Hearthstone Farm Lord

Chapter 9 Big Bad News
Half a minute later, Sean saw the Earl of the River's housekeeper, William, in the living room of his residence.

Compared to the last time we met, Butler William's complexion was much ruddy.

The last time he came to the residence, his face was very pale, and his hands were red from the cold, which should have been caused by riding back to the city overnight.

After more than an hour of relaxation, William's complexion improved a lot, but he still didn't touch the coffee brought by the servant.

"Your Highness Sean, we meet again." William stood up and saluted Sean.

"Sit down, what's the point of coming to see me this time?" Sean found a seat in the living room and sat down, then looked at William.

"I have bad news and good news, which one do you want to hear first?" William said with a serious expression.

"Bad news." Sean said casually.

William thought for a while, and said with some embarrassment: "Actually, our master forgot to tell you one thing just now, that is, after the Viscount of the lake led the soldiers from his territory to the battlefield, the defense of Hetan Town was very empty.

A few days ago, several Gnoll tribes near the town jointly raided and occupied River Beach Town. A small number of residents were captured by them, while the rest escaped and became refugees.

Some refugees came to the city of Jorn and gathered in the refugee camp outside the south gate, while the other part went to other towns. "

"What?!" Sean's face changed drastically, he stood up abruptly, and stared at William closely.

It couldn't be more bad news that his territory was actually occupied by jackals.

After all, I went to Hetan Town to become a lord. Even if the jackals can be driven away, can a lord without a lord be considered a lord?
"Your Highness Xiao En, don't be too excited. After all, things have developed like this, and it's useless to be excited. Besides, I still have good news to tell." William hurriedly stood up to comfort Sean.

"You're right, it's useless to get excited." Sean forced himself to sit in his seat and calm down.

After taking a sip of the coffee in front of him with slightly trembling hands, Sean asked, "What's the good news you're talking about?"

"That's right, Your Highness Sean." William said seriously: "Our lord is also responsible for the attack on River Beach Town. After all, our lord assists the principality in governing the Yorn area, and indeed has the obligation to help other small lords guard their territories, so we The master will send troops to exterminate this group of gnolls."

"Is this good news?"

"Of course it's more than that. When such a vicious incident occurs, you can return to River Beach Town as a 'pioneering knight' (a pioneering knight refers to a knight who builds a city in the wasteland or recovers lost land). For all the taxes paid to the Principality, our master will also apply to the Principality to extend the tax exemption period to five years as compensation to you."

"Tax exemption for five years? That's okay." Sean forced a smile, feeling more or less comforted in his heart.

"That's all there is to tell you, so I'll take my leave first.

I also want to go to the barracks to convey the master's order, so that the army can set off with you and escort you to the territory safely. "William looked at the sky and said goodbye.

"Well, you didn't sleep last night, you have to be busy with so many things today, it's really hard for you." Sean stood up and patted William on the shoulder.

The butler, William, came back overnight last night, and he has to be busy with various things today, and it is not easy to hand over gold coins to arrange a dinner in the afternoon.

William didn't seem to expect Sean to care about him, he was stunned for a while, and then said slowly: "Sharing your worries and problems for the master and His Highness, these are what I should do, goodbye, Your Highness Sean."

"Goodbye!" Sean waved his hand.

William saluted Sean, then walked out of the living room.

But when he walked to the door of the living room, William turned his head to look at Sean, and said in a very low voice: "If you want to choose a mercenary group to station in the territory for a long time, it is best to choose Lie Yan from the four major mercenary groups." Cross, don't choose Wolf Settlement and Dark Gold Rose."

After the butler William finished speaking, he left without looking back.

. . . . . .

Is it better to choose Flame Cross?
After watching William leave, Sean began to ponder over the words William said before leaving.

The two mercenary groups recommended to him by the Earl of Rivers were Wolf Settlement and Silver Hourglass, but the housekeeper William recommended another mercenary group. Who should I trust?Both Earl of the Rivers and William the Steward seemed like nice guys.

Forget it, don't think so much, the boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge, let's go slowly according to the plan.

. . . . . .

Sean also left the living room after the butler William left. Soon, he found the butler Henry in the lobby of the residence, frowning and sorting out the purchase list.

"Henry, I have something to tell you." Sean walked up to Henry and whispered.

"What's the matter? Your Highness Sean." Henry frowned, put down his pen, stood up and saluted Sean.

"You have to be mentally prepared for what I'm talking about." Sean repeated the news he heard from the butler William to Henry.

Henry was in a good mood, after all, his salary had just doubled.

But listening to Sean's narration, Henry's face gradually became gloomy, and his arms and body began to tremble uncontrollably.

At the end, Henry's face was almost so gloomy that water dripped out.

After all, Hetan Town is his hometown, and it is also the place where he has been staying for 40 years of his life.
Sean understood Henry's mood when he saw Henry's gloomy face and trembling body, and comforted him: "The Earl of Rivers promised that the territory will be exempt from taxes for the next five years. Don't worry, I will try my best to revive River Beach Town."

"Your Highness, thank you very much!" Henry almost burst into tears.

Sean patted Henry on the shoulder and said: "These are what I should do, you can continue to work.

The original work you have to do remains the same, but one more thing is added on the basis of the original work: you go to buy some clothes, food, and daily necessities this morning. In the afternoon, we will go to the refugee camp outside the city to see the residents of the river beach town. "

"Okay! The task must be completed!" Henry replied excitedly.

But at this point, he seemed to think of something again, and whispered to Sean:
"But Your Highness, I don't have that much money."

Sean gave Henry a white look, and said:

"You can ask the housekeeper William to borrow some, he is going to the barracks now, you can find him there.

We can repay the money in the afternoon. Do you need me to teach you about this kind of thing? "

Sean looked at his butler disappointedly, and couldn't help shaking his head.

The housekeeper himself doesn't seem very smart.

Henry's face turned a little red suddenly.

"Your Highness, I will work hard to do the work you entrusted to me, and I will definitely live up to your expectations!" Henry promised.

"Okay, let's see how you behave." Sean said casually, "Go get busy, I'll go outside."

(End of this chapter)