Chapter 1789: Chapter 1018: Ariel Watson’s Hint_2 Chapter 1789: Chapter 1018: Ariel Watson’s Hint_2 “After all, among these small to mid-sized factions, there are many hidden Tier 4 and even Tier 5 powerhouses with ancient heritage, which should not be underestimated.”

Ariel Watson mentioned this and nodded to Leo Ray: “I will swiftly compile a list of all registered small to mid-sized neutral organizations in the Royal Family and sort them by strength and headquarters location to facilitate the Lord’s selection process!”

“Then I’ll leave it all to you.”

Leo Ray patted the new Queen of Coldflame City on the head and then asked, “Ariel, do you have any other good ideas?”

“My Lord, I indeed have two more suggestions.”

Ariel straightened her body and sat upright in front of Leo Ray, smiling slightly, she said: “First, there’s the Illusory Spirit Temple under the Lionheart City Sanders Castle.”

“In the previous Battle of Kael Castle, they had helped us once; perhaps this time, they might also be able to offer some useful advice or assistance.”

Hearing Ariel’s remarks, Leo Ray thoughtfully nodded and pondered: “That makes sense, I have seen the magnificent Illusory Spirit City in the Illusion Realm; perhaps we really can get some defensive inspirations from them.”

“After all, we do have Little Illusion, Elusa, Olivia, and Mia, four Illusion Masters here.”

Leo Ray clearly understood that Coldflame Kingdom had many points to defend due to its extensive reach.

Thus, even if only one direction’s fortress could be stabilized, it would provide a slim chance for victory.

Or even if it just held off an enemy’s grand army for a period, it could win a precious opportunity for our side.

With these thoughts in mind, Leo Ray continued: “Moreover, since the Illusory Spirit Race has helped us a lot previously, both morally and logically, we should also go back to express our gratitude.”

“My Lord is correct, they are indeed a trustworthy friend.”

Ariel’s starry eyes twinkled as she continued: “As for the second idea, it involves the Mercenary Guild.”

“The Mercenary Guild?”

Leo Ray mused, nodding thoughtfully: “In the previous wars, with the efforts of Randel and Donna, we indeed hired many mercenaries, reaching beyond the scale of 5 legions. Although they didn’t play a role on the frontline, their assistance in defending the mountain fortresses and stabilizing the rear cannot be overlooked.”

“However, the Mercenary Guild, being a neutral organization spread across various Human Clan countries, definitely cannot be employed if it involves conflicts between states.”

Regarding the mercenaries, Leo Ray had already discussed this with Randel, a senior mercenary leader of Coldflame.

The answer he received was that no matter how generous the payment, the Mercenary Guild had never involved itself in wars between nations.

This was their bottom line as a neutral organization, and it was the fundamental reason they were able to establish themselves and be respected among various Human Clan countries.

However, one exception exists: the Mercenary Guild permits natives to fight to protect their homeland.

Therefore, while recruiting new soldiers across the regions, Leo Ray was also massively recruiting mercenaries from Coldflame Kingdom, currently reaching about 10 legions in size.

Yet these mercenaries, scattered across Coldflame, could at most serve as a force stabilizing the rear, scarcely able to impact the frontline.

Considering this, Leo Ray’s eyes suddenly lit up, realizing something, as he turned to Ariel with a sudden clarity: “I understand now, since we employ native mercenaries to stabilize frontline cities and send more soldiers to the frontline, then the opponent must be doing the same, hence deploying their entire national army.”

“So, if we hire mercenaries from other nations in advance, restricting them to operate only on their own land, the opponent, unable to hire mercenaries, naturally has to leave more soldiers to defend their homeland from unexpected threats!”

Once Leo Ray finished speaking, Ariel nodded with a smile: “Indeed, My Lord, although the effect of this strategy might be relatively limited, it’s also a way to reduce the overall military strength of our opponents!”

“You truly are my princess, this indeed reminds me.”

Leo Ray affectionately patted Ariel’s head again, then promptly contacted Randel and the masters of the great wealthy families, ordering them to act swiftly.

With Leo Ray’s current cash flow, hiring hundreds of thousands of mercenaries is naturally effortless.

As for the specific way of hiring, that is also very simple.

One only needs to post simple hunting or gathering missions with extremely generous rewards at the Mercenary Guilds in major cities of other countries, which is enough to make the mercenaries flock there, rushing into the mountains or forests in search of targets.

By the time others want to hire, there will naturally be a scarcity of mercenaries, as both parties would have already signed employment contracts before accepting the missions, preventing repeated hiring.

“As one of the few legendary mercenaries closest to being a Tier 5 Powerhouse, Randall’s network of connections naturally spans across all the Human various countries, and the information networks of the Three Great Aristocratic Families are extremely sophisticated in every country; combined, they can swiftly release the missions.”

“And the Sanders’ Trading Conference has branches in the main cities of other countries. It is easy to allocate funds for the early stage of the missions, I just need to provide further funding to Linda.”

Thinking of this, Leo Ray gave Linda several specific instructions.

Once all of this was complete, Leo Ray couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

As for the matter of heading to the Illusory Spirit Temple, it could be handled conveniently while upgrading the Shanglu Family’s Treasure Storage.

“My Lord, I will soon be bringing the crown and holy sword to change all the Magic Restrictions access rights in the Royal Treasure Vault, after which, you, My Lord, will be able to freely use everything.”

The starry eyes of Ariel Watson brightened, and she nodded at Leo Ray again: “As for the wealthy homeowners Isaac and Kelson, Jasper Richardson has also already transported them back to their respective territories, and they will soon have organized the Treasure Storage as well.”

“Very well then, let’s proceed with separate tasks.”

Leo Ray gave a slight smile, stood up, and said, “I’ll first go and try to coordinate on the matter involving the Moon Chaser Clan with Mia.”

After speaking, Leo Ray paused in thought, first handing over command of the two Tier 5 Alchemy Puppets to Ariel Watson, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

Then he left the exclusive resting room of the Queen under her moved gaze.

“Mia just finished participating in the coronation ceremony, I’ve already had Elusa and Olivia take her to rest; the location is at the other end of the corridor.”

As Leo Ray thought this, he moved along the ancient castle corridor.

This was a private area for the Royal Family, hence no other nobility came to disturb. Only occasionally did the royal servants and guards pass by, each respectfully placing a hand on their chest to salute, expressing their loyalty and respect.

In the blink of an eye, Leo Ray had opened the door to another resting room.

Upon entering, he immediately heard the animated voice of Scarlett.

He saw her standing in the center of the resting room, holding a big piece of cream cake that she had bitten into, waving her hand while saying: “That Tier 5 Alchemy Puppet was so scary, it almost shaved off half of my eyebrow!”

In front of her were sitting Elusa, Olivia, and Mia, who were indeed unaware of the battle inside the castle since they were outside. They were quite engrossed in listening.

“Scarlett, how is it that you’re always in on this action? You’re a Tier 4 Senior Powerhouse and a noble countess of the Kingdom; can’t you have a bit of the dignified demeanor of nobility, even just a little?”

Leo Ray casually gave Scarlett a light knock on the head, thus ending this thrilling storytelling session.

“Greetings, My Lord!”

Seeing Leo Ray, including a crestfallen Scarlett, everyone in the room immediately bowed, including Mia who also quickly lowered her head in a very respectful manner.

For her, the past few days–the battle of Lionheart City, the Battle of Kael Castle, entering the Royal Capital, the victory ceremony, and the recent coronation–felt like a dream to her, one where she was greatly favored, and even fully paid with a mercenary fee!

Previously just a wandering mercenary, where had she ever received such top-tier treatment?