That night, Ralph, Julian, Kaelon, and Raymond—who had packed his bags and come to the castle—all gathered together.

These four men were, one could say, the core members of his staff.

Duane smiled and gave his orders. "Owington, go to the wine cellar and bring out the good wine. Jasmine, you and Mara, please prepare some fruit and snacks."

"It’s rare for everyone to be here tonight. Let’s take this opportunity for each of you to report on the progress of your tasks."

Some of the four were quite familiar with Duane, while others were minor leaders from the army who had seen their fair share of the world. As such, they weren’t overly formal in the Lord’s presence.

Still, they exchanged glances, unsure of who should begin.

"Kaelon, you go first."

Duane specified, "Those thirty soldiers from today, how have you settled them in?"

Kaelon grinned. "All settled. They’re all resting in the barracks next to the castle now."

"How’s their morale?" This was a matter of particular concern for Duane.

Although these men had no choice but to follow him to Black Forest Island, any passive resistance or slacking would affect the entire group’s morale.

Kaelon scratched his head. "Their spirits are stable, I’d say. When I was testing their Strength this afternoon, most of them were talking and laughing. Only five or six seemed a bit listless."

"Uh, it could just be their personalities," he added.

Duane nodded. The fact that no one was crying or causing a scene was good news.

"I plan to divide these thirty men into three squads of ten, and from each, a Captain will be chosen to lead them."

"Furthermore, the nine men in each squad, aside from the Captain, will be divided into three operational teams, each with a team leader."

Ten men formed a squad, a hundred a company, five hundred a regiment, and a thousand or more a legion. This was the standard military organizational structure in the Pruck Kingdom.

While some squads did use the concept of teams, it was not a common practice.

"In addition to the standard monthly pay of 3 Silver Coins that all soldiers receive, team leaders and Captains will get an extra subsidy of 1 Silver Coin and 4 Silver Coins, respectively."

This was a plan Duane had come up with over the past two days.

He was doing this not only to give the soldiers something productive to do and provide them with motivation, but also to foster a competitive spirit among them.

Moreover, this method of grouping would also help break up any potential cliques that might exist among them.

After all, they all came from the Third Legion. They weren’t Raymond’s men, and Duane knew even less about their backgrounds.

Kaelon nodded. He had only ever managed the Guards at the manor, and never with such a detailed structure.

’The Baron’s method seems like it will help me manage this group.’

"My Lord, how do you plan to select the team leaders and Captains?" he asked.

Duane looked to Raymond. "How are Captains selected in the Legion?"

"Mostly, they’re recommended by officers or company commanders, then approved and appointed by the regimental commander."

Raymond added, "Although it’s by recommendation, there’s an unwritten rule in the Kingdom Legion: a Captain must have at least the strength of a Basic-level Warrior."

Duane nodded slightly. The Kingdom’s army was large, so naturally, it had a large number of Basic-level Warriors.

"That method won’t work for me."

Duane didn’t intend to use that method; he barely had any Basic-level Warriors.

"Kaelon, Raymond, tomorrow I want you to collect information on these soldiers—their abilities, age, hometown, family, and background. I will then divide them into three squads."

"The day after tomorrow, you’ll have the members of these three squads compete against each other. The strongest will become the Captain, and the three team leaders will be selected in the same manner."

"For now, we’ll schedule a similar competition at the end of each year. The selected Captains and team leaders will then be transferred laterally to other squads."

This was just his temporary arrangement.

Once the number of Basic-level Warriors and the overall size of his force grew, the rules and timing for selection and transfers would be adjusted.

Kaelon and Raymond were somewhat surprised. They hadn’t expected the Baron to have such a detailed plan already, and it sounded rather interesting.

Generally, officers in the armies of the Nobility all had connections and pedigrees. Someone like Duane, who appointed officers based purely on merit, was a rare sight indeed.

"My Lord, what about Jack and John?"

Kaelon asked because he had originally planned to make those two team leaders directly.

But with Duane’s new method, that was clearly not possible, and his recent instructions hadn’t mentioned the two of them at all.

"Jack and John will be with me for the time being. I have other arrangements for them."

Duane replied, "For now, the task for you two is to train these soldiers. We should have plenty to do once we reach Black Forest Island, and I’ll assign you specific responsibilities then."

The two men nodded, having no objections to the Baron’s arrangements.

Duane breathed a sigh of relief. That was one matter settled.

