Perry currently had no other choice. Only a few hundred of her best-equipped beastkin knights had full armor. The next tier down only had a spear or a sword, without any armor. The rest all used wooden clubs or sheep bones as weapons.
In reality, the beastkin knights truly capable of fighting numbered only a few hundred—the so-called elites. The rest were just there to make up the numbers.
The pasture was too large. What she needed was a deterrent to keep Greena from going too far. Therefore, she had only come this time wanting to buy some swords and spears to equip the three thousand men; as for armor, she didn't even dare to think about it.
"Exactly how many weapons do you need?" Lucas asked faintly.
"One thousand eight hundred spears," Perry replied, sitting up straight. Her hands tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, and her lion tail swished back and forth.
"What?" Mina exclaimed in astonishment. One thousand eight hundred spears? Sedona City didn't even have that many in stock.
"..." Annie was speechless. She hadn't expected her Big Sister to ask for so many weapons; initially, she had thought it would just be two or three hundred.
"One thousand eight hundred spears." Lucas's eyes narrowed slightly. He looked quietly at Perry and spoke after a few seconds, "The weapons produced in Sedona City are top-tier. Even the cheapest weapon is priced in gold coins."
"I understand." Perry nodded. She had looked into Sedona City's weapons; they were all forged from refined steel, vastly superior to the iron weapons they used. Otherwise, she wouldn't have thought of coming to Sedona City to buy them.
"You shouldn't have many coins, right?" Lucas said calmly. He knew a bit about the situation of Perry's tribe, even though he had purchased a large number of sheep, warhorses, draft horses, and so on.
However, they were expanding rapidly and had invested heavily in the early stages, such as buying cattle, lambs, and foals, in addition to supporting thousands of subordinates. All of this required coins.
Lucas guessed that at this stage, Perry was extremely poor. She might not even be able to afford two hundred spears.
It will be a different story next year. Next year, when he bought large batches of sheep and horses from them, a thousand eight hundred spears would be an easy purchase for Perry.
"Indeed, I don't. The coins I have right now can only buy a little over a hundred spears," Perry said bitterly.
"A little over a hundred? That leaves a shortfall of nearly one thousand seven hundred spears." Lucas's face remained calm. He glanced at the lip-pursing fox-eared girl and said nonchalantly, "I can offer you credit in advance and sell you the one thousand eight hundred spears, but I have one condition."
"What condition?" Perry frowned. She didn't agree immediately; if the condition was too harsh, she would refuse.
"Fight for me," Lucas said faintly.
"What do you mean?" Perry asked in a deep voice.
"Doesn't Greena frequently harass the pastures?" The corners of Lucas's mouth curled up, revealing a hint of coldness. "In the days to come, I need you to help me pincer him."
"Pincer him?" Perry thought for a moment, then suddenly widened her eyes. She stared fixedly at Lucas, her mouth slightly agape, and involuntarily cried out, "Are you going to..."
"That's right. This kingdom is already... done for," Lucas said plainly, as if discussing a trivial matter.
"When?" Perry had no choice but to agree; she needed weapons to develop and grow stronger.
"Probably next year," Lucas said softly.
He had originally planned to join forces with Perry to pressure Greena in the future, but he hadn't expected to settle the deal right now.
In reality, as long as she came to buy weapons, he would have sold them anyway; it was just a matter of what price she would pay.
The grasslands were one of his important strategic plans for the future. Even if Perry hadn't brought it up, he would have provided some support.
Moreover, merely selling some spears wouldn't affect Sedona City at all. As long as he didn't sell crossbows or armor, their military dominance would remain completely unaffected.
"Next year?" After thinking it over, Perry nodded. "I can agree to that, but we will only offer some interference; we won't help you with a frontal assault." A frontal assault would result in huge losses, perhaps even costing more than two thousand spears.
"No problem." Lucas was satisfied. As long as Greena wasn't allowed to escape into the grasslands, that was enough. All he wanted was for Perry to block Greena's retreat.
"When can we get the spears?" Perry asked, her expression serious. Exchanging one opportunity to strike for the ability to buy one thousand eight hundred spears on credit was entirely enough to help her overcome her current difficulties.
"Mina, have the workshop work overtime. I want to see one thousand eight hundred spears in three days," Lucas turned his head and ordered.
"Yes, master." Mina agreed, looking as if she wanted to say something but stopping herself.
"Thank you," Perry stood up and expressed her gratitude.
"We each take what we need," Lucas said faintly.
"Master, shall I take Big Sister out for a stroll then?" Annie's lips curled up slightly; the matter had been perfectly resolved.
"Go ahead," Lucas said gently.
"Big Sister, Little Monkey, let's go." Annie led Perry and Sally out of the study.
Creak! The study door was closed.
"Master, isn't one thousand eight hundred spears a bit too much?" Mina asked worriedly.
"It is a bit much, but it won't be an issue." Lucas looked at the study door. Mass-produced spears could be manufactured at a rate of a thousand per day; this posed no difficulty.
He knew what the cat-eared girl was worried about—she feared the beastkin tribe's strength would surge and subsequently affect their later plans.
"It will be very troublesome in the future," Mina said softly.
"In the future? No, it won't be troublesome at all in the future." Lucas stood up, turned around, and looked out the window. He said quietly, "In the future, the grasslands will merely become a breeding base—a breeding farm that will take shape without me even having to lift a finger."
"This..." Mina thought for a long time but still couldn't understand what he meant.
"You'll understand in the future," Lucas said slowly. His layout had begun the moment they entered the grasslands.
One always has to offer some petty profits for others to swallow.
Once they eat enough, it becomes a habit. And one must know, habits are a terrifying thing.
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