Starting as the Baron of the Lonely Island

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Quarrel

The Baron’s party had disappeared into the distance.

But the six men from the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang remained standing at the crossroads.

"Bard, we need to have a serious talk!"

The customary smile was gone from Daniels’s face. In its place, his expression had turned grim.

"Talk? Talk about what?"

Bard retorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over Uleir and Simone. He knew that those two, plus Daniels, could likely take on him, Gaius, and Kubatu in his current condition.

Still, Daniels was unlikely to act rashly.

"Hmph. I agreed to this competition on your advice. You guaranteed that we would definitely win these three duels, and that there was a high probability we’d win all three!"

Daniels said furiously, "And what was the result? Is this what you call winning all three?"

Bard’s face fell. He had, in fact, said as much.

"There are always surprises in a fight. No one can guarantee a one-hundred-percent victory!"

He argued, "Besides, didn’t you underestimate Duane just as much as I did? Heh, your judgment is nothing to brag about either."

"Don’t change the subject!"

Daniels’s white beard trembled with rage.

It was undeniable that they had both underestimated Duane, and they had underestimated the resources of the Nobility.

But that wasn’t the heart of the matter now.

"Of the three duels, we won one. And that one was won by my man, Simone!"

Daniels said in a low voice, "Therefore, this fifty percent share of the iron mine’s resources was secured primarily by my Holy Hand Association!"

The implication was that the Broken Wave Gang had nothing to do with this fifty percent share.

"What, you want to take it all for yourself?"

Bard narrowed his eyes and sneered, "It’s not that I’m underestimating you, but can your men really handle securing the salt wells *and* monopolizing the iron mine? Do you have enough people for that?"

"That’s not your concern!"

Daniels didn’t back down an inch. "You lost, and your man lost. Do you still have the gall to demand the larger share of the iron mine like before?"

Bard took a deep breath, suppressing the fury in his heart. Today had been utterly infuriating.

"Old man, don’t push me too far! I may be injured now, but if I go all out, I can still kill you without a problem!"

As soon as the words were out, Uleir immediately drew his Longsword. "You can try."

Simone said nothing, but he stood firm by Daniels’s side.

At Bard’s side, Gaius and Kubatu drew their swords as well. At the same time, seeing the developing situation, the other members of the Holy Hand Association and Broken Wave Gang all rushed over.

It seemed a great battle was about to erupt.

Bard taunted, "The Holy Hand Association is getting more and more arrogant. Heh, believe it or not, if we fight right now, that Baron won’t just ignore it—he’ll probably clap and cheer."

His tone was still arrogant, but inwardly, he was already losing his nerve.

’In terms of both Middle Level and Advanced Warriors, the Broken Wave Gang is at a disadvantage,’ he thought. ’Not to mention that I, an Earth Tier Warrior, am seriously injured right now.’

"I don’t want to fight with you either."

Daniels said, "In this competition, the only victory was won by my man. Therefore, for this iron mine’s resources, I will take at least a thirty percent share!"

"If you don’t agree, then let’s just have another three duels between us. The winner decides!"

Bard clenched his left fist, his jaw tight and veins bulging on his forehead. A vicious light in his eyes was fixed on the old man.

In the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere, he was ultimately the one to back down.

"Fine, we’ll do it your way. But don’t expect me to commit as much as I did before!"

Bard spat out the words, then turned away in anger. "Let’s go!"

As the Broken Wave Gang departed, the tension in the air subsided.

"Hahaha! Bard, you finally got what was coming to you!"

Daniels roared with laughter. Though he had lost to the Baron, the man was Nobility, after all. There was no shame in it.

’But to see Bard suffer a setback right in front of me, unable to fight back... this feeling is just too damn good!’

"Let’s go, we’re heading back too!"

Daniels swung himself onto his horse. "Tonight, we’ll celebrate properly!"

Duane led his party back.

He had gotten what he wanted from the duels, and only now could he say he had gained a tentative foothold.

However, this was all just temporary.

"Kaelon, how are your injuries? When do you think you’ll be fully recovered?"

Kaelon was not on horseback. With his broken ribs, the jostling of a ride would be unbearable. It was better to have the Guards carry him on a stretcher.

