Chapter 65
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Carrot and Stick
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The Makstri Outer Unit.
As this was where the regular troops were stationed, the barracks and facilities were impeccably clean.
“Heard the new commander arrived over there, right?”
“Ah, you heard about that?”
Tyren nodded at his senior’s words.
“Some sergeant showed up, heh. No idea what the higher-ups were thinking, sending him here. It’s not like one guy like that is going to change those bastards.”
Tyren had been in Makstri for over two years.
In that time, he had watched countless prisoners die.
To the kingdom, Makstri was nothing more than a device for locking away criminals.
After all, the Baroque Kingdom wouldn't miss a measly gold mine.
And now, a commander, all of a sudden.
“Well, won’t it be fun to watch, at least?”
“Fun? What can a punk like him possibly do?”
Then, as if struck by a thought, the senior spoke to Tyren.
“Who was that guy? The one who’s survived for a long time.”
“You mean Hemus?”
“Ah, right. Hemus, that was his name. Go give him a little heads-up. Tell him that commander fellow is from a different unit, so we won’t interfere if he roughs him up a bit.”
The senior let out a small laugh, his shoulders shaking.
The prisoners groveled before the regular army, but if they were told the army wouldn't have their back…
“He’s going to get beaten to a pulp. Think he’ll run away in a few days? Mwahahahaha!”
The senior burst into loud laughter.
But just then.
“Ah… but I think it might be a little different this time.”
“What do you mean?”
Tyren recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier.
The image of those savage beasts, their heads obediently planted on the ground, was still fresh in his mind.
‘Well… that’ll probably only last for a moment.’
He knew what kind of men they were.
What could that newcomer possibly do with a bunch of criminals for whom death was the only answer?
Soon, Tyren, as if agreeing with his senior, just chuckled along with him.
* * *
The atmosphere in Makstri had changed.
Well over a hundred prisoners stood in seven neat columns.
The reason they stood in seven columns was simple.
It was because seven of them had been thoroughly beaten by Demian.
Demian looked at the prisoners lined up in rows.
“Straighten those lines. You should see nothing but the head of the man in front of you. Form proper lines.”
Demian raised the stick he was holding and pointed at a prisoner who was out of place.
At every one of Demian’s corrections, they flinched and moved with sharp precision.
“Now that looks a bit better.”
Their faces were tense with anxiety.
They were even being reprimanded for so much as shifting their eyes, so they stood like statues, staring straight ahead.
Demian pointed to the man at the far left.
It was the large man who had been knocked out by Demian’s first blow.
“From now on, the men at the front of each line are the squad leaders. You, you’re Squad 1. And you’re Squad 2.”
Demian walked sideways, calling out the other squads.
Once all seven squads were designated, Demian spoke.
“From now on, I’ll call you Squad Leader 1, Squad Leader 2, and so on. I don’t need your names. You will simply move as I command and do the work I assign.”
He stood tall.
The prisoners swallowed hard under Demian’s gaze.
The performance Demian had put on earlier was seared into their minds, as vivid as if it had just happened.
Besides…
—If anything like this happens again after today, it’s an immediate execution. No one will say a word if I kill trash like you.
Everyone here knew it.
He was a man who would actually keep his word.
Because of this, the prisoners looked at Demian with the rigid discipline of soldiers.
“Squad Leader 1.”
“Ye-Yes, sir!”
“Don’t stutter. Answer in one go. Squad Leader 1.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And each squad leader, turn around and face your squad members.”
At Demian’s command, the squad leaders turned around. Demian then said.
“From now on, if any of your squad members cause trouble, no questions asked, you’re dead. If you think I’m joking, feel free to test me.”
“N-No, sir!”
“No, sir! We will keep them in line!”
The seven squad leaders shouted, glaring at the squad members in front of them.
‘If you cause trouble, I’ll kill you.’
The squad leaders stared at their men with all their heart and soul, their eyes filled with genuine murderous intent.
Seeing this, Demian spoke.
“Good. We’ll operate like this from now on… Now, I need someone to explain things about this place.”
Demian scanned the men.
“The soldier who guided me earlier and the man who came to my barracks. Step forward.”
“M-Me, sir?”
“Yes, you.”
When Hemus cautiously raised his hand, Demian nodded.
“Everyone, dismiss. You and the squad leaders will come to my barracks.”
He had established some discipline, but Demian knew.
The moment he let them relax, even for an instant, these men would turn back into savages.
But he couldn't keep them wound too tightly either.
After all, anything in excess was bound to cause problems.
‘There’s a lot to do from now on.’
A proper balance of carrot and stick was needed.
But before that…
“Squad Leader 1.”
“Yes, Commander!”
The title of commander came out naturally.
Demian said to him.
“When this meeting is over, take your squad members and build a barracks about five times bigger than this one. If you do a shoddy job, I’ll break your legs so you can only walk around shoddy-like. Make it sturdy.”
“J-Just our squad, sir?”
*Thwack!*
“Argh!”
Before Squad Leader 1 could finish his question, Demian slammed the club he was holding into the man’s head.
Squad Leader 1 shouted urgently.
“W-We’ll get it done!”
“It hasn’t been long since your last beating, and your old habits are already showing? From now on, you answer my orders only with ‘yes.’ Understood?”
“Ye-Yes, sir!”
Having re-established discipline, Demian turned to Hemus in front of him and asked.
“You’ve survived here for quite a while?”
“…I’ve been here for about three years.”
“Good. Then you must know the terrain well?”
“I could draw it with my eyes closed.”
Hemus answered confidently.
