It's Quite Troublesome

Aether Continent.

Ye Chuan appeared in Yisu Town. After all, this was where he had logged off, so naturally, this was where he would spawn.

"Now I don't need to go to the gym. After all, I just spent a lot of effort filling up three dragons, so I definitely need a rest," Ye Chuan said as he took out his phone to check his save file.

[Successfully won over Count Leon. The remaining step is to gather the troops and set off for the Royal Capital.]

Let's go.

Ye Chuan directly performed a spatial jump. In just a single breath, he appeared in the little dragonman's Miral Territory.

At this moment, flags fluttered in the wind in Miral, and the voices of the crowd were boiling over.

Tens of thousands of warriors, magicians, healers, and logistics personnel clad in silver armor were neatly lined up. The spears and shields in their hands reflected a cold gleam, and the swords at their waists clinked softly with their movements. Their morale was soaring.

Kaiaolen was dressed in crimson armor, the dragon-scale patterns on his chest shimmering in the sunlight. He stood on a high platform, loudly addressing the soldiers. His voice, amplified by magic, echoed throughout the entire square:

"Warriors of the Hill Empire! The Royal Capital has been infiltrated by disguised monsters, and His Majesty and our people are in grave danger! Today, we gather and march out, not for fame or fortune, but to protect the glory of the Hill Empire! Follow me, charge into the Royal Capital, exterminate the monsters, and rescue His Majesty!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" the soldiers roared in unison, the sound waves shaking the surrounding leaves until they rustled.

On one side of the high platform, Princess Irena had changed into a light silver combat suit. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, making her look less delicate and more heroic.

Beside her, Torres, carrying a greatsword the size of a door, saw that Kaiaolen had finished his speech and quickly stepped forward:

"Lord Count, all soldiers have been assembled. The weapons and armor have been inspected and repaired. We are ready to set off at any time!"

"Good!" Kaiaolen nodded. Just as he was about to give the order to march, he caught a glimpse of Ye Chuan out of the corner of his eye at the entrance of the square.

He quickly walked over:

"Xi Xi! You're just in time."

"Didn't you say you were on the way? Why are you setting off early?" Ye Chuan's gaze swept over the neat formations in the square.

"I plan to rendezvous with the other Counts in the neutral zone, including Count Leon. I've already sent a magic eagle to deliver the message," Kaiaolen said.

"Do you want to come with us? With you here, our chances of conquering the Royal Capital will be much greater!"

"If I don't go with you, am I supposed to stay here and drink tea?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing.

"I am the man who will become a King Equal to the Emperor. Naturally, I can't miss this battle at the Royal Capital."

"Pfft—" Irena, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh when she heard this. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and her eyes sparkled:

"Lord Xi Xi is really..." It was her first time seeing someone say "I want to be a King Equal to the Emperor" so righteously, yet without seeming arrogant.

Kaiaolen also smiled, and his nerves, which had been tense due to the expedition, relaxed a bit. But soon, his face darkened again, his brows furrowed, and his tone grew solemn:

"However, there is still a thorny problem at hand."

"What problem?" Ye Chuan asked.

"It's the issue of the soldiers' supplies," Kaiaolen sighed, raising a hand to rub his temples.

"The food in the Miral Territory wasn't abundant to begin with, and we consumed a lot of our reserves when we were clearing out the monsters within our borders."

"This time, we've gathered tens of thousands of soldiers. The food supplies along the way simply won't be enough to sustain us until we reach the Royal Capital."

Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow. "No way, Ah Long. You're going to war without food to eat?"

Kaiaolen's mouth twitched at being called Ah Long.

"Naturally not. If provisions are short and the soldiers fight on empty stomachs, their combat power will inevitably be greatly reduced. They might even... fall into chaos before we reach the Royal Capital."

"So we will now gather in the central region—Gallon. The other Counts have prepared supplies for us there."

"Fighting a war is quite troublesome," Ye Chuan said.

"This isn't playing house," Kaiaolen said.

"What if the others don't have enough to eat either?"

"That... shouldn't be the case."

Ye Chuan stroked his chin and suddenly smiled. "Say, if I can solve the food problem, would the situation be a bit better?"

Solve the food problem?

Kaiaolen looked at Ye Chuan with a very serious expression. "Xi Xi, isn't this a joke? How can a magician like you solve the food problem?"

"I've never heard of magic that can create food."

"Then you're underestimating me a bit," Ye Chuan said with a smiling face. "If I can solve the food problem, are you going to pay me?"

"..."

Kaiaolen remained silent for a long while before looking at Ye Chuan with a strange gaze. "For money, you can even do something like this?"

"Do you know how much food is needed to feed tens of thousands of soldiers?"

"Relax," Ye Chuan said.

"..." Kaiaolen pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will pay you, but on the condition that you tell me how you're going to do it."

"I have quite a few methods," Ye Chuan said.

Anyway, he could travel back and forth between the two worlds. At worst, he could just stock up on rice, meat, and vegetables in the real world and be done with it.

His inventory space had unlimited storage anyway, so stacking rice would be a piece of cake.

Finding a grain factory or a meat factory would only take a moment.

Of course, that was only one method.

Ye Chuan had another method, and that was alchemy—

Among the pills he refined, many contained extremely high amounts of energy. Eating one would keep a person full for a month without any problems, though this would be a bit more tiring for Ye Chuan.

After all, comparing the costs, buying food directly was more cost-effective.

Setting those two aside, Ye Chuan could even find Lilith to learn some magic, such as magic that could turn people into the living dead. That way, as long as their bodies didn't rot, they could keep marching forever.

He could also find Ke Ning to see if he could make some super compressed biscuits or something similar.

Although it was a bit unorthodox, there were always more solutions than problems.

Hearing Ye Chuan's confident tone, Kaiaolen finally chose to believe him. "You can try."

"Sure," Ye Chuan smiled.

Making money was a good thing.

"Teacher, can I set off with you?" Right at this moment, Elara trotted over and asked.

"I want to help too."

"No, Elara. What you need to prepare for is the Imperial Academy's exam, not following us to the Royal Capital," Kaiaolen immediately and sternly stopped his granddaughter when he saw that she also wanted to go to the battlefield.

"I can help," Elara shook her head, tossing her blue twin tails. "Grandpa, I can do it! My magic won't hold you back now!"

After speaking, Elara looked at Ye Chuan with pleading eyes.

"Tempering oneself on the battlefield isn't a bad thing," Ye Chuan remarked.

"No..."

"Grandpa!"

"Be obedient," Kaiaolen said.

"Then I'll just sneak along."

"You... How could you..." Kaiaolen grew anxious upon hearing this. How did his usually well-behaved and reserved granddaughter turn out like this? He immediately looked at Ye Chuan—

As if asking if she had learned this from him.

Ye Chuan shrugged with an innocent look on his face.