliver did not pay him a commission, so he did not have to work for this fat man.
However, after watching it for a while, Colin felt relieved.
The attackers should be a group of thieves. They were very weak and didn't even have an advanced warrior.
There were not many people, about seventy or eighty people. I really don't know where they got the courage to attack the Fire Fox Mercenary Group's camp, which had hundreds of people.
After the initial panic, the Firefox Mercenary Group quickly stabilized their position and beat the thieves back steadily.
In less than half an hour, after leaving more than thirty corpses behind, the group of thieves finally collapsed and fled in panic.
"Don't pursue, don't pursue!" Saru shouted calmly and loudly, preventing those guys who were so mad at killing from chasing into the deep forest.
After the thieves had disappeared, Saru began to arrange manpower to clean up the battlefield.
Oliver also hurried to check his goods and count the losses.
Colin quietly walked to a remote and dark corner, squatted in front of a thief's body, and took out a dagger and a kettle.
"Chi!"
"Gudu, Gudu..."