To which Demian replied.
“Then draw it.”
“…Sir?”
“You have one hour to bring me a map of the area around the gold mine, with details on the enemy's numbers. In the meantime, Squad Leader 1 will take his men and build the large barracks. We’ll have a meeting there in one hour.”
At Demian’s words, Hemus’s eyes went wide.
“In just one hour, sir?”
“Hmph.”
At the question, Demian glared and raised his club.
“I-I’ll draw it right away!”
Hemus shouted.
Squad Leader 1, standing beside him, was about to ask how he was supposed to build a barracks in an hour but quickly clamped his mouth shut.
‘I have to do it, even if it’s impossible.’
It was the only way for them to survive.
And, as if by a miracle, one hour later.
“…Not bad.”
To think they actually built a barracks like this in just one hour.
Demian looked at the panting Squad Leader 1 and his men before stepping inside.
The posts supporting the barracks were driven firmly into the ground, and the floor was well-packed.
The tautly stretched canvas was sturdy enough to withstand any ordinary wind.
Demian, looking satisfied, spoke to Squad Leader 1 and his squad members.
“Well done. As a special reward, you all get a meat party for dinner tonight.”
“A m-meat party?”
“You mean you’re giving us meat?”
The members of Squad 1 asked, their eyes wide with disbelief.
For these men, who had to be self-sufficient for supplies, meals usually consisted of hard bread and watery soup.
Forget meat; they couldn’t even get their fill of vegetables.
And now, meat…
“Meat! Squeee!”
Overcome with joy, a thought that was supposed to stay in his head slipped out.
Squad Leader 1 clutched his head and whimpered under the blow from Demian’s club.
“Don’t make a scene. The meeting is about to start, so the rest of you, get out.”
Demian spread the map Hemus had drawn on the table.
It was hastily done, but it had all the necessary details.
Demian said to Hemus.
“Explain.”
“Yes, sir. Currently… this here is the gold mine’s base. Right now, the flag of the Iren Kingdom is flying over it. The ownership of the mine changes depending on whose flag is there.”
“So if we take down the Iren Kingdom’s flag and raise ours, the mine becomes ours?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“…Hah.”
Listening to the explanation, Demian couldn’t hide his dumbfounded expression.
It was all being run just like a game.
He had called these men irredeemable trash, but…
‘They were playing games with people’s lives.’
The kingdom’s actions didn’t sit well with him either.
With a hardened expression, Demian continued to listen to Hemus.
The gist of it was simple.
Whichever side planted its flag at the mine’s base took control of the mine.
The side defending the base, using it as a shield, held a significant advantage.
“The key isn’t the mine, but the base itself.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Demian nodded at Hemus’s explanation. He then stared at the map.
The terrain around the base was unremarkable.
Just a base built at the top of a low, sloping hill.
However…
‘The defenders definitely have the advantage.’
He’d have to see it for himself to be sure, but in a situation like this, breaking through the enemy’s base would require some very tight tactics and strategy.
‘I don’t know if it’s possible with these guys…’
For now, the primary objective would be to retake the base.
Buying time was what mattered.
“Understood. You all return to your posts and wait. I’ll make this clear: there are no second chances for those who try to desert or cause trouble.”
Under Demian’s menacing glare, they all gulped and answered.
Soon, Demian was left alone, looking at the map Hemus had drawn.
“There are quite a few things I need to prepare first.”
Requesting support from the main Makstri forces was out of the question.
If that had been possible in the first place, they wouldn’t have been left neglected like this.
Demian clicked his tongue and turned away.
“Tsk… this is going to cost a bit of money.”
But now was the time to spend it.
Demian walked off somewhere alone.
* * *
“M-Meat!”
Dinnertime at the Makstri unit.
As promised, Demian had brought a generous amount of meat.
“Chop this into large chunks and make a stew. The weather is getting colder, so make sure everyone can keep their bodies warm.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The prisoner in charge of meals stared at the meat, a rare sight, with wide eyes.
The amount of meat brought in on the cart was piled up like a small mountain.
It looked like he would have to work frantically to prepare it all.
And when a stew filled with fist-sized chunks of meat was served for dinner, the prisoners all shed tears of joy.
“Sob, how long has it been since I’ve tasted meat?”
“Ugh… yes, this is the taste! This is it!”
“We’ve been eating nothing but watery soup every day… to think I’d forgotten a taste like this.”
The men exclaimed in admiration as they ate the stew, which was seasoned with various spices.
Demian shouted.
“This meat is a reward because the members of Squad 1 did a fine job building the meeting barracks. Everyone, say a word of thanks to Squad 1!”
“Waaah! Squad 1, thank you for not slacking off and building it well!”
“My mouth is in heaven for the first time in ages because of you guys!”
“Thanks, comrades! Mwahahaha!”
As the atmosphere instantly livened up, Demian let out a smirk.
Just then, Hemus approached him.
“All this meat… where did you get it?”
“Where else? I bought it. This place might be shabby, but go a little ways back, and it’s quite livable.”
“…”
Hemus was at a loss for words.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know that.
The issue was that the amount of meat Demian had brought was enough to feed nearly two hundred men.
Even for a regular soldier, where did he get that much money?
“Relay this to the squad leaders. Starting tomorrow, everyone wakes up at the crack of dawn, no exceptions.”
“At the crack… of dawn?”
“If even one person is late, you know what happens, right? Make sure to tell them that, too.”
“…Understood.”
What on earth was he planning to do at that ungodly hour?
Hemus swallowed hard, a sense of dread for the coming day creeping over him.