When the soldiers received their first pay, almost all of them were surprised. For them, joining the mercenary group was simply a means to safety (compared to awaiting death in villages or the wilderness), never expecting any compensation.

"These coins are the rightful rewards for everyone. From now on, anyone who wishes to accumulate enough money to leave the mercenary group can discuss it with me. I hope that joining the Bloodhunt Mercenaries will not only bring trauma and victories but also tangible wealth, enabling everyone to better survive in this world," Avi declared.

After Avi finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted across the camp, with soldiers cheering and some even moved to tears. Morale was high, and reverence for Avi had become ingrained. In this regard, the establishment of the wage system was undoubtedly highly successful.

However, this cost was not one that the mercenary group could easily bear.

"Boss, according to your standards, I distributed a total of eight hundred gold coins," Manid, the current quartermaster, rushed to Avi's tent to voice his concerns. "This money is too painful to spend; it's basically no profit at all!"

"Take the long view, Manid," Avi said with a smile. "The rewards we receive are intangible, and one day they will reflect in your accounts."

"Boss, I'm not questioning your intentions, I just feel... is this money too much? You know, in this kind of world, finding a place to live well costs more gold coins than we can imagine. We have to give them money in return; I always feel it's too much of a loss."

"Not at all, not at all. Look closely, Manid: we and the soldiers, or the entire mercenary group, have a mutually beneficial relationship. If the soldiers harbor doubts and cannot fight wholeheartedly, not only will we not earn money, but we may also die on the battlefield at any time. At any time, morale and spirit are the most important things in a troop. As long as we can grasp these two points, we can triumph over the strong and thrive."

"Um... I don't quite understand, after all, I'm just a businessman," Manid shook his head and sighed. "But boss, I must tell you that our expenses have been too high lately. The money we earned before is now not enough to spend a thousand gold coins."

"It's okay, we'll earn the money back later. Manid, come with me."

Avi stood up and walked outside the tent, pointing to the caravan outside the camp gate busy unloading cargo: "These are all bought at a high price, there are tools, anvils, charcoal, iron... many things. This will be the foundation of our establishment here. Only by establishing our own economic foundation can we further develop our armed forces."

"Boss, I don't quite understand what you're saying. But I guess you want to turn this place into a village rather than just a military camp. In this regard, I think your plan is correct."

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"That's right, this place will become our base rather than just a camp. It will be able to supply us with most of the food, equipment, tools, and daily necessities we need, and in return, we provide shelter and a safe area. By utilizing this symbiotic relationship to develop the strength of the mercenary group, we can achieve our goals."

"In that case, there's nothing more to say, boss, I wholeheartedly agree with your idea." Manid scratched his stubble and added, "But I still hope you can pay more attention to our account books. After all, you've never asked me for those things before, I'm worried—"

Avi interrupted Manid's words with a confident smile, "We still have 867 gold coins in stock, in addition to 20 silver coins and 5 copper coins. And there's still an expense for equipment repairs unpaid to Durinbana."

"Boss, how did you know—" Manid was astonished, staring wide-eyed. "Did I... ever give you the ledger? Have I been so absent-minded lately?"

"Calculations," Avi tapped his own head mysteriously. "Income minus expenditure equals the amount of money we have now. Alright, now tell me about your affairs in Midenshtenig."

"Alright, boss." Manid took out a parchment scroll from his own bag and handed it to Avi. "Since we disappeared in the Black Forest, Kees's days in Kys have been tough. Those merchants didn't return the goods to him."

"Expected. Anything else?"

"He suffered losses due to lack of convoy escorts. His caravan was raided by some orc raiders who scattered during this war. He lost some money, gold coins are just a small problem, but because of these two incidents happening consecutively, he has lost prestige in Midenshtenig."

"More like just the tipping point." Avi sat down with a satisfied smile, absentmindedly pulling at blades of grass with his hand. "Given his character, I'm sure there are plenty of merchants and mercenaries who are not pleased with him."

"Exactly, so I 'helped' him." Manid said with a 'scheming' smile. "We raided one of his small caravans and brought back a batch of excellent timber, and something you wanted: a blacksmith."

"Oh?" Avi almost jumped up from the ground, eagerly walking to Manid's side. "Tell me more about this."

"It was a blacksmith who was hitching a ride with a convoy preparing to take refuge in Midenhaim, and we raided them." Manid said, "But boss, we were short of numbers, and we encountered some remnants of orc raiders on the way. We got separated from him in the fight, and now he's probably been taken away by the orcs."

"Damn it, why didn't you tell me this earlier!" Avi paced anxiously on the spot, "I'll organize the team right away, we must rescue him. A blacksmith is too important for us right now, we must—"

"Boss, but Airen has also brought back an old blacksmith and a few apprentices. We already have a blacksmith. Airen hadn't had the chance to tell you yet, but he was planning to confirm the willingness of those blacksmiths first."

"It's different! For now, the more blacksmiths, the better. There's no such thing as having one and not needing another." Avi walked a few circles, patted Manid's shoulder and said, "You go call Airen and Resarit now, I'll lead a group of people to rescue that blacksmith."

"Got it, boss." Manid took a few steps, then suddenly turned back to look at Avi. "Oh, boss, I remembered something: those orcs are strange, they're not as ferocious as usual, and they play tactics. They might not be easy to deal with."

"How many of them?"

"Probably about the same as us... I mean, all the orcs in that area. We could cautiously hide and sneak, but we were eventually discovered by a squad of orcs who returned from robbery."

"In other words, if it's a large force, it would be a decisive battle with all the orcs in that area." Avi smiled and said, "That suits me just fine."