"Don’t worry, my Lord. The bones aren’t shattered. I’ll have Ronald take another look when we get back, but I estimate I should be mostly recovered in about a month."

Duane nodded. "Good. Rest well during this time. Raymond, you’ll need to pay more attention to matters of defense."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Raymond responded in a low voice, a hint of hesitation on his face.

Duane noticed. "We’ll talk when we get back."

「The Villa」

When Ralph saw the Lord’s party return intact, he was already cheering inwardly.

"My Lord, you’ve finally returned!"

He led the servants out to give them a warm welcome, then asked with concern, "Oh, Kaelon, are you all right?"

"Don’t worry, Steward. It’s just a minor injury!"

Duane chuckled and gave an order, "Ralph, get the kitchen staff busy. We’re having a victory feast tonight!"

"Yes, yes, of course!"

Ralph bustled off with the male and female servants.

Duane let Kaelon and Raymond go rest, and gave himself half a day off as well.

But he wasn’t completely idle. He took a few laps around the area to check on the recent construction around the villa.

The dilapidated houses had been repaired and were now proof against the wind and rain. There were even signs of life about them.

At the same time, new houses were being built on the surrounding mountainsides.

Some were being overseen by Adams, the architect (or perhaps more accurately, the mason) Duane had recruited, while others were being built by the newly arrived subjects who had applied to Julian for a plot of land.

Additionally, the five hundred-odd acres of farmland reclaimed from Monbodt had also been taken over by the subjects.

Although the land hadn’t yet been leased out or granted to anyone, the grain harvested by these people would be distributed according to the standard for self-cultivating farmers.

’Time is limited,’ Duane thought. ’I haven’t made any detailed plans or specific allocations yet. For now, we’ll keep things simple and proceed according to Julian’s proposal.’

The evening banquet was lively, but because of patrol duties, the three squads of Guards had to eat in shifts.

In the main hall, Duane held a private feast for Raymond and Kaelon, the two great heroes of the day.

He couldn’t help but marvel at how tough Human Tier Warriors were; despite being so badly injured, Kaelon could still sit up and eat on his own.

During the meal, Duane was the first to speak.

"Raymond, on the way back, were you wondering why I had you surrender on purpose?"

In the third duel, Raymond’s chances of winning had been slim, but not nonexistent.

Raymond put down his wine cup. "At first, I didn’t quite understand, but I figured it out later."

He said, "My Lord had me do it to intensify the conflict between the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang."

"Oh?"

Duane was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Raymond to have figured it out already.

He encouraged him, "Explain it to me."

Raymond continued, "Of these three duels, the Broken Wave Gang provided the fighter for two, and the Holy Hand Association for one. The final result determines the division of the spoils.

Now, the Broken Wave Gang has lost both its matches, while the Holy Hand Association won its only one. They will inevitably fight over their respective shares of the fifty percent of resources you gave them, my Lord."

Kaelon also nodded slowly. After hearing Raymond’s explanation, the vague suspicion in his mind finally became clear.

"I heard the Broken Wave Gang always took the lion’s share before. Now the Holy Hand Association will probably use this victory as a reason to demand the larger share, and with Bard injured, the Broken Wave Gang is at a disadvantage against them."

Raymond smiled. "And since my Lord isn’t getting involved in how they divide their share, even if they don’t come to blows, they will definitely argue. No matter who gets the larger cut, the one who gets less will surely be resentful."

Duane nodded. "Exactly. This will fracture their alliance."

"Oh, right."

As he spoke, something occurred to him. "Owington, go bring some food to Hardy and his men. Let them eat their fill, and release them tomorrow morning."

Previously, his plan had been to beat Hardy so badly he’d be bedridden for half a year before letting him go.

But now, that was no longer necessary.

’Strengthen the Broken Wave Gang a bit, give them some confidence to stand up to the Holy Hand Association.’

At that moment, Raymond finally voiced the question that had been puzzling him. "My Lord, what I actually wanted to ask on the way here was, why don’t we ally with the Holy Hand Association and wipe out the Broken Wave Gang completely?"