Chapter 53
Chapter 53
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Gathering Forces
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What...?”
“We’ll talk details after I question these guys here. Everyone else, get lost.”
Arsen issued the command as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and the gang members hesitated, glancing back and forth between him and Bazkal.
Only after Bazkal nodded did they slowly back away.
From their attitude, Arsen could tell that Bazkal commanded considerable respect from his subordinates.
If he’d been a tyrant who ruled through brute force, they wouldn’t have needed to check with him after he’d just gotten beaten senseless.
With all the gang members except Reno standing back at a distance, Arsen made his proposal again.
“I have no intention of sticking around this territory. Naturally, I can’t take responsibility for your gang or your men either.”
“So?”
“I’m currently assembling an army to excavate ancient ruins. Join my forces, and I’ll teach you martial arts. If we uncover any decent weapons along the way, I’ll give you one. How about it?”
Bazkal let out a groan and shook his head at Arsen’s words.
“I’ve got my pride. I’m not interested in becoming a knight under someone else. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”
In Narvik, for one knight to serve under another was seen as deeply humiliating.
That’s why even subordinates who followed a knight would leave upon awakening as knights themselves to form their own gangs, or attempt a coup to seize control from their former leader.
The only exceptions were cases where the knights were parent and child, or siblings.
When knights clashed and one emerged victorious, the winner would kill or cripple and exile the loser—never take them as a subordinate.
This was one reason Narvik could never unify. The land was simply too vast and expansive for one or two knights to control.
“I know a bit about your culture. I’m not asking you to be my subordinate for life. Just five years. After that, you’re free to go your own way.”
Bazkal stroked his chin beard, lost in thought at the renewed proposal.
A five-year contract was worth considering—especially for someone as obsessed with strength as he was.
Arsen drove the point home with a decisive remark.
“Your problem won’t be fixed by wandering on your training journey. You lost because you don’t know how to fight other knights. Do you think a training journey magically gives you sparring partners? Fighting magic beasts all day improves your beast-slaying skills, not your martial prowess. With your current level, you’d lose your head before learning how to fight properly against another knight.”
Bazkal couldn’t argue. He’d just felt that truth etched into his very bones.
The confidence he’d built from his string of victories since awakening as a knight had been shattered in his clash with the knight before him.
After a moment, Bazkal spoke in a hesitant voice.
“If I train under you... could I become as strong as you?”
“Depends on your effort.”
Honestly, it would be difficult, but Arsen saw no reason to discourage him by saying so outright. He answered vaguely instead.
It wasn’t entirely wrong, either. With enough hard work, it might just be possible.
Or perhaps it wouldn’t happen due to insufficient effort.
If Bazkal had seen through Arsen’s inner thoughts, he might’ve grabbed him by the collar—and Arsen wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on.
“Fine.”
With that, Bazkal suddenly dropped to his knees.
His remaining subordinates looked flustered.
“Please take care of me from now on, Big Bro!”
“...Big Bro?”
“In our culture, one knight can’t serve under another. So I’ll follow you as Big Bro instead.”
Hearing “Big Bro” made Arsen feel like he’d truly become a gangster. He shook his head.
But then he thought it didn’t matter much whether they called him captain or Big Bro.
As long as he could use them as subordinates, the title was a matter of taste.
It was fine, aside from the minor issue of being called Big Bro by someone who looked nearly ten years older.
As long as one thing was made clear.
“I’m not looking for a yes-man little brother who only listens when he feels like it. The title doesn’t matter, but if you act like a real brother instead of a subordinate, that’ll be a problem. You have to obey my orders absolutely. Can you do that?”
“Of course. Just stick to the five-year term. And teach me proper martial arts.”
“Deal.”
Arsen turned his gaze from Bazkal’s bulging eyes and sighed. He thought all Narvik folk were oddballs.
Then he turned to Reno and asked,
“What do you think?”
“Huh?”
“You’re the one who got beat up by his men, after all. What do you say to him becoming your comrade?”
Reno blinked in bewilderment at Arsen’s question before bowing his head deeply.
“Of course it’s fine! It’s not like anything got cut off! Even if it had, it wouldn’t matter!”
For Arsen, it had just been a polite courtesy question. He’d promised revenge for his subordinate getting beaten, only for it to end awkwardly. He hadn’t expected Reno to say no anyway.
But in a situation where a fearsome knight was joining their ranks, the mere fact that Arsen considered the feelings of a lowly hunter like him was enough to move Reno deeply.
Having heard the answer, Arsen declared to Bazkal,
“Alright then. Looking forward to working with you, Bazkal.”
“Yes, Big Bro!”
After giving Bazkal a few orders, Arsen returned home to find Eloise holding one hand outstretched high in the air.
Wondering what it meant for a moment, he realized it was the high-five gesture he’d taught her and lightly clapped her hand.
The sound of bare skin meeting glove was dull.
“Good thing it worked out.”
While Arsen had been out fighting, Eloise had hidden inside and secretly floated a magic eye to observe the situation.
Had Bazkal overwhelmed Arsen or brought a horde of men to swarm him, one of her explosion spells would’ve come flying right away.
Fortunately, things had gone smoothly enough that it hadn’t been necessary.
“Yeah. No more hiding now, but... can’t be helped.”
Arsen sighed as he took off his armor again.
Things had gotten messy and weird, but in the end, he’d gained a knight.
It was progressing much faster than planned.
“But that knight from earlier... didn’t he go down way too easily? Even in spars with my old squadmates back then, it wasn’t like that. He seemed weaker than them.”
“It’s the environment. Polish him up a bit, and he’ll improve fast. His fundamentals aren’t bad.”
As they chatted while he cleaned his armor, a voice called from outside.
[Captain! I’ve brought them all!]