He turned to Julian. "Civil Servant, you’re next."

"My Lord, I am thoroughly impressed by your arrangements for the soldiers!"

Julian did not hold back his praise. "I believe that with your guidance, Black Forest Island will welcome a long-overdue era of stability."

Duane smiled faintly. "I’m entrusting defense matters to Kaelon and Raymond. As for civil affairs, I’ll have to trouble you."

"Serving you is my duty."

Julian began to report on his work.

"Over the past two days, I have arranged for three ships: two cargo ships and one passenger ship. Based on preliminary negotiations, for a full load to Black Forest Island, the cargo ships will cost 50 Gold Coins each, and the passenger ship will cost 30 Gold Coins."

He added, "This does not include the fresh water and food you’ll need for the journey. Also, if you bring too many horses or livestock, two cargo ships might not be enough."

Duane couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

’I thought my one thousand-plus Gold Coins was a considerable sum, but I didn’t expect to spend 130 Gold Coins—nearly a tenth of it—just on renting ships!’

"Is sea transport really this expensive?" he couldn’t help but ask.

Julian shrugged, a wry smile on his face.

"River and sea transport are already costly, not to mention your Territory, Black Forest Island, is a destination few are willing to travel to. That’s why they’re demanding a higher price."

He sounded a little helpless. Black Forest Island was not on a popular shipping route; he had only gotten this price after treating someone to a meal to get an introduction.

"My Lord, if we stop at a port for supplies along the way, such as Silent Harbor, we will also need to pay a docking fee of a few Gold Coins."

"Alright, I understand."

Duane rubbed his temples. Compared to the cost of renting the ships, a docking fee of a few Gold Coins was trivial.

The key takeaway was that he wasn’t as wealthy as he had thought.

"Julian, I want you and Ralph to take stock of our supplies later. Try to make everything fit onto three ships. Whatever we can’t take, sell it."

No matter what, the priority was to get to Black Forest Island first.

"Understood, my Lord."

Duane turned his gaze to his steward. All that remained was Ralph’s report.

Ralph gave a slight bow.

He had been with Duane for over a decade, and the organizational skills his master displayed tonight far exceeded his expectations.

"My Lord, I have essentially found candidates for all the positions we need to recruit."

He took a piece of paper from his coat and handed it over.

Owington took it and passed it to Duane.

The paper clearly listed the positions to be filled, along with the names and relevant information of the candidates.

Duane counted carefully. There were twelve people in total, including a castle physician, a Blacksmith, a carpenter, a Tailor, a mason, an animal handler, and various castle servants.

These positions were essential. The Blacksmith, for instance—without him, there would be no one to maintain everyone’s weapons and equipment.

’In truth, recruiting only one Blacksmith is a bit insufficient.’

’But it will have to do for now.’

"Recruiting only two kitchen assistants is too few. Hire three more."

Kitchen assistants didn’t just cook; their duties also included fetching water, cleaning, butchering, and raising small livestock.

Even with all these new recruits, their combined salaries for several years wouldn’t even match the cost of this one-way transport.

"Also, Julian, what about your assistant?"

Julian explained, "Ralph and I have already discussed this. With Haien assisting me, my workload will be much lighter, so I plan to recruit an assistant after we arrive on Black Forest Island."

"First, an assistant won’t need to enter your castle, so the reliability requirement is lower than for your personal servants. Second, choosing an assistant from Black Forest Island will make it easier for us to learn about the island’s affairs."

Duane nodded slightly. That was sound reasoning.

"Since you’ve put it that way, we’ll proceed with that plan for now."

He handed the paper back to Ralph. "Go ahead and recruit the people you’ve chosen."

"As you wish."

Ralph put the paper away. "My Lord, there is one more thing. Some of the candidates hope to bring their families with them to Black Forest Island."

"For example, the Blacksmith, Yanger. His two sons have been working as his apprentices, and he hopes to bring his whole family to serve you."

Duane nodded silently.

What Black Forest Island lacked most was people. Duane would naturally welcome anyone who wanted to come, especially skilled individuals like blacksmith apprentices.

But the headache for him was, if too many people came along, would three ships be enough to hold them all?

If he had to rent an additional ship, it would cost another large sum of money.

He rubbed his temples. "How about this: you can bring Yanger’s family. For the others, first get a count of how many there are, and then I’ll make a decision."