Chapter 17
Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Winter Hunt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gray Mage Tower.
The path winding through the grounds.
Ever since his coming-of-age ceremony, something had been nagging at him.
'No friends showed up on the day of the ceremony.'
A coming-of-age ceremony was one of the most pivotal events in life.
Yet no one had come.
He slowly made his way to the dining hall area.
At this hour, most of the students would be gathered there.
As he scanned his surroundings while walking,
his younger sister caught his eye.
Near the dining hall, on the grassy lawn.
A group of students was enjoying a leisurely lunch break.
And at the center was Elena.
'Guess I worried for nothing.'
He had even considered the possibility of bullying in the worst case, but it was all unfounded.
Elena was getting along well with her friends.
"Now that I've checked on my little sister, maybe it's time to head back to River Village?"
Frontier Manor, third floor.
Brilda read the letter.
"Two hundred slaves are undergoing training?"
"It's basic militia training. Since they're from the continent, they have no experience fighting monsters."
"Basic training or whatever, it's still training, isn't it?"
"That's true."
Brilda unfolded the letter again and read it carefully.
Elwin owned a total of five hundred slaves.
That came to two hundred households.
He had brought in the slaves and expanded the farmland by one more plot.
Now there were two plots in total.
He had assigned one hundred households to each.
That part was fine.
The problem came next.
One person from each household had been drafted for training.
He had appointed overseers for groups of one hundred.
Of course, as Anna said, it was just basic training for the militia.
'But what about in an emergency?'
The overseers would become captains,
and the two hundred drafted slaves would become soldiers.
It hadn't even been a year since Elwin left for River Village.
Yet he had already assembled two hundred soldiers.
"What's the current situation?"
"We've finished the second plot of farmland, and we've started clearing the third."
The third plot of farmland.
Elwin had no intention of stopping there.
Two now, but later it could be three, five, or even ten.
One hundred per plot times ten would be... a thousand?
"Madam, I understand your concerns, but they are slaves. Slave soldiers have low morale and aren't reliable as actual troops. If war breaks out, they'll flee immediately."
"I know... you're right, but... keep a close eye on River Village. Don't miss even a single piece of information."
On the road back to River Village.
The wind slipped into his clothes and out again.
The cold sensation made his skin prickle.
"Ugh... is it winter already?"
Monster Island was located in the northwest of the continent.
Because of that, the temperatures were lower than on the mainland.
Cutting through the chill wind, he kept riding until he reached River Village.
"Grandfather!"
"Oh, my grandson's here?"
A crowd had gathered in the village square.
"What's going on?"
"Winter's coming soon, isn't it? We're going monster hunting."
Grandfather explained.
When winter came, monsters would struggle to find food.
"We're reducing their numbers before the nearby ones come raiding the village."
"I see. When do we head out?"
"Tomorrow."
After greeting Grandfather,
he went to find Hans.
"Heir!"
Thud.
Hans dropped to one knee and saluted.
"You don't need to go that far. Treat me like you used to."
He took Hans's hand and pulled him up.
When he first arrived in this world, Hans was the one he relied on most.
He had shown him kindness equal to family—no, even greater than family.
Of course, that kindness stemmed from loyalty.
"Hans, how's the training going?"
"We've completed basic militia training. To explain in detail..."
The original slaves had been trained with crossbows.
They stayed as is, while the newly drafted one hundred were given shields and spears.
"Slaves from the island can't fight like the islanders. So we trained them in military formation."
The island-style fighting Hans mentioned
meant hunters, plain and simple.
The way of the hunter.
Tracking using footprints or droppings,
setting traps in areas monsters frequented,
and combat that favored ambushes over direct confrontation.
But
they couldn't teach slaves that kind of hunting.
It took too much time and money, and there weren't many chances to actually fight that way.
Their main job was farming, after all.
"The crossbow unit attacks from range. If monsters get close, the shield unit defends."
"I get the tactics. How's their training level? Can they join the monster hunt tomorrow...?"
At the mention of a monster hunt, Hans's eyes sharpened.
"Of course. The slave unit is ready to fight monsters."
After finishing with Hans,
he went to find Isaac next.
Hans was the commander for military matters,
while Isaac was the commander for agriculture.
"Can we spare two hundred people?"
"Most of the labor-intensive work is done. Maintaining the farmland is no problem. However."
"However?"
"We'll have to halt clearing the third plot."
"Clearing can be delayed. No issue. Then gather the slaves after today's work."
