New attribute and upgrade

Late at night.

Damian stood at the gate of Milhouse Castle as it gradually rose, feeling deeply moved.

This was the first castle conquered under Damian's command, although it was taken through the excrement channel, it did not diminish his reputation among the knights and militia.

Simply leading everyone to victory in open field battles only made one an average general. After all, in most open field battles, many generals did not truly understand why they won.

A truly exceptional general was one who could lead the siege of a castle. In the medieval era, the defense system of castles had always been a headache for the generals of that time.

No one knew that Damian had simply captured a brigand knight and sent him to sneak into the excrement channel to attack Milhouse Castle. In fact, for a castle like this, despite hundreds besieging it, only dozens defending it were enough to hold it securely.

That was why Henrik's successful ambush through the excrement channel was due to the scarcity of defenders inside.

"Commander, there is a letter from the Bishop of Weimar here. His attendant is waiting in the camp, hoping to meet with you." Just then, a knight who had stayed behind rode over to report to Damian.

"At such a critical moment, I will meet no one!" Damian firmly ordered the army to continue advancing and storming into the castle.

Damian felt that with his current reputation, the Bishop of Weimar sending a letter at this moment was definitely not a surrender. It might be an attempt to pacify the war through writing.

But it was ridiculous to think that a letter could make him abandon the hundreds of gold coins he had spent. Those gold coins were enough to support a dozen knights for a year.

If he couldn't gain double the benefits from the enemy, Damian would not easily let go.

The knights, fearing Damian's clever tactics and prestige that would have the castle breached within days, were trembling, not daring to speak a word, and simply turned and left.

"Wait, show me the letter." Suddenly, Damian seemed to have thought something.

The knight refrained from saying more and handed over the letter with both hands. Damian opened it, quickly read through with the torchlight, and was immediately astonished.

The Bishop named Maged actually harbored rebellious intentions!

In normal circumstances, social interactions in the medieval era did not happen at night. This indicated underhandedness. The fact that the bishop sent the letter in the dead of night raised suspicions.

If it was merely a plea for peace through useless words, why not in the daylight? Wouldn't daylight be more honorable?

After much contemplation, only one possibility remained - the Bishop Maged had sinister motives. And indeed, it was so.

Although the letter had a full page advising against war, on the backside, another layer of meaning was revealed.

Bishop Maged inquired whether Damian could make decisions on behalf of Countess Conosa.

This was a bold inquiry, as decision-making power was crucial. If Damian could represent the countess in decisions, it meant he already held the power of Gothingen.

However, there was a second layer of meaning in this inquiry.

Party Struggle.

What did Bishop Maged want to do?

A secular knight would probably fail to grasp the full extent, but Damian had grown up within the church system.

He was literate, experienced, and had been through various struggles within the church. Therefore, Damian naturally linked this inquiry to the ongoing disputes between the reformists and conservatives.

To be honest, Damian felt that Bishop Maged didn't really need to worry.

Because although the reformists had a loud voice, their actual power compared to the conservatives was like that of ants to elephants.

Throughout history, the reformists had fought for over a century, with several reformist popes dying and countless reformists, thus gradually curbing the corruption of the church nobles.

Now it is just the beginning of the struggle.

But Damian also saw an opportunity in it.

In terms of position, Damian now leans more towards the conservatives. Because even though the reformists have huge financial and material resources, they are powerless against the conservatives. There are even continuous reports of traitors supporting the reformists.

This shows the powerful force of faith. Therefore, supporting the sluggish conservatives is more advantageous for Damian.

Before exhausting their last bit of utility value, Damian can pretend not to like changes.

"Return the letter to that servant and tell him that I am a humble monk and should not have evil fantasies," Damian severely reprimanded Maged with an air of righteousness.

The knight returned with a look of confusion, but Damian smiled.

This was a hint.

Turning around, Damian's army led by him had already occupied Milhouse Castle.

[Plundered loot: Equivalent to 871 gold coins]

The reason why the money obtained is not as much as during battles is partly because the people in the city are relatively poor, and Schmalen has already spent all the money on war.

On the other hand, these evil soldiers everywhere looted and stuffed the looted money into their own pockets. Damian estimated that special strategic skills would be needed to force the soldiers to hand over their ill-gotten gains.

[Acquired attribute: Victorious Commander, 10% reduction in army recruitment cost, +1 reputation]

This attribute is quite powerful; the so-called reputation increase can be understood as an increase in diplomatic properties. This bit of reputation can make things more convenient in diplomatic dealings with other factions.

Regarding the cost reduction for recruiting troops, Damian has already reduced it by as much as 15%. If recruiting the currently recruitable strongest unit, the forest hunter, the recruitment cost of 24 gold coins can be reduced to 20 gold coins, and the extra gold coins can be used to recruit two more teams of peasant archers. In the later stages, when recruiting powerful armies costs hundreds or even thousands, this effect is very powerful.

As Damian moved forward, he suddenly received another prompt.

[Unit upgrade: Peasant Archers, Level: ★★]

It turns out that these units can be upgraded with more war experience. After upgrading the peasant archers, Damian found that their long-range power had increased, and they seemed more imposing overall.

Unfortunately, the effectiveness of this unit has gradually diminished. Only elite troops will be needed on future battlefields.

Just as Damian was thinking this, he suddenly realized something.

Wait.

The basic units can still be expanded in number. From 40 people to 80 people, and then to 120 people. The more people there are, the stronger the combat power.

And the maintenance costs are very cheap.

Feeling that he had grasped a key point, Damian, in the castle square, saw Schmalen's family.

And Schmalen, who had been captured into the castle by the knights, found out that even the castle had been breached. He immediately rolled around like an immature child, crying and shouting angrily, "Get out, get out of my home!"

Unfortunately, the invaders held torches and ransacked his entire family.

Even his wife's beautiful shoes were ordered to be taken off by a knight's retinue, leaving her barefoot and uncomfortable standing in the square.

The flickering flames of the invaders made Schmalen cry like a child.