Stepping out, Arsen saw six people standing rigidly behind Reno.
Upon seeing him, they knelt in unison and prostrated themselves to show their submission.
“Pleased to meet you, Captain!”
Unlike their initial reluctance when Reno had first persuaded them, they’d become quite enthusiastic after hearing how Arsen had unilaterally thrashed Bazkal.
Demonstrating the power to overwhelm another knight was proof enough of his leadership.
“I assume Reno’s filled you in.”
“Yes! He has!”
Arsen observed the six who responded vigorously.
Stunted from poor nutrition, they were short and skinny. Men and women mixed, but they all had an oddly similar look.
And with all of them staring at him with similar expressions, they were hard to tell apart.
Arsen conducted a brief interview first. Did they understand the duties, sense of purpose, obligations, and rewards of becoming his subordinates? Did they have families to support?
Since Reno had selected them carefully, there were no real problem cases.
Arsen appointed them all as his soldiers.
“For now, bunk around here starting today. Training starts immediately.”
“Understood!”
They built simple lean-tos between Reno’s and Arsen’s houses.
Perhaps because they were used to homelessness, they were skilled at setting these up.
Soon after, Bazkal’s men brought food, so Arsen and the soldiers spread it out and enjoyed a pleasant meal.
The jerky and black bread Reno had bought were relegated to emergency rations.
There was thoroughly boiled fresh meat, white bread, vegetables, and even Narvik’s traditional spice called “lati,” making for a fairly luxurious spread.
Surprisingly, the spice tasted like the curry he’d almost forgotten—a sweet, mildly turmeric-scented Korean-style curry, not the Indian kind.
To get acquainted and build rapport, Arsen and Eloise joined them from the house.
Of course, Eloise hid behind Arsen out of consideration for the others.
The soldiers were visibly uncomfortable eating with their new captain so soon after meeting.
But since his authority through overwhelming strength was already proven, Arsen chatted casually, cracked jokes, and tried to show his human side.
In the increasingly lively atmosphere, Arsen observed the personalities and behaviors of the subordinates he’d now command.
What he realized was that Reno—his first subordinate, who had introduced them—was subtly treated as the leader among the soldiers.
It wasn’t a bad thing, since Reno was the most loyal to Arsen.
Making him his lieutenant to command and manage the soldiers would lighten Arsen’s load considerably.
* * *
Bazkal tidied up his gang and brought only the five who chose to follow him to the end.
All were the bravest and most loyal elites of his organization, so their addition greatly improved the quality of the army, which had mostly been made up of hunters.
And since a bet was a bet, Bazkal surrendered all his wealth as well—including magic beast byproducts turned into gear, riding beasts, and a considerable amount of money.
“Richer than you look.”
As Arsen muttered that inwardly about his unassuming appearance, Bazkal grinned sheepishly.
“This is nothing. The guys who inherit old organizations have way more than this.”
Bazkal brought six riding beasts: ostrich-like creatures with exceptionally sharp beaks.
The difference was their front limbs bore sharp claws instead of wings, allowing quadrupedal movement.
Magic beasts were always bizarre, but this was his first time seeing a four-legged bird.
“What do you call these?”
“They’re called awl-birds, Captain. The most common riding beasts. Decent, aside from being skittish. Plus, the meat’s tasty.”
At Reno’s explanation, Arsen stroked the awl-bird’s head before hopping on.
Even without armor, Arsen was heavy due to his tall frame, yet the awl-bird didn’t waver, holding steady.
Large in size with thick, powerful legs, it wouldn’t lose much speed carrying one person.
“Not bad. With this...”
“Uh, excuse me. I heard the rumors and...”
As Arsen nodded in satisfaction, someone nearby spoke up hesitantly.
Turning, he saw one of the local hunters from outside territory.
The purpose was obvious, so before Arsen could respond, Reno scowled and shouted.
“We’re not recruiting! Get lost!”
“Oh...”
With Arsen watching right there, the hunter hesitated, glanced around a few times, then slunk away with slumped shoulders.
Reno glared after him for a while before apologizing to Arsen.
“Sorry, Captain. I told them to be discreet, but the rumors have spread too much.”
“No, it’s probably because I fought Bazkal. Can’t be helped.”
Word had spread that a powerful knight was recruiting hunters into his gang, so aspiring hunters and slum-dwellers kept showing up.
But Arsen declared he wouldn’t take more subordinates for now.
He already had over ten ragtag followers; just increasing numbers would mean more mouths to feed.
Logistics grew harder with more people—a basic truth. Without solid foundations or wealth, blindly expanding would starve his men.
For now, it was time to build strength from within.
***
Over the next few days, Arsen was so busy he wished he had two bodies.
He drilled the soldiers using estate methods on one hand, while holding one-on-one guided spars with Bazkal on the other.
Naturally, such training counted as secret techniques in this world, so Eloise erected a small barrier during sessions to shield them.
The clearing between Arsen’s and Reno’s houses became his army’s training ground.
“Cough, hack.”
In their thirteenth bout, Bazkal coughed and retreated after taking a light hit to the throat.
Watching him catch his breath with effort, Arsen encouraged him.
“You’ve improved a lot. You can actually fight decently now.”
“Still a long way to go, Big Bro! Thank you for the instruction!”
Just a few days of basic pointers, and Bazkal’s skills had grown rapidly.
He already had sufficient strength and speed, plus years of solo weapon practice.
A few bad habits lingered, but at this point, he was on par with newly commissioned knights by Belluan standards.
“Good. Next, we’ll learn...”
[Sen! Armed people are approaching!]
Eloise’s urgent voice suddenly rang through his earring.
Arsen didn’t panic. He just sighed.
It was exactly what he’d expected would come.