'This… isn't as frightening as I imagined.' Anser stroked his chin. He could not quite say he was disappointed, but he was not that pleasantly surprised either.
In fact, he also knew that in this world, there were almost no weapons or pieces of equipment that could make someone invincible the moment they got them, and even the legendary Artifacts were the same.
How great an effect a magic item could exert mainly depended on its user.
But speaking objectively, "Euryale's Aegis" was absolutely the most powerful magic item he had ever come into contact with.
Setting aside its immunity to petrification, it also possessed resistance to poison, making it extremely effective against certain specific creatures.
Its strongest feature was still "Petrifying Heraldry." It ignored all kinds of defenses; one could only resist it through Constitution, and the save DC was very high. Even a level 16 Fighter with 20 Constitution would only have a fifty percent chance of succeeding on the save.
If the enemy was caught off guard, or in poor condition, then they would most likely be unable to withstand the petrification effect and would be left at his mercy.
Its only drawback was that the range was too short.
The most underwhelming part was the three spells attached to the shield. They depended on the Weave, and under the current circumstances, the probability of successfully casting them was less than twenty percent.
He had originally given that Goodberry staff of his to Finn. Finn used it every day, but it often ran out of charges without succeeding even once.
Even though this was an incomplete legendary item, it still became Anser's foremost trump card for dealing with powerful enemies.
Moreover, legendary shields had another characteristic: they were extremely sturdy and very difficult to damage, making them perfect for self-defense.
Anser set down the shield, took off the bright Royal Butterfly Cloak, carefully folded it, and placed it to one side.
That item had saved his life before, and its flying ability had been very useful. Now that he had the faster Fly spell and all kinds of life-saving items, he truly had little use for it anymore.
Among his previous spoils, he found a set of shoulder harnesses, put them on, then strapped "Euryale's Aegis" to his back and fastened it carefully, lest it be snatched away.
A longsword could be stored in the dragonhide pouch, but it was best if the shield could be reached at any time, so it would be convenient for dealing with sudden situations.
It did look a little odd, but his Strength was not high. If he also wore armor, it would be a bit too heavy and would seriously affect his agility. Besides, he had no need to wear armor.
Anser went downstairs and called Finn over, then took him and Grey Eagle and teleported back to the union.
Kaleno and Quentin had already returned and were in the middle of a heated discussion. When they saw him come out with a shield on his back, they did not ask any questions.
Legendary items did not have especially exaggerated magical radiance, so as long as Anser said nothing, people who did not recognize it would not associate this shield with something legendary.
"Finn, stay here and have Grey Eagle help me keep an eye on a group of people…" Anser pulled Finn aside and clearly explained to him the situation regarding Sarberg's group.
"I'll try to find them." Finn's eyebrows twitched constantly; he liked the feeling of being needed.
Life in the Holrewen household made him very uncomfortable. Bratt was so busy that he barely had time to touch the ground, while he himself had nothing to do and felt somewhat lost.
Sarberg's group was very numerous and had not been gone long, so they were easy to track. Grey Eagle quickly located them.
"They've split up—four or five groups…" Finn reported the situation to Anser.
"Internal strife?" Anser was not surprised. Sarberg had lost face, and his prestige was not enough to keep those nobles from the Claw City-States.
"Did you see that big-bearded barbarian and the tiefling Fighter?" he asked.
"Didn't see the tiefling. That big-bearded guy is with Sarberg, the one wearing the black-and-gold hooded robe. They have the most people—sixty or seventy…"
"Oh?" Anser's expression turned subtle. "Looks like that group really are mercenaries."
He had Finn keep watching them, planning to act after figuring out the situation. Moreover, he had a feeling that Sarberg would definitely not stay quiet and would certainly stir up trouble.
"President, finished with your business?" Seeing that the two had finished talking, Quentin took the initiative to come over.
"Something wrong?"
"Little Harold sent someone earlier to inform us that the supplies you requested are ready. They're all in the union's warehouse." As he spoke, Quentin handed him a key.