"Understood, Master."
The sun, high in the sky, began to tilt westward.
As the world was bathed in red,
the slaves assembled in the open field near the farmland.
The moment he faced the slaves, he nodded in approval.
They looked like farmers during planting season,
but gathered like this, they appeared different.
Especially their uniform spacing and formation stood out.
"You've trained them well, Hans."
"Thank you."
As he took one step forward, all eyes focused on him.
"You've probably heard, but starting tomorrow, we'll begin monster hunting. This is to secure River Village's safety."
He explained why they needed to hunt monsters.
And why they were participating.
But the slaves' faces showed no enthusiasm.
Unlike the villagers gathered in the square earlier that day.
"I made a promise to you. I allowed private property, and you could save up to buy your freedom."
A few slaves' faces brightened.
Mostly the early slaves—the ones who had already received their first settlement.
"Monster hunting means monster byproducts. The monsters we catch are mine. I'll give twenty percent to you."
Normally, a slave's gains belonged to the master.
He decided to return a portion to the slaves.
And they reacted.
Vitality began to return to their faces.
"Tomorrow's hunt will be led by Sir Hans."
Hans stepped forward.
"Move as trained. Hunt monsters from range. If they close in, focus on defense. Understood?!"
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
The next day.
Two hundred slaves crossed River Bridge.
Since their tactics differed, they would move separately from the villagers.
Instead, they hired experienced hunters with coin.
They would serve as their eyes and ears.
Beyond the bridge.
The place once called West River.
This was an abandoned town.
"Is this your first time here, Heir?"
"Yeah."
A short walk later, buildings came into view.
The overgrown weeds around them spoke of human absence.
They skirted the village to the west.
On Monster Island, monsters grew stronger the farther north you went.
He and the slaves would clear the southern areas,
while the River Village folk hunted northwest.
After passing the abandoned village and traveling some distance,
the hunter signaled to halt.
No one spoke.
Everyone took their positions as planned.
The hunter scouted ahead,
and the slave unit formed a phalanx.
The one hundred shield bearers formed the front line.
The crossbow unit arrayed behind them.
A few minutes passed like an hour,
and noise erupted from the front.
And then.
"Black Goblins!!"
Thirty Black Goblins followed the hunter.
"Crossbows, load."
At Hans's command, the crossbowmen nocked their bolts.
When the Black Goblins were close enough,
the hunter veered sharply to the flank.
"Fire!"
One hundred bolts shot toward the goblins in unison.
The volley felled a third of the Black Goblins.
Another third was hit and slowed.
Only the final third dodged the crossbows and charged straight at the humans.
"Shield wall!"
The shield bearers pressed shoulders together and raised their shields.
A massive wall formed.
The Black Goblins faltered at the sight.
"Fire!"
The crossbow unit, reloaded, fired again.
Two volleys from the crossbow unit.
The shield unit finished off the wounded Black Goblins, ending the fight.
"Whew~ Impressive. Taking down thirty goblins this easily."
It was an easy battle, just as the hunter said.
Even more goblins wouldn't have been a problem.
"At this level, monsters are no worry."
The hunter spared no praise.
"Just one question."
"Ask away, Heir."
"What happened to the people who lived in West River? What about the land ownership?"
"Could it be... you're eyeing West River land?"
After crossing the bridge, he had surveyed the surroundings.
Around the old city site, wooden barricades stood.
Beyond them lay a wide clearing.
Artificially cut trees to monitor the area, no doubt.
"Not exactly. Just curious."
"The people who once lived in West River..."
It was once a city called River.
Many people lived there.
Until the previous Frontier Viscount ruled.
But when Father inherited the viscountcy, things changed.
Father had less magical talent than Grandfather.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't match him.
Frontier Viscounty stopped expanding.
Eventually, even defending the land grew burdensome.
They gradually abandoned hard-to-defend areas,
shrinking to the current territory.
"When Frontier shrank... that must've been over ten years ago."
"Yes."
Ten years was significant.
By imperial law, territory lost to monsters for ten years forfeited ownership.
It pressured quick reclamation,
or handing it to someone capable if you couldn't.
Either way, West River's ownership was fully resolved.
Plant a flag, and it was his.
His long reverie ended with the hunter's voice.
"Heir, goblin butchering is done."
The hunter and slaves had stripped valuable parts from the goblin corpses.
Unneeded bits were buried in a pit.
"That's enough talk. Let's move out."
"Understood."