After a simple dinner and some small talk with his future superior and subordinates.
Don Quixote walked into the separate wooden cabin assigned to him.
The room was empty.
Apart from a simple wooden bed and a crude wooden table.
There were only a few bundles of hay in the corner.
"This house is crude, but it keeps the wind out pretty well. Better than many smallfolk's homes."
Don Quixote looked around briefly.
Then he stopped paying attention. He had suffered hardships in this life.
He had lived in environments far worse than this countless times.
Besides, his current constitution was different from the past; his ability to resist the cold was already stronger than that of ordinary Northerners.
Thinking, Don Quixote walked to the crude wooden table and lit the oil lamp placed on it.
Then he took off his outer clothes and placed a leather bag containing his important items on the wooden bed.
The leather bag contained all his coins and seven Blood Apples.
"The quest has changed. I wonder if this level of reward is standard, or if I just got lucky this time."
Don Quixote lay back on the wooden bed, narrowing his eyes to check the quest panel.
[Employer: Earl Medger]
[Quest: Maintain order in the trade market outside Castle Cerwyn daily (This quest is settled monthly; rewards are random)]
[Reward: 91 Gold Dragons (Unclaimable)]
91 Gold Dragons was extraordinary.
A set of plate armor cost about 4 Gold Dragons, and a warhorse cost about 1-3 Gold Dragons.
This money was enough to fully equip nearly ten knights.
And the pay for House Cerwyn hiring him this time was only 1 Gold Dragon a month.
As for the other freelance knights, it was 100 silver stags a month.
Of course, they also provided food and lodging, and there were grooms to feed their mounts.
"I wonder when another special reward will come."
Don Quixote looked at his stats panel again.
[Name: Don Quixote]
[Identity: Knight]
[Spirit: 1.98]
[Vitality: 2.17]
With his constitution at this level, even practicing the Knight's Basic Breathing Technique was very slow.
It took almost two days of serious cultivation to increase his Vitality by 0.01.
"What needs to be done next is, first, get familiar with those eight freelance knights.
"Although their strength is average, they have reached the standard of ordinary knights and are worth winning over.
"This should be simple. I'm stronger and richer than them. Treating them to drinks a few times should be enough.
"I won't consider loyalty for now.
"Then, starting from this trade market, find suitable drifters and merchants to secretly build my power.
"If I don't pursue quality, it's simple enough if I have enough money.
"After all, there are plenty of poor people in the North who can't fill their stomachs."
Closing the stats panel, Don Quixote began to ponder his plan.
The night passed quickly.
The next day, before the sky was fully bright, Liam shouted:
"Don Quixote! Everyone else! Wake the hell up!"
...Liam, that damn bastard! I really want to punch him!
Don Quixote opened his eyes instantly and sat up from the simple wooden bed.
After putting on his clothes, he grabbed the fur cloak hanging by the bed and threw it over his shoulders.
The fur cloak was frosted with night dew, cold to the touch.
Finally, he strapped on his sword and took the leather bag from the inner side of the bed.
"Phew!"
He took a slow, deep breath, his gaze sweeping casually around the room.
The wick of the oil lamp on the wooden table was just a smoldering ember, and only a shallow layer of animal fat remained in the dish.
A moment later, Don Quixote pushed open the wooden door.
The cold air from outside rushed in instantly, chilling his nasal cavity.
The sky was still covered in a layer of grey-blue morning mist, with only a faint white light showing in the distance.
In the clearing, Liam stood straight.
Most of the eight freelance knights had arrived, and all five Cerwyn soldiers were present.
Many people were shrinking their necks, rubbing their hands, and breathing out white mist.
Seeing Don Quixote come out, everyone's gaze swept over him.
Don Quixote didn't mind and walked slowly to Liam's side.
Before long, the last freelance knight arrived.
Seeing everyone present, Liam immediately shouted:
"Someone will bring food later. After eating, we will split into two teams and walk the patrol route I mentioned yesterday.
"Although the trade market hasn't opened yet, many people have been getting close these past few days. To prevent any mistakes, pay attention to those people when patrolling the surroundings.
"Don't let them cause trouble, and don't let anything happen to them!"
"Yes, Captain Liam!" The five Cerwyn soldiers shouted loudly.
"Yes."
The freelance knights responded weakly, looking impatient.
Liam frowned at this but didn't say anything.
He had dealt with some freelance knights before and knew their nature.
They were used to being lazy.
If he fussed over these small matters, it might be effective temporarily, but in the long run, it would be counterproductive.
These people weren't his soldiers; they were just temporarily hired by the Earl.
As long as he ensured they didn't make fundamental mistakes, he could turn a blind eye to other behaviors. There was no need to make things difficult for himself.
Liam moved a few steps towards Don Quixote and whispered:
"Don Quixote, keep an eye on those people during this time. Don't let them act recklessly, especially those bad habits of petty theft.
"If you catch them, you can teach them a lesson directly.
"If they do it again, make them get lost."
Don Quixote nodded and said: "Yes."
Liam gave a few more instructions.
---
Before long, two people rode over from Castle Cerwyn.
After handing four large bags of food to Liam, they quickly rode back to the castle.
Breakfast consisted of coarse hard bread, oatcakes, salted pork, bacon, smoked fish, and other foods.
Everyone ate quickly.
Don Quixote led six people on horseback away from the quarters to start patrolling the surrounding environment.
Seeing Liam's figure disappear, a freelance knight couldn't help but complain:
"Yelling at the top of his lungs before dawn. This market isn't even open yet; what is there to patrol! I'm freezing so much my teeth are chattering!"
He was a freelance knight from the South who couldn't stand the bitter cold of the North and was planning to leave via the Kingsroad.
While stopping temporarily in Castle Cerwyn, he accidentally heard that the lord here was hiring freelance knights.
This tempted him, as he hadn't found an employer for a while.
Even if the weather was bitter cold, it was better than days without money for wine and meat.
Just endure it a bit longer.
Hearing this, the other freelance knights also chimed in:
"Tom is right! Living in a broken wooden shack, eating hard bread, not even a pot of wine! It's suffering!"
"The Earl is paying a high price to hire us to guard this market well, not to enjoy ourselves." Don Quixote's gaze swept over everyone, his fingers tapping lightly on the saddle:
"Although the market isn't open, we fear someone might take advantage of the emptiness to cause trouble. Liam is acting on orders; he's not wrong."
He paused, then changed his tone slightly, softening it:
"Stop complaining. There's no war right now, so it's hard for us freelance knights to find employment!
"Since we're hired, let's do the job for the money.
"The North doesn't recognize the orthodoxy of the Seven; the vast majority still believe in the Old Gods. Even sworn knights aren't well-received here, let alone us freelance knights!
"If we screw up this employment quest, hehe, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for us to find such a job in the North again. We might only be able to go South!"
...