"Little Harold?" Anser reacted immediately. This was Durlag's finance officer and the second son of the old steward of Fort Jacqueline.
The other party had probably been instructed not to come directly to him and had only sent the key, making it convenient for him to transfer the supplies by himself.
"Where's the warehouse?" He weighed the key in his hand.
"I'll have a guard take you there." Quentin did not understand the inside details and chose to avoid involvement.
The warehouse was just south of the union headquarters, beside a small alley. Next to it was the guard unit's training base.
The guards all recognized Anser, but they did not open the door for him, because they were only responsible for keeping watch.
Anser opened the door and entered alone. Inside were piles of various supplies, the quantity being two to three times the amount listed on the supply list.
Grain, vegetables, dried fruits, wine, seasonings, all kinds of furniture, various tools… and even a batch of small animals and fish fry. They were all alive and looked as though they had been delivered not long ago.
Two thousand gold coins was an enormous sum. Converted into ordinary supplies, the amount was very large. If he had been left to purchase them one by one himself, he would probably have exhausted himself and still not managed to buy everything.
For example, many of those pieces of furniture and tools had clearly been rushed out. Without a certain level of status and connections, even paying extra money would not necessarily get them.
'This is the advantage of being the boss—just moving his lips and someone else gets everything done for him.' Anser sighed in admiration, took out the Rod of Security, and activated the Spatial Paradise mark to notify Bratt.
Then he marked the supplies and sent them into Holrewen one by one. It took more than half an hour of busy work before the warehouse was finally emptied.
As for the rest, he did not bother with it. Bratt would naturally handle those supplies properly.
'Hopefully when I go back tonight, the black tower won't be empty anymore.'
After returning to the union, he unstrapped the shield and sat down at his desk to begin sorting out the arrangements for tomorrow's meeting.
He had previously considered copying part of the management system from his previous life, but after thinking it over, he gave up the idea. The social environment and level of civilization between the two worlds were completely different, and blindly trying to replicate it might make things even worse.
In the end, he only planned to separate military and administrative authority, with himself directly controlling the military power.
City administration would be handed over to Graham and the governor Rein, while public security issues would be handled by Quentin and the sheriff Pardo.
The guard unit would be split in two. Fifty guards with some understanding of the law would be assigned to Pardo, and after recruiting additional manpower to reach a total of one hundred, they would form the city watch, responsible specifically for maintaining public order.
The remaining guards would form an independent military force—the Durlag Defense Army—under the command of Giant Tail, with a total establishment of three hundred and fifty.
Their treatment would also differ somewhat. The city watch would receive a weekly wage of 8.5 silver coins, while the defense army's weekly wage would be raised to 1.5 gold coins. Compensation for combat and casualties would also be increased accordingly.
This salary level was actually not high. Prices were soaring now, and everything was expensive. This amount of money could only sustain a normal life; asking people to risk their lives for it was indeed rather shabby.
There was no help for it. Durlag's financial situation was average, and adding this much was already the limit.
However, compared to the private troops of those nobles who often could not even pay their wages in full and on time, this treatment was already very attractive. Recruiting people should be extremely easy—there were plenty of refugees willing to come.
While he was thinking, he suddenly heard the sound of wings flapping beside his ear.
Flap, flap…
He turned his head toward the window. On the sunlit windowsill, a small yellow-green sparrow was looking at him through the glass. Its eyes reflected faint light and appeared extraordinarily lively—clearly very intelligent.
Almost like a human.
Anser immediately sensed something was wrong. Narrowing his eyes, he activated the True Sight Ring. As magic surged, a circle of radiant light surrounded his eyes, and his vision instantly changed.
The sparrow by the window turned into an illusory shadow. In its place stood a small, thin figure, with gem-like green eyes that were particularly striking.
'A druid!'
Tap, tap—the little sparrow pecked the window twice with its beak, as if greeting